The party were currently sat ,still in their funeral clothes only less neat and more ruffled, in the Wheelers basement with Mike explaining the flea and the acrobat theory Mr Clarke told them about to Rosie, Oliver and El.
Mike had done a simple drawing of what he was explaining on a piece of a paper before he stabbed it with the pencil to show a tear in the universe. "It would take a lot of energy to build a gate like this. But that's gotta be what happened. Otherwise how'd Will get there, right?" He asked El who just looked plain confused at him.
"Right" she agreed uncertainly.
"What we want to know is, do you know where the gate is?" Lucas asked and now it was time for both Rosie and Oliver to turn and face the girl. El shook her head at the boy who threw his hands up "Then how do you know about the upside down?" He questioned.
Rosie noticed how the girl simply looked down at her lap unsure of what to say to the clearly pissed off boy so she stepped in "She doesn't know alright Lucas just leave her alone"
Lucas gave Rosie an exasperated look and was about to speak again but Oliver beat him to it. "Rose is your brother alright?" He asked the girl who turned quickly to see her brother pacing and spinning around the garage.
"Dust what on earth are you doing?" Rosie asked him but he ignored her as he carried on what he was doing "Dust?"
The three other boys on the basement shouted "Dustin!" along side her before they finally got his attention.
"I...I need to see your compasses" he told them like it was a normal request.
"What?" Mike questioned his friend.
"Your compasses. All of your compasses, right now!" As the three other boys went to grab any compasses they had lying around Rosie simply went and stood with her brother making him look up at her "Where's you compass?"
"I left it at home" Her brother widened his eye at her as she continued "I normally just leave it in my bag I didn't think to take it to a funeral" she tried defending.
"Thats unacceptable Rose" Oliver butted in dangling his car keys beside the Henderson siblings. "I always keep mine on my car keys so it's always with me" Oliver spoke smugly as he unclipped the small compass.
"See Rosie" Dustin nodded towards Oliver "A responsible teenager. This is why we need you here" he told the older boy patting his shoulder as the other two boys brought over their other compasses.
Rosie looked over at Oliver pretending she had been shot in the heart making him laugh as she stopped and smiled back before Dustin brought their attention back to the compasses.
"What's exciting about this?" Mike asked.
"Oo I can answer that one" Oliver spoke up "It's nothing"
"Let me speak" Dustin demanded of the older boy "They're all facing north, right?"
"Yeah so?" Lucas spoke with a shrug.
"We'll that's not true north"
"What do you mean?" Mike asked.
"I mean exactly what I just said. That's not true north" The other boys stood not understanding anything Dustin was saying but Rosie was starting to understand. "Are you all seriously this dense?"
"No,no I think I get you" Rosie agreed with her brother. "Cause the sun rises in the east and it sets in the West yeah?"
"Exactly and that means that 'that's is true north" Dustin told them as he pointed a different direction from the compasses.
"So what you're saying is the compasses are broken" Mike said thinking he understood what Dustin was on about before he noticed Oliver shaking his head.
"How can they break they don't have any batteries or anything?"
"Oliver's right it's because they don't need one. They needlessly naturally drawn to the Earths magnetic North Pole" Dustin added on.
"So what's wrong with them?"
"Well that what I couldn't figure out, but then I remembered. You can change the direction of a compass with a magnet if there's the presence of a more powerful magnetic field the needle deflects to that field" Dustin rambled on about compasses showing off his knowledge. "And then I remembered what Mr Clarke said. He gate would have so much power-"
"It could disrupt the electromagnetic field" Mike finished for the curly haired boy.
"Exactly"
"So if we were to follow the compasses north..."Rosie started.
"They should lead us to the gate" Dustin finished grinning.
"Right so we just get the compasses and start walking" Mike told them going to grab his suit jacket as Rosie's eyes widened.
"Oh no no no" she told the boys who had been putting their jackets on hurriedly. "I am not walking god knows how far in these heels" she held up the shoes to the boys "We are all going home to change then we will meet you back here to follow the trail alright"
"Yeah"
"Sure"
"Fine"
"Okay" was the responses she got as she grabbed her jacket, slipped her heels back on and made sure Dustin and Lucas were following behind her as they said a short goodbye to Mike and Oliver knowing they'd see them later.
They drove to the Henderson house first and Lucas waited on the sofa as the Henderson siblings ran to their rooms to change.
Rosie sighed as she let the dress fall off and she pulled off the uncomfortable shirt pulling on a blue T-shirt instead with Oliver's hoodie on top. She pulled her blue straight leg mom jeans on with her classic converse and was ready to go.
Before she exited her room however she quickly reached into her bag and pulled out her compass sticking it into her jean pocket.
She walked out her room and sat with Lucas as they waited the extra 3 minutes Dustin took to get ready then his sister.
After finishing up there they drove to the Sinclairs where Lucas ran in by himself knowing he'd be faster himself. And he was seeing as it only took him a short couple of minutes to change and grab his own bag of supplies.
The drive back to the Wheelers flew by and when they arrived Oliver,Mike and El were stood outside waiting. The two trios met together and everyone looked towards Dustin.
"What?"
"Your the compass expert lead the way" Oliver told the boy motioning for him to go forward.
"Um what if this gate is dangerous. Are you two really about to send someone younger than you first?" He asked the two teens who shared a look before answering.
"Absolutely"
"100%" they spoke at the same time before Dustin sighed.
"Stay close then" Dustin told them as he began walking, Lucas running up beside him to walk with his friend. Rosie and Oliver walked together behind them with Mike and El at the back.
And off they went.
~~~~~~~~
Rosie wasn't sure how long they had been waking through the forest along an abandoned railway track. What she did know however was they her legs were starting to kill her.
"Dustin how much further?" She called out to her brother who was slightly ahead of her.
"The compasses tell us the direction not the distance" he called back to his sister who groaned in response "Suck it up Rosie"
The brunette girl flipped the boy off from begin as they continued making Oliver laugh from beside her. "Don't get me wrong I love my brother but sometimes he just... you know what I mean"
"Yeah trust me I do" Oliver nodded "I'm the oldest of four and even though Holly hasn't figured out how to be annoying yet the other two make up for it"
"I don't think I could cope with three siblings" Rosie spoke truthfully.
"You get used to it"Oliver shrugged.
Rosie looked at the younger girl and boy walking behind them seeing El wipe her nose quickly as they did. "What if this isn't real?" She asked quietly.
"What do you mean?"
"Well we've all got our hopes up we're gonna find this gate and Wills gonna be through it. But what if we're just making this all up to cope with the grief" she sighed when she realised she probably sounded like the most negative person "I just don't want them to have to go through losing Will again"
Oliver never told Rosie but his brother had told him about the night down at the quarry and the girls reaction to the young boys 'death'. He could tell from her voice she was scared something he rarely heard from Rosie.
"It's gonna be okay. We're gonna be okay Rose. And if we find out he really is still gone we'll get through it. Together" With his final word the slightly taller boy grabbed one of her hands in his own that had been swinging by her side. He gave it a small squeeze that she returned with a small smile on her face before she looked to the curly haired boy ahead of them.
"Ah Dussstinnnn"
"If your about to ask how much further I swear to god I will come back there and kick your ass" Dustin told her without even turning making Rosie groan.
"Hop on" Oliver offered stopping to slightly crouch down.
"What?"
"Cmon I'll give you a piggyback" he offered the girl.
"Are you being serious right now?" Rosie asked not fully believing this was happening.
"Deadly" Rosie smiled and jumped on his back feeling his hands cup her thugs to keep her elevated. She wrapped her arms around his neck to keep herself secure before they started walking again.
Rosie checked to make sure none of the kids were looking before she leaned her head round so she could see Oliver and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek before going back to her original position.
Oliver's face went bright red after her actions and he couldn't help the dopey grin he had on his face afterwards.
Dustin turned around to speak to his sister when he saw the Wheeler boy giving her a lift. "What the hell is this?!" He asked shocked.
"Piggyback ride bitch" Rosie told him making Lucas laugh as he turned Dustin around to keep them walking.
~~~~~~~~
Soon enough it was becoming sunset yet they were still walking. Well all of them except Rosie who had offered to walk herself multiple times but Oliver simply wouldn't let her go and kept walking.
They had just entered an old junkyard that was filled with rusted cars and other pieces of scrap metal when Dustin stopped.
"Are we here?" Rosie asked finally jumping off Oliver's back as he'd stopped moving.
"You know Rose I've never seen a portal to another dimension but I'm pretty sure it's not an old car" Oliver spoke as they all looked around them.
"Oh no" Dustin said repeatedly looking from his compass to his surroundings.
"'Oh no'? What's 'Oh no'?" Lucas asked.
"We're headed back home" Dustin told them.
"What?"
"Are you sure?" Oliver asked hoping the boy might for once be wrong about this sort of thing.
"Yeah I'm sure setting sun right there. We looped right back around" Dustin pointed to the sun behind them as he explained his point.
"And you're just realising this now?" Lucas asked and Rosie could tell with each passing moment he was getting more pissed off.
"Why is this all on me?" Dustin asked upset he was getting all the blame put on him.
"Because you're the compass genius!" Lucas pointed out.
"But we all had compasses this can't just be Dust's fault" Rosie tried her best to defend her brother.
"Listen to Rosie! What do yours say?"
"North" they all answered as Oliver put his head in his hand with a sigh.
"This isn't making any sense" Rosie sighed as her head started to hurt from everything.
"Maybe the gate moved?" Mike suggested but Dustin shook his head.
"No I don't think it's the gate. I think it's something else screwing with the compasses"
"What like something here maybe?" Rosie suggested.
"Nah to direct all our compasses away it would need to be like a super magnet" Oliver pointed out making Rosie sigh as the lack of leads to what was happening.
"It's not a magnet. She's been acting weirder than normal" Lucas said turning to face El "If she can slam doors with her mind,she can definitely screw up a compass"
"Why would she do that?" Mike questioned his friend.
"Because she's trying to sabotage our mission. Because she's a traitor!" Lucas shouted.
"Woah let's calm down here" Rosie told the young boy who simply ignored walking towards the young girl beside Mike calling his name.
"You did it, didn't you? You don't want us to reach the gate. You don't want us to find Will" Lucas was nearly full on shouting in Els face and if he got any louder Rosie would be stepping in again.
"Lucas come on seriously just leave her alone" Mike pleaded with his friend.
"Admit it. Admit it!" The second time El flinched back as Lucas grabbed her sleeve examining it before throwing it down "Fresh blood. I knew it. I saw her wiping her nose on the tracks! She was as using her powers!"
"Okay come on that's probably old blood" Oliver said trying to stop the boys theory from spinning out of control.
"Yeah Oliver's right it's old blood right El? Right El?"
The young girl had teary eyes as she looked from Mike to Lucas then Oliver before her eyes landed on Rosie. She knew the older girl would listen.
"It's....not.....Its not safe"
"What's not safe?" Rosie asked her but before El could answer Lucas was shouting again.
"What did I tell you? She's been playing us from the beginning!"
"That's not true. She helped us find Will!" Mike tried defending the girl.
"Find Will? Find Will? Where is he then? Huh? I don't see him" Lucas shouted as he gestured around them.
"Oh cmon Lucas you know what he meant" Oliver said.
"No Oliver I don't actually" Lucas shouted at the older Wheeler before turning to the younger "Just think about it Mike. She could've just told us where the Upside down was right away, but she didn't she just made us run around like headless chickens"
"Alright calm down!" Dustin tried stepping between his two best friends but he got pushed away by Lucas.
"No! She used us, all of us! She helped just enough so she could get what she wants. Food and a bed. She's like a stray dog"
"Hey now that is enough" Rosie began to step away from her position next to El but the young girl grabbed her hand making her stay close.
"Screw you Lucas!" Mike shouted and now even Mike was getting angrier because of Lucas's words.
"No screw you Mike. You're blind...blind because a girl's not grossed out by you. But wake up man! Wake the hell up! She knows where Will is and now she's letting him die in the Upside Down"
"Shut up!"
"For all we know, it's her fault"
"Shut up!" Mike repeats but Lucas kept pushing. Rosie had seen the boys fight before but never had it gotten to this level of shouting.
"We're looking for some stupid monster....but did any of you stop to think that maybe she's the monster"
The look on Els face when Rosie looked down on her broke her heart. The girl had tears threatening to fall as she let Lucas's harsh words sink in. That maybe she was a monster.
"Don't listen to him" Rosie turned to look fully at the girl but then she heard Dustin shouting and turned to see Lucas and Mike rolling around on the ground fighting each other.
Oliver was attempting to grab his little brother while the Dustin along with El tried shouting for them to stop with Rosie holding El close to her.
As the fighting between the two wasn't stopping El seemed to lose it and started screaming causing Rosie to wince at the loudness.
All of a sudden with her powers El made Lucas go flying off of Mike and sent him skidding into a sheet of metal. He hit his head against it which knocked him unconscious causing Rosie to gasp.
Her and Oliver were the quickest to move towards the boy seeing as they were the oldest and in charge. Their younger siblings followed all of them saying the young boys name while giving him light shakes to try and wake him up.
Rosie could hear Mike shouting "What is wrong with you?!" from beside her and looked up to see El with a horrified look on her face as blood dripped from her nose.
She sent the girl a small smile before she had to refocus her attention on Lucas. When he finally woke up a few moments later she let out a sigh of relief.
"Hey guys give him some space" Oliver told the younger boys making them shuffle back slightly to let the boy breathe.
"Lucas just let me take a look" Rosie tried checking his head multiple times to make sure he wasn't bleeding. However the boy swatted her hands away with every attempt she made.
"Get off me!" Lucas shouted standing up and beginning to storm away.
Rosie went to run after him but felt Olivers presence at her side holding onto her hand before she could. "He's pretty pissed right now. Just let him cool down"
"Okay" Rosie sighed turning to face him with a smile. However her smile left immediately when she heard what Mike said next.
"Where's El?"
Rosie immediately ran into the middle of the small clearing in the junkyard and looked all around her. Mike,Dustin and Oliver were surrounding her looking as well as they shouted her name.
There was no response from the young girl and it made Rosie worry running her hands through her hair as her eyes watered. We had trusted her and now she was lost.
How the hell would they find Will now?