The group pulled up to Hawkins Middle School. Julia walked into the science lab with Joyce and El. They sat El down on a stool and began to look for things that would keep her eyes sealed in darkness.
Joyce found a pair of goggles, Julia pulled out a roll of duck tape. As the mother began taping the goggles, El reached aside from her and held onto Julia's hand.
"You're a very brave girl. You know that don't you?" Joyce looked at the girl, her words warming both El and Julia's heart. El looked away, as though she were ashamed.
Joyce knew El wasn't believing her, so she continued. "Everything you're doing for my boy... for Will... for my family. Thank you." Joyce whimpered, grabbing a hold of El's other hand.
"Listen. Julia and I are gonna be there with you the whole time. And if it ever gets too scary, in that place, you just let us know, okay?" El looked like she was in pain, Julia's heart clenched at the thought of this poor girl having to go through this.
"Yes." "Hey Joyce, would you mind if I talked to El for a second?" Joyce nodded, giving the two girls some privacy. Julia sat where Joyce was, taking both of the young girls hands in hers.
"Listen, I want to thank you. For everything you have done. No doubt you have saved my brother and his friends countless times. You have a pure heart. Never change that. You are so beautiful inside and out. You will always be loved by me, Joyce, everyone, even Hopper."
Julia hadn't noticed the tears streaming down her face until El reached over and used her sleeve to wipe the fallen ones. "You stay strong, okay? We will all be here for you." El sniffled and nodded her head, attacking the girl with a hug.
Julia kissed the top of her head, hugging her right. "You ready?" El took a deep breath before confirming she was ready.
Julia and Eleven walked into the gymnasium, the kiddie pool filled with water and a walkie-talkie placed on the side of it. El began taking off her socks and watch, handing Mike's watch over to him.
She placed the goggles on and stepped in. The lights surged, everyone looked at each other. The group stayed quiet as they waited for any movements from the girl, or any voices on the walkie.
A faint name escaped El's lips, "Barbra?" Her breath began to get heavy before she began to scream "gone!" Joyce and Julia immediately went to her side, their voices attempting to calm her down.
"Hey sweetie, sweetie its okay!" "El we're right here we got you." The two woman held the hand of the young one, her grip tightening on each of them.
"Its okay. Its okay we're right here." "Its gonna be okay. We're not leaving we are right next to you." Her screams subsided, and turned into murmuring
"Castle Byers." They all got quiet, not a single word was spoken between anyone.
"Will." Joyce gasped, her eyes widening. Julia felt El squeeze her hand tightly as her small hands began to shake. Hopper knelt down next to Julia and muttered in her ear,"I'll take over from her, you should talk to Nancy." You nodded, scooting over to allow Hopper to hold Els hand before she let go.
Julia joined Nancy out in the hallway, sliding her back down the wall to sit next to the distraught brunette. They sat in silence until Julia spoke, "I'm sorry about Barb." "Its not your fault." "I know, but I could have given her a ride or offered to walk her to her car."
"Julia, it's not your fault. It's mostly mine." She was about to speak until she remembered what happened that night. She sighed to herself, she couldn't be mad at her or Steve, they're a couple what else would happen? The door to the parking lot opened, revealing Jonathan. He sat down next to Nancy, and sighed to himself.
"We have to go back to the station." "What?" Jonathan and Julia asked in unison. "Your mom and Hopper are just walking in there like bait. That thing is still in there. And we can't just sit here and let it get them too."
"You still wanna try it out?" "All the traps you guys bought, it's to kill it right?" Julia asked either of the two, Jonathan nodded. "I wanna finish what we started. I want to kill it."
"Let's go." Julia stood up, taking Nancy's hand to help her up. The three got into Jon's car, heading towards the police station. The ride there was silent, only a sigh was heard here and there.
They snuck into the police station, an officer with his back towards thems. Jon opened the door he was questioned in, grabbing the box they confiscated from his car, Nancy grabbing a fire extinguisher.
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Nancy, Jonathan and Julia drove up the driveway at the Byer's house. They got in and slammed the box of weapons down on the floor. One by one they began to screw the colorful bulbs back onto the green lines.
Jonathan hammered a bear trap down the hallway by Wills room. Julia told Nancy she would be right back. She ran into the shed in the backyard, rummaging around for a weapon.
Her eyes landed on a steel baseball bat Will used to use when Lonnie forced him to try to play. She picked it up, swinging it to see she was a good shot, only time will tell. She walked back in, Jonathan hammering nails into a wooden baseball bat, Nancy pouring a line of gasoline down the hallway. "
Jon grabbed three knives from the kitchen and walked back into the living room. Nancy was explaining to Julia how the monster can smell blood from a quarter mile away, so this was how they were going to lure it into the trap. "Remember?" Jonathan asked the two girls.
"Straight into Will's room and-" "dont step on the trap." "Wait for the yo-yo to move." "Then" Jon flicked open his lighter. He handed the girls the knives and took a deep breath.
"You ready?" They nodded, holding out their palms, the weapon gently on it. "On three. One... two... you guys don't have to do this-" "three." They all dragged the sharp metal across their hands, each one of them flinching at the pain. They sat on the couch, Nancy wrapping Jonathan's wound as Julia was in the bathroom washing it.
She returned and Nancy was kind enough to help her wrap the bandage around her wound. "Thank you." She smiled at the girl. A loud banging on the door scared the three, as a familiar voice shouted from the other side, "Jonathan!"