THE TUNNELS
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ANDY'S FEET POUNDED AGAINST THE GRASS, kicking up dirt as she sprinted towards the Byers house, like she was an Olympic champion. She was far from it, but the amount of walking she had done the last year had prepared her for times like these when she needed to sprint. And her sheer panic and desperation spurred her on. Sweat rolled down her skin in salty beads, making her clothes cling to her body. Her chest throbbed and her legs felt about ready to drop off, but she persisted until she crashed through the Byers front door without even knocking.
Inside the house, Mike, Will, Joyce, and an already confused Bob Newby watched the girl in shock.
"Is she here?" Andy mumbled to herself under her breath so the others couldn't hear. She ran through the house, bursting open every door to see if anyone was inside. She had looked everywhere for Eleven, searching almost the entire town of Hawkins. Will's house, Dustin's house, Lucas' house, the middle school, arcade, and even the supermarket just in case the girl had decided to pop out to buy more Eggos, but she was nowhere to be found.
Andy hurtled back into the living, ready to depart to her next location, but Joyce grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at her. "Andy, it's okay." The woman cooed and for the first time today Andy felt herself calm and the world stopped spinning. "We're going to find him."
Andy's brows furrowed and a wash of confusion came over. "What?" She asked forcefully. She didn't understand the pronoun being used, Eleven wasn't a him and Joyce didn't know about Eleven, why would she say they'd find her?
"Yeah, Hopper. That's why you're here, isn't it?" Joyce questioned, rubbing the girl's upper arm soothingly. She often worried about Andy. She knew how difficult Hopper could be and couldn't imagine what it was like to live with him. She found herself becoming almost like a second mother to the girl. Her Hawkins mom they both called her and since Andy had become close friends with Jonathan it only became even more fitting. So, when the girl stood in front of her panic-stricken and on the verge of tears, she worried and presumed it was down to the fact her dad had disappeared.
Andy's face crinkled in confusion and she became even more distressed than before. "My dad is missing?"
"Yeah, thats what this is for." Joyce moved to the side, revealing the room and for the first time Andy noticed the chaos. Every inch of the house was covered in sheets of paper with scribbles on them. They were all different shapes, sizes, and colours but fitted together like a puzzle to make something that resembled a giant octopus.
She looked back to Joyce. "I don't understand." She said. The weird drawings only added to her bemusement, not solved it. The older woman looked between Andy and the muddled Bob, before grabbing the girls hand and pulling her into the hallway. She needed to tell Andy the truth, but not Bob.
"It's Will, he drew these. He has something stuck inside of him, a piece of the Upside Down."
"Like a Demogorgon?" Andy questioned, but Joyce shook her head. "No, more like a mind controller. Will knows things that he knows and he drew all of these because of that. Your dad thought they looked like vines or plants or something, and he rushed off to find the source, but that was a whole day ago now. We could find him if only we knew where the source is. That is what we're trying to figure out."
Andy sighed, trying to take in all the information she had just been told and understand it. It was a lot to come to terms with, but she wasn't surprised. After Will's episode at the school, it was only a matter of time before everything got dangerous again. She needed to find her dad, not just to ensure his safety but to help Eleven too. Wherever she was.
Before she could reply to Joyce, Bob's enthusiastic voice called from the living room. "It's a map. It's a map of Hawkins!"
Joyce and Andy flashed each other a confused look before rushing to the main room to hear about Bob's clever theory. He was Bob the Brain after all. "So the lines aren't roads, but they act like roads." He ran around the house, pointing to different sections of the drawings. "And they act like roads cause when you follow them, you'll see they don't go over water. They're underground."
He stopped and stared at the others, expecting them to all eagerly agree, but they just appeared dumbfounded, their normal size brains not grasping the concept.
"Andy, catch this." Bob called and he threw Andy a tape measure from the kitchen that she caught. She had also grown close with him too. She spent a lot of time at the Byers house with Jonathan, especially on movie nights when Bob would be round. She admired how nice he was, that was a good quality to have she thought. She liked him even though he often made jokes about her and Jonathan dating which made both teens physically repulsed.
Bob sat at the dining room table with a map of Hawkins and an assortment of coloured pens he had pulled from his inside coat pocket. Everyone jumped from space to space around the house, measuring distances from one location to another, while Bob labeled them down on the map, trying to find out where Hopper would be.
"What about Tippercanoe to Danford Creek?"
Andy hurried from her spot in the living room towards the dining room where Danford Creek was located. She became tangled in the yellow tape, having to unravel herself before continuing on. She pressed the measurement onto the sign and read it. "Sixteen feet, ten inches." She called. She had learned more about what was in Hawkins and its geography in the last half an hour than she had in her entire life. It made want to go out exploring once it was all over.
"Danford to Jordan?" Bob shouted and Andy went to dash to her next location, but Joyce stopped her in her tracks. "Oh, come on. This has got to be enough? Can't you figure it out?"
The woman was becoming impatient at how long it was taking, even though Bob was trying his best and they would be nowhere without him. But every second they spent in the house, Hopper was growing unsafer. They all approached the table, peering over at the map that was scribbled with straight lines and numbers.
"I mean if you're twisting my arm, and you are twisting my arm." Bob ummed and ahhed, glaring up at his girlfriend. "I would say that X is maybe a half-mile southeast of Danford."
"Thank you!" Joyce squealed, kissing Bob's cheek and leaving him flustered, before snatching up the map and darting out the room. The kids, Andy included, followed after her and Bob hesitated not knowing what was happening. "What? Are we really going?"
They bundled into the car and a few seconds later Bob did too. Then they were off.
Meanwhile, Steve Harrington plowed up the dirt path towards the Hopper trailer, not knowing that no one lived there anymore. He held a red bouquet of flowers in his hand and in his head went over exactly what he was going to say to Andy. That he was sorry and wanted to be with her, whatever that took and however long it would take. But most importantly he wanted to tell her he loved her.
Then Dustin Henderson blocked his path. "Are those for Andy?" He asked, gesturing to the flowers in Steve's hand. "Uh, yes." He answered and Dustin snatched them from his grasp. "Hey!" He shouted, as Dustin marched away yelling over his shoulder. "She's not here."
"Where is she?" Steve questioned the boy who strode towards the BMW. "If I knew that, I wouldn't need your help." Dustin said back, opening the passenger door and about to climb in when he realised Steve hadn't moved. "We have bigger problems than your love life, come on."
Back in Joyce's car, Andy shifted uncomfortably. It was now pitch dark outside, the only light coming for the car headlights and Andy was stuck in the middle between Mike and Will in the backseats. Joyce's car was small and they barely all fitted in and Andy had Mike's bony elbow digging into her side painfully.
"Get your skinny elbow out my back." She moaned, fidgeting around until she had her own arm behind Mike's in the prime comfortable position, much to the annoyance of Mike. "Get your fat elbow out of mine." He complained back and the two wrestled and bickered until Will's voice disrupted them. "Turn right!"
"What?" Joyce exclaimed, glancing behind her. "I saw him!" He spoke desperately. "In my now memories. Turn right!"
Joyce slammed her foot down on the accelerator, spinning the car a hard right and sending everyone flying back in their seats. They raced off road, crashing into a haybale which covered the front window with straw and making Joyce lose control of the vehicle. Everyone screamed in fear, being tossed about the car and both Mike and Will grabbed onto Andy's hands in fright. They came to a sudden stop inches away from Hopper's truck and fell forward.
They all panted, trying to calm their rush. Will kept ahold of Andy's hand, enjoying the comfort, but Mike pulled his away. He was embarrassed he had acted so scaredly and childish in front of the girl, but Andy thought nothing of it. She was about ready to hide behind him if necessary.
Joyce pressed down on the handle and climbed out before turning round to the back passengers. "I need you to stay here." She ordered and Will pleaded, reaching over to his mom that had got out the vehicle. "No, Mom. It's not safe."
"That's why I need you to stay here!"
Both Joyce's and Bob's door swung shut, leaving the three younger ones alone in the car. Joyce and Bob stomped over the field and moldy pumpkins that were rotted with disgusting flies. Joyce stepped down into a crater that looked like it had been man-made and started digging with a shovel that rested beside it. Andy's leg bopped up and down nervously as she watched Joyce get lowered into the hole.
"Yep, I'm going." She decided suddenly. She couldn't just sit and wait around for them to find or not find her father. She had to help. She clambered over Mike, who swatted as her leg dug into his stomach, and stumbled out the car door. "Stay." She commanded, to the two boys as if she was training a dog. To be fair, they did act like disobedient puppies sometimes. They protested, but she sent them a quick death stare and they gave in.
She strode over the decaying field, actually gagging at the smell, until she reached the hole that Joyce and Bob had gone down. She groaned at how the dirt was going to ruin her clothes and how far down the hole went and how she had to get down it on her own. She lowered herself to the floor, sitting on the edge of the hole and legs dangling in, then she fell through. Miraculously she landed on her feet.
Hearing the girl land with a thud, Joyce and Bob spun round in shock, shining the torchlight directly into her eyes. "Ouch." Andy shrieked and Joyce lowered the torch to frown at the girl. "I thought I told you to stay in the car."
"Change of plan." She huffed and looked around her. The tunnels went on for miles, every inch laced with tentacle-like vines that went up the walls. She scrunched up her nose at the foul smell that was much stronger underground. In the air floated white particles that had a mesmerising quality.
Joyce and Andy lead upfront, while Bob proceeded behind them mumbling about how they were actually inside Will's map. It hadn't occurred to either two females to actually tell him the truth, the entire truth.
Then Andy's foot slipped on a slime-covered root, sending her off balance and tumbling to the ground. She extended her arms to save herself and her hands pressed against something peculiar on the ground.
"Andy, are you okay?" Bob fussed, trotting over to her and helping her back to her feet. "I'm fine." She exhaled, brushing the soil off her knees. Her eyes locked with a cigarette on the floor and she bent down to pick it up. "It's Dad's!" She exclaimed after inspecting it closely. She recognised the brand and acknowledged her father couldn't go more than an hour without a smoke.
"He's gotta be this way!"Joyce shouted in relief, pointing at the left tunnel they had come to. They raced down the tunnel, carefully stepping over vines so none of them fell again. They came to a stop as they saw Hopper's chief hat up ahead then next to that his limp arm.
"Dad!" Andy cried, collapsing to her knees next to his trapped body. Vines were wrapped tightly over him, blocking his movements and airways. Andy tugged at them harshly, but they wouldn't come away. All she could do was stare down at her father's terrified, wet eyes. She tried again, tugging at the vine that had tangled around Hopper's throat. Her hand sprung backward hitting something cold and metal on the floor. A knife.
She grabbed it, cutting and swiping furiously at the vines near Hopper's mouth and throat that hissed and screeched like they were alive. Joyce and Bob prised the plants at his legs away and soon he was free enough to escape. He yelled in determination, staggering to his feet.
Andy wrapped her arms around his stomach and back, squeezing against him tightly. Hopper sighed, rubbing her hair soothingly plus pressing a kiss against the top of her head. "I'm alright, kid. I'm alright."
Once they finished, Joyce swept Hopper into another hug, checking his body for injuries but he really was okay. "Hey, Bob." He greeted casually, patting the man on the back for saving him.
"Hey, Jim." Bob replied with a small smile. However, the tender moment abruptly came to a stop when the vines let off a scream that made Andy's blood run cold. "We need to go out of here." Hopper declared, already back to taking charge once again. They all agreed, turning to the direction they came from but coming face to face with a huddle of men wearing white protective bodysuits with flamethrowers in their hands.
"Go! Go! Clear the area!"
Hopper moved Andy forward, hurrying her out the tunnels. She looked over her shoulder to witness the men lighting the growths on fire. Their horrific shrieks could be heard even as they reached the hole above them. Hopper boosted Andy up out the hole and another man in a white suit was the other side to help her out. She emerged on the other side, steadying herself on her feet but only to be met with another terrifying sight.
Will laid on the ground, body shaking and convulsing erratically like he was having a seizure. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, body vibrating harder and harder with every second that went by until the men in white suits whisked him away.
A.N
hey everyone! I would just like to say a massive thank you to caradunes for the new cover to damage control! it is so beautiful, do you guys like it?? and if you any of you want a cover made then she is deffo your girl!
as always remember to vote and comment - I love to hear from you!
lola
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