It had taken Steve a couple minutes after watching One vanish through the portal to process what he was supposed to do next. He was still reeling from what One had told him. She loved him. And he hadn't even gotten to say it back! But he would. He would do whatever it took to get to her to let her know that he loved her too.
It took another couple minutes for Steve to hobble to the door down the hallway where Hopper was still being held. Now that James was gone, Steve assumed Hopper was no longer under his control, but he still peered cautiously around the door frame just to be safe.
Hopper was sitting on the floor of the cell with his head in his hands when a noise alerted him to a new presence and he jumped to his feet and pointed his gun straight at the source.
"Hey man, it's me! It's Steve!" Steve's hands shot up in the air in defense, which he instantly regretted. His muscles were still cramped from the several electric shocks he had received.
"Harrington?" Hopper squinted to get a better look before placing his gun back in its holster. "What are you doing here? Are Sarah and El with you? I thought I heard them."
"It's a long story that we don't have time for right now," Steve answered. "Do you have a way out of there?"
Hopper brandished a key from his pocket and passed it to Steve through the bars.
"James was behind all of this."
"I know," Steve said right as the lock clicked open and dropped into Steve's hands.
"He wouldn't let me out of here," Hopper continued as he pushed the squeaky cell door open. "Even after he left. I didn't even realize I had control over my body again until you showed up."
Steve couldn't help but glance down at Dr. Brenner's body lying on the floor of the cell and he felt a bead of sweat building on his brow. The dark pool of blood around Brenner's head formed a grotesque halo and his one good eye stared wide open at the ceiling above.
Hopper followed Steve's glance and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder but Steve instinctively flinched at his touch. "It was James, I promise. It wasn't me."
Steve pulled his line of sight away from Brenner to look into Hopper's eyes. "I believe you."
"Good," Hopper said with a solitary nod. "Now let's get out of this shithole."
☆ ★ ☆
"I'm driving," Hopper and Steve both said in unison as they stepped foot into the parking lot.
Hopper's eyebrow raised as he gave Steve a once-over. Steve still couldn't stand completely straight and he had limped all the way out to the parking lot.
"Okay, maybe you should drive," Steve conceded before Hopper could say a word.
Hopper attempted to help Steve into his truck but Steve turned down the offer. Hopper rolled his eyes as he threw Steve's bat into the back and waited impatiently in the driver's seat for Steve to finally scramble inside. "What the hell happened to you?"
Steve put a finger up as he took a few moments to catch his breath before answering, "Demodogs, James."
"Speaking of James, what happened to him?" Hopper asked. "And you still haven't told me where my kids are."
Steve racked his brain for how he was going to explain to Hopper what happened to his daughters but he kept coming up short. The longer he took, the more Hopper's glare bored into him until he could almost feel his skin melting.
"I don't have all day, Harrington!" Hopper shouted, jolting an answer out of a shaky Steve.
"They're in the Upside Down," Steve rushed out. He hadn't even realized that he had shut his eyes until he peeled them open to see Hopper's response.
Hopper stared at Steve with a blank glare and his mouth gaping open. It almost looked like he was frozen. Steve was about to wave a hand in front of his face when Hopper finally spoke and nearly startled Steve out of his seat.
"They're what?"
"Sarah sent James through a portal and he made El go with him before it could shut," Steve explained. "Sarah followed after in a new portal to find them."
Hopper put the truck into drive and ripped out of the Lab's parking lot before Steve could even buckle his seat belt.
"Whoa, hey, where are we going?" Steve asked as he bounced around in his seat. He white-knuckled the handle above the door while Hopper sped through the sleepy Hawkins streets.
"We need to get to the Upside Down but we need help," Hopper answered as he took a sharp turn and Steve bumped his head against the window.
Steve rubbed his temple after he regained his balance and looked over to Hopper with a surprised expression. "We?"
"You want to get them back too, don't you?"
"Of course," Steve answered. "I just didn't think you'd want me to tag along."
"Would you have given me a choice?" Hopper stole a glance over to Steve as he asked.
"Absolutely not."
"That's what I thought, ergo 'we'," Hopper huffed. He coughed into his fist a few times before continuing in a much quieter voice, "Also, you're somewhat useful."
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Steve asked, putting a finger to his ear sarcastically. "Was that a positive statement about me?"
"Don't push your luck, kid," Hopper grumbled as he took another sharp turn and Steve's head slammed into the window once again.
"Ow!" Steve glared at Hopper. He knew Hopper had done that on purpose.
"All right, I'll be right back," Hopper informed Steve as he pulled the truck into a familiar driveway.
Steve looked up to see the Wheeler's house outlined by the soft glow of the starry night sky. There was a solitary light illuminating part of the living room, otherwise the rest of the house was pitch black.
Three loud raps on the front door ignited the house like a blaze and soon almost every window was filled with light. Hopper listened intently for the sound of muffled footsteps making their way down the stairs and looked over to see a blurry face peering at him through the window. Hopper heard the lock click and the door swung open to reveal Mrs. Wheeler in her robe and slippers with a very confused look on her face.
"Chief Hopper?" Mrs. Wheeler asked as she hugged her robe around her body. "Is there something I can do for you?"
"Official police business, ma'am," Hopper answered with a straight face. "I need to see Mike."
"Oh god, what did he do this time?" Mrs. Wheeler groaned before her yell echoed through the house. "MICHAEL!"
"What mom?" Mike asked irritably as he trudged down the stairs in his pajamas, rubbing his eyes. Mrs. Wheeler stepped aside with a grim look on her face to allow Hopper into Mike's view. "Hopper? Is something wrong?"
"It's Sarah and El," Hopper answered. "They're gone and I need your help to get them back."
"O-of course!" Mike stammered, his face draining at the news that his girlfriend was missing. "What do you need me to do?"
"Go radio your little friends and tell them to meet at the Byers'," Hopper instructed.
Mike nodded his head and rushed up the stairs two steps at a time. Hopper left a still-confused Mrs. Wheeler at the door as he headed back to the truck and waited for Mike to join them. After Mike had finished radioing Dustin, Lucas, and Max, he raced back down the stairs, past his mom, and out the door.
"Michael!" Mrs. Wheeler shouted after him. "Where do you think you're going?"
Mike stopped for a split second to turn back and answer, "Sorry mom, it's an emergency!"
Mike clambered into Hopper's truck and watched his mom through the window as they sped off. The last thing he saw before his house disappeared out of sight was his mom waving her hands in the air and slamming the door shut.
☆ ★ ☆
Everyone was assembled around the Byers' dining table in their pajamas, staring at an array of papers scattered across the surface. Joyce hadn't taken very well to Hopper waking her up, but once he told her what had happened she immediately let him, Steve, and Mike inside. Dustin, Lucas, and Max joined shortly after, having biked from their respective homes.
"How do I get into the Upside Down?" Hopper asked after he filled everybody in on what had happened.
"What about the Lab?" Lucas asked. "Could you create another rift with Dr. Brenner's machinery?"
Hopper shook his head no. "Dr. Owens and his men cleared it all out when they took over the Lab. I checked before I imprisoned Brenner there."
"The only other way is One's portals," Dustin said. "Without her or Dr. Brenner's equipment, it's impossible."
"It can't be!" Hopper slammed his fist down on the table, stirring the papers. "Will, do you have any ideas? You were connected to that thing, did it tell you how?"
Will shook his head no with a solemn expression on his face. Joyce stood over Will and squeezed his shoulder to comfort him. The group shared in the collective silence until someone broke it.
"There might be another way." Everybody turned their heads to look at the newcomer and found Jonathan standing at the edge of the kitchen with a pair of headphones hanging around his neck.
"Jonathan," Joyce said in surprise. "I'm sorry if we woke you."
"It's okay, I was just listening to music," Jonathan responded and took a few steps closer to the table. "When Will and Barb went missing, Nancy and I went looking for the Demogorgon and we found a rift in a tree that it had made to get back to the Upside Down."
"Where?" Hopper asked.
"In the woods behind Steve's house," Jonathan answered.
Everybody turned to look at Steve and he immediately threw his hands up in defense. "Don't look at me, I have no idea what he's talking about."
"Is it still open?" Hopper asked Jonathan.
Jonathan shook his head before answering, "No, it closed right after Nancy got out."
"But if the Demogorgon made one, that means other demo-monsters could too..." Joyce pointed out.
"The demodogs!" Hopper shot up straight with a smile verging on madness. He met Joyce's eyes across the table and they both sheepishly looked away.
"But how do we find one?" Dustin exclaimed, interrupting the excitement. "If one is even still open, it could be anywhere!"
"Maybe they work like the rift that Brenner opened," Max offered. "Electromagnetic fields and all that?"
A light bulb lit above Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Will's heads.
"Max, you're a genius!" Mike cried out as he slapped his hand against his forehead.
"I know I am." Max tilted her head and smiled self-assuredly.
"What is she talking about?" Hopper asked, his eyes glancing back and forth anxiously between the teenagers in an attempt to find the answer.
"Does anybody have a compass?" Mike asked as he scanned the room.
"I have some in my room," Will offered and jumped off his chair to go grab one. When he returned, he placed the compass in the center of the table and everybody crowded around to get a closer look.
"Just like I thought!" Mike called out triumphantly as he gazed upon the needle.
"Explain, Wheeler," Hopper instructed curtly. Time was running out and he was beginning to get very anxious. Anything could have happened to Sarah and El by now and he wouldn't be there to stop it.
"When we went looking for the gate the first time we used compasses to find it," Mike answered. "The needle of a compass points towards the Earth's magnetic North Pole, but if there's a stronger electromagnetic force present that will become the new North. Look, right now it's not pointing towards true North."
"It's pointing towards a rift..." Hopper mumbled as he took his hat off and rubbed the back of his head.
"Exactly."
"But we still don't know exactly where it is," Hopper said. "A single direction can go for miles and we're running out of time."
"Well, we better start looking," Joyce said with a clap of her hands. "Break into teams. Myself and Jonathan can drive some people."
"I'm with the Chief," Steve announced to the group. Hopper looked over to Steve with a curious expression and Steve gave him a confident nod.
"I'll go with Will and Ms. Byers," Mike added.
"Dustin, Max, and I will go with Jonathan," Lucas said.
Before they departed, Will grabbed compasses for the two other cars and their caravan was quickly on its way. Hopper took the lead in his Chevy Blazer, with Jonathan following behind with his Ford LTD, and Joyce bringing up the rear in her Ford Pinto. The three cars trekked across a silent and unsuspecting Hawkins under the light of the moon. Aside from the reason for their current task at hand, it was a perfect and peaceful night.
But that would all soon change.
★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★