The boys sat in the backseat and my Dad, El, and I sat in the front. El had her head on my shoulder, and I had an arm wrapped around her, rubbing her arm soothingly as we pulled up to the Byers house once again. Jonathan, Joyce, and Nancy came running out the second they saw the headlights.
"Mike! Oh my gosh, Mike!" Nancy ran over, hugging him as we all walked towards the house, El, still attached to my side like glue. I rested a hand on top of her head. "I was so worried about you!"
"Yeah, uh...me too?" Mike said, unsure of what to say. She peered around him, her eyes falling on Eleven.
"Is that my dress?"
~~~
We went back inside, everyone sitting around the table, while Mike and the boys filled us in on the gate using an analogy that their science teacher had told them.
"Ok, so in this example, we're the acrobat." Mike explained, pointing at his drawing. "Will and Barbra, and that monster, they're this flea. And this is the Upside Down, where Will is hiding. Mr. Clarke said the only way to get there is through a rip of time and space."
"A gate." Dustin clarified.
"That we tracked to Hawkins Lab."
"With our compasses." Nancy, Jonathan, and Joyce all exchanged confused glaces. "So the gate has a really strong electromagnetic field and that can change the directions of a compass needle."
"Is this gate underground?" Dad asked.
"Yes." Eleven confirmed quietly. I furrowed my eyebrows, looking back at Dad.
"Near a large water tank?"
"Yes."
"H-How do you know all that?" Dustin asked.
"Good question." I said, looking at him with a confused glance.
"He's seen it." Mike clarified.
"Is there any way..." Joyce trailed off, "that you could reach Will? That you could talk to him in this..."
"The Upside Down." El clarified.
"Down. Yeah." She nodded.
"And my friend Barbra. Can you find her, too?" Nancy asked.
~~~
We gathered around the kitchen table, Eleven armed with a radio and the picture of Barb from the pool. She closed her eyes and the static began coming through the radio sounding distorted and weirder than normal. Suddenly the lights began blinking and she opened her eyes.
"I'm sorry." El said.
"Wh-what-what's wrong? What happened?" Joyce asked.
"I can't find them." She said, tears in her eyes. I nodded, putting a hand on her shoulder. Jonathan turned, walking away and putting a hand on his mouth. I crouched down beside El, causing her to look at me.
"Its ok...its not your fault, ok?" She nodded. "Why don't you go wash your face, take a minute. The bathroom is down the hall." She nodded again, standing up and walking away.
"What does that mean if she can't find them?" Joyce asked fearfully.
"It might not be anything," Mike said, "She might be burnt out."
"Burnt out?" Nancy asked
"Whenever she uses her powers, she gets weak."
"The more energy she uses, the more tired she gets." Dustin explained.
"Like, she flipped a van earlier."
"It was awesome."
"But she's drained. Mike said.
"Like a bad battery."
"Well...how do we make her better?" Joyce asked.
"We don't, we just have to wait and try again." Mike answered.
"Well how long?"
"I don't know."
"The bath." We all whirled around to see Eleven standing in the hallway, watching us.
"What?" Joyce asked.
"I can find them," She said, "In the bath."
"The bath?" I asked. "What is that some kind of...sensory deprivation tank or something?"
"That's exactly what it is." Dad confirmed. "I saw it."
"But how do we get a sensory deprivation tank?"
"Mr. Clarke!" Dustin exclaimed. "He'll know what to do!"
"Call him!"
~~~
"Mr. Clarke? Its Dustin. Yeah, yeah. I just, I...I have a science question. Do you know anything about sensory deprivation tanks? Specifically how to build one? Fun. You always say we should never stop being curious. To always open any curiosity door we find. Why are you keeping this curiosity door locked?" I smiled.
~~~
"Uh-huh. Uh-huh. How much?" Dustin sat at the table now, writing down notes as Mr. Clarke dictated them to him. "Uh-huh. Yep, alright. Yeah, we'll be careful. Definitely. Alright, Mr. Clark. Yeah, I'll see you on Monday. I'll see you on Monday, Mr. Clarke. Bye." He hung up on him. "Do you still have that kiddie pool we bobbed for apples in?"
"I think so, yeah." Joyce said.
"Good. Then we just need salt. Lots of it."
"How much is lots?" Dad questioned. Dustin looked down at the notepad, reading through the instructions.
"Fifteen hundred pounds."
"Well where are we gonna get that much salt?" Nancy asked. Dad and I shared a look.
"The middle school." We said together.
~~~
We pulled into the parking lot and split into teams. Dad and Jonathan went to go get the salt the the school uses during the winter, Lucas and Dustin set up the pool in the gym, Nancy and Mike went to go get the hose, and Joyce, Eleven and I went to the science lab to find something that would cover her eyes so that she could be fully immersed. I found a pair of goggles and Joyce grabbed duct tape. I sat in a desk across the aisle from Eleven while Joyce applied it to the goggles.
"This will keep it nice and dark for you, just like in your bathtub." Joyce told her. She sighed, looking at her. "You're a very brave girl, you know that, don't you?" El looked away from her. "Everything you're doing for my boy...for Will...for my family. Thank you." She looked down at her lap and I got up, crouching down in front of her and holding her hands between mine.
"Hey." She smiled halfheartedly. "Joyce and I , both of us are gonna be right there with you, the entire time. I'll even get in if you want." She smiled fully now. "And if it ever gets, too scary for you, you just let us know, ok?"
"Yes." She said, looking like she was about to cry. I reached up, putting a hand on her face.
"Another friends rule? Friends don't leave friends alone." She nodded. "You ready?"
"Ready."
We led her to the gym, where they had the pool set up with the radio static going. Eleven took off her shoes and socks, and Mike's watch, and Joyce handed her the goggles. She put them on, blowing out a shaky breath before Joyce and I helped her into the pool, all of us sitting around the edge of it. She walked out into the middle, sitting down and laying back, floating on the surface. Immediately the lights began flickering.
"Barb?" She said. "Barbra?" Nancy shifted anxiously beside me. She began breathing heavily and and the lights began pulsing.
"What's going on?" Nancy asked.
"I don't know."
"Is Barb ok?! Is she ok?!"
"Gone, gone, gone, gone." She began repeating fearfully. Nancy put a hand over her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes, and I reached down, grabbing one of her hands while Joyce grabbed the other.
"Hey, shh, shh, its ok, its ok." I repeated.
"Its ok, we're right here. We're right here honey."
I yanked my jacket, shoes, and socks off, climbing into the tank and crouching down beside her, putting my hands on her face.
"El...we are right her, ok?" Her breathing began to settle. "Right here. We've got you. Don't be scared, we're right here with you, ok?"
"Castle Byers." She said suddenly. Joyce and Jonathan exchanged a look. "Will?" Joyce gasped.
"You, you tell him I'm coming. Mom is coming."
"Your mom, she's coming for you." El said.
"Hurry." Will's voice said through the radio. "Hurry."
"Ok, listen, you tell him-t-to stay where he is. We're coming. We're coming, ok? We're coming, honey."
"Just...Just hold on a little longer. Will? Will! Will?! WILL!"
She began whimpering again before bursting up and tearing the goggles off, and instantly her arms were around my neck.
"Hey, its ok." I hugged her back, rubbing her back. "You did good, El. You did so good." She began crying into my shoulder, and I pressed my lips against her head. "You're done. You did it, ok. You did it, good job."
~~~
We got El a towel, and she now sat in the bleachers with the boys, her head on Mike's shoulder as Lucas sat behind her, rubbing her arm and trying to warm her up.
"So this fort. Where is it?" Dad asked as he put his jacket on.
"Its in the woods behind our house."
"Yeah, he used to go there to hide." Jonathan said. He took off and all three of us trailed after him.
"Hey, get back inside!" He said, once we got out.
"What are you insane?" Joyce asked.
"Clearly." I said, shivering as the cold December wind hit my wet clothes.
"Hey, if something happens to me and I don't make it back-"
"No!" I exclaimed.
"Then I'll go, you stay!"
"Are you kidding me?"
"Neither of you are going!" I shouted, causing both of them to look at me. "I've survived there before, I'm the one that should do it."
"No!" Dad and Joyce said together.
"He's my son, Hop! My son! I'm going!" She turned around to talk to Jonathan.
"Dad-" I started.
"No, Riley."
"Dad, I have to go back! This whole thing is my fault-"
"No, it isn't!" He exclaimed, grabbing my arms. "This is not your fault, and if you think I'm letting you go back into that place, you're crazy." I shook my head. "I'm trying to protect you, kid-"
"I don't need you to protect me!" He nodded.
"I know that, you think I don't know that? I watched you knock out two fully grown men today. I know you don't need your dad to protect you, but its my job." He said. "Its my job, and I wasn't able to do it the first time, but I can do it now, so please kid...just let me do my job."
"No...please, please don't go."
"I have to, and I need you to stay here." I shook my head, tears welling up in my eyes. "Those kids in there? They need you here, Eleven needs you here, you know that."
I sighed, crossing my arms and dropping my head to stare at yh3r ground.
"Fine, then at least...be careful." I said.
"I'll be careful, you'll be careful, we'll see each other on the other side, yeah?" He repeated. I nodded, hugging him quickly then stepping back beside Jonathan as our parents got into the car and sped away together.
"They might be keeping us here," I said, turning to look at him, "But they can't stop us from distracting the monster so its not after them...they can't stop us from killing the Demogorgan." He nodded.
"Come on, let's go."
"Wait," I grabbed his arm, stopping him, "What about the kids?"
"If they just stay here, lay low, they should be fine. They've been by themselves this long. Come on, let's go get Nancy, and then we can go to the station and get the stuff."