The five managed to get down to the Lab, but the power was off and the gates were shut. Ashley saw two familiar people walking up to them. "Steve?" "Nancy?" "Ashley?" "Jonathan?" They all said at the same time. They walked over and saw the gates. "What are you doing here?" Nancy asked. "What are you doing here?" Steve asked back. "We're looking for Mike and Will." Nancy answered. Fear consumed everyone as Nancy said those words. "They're not in there, are they?" Dustin asked. "We're not sure." "Why?" Jonathan's voice trembled. As if on time, the demo dogs growl echoed throughout the woods. Everyone's emotions heightened as one by one everyone talked over each other. Ashley didn't hear anything with the terrible feeling in her stomach being her number one focus, especially now the bandage was almost soaked through with blood. "The powers back." Nancy said, silencing everyone. Both Jonathan and Dustin hit the button to open the gate, but struggled as the button didn't do anything. Ashley winced at the pain in her rib, and felt a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?" Steve asked. She tried speaking but the pain was unbearable, so she just nodded. "That's a lie." "It's also not the main priority right now, Steve." She gasped. "Is there no more bandages in the bag?" He asked as he lifted her shirt up enough to see the blood stained bandages. "No, we used them all up." Everyone looked as the gates finally opened.
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After a few minutes, cars came racing out as the kids dived out of the way. "Is that the chief?" Ashley yelled as she got pushed into his van. She fell onto her knees as she moved over, feeling Steve's hands on her hips, helping her up. "What's going on?" Dustin asked the Chief. He got no response. "How many people are involved in this?" She whispered to Steve. "What's going on?" Dustin repeated himself, louder. "Shut up before I leave you here. Everything will be explained when we get to your friends house." Hopper yelled. Ashley didn't realise, but her hand was holding Steve's as they nervously awaited news of what was happening.
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They pulled up to the Byer's house, and all ran inside. Ash saw the weird drawings all over the walls, and the unconscious Will. Everyone was panicking, but silently. The chief was making a phone call as Steve changed Ashley's bandages. He ended the call angrily and slammed the phone. "They didn't believe you, did they?" Mike asked. "We'll see." Hopper answered. "Who is this?" He finally acknowledged Ashley's existence. "I'm Ashley, sir. Ashley Miller." She weakly smiled at him. "Okay, Ashley Miller, why are you here?" He asked, sternly. "I-I was being a nosey neighbour and I ended up finding out. Then I wanted to help." She explained. "It's no one else's fault but my own, and if you want me to go home and forget everything that happened, I'll do so." She never did good under pressure. Especially when Hopper's stern voice reminded her of her dad. "You can stay." He said, more calmly.
