bitchin'

Chapter 9

The four were just about to be back at Mike's house after backtracking through the forest to get their bikes. As they cut through the Wendell's yard, Lindsay notices some white vans parked around the cul-de-sac.

"Mike, what's going on?" she asks. Mike looks up from his bike. The four stop and watch the vans, the sides reading "Hawkins Power and Light".

A garbled voice speaks from Mike's backpack. He takes it off and takes out his walkie-talkie.

"It's Lucas," Mike says. The radio plays static mixed with incoherent words from Lucas, "what's he saying?"

"I can't tell, he must be out of range," Dustin answers.

"............. son of a bitch!" Lucas' voice shouts.

"Lucas, if you can hear us, slow down. We can't understand you," Mike says into the walkie.

"Yes.......... copy....... the mad hen.......
all of them...... mad hen...... know...... get out!" his voice cuts in and out as the four try and make out what he says.

"'Mad hen', does that mean anything to you?" Dustin asks.

"Like a code name or something?" Lindsay suggests.

"Bad men," Mike mutters, "bad men."

"That's the bad men?" she questions. Men exit the vans and walk towards the kids. They freeze.

"Shit! Go, go, go, go, go!" Dustin shouts. Lindsay scrambles onto Dustin's bike and Eleven on Mike's. The men run back to their vans and take off. Lindsay turns to see the vans speeding down the road, tires screeching.

"Oh my god, oh my god!" Dustin exclaims.

"Dustin, Dustin, do you copy?" Lucas' voice comes over his walkie talkie. Dustin wears a headset, so he can talk without worrying about holding onto the walkie.

"Yeah, Lucas they're on us!" Dustin exclaims.

"Where are you?" he asks.

"Cornwallis," the Henderson boy answers.

"Meet me at Elm and Cherry!" he shouts.

"Copy, Elm and Cherry!" Dustin shouts to Mike, who leads. Mike takes a shortcut behind some houses and through a playground.

"Hold on!" Dustin shouts to Lindsay. The bikes rumble down through leaves and sticks. Lucas takes a sharp turn and hits his breaks as Dustin and Mike slide onto the street. The kids stop, panting and listening for the vans, "Lucas, where are they?"

"I don't know," he answers.

"I think we lost them," Lindsay comments. She turns to look behind her and the vans speed out onto the road. The kids push off and start racing down the road, "Oh, never mind, we didn't."

"Go, go, go, go, go, go!" Mike shouts.

"Faster! Faster!" she shouts.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" Dustin yells. The kids look at each other with fear in their eyes as a van pulls out in front of them. There's no where for them to turn, "Ahhhhh!"

Lindsay turns her head into Dustin's shoulder, not wanting to witness the collision, "Ahhhh!"

The four scream as the van hits something and flips over the kids. Their heads tilt up to watch the van go over them in slow motion and crash behind them. The other vans stop to prevent further collision with the crushed van.

The kids look at each other in shock as they ride down the hill, leaving the bad men behind. Lindsay and El turn back to watch as the men come out of their vans in defeat. The two girls look at each other before smiles creep across their faces.

"Did you do that?" Lindsay asks El. She nods in response, the brunette left speechless. Lindsay's heart pounds as she calms down from the adrenaline rush.

"Holy... holy shit!" Dustin swears as the kids get off their bikes, "Did... did you see what she did to that van?"

"No, Dustin, we missed it," Mike says sarcastically. The boys walk their bikes into the junkyard. El drops to the ground in the shade.

"I mean that was..." he continues gawking.

"Awesome," Lucas admits, "It was awesome."

He walks over to Eleven and kneels down next to her, "Everything I said about you being a traitor and stuff... I was wrong. I'm sorry."

Dustin and Lindsay shoot each other a look, smiling. Lucas places a hand on her shoulder.

"Friends... friends don't lie," she says, "I'm sorry too."

"Me too," Mike adds. He extends his hand to Lucas, who shakes it with no hesitation.

"Okay, now, back to important things," Dustin interrupts, "Finding Will."

"Did you find the gate?" Mike asks.

"Kinda," Lucas says. He turns and gathers some sticks.

"What do you mean?" Dustin asks. Lucas returns and throws the sticks on the ground.

"The gate is somewhere in the lab. But there's a giant fence in the way. This," he says, using a stick for visual, "is Randolph road. The fence starts here and goes all the way around."

He places an old can in the middle, "and this is the lab, right here. The gate has to be in there somewhere."

"Well, who owns Hawkins Lab?" Dustin asks.

"The sign says 'Department of Energy'," Lindsay comments.

"'Department of Energy'? What do you think that means?" he questions.

"It means government. Military," Mike answers.

"Then why does it say 'Energy'?" Lindsay questions.

"Just trust me, all right?" the Wheeler boy insists, "It's military. My dad's told me before."

"Mike's right, there's soldiers out front guarding the place," Lucas adds.

"Do they make like, lightbulbs, or something?" Dustin asks. Lindsay laughs at him.

"No, weapons," Mike says, "to fight the Russians and commies and stuff."

"Weapons?" Lindsay asks, her eyes growing wide. Mike nods.

"Oh, Jesus. This is bad," Dustin mutters.

"Really bad," Lucas exclaims, "the place is like a fortress."

"Well, what do we do?" he asks.

"I don't know, but we can't go home," Mike says, "we're fugitives now."

"Oh shit, are you serious?" Lindsay asks, remembering she's still technically grounded.

A noise pulls her attention away, looking up into the sky. A flapping noise grows louder.

"Guys," she says, "do you hear that?"

The boys look up as a helicopter comes into view. It glides right toward us.

"Shit!" Dustin curses.

"Hide the bikes!" Mike yells. The three boys get up and run to grab their bikes. Lindsay helps Eleven up, who is weak from flipping the van.

"Go, go, go, go, go!" Mike shouts, shoving his bike under the bus, "Hurry! Hurry!"

"Get down!" Lucas yells. He dives behind a seat, Dustin dropping to the floor in the aisle. Eleven and Mike hide behind a bus seat, Lindsay crouching between seats. The sound grows louder before it goes away.

"Mental," Dustin pants. The sound eventually quiets down. The kids slowly rise, catching their breath from another adrenaline rush.

"Ugh," Lucas groans, "this sucks."

"You're telling me," Lindsay scoffs, "I'm not even supposed to be here. I'm still grounded."