12. ✰

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MIKE QUICKLY UNLOCKED the door to the AV room and ushered the kids in quietly. "El, you go first, okay? Don't overwork yourself. If you feel tired, tell us. I'll take your place," Mabel bent down, grabbing El's hand as she took a seat. "Now what?" Dustin asks. "She'll find him, Dustin. If not, I will," Mabel tells him. Mike starts tuning the radio frequency as El closes her eyes. "You got this, sis," Mabel whispers. A few minutes of silence went by as El started breathing heavily. "She's doing it. She's finding him," Mike smiles. "This is crazy," Dustin shakes his head. "Calm down. She just closed her eyes," Lucas reassures the boys. However, the only source of light in the room blew out, startling the kids.

"Holy—" Dustin whispers. "Shut up! It's working. You're doing great, Eleven," Mabel exclaimed, proud of her little sister. The radio began making loud noises — kind of like huge footsteps. "What is that?" Dustin asks as the kids listen to the sound getting louder and louder. "Mom?" A quiet, scared voice is heard from the radio. All the kids exchange glances as whimpering is heard. "No way!" Lucas says, knowing it's Will. "Mom..." the voice speaks again. "Will!" Mike yells. "Will. It's us, are you there?!" Lucas follows.

Mabel slowly closes her eyes, sensing something is wrong with her sister. "El, are you okay?" she whispers with her eyes closed for everyone to hear. "I... Yes," El replies. "Please tell me if you get tired, okay?" Mabel pleads. "Okay," El nods. Mabel opens her eyes as the boys keep screaming for Will. "Why can't he hear us?" Lucas asks Mabel. "I don't know. He keeps yelling for his mom, so maybe he can only hear her," Mabel panics. "It's like home, but it's so dark... It's so dark and empty. And it's cold," Will cries. Mabel looks down at her sister, noticing blood running out of her nose. Suddenly, sparks fly out the radio, making it instantly burst into flames.

The fire alarm goes off and Dustin runs to the corner, picking up a fire extinguisher and blasting it onto the radio. Mabel leans down next to her sister. "El! El, are you okay?" she asks her. El looks slowly into the redhead's eyes. Mabel reaches to wipe the blood off her sister's nose and calls for Mike. "Help me!" she cries, struggling to take El out of the chair. The kids pick her up, setting her on a rolling table. "Go! Go, go!" Dustin opens the door. They rush out of the room as other students run the opposite way, trying to escape the fire that was no more.






MABEL SAT WITH her sister on Mike's couch, resting. El had overworked herself so much she almost fainted. "I told you to let me help, El," Mabel repeated. "I am strong," El used the same argument again. "You are, but not for long. I'm doing all the work next time," Mabel tells her. "What was Will saying? Like home... like home... but dark?" Mike mumbled, trying to remember what the scared boy was rambling about earlier. "And empty," Lucas added on. "Empty and cold. Wait, did he say cold?" Dustin asks.

"I don't know. The stupid radio kept going in and out," Lucas scoffed. "It's like riddles in the dark," Dustin complained. "Like home. Like his house?" Mike paced back and forth. "Or maybe like Hawkins," Lucas suggested. "Upside down," El mutters, looking up in her position of laying on the couch. "What'd she say?" Lucas asked. "Upside down," Mike repeated. "What?" Lucas snapped. "Upside down," Mike walked over to the small table where they played DND and sat down. "When El showed us where Will was, she flipped the board over, remember? Upside down. Dark. Empty," Mike told the boys.

"Do you understand what he's talking about?" Lucas questioned Dustin. "I do," Mabel stands up. "Earlier at school, I looked for Will, using my powers. He was in the Upside Down," she tells them. "Why didn't you tell us this earlier?" Dustin scoffs. "It's hard to explain. But he's alive. When El took us to find Will, she took us to his house," Mabel begins. "Yeah. And he wasn't there," Lucas rolls his eyes. "He was, though. He's just in the Upside Down," Mabel explains. "So... this is Hawkins?" Mike refers to the top part of the board, then flips it over. "And this is where Will is? The Upside Down."

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