𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐄! ✽ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻

22

𝐁𝐄𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐂𝐊 was betsy, top-down, swerving into the hawkins middle school parking lot. sheridan's red hair flowed in the breeze and her cigarette smoke filtered behind her, a smile spread across her face; eleven, mike, dustin, and lucas did not have the same reaction. the kids squinted their eyes, and lunged forward as dani slammed on the brakes, the car coming to a screeching halt.

eleven exited the passenger seat utilizing the door, while the three boys hopped over them. sherrie crushed the cigarette under her clogs and trailed after the group as they headed into the gym. she watched them as they did the heavy lifting, carrying a large kiddie pool into the gym and tossing it onto the wooden floor. dustin grunted as he kicked it towards the center. "this damn thing is heavy," he heaved out. "kick it with your boot or something, dani!"

"fat chance! you only have a few feet left!" the girl exclaimed. the two boys bickered over how to set it up, and sherrie let out a howl of laughter that echoed in the large gym as she watched the pool cave in on itself after the boys' many attempts of arranging it.

"shit!" dustin cursed as lucas tried to do it himself.

"just wait 'til there's some water in it, it'll fill out," sheridan giggled. at that moment, mike and nancy entered the gym, hauling hoses. "see! right on time." the shaffer girl shot dustin a smug smirk before running up to the siblings. mike stationed the hoses close to the pool, and both nancy and dani unraveled one and headed for the sink in the supply closet. the girls attached the tubes, and mike put the other ends in the pool.

after a few moments, lucas yelled, "colder!" they adjusted the temperature. "warmer!"

"god, these kids are gonna be the death of me," sherrie huffed quietly as she turned the nozzles.

nancy let out a small laugh. "tell me about it."

"right there!" lucas hollered. the girls exchanged satisfactory smiles before entering the gym once more. they caught sight of jonathan and hopper loading in the bags of de-icing salt. the two cut a few of the bags open, sherrie watching, mesmerized, as the thick, white beads clouded the bottom of the kiddie pool.

dustin smirked as he held up a white egg from a carton. dani watched intently from behind the three boys, all of them letting out sighs of frustration as the egg sank to the bottom. jonathan and jim added a few more bags, and the second egg floated smoothly across the surface. mike and lucas gave dustin pats of approval, with sheridan wrapping her arms around the boy's neck. his face instantly washed a bright shade of red.

mike set up the walkie talkie on a cart close to the pool, and shortly after, joyce and eleven entered the room. eleven took off her socks and mike's watch, which dani had failed to notice she was wearing. her bottom lip pouted; puppy love, she thought to herself.

she rubbed a comforting hand up and down eleven's back. "i believe in you," sherrie quietly whispered to the young girl. eleven's eyes locked with her, and within them, sheridan could see the years of trauma and fear and anxiety. and she could see that, even now, her confidence was plummeting. "i'll be right here." dani wrapped her arms around the girl, and eleven reciprocated, gripping onto the girl's arms with full force.

with a deep breath, el let go and placed blackout goggles over her eyes. she held sheridan's hand tightly as she stepped into the pool, the shaffer girl guiding her through the water. dani nearly giggled once she felt eleven grip onto her hand even tighter due to the temperature.

eventually, eleven's hand slipped out of sherrie's. dani gently sat herself on the gym floor, restricting her knees to her chest. her eyes widened, watching as eleven began to float in the middle of the pool. the girl jumped as the lights flickered off; they were nearly absorbed in darkness. joyce placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder, both women watching el attentively.

silence infused the room, only to be broken up by eleven. "barbara?" nancy tensed up and leaned forward, nearly falling into the pool with the girl. eleven's limbs methodically floated around the pool. her chest heaved up and down with her quick-paced breaths. the lights shuddered, only to go out again.

"what's going on?" nancy hastily questioned.

"i don't know," her brother answered. a frightened expression painted nancy's face, the girl turning her gaze back towards eleven in the pool.

"is barb okay? is she okay?"

"don't interrupt her, nance-" sheridan began, before eleven began to speak.

"gone. gone," she uttered. her lips were quivering and although she couldn't see, dani could tell she was practically on the verge of tears. she heard her voice break as she articulated the word clearly for the last time.

nancy's hand clasped over her mouth, tears beginning to develop in her eyes.

sheridan jumped as eleven continued screaming that godforsaken word. her mother reached into the pool, taking eleven's hand in hers as she whispered sweet sentiments. hopper held her other hand with dani in between the two, her eyes wide with fear. the water grew still with eleven eventually.

"castle byers?" the girl breathed out. sheridan instantly sat up, her mouth falling slightly open. joyce and jonathan exchanged glances but dani's focus remained entirely on eleven. "will?" both sherrie and her mother let out gasps, their hearts stopping with synchronicity.

"you tell him... t-tell him i'm coming, m-mom is coming," joyce sputtered out. sheridan sat on her knees and gathered closer to the pool, its edge being taken into her grip.

behind sherrie, she heard a familiar voice come over the walkie talkie. "hurry."

✽