𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 | 𝐬.𝐡

038. The Mage

MAVIS MONTGOMERY SAT WITH THE PEN AND PAPER IN FRONT OF HER, waiting for Hopper to send more code through the radio. Ready to translate. The group had crowded around her, pulling up chairs.

"So how'd you learn Morse Code?" Steve asked.

"Hopper," she said simply. "The first time I was ever taken into the station I was 10. I had mouthed off to Callahan and I guess I hurt his feelings cause he took me in. Claimed my parents needed to hear what I'd done. Eventually, I ran him off and Hopper had to sit with me while we waited for my uncle. So while we sat there, he taught me Morse Code," she said bringing her knees back up to her chest. She couldn't help but smile while reflecting on the fond memory. She remembers how Hopper tried to make conversation her and how disinterested she was. That was until over his radio, she could hear the phonetic alphabet. This interested her. She distinctly remembers him asking, wanna know something cooler? You can communicate by literally tapping. This wowed her. So until her uncle came, they sat there at his desk, him teaching her morse code.

Steve chuckled, "I remember that day," he said leaning back into his chair.

"Oh yeah! You were there when I mouthed off to Callahan! You're lucky he didn't take you in," she joked.

"You've been arrested?" Max cut in.

"Well arrested is a strong word. I don't really do anything charge worthy, Callahan just has it out for me," Mavis said.

"Cool," Max said nodding her head.

"Hey getting arrested is not cool," Steve said pointing, allowing his point to do a lap between all of the kids before putting it down.

Suddenly, code started coming through the walkie.

Mavis leaned in, writing down each beep. She could feel the group's eyes on her, she was the only one who knew morse code. So the pressure was on.

She could also feel Steve and Nancy, both of them leaning each of her shoulders as she began to copy it.

—.—. .—.. — — — ... . — —. . — — .

She finished copying down the code, leaning back for a moment to figure it out. "What does it say?" Dustin called out.

"Shut up, just let her figure it out," Steve said, "take your time," he whispered to her.

She leaned back in, filling in the letters one at a time, her hand shaking a little.

C
L
O
S
E

"Close? Close what?" Lucas asked. "Just let her finish translating!" Nancy said annoyedly.

G
A
T
E

As mavis leaned back and bit her lip nervously, the rest leaned in, getting a good look at the paper.

"Close gate?" they all said reading it aloud.

"He wants us to close the gate, the one at the lab," she said. Although her words were plain, her body language was not as she was fidgeting with her fingers.

Right as Mavis had finished speaking, the phone began to ring.

Dustin jumped up, a string of shit's flying out of his mouth as he picked up and put it back down to end the call. A few moments later the ringing began again, Nancy had had enough and ripped the phone out of the wall, stopping the ringing once and for all.

"Do you think he heard that?" Max questioned.

"It's just a phone. It could be anywhere. Right?" Steve said.