Don't Panic - B. Hargrove

TWENTY-ONE

"Will, baby." Joyce placed a hand on her youngest son's thigh.
"If you're in there, just please... please talk to us. Please, honey, please, can you do that for me? For us?"
Will's breath started to shake as well, and it was as if he was crying without any tears. But then his face froze.
" Let me go," he demanded once again. Joyce sighed, and Jonathan let out a soft noise of frustration.
So close. And yet so far. The monster still had the upper hand. At least on the surface. That was when David noticed how his brother's fingers tapped against the leg of his chair in a very familiar pattern.
Hopper did as well, and their eyes met. Together they rushed outside and back into the house to get a piece of paper, Hopper writing down the rhythm David was copying on the tabletop.
"We think he's talking. Just not with words." Hopper told the others, who gathered again.
"What is that?" Steve asked.
"Morse code," David answered as he watched Hopper translate the stops and lines into letters.
"H-E-R-E," he read along.
"Will's still in there. He's talking to us."
They took terms telling memories to Will while his favorite song blared in the background, and David noted the code Hopper was sending him via radio.
He felt way better translating back at the house than watching his brother in that state, and he wasn't a good storyteller anyway. But he was a master of Morse, and every letter was identified within seconds. C-L-O-S-E-G-A-T-E.
"Close gate." David, Nancy, Steve, and the kids, minus Mike, read out aloud. And suddenly the phone rang.
"Shit!" someone called out as Dustin ran to make it stop.
It rang again, and Nacy pulled the whole phone out of the wall, smacking it on the ground. That dumb thing was risking their entire operation. The sound was too specific, and something told David that Will had already identified what it belonged to. He would have.
"You think he heard that?" Max asked in a panic.
"It's just a phone. It could be anywhere, right?" Steve pointed out. "No." David shook his head.
"We chose that ringtone because it was the least annoying and the only one that didn't cause me a headache. That is our phone. Will knows that by heart."
They all stared at him. And it took only a few minutes, and their worst nightmare became a reality. A roar in the distance. They were coming.
" That's not good. "Dustin voiced all their thoughts, and David immediately darted for his gun.
As Hopper arrived, he handed Nancy another one. Three guns, a baseball bat, and random makeshift weapons. They had done worse before, but still, they weren't prepared for what was about to come.
None of them. The three shooters stood in front of each other's, fingers at the trigger and searching for a target.
"Where are they?" Max asked, holding onto Lukas, who had his slingshot ready to fire.
None of them dared to answer as they listened to the monsters' growls circling the house. It was the silence before the storm, the ominous peace before hell broke loose. David's breath hitched. He wasn't made for this kind of stuff. He wasn't brave; he wasn't adventurous.
He was just the shy boy his father had taught to shoot at age six to man his son up. If this was what made out a man, David didn't want to be one.
For his taste, he could remain a boy until the end of his days, which, ironically, might be today. They adjusted the muzzles to where the trundling and growls were coming from, turning back and forth with very noise.
It was crucial to know from where they would attack. And then, the screeching stopped abruptly. David could hear Hopper take a deep breath next to him.
Then a Demo-dog smashed through the window, startling all of them. "Holy shit," Dustin said.
"Is it dead?" Max asked.
Hopper carefully neared the creature, nudging it with his foot.
It didn't move. But why was it dead? What had killed it? The door creaked, and they all jumped around, watching as it unlocked itself. The guns were already pointing at it as the door chain snapped off. Then it swung open. David put down his flint as soon as he recognized her. Eleven. She was still alive. And she looked fierce. Of course, Mike was the first to run toward her. They embrace each other in a good hug.
"Is that.." Max asked around, and everyone nodded.
"I never gave up on you." Mike declared.
"I called you every night. Every night for..."
"353 days." Eleven finished his sentence.
"I heard.".
"Why didn't you tell me you were there? That you were okay?"
"Because I didn't let her," Hopper spoke up.
"The hell is this? Where have you been?" he directed at her. "Where have you been?" she responded snarkily, and he hugged her.
"You've been hiding her! You've been hiding her the whole time!" Mike angrily pushed the man.
"Let's talk. Alone." with that, Hopper pulled the boy with him into another room, allowing everyone else to finally greet El as well.
Even Max tries to introduce herself, but Eleven just strutted by to sling her arms around David.
"I know. Don't like hugs." she smiled at him after she let go.
"It's okay. I'm glad you're alright, funny girl." David waved it off with a smile.
Then he held up a hand, and Eleven mimicked the action with her own, their palms almost touching.
"The same," they said in unison, one of the first words they had shared as they met for the first time.
Then it was Joyce's turn to greet the girl she owed so much to.
"Can I see him?" Eleven asked, and Joyce nodded.
Together, they went off to Will's room. As they returned, Eleven directly darted for his massage on the table. Close gate.
"You opened a gate before." David pointed out, sitting next to the paper. El nodded.
"Do you think we got you back there, that you could close it?" Joyce asked. Eleven looked at her, then at David. "Yes."

Meanwhile, unaware of what was going on, Billy Hargrove was ringing the doorbell of the Wheeler household. He was still looking for Maxine, and he was utterly annoyed as Mrs. Wheeler opened the door.
She was a beautiful woman, still very fit for having birthed three children. She stared at him, flustered. He was still wearing his favorite shirt, and half his chest was on display. He hadn't bothered to change, and Karen Wheeler liked what she saw.
"Oh, hi." he couldn't help but grin at her.
"Hi," she breathed out, making sure her robes were coverings her up as well as possible.
"I'm Billy. Billy Hargrove." he introduced himself smoothly, gently shaking her hand.
"And you must be here for Nancy." Mrs. Weeler assumed.
"Nancy? No, no, no. Not my type." he shook his head with a smile.
"No, actually, I'm looking for my little sister Max. Goes by Maxine. She's been missing all day and, uh, to be honest with you, I've been worried sick, you know... so."
He had always been good at charming women, especially older ones. Mrs. Wheeler wanted to help as soon as the words had left his mouth.
" Oh. "she shared her empathy, glued to his lips.
" I thought she was at Lucas', but Mrs. Sinclair said your house is the... designated hangout, so, you know. " He liked his lips lazily leaning against the doorframe.
" Here I am. "
Oh, how he had twirled Mrs. Wheeler around his fingers. She quickly let ion in and write down where to find Byers house.
Not that he didn't know that already, but he liked the attention; it was going down like honey. And, of course, the place he'd avoided all night in his search was the one he should have looked at first.
But Byers's house didn't only hold the possibility of Maxine hanging with the boys... it was also most likely David was home as well. And he didn't know if he could deal with looking at him. But it looked like he had no choice because Mrs. Wheeler insisted that it was the only address left the kids would gather. So he was more than pissed as he entered his car again, turning on the radio aggressively.
Even the engine sounded angry as it roared threw the night, mixing in with the heavy drums and fast guitar riffs.
"Fuck you, Byers." he snarled. He was a big boy; he didn't need to be afraid of seeing another boy, regardless of his feelings.
The doubts were getting ridiculous. Billy Hargrove wasn't gay. End of discussion. And as a straight man, David Byers couldn't do anything to him. He would go in there, take Max and leave.
Then his father would be happy, and he didn't have to deal with that anymore. It was a simple task. In and out.
And if David Byers were crossing his path, he would smirk and greet. Nothing more, nothing less. A piece of cake.