Until I Found You-Stranger Things AU Book One

Chapter Eight

The party waited, still sitting on the bleachers. El's head now on Mike's shoulder. Mike abruptly got up and left the gym. A few moments later, he came back. "They're gone", he said. "What?" Rosie said.

"Nancy, Margo, Mandi and Jonathan. His car's gone"

"Maybe Mandi and Jonathan are sucking face somewhere"

"Margo and Nancy?"

"Maybe they're sucking face, too"

"Gross", Lucas commented. "No. No way!" Mike exclaimed. "Did they go with the chief?" Dustin asked.

"I don't know"

"No", Eleven said.

"What? Did you see them? Do you know where they went?"

"Yes"

"Where? Where did they go?"

"Demogorgon"

Jonathan drove the three teenagers back to his house. They opened the trunk and took out their supplies. They set them down on the living room floor. They started fixing the Christmas lights that were still strewn around the house. Jonathan nailed the trap to the floor. The three women filled some guns with bullets as Jonathan hammered some nails into a baseball bat. Margo shook gasoline around the house. Mandi had her foot on the trap as Jonathan pried it open. They sat back and sighed as they finished all of their preparations. Now they just had to wait.

"Remember...", Jonathan said. "Straight into Will's room. And–", Mandi said. "Don't step on the trap", Margo interrupted. "Wait for the yo-yo to move", Nancy said. "Then...", Jonathan said, holding up his lighter. "Alright. You ready?" The three nodded. "Ready", Nancy said. They pulled out their knives. "On three", Jonathan said as they placed the knives on their palms. "One...two... You don't have to do this–". "Jonathan, stop talking", Nancy said.

"I'm just saying, you don't have to–"

"Three"

They cut their palms, drawing blood.

"Guys, guys! This is crazy", Mike said. "We can't just wait around". "Mike, in case you forgot, we're still fugitives", Lucas replied. "The bad men are still looking for us". "Yeah, and we don't even know where your sister is," Dustin added. "El can find them", Mike said. "Mike, look at her", Rosie said, drawing their attention to El who sat on the bleachers, hugging her knees. "I still think we should stick to the chief's plan". "Exactly. We stay here, keep El out of sight and keep her safe", Lucas said. "That's the most important thing, remember? Besides, she's okay. She's with Jonathan, Margo and Mandi". "Yeah, and she's kind of a badass now, so...", Dustin said before walking off. "Well, where are you going? You just said stick to the plan!" Mike said.

"I am. I'm just gonna go get some chocolate pudding. I'm telling you, Lunch Lady Phyllis hoards that shit"

"Are you serious?"

"El needs to be recharged!"

Lucas and Rosie followed him.

The teengaers' hands were now bandaged as they waited in silence for something, anything to happen. There was a faint creaking sound. "Did you hear that?" Mandi asked them. "It's just the wind", Jonathan replied.

"Don't worry. My mom, she said the lights speak when it comes"

"Speak?"

"Blink. Think of them as alarms"

She finished bandaging his arm. "Is that too tight?" she asked him. "No, it's fine", he stuttered. "Thanks". She finished bandaging it but her hand stayed there. His fingers reached for hers as she stared at their hands. "Mandi?" he said, making her look up at him. "Yeah?" she said. Before they could say anything else, they heard banging at the door and they all jumped in fright. "Jonathan?" they heard Steve's voice calling from the other side of the door. "Are you there, man? It's...it's Steve! Listen, I just want to talk!" He continued to bang on the door. Margo rolled her eyes before getting up and opening the door. "Steve, listen to me", she began. "Hey. Margo, what–", he said.