𝐒𝐎 𝐕𝐀𝐈𝐍 || 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐕𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐎𝐍

010. gone

010. GONE

"there's this appeal that we've kept through our lives"
-love will tear us apart, joy division

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ Hopper had proposed the idea of going to the middle school, they could get everything they needed there: the salt the staff uses when it snows, a basically unlimited supply of water, and a big open space for the kiddie pool.

Once they arrived at the school, it was even darker outside, Kat could hear crickets chirping from the bushes as she carried the rolled up pool into the gymnasium.

Everyone found their own groups: Nancy and Mike went to find hoses to fill up the pool, Hopper and Jonathan found salt, and Kat, Dustin, and Lucas were to set up the pool.

Kat had underestimated the talent it took to set up that pool. It took Dustin months to roll it to the center, then it took way too long for the three to figure it out.

"Dustin, you've got it upside down," Kat said, showing him the right way with her hands. They managed to flip it over, but then the sides started to fall inward.

"Son of a bitch!" Dustin shouted, trying to hold up each side.

Kat snapped her fingers as if he were a dog. "Hey, language, kid."

"Pull it back, pull it back."

"I am!"

"How does this even work?"

Finally, by the grace of God, they managed to get the kiddie pool to stand.

Nancy brought in the hoses, fitting one to each tap, cold and hot. As the water was filling up, Lucas was using a thermometer to check the temperature, periodically shouting directions.

Then Hopper and Jonathan started to empty the bags of salt into the pool.

To check to see if there was enough salt, Dustin set an egg on the surface of the water and if it floated, then it was ready. However the first time he checked it, it sunk straight to the bottom. A few more bags of salt later, the egg floated.

They were all set.

Eleven and Mrs. Byers came into the gym, both looking nervous. Eleven was holding science lab goggles that were blacked out with duct tape, then when she was ready, she stepped into the pool as everyone gathered around.

Kat sat down next to Nancy, slightly jumping when the electricity surged and the lights flickered off.

It was only a matter of minutes when Eleven whispered out, "Barbara?"

Kat bit her lip, her stomach dropped and she felt Nancy hold onto her hand.

Eleven started to breathe faster, then the lights flickered again, still leaving everyone in the dark.

Nancy looked up. "What's going on?"

Kat moved in closer to the pool. "Is Barb okay? Is she okay?" she asked, feeling the tears start to line her eyes.

There was no yes or no, Eleven just started to repeat the word 'gone' over and over. It hammered into Kat's head.

Gone.

Barb was gone.

Kat covered her mouth with her hand, feeling the tears start to fall down her cheeks. Nancy latched around Kat's shoulders, burying her face into Kat's shoulder.

"Castle Byers."

Kat didn't know what that was, but Mrs. Byers immediately looked to Jonathan, so it must've been important.

A few seconds later, Eleven croaked out, "Will?"

"You tell him...tell him I'm coming," Mrs. Byers said, stumbling over her words. "Mom is coming."

Over the walkie talkie, everyone heard Will's voice. "Hurry." It was unmistakably him.

"Okay. Listen, you tell him to...to stay where he is. We're coming. We're coming, okay? We're coming, honey," Mrs. Byers stuttered, holding onto Elevens shoulders.

There was scared whimpering over the radio, then Eleven bursted up out of the water, immediately latching onto Mrs. Byers' arm as she cried.

—

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ Kat sat in the hallway outside of the gym with her knees pulled to her chest. She cried as she thought about Barb, how scared she must've been. Kat couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt in her stomach.

If she hadn't left when she did, if Barb had gone home with her, then this wouldn't be happening. Everything would be fine and Barb would be home.

Nancy sat down next to Kat, hesitating for a moment before she asked, "Are you...okay?"

Kat wiped her cheeks. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine."

The girls sat in silence until Jonathan walked back inside and sat down next to them.

It took a few moments until someone said something. "We need to go back to the station," Nancy said.

Jonathan looked incredulous. "What?"

"Your mom and Hopper are just walking in there like bait. That thing is still in there." She started to cry, but tried to hide it. "And we can't just sit here and let it get them, too. We can't."

"You still wanna try it?" Kat asked, referring to the plan they thought of that morning.

"I wanna finish what we started. I want to kill it."

—

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ Kat had never thought that she would break into a police station, but here she is, breaking into a police station with Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers.

They snuck past the two cops playing cards at their desks and went straight to Hoppers office.

Jonathan grabbed the cardboard box with all of their weapons, and Nancy took the fire extinguisher off the wall as Kat kept watch.

They successfully managed to steal back their things and make it back to Jonathan's car, ready to kill that thing.

Kat had lots of doubts. She mostly had doubts, but whenever she was unsure about what she was doing, four words replayed in her mind, 'do it for Barb.'

Kill that monster the way it got Barb.

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗
short chapter only bc 10 chapters sounds too short for one season sooooo yeah

7/18/24