••••• "Don't don't you want me? / You know I can't believe it when you say that you don't need me" •••••
"This might be the stupidest thing I've ever gotten myself involved in, but I'm in."
In which Steve Harrington and Kimberly Henderson go from be...
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"Robin, stay here," Nancy ordered, marching up the stairs and through the radio station. Kim, El, and Robin followed close behind the Wheeler girl for instructions. "Contact Hopper, the boys, tell everyone what's going on."
"Right, right," Robin nodded.
"Think you can get the power back on?" Nancy asked.
"I can try," Robin said hopefully.
"When you do, you call my house and tell everyone to get the hell out."
Kim pulled the hood of El's sweatshirt over the younger girls head as they exited the Squawk. "Keep your head down and get low in the backseat," she reminded her as they walked outside and towards Nancy's car.
•••••
When the trio arrived at the Wheeler house, they were already too late. El with her powers and Kim with her .44 magnum revolver had jumped out of the still moving car. Nancy had barely parked before she had her hands on her shot gun and was flinging the car door open. The girls slammed their way inside. The Wheelers front door hadn't even been locked. Not that a locked door would have stopped a Demogorgon, but the trusting sentiment made Kim's chest tighten.
They stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of Karen Wheeler.
The mother, still in her nightgown, was lying in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor, her chest torn to shreds. There was a trail of blood on the floor. The phone -- which was also coated in a thick layer of blood -- dangling off the wall as if Karen had tried to crawl away and call for help.
No sign of Holly.
Kim saw the woman's chest hitch. "She's still breathing!" she exclaimed. "Nance, she's still breathing!"
The trio dove to the kitchen floor, surrounding Karen.
"Mom," Nancy panted frantically. She ripped off her denim jacket, placing it as gently as she could while still applying pressure to her mother's wounds. El and Kim followed suit, El taking off her hoodie and Kim taking off her pinstriped blazer. "Don't try to talk, okay?" Nancy told her mom. "Just stay calm, okay? You're gonna be fine. It's gonna be fine, okay?"
"Holly," Mrs. Wheeler croaked out.
Nancy turned to El with frantic eyes, finally noticing the closing gate behind them. She could just barely hear her little sister's screams echoing through the portal. "Go! Go, go, go, go!" Nancy instructed.
As El confidently marched through the gate, Kim got up, about to follow her. But as she looked around the carnage in the Wheeler's kitchen, she knew she couldn't leave her best friend here to deal with this alone. El could handle herself.
Kim picked up the Wheeler's phone, blood smearing against her hands and cheek as she dialed 911 with shaking fingers. After giving the operator as much information as she could -- leaving out all mentions of a supernatural monster. Kim turned back to Nancy. Her best friend looked completely devastated, her light pink cable knit covered in her mother's blood, her face damp with sweat and tears. Kim blinked away her own tears, snapping back to action mode. "Nance, you just take care of your mom, okay? Keep her awake. I'll take care of everything else."
