𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙥! 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙤𝙣

SCENE FOUR. the unsuccessful crawl

in editing.

steve and piper are sat in the swqk van, its nearly time and dustin is still yet to be seen. he wasn't responded to the radio calls, and ms henderson confirmed he wasn't at home and hadn't returned home. nobody even knew where he could have been. he could be anywhere in between these gates of the military.

"hey dusty. its piper, please wnser us. everyone's starting to get really worried about you. just give us a sign." she spoke into the radio. hoping the curly haired boy would finally return a call. but there was still no answer from him. and the worry bubbles more inside her stomach. somethings was really off today, a feeling in the air with this crawl. something wasn't right. she takes her inner cheek between her back teeth. biting down hard on the skin inside her mouth when his hand reaches out. running a calm motion with his thumb near hers. when the radio sign raises, but its still not dustin. it's crawl time.

"harrington, you getting any signal? tag is active." they had been talking about the route the military van might take when robins voice speaks on the radio phone.

"yeah, just give me a second." he takes the pen between his teeth as he climbs over her seat. he attempts to spin the wheel for the signal but it doesn't budge.

"hey, anyone know how henderson's wheelie thing works?" he questions. the sound of talking on the other sound plays as he looks up at piper. she's staring down at the map with a furrowed brow. she cant understand why g1, it was a dead zone last time. so it would most likely still be a dead zone. she hears them mumbling about a safety lock as her finger traces the road map.

"okay signal is monitoring a 90db but how am i supposed supposed to monitor this thing and drive without henderson. piper's on map watch. i need henderson too." steve replies, and the sound of more conversation comes through the radio before it cuts out. byers had joined the van squad. and soon after the back door of the van opens. jonathan slids into the back, shutting the door as he sits on the cushioned area where the signal dp machine was.

"you comfortable back there byers?" stevd questions as he puts on the headset. he looks up at the two at the front. piper's looking back at him. her now slightly blonde hair falling over her back, pretty sparkly eyes and faded red lip gloss. and for a moment he felt his heart skip a beat, she really was beautiful. and he swallowed hard as he watches as steve's hand brushes against her face, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. a sweet smile on her face as she leans to press a kiss to his cheek before steve's eyes dart forward as he powers up the van. heading towards the military centre, mike and lucas close behind on their bikes. following them down the streets as hopper disappears into the underground tunnels. they park up nearby, close enough to get a signal but far enough not to be spotted. the shadows of two boys up in the bell tower visible from their position.

"squawk to crows nest, anything? over" joyce speaks on the radio.

"negative, not a peep... we got action. four trucks, outer east gate on main..." mike replied from the tower.

"burn commencing in five... four... three... two... and boom!" her band reaches for steves, clasping tightly. the anxiety already eating her inside out. she needed this to be the one. the crawl that was right. the crawl that finds him. the all clear is heard and hopper moves in. steve loosening his grip on piper ready to take the wheel.

"he's flipped." mike stats and the silence settles in. nothing comes from the signal. not even a slight buzz of static. and so jonathan behind to turn it slightly. the quietest of a buzz coming through his headphones.

"squawk to flying eagles, any signal? over." joyce speaks. piper reaching for it after throwing a look over her shoulder to jonathan. a thumbs up as the machines number sparks from 0db to live.

"a slight one. over." piper replies quickly. a hum of reply coming just as quickly.

"shall we begin?" steve asks as he takes a quick bite out of one of piper's breakfast bars.

"hold.," jonathan replies. multiple times over ad the numbers shoot up on the scale. til it reaches the 80db. he pulls the signal slightly. and shouts for them to go.

"eagles moving. over." piper speaks through the radio before throwing it back into her lap as she pulls out the map. ready to follow along the streets for easy navigating to steve. and the van follows quickly behind when the signal is started to drop. jonathan shouting to stop. the van moving to a stop she nearly flies out the seat. thank god for seatbelts.

"somethings not right." piper cries when a roaring and grumbling noise sounds through the radio, followed by rounds of gunfire. and everything starts to flicker. the radio sparks as the lights in the van go haywire. and the soliders begin to scream out in their final moments. a sharp tear growing in her eye. and the signal for the radio phones goes static, as hoppers tracker goes silent. the sounds of silence runs through the van. nobody moves. nobody knows what to do next.