you are not alone → stranger things

xix. dangerous

Wednesday afternoon
Mike's POV

I literally jumped off my bike as soon as I got to my driveway, ignoring the loud crash when it hit the ground. "Hi Mom I'm going to Will's house for the rest of the day and Eleven has to come with me okay bye!"

"What?" she called back from the kitchen, sounding slightly alarmed.

El looked at me wide-eyed from the sofa when I sprinted down the stairs of the basement. "You have... to... come with... me," I panted, bending over to try and regain my breath.

"Where?" She stood.

"To Will's house. He's missing."

I heard her inhale sharply. "Again?"

"Yeah. Remember Mrs. Byers and Chief Hopper?" When she nodded, I continued, "They need your help. They think he's in the Upside Down again."

She nodded determinedly. "Bath?"

I shrugged. I hadn't thought of that. "We don't have to go if you don't want to," I said softly.

She walked over to me and took my hand. "I will."

I stood there for a moment, drinking her in. She smiled slightly, and it was so quiet I could hear her quiet breathing. I suddenly noticed that it was ragged and uneven. "El?" I asked worriedly.

She blinked. "Mike?"

I squeezed her hand. "Are you okay?"

Silence. "Don't know," she admitted. She pressed her free hand to her ribcage. "Hurts."

I nodded, concerned. "You shouldn't come then. I'll tell them it has to wait."

El shook her head stubbornly. "I have to come. Will is gone."

I hesitated, then gently reached forward and pressed two fingers to her ribcage. She winced, screwing her eyes shut. "El, you can't come like this. What happened?"

Her eyes dropped to her feet. "Fell," she mumbled.

"From what?"

"Tree."

"When you were in the woods?"

"Yes."

I hesitated. "Why were you in the woods, anyways? Were you there the whole time?"

She met my gaze again, and her eyes were frighteningly full of pain and fear. "No. Will... brought me back. From... Upside Down." I opened my mouth to reply, my mind filling with questions, but she said urgently, "Dangerous."

"What is?" I asked, inhaling sharply.

"Will."

***

Mrs. Byers handed El Will's supercomm. "Honey, if... if you can't find him, it's okay. He might not be there-"

"He is," El said suddenly, looking her squarely in the eyes.

Mrs. Byers looked taken aback. She looked at Hopper, who said, "How do you know?"

El looked down and didn't respond. The moment passed.

Dustin frowned. "Are you sure that signal will be strong enough? She might need to use something like the Heathkit."

Lucas rolled his eyes at him. "That thing exploded, remember? There isn't anything else like it in Hawkins. Mr. Clarke had shipped it in from somewhere else."

"Just try," Hopper said, cutting Dustin's reply off.

El furrowed her brow and began twisting the dials. For a while there was nothing but static, and we sat in silence and watched her.

Then a sudden burst of sound. A high-pitched screech like an animal and a human yell. Everyone clapped their hands over their ears.

It was gone as soon as it happened. I lowered my hands from my ears and looked around at everyone. Their expressions all mirrored mine.

"That was him," Jonathan said frantically. He hadn't said much since I had brought El over, but now he ran his hands through his hair anxiously. "That was Will, wasn't it? The yell."

No one answered him verbally, but our expressions were enough.

"And that growling sound...?" Jonathan seemed almost afraid to ask.

El looked up at me gravely, wiping a trickle of blood from her nose. "Monster."

ITS HAPPENING. I FINALLY KNOW WHERE THIS STORY IS GOING. 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼