Strange Things Are Happening. (Jonathan Byers x OC) Wattys 2017

20.

The two teens rushed through the house to the front door just in time for the four kids to climb out of the car and Nancy pushed past Samantha to get to Mike.

"Mike? Oh my god, Mike!" She hugged him close, "I was so worried about you!"

"Uh...yeah. Yeah, me too." He said quietly, looking over his shoulder at his friends to give them a confused look.

"Inside," the chief instructed, "Now."

One by one, they trickled into the house, finding seats wherever they could, the kids and Samantha on the floor, Joyce, Jonathan and Nancy on the sofa.

Samantha was sat next to Eleven, giving her what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

"You say you know where Will is," Joyce said quietly, looking at the little girl.

"It's called the Upside Down." Mike answered and seeing everyone's confused expressions, he sighed and drew something on a piece of paper, "Okay, so, in this example, we're the acrobat. Will, Barbara and that monster, they're this flea. And this is the Upside Down, where Will is hiding. Mr Clarke said that the only way to get there is through a rip in space and time."

"A gate," Lucas piped up, "That we tracked to Hawkins lab."

"With our compasses," Dustin said, letting out a sigh when no one caught on, "Okay, so the gate has a really strong electromagnetic field that can change the direction of a compass needle." 

"Is this gate underground?" Hopper asked, making everyone look at him.

"Yes." Eleven answered.

"Near a large water tank?"

"Yes."

"How did you...?" Samantha started to ask but Mike butt in.

"He's seen it."

"Okay," Joyce said, waving her hand. They had gotten off topic and she wanted to get back to the most important thing; getting Will and Barbara out of there, "Is there any way that you can reach Will in this.."

"Upside Down." Eleven finished and she nodded, "Yes."

"And our friend Barbara. Can you find her too?" Nancy asked.

"Yes."

They all crowded around the dining table, eleven sitting at the head of it while mike set up the radio so she could try and channel Will.

There was a tense silence as they all listened to the crackling of the device, Samantha holding onto both Nancy and Jonathan's hands until the radio suddenly went silent.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered, making everyone look at her again.

"What? What...what happened? What's wrong?" Joyce asked.

"I can't...I can't find them."

Jonathan let go of Samantha's hand and moved away from the group, leaning against the wall as he put his head in his hands.

"Hey," he looked up at the sound of Samantha's voice, "Are you okay?"

"We're not going to find him." he said immediately, "If she can't find them, how the hell are we supposed to?"

"Jonathan," she whispered, taking hold of his hands, "Give her a chance. She's surrounded by a whole bunch of people she doesn't know. She's terrified. You just gotta give her a chance. We'll find them. We will."

He sighed and rest his forehead against hers, taking a shuddering breath as he tried to control his emotions. She was right. All he had to do, was give it some time. But how much time could they give her? They didn't know how long they had in there.