so close, yet so far // jancy

Chapter 9

Hopper stared at Joyce and Will in absolute incredulity. Joyce had explained everything to Hopper; she forced herself to not break down. But she couldn't hold it in anymore; she felt one tear slowly fall off her cheek, causing more tears to stream down her face. Hopper's eyes softened, and he pulled Joyce close to him.

"Hey, come here."

He pulled her in for a hug, and Will embraced them as well. Joyce continued to cry, but then she pulled herself away from his embrace.

"Thank you for talking with me Hopper. Gosh, I feel like every time that we're together I'm a complete mess."

"Joyce, you've been through some tough shit. Most people wouldn't be able to handle it. You're strong."

Joyce smiled. "Thank you...", she whispered. Hopper glanced at his watch, cursing to himself.

"Damn, I've got to run. I told El I would be home soon. You know what happens if I leave her unattended for too long."

"Eleven! Of course! Why didn't I think of her?"

Hopper looked at her confusedly.

"She can help us! She can help Jonathan! We can trick the mind flayer, and it will let Jonathan out, and before it takes Will in exchange, Eleven can close the gate!"

"As much as I want to help, Joyce, you have to remember you're talking about my daughter. I don't want to put her in danger..."

Suddenly, Will's muscles tightened, and his jaw clenched. He felt his knees buckle, and he fell to the ground. He felt a stabbing pain in his head. Then he saw it. The mind flayer. It was watching over him, but it didn't chase Will this time. Will got up noticing he was again, in Hawkins lab in the upside down. He glanced around, hoping to find Jonathan. But instead, he saw Eleven, attempting to close the gate. She screamed loudly, piercing Will's ears. He continued to watch, and he noticed that Eleven became weaker and weaker. She eventually collapsed, falling to the ground. Will let out a cry, and rushed over to her. She lay on the ground, unmoving. She was dead. Will looked up to see the mind flayer still directly over him, but it simply watched.

Will cried out, realizing there was no way out of it. Eleven couldn't help them; she wasn't strong enough. She may have closed it once before, but the mind flayer had opened it again, and this time it was far stronger to close. Will felt hopeless. He glared at the mind flayer; he wanted to kill it. He stood up, screaming at it. The mind flayer got closer to him, threatening him. Will continued shouting and screaming at it.

His eyes snapped open. Joyce shook him violently.

"Will! Will! Wake up, please!"

"Mom..."

When she realized he was awake, she attacked him in a tight hug. Hopper was standing above them, breathing heavily.

Will let go of his mom, and looked around. He was sitting in the woods next to Hopper's cabin.

"Mom? How'd I get here?"

"You ran here. We chased you for about a mile. You ran so fast."

"What...? What else was I doing?"

Hopper sighed. "You were shouting, 'Eleven, no!' You said it about 7 times." He sat down on the ground next to him. "What did you see? About Eleven?"

Will decided to not lie; they needed to know the honest truth. "She died trying to close the gate. She can't do it. She's not strong enough. She would die from the force of it."

Hopper stiffened, not saying anything. Joyce sat there, feeling hopeless.

"But she closed it once before, right Will? Are you sure she can't do it again?"

Hopper spun around, furious. "Joyce! It is too dangerous! Will literally just said that if El tries to close it, she will die. I can't take that risk!"

Joyce felt guilty and miserable, but she persisted. "What if the mind flayer was just putting that image in your head to make you believe that Eleven can't help, but what if she actually can?"

Will blinked a few times. "Mom, it was real. If Eleven attempts to close the gate, she will die. The mind flayer was showing me that there is no other way out of this."

She broke down in tears once more. Hopper sighed and rubbed her back. All three of them stayed like that for awhile, before Eleven opened the door.

"Hopper?", she croaked.

He jumped up, and wrapped her in a hug. She instantly pulled away.

"You said you would be home earlier, but you not!"

"I know... I'm sorry."

"Friends don't lie!", she shouted. She ran inside, and slammed the door behind her. Hopper rubbed his forehead.

"Look, I've got to go. We will all go together in the morning and talk to Nancy, okay? Maybe she saw something that can help us. But for now, we all need sleep."

"But, Hopper...", Joyce protested. "My son is in there. I've got to him out."

"I know, but Will said he's okay for right now, right? We need sleep to think and function, so that we can think of a way to get Jonathan back home. Joyce, please, go home and rest. Jonathan's strong. Just like his mother."

Joyce sighed. "Fine. I'll go home. Goodnight, Hopper. Thanks for everything."

He smiled, then turned to go inside to deal with Eleven. Joyce grabbed Will's hand, pulling him up. They walked back to their car; a silence among them.