Will to Survive

Figuring it Out

Later in the day, Hopper parked his van in a parking lot in front of a bar. He exited his car and walked into the building and looked around. Once he saw the table with someone there, he went over to it and sat down across from Dr Sam Owens. The doctor used to be their enemy back when they were rescuing the other experiments. Ever since El and Mike closed the gate, the police chief managed to get the doctor on their side and be able to give the experiments normal lives.

"Hey there Chief. What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Dr Owens asked while eating a sandwich.

Hopper sighed and put his head into his hand. "You remember El, right?" He asked in a low voice. The doctor nodded before he continued, "Her friends met this girl in the field the other day named Evelyn, but El noticed a 015 tattoo on her arm. Then earlier today, she saw her again in the movie theater and overheard her talking to someone over the supercom. They apparently have some kind of plan since El and Mike closed the gate."

Owens looked surprised at what the police chief told him. "That's not possible. In Brenner's project, he never had a 015 in any of the files. It was only 001 through 012. I can show you all the files to prove I'm not lying," he explained.

"I believe you Doc. After everything you've done for me and everyone else, I trust you," Hopper told him in reassurance. "But do you think you could check out the lab? You should have plenty of clearance to get in there. You were a head doctor after all," he asked him.

The doctor nodded at him. "I can't guarantee I can get in, but I will try my best. I will let you know anything that may come up," he assured him. 

The two then finished their food before Hopper got up from the table and left. He went into his van and sat in the driver's seat. Lighting up a cigarette, the chief sighed and pondered on everything. He really hoped that this was just paranoia and that nothing bad was going to happen like it did the last time with Will. He had promised everyone a normal life with nothing bad ever happening again. But now that there were more experiments that weren't even in any files, Hopper knew that something bad was going to happen.

The chief needed to find this Evelyn girl and question her. She was definitely somewhere, but where was the question. He would do anything to make sure that nothing bad ever happened to the ones he loved ever again. Especially the kids. They were too young to experience the horrors that they have seen. The kids were definitely strong, because they were still living out their lives and they always wanted to help out. But they were young and if one of them died, then Hopper would never be able to forgive himself.

He couldn't save Sara, so he needed to make sure that these kids would be okay.

...

At the Scoops Ahoy shop, Steve and Robin were closing up the shop. Cat was in there as well, finishing up the ice cream she had ordered. Steve was trying to get her to hurry up so he could leave, but she took her sweet time to annoy him. She loved to annoy her friends like that, and it was clearly working because he wanted to go home.

"CAT IM BEGGING YOU PLEASE HURRY UP!" Steve shouted, clearly annoyed. Robin tried to hold back a laugh while Cat just smirked and ate even slower. That was it, so Steve took the ice cream and threw it in the trash. "There. You're done. Can I leave now?!" He said, throwing his hands up in the air and running out of the store.

"Geez, he has a giant ass stick up his asshole, doesn't he?" Cat said, snorting a little at how he was acting.

Robin chucked as she cleaned up some tables. "He hates this job, as well as I. But it does pay well so that's why we haven't quit yet," she explained. "Plus, after hours mean free ice cream. For me at least. Steve never gets the free ice cream because he's always in a rush to get out."

Cat's eyes widened. "You mean, you fucking eat the ice cream that you're supposed to give to the customers?" She asked. Robin nodded as she got a scooped out and started giving herself some ice cream. "I want some!" Cat exclaimed, standing up. Robin scooped up some ice cream for her and gave it to her. The two girls ate their ice cream in peace, laughing to themselves. 

Suddenly, there was a noise from outside the shop. The girls jumped and looked out the windows. There were some moving shadows in the distance, which then made out to be two silhouettes walking by. Robin was confused because the mall had to be closed by now, and the figures were walking away from the exit, not towards. She put down her ice cream and exited the store, Cat following behind her.

The two girls followed the figures, making sure to not make a noise. They didn't want to startle them, just in case they were there for trouble. When they entered the main area by the fountain, the figures stopped and looked around the fountain. Robin and Cat watched as they put a device on it. They were confused as to what they were doing, but their questions were answered when they started talking.

"Not only will it be in the lab, but it will be all over Hawkins. The mall here is public, so many people will witness what we will bring them," a female voice whispered.

The other figure put the device down in the fountain before saying, "We just gotta put more of these bad boys around the town," the person said, revealing himself to be a male. "No one will be able to destroy them if someone finds it. I made sure that they were indestructible."

"Good. Now let's go before any mall cops find us," the female said before they started walking back in the direction they came from. Robin and Cat quickly hid themselves behind some trash cans. The two people didn't notice them as they walked back towards the exit. 

Robin was confused by the intruders, but Cat was highly suspicious. The two walked over to the fountain, but didn't see the device. The male must've actually placed it inside the fountain. 

Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't good.