Will to Survive

Investigation at the Pool

El ran down the stairs from the loft, breathing heavily from what she had just seen, with Kali close behind her. The Mind Flayer had something planned and they had to go back to Hawkins before this plan went into effect. Mike immediately noticed El's distress and ran over to her, grabbing her arms to calm her down.

"What's wrong?" He asked, concerned. 

"The Mind Flayer..." El responded. "He's going to kill everyone if we don't stop him. We need to go back to Hawkins. Now."

Mike nodded and told the others that they had to leave. Everyone grabbed their stuff as quick as they could and left the hideout. Kali turned to her gang as she was grabbing her guns.

"You guys coming with?" She asked them.

Axel shook his head. "Nah. We need to hold down the fort over here. Plus, if we leave now, then the cops might find our hideout and steal our stuff. We need to be here so the loot doesn't get taken," he explained.

Kali shrugged. "Fair enough. I'll be back in a few days at the very least. See you guys," she said, putting her bag over her shoulder. Then she followed the others out of the hideout and they walked back to the bus station.

Taking a seat next to Mike, El gazed out the window, bouncing in her seat. Something bad was going to happen and she could just feel it. She hoped that everyone back home was okay, especially Hopper and Joyce. They were like the parents she never had, so she needed them just as much as she needed her friends. Thinking about the dangers to come made the girl anxious, so she grabbed Mike's hand and squeezed it tight. He squeezed her hand back as a sign of comfort, feeling the same way as she did.

Lucas and Max were across from Mike and El on the bus, cuddled up together and scared as to what will come. Max was worried about these cloned experiments and what they would do to Hawkins and Lucas was worried about the survival of everyone else. The two being close to each other was enough to calm themselves down. 

Keelan and Delilah were sitting in the back of the bus. Delilah was the most scared out of everyone in the group, considering how she was one of the clones. She was assigned to spy on the group, but she couldn't now that she remembered the original 003's past life. Especially the fact that Keelan was alive and that she cared about her. Delilah couldn't kill her or anyone now, but Quinn would probably kill her when they get back to Hawkins.

"Delilah?" Keelan asked, shaking her friend's shoulder. "Are you okay? You seemed zoned out there for a minute."

"Yeah... I'm okay," Delilah responded, "I'm just nervous is all."

Keelan smiled at her and wrapped her arm around her. "It's gonna be okay, alright? I won't let those other clones hurt you. You're allowed to make your own decisions. No one can force you to kill anyone or anything. Understand me? All of us had to make that decision in the lab, and we all chose not to follow in Papa's footsteps. You can do the same," she reassured her.

Delilah smiled back at her and took her hand. "Thank you Kiki. Thank you for understanding me," she said, gratefully.

"No problem."

...

That night, even though the Hawkins Community Pool was closed, three people were sneaking in by climbing over the fence. These people were Jordan, Ryder, and Quinn, who wanted to investigate the pool for any signs of the Upside Down. After what had happened to a girl being dragged under by a vine, there was no doubt that the evil dimension had returned. The boys just needed to be sure.

Quinn, however, had other plans up her sleeves when it came to the two boys. She couldn't wait for the plan to go into action. Hawkins was going to die and she would be the cause of it along with her partners. These boys wouldn't be able to stop it and no one else would be able to either. Not even experiment 011.

Jordan turned on his flashlight and aimed it at the the bottom of the pool. His eyes widened as he saw the sight that laid before him. There were many purple vines growing from the bottom of the water now, not just the one he saw earlier. They were spreading more and growing more to drown more people. Ryder took a look as well and he was shocked at the vines' growth. Sooner or later, the vines could spread out of the pool and into the town.

That is, if they didn't do something.

"I need to get to the bottom of the pool to burn these vines. I can't do it when the water is still there. Is there anyway to get rid of the water?" Ryder asked. 

"I'll check the machines nearby. There should be something since I think they get rid of it when it's winter so it won't freeze. But I'll go check," Jordan said.

Just as he was going to leave, a fist came out of no where and punched Jordan in the face. He fell back the ground, groaning in pain. He looked up to see Billy Hargrove, looking very angry at him.

"What are you doing, Hargrove?! You shouldn't be here!" Ryder yelled, slowly getting his fireballs ready just in case. Quinn stood back and raised an eyebrow at the boy with the mullet, curious as to who he was. So far, she liked him.

Billy leaned down and grabbed Jordan by the collar. "I want you to stay away from my stepsister. I know who you guys are and where you are from. I hate my stepsister, but she is not allowed to hang out with people like you. So stay away from her or else. I will not hesitate to kill you," he threatened with a hiss.

"Says the guy who also wouldn't hesitate to kill Max if he could!" Jordan shot back. "Get the fuck off me, now! You shouldn't be here anyway! It's too dangerous and you have no idea what happens in this shitty town!" He added.

"Then maybe this town should die with you along with it," Billy snarled. 

Jordan stood up and prepared to use his strength to break the mullet wearing asshole's arm. However, the scene started to fade away and he was no longer at the pool. Instead, Jordan was back at the lab. He looked around the familiar setting, scared to see what he would probably see.

"NO! NO! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!" Someone yelled. Jordan looked around and saw a boy being dragged away by two men. The doctors at the lab. His eyes widened when he realized that this young boy was him.

Flashbacks started to pour into Jordan's mind in each passing moment. He saw himself being tested on his strength, being beaten and tortured, being manipulated. The day he broke and started to try and destroy the world. Heather, Damien, and Dylan were there, his only friends in the lab. Jordan started breathing heavily as he saw all the chaos he had caused when he was working for the lab. So much pain and destruction, and it was all coming back to him.

That was when he passed out.

Ryder ran towards his unconscious friend as fast as he could. Before he could reach him, he was thrown on the ground by Quinn. Crying out in pain, he looked up at the girl, who now had an evil smirk on her face. Blood was also trickling down her nose, an all too familiar sight. He glared at her, realizing that Jordan's panic attack was because of her. 

"YOU BITCH! YOU HURT MY FRIEND!" Ryder screamed, trying to stand up. He was being held down by Quinn, which made him unable to stand and punch her. 

"Don't worry, Ryder," Quinn said in a fake tone of voice. "He'll wake up eventually. But you won't be awake to see it."

Ryder suddenly felt dizzy as the pool setting changed to a familiar place. He was at the lab now and looking around. A door was open to another room, calling for him to step inside. He entered the room and saw two kids with shaved heads. It was the testing area he always went to when being experimented on with Keelan. Sure enough, they were the kids in the room.

He saw himself shooting fireballs at Keelan, who was holding up her forcefield. All of a sudden, the field faltered and she was hit by the fireball. Young Ryder cried out and ran over to her to make sure she was okay. But he was dragged away by the doctors before he could even ask if she was alive.

Now Ryder had a panic attack of his own and passed out.

Quinn only smirked in achievement. She had them right where she wanted them.