Will to Survive

Back in the Lab

Keelan, Delilah, and Will returned to the room that the rest of the party was. Joining them was Evelyn and Grayson, who both had changes of heart. The party stood up in relief when they heard them entering. But when they saw the two clones enter, their eyes widened and looked over at the three other party members with glares.

"What the hell are they doing here?!" Lucas yelled. "They tried to kill us and they started this mess!"

"You three have a lot of explaining to do," Max said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Alright, then we'll explain." Will replied. "They want to help us because they were manipulated by Quinn to do her dirty work. They're going to help us get into space."

"And before you ask, they are telling the truth," Delilah added. "I read their minds and I can tell they are being genuine. I wouldn't have let them if I didn't sense honesty coming from them."

The party exchanged worried looks with one another. They let the five of them in, including the clones, and they sat back down. "So it's official? We're going to space?" Steve asked. "There's nothing that can stop this?"

"There is a way to stop it," Keelan explained. "Shawn and Ezra we're creating a cure in case one of them got infected by the rats. If we are able to perfect it, we can cure everyone that turned into monsters and stop the spreading. Then maybe Mike and El can close the gate afterwards."

"Where is this cure then?" Robin asked.

"Hawkins Lab. That's what Ezra's mind said when I read it," Delilah said. "We need to send a team there to get it."

"I'll go," El volunteered, standing up. "I know the layout of the lab, so I have to be one of the ones to go."

"In that case, I'm going too," Mike said, standing up next to his girlfriend.

"You sure, guys?" Nancy asked. "Does anyone else want to go and accompany them?! Because if not, I'm going too."

Mike shook his head at his sister. "No Nancy, we're going. It has to be El and I to go. El was considered the strongest in the lab and I share her powers. Together, we can fight off any monsters. All you guys need to stay here and make sure the military isn't shifting us. Also to distract Hopper from looking for us. We'll get the cure and bring it to you guys in no time."

"Mike's right," El added, nodding in agreement. "He and I will go to the lab and you guys stay here and manage things. Keep your supercoms with you so we can contact you."

The party exchanged worried looks, but ending up agreeing with them. Dustin set his headpiece to the channel they would communicate, just in case they needed it. Nancy hugged her brother tight, hoping for his safe return with his girlfriend. Then Mike and El joined Lucas, Dustin, Max, and Will in a group hug. Mike and El then took each other's hands and walked out of the room, snuck out of the base, and into Hawkins.

What the couple saw left them in shock.

A dark sky covered Hawkins as particles were floating in the air. Vines were covering the buildings and streets in front of them. The entire town had evacuated to the military base, making it look like a ghost town. Hawkins, their home, was gone, but it could be saved in time as long as the cure could still be found.

Mike and El ran as fast as they could, hand in hand, to the lab. They made it to Mirkwood and saw the lab at the other side of the fence. El lifted up Mike to go to the other side and Mike did the same to her when he landed. Wiping the blood from their noses, they ran to the entrance of the lab.

The two kids took deep breaths before entering the abandoned lab. The building on the inside was also covered in vines, which only terrified them more. El and Mike then took off running as fast as they could to find where the clones were hanging out inside. They went inside the elevator and went down, shaking in anticipation for the doors to open. Once they opened, the couple sprinted out and ran down the halls.

Finally, they reached an area of the lab that looked like someone had been there recently. It was the same area they had gone to close the gate a few months prior. The clones had taken up the same spot for their plans.

The kids looked around a bit before Mike spotted something. He picked up a book and opened it. "El, look at this!" He called out. El came over to see what he was looking at before he continued. "It's their log of experiments. I guess this is how they came up with the correct formulas to create the rat toxin."

"That means there's something in there about the cure," El concluded. "You look in there while I check their stuff," she ordered before waking off to investigate.

Mike flipped through the pages and skimmed it over before finding what he was looking for. "Found it!" He shouted. "It's a small tube of a yellow liquid. See anything like that, El?"

El looked at all the tubes before she spotted it. She held it up to him. "Got it!" She called out. "What does it say about its effects?"

"It says that it can cure any rat toxin that will turn these people into monsters," Mike read out loud. "There is only one sample of it and it would take a while to create more. We have to use it wisely, or else there will be no cure."

El walked over and looked at what Mike was reading. "But is there a way to make more? There has to be in order to save the world!" She said, worried.

"I-It doesn't say..." Mike said, worried. "It does have the formulas to create the cure, so we have to take this with us as well. When we go to space, the scientists can create more samples and maybe we'll be able to save the world then?"

El shrugged in response. "Alright. Lets get going," she said. Mike nodded and grabbed the book as they started running.

But they froze as soon as they saw a monster blocking their path.