Chapter Text
^^^
When the cars tore down the drive, Barb knew immediately that keeping the kids at the house was going to be easier said than done. She’d gotten pretty good at reading a room this past year, and everything felt like it was coiled up tight and waiting to burst.
For a while, Lucas and the new girl - Max - sat at the kitchen table and talked. Their voices were low and their heads bent together as they talked, presumably, about the events of the night. When Barb began picking things up around the living room, they got up to help, sweeping up the living room window’s broken glass alongside her.
Dustin had tried - repeatedly - to convince Steve to store the dead Demodog in the fridge, but Steve had not been willing to desecrate Ms. Byers’s fridge so they had moved it out into the shed for the time being.
And Mike was pacing.
Pacing and complaining as he wore a hole in the path between the couch and the hallway.
“Mike - would you please stop it, already?” Lucas finally snapped, looking up from his pile of glass in exasperation.
”You weren’t in there. Okay, Lucas?” Mike shot back. “That lab is swarming with hundreds of those dogs-”
”Demodogs!” Dustin chimed, popping back inside with Steve in tow.
Steve came to stand by Barb where she’d leaned up against the wall for a moment to breathe. Both of them exchanged exasperated looks of ‘oh God here we go’ as the kids began to argue.
Steve cut in during a brief pause. “Mike, dude, listen: If the coach calls a play in a game, bottom line…you execute it.”
“Okay first of all, this isn’t a stupid sports game - and second, we’re not even in the game, we’re on the bench,” Mike whined, making Max roll her eyes.
This time, Barb was the one to insist, “no, we are in the game. Our job is to protect Steve and going into those tunnels would be counterintuitive to our job.”
Steve made a bit of an affronted noise, clearly not thrilled to be used as the excuse, but crossed his arms anyway and nodded along.
“But Steve isn’t even affected by the Mind Flayer!” Mike argues.
Barb was about ready to strangle him but was cut off by Dustin straightening up, eyes bright.
“I’ve actually been thinking about that,” he cuts in, excitement making his voice all bubbly. “If it’s all a psychic connection, then it doesn’t make sense for Steve not to be affected, right?”
Lucas chimed in, “it's like he's got a shield against psychic energy!”
“Like Magneto!”
“Magne-who?”
Steve's question was brushed off as Dustin gaped, “so…what? Steve’s psychically immune to the Upside Down? But he and Will were down there for practically the same amount of time!”
“And they were together for almost all of it!” Mike added, crossing his arms.
“Yeah but I haven’t been having episodes,” Steve offered and then, when they all turned on him with narrowed eyes, he sheepishly added. “And I - I’ve been experiencing this sort of…disconnect since I left; like someone ripped out my brain and put it back all wrong.”
Max wrinkled her nose in disgust at that explanation, but Steve didn’t seem to feel bad.
“Anyways my point is that Steve is fine,” Mike insists.
Barb snapped back immediately, glaring, “and my point is that there’s nothing we can do about the Demodogs right now.”
”Well…” Dustin mused. “That’s not entirely true.”
All of them looked at him then, Max, Lucas, and Mike leaning towards him in interest.
”I mean that - well the Demodogs have a hive mind. They ran from the bus because they were called to the lab.”
Barb could practically see the other three kids getting the same awful idea in their heads.
Lucas started, “so if we get their attention-“
”Maybe we can draw them away from he lab!” Max nodded, grinning.
Mike was almost giddy as she insisted, “and clear a path right to the Gate.”
”Yeah,” Steve hissed, looking around wildly at them. “And then we all die.”
Dustin shrugged, “well, that’s one point of view…”
Max, Lucas, and Mike ignored the two as they went back and forth, Mike already following the line of drawings until he kneeled down by one in particular. Barb grabbed Steve by the arm, hauling him after them. Her stomach sank at the overwhelming feeling of losing this battle. “This is where the chief dug his hole. This is our way into the tunnels.”
”No one is going into those tunnels, Michael,” Barb snapped but Mike was barreling on.
“This is like a hub! See how all the tunnels feed into this? So maybe if we set this on fire-“
Steve this time. ”Okay, yeah, that’s a ‘no’-“
”The Mind Flayer would call away his army-“
”They’d all come to stop us-“
”And we'll circle back to the exit here! By the time they realized we were gone-“
”El would be at the Gate-”
“Hey!”
They all turn to where Steve and Barb stood shoulder to shoulder behind them. Her arms were crossed. His were set on his hips. Both of them were glaring at the four of them in a show of solidarity. “This,” Steve said tightly, “is not happening.”
”But-“
”No! No ‘buts’!” Steve snapped. “I promised Nancy to keep you shitheads safe, and that's exactly what I’m going to do. We’re sitting here - on the bench - and we’re waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everyone understand that?”
Mike reeled up, spitting with venom, “this isn’t a stupid sports game-“
Barb was the one to slam her foot down this time, snarling, “does everybody understand?”
They all gave each other shared looks of disappointment and ire, but before anyone could reply there was this…noise outside.
A vaguely familiar growl.
Max looked spooked, barrelling towards the living room window to look outside. Barb peered over her shoulder and her eyes widened at the sight.
Billy Hargrove’s Camaro.
“It’s my brother,” Max whispered, voice tight and scared. She spins around and locks eyes with Lucas. “He can’t know I’m here - He’ll kill me - He’ll kill us.”
Barb looks between Max and Lucas. She thinks about what she’s heard so far about Billy Hargrove.
Oh shit.
Barb looks over to Steve and sees him having the same realization. He straightened up then, eyes narrowing as he rolled his shoulders back. “You guys stay here,” he insisted, strolling towards the door.
Barb grabbed his arm and hissed, “Steve - don’t be stupid.”
”I’ll tell him to fuck off. He has no reason to think she’s in here,” he insists.
Barb hesitated and looked back at the kids. The last thing she wanted was Steve and Billy facing off… “Get back and stay quiet, okay?”
Then she followed Steve out onto the front porch.
^^^
Billy saw them.
Max knew it the moment Barb came barrelling back into the house, slamming it open and snarling, “get back - come on-move!“
Barb was already herding them away from the entry when Billy came in, boots heavy against the floor. His eyes locked immediately onto Lucas, sharp and angry. “Well, well….if it isn’t Lucas Sinclair. What a surprise!”
He steps forward but Barb was faster. She planted herself directly in front of him, chin lifted and jaw set. “Get out of here, Hargrove.”
He raises an unimpressed eyebrow, gaze sliding over her like he was deciding if she was worth getting angry at. “Or what, Holland? Harrington already tried to play hero out there, didn’t you see? It didn't work out for him.”
Barb didn’t flinch when he tried to shove past her though. She threw her arms out, blocking him with her body. “I said get out of here-”
He back-handed Barb hard, the sound making all of them jump. Barb flew sideways, slamming into the couch’s side table with her breath knocked out of her. Mike shouted. Dustin swore. Lucas took a step towards her without thinking.
But Max was frozen as Billy turned on her.
”I thought I told you to stay away from him, Max,” Billy snarled.
”Billy,” Max whimpered, unable to move. “Go away…”
”You disobeyed me.” He leaned closer, voice low and lips curled. “And you know what happens when you disobey me…I break things.”
He pivoted suddenly, grabbing Lucas by the front of his jacket and slamming him into the kitchen shelf with a crash, metal rattling.
Max couldn’t breathe.
She could barely hear what Billy says through the blood rushing through her ears and the screams of Mike and Dustin.
She could barely process Steve slamming inside, holding his ribs but immediately throwing himself into a fight with Billy in order to get him away from Lucas.
And then Billy has Steve on the ground.
He’s throwing punch after punch and Barb immediately threw herself at him only to get another brutal smack to the face.
Someone had to do something now.
That was all Max could think.
Someone had to do something now or Billy was going to kill Steve and then Barb and then-
The syringe was in her hand before she had time to think about it. She drove it into Billy’s neck without even thinking, desperation flooding her veins.
She just wanted it to stop. She wanted to stop being afraid of Billy. She wanted him to stop hurting her friends once and for all.
Billy staggered back, cursing, his grip loosening as his knees buckled.
When he collapsed to the ground, she grabbed Steve’s nailbat from nearby and held it over her shoulder.
She didn’t know what overtook her, but for the first time in a long time…Max had the upper hand.
”From here on out,” Max said, voice trembling but loud, “you’re going to leave me and my friends alone. Do you understand?”
Billy slurred his words, barely conscious as he looked up at her. “Screw…you-“
Max slammed the nail bat down in the space between his knees, ripping it back up from the floorboard and advancing on him more. “Say it!” she snapped and then heard something slice through the air nearby that made her glance to see Barb standing tall, her hair wild.
She had an axe in her hands and a welt on her face that would probably turn into a nasty bruise.
Max looks back at Billy, feeling like she was on fire. “Say you understand!”
Billy swallowed and murmured, “o…okay…”
”What?”
“I understand.”
She could see Barb giving her a proud smirk as his eyes fluttered closed, but Max didn’t dwell on it. Instead, she bent down and dug Billy’s keys out of his pocket and held them up. “Well? Are we doing this?”
The boys immediately perked up but all four of them glanced over at where Barb was still poised with the axe. She looked around at them and then back down at Steve with a small frown.
Max could see the moment Barb realized she was out-numbered.
“There’s no stopping you four, is there?”
The four of them glanced at each other and Max could see the same determination she felt reflected in her friends’ faces. They all looked back at her and nodded.
Barb pursed her lips and then wiped her face. “Well then I’m driving.”
They lit up, immediately scrambling for their things. Barb stooped over Steve and started getting an arm around him. “Lucas, help me grab Steve-”
“We can’t take him!” Mike argued petulantly. “Where is he even going to sit?”
“He’s going to lay on your laps and you're gonna make sure he doesn’t jostle around too much,” Barb snapped and when Mike opened his mouth to argue, she stuck a finger out, “or you can forfeit your own seat Mike Wheeler and stay here with Billy.”
Mike snapped his mouth shut immediately.
Max laughed at him about it the entire time they packed up their supplies.
^^^
Steve wakes up in pieces.
First comes the pain; White and sharp and radiating out from his ribs.
Then sound: wind screaming through an open window, the low growl of an engine being pushed too hard. Somewhere close, someone is breathing too fast.
His eyes crack open.
The ceiling is too low. Too close. The smell of gasoline and sweat fills his nose, and something hard digs into his shoulder blade. He tries to move and immediately regrets it.
“Ow - shit-”
Three voices curse at once.
“Don’t move!”
“Steve - no-”
“Dude, seriously-”
Hands grab him - gentle but frantic - trying to keep him from sitting up. He blinks, vision swimming, and realizes he’s horizontal. Lying sideways. Across - oh God-
“Why am I on children.”
“Because you’re bleeding,” Dustin says, way too close to his ear.
“And you were unconscious," Mike adds.
“And heavy,” Lucas finishes, sounding strained.
Steve squeezes his eyes shut. The car swerves slightly and his ribs scream in protest.
He forces his eyes open again, focusing past the blur of the boys’ faces. Through the dots in his eyes, he catches sight of Barb’s silhouette in the driver’s seat, shoulders tense, jaw clenched. She glances at him in the rearview mirror, relief flashing across her face.
“You’re awake,” she says. “Good. Don’t try to sit up.”
Steve squints. “Where - where are we going?”
Please say the hospital to see Will.
Please say they got the Mind Flayer out of Will.
Please say this is all over.
Before Barb can answer, Max’s voice cuts in from the passenger seat. “Just up here - turn left. There should be a sign for the farm or something.”
Steve’s stomach drops.
Sign for the farm…
His vision sharpens all at once, adrenaline flooding his veins. He tries again to move, panic overriding pain.
“No,” he says immediately. “Nope. No, no, no.”
“Steve,” Barb warns.
“What is she talking about?” he demands, breath hitching. “What farm?”
The car slows, tires crunching over gravel.
“Oh my God,” Steve whispers. “You didn’t.”
“We had to,” Mike says defensively. “El needs help.”
Steve laughs - short, sharp, bordering on hysterical. “You had to?” He tries to push himself up again in the tight space and nearly blacks out. “Guys. Guys, listen to me.”
Lucas tightens his grip on Steve’s shoulders. “Just stay still.”
“Absolutely not,” Steve snaps, voice rising. “Do you have any idea what’s down there?”
Barb’s hands tighten on the steering wheel. “Steve-”
“I don’t remember everything,” he says, words tumbling out now, fast and raw. “But I remember enough. I remember the dark and the fear and the cold.” His voice breaks despite himself. “You do not take kids into that.”
The Camaro slows to a stop.
Steve feels it then - something deep in his chest. Recognition. His skin prickles, every instinct screaming the same warning.
“You turn this car around, Barbra Holland,” he says hoarsely. “Right now.”
Barb meets his eyes in the mirror again.
“Steve,” she says gently, “we’re already here.”
His heart slams against his ribs as the kids start pouring out of the car, off to the trunk.
“No,” he breathes as he stumbles out after them. “No, no, no - you are not going down there! Are - Are you listening to me you little shits?”
They aren’t. They’re all putting on bandanas and swim goggles, looking like little bandits as Mike starts tying a rope to the front of the camaro.
Dustin cuts off Steve’s crisis with a way too enthusiastic voice. “Listen, Steve. I get you're upset, okay? But the bottom line
is a party member requires our assistance. And it's our duty to provide that assistance.”
“But I know you promised Nancy you'd keep us safe - so…” Dustin trails off, holding out a backpack with Steve’s nail bat nestled at the top. “Keep us safe.”
When Steve didn’t respond, hands still clenching and unclenching at his side, Barb pulls an axe out of the trunk and she looks at Steve seriously, “they were going to do this either way, Steve. At least this way we can make sure they’re not being stupid.”
Steve took a deep breath and sighed, snatching the backpack and starting to pull on the bandana and goggles.
Lucas and Max are standing in the hole already when they join them, shovels already beating into these slimy…roots? Vines?
Finally they separate and reveal darkness. Cold.
Steve wavers immediately at the sight of the tunnels.
He could feel every part of his soul screaming at him not to go down there - Walk away, walk away, run away-
“Steve.”
Dustin’s hand grabbed his arm and Steve looked to see them all watching him closely. Barb insisted, “maybe you should stay up here instead…keep an eye out?”
No.
Not if the kids were going down there. Not if Barb was too. Steve needed to be there to protect them.
He needed to do this for Will.
“If I say run, you all run,” Steve spits, rolling his shoulders back. “Deal?”
They all glance at each other and then back to him, nodding.
And so Steve Harrington takes a deep breath and hops into the tunnels.