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The earth ripped open and hell spilled over, bleeding across Hawkins like molten rot. At least, that’s what the people of the small Indiana town believed at first, until the government pacified them with lies of an earthquake and a chemical quarantine. But the splintered surface wasn’t patched up that quickly. It was a wound, and wounds need time to heal.
The government tried to move quickly and close up borders as fast as they could, but the steel plates weren’t exactly a fool proof solution, at least not in the first few months of the lockdown. Quick patch jobs often leave leaks, and there were several in the months following that wretched spring break.
Mike and Will had been visiting El at her cabin in the woods one night that September. The government had not ceased looking for her, so El had strict orders from Hopper to remain hidden in the cabin as much as possible. If she ever had to leave, for a crawl or for training, she was to use the tunnels, and she was not to do so without telling Hopper.
The Byers had been staying at the Wheelers, but it was strange not having El around. She had been living with them for nearly a year and suddenly they had to act as though they had no contact with her. They started to realize in the time apart how attached they had grown to her, specifically Will. She had become like a sister.
Will noticed Mike would sneak out to visit El at the cabin some evenings, so one night he asked if he could tag along. The three spent the evening watching Miami Vice. Will brought his colored pencils and drew their D&D characters as they watched, Mike and El giving thoughtful input and praise throughout their binge.
After their third episode, there was a knock on the door frame of Hopper’s room. The three teens looked up to see a smiling tired dad leaning against the frame, tapping his watch.
“8:15. Love seeing you kids having fun, but you know the rules. Curfew.”
“But we have only watched three episodes, Hop. And Will is not done with our characters.” El sat up with pleading eyes.
“Hawkins has a 9 pm curfew. If you kids cut it too close, you’ll get unneeded attention from military on your walk home, which will bring–”
“ –which will bring El unneeded attention.” Mike sighed and stood up, giving Hopper a small understanding nod.
“I can finish them next time.” Will gave El a smile and stood up as well.
“When is next time?” El asked, looking at Mike and Will with an eager stare.
“Same time tomorrow?” Mike asked, glancing to Hopper for approval.
“Works for me.” Hopper shrugged then headed back into his room.
El stood up and walked over to Mike, taking his hands in hers.
“I wish you did not have to leave so soon.”
“Yeah. Me too.” Mike gave her a smile. “But you’ll see me again tomorrow.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.” Mike looked at her softly.
Will stood off to the side, waiting for them to say their goodbyes. When they finished, Will gave El a hug, saying his goodbyes as well. Then he and Mike started their trek back home through the woods.
When they reached Cornwallis, they finally found themselves back in civilization. They came to a stop on the side of the road, looking down the hill at a small shopping center. The 7-Eleven beckoned them warmly with its glowing sign.
“We’ve still got–” Mike looked down at his watch. “25 minutes until curfew. You thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Snack run?” Will gave him a smile.
“Great minds.” Mike elbowed Will playfully and started down the hill in a quick jog. Will followed excitedly.
The double doors swung open and Mike and Will started for the candy aisle. Mike reached for a 3 Musketeers and turned it over in his hands.
“I thought you hated 3 Musketeers?” Will asked.
“I do. But Dustin loves them.” He grabbed another. “I think he could use a few. He hasn’t been himself lately.”
“Yeah…” Will nodded, then reached for a bag of Reese’s Pieces.
“Nice choice.” Mike smiled then grabbed a pack of peanut butter cups for himself.
~ ~ ~
El sat on her bed in her room. She knew Hopper didn’t like it when she messed with the radio, but as long as she didn’t use the frequency, only listened, he wouldn’t scold her for it. She laid down on the quilt with her elbows propped up, resting her head on her hands as she changed the channels with her mind.
She switched between channels, looking for a song that fit her mood, when a broadcast caught her attention. It was worrisome enough to make her pause on the channel.
“Cornwallis will be shut down between Kerley and Cartersville for the next 24 hours. A patch job needs to be done on one of the metal plates to prevent a small leak from spreading. This is nothing to worry about. We have the best people on it. Think of it as an inconvenient detour for the next day.”
El sat up, getting a sick feeling in her stomach and an anxious fluttering in her chest.
Mike and Will took Cornwallis home.
And if there was one thing El knew for certain in this world, it was that the government lies.
El threw her legs over the side of her bed and hurriedly made her way to the door of her room. She came to a halt with her hand on the door knob when she realized she didn’t know what to tell Hopper. He never liked when she left, and even if he did allow her to go after her friends, he’d want her to take the tunnels and be cautious.
But she couldn’t be cautious if her boyfriend and brother’s lives were on the line. She wouldn’t get there in time with the tunnels. There was no way this was just a patch job. They wouldn’t quarantine an entire two sections of Hawkins for something minor. Something worse had happened, she just knew it, and Mike and Will were at the center of it.
~ ~ ~
Mike knelt down, looking on the bottom shelf for Lucas’ favorite candy. Will’s eye caught the fridge across the store. They were fully stocked with Coca Cola. With the quarantine over the past few months, it was a rare sight to see so many Coca Colas in one place. They even had Cherry Coke.
Will eagerly made his way over to the fridges. He opened the door and was hit with a chill, but it wasn’t just the temperature that turned him cold. He felt an all too familiar sickly feeling that made goose bumps rise on the back of his neck.
“Mike,” Will barely breathed.
“You say something?” Mike asked from across the aisle, arms full of Reese’s, Kit Kat, and 3 Musketeers.
“We have to go. Now!”
Suddenly, the glass doors to the 7-Eleven burst open with a violent swing. Glass shattered as the double doors hit the wall hard, ricocheting shards across the room. In their wake stood a Demogorgon on its hind legs, 9-Feet tall, intent on killing.
“RUN!” Will screamed at Mike.
The Demogorgon’s head swiveled toward Will, picking up his voice. It opened its mouth displaying rows of jagged teeth spiraling inside its flower-like face. It roared, spit flying through the air, then it leapt over several aisles, catching its foot on the last one, toppling it over on top of Will.
Will struggled underneath the aisle shelf, barely able to breath with the heavy object putting pressure on his chest. Along with the added weight of a panic attack wracking his body with shaky rapid inhales, Will could barely get air in at all.
The Demogorgon crept alongside Will with a slow, methodical, predatory movement. It knelt over the terrified teen, inches away from his face, as it let out a slow clicking growl. Will stifled a sob as the monster opened up its face and screamed in his face, spit dripping down, barely missing Will’s open mouth.
“Hey, mouth breather!” Mike hollered from the other aisle across from them. He threw a pack of Reese’s at the Demogorgon. The candy hit it between the shoulder blades, then bounced to the floor, not making a dent.
“Mike–Mike, no–” Will pleaded, realizing what Mike was doing.
“Kind of screwed up to go for someone pinned to the floor.” Mike threw another candy at the Demogorgon as it slowly stood up, turning its attention away from Will. It turned its head over its shoulder and growled lowly.
Mike dropped his armful of candy to the floor and reached for the hook on the candy aisle shelf, hurriedly pulling off the circus peanut bags that hung on it. It wasn’t much, but at least it was metal.
The Demogorgon’s face opened up and Mike held tightly to the hook. It screeched at him then lunged. Mike swung, but his hand was met by a slashing claw. He recoiled, hand bleeding, and the hook clattered to the floor.
“MIKE!” Will screamed, desperately trying to free himself from the aisle shelving unit that pinned him down. He struggled against it vehemently, getting it off little by little, but not fast enough.
Mike found himself at the far end of the aisle, nowhere to go because the shelving formed a dead end, coming to a stop at a wall. The brave yet terrified teen backed into it as far he could as the creature closed in on him.
The Demogorgon growled one final time, then it opened its face and lunged. Mike ducked and threw himself in the opposite direction, trying to run past, but the monster clawed him as he passed. The blow caused him to stumble into the shelving, then trip, sliding across the tacky floor. Mike yelped in pain but nonetheless forced himself to sit up. He stared up in horror to see his own blood streaking across the aisle and the Demogorgon standing menacingly at the end of it, ready to lunge again.
And it did.
But nothing happened. No claws tore his flesh and no teeth sunk into him.
Mike opened his eyes only when he heard an all too familiar voice, yelling in anger. He turned over his shoulder to see El standing right behind him, arm out stretched, keeping the Demogorgon frozen, mid-jump. Slowly, she walked around him, placing herself between them. The monster screeched in anger, and El yelled back, louder. She put another hand up and her face contorted, veins showing on her forehead as she used more power than before. The creature split in half, a bloody array of flying flesh and splattering goop. The Demogorgon fell to the floor as El returned her hands to her side, and it landed only a foot or so away from the pair.
“Mike! Mike–you’re hurt. It hurt you–” El fell to her knees at his side, face scrunched up like she might cry. She ran her hands along his arm, taking a closer look at the gash that ran from his hand up his wrist.
“El? I thought…how are you…” Mike looked at her thoughtfully, a small smile on his lips. Then his eyes widened with realization “Will! El, he’s stuck–.” He directed her gaze to Will, who was nearly out from under the aisle, but still weighed down.
El lifted her hand and threw the shelving off of him. Will scrambled to his feet and ran over to where Mike and El sat on the floor, nearly tripping over himself in the process. He all but fell to his knees at El’s side, hovering over Mike as well.
“Oh my–Holy sh–” Will had to catch his breath, terrified of the amount of blood he was seeing come out of Mike. Not only was his wrist torn open, but he had a gaping wound in his shoulder spider webbing down his upper chest, a solid amount of flesh gone where the Demogorgon had clawed him in his escape attempt.
“Mike, you’re bleeding too much–you’re–” El stifled a cry, putting her hands up to the wound in an attempt to slow the bleeding.
“You can’t stay here–El, if they find you–” Mike desperately tried to hold her hand but winced at the shocking pain it sent up his injured wrist.
“Mike. Don’t move. You’re hurting yourself,” Will nearly cried. He forced himself to his feet with shaky legs, getting a sense of Déjà Vu. It made him think of the convenient store where Max sent him and Lucas on an errand to help El during the summer of ‘85. “I’ll get a bowl and first aid. Just…don’t move.” And with that, Will hurried off into another aisle, hoping the supplies were on one of the shelves that hadn’t been turned over.
Mike nodded and started to lay down on the floor. His head rested down on the fake tile and he closed his eyes, taking a shaky deep breath. El realized she couldn’t use her hands to slow the bleeding of both wounds, so she quickly ripped part of her shirt and tied it around Mike’s wrist. Then she returned her hands to his shoulder, keeping them on the gashes that spread across his upper chest, crimson staining her skin.
“You got a sixth sense or something?” Mike joked, letting out a breathy laugh.
“What?”
“You showed up just in the nick of time.” A ghost of a smile trailed across his mouth. “Like you always do. You always seem to know when I need you.”
“I heard it…on the radio. They were shutting down Cornwallis, so I came looking for you. To make sure you were safe.”
Mike smiled more fully, eyes still closed.
“Mike?” El asked, worry in her voice.
“I’m here.”
“I–I cannot tell how deep the wound is. It’s your left side…your heart–is your heart okay?” El’s watery eyes scaled his injury.
Mike opened his eyes again to see the panic in her face. Despite her somewhat controlled voice, he could see she was scared. More scared than him, in fact.
“I don’t think it’s that deep. I’ll be okay, El. It’s mostly my shoulder that got the worst of it.”
Before El could reply, Will came to a hurried stop at their sides, a bowl, rags, and a first aid kit in hand. He dropped to his knees and set out all the supplies, quickly unpacking cleaning and disinfecting supplies.
“How bad is it?” Will asked, a shake in his voice.
“Fixable.” Mike gave him a reassuring smile.
“Mike…you shouldn’t have done that. You shouldn’t have–”
“That Demogorgon was going to kill you!” Mike spoke up, adamant.
“Yeah, but what was your solution? Have it kill you instead? You’re supposed to be Mike the Brave, not Mike the Reckless.”
“I–” Mike paused, eyes flicking between El and Will. “I…I’m sorry. I guess I wasn’t really thinking that far ahead. I just…I couldn’t let it kill you.”
Will shook his head with a sad smile. El moved her hands momentarily to move Mike’s shirt, pulling it down a little so Will could clean the wound. The cut was deep near his collar, but thankfully shallow as the claw marks trailed further down his chest, where vital organs were. Will and El both let out sighs they didn’t know they’d been holding in.
“Is it bad?” Mike asked.
“It is fixable.” El gave him a small smile. Will nodded in agreement. He started to clean the wound and Mike winced a little at the burn that disinfectant always leaves.
In the middle of bandaging his shoulder, Mike started to lose consciousness.
“Mike? Mike?” El asked, shaking him gently.
“Huh?” Mike asked, eyes fluttering open.
Will’s eyes trailed down to his wrist, and a sinking realization hit.
“His wrist! The wound’s deeper in his shoulder but his arteries are in his wrist–if he cut his radial–shit! Shit!! We should’ve done his wrist first!”
El hurriedly untied the scrap of shirt she’d tied around Mike’s wrist to find it soaked, almost purple with how much blood it had collected. She took a deep breath, realizing the last thing Mike needed right now was to hear them panic.
“Mike.” El took his hand in hers and gave it a light squeeze. “You are going to be okay. We are here.” She looked at Will, who gave her a small smile in return. He quickly went to work on Mike’s wrist, disinfecting the wound. He looked at Mike with concern when he noticed the lack of attention he paid to the stinging.
“Keep him awake, El.” Will said as he grabbed hold of the bandages.
“We will not be stuck here forever.” El interlaced her fingers with Mike’s. “The government will give up looking for me eventually. And when they do, we can kill Vecna and be done with the Upside Down. We can go out in public together again and not be afraid. We can be normal. Happy.” She gave him a teary smile.
Mike squeezed her hand back and gave her a tired smile.
“Done.” Will said, finishing off the bandage, and just in time. Outside, sirens sounded. Will sprung to his feet to see military vehicles approaching from over the hill. “The government–they’re here! We have to go!”
“There’s a back door…over the counter,” Mike said, trying to pull himself up.
El and Will scrambled to help Mike to his feet, each putting an arm of his across their shoulders. They clumsily ran for the back door as fast as their feet could carry them.
“Mike’s house is across town. We’d have to go farther up Cornwallis.”
“Let’s go back to mine then,” El said. “Through the woods.”
Will nodded and they all sloppily jogged back into the forest.
~ ~ ~
The cabin door swung open with a bang, startling Hopper to his feet. He hadn’t heard El leave…which led him to believe someone else had found the cabin. Carefully, Hopper grabbed the gun he kept in his dresser drawer and crept up to his bedroom door. He slowly turned the door knob and raised his weapon, peaking through the three-inch crack.
He lowered his gun upon seeing El and Will struggling to carry Mike inside, blood covering all three of them in some capacity.
“What the hell happened?” Hopper returned his gun to his waistband and hurried out into the living room, closing the door and locking it behind the kids.
“Demogorgon. There was a leak. It got loose on Cornwallis,” El explained.
“Mike and I stopped at the 7-Eleven on the way home. It cornered us in there.” Will helped Eleven lay Mike down on the couch, then adjusted his arms so they wouldn’t hang off the couch.
“El…El, did you leave? Without telling me?” Hopper asked firmly, concern laced with anger simmering inside him.
“Yes,” El said, matter of fact. She crossed her arms and stared Hopper in the eyes.
“Did you at least take the tunnels?” Hopper asked, in disbelief.
“Too slow.”
“Too slow? Too slow?!” Hopper laughed in frustration. “Do you know how hard I’ve worked to keep you hidden? For you to just blow your cover like that??”
“No one saw me.”
“How do you know that? How do you know that for certain?”
“No one. Saw me,” El said more firmly.
Will watched the tension with unease, sitting in a chair beside the couch.
“How could you be so careless? You should have called me. I would have handled it!”
“Guns do not work on those things! You would not have been able to do anything but anger it!” El snapped. “I am glad I went, and I would go again without asking. Mike is hurt, Hop. He would have died if I had not gone after my friends. Can we please not fight?” She came to a stop in front of Hopper, looking up at him with pleading eyes.
Hopper could only hold his hard gaze for another moment. Then he let out a tired sigh and pulled her into a hug.
“Alright. We’ll put it to rest for now.” They stayed in the hug for another moment then pulled apart, glancing back at Mike and Will. “Were you hurt too, kid?”
Will looked up, breaking free from thoughts he’d dazed into.
“Just some bruising from a shelf. Really, Mike’s the one you should worry about, not me,” Will assured him.
“Alright, well, if your mom asks, I did my part.”
“Dang it…my mom’s not going to let me leave the house for at least a month after this,” Will grumbled tiredly, running a hand down his face.
“Yeah…yeah, that sounds about right.” Hopper nodded sympathetically. Then he shifted his tone. “How bad is he hurt? Mike?”
“He got clawed in the shoulder and wrist, but we patched him up with first aid at the store,” Will explained.
Hopper glanced over at the teen passed out on his couch, then at the other teen tiredly sitting in his arm chair.
“Your mom would probably want me to drive you home,” Hopper said. “Both of you.”
“Hop…can they stay? I do not want you to drive anywhere near Cornwallis. What if it’s worse than we think? What if more monsters are out there right now?” El glanced over at Mike. “You are not in a condition to fight. Not without me.”
Hopper thought it over then gave a nod.
“I’ll bring out some extra blankets.” Hopper left the room.
El nodded and sat on the other side of Mike, taking his hand in hers, rubbing her finger over his knuckles. She looked at him with deep concern, the kind of concern people only have in their eyes when they are deeply in love. It’s a terrifying feeling, to worry about someone that deeply.
“He’s going to be okay, El.” Will watched her with a soft gaze.
“I know.” She stared at Mike a moment longer, then lowered her gaze to her hand. “Will we ever be…normal?”
Will ached a little at the words. It was a question he often asked himself.
“No one normal ever accomplished anything meaningful in this world…that’s what Jonathan used to tell me. So no…I don’t think we’ll ever be normal, but I do think things will get better. Once Vecna’s gone…we’ll finally be able to live a life close to normal.” Will gave her a small smile.
“I am glad you came over today. I missed seeing you…and Joyce and Jonathan. It gets lonely here.” El smiled warmly. “It is nice to have friends around. Nice to have a…brother.”
Will’s smile grew.
“It was nice getting to see you too. And don’t worry, this encounter won’t stop us from coming to see you again.”
“Joyce might.”
Will couldn’t help but laugh at the earnestness in her tone.
Hopper returned with some blankets, and El decided to stay out in the living room with Mike and Will. She draped a blanket over Mike, still knocked out on the couch, but she knew he would be okay. She and Will curled up on the two extra chairs in the living room, getting as comfortable as they could with the extra pillows and blankets. They carried on in good conversation until they both eventually drifted off into quiet comfort.