~*****~

Arriving at the scrapyard, the kids went into detail of the events that transpired. Juliet sits on the steps of the bus, listening closely after they apologized to one another. "So... this girl has psychic powers... and bad men are after her because of those powers... and they accidentally made a gate to a different dimension where Will is right now?" Juliet asked, her hands cupping her face tiredly.

"That pretty much sums it up," Dustin hummed.

"But what took him?" Juliet asked, dread oozing from her pores.

"We call it the Demogorgon. El says its something from the Upside Down." Mike explains.

She peered up, wincing at the sunlight in her eyes. "Would it happen to look like a really tall, pale creature? With a weird... face?" Eleven peered at Juliet sullenly.

"You've seen it before?" Dustin asked, eyes wide.

Juliet rubbed at the back of her neck again. "Why do you think I crashed my damn truck?" Juliet asked as she kept rubbing her neck. "The damn thing was in the woods."

"Holy shit--" Dustin murmured, biting on his lip. "D'you think it knows what prey it wants?"

Juliet swatted at him. "Shut up, asshole, I'm already freaked as is." She snapped. "Lucas, you were looking for this gate, right? Did you find it?"

Lucas nods and starts drawing a diagram on the ground. "This is Randolph Road, right here," Lucas points out. "The fence starts here and goes all the way around. And this is the lab right here." Lucas hums as he sets down a battered old coke can. "The gate's gotta be in there somewhere. It's gotta be!"

"Who owns Hawkins' Lab?" Dustin asked.

"Sign says Department of Energy," Lucas sighed.

"Department of Energy? What do you think that means?" Dustin asks.

"Government, Dust. Military." Juliet retorted.

"Then why does it say energy?" Dustin asked.

"Don't get smart with me, shithead. They've obviously not an energy company if they're after your friend who can move shit with her mind." Juliet snapped.

"She's right," Lucas nods. "There's soldiers out front."

"Do they make, like, lightbulbs or something?" Dustin asked.

"Jesus Christ, Dustin, pay attention. They make weapons," Juliet retorted. "To... I dunno, fight the Russians or commies or whatever. Weapons like her."

"Oh, Jesus, this is bad," Dustin gasped.

"Really bad. The place is like a fortress." Lucas explained.

"Well, what do we do?" Dustin asked.

"I don't know. But we can't go home. We're fugitives now." Mike murmured.

"Fugitives that should be in hiding, not in plain sight--" Juliet hummed as the sound of helicopter's echoed through the air. "Hide the bikes, now! Come on, shit heads! Move it!"

The group scrambled to hide their bikes before bounding on the bus and hiding within the seats. "Mental--" Dustin gasped.

~*****~

Eleven stuck close to the older girl, peering up at her as she absentmindedly played with the loose curls around her face. "Mike, are you there? Mike?" Nancy's voice crackled from the radio. Juliet perked up; brows furrowed in confusion.

"You guys hear that?" Dustin asked as Juliet pulled out the walkie, peering at it suspiciously.

"Mike, it's me, Nancy." Nancy called again. "Mike, are you there? Mike, we need you to answer."

Juliet peered down at Mike. "What should we do?" Mike asked softly.

"Is that your sister?" Lucas asked out of nowhere.

"This is an emergency, Mike," Nancy snapped. "Do you copy? Mike, do you copy!"

"Okay, this is really weird," Dustin hummed.

Lucas tried taking the walkie, only for Juliet to snatch it away with a glare. "We're not answering." Juliet ordered.

"But she said it was an emergency!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Yeah? And military men showed up at Mike's house after we hightailed it, who's to say they didn't go back to question his family?" Juliet snapped. "I don't know if I should answer it or not."

"But it's for Mike--" Dustin trails off.

"And I'm not about to let a kid negotiate with military, excuse me for being the babysitter!" Juliet snapped back at her brother.

"I need you to answer." Nancy chirped again.

"It's like Lando Calrissian. Don't answer," Dustin hummed.

"We need to know that you're there, Mike," Nancy pleaded.

"Listen, Kid, this is the chief. If you're there, pick up." Chief Hopper snapped into the walkie. "We know you're in trouble and we know about the girl."

"Why is she with Hopper?" Juliet asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

"How the hell does he know about..." Dustin trailed off, peering at Eleven.

"We can protect you, we can help you, but you gotta pick up." Hopper snapped again. "Are you there? Do you copy? Over."

Juliet pressed the walkie into her forehead irritably before sighing loudly. "At the first sign of trouble, I want you four to haul ass, got it?" Juliet ordered to the kids. "I don't care if I'm being left behind, I want you safe. Say you understand."

They all nod. "We understand." The kids chirp.

Juliet offers a kind smile before pressing the button on the walkie. "We copy." Juliet hums, expression hardening. "It's Juliet, I'm with the kids." Juliet blows out a soft breath.

~*****~

Juliet chews on her nail irritably as Eleven once again stands next to her, peering up at her in obvious adoration. "Will you stop pacing?" Mike complains to Dustin.

"It's been way too long!" Dustin exclaims. "Do you know what? Maybe Julie was right, maybe this is all a trap and the bad men are coming to get us right now!"

"It's not a trap--" Lucas snapped.

"That's why I said to run if it goes south," Juliet murmured as she wiggled the back door of the bus.

"But why would the chief set us up?" Lucas cried. "Nancy, maybe, but the chief?"

"Lando Calrissian." Dustin echoed.

"Shut up about Lando, will you?" Juliet complained.

"I don't feel good about this. I don't feel good about this!" Dustin roared in her face.

"When do you feel good about anything, Dustin?!" Juliet shot back. "If anyone shouldn't feel good, it's me! I mean, for fucks sake, I woke up a few hours ago after being unconscious for two whole days, Dustin! It's a miracle I haven't gone off the deep end!" Juliet perks up at the sound of approaching vehicles. "Get down." She snapped immediately, shoving her brother into a seat. Juliet bound up to the front and sat in the driver's seat, peering out of the dirty window nervously. Two dark cars pulled up, causing the hairs on Juliet's neck to raise. "Everyone hit the deck, now!" Juliet snapped when she tried to get out of the seat and found all the kids right behind her.

"Lando--" Dustin echoed.

"You think they saw us?" Lucas panted.

"Shut up!" Juliet hissed. Peering around the dirty floor of the bus, she spots a piece of rebar and plucks it off the ground, hefting it around to test the weight. She peered over the edge of a window, sweat dripping down her brow as three men with guns got out of their cars, peering around slowly. She ducked down when a man approached the bus. Edging towards the door, Juliet reared back the rebar, and just as the door opened, she swung, cracking the man across the bridge of his nose, wincing at the awful crack that ensued. Someone grasps the man from the back of his coat, yanking him out of the bus as he cups his face in agony. Sounds of a scuffle echoed out from the outside, the door swinging open again. Juliet reared up the rebar again.

Hopper stepped onto the bus, peering at the group before settling onto Juliet's rebar, prepped to swing. "Let's go." Hopper ordered. "Let's go!" Hopper ordered again. No one moved.

Juliet turned her gaze over her shoulder and tilted her head to follow. All four kids grabbed their things and hauled ass behind Juliet and Hopper.

It was dark by the time they had made it to the Byers house. "Mike. Oh, my god, Mike!" Nancy gasped as she ran for her brother. Eleven grasped onto Juliet's hand tightly, clinging to her as she peered at the others nervously. "I was so worried about you!"

"Y-Yeah, uh... me, too." Mike murmured.

Nancy peered off to the side, at Juliet and Eleven, brows furrowing. "Is that my dress?"

Juliet peered down at Eleven before slinging her gaze back up to Nancy. "You wore that thing?" She retorted plainly.

Nancy felt a flush crawl up her neck before it settled in that Juliet Henderson risked her safety for her brother. "Hey," She chirped as Juliet reluctantly led Eleven into the house. "Thanks for watching over Mike."

Juliet didn't smile, she just shrugged. "Dustin's his friend. No one's going to get to them under my watch." Juliet mentioned softly. "Do you have to hold my hand so tightly?" Juliet asked Eleven.

She nodded. "You said nothing will happen when you're watching," Eleven murmured. "Friends don't lie."

Juliet pinched her lips together and sighed softly, eyes closing in annoyance. "Yeah... Yeah, I said that. And you're right. Friends don't lie."

Nancy just smiled as she watched the usually distant girl lead the younger inward. Maybe everyone was wrong about Juliet. She cared more than she let on. Once inside, the others sat around the kids as Mike explained what he knew using the Acrobat and the Flea theory. "Okay, so, in this example, we're the acrobat. Will and Barbara and that monster, they're this flea." Mike explained. And this is the Upside Down, where Will is hiding. Mr. Clarke said the only way to get there is through a rip of time and space."

"A gate." Dustin added.

"That we tracked to Hawkins Lab." Lucas mentioned.

"With our compasses," Dustin hummed.

Juliet rubbed at her neck. "So... this gate would put out an electromagnetic field strong enough to disrupt our compasses? Because mine wasn't acting right the night when I went to look for Will." Juliet mentioned. Dustin nodded in response.

"Is this gate underground?" Hopper asked.

"Yes," Eleven nodded.

Hopper keeps staring at her before speaking again. "Near a large water tank?"

"Yes," Eleven answers again.

"H-How do you know all that?" Dustin stammered.

"He's seen it," Mike murmured.

"Is there any way that you could... that you could reach Will? That you could talk to him in this--" Joyce stammered.

"The Upside Down," Eleven hummed.

"Down, yeah..." Joyce murmured.

Eleven nodded silently. "And my friend, Barbara?" Nancy asked. "Can you find her, too?"

Juliet peered down at Eleven curiously, brows furrowed in thought. She followed after the group as Eleven sat at the table with the walkie set to white noise, peering at a picture of Barbara. The lights flickered for just a moment before Eleven opened her eyes. A look of remorse covered her face. "I'm sorry..." Eleven murmured.

"Wha-- what's wrong? What happened?" Joyce stammered nervously.

"I can't find them," Eleven murmured, her voice  breaking. Eleven ran to the bathroom, tears in her eyes. Juliet peered after her, lips pursed.

"Whenever she uses her powers, she gets weak," Mike explained.

"The more energy she uses, the more tired she gets," Dustin added.

"Like, she flipped the van earlier," Lucas mentioned.

"It was awesome," Dustin hummed.

"But she's drained." Mike retorted.

"Like a bad battery." Dustin added.

"Well-- how do we make her better?" Joyce asked.

"We don't, we just have to wait and try again," Mike shrugged.

"Well, how long?" Nancy asked.

"I don't know," Mike murmured.

Juliet flinched to the side as Eleven's voice rings out besides her. "The bath." Eleven hums softly.

"What?" Juliet asks.

"I can find them." Eleven murmurs. "In the bath."

Juliet peered at Eleven again, brows pinching together. A thought occured to her. Maybe she didn't need to recharge her batteries, she just needed ultimate relaxation. "That might work," Juliet murmured to herself.

"What... what would?" Dustin asked. Juliet ignored him and snatched a piece of paper from the fridge, disregarding the picture Will drew and started scribbling on the back.

"Do you have that kiddie pool the kids bobbed for apples in last year," Juliet asked Joyce.

"Yeah, somewhere," Joyce retorted.

She peered at Eleven and turned to Hopper. "I need salt. A lot of it."

Hopper's brows twitched in confusion. "How much?"

Juliet peered at Eleven again before placing the paper on the table, scribbling down a long equation, muttering to herself with each set of numbers. "Fifteen hundred pounds at the least." Juliet retorted.

"Well, where are we gonna get that much salt?" Nancy asked.

Juliet peered at Hopper. "Think we're gonna have a bad freeze this year?" Juliet asked. Hopper shrugged in response. "Good, grab road salt from the precinct. Meet us at the gymnasium at Hawkins Middle."

"Just what are you making?" Nancy asked, brows drawn together irritably.

"A sensory deprivation tank. She doesn't need a recharge if she can block out all external stimuli." Juliet retorted as if it were common knowledge.

Nancy and Jonathan stared at Juliet as she hurried after Joyce to find the kiddie pool. "Dude, your sister's awesome," Lucas hummed. Dustin just smiled before hurrying after his older sister.

"When I'd heard she made the top grades in the school, I thought they were joking," Nancy mentioned to Jonathan quietly. "Now I see she's way different than anyone thinks."