EVERYONE IN THE ROOM WAS ARGUING, and Eli seemed to be drowning in the sourly delivered words tossed between one another. Eve was bickering with Martha, her dark eyes glaring accusingly at the Baker teen after discovering that their older sister had ventured off with Nancy and Jonathan. Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Rene were all furiously debating whether or not to stick to the plan, stunned by the sudden disappearance of the three teenagers.

Eli, who was still hunched on the bleachers with an apprehensive sigh, found himself crawling a few seats down to join Eleven. He felt nervous under her wary gaze and the general electricity of her presence, but the words that hung in his throat were itching to come out.

"Hi, we've never really met," Eli mumbled awkwardly, twitching at the power of her amber eyes on him. "I'm Eli. Will's my best friend, and I just...I want to say thanks. I know how scary it is, in that place."

The girl's rosy lips slid upwards into a gentle smile. Her knees were drawn to her chest and there were still abundant signs of exhaustion imprinted on her youthful face. "You're welcome."

"Hey, where are you going?" Mike's loud voice rang through the massive open space, catching everyone's attention and silencing any further debacles. His arms were fanned outward in an agitated, slightly offended manner. "Didn't you just say to stick to the Chief's plan?"

"I am, I'm just gonna go get some chocolate pudding!" The Henderson boy called back casually, earning a wave of confusion to settle on the others.

"Are you serious?" Mike shouted.

"El needs to be recharged!"

Eli cast a glance over his shoulder at his twin sister and Martha, who were both still stiff with the temptation of erupting into another fight. "We should all go," he found himself saying. "Maybe it'll help us get some energy back. We'll need it if the lab men show up."

Lucas's eyes glazed over with hollow anxiety. "You think they'll find us?"

Eli, uneasy under such careful examination by an audience larger than what he was used to, nodded stiffly. "We have to assume the worst."

"He's right," Mike agreed. "Let's go."

Despite his own wise advice, Eli found himself poking the gooey sweetness of his pudding absently, unable to stomach it. His head was nestled loosely in his cupped hand, and he was acutely aware of Eve and Martha sending him occasional glances of worry. A heavy sigh tumbled past his dry and cracked lips.

"I just really want him back," Eli mumbled aloud to no one in particular, hoping the saddened statement would clear the air for his sudden gloom.

Eve was nodding sympathetically. "We know."

Martha matched the caring glow that assumed his sister's face. "Yeah, you'll see him soon. Just think, Hopper and Joyce are out there getting him back right now. It shouldn't be too long."

Eli didn't respond, and his eyes fell upon Mike and Eleven, who were quietly conversing with one another at a lone table across the almost vacant cafeteria. He observed the way Mike's body had straightened with nerves, and El was beaming at him lightly in consequence of whatever words the raven-haired boy had said to her. He found himself shifting his focus onto the navy jacket the frail girl bore, which hung loosely on her shoulders with sleeves too big for her bony arms.

An idea flickered in Eli's head. "We need a distraction," he decided darkly, abandoning the spoon that was sinking deeply into his chocolate pudding. His feet churned towards Mike and Eleven, who were still deeply nestled in the foreign intimacy of their conversation.

"Hey guys?" Eli approached them uncomfortably, award that he was interrupting something personal but the new urgency that had assumed him was too important. "I, um, I need to borrow Eleven's jacket."

Mike's dark eyes glazed over with confusion and a hint of irritation, worsening the guilt that grappled Eli for disturbing their peace. "What?"

Eli scratched the nape of his neck awkwardly, becoming fully aware of how stupid he most likely appeared. "I need to use El's jacket. For a distraction."

The Brooks boy expected a crinkled look of disgust from the Wheeler, and a string of phrases that suggested he was indeed weirded out by the timid boy's request. But instead, Mike pushed himself slightly away from El and gazed up attentively at Eli, patience brimming his face. "Why?"

Relieved to see that Mike was intrigued rather than annoyed, Eli felt a small strain of confidence. "We should be prepared for if the bad guys show up. They're gonna be looking for Eleven, and if we have a decoy of her to distract them, you guys can find a safe place to hide.

Thankfully, it didn't take long before realization lit up his chestnut eyes. "I get it. Like they'll follow the fake El and lead them away from the real El?"

"Exactly," Eli exhaled happily, a faint grin dancing on his unearthly pale face.

"It's a good plan," Mike complimented, and the warm bubbles resurfaced in Eli's chest that made his toes curl tightly inside the rubber of his sneakers. He was a stranger to this feeling, and it made him grow tense with discomfort.

"Here," Eleven smiled softly, slipping the blue fabric off her shoulders and gently holding it out to Eli. She had only known the boy for a few hours, but Mike seemed to like and trust the boy, and he had been kind to her earlier, so she trusted him too.

"Thank you," Eli returned the smile, wrapping his small fingers around the jacket before returning to his table, vaguely wondering if the two were still watching him walk away.

When he returned, he was met with the bewildered faces of Martha and his sister. "What was that all about?" Eve inquired lightly.

"Can you wear this for me?" Eli didn't answer the question, instead thrusting the jacket forward at his sister impatiently. "And try to cover your hair."

"I'm sorry, what?" A dry chuckle left Martha's cracked lips. "What's going on, Eli?"

Eli swiped the black beanie that lay crumpled on the table, slipping it back onto his damp hair. "A distraction. Didn't I say that, already?"

"Wait, you want me to pretend to be her?" Eve's oak eyes drifted away from her brother and to the shaven girl across the room, who was watching their table warily alongside Mike. "Do I have to pretend to like Mike too?"

"What?" Eli let out almost too harshly, pushing her head forward in slight aggression. "Why does that matter?"

"It was just a joke, E," Eve softened, her eyebrows knitted together confusedly.

"Right," he swallowed. "Let's go wait outside."

"Um, I didn't exactly agree to this—"

"Please, Eve!" Eli cut her off, practically whining. His eyes shined with desperation, and his hands had curled into fists so tight that his knuckles gleamed white. "I don't wanna just sit here and feel useless."

Martha, who had just been silently spectating the twins, intervened. "You're just restless because you're worried about Will." Before the young Brooks boy could snap, she continued. "But let's do it. It doesn't hurt."

"Fine," Eve huffed, already sliding her arms through the sleeves. "But only for you, E."

"Thanks."

The night air smacked their faces as they stepped outside the gym and into the car park. Eve was tugging anxiously at the ends of Eleven's jacket while Martha just kicked at the loose pebbles in the asphalt. Eli's eyes remained on the dark, winding road that snaked into the evening shadows.

"This feels kind of pointless," Eve admitted after a scarce three minutes of waiting, her hands sagging in the open pockets of the coat. "I mean, why would the bad men come looking for us at the school?"

Eli shrugged, and found himself answering the same way he'd been answering everything that night. "We need to assume the worst."

"The only car that's gonna come speeding here is Hopper's, and they'll have Will," Martha spoke up, her tone drenched in such undoubting assurance Eli almost believed it.

But his hope was squashed forever by the metallic roar of several cars swerving into the parking lot, their headlights gleaming like orange, monstrous eyes. Eli hobbled to his feet, frozen in disbelief as he eyed the crowd of vehicles slinking towards them. "Eve, cover your head," he ordered through gritted teeth, but made no motive to wheel around and sprint inside just yet.

Eve obeyed, throwing the back of the jacket over her head and covering her brown locks discreetly. "Is it them?" She questioned fearfully, shielding her face from the strange cars cleverly.

"Um," Martha's voice wavered as a party of people dressed in dark clothing emerged from their shiny vehicles. "If that isn't a group of evil scientists then I don't know what is."

A tall, slender man hurriedly exited one of the cars, and Eli could sense just from the hungry eyes and blinding white hair that he was their leader, and he had seen the three of them by now. "Go. Go!" Eli hollered, slapping his hands into the back of his sister and shoving her through the double doors.

"Holy shit! You were right, E! They found us!" Eve cursed, her legs shakily carrying her towards the opposite side of the gym. "What do we do?"

"Martha, you need to go warn the others. Tell them to hide!" Eli glanced at the older teen.

"Are you kidding me? And leave you two by yourselves with a horde of angry lab men?" Martha scoffed, her arms swinging at her side with effort as she continued to run beside them. "No way in hell!"

"Somebody has to make sure they know they're here!" Eli growled, his voice scratchy and raw with anger. "Would you rather I run off by myself and do it? We don't have time to argue! Go!"

Martha gawked at the shouting boy with huge eyes. She had never heard him so furious, and without another babbling, idiotic protest, she whirled around and took off towards the cafeteria.

"Wait," Eli reached out and stopped his sister with one arm, her torso slamming into it roughly.

"What, E? They're gonna catch up to us!"

"That's the point," he snapped, cautiously gazing at the gym doors. When they burst open with several men pouring through them, Eli released his sister and they were hurtling down the milky-colored halls once again.

The twins' muscles began to burn with effort, but that didn't stop them from retreating further away from the cafeteria and the group. "Eli," Eve panted, perspiring lightly under the shade of the jacket. "Are they still on our tail?"

Eli looked over his shoulder briefly to check that they were still in pursuit, but the feeling of slamming into another body caused him to stumble backwards and pathetically topple to the floor. His bottom ached with pain from the sudden contact with the tiled floor, and he wheeled around to face what he had crashed into.

A woman was standing above them, smirking at the two with a dark, evil look. In her right hand she wielded a gun that gleamed harshly under the fluorescent lights, and Eli's anxiety morphed into terror that began to gnaw at his insides dreadfully. What was worse was that he recognized the woman after a few puzzling moments.

"M-Mary?" He stammered, recalling the friendly face he had met for the first time at his dad's work. Now that white happiness had shifted into black malice, and his astonishment almost overpowered his fear.

"Hello Eli," Mary sighed, a feign disappointment settling on her wrinkled skin. "It's a shame to see you here. And you," she aimed a bony finger at Eve, "pretending to be someone you're not."

Eli, with whatever surge of courage was left in him, pushed himself back to his feet and trained his eyes on the stranger of a woman he thought he knew. "You work for the lab? But I thought—"

"Just a cover up, my dear," the term dropped off her voice like slime, causing goosebumps to ravage Eli's arms. "Now, be honest with me, Eli. Where's the girl?"

"I...I don't know," he replied, and there was a slight truth to his confession. Martha would've reached the others already, and they would've abandoned the vulnerable space of the open cafeteria for a more suitable hiding place.

Mary's black heel slid discomfortingly along the floor as she drew closer, and Eli felt Eve shuffle closer to him with unease. "I don't like dishonesty, Eli. Where's your friends?"

"I said I don't know!" Eli pleaded, tears pooling in the corners of his eyes. He stared desperately through his watery eyes at her. "Let us go."

Mary tapped her finger on her chin thoughtfully, toying with the obvious horror that had assumed both children's faces. "I could do that. Or, I could have a little fun."

Cold terror cast down on Eli's body, and he almost shuddered at the mischief that rang in her tone. A tiny hand, Eve's, clutched Eli from his rear, and he could sense her fear through the sweat and shaking of their contact. "Please."

"Let them go!" Another voice called from the end of the corridor.

Eli snapped his head behind him, and distress radiated off him as he realized Mike and the others were rushing forward to them. He opened his mouth to demand what happened to his proposed plan for them to hide, but the murderous expression painted on Eleven silenced him.

"Eli!" Eve abruptly screamed, her wild eyes still transfixed on the bad men behind them.

Eli tried to whirl around and see what had sent his sister into an unworldly panic, the metallic click of a gun roaring in his ears. In a blinding flash, the gun that was aimed at his head flew out of Mary's strong hand and surged several yards away from the commotion.

The Brooks boy looked back at Eleven in shock, who was already glowering at the lab men with a bloody nose. She had just saved him. Mary was a mere second away from shooting him and ending his life, and El had stopped her.

But there was no time for gratitude, because a pair of iron arms were snaking around Eli's waist and lifting him into the air, followed by another pair that swiped Eve as well.

"Let them go!" Mike's cry rang throughout the clearing, and he attempted to rush forward to the twins, but another pack of soldiers had snuck up behind the kids and captured him, along with Lucas, Dustin, Rene, and Martha.

Eli began thrashing uncontrollably against his captor, swinging and punching the muscular arms that restrained him. "Let me go!" He snarled viciously, his legs repeatedly slamming into the man's thighs.

El, who stood in the center of the commotion with no free soldier to capture her, parted her lips to let out a blood curdling scream that drowned out the angry pleas of all the other kids. A powerful wave of energy blasted from her, one that even Eli felt rattle his bones as the man's steel grasp on him released and he went tumbling to the ground.

Eli stared in horror as all the soldiers lie dead in a puddle of blood streaming from each of their eye sockets, strained noises falling from his lips as nausea grappled his stomach. "Oh my God," Eli murmured, his head pounding with sickness.

Martha hobbled over to him, wrapping her hands around the boy's frail arms and hauling him to his feet. His face had turned green under the school lights, which he just realized were flickering now. "We have to go. The Demogorgon."

Eli swayed on the balls of his feet, a high-pitched ringing humming in his ears as he tried to focus on the words falling from the Baker's lips. "Demogorgon?" He echoed stupidly, his eyelids fluttering with the threat of a faint spell overcoming him.

"E, c'mon!" Eve was beside him now too, her eyes spilling messy tears onto her round cheeks.

"Is he okay?" Another voice, which Eli believed to be Rene, demanded.

"We have to go!" Mike's voice screamed from a distance, and Eli grimaced at his intensity.

"Fuck it," Martha grunted, heaving the boy back into her arms and carrying him bridal style. "Where are we going?" Eli could feel himself slipping in and out consciousness so quickly he was almost unsure if he was actually fainting at all.

"Science classroom!" Dustin, who had a weakened El cradled in his arms, ordered. The group broke into another frantic run, everyone shoving themselves inside the strikingly white room with panic.

"Here, take him, get him to the back of the room," Martha gently placed Eli back on his feet, but all of his weight was immediately transferred to Eve as he fell against her chest. "I need to help barricade the door."

"What's going on?" Eli tried to ask, but the words fell short on his tongue. He was starting to regain his senses, however, after the overwhelming shock had sent him into an unconscious mess.

"C'mon, E! Get a hold of yourself!"

With a strained effort, Eli pushed himself off of his sister and limped anxiously to the back of the room, where Mike was comforting El, who was laying weakly on one of the lab tables. Eli could barely hear the assuring words the Wheeler was feeding into the limp girl, squeezing her hand tightly with his fingers and smiling down at her with his freckled face.

"Eli?" Eve questioned, and the Brooks boy turned to meet a bewildering look from his sister. She opened her mouth to ask him something, but was cut off by the loud boom of the door breaking off its hinges.

Eli's screams drowned out the monstrous shrieking of the Demogorgon as it pounded through the doorway and snarled hungrily at the defenseless kids. Eli was sure this would be the end of him, and that he would never be reunited with the soft brown eyes of Will Byers and he would retreat to a darkness worse than the Upside Down.

Lucas was desperately firing pebbles from his slingshot, his eyes burning with effort as his friends shouted at him from his rear. Unexpectedly, the third pebble hit the monster's chest squarely, causing it to reel backwards and crash into the chalk board. Eli glanced back at the Sinclair boy with surprise, only to find El's determined face glaring at the ugly monster opposite the room.

"Eleven, stop!" Mike surged forward in attempts to grab the girl and pull her back to safety, but with one flick of a powerful hand, he was sent flying into the cabinets.

"Mike!" Eli hollered uselessly. The raven-haired boy was watching painfully with tears dripping down his spotted face as El advanced towards the monster.

And even though Eli barely knew El, he still watched emotionally as the girl glanced back one last time, tearfully, at Mike. "Goodbye Mike," she uttered, and it was the last thing she said before she was screaming in agony, her fingers curled towards the monster, which was quickly disintegrating into dark particles of nothingness floating in the air.

And then, with another white flash, El had joined those dark particles of nothingness.

She was gone.

The only sounds that carried through the room for an excruciating minute was Mike's cries for her. Eli could only wordlessly watch the emotional boy patrol the room recklessly, tears flowing past his eyes and dripping from his milky face. Dustin and Lucas followed suit, both of their faces shell-shocked as they scoured the small space for any sign of the girl.

"What," Rene exhaled shakily, gripping the surface of the lab table in front of her, "what just happened?" Her blue eyes were swollen with shock, and Eli matched her expression.

Martha, the only teenager in the room, was just as paralyzed as the others, standing beside Eve. They had just witnessed someone vanish into thin air, along with the inter-dimensional monster that had been pursuing them.

Mike entered the room again, only now his shoulders slumped in defeat but his eyes remained wide with panic and surprise. Eli wanted to say something to the boy, but hesitation gripped at his chest and he realized he had no idea how to console his new grieving friend.

"Guys," Martha murmured, pointing a quivering finger at the window, which had become luminous with red and blue lights. It was only then that Eli heard the sirens. "We should go outside."

Dread made Eli's heart quicken as he was ruthlessly thrown back into reality, following his sister and Martha outside to the blaring vehicles. He knew he was going to have to face his parents now, who had probably become well aware of their disappearance by now.

He fully rendered himself ready to meet the brutal end of his father's hand, or another shiny belt buckle that would only dig into his skin in a searing, white hot pain. Eve must've observed the boy's anxiety-ridden face, because she held out her tiny hand and allowed their fingers to become entangled tightly like coiled vines.

Mrs. Brooks was a disheveled mess, her eyes black with wet mascara and clear liquid dripping from her nostrils as she pulling both of her children into a hug filled with wretched sobs. Her fragile hands met the back of their heads, cupping their hair and placing sloppy kisses on both of their cheeks. "Oh, thank God!" She cried out in a horrid, gurgled voice.

A large, iron hand cast itself on the frail shoulder of the crying woman, instantly stilling her blubbering moans and causing her body to grow rigid. Alan towered over the three of them, who had all become keeled in the gravel-sand mixture as Sandra held onto the twins. "Darling, you're upset. Go take your medicine and wait for me in the car."

Sandra wordlessly obeyed, rising from the ground with a steely face and suddenly dry cheeks. "Of course, dear," she mumbled back, her feet dragging in the rocks as she slid away from her family and towards Alan's car.

Eli had still not looked up at his father yet, but now he had to as his mother slunk further away from them, leaving only that tall, motionless figure in front of them. Alan's face was cold, as always, and his leathered sleeves were crossed over his chest as he stared down at his quivering children.

Eli looked past the shadow of his father and saw Mike, who was being tackled restlessly by a shivering woman with auburn curls. His mother. A woman who was holding her son lovingly and whining about her colossal relief. Although his mother had just done the same to him and Eve, he still felt a sour tang of jealousy settle in his chest. It looked different seeing it there, happening to Mike. Better.

"They found your friend Will," Alan growled, the frothy night air making mist cloud around his breath. "He's at the hospital."

Eli's heart twirled happily in his ribcage, and his chest ached with yearning as he began to imagine wrapping his arms around Will's always feeble torso again. Had it not been for the blizzard of his father's gaze, he would've taken a moment to collapse amongst the rocks and cry from the alleviation of knowing his best friend was back.

"Mr. Wheeler is going to drive you kids there. Make sure the kid's okay. But afterwards, he's driving you home. And the both of you are grounded for the foreseeable future," although Alan's voice was still caked with hostility and malice, his statement had sent waves of shock sweeping Eli's entire body.

He was letting them go see Will? It almost felt like a fable had fallen upon his ears, and he would be emerging from the hazy walls of this dream in any minute, reality knocking all the air out of him. But his father's stony eyes were enough confirmation that he was indeed being truthful.

Eli knew this struck as unusual, in fact, it was downright abnormal. His father being breezily calm after such a crisis had befallen his "undisciplined children"—especially considering the oldest's location was still unknown—lie right amongst Demogorgons and evil scientists in terms of oddity. But his heart screaming to see Will again had masked this confusion for now.

"Thank you, Dad," Eve answered for the both of them, but her voice was meek and apologetic, for what Eli wasn't sure of.

Because Eli wasn't sorry. He knew his punishment was going to be inexplicably harsh, that he would be bearing the extra weight of anxiety on his shoulders for possibly months, but he didn't care. Because he had partaken in something that helped save Will. And he would do it all over again. Exactly the same.

"Tomorrow's Sunday," Alan continued, ignoring the cautious gratitude Eve had just communicated. "We still have church tomorrow. If you see Brandy, make sure she comes home. She'll be facing severe consequences too."

If their father had seen the ghostly expressions on his children's faces, he chose not to address it as he wheeled around and started for the car again. He left them standing aghast in the dark, the distant blue and red lights washing over their figures.

"He didn't even care that Brandy's still gone," Eve muttered in astonishment, and the sweat forming on her palm made Eli realize that they were still holding hands in fear. He gently pushed her hand away, allowing the heat from her touch to transfer into his thigh as he he held his own hand there. "Something's not right."

"Who cares?" Eli exhaled, happy to be ridden of his father's overwhelming presence for another hour or two. A light happiness dusted his face as he gleamed at his sister.

"We get to go see Will."