25. The Battle of Starcourt

I looked at the this thing wriggling in her leg. El was screaming and sobbing, I would be as well if I was in her position. "What is that?" Erica said and I wanted to know as well.

"There's something in there." Mike said and I looked at him.

"We need to get it out before it dies something to El." I said to them and it looked like it was getting bigger.

"No!" El shouted in pain.

"Jesus Christ!" Dustin got out and hopefully we'd have more backup soon.

"Keep her talking. Keep her awake, okay?" Johnathan said before he got up and ran.

"Jesus Christ." Dustin said and I knew what Jonathan was doing. Finding a knife.

"Hey, hey, hey. Stay awake, stay awake. Let's get her on this side, on this side." Mike said and we started turning her. Hopefully we could get this thing out soon.

"Easy, easy, easy, easy." Steve said as he helped to turn her over.

"It's, uh...you know, it's not actually that bad. There was a...the goalie on my soccer team, Beth Wildfire, this other girl slid into her leg, and the bone came out of her knee. Six inches or something, it was insane." Robin said and this wasn't really helping the situation. We needed to focus on El.

"Robin." Steve and I said to her.

"Yeah?" She asked us both.

"You're not helping." Steve said and I heard footsteps approach us.

"I'm sorry." She said and Johnathan slid back into his place again.

"Okay. All right, El? This is gonna hurt like hell, okay?" He asked her and I held my hand out.

"Hold this." I said to her and she took. This was going to hurt a lot but she need3d someone. Other than Mike.

"Okay." She said sobbingly.

"Need you to stay real still. Here, you're gonna want to bite down on this, okay?" Jonathan said and that's when Mike took the spoon. It was going to help.

"Jesus Christ." Dustin said and this was going to be fine. "Holy shit. Holy shit." Dustin said as Jonathan got the knife into place.

"Do it." Mike said to him and I was glad it was Jonathan doing it and not me.

"Okay." Jonathan said and that's when he cut. El was screaming and squeezing my hand.

"Oh, shit." Dustin said and that's when Johnathan stuck his hand in El's leg. I was hoping she'd pass out. She wouldn't.

"Johnathan!" Nancy shouted at him. I couldn't even watch.

"Stop talking!" Johnathan shouted and El screamed even more. "Goddamn it!" He shouted and I wanted this to be over.

"No! Stop it! Stop! Stop!" El screamed at him and he stopped. "I can do it. I can do it." She said as she sat up. Letting go of my hand. She then started to use her powers to get the thing out. "God!" She shouted as she kept going. She then started to scream. That's when the glass of the store behind us shattered. A small creature then came out of here leg and threw it as far as she could. Something squashed it. That's when I saw them. Dad, Hopper, Joyce and Murray. Finally. Mike started to explain stuff.

"The Mind Flayer, it built this monster in Hawkins, to stop El, to kill her and pave a way into our world." Mike said as he was saying what they went through.

"And it almost did. There was just one tiny piece of it." Nancy said to them and I was hoping it wasn't on its way here. I was still getting over the Russians.

"How big is this thing?" Hopper asked them and hopefully it wasn't too big.

"It's big. Thirty-feet, at least." Johnathan said and that wasn't sounding good.

"Yeah. It sorta destroyed your cabin. Sorry." Lucas said to the now homeless Hopper. Hopefully he could find somewhere else.

"Okay, so, just to be clear, this...this big fleshy spider thing that hurt El, it's some kind of gigantic...weapon?" Steve asked and that's what I sounded like. I wasn't liking this at all.

"Yes." Nancy said to us.

"Oh, great." I said to them all.

"But instead of, like, screws and metal, the Mind Flayer made its weapon...with melted people." Steve said and the whole concept of that just sounded completely disgusting.

"Yes, exactly." Nancy said and I shuddered.

"Yeah, okay. I- -Yeah, I'm just making sure." Steve said to her. I didn't even want to see that thing.

"Are we sure this thing is still out there, still alive?" Joyce asked and I was hoping that it was dead.

"El beat the shit out of it, but, yeah, it's still alive." Max said and I didn't want to run into it.

"But if we close the gate again- -" Will started, than we can officially kill it.

"We cut the brain off from the body." Max started. We could destroy it.

"And kill it." Lucas and Hunter said and I was glad we had an easy option for this.

"Theoretically." Lucas added and there wasn't anything theoretical about this.

"Yoo-hoo! Yoo-hoo!" Murray shouted as he approached us with a document.

"Okay, this is what Alexei called 'the hub.' Now, the hub takes us to the vault room." Murray said and he pointed everything on the map.

"Okay, where's the gate?" Hopper asked and the five us that were down there. We knew where it was.

"Right here. I don't know the scale on this, but I think it's fairly close to the vault room, maybe 50 or so." Murray said and he needed to times that by ten.

"More like 500. What, you're just gonna waltz in there like it's commie Disneyland or something?" Erica said to him and Steve put his arm around me. I wasn't going back down there again.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Murray asked her and she looked at him.

"Erica Sinclair. Who are you?" She asked him and he looked straight at her.

"Murray...Bauman." He said to her.

"Listen, Mr. Bunman, I'm not trying to tell you how to do things, but I've been down in that shithole for 24 hours. And with all due respect, you do what this man tells you, you're all gonna die." Erica said and I nodded.

"She's right. It's worse than you think down there." I said to them. When we were in the bathroom I saw that cheek was red with a few scratch marks on it from the slapping. Steve and I should be an example of what they could do to us.

"I'm sorry, why is this four-year-old speaking to me?" Murray asked everyone but she was speaking with truth.

"Um, I'm ten, you bald bastard!" She said making me laugh a little.

"Erica!" Lucas shouted at his sister.

"Just the facts!" She shouted at him.

"She's right. You're all gonna die, but you don't have to. Excuse me. Sorry, may I?" Dustin asked as he took a step forward.

"Please." Murray said and Dustin sat down. "Okay, see this room here? This is a storage facility. There's a hatch in here that feeds into their underground ventilation system. That will lead you to the base of the weapon. It's a bit of a maze down there, but between me and Erica, we can show you the way." Dustin said to him and I'd take that offer. They were expert guides down there.

"You can show us the way?" Hopper asked like he wasn't going to believe them.

"Don't worry, you can do all the fighting and the dangerous hero shit, and we'll just be your...navigators." Dustin said to him and they would be help. The best.

"No. Nope." Hopper said and that's when everyone started to gather materials. I went to talk with Dad.

"Hey, whatever they did to you down there Mija, I will make it worse for them." He said to me and I nodded at him. He then hugged me.

"Well, if you need the fuel. They slapped me and drugged me." I said and I could see the anger in his eyes.

"That's it. They are all dead guys walking." He said to me before he walked off to Hopper.

"Hey, heads up. You can navigate, just from someplace safe." I heard Hopper day to Dustin and that's when I walked over to Steve.

"They are putting themselves into so much danger." I said to him as I sat on the counter beside him.

"Well, your dad won't let anything happen. Besides if Dustin's navigating. They'll avoid everything." He said to me and that's when I saw an exchange of keys go to Dustin. Looks like we had a car. We then started on our way outside.

"Oh, man, now this...this is what I'm talkin' about!" Steve said as we saw the car. It wasn't exactly the Sheriffs car.

"'Toddfather'?" Robin asked as she saw the number plate.

"Poor Todd." I said he was now missing a car.

"Oh, screw Todd! Steve's her daddy now." Steve said and I never wanted to hear that ever again.

"Did you just talk about yourself in the third person?" Robin asked as we all started to get into the car. I got in the back with Dustin and Erica.

"Did he just call himself daddy?" Erica asked and I nodded at her.

"Please don't say anything like that again." I said to him and I would always hate hearing him say things like that. Once was enough.

"All right, where are we going?" Steve asked Dustin and I looked at him. This would be a good journey.

"Weathertop." Dustin answered and I'd never heard about that place before.

"Weather-what?" Steve asked him and at least I wasn't the only one.

"Just drive." Dustin said to him and hopefully this would be a smooth drive.

"Okay. Jesus!" Steve said as he started the car up. He then took off out of the car park. Off on our way to Weathertop. As we were driving the radio was playing and it was actually calming. "Jesus, how far is this place, man?" Steve asked, we'd been driving for ages.

"Relax, we're almost there." Dustin said to us and I looked at him.

"Well, I'd love to stay longer in this car." I said to them all. They could take that however they wanted.

"Suzie must be pretty special, huh? I mean, if you built this thing and lugged it all the way to the middle of nowhere just to talk to her?" Robin asked and she must've been the luckiest girl in history.

"I mean, nobody's scientifically perfect, but Suzie's about as close to being perfect as any human could possibly be." Dustin said with a big goofy smile on his face. He was in love and I was happy for him. He was all grown up.

"She sound made-up to me. She sound made-up to you?" Erica said and Steve hesitated on saying anything to the matter.

"Why are you hesitating, Steve?" Dustin asked him and he was hesitating badly.

"I'm- -I'm- -I'm not! I'm not! I think she sounds real. You know, totally, absolutely real." Steve said and she didn't sound real. I wouldn't believe it until I heard the voice of the radio.

"Left. Turn left." Dustin said but there wasn't a road there.

"There's not a road here!" Steve shouted at him.

"Turn left now!" Dustin shouted and that's when Steve took the left sharply.

"Jesus! Hang on!" He shouted and that's when he crashed straight through a fence. Now this was fun. "Whoa! Henderson, where are we going?!" Steve shouted at him. I couldn't stop laughing. This was great.

"Up!" Dustin shouted and it looks like we were going up the hill.

"Whoa!" Steve shouted and we started going up the hill. "Oh, Jesus!" He shouted as we'd gotten halfway.

"We're not gonna make it!" Robin shouted and I looked at this hill.

"We're not made for this!" I shouted at them all. We were going to go back down soon.

"Yes, we are. Come on, baby. Come on, baby!" Steve said and we were so close to the top. That's when the engine stopped. "Come on. Come on. Come on!" Steve shouted and we just weren't going anywhere.

"Guess the Toddfather has its limitations." Robin said and Steve panted, stopping the engine. We then got out so we could walk the to the top.

"Scoops Troop, do you copy? Scoops Troop, do you copy? Scoops Troop, do you copy? Scoops Troop, I repeat, do you copy? We're trapped in the mall and in need of emergency transportation. Scoops Troop, do you copy? Billy has found us. He has disabled our car and we are trapped in the mall. Repeat. Billy has disabled our car and we are trapped in the mall. Scoops Troop..." I heard Mike say the whole time we were climbing up the hill.

"Does he ever give it a rest?" Erica asked us and I looked at her.

"Clearly not." I said to her with a smile and we nearly made it.

"Scoops Troop, I repeat, we are in need of emergency transportation. Do you copy? Scoop Troop, do you copy? Steve, do you copy? Y/n! Dustin!" I heard Mike say and then it was radio silence on their end.

"Bald Eagle, do you copy? Bald Eagle, I repeat, this is Scoops Troop, do you copy?" Dustin asked and hopefully he'd respond. He needed to.

"Yes, I copy." Murray said and we all chuckled with relief. Steve hugged me and kissed my head.

"Call sign?" Dustin asked him and Murray hated it.

"Bald Eagle." He said and he wasn't amused at all.

"Please repeat." Dustin said to him and I smiled.

"Bald Eagle. This is Bald Eagle!" Murray shouted and I smiled and shook my head. He was so bitter about that.

"Copy that. Good to hear your voice, Bald Eagle. What's your 20?" Dustin asked him and hopefully he was in position.

"We reached the vent. I'll contact you when I need you. Until then, silence." Murray said to us and I was hoping he'd need our help a lot more than what he was thinking.

"Roger that, Bald Eagle. This is Scoops Troop, going radio silent. 10-10, over." Dustin said and Steve patted his shoulder. That was when I led down on the grass.

"What are you doing?" Erica asked me and I looked up.

"Stargazing. Help pass the time." I said with a smile as I looked up.

"Nerd." Erica whispered and if this made me a nerd I wouldn't care. It was calming. Of course Murray needed our help sometimes and Dustin always put him in the right direction.

"Scoops Trop, this is...Hm. Bald Eagle. I've reached another junction." Murray said and Dustin and Erica looked at each other. I just kept looking at the moon and the stars. With the clouds blanketing some parts of the sky.

"This is what?" Dustin asked and I'd already lost count.

"The fourth junction." Erica said to him and that's when I sat up.

"All right, so if memory serves, this is right after the My Little Pony thesis." Dustin said and there was a whole my little pony talk. What went on in those vents.

"We went left, so he has to go right." Erica said to him.

"Right. Fly right, Bald Eagle. Fly right." Dustin said over the radio to Murray. Hopefully he'd get there soon.

"Roger that, flying right." Murray said and that's when I looked at the two of them.

"I'm curious about this My Little Pony thing." I said to them and I saw that Steve was looking at something in the distance.

"What the My Little Pony thesis?" Robin asked and I was glad someone else wanted to know.

"Don't get him started." Erica said and clearly this was long.

"Get him started? Just tell us- -" Robin started before she was cut by Steve.

"Hey, guys?" He said and that's when I went over to him. Taking his arm as there was a shadow heading towards the mall. We ran to the radio. The Flayer was going.

"Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop! Do you copy? Over! Griswold Family, I repeat, this is Scoops Troop. Do you- -" Dustin said before we heard a screaming on the end. It was a human. It was the Mind Flayer. "Griswold Family, do you copy? Do you copy?!" Dustin shouted before we heard a roaring on the other end again. "Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop. Please confirm your safety! Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop! Please confirm your safety! Are you en route to Bald Eagle's nest?" Dustin said and I stood up and started pacing. I was was hoping that they were ok. "Please confirm your safety! Someone, please just answer. Is anyone there? Just answer! Anyone, please..." Dustin shouted and then he stopped.

"I hugged my brother and now he's not answering. Why aren't they answering." I said and that's when Steve came over to me and held my arms.

"Look at me, they have Nance and Johnathan with them. Besides Hunter's a smart kid, he'll keep himself alive. They'll be ok." He said to me and I don't know whether that helped or not. I then looked at Dustin.

"Griswold Family, do you copy? Griswold Family, do you copy? Griswold Family, do you copy?" Dustin asked and we heard the creature again. "Do you copy?!" Dustin shouted again and that's when Steve kissed me and walked away.

"Where are you going?!" Erica asked him and I didn't even want know what he was thinking.

"To get them the hell outta there! Stay here, contact the others!" Steve shouted and I started after him.

"I'm coming with you!" I shouted and that's when I started catching up to him.

"Shit." Robin said and I take it she was coming with us.

"Wait, Robin!" I heard Dustin say but we kept running to the car. I got in the passenger seat and Robin got in the back.

"Steve, let's go!" I shouted at him. My little brother was in danger and I had to protect him. I hated that I wasn't there. I should be there. I could hear radio chatter but I never listened to it. It wasn't my Dad or Hunters voice. But all of them were smart. They'd manage a way to hide. To run. To escape. Dad would be with Hopper. They'd be fine.

"Murray. Your goddamn code...is wrong." I heard Hopper say over the radio.

"What? Are you sure?" Murray asked him.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Hopper said and I just needed this gate closed already.

"Well, I- -I suppose it could be wrong." Murray said and I shook my head.

"How could it be wrong?" Hopper said and surely the number never changed.

"The code is a number, a famous number. Planck's constant I- -I thought I knew it." Murray said before they both continued talking. Arguing together. "He told me it was Planck's constant, which I know. Why would I need him to give me a number I already know?" I heard Murray asked and that's when I turned the radio up. I hated how far from the mall we were. And when we arrived we saved there lives. Billy was charging for them in his car and we knocked it out the way with force. Billy's car was then alight.

"Are you both okay?" Steve asked Robin and I. I nodded.

"I'm okay. But that was awesome." I said to him with a smile. That was thrilling. Like the whole summer.

"Ask me tomorrow?" Robin asked and that's when I heard the creature snarling again. We had to go.

"Oh, shit!" Robin said as we all stood up looking at it. It then roared at us, our attention getting pulled when we heard a car honk Chim beside us.

"Get in." Nance shouted and we all got in via the back door. I smiled when I saw Hunter. He was ok. But Dad, I had no idea where he was.

"Go, go, go, go!" Lucas shouted as we all got in.

"Go, go, go!" Steve shouted as we got in. Looking at the creature that was chasing us. I took Steve's handed. This was the thing ever. But we were faster than it.

"Dusty-bun, you copy?" We heard a new voice over the radio. A female voice.

"I copy, Suzie-poo. It sounds much better now, thanks." Dustin said. Steve, Robin and I looked at each other.

"Suzie." The three of us said together.

"Okay, so, listen, do you know Planck's constant?" He asked her and this was how we got the answer out.

"Do you know the Earth orbits the Sun?" She asked him and that was yes.

"Okay, so I know it's start with two sixes, and then a...W-What is it?" He asked her and I was hoping she'd just come out and say it.

"Okay, let me just be clear on this. I haven't heard from you in a week, and now you want a mathematical equation that you should know so you can...save the world?" She asked him and this was going to take some time. I could tell.

"Suzie-poo, I promise, I will make it up to you as soon as possible." He said to her and this was definitely a deal in the making.

"You can make it up to me now." She said to him and I wanted to know what this meant.

"What?" He asked her.

"I want to hear it." She said to him and I was a bit scared now.

"Not right now." He said to her but she seemed persistent.

"Yes, now, Dusty-bun." She said to him and she wasn't backing down.

"Suzie-poo, this is urgent." Dustin said to her but she wouldn't listen to him.

"Yes, yes, you're saving the world, I heard you the first time, but Ged is also saving Earthsea and he's about to confront the shadow, so this is Suzie, signing off." She said and that was great. Just great.

"Wait, wait, wait! Okay. Okay okay." Dustin said and it went silent for a second. "Turn around look at what you see in her face the mirror of your dreams." Dustin said by himself. We all looked at each other in confusion. Henderson could sing.

"Make believe I'm everywhere given in the light written on the pages is the answer to a never-ending story reach the stars fly a fan stay dream a dream and what you see will be rhymes that keep their secrets will rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds and there upon a rainbow is the answer to a never-ending story story." They both sang together before they stopped. I had no words. No thoughts. I was surprised about what I just heard. And confused as well.

"Planck's constant is 6.62607004." She said to him.

"You just saved the world." Dustin said to her and she did. We wouldn't have done it without her. Or her singing.

"Gosh, I miss you, Dusty-bun." She said to him and they seemed sweet together.

"And I miss you more, Suzie-poo." He said to her and I smiled.

"I miss you more, multiplied by all the stats in our galaxy." Suzie said and this was getting too much now.

"No, I miss you- -" Dustin shouted before it went silent.

"Well that was definitely something else." I said to them all breaking the silence. We then saw the monster change direction.

"It's turning around." Steve said to Nancy and Jonathan.

"What?" She asked us, it was going back to the mall.

"It's turning around!" He shouted at them. It was going for the gate. To stop them from closing it.

"Maybe we wore it out." Lucas said and that definitely wasn't the reasoning.

"I don't think so. Hold on." Johnathan said before he swung the car around.

"It's going for the gate or El." I said she wasn't here. Still at the mall with Mike and Max. We then made it back to the mall. It was time to attack. With fireworks.

"Flay this, you ugly piece of shit!" I heard Lucas shout from where I was with Robin and Steve. We then lit our fireworks.

"Hey, asshole! Over here!" Steve shouted as we tossed ours at it. We had a load more to get rid of. It was pretty though. A pretty destruction of such an ugly being. "Dustin! We're out of time!" I heard Steve shout over the radio to Dustin. We needed this gate closed.

"Shit! We're out!" I shouted a few minutes later. I then saw El and Billy at the bottom. He was holding her down. I don't know she was saying to him but I'm hoping that it was buying us some time. The fireworks then stopped altogether and Billy took a stand. He sacrificed himself to save El. He was attacked and...and killed. I gasped I may not have liked Billy but he never deserved this. The Flayer roared in Billy's face before going for Billy's heart. I couldn't imagine how Max was. A few moments later the Flayer was going down. Banging into the side we were at before going down. It had been defeated. The gate was closed. If this was only a minute earlier. Billy...Billy would be ok. I then hugged Steve. I didn't even know if my Dad was ok. It wasn't long until I saw Hopper's back up arrive. A few moments later would be firefighters. We all went inside. I stood with Hunter and we waited for Dad. In the back of ambulance and when we saw him I smiled.

"Papa!" I shouted as I ran over to him. Tears in my eyes. Hunter then joined us. He kissed the both of us on the head.

"I'm so glad your both okay." He said to us and I could hear a strain in his voice.

"Where's Hopper?" I asked him and he shook his head. I cried. I cried for a guy that had helped me through so much. Helped prove my dad innocent. And now he was gone. I heard footsteps come from behind.

"Steve, thank you for looking after her." He said to him with a nod. Steve didn't say anything. He just let the Solaces have their moment.

3 months later

The news was on as I went downstairs. Dad had been trying to go to work but it was different with the Chief there. "Welcome to Hawkins, Indiana, a wonderful place to grow up, to raise your family, to walk your dog. But then...on July Fourth, everything changed. A terrible tragedy struck this small town. But this was not this small town's first brush with tragedy. Mysterious deaths, government cover-ups, a bizarre chemical leak. Is it all linked? All a vast conspiracy? The fault of a disgraced, corrupt mayor? Or is something more going on in the heartland? Can a town itself be cursed? Some believe a rise in Satanism is to blame. To find out, tune in tonight at 8:00 p.m. for 'Horror in the Heartland' on Cutting Edge." The reporter said before I turned the TV. I had a new job interview. It was Steve, Robin and I. All together. Robin was reading our CV's on the drive to the new place.

"You put your mom down as a reference?" Robin asked Steve as we got out his new car.

"Seriously?" I asked him and he looked at us both.

"Yeah. Why not? She's, like, super well-respected." Steve said as he grabbed the door for family video.

"You're such a dingus." Robin said as she walked inside.

"But that's why I love you." I said to Steve as I walked in.

"Wha- -" He started but it was too late. We were already talking for our new jobs.

"Uh, just to be clear, we weren't fired, you know. The mall burned down and, like, killed a bunch of people." Robin said to the guy that I've never seen before.

"Thanks for sharing. Didn't know." He said to us and that's when he looked at us. "Three favorite movies. Go." He said while pointing at Robin.

"Uh...The Apartment, Hidden Fortress, Children of Paradise." Robin said to him and that's when he looked at me.

"You, go." He said and I nodded at him.

"Grease, Sixteen Candles and Dirty Dancing." I said with a nod. You couldn't go wrong with those movies.

"You, go." He said while he looked at Steve.

"Favorite movies?" Steve asked him. This couldn't let him down.

"Did I stutter?" He asked him.

"Uh...Animal House, for sure. Um..." Steve started before he started looking around the room. I put my head on Robin's shoulder. This was a mess.

"Eyes on me, Harrington." He said to Steve.

"Yeah. Uh...Star Wars." Steve said, did he not realize how many movies there was.

"A new hope?" The guy asked him.

"A new what-now?" Steve asked and this was getting embarrassing.

"Which Star Wars?" He asked him.

"The one with the teddy bears. Duh." He said before he squealed like an Ewok. He'd watch then one with Hunter. Well part of it. "No? Uh...uh, the one that just came out the move that just came out. The one with the DeLorean and Alex P. Keaton, and he's trying to bang his mom. The time...yeah, those are my top three. Classics." Steve said to him and the guy looked at me and Robin.

"You two start Monday." He said while pointing at us. We finally had a new job. "You start never." He said to Steve. Steve wasn't too happy.

"Will you just, um...will you give us a minute?" Robin asked him.

"It will only be a minute." I said to him.

"Why?" Steve asked.

"Steve." We both said to him. We then looked at the guy and Steve walked away.

"All right, you have to understand, Keith, I know his taste is a bit pedestrian, but the dingus has other qualities." Robin said to Keith, that was his name.

"Trust me, I'm educating him on movies every week." I said to Keith and that was true. Hunter was getting involved as well showing all his favorites.

"He's a douchebag of the highest order, Robin and Y/n." Keith said but that's where he was wrong. He easy like that anyone. A changed man. Mainly because of me but who's asking.

"He was a bit of a prick to us in high school, I grant you that, but he remains...a total chick magnet. Y/n's gotta nothing to worry about as he only cares for her." Robin said and that was true. He never looked at anyone else only me. I know most guys would've had their heads turned but not my Steve.

"Yeah, okay, and this is relevant to me how?" Keith asked and I looked at Robin.

"Uh, Earth to Keith. The ladies will come in just to see him. And they'll be more guys because of Y/n as well. They'll come in in droves. Droves, Keith. We sold so much ice cream." Robin said and I looked at him.

"And I sold a lot of clothes." I interjected because I sold many.

"They had to get a second shipment in from Michigan. Goddamn Michigan, Keith. And these ladies...these ladies are hot. They're so very hot. And Steve isn't untested in any of them. He needs assistance. He needs your assistance, Keith." Robin said and I walked over to Steve with a smile and a hidden thumbs up. He was going to be getting that job.

"It's going well. You do not need to worry at all." I said before he knocked a cutout down.

"Goddammit. This is- -oh! Fast Times. Fast times. Ever heard of it? Top three for me, Keith." Steve said making me laugh. I looked at him.

"You never fail to make me laugh, Harrington." I said to him. I was glad when Steve had joined the job as well. He got it. Today was a hard day for Hunter. The Byers were moving to California. El was going with them. I was going to miss them. Joyce was the first person I ever spoke to when I came here. Well one of them. It felt strange that they'd be gone. Johnathan leaving was like losing a good friend. Even though we spoke less throughout the years. Then El, I was losing a little sister. Losing Will was sad because of Hunter. He lost his first friend. But they'd visit. Of course they would. But for now it was bye to the Byers but they'd be back. They'd always come back. I was glad that I got to make it to the Byers place to see them go.

"El, be good. And when you come back, we can have a shopping trip together. Bring Max as well." I said to her with a smile and she hugged me.

"I'd like that." She said to me with a nod. I then went to Joyce.

"I'll miss you, sweetie." She said to me as she hugged me.

"I'll miss you too. Thank you for everything." I said to her with a smile and I nod. I then looked at Johnathan. "I'm sorry we're not as close to what we were. We will change that." I said to him with a smile as we hugged.

"I'm sorry as well, I could've made more effort." He said to me and I smiled at him.

"When you get back. We'll go out for dinner with Steve and Nance." I said to him with a smile. I then saw Will. "Hey, you. Don't go making anymore D&D friends, I don't think Hunter would take that well." I said to him and he looked at me.

"Thank you for introducing me to one of my best friends." He said to me and I smiled.

"You're welcome. Thank you for always being there for him." I said to him with a nod. They said the rest of their goodbyes and that was it. The leaving of the Byers.

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