TEENAGE NIGHTMARE
CHAPTER SIXTEEN — PART ONE.
THE LAB.

Upon hearing Will's information that the Mind Flayer was weaker in a certain spot in the tunnels than he was in others, Owens had told the soldiers of Hawkins Lab and sent them down into the tunnels to attempt to kill the monster once and for all. Meanwhile, Joyce and Bob sat at Will's side, Joseph standing off to the side as he just stared of into space. Hopper had gone with the scientists to watch over the soldiers in the tunnels. Mike sat in one of the chairs on the other side of the bed, looking down at his feet while Charlie sat in the doctor's chair, the one with wheels and a lever to rise and lower him. They'd been mostly silent, none of them really having anything to say to break the tension, but Charlie had noticed Will murmuring to himself every now and then.

As he started to pay closer attention, Charlie realized that he was whimpering. He raised his eyebrows and stood up, taking a small step forward towards the afflicted boy. Will didn't seem to notice him, so he slowly lowered his hand into his, trying get his attention. Will instinctively recoiled, then he snapped his head over to see that it was Charlie and he frowned.

" I. . " He began, and Joyce also listened intently as Will finally spoke, his voice just barely above a whisper as it trembled, " I'm. . I'm sorry. . "

Charlie noticed then that his pupils had grown, nearly bursting into his irises as the others in the room looked at each other. Charlie shook his head, gripping Will's hand as he asked, " What? What are you sorry for, Will? "

Joyce shared a nervous look with Bob before she leaned towards Will, flashing him a reassuring smile, " What is it, sweetie? "

Tears gathered in the boy's eyes as he slowly turned his pained gaze away from Charlie to his mother, quietly insisting, " He made me do it. "

Joyce's face contorted in confusion, and she grabbed both of Will's hands as Charlie pulled away from him, eyes drifting over to Mike, who had stood up, gears turning in his head.

" Who? Who made you do what? " Joyce asked, and Will's breathing became labored.

" I told you. They upset him. They shouldn't have done that. " Will stated in a voice that didn't sound like his own, " You shouldn't have done that! "

Then, Mike finally met Charlie's eyes with his own wide eyed look of realization, " The spy. . The spy! "

" Wha— " Joseph started to question, but Mike and Charlie were already bursting out of the room, sprinting down the corridor to find Hopper. Conveniently, around the corner was the big bulky metal door that led to the main lab where they were monitoring the Gate to the Upside Down. The two boys were breathless as they banged on the doors, various hands attempting to pull them away as the guards standing at the doors pushed them, urging them to step away.

The two guards were no match for Mike and Charlie's loud shouting as they shoved at the men, " It's a trap! You have to tell them, it's a trap! "

The guards seemed to completely disregard what they had said, " You can't go in there right now. "

" They're going to die if we don't tell them! " Charlie exclaimed, tugging on one of the guard's arms to make him look at him in the face, " You have to tell them it's a trap, now! "

Then, the guards looked to each other nervously before parting and jabbing in a code to the panel. The door opened, and the two boys didn't waste a second breaking through the guards, running in and making every pair of eyes snap to them. On the scanner above them, several red dots appeared, representing a whole lot of something coming to them. Hopper looked to the two boys with raised eyebrows as they panting, hands on their knees to catch their breath.

" It's. . a trap. " Mike stated breathlessly, and Hopper eyes hardened as they heard a loud screeching noise, and the lab shook violently. Hopper moved towards the glass window at the edge of the lab, peering down it to see a large, dark claw grip onto the edge of the wall, a loud howl pierced the air.

X X X

           Franny and Steve walked in pure silence, all but dragging their feet behind the trio of kids ahead of them, who were speaking quietly amongst themselves. Ever since they left the junkyard to follow the trail of the Demodogs, the two teenagers hadn't spoken a single word to each other. Franny could feel Steve's eyes on her as he kept glancing over at her every few minutes, like he wanted to say something but he ultimately decided not to every time. She was glad for that, not entirely sure she would know how to respond to anything he said. Her mind was still reeling from the past few hours, her thoughts scrambled between the kiss and narrowly avoiding certain death by the Demodogs.

Steve wouldn't say that he regretted doing what he did— any of it —but the frown that was planted on the girl's face definitely made him doubt his choice of actions and what he had originally thought was good timing. If he was most likely going to die as soon as he stepped out of that bus, he might as well take another risk since he wouldn't live to see the consequences, right? But he was annoyed with himself when he realized that Franny was purposefully ignoring him, averting her eyes from him every time he tried to get her attention.

He turned his head straight, exhaling loudly before brushing his hand against hers. Franny flinched lightly and hesitated before she inched her hand away, her eyes glued to the ground. Steve felt his jaw tighten and he glanced off towards the trees, finding himself quickly cursing himself for whatever he'd done to make her this mad. Franny felt bad for it, but she was angry with him for being so reckless with his own life and not thinking his actions through before acting on them. She also couldn't ignore the fact that she was so frustrated with him because it had scared her, absolutely terrified her to think about what could've happened. He very well could've died right before her eyes, and she would've done nothing but stood there and watched helplessly. The thought made her feel sick.

" Are you just going to ignore me forever? " Franny looked over at him, seeing Steve staring back at her with a raised eyebrow. The girl promptly turned away, and he let out a small sound of disbelief. " Franny, come on, just say something. "

Steve wasn't going to lie, throughout his handful of first kisses, the girl ignoring him afterwards wasn't usually a problem. Franny was different, though, just as he had told Dustin. And, Steve Harrington had never sounded desperate, but he felt an ache in his chest when Franny refused to look at him.

" Fine. " He huffed quietly, and they were back to silence for a few moments before Franny finally lifted her entranced gaze from the ground.

" You can't. . You can't just— " Steve's eyes darted to her as she made a noise of frustration, turning her head to look at him with a heavy frown. " You can't just do that, Steve. You can't go out and do something so insanely stupid like that, no matter how heroic you think it is! "

" I'm fine, Franny— "

" But what if you weren't? " She cut him off, stopping her feet to turn fully to face him, swallowing thickly, shaking her head and shoving his shoulder, barely hard enough to make him move as he came to a stop with her. " Did you think about that? "

               At his silence and the way he regretfully chewed on his bottom lip, she scoffed quietly and added, raising her hands and letting them fall to her sides, " Yeah, didn't think so. And, hey, you get brownie points for kissing me as a distraction, so congrats on that. "

               Steve returned her frown at that, putting his flashlight away as he insisted, " I didn't kiss you to distract you. Well, that was part of the reason, but I did it because I wanted to. "

              Franny lightly shook her head, breathily laughing humorlessly as she started, " Steve—

               " I like you, Franny Walker, " He said, grabbing both of her hands that time, pulling her an inch closer to him as he lowered his head, locking eyes with her and asking in a soft voice, " why can't you accept that? "

She blinked at him, then glanced down between them to see his knuckles were turning white from his tight grip on her hands. Franny didn't know how to answer him. Steve Harrington had just confessed his feelings for her and she could do nothing but stand before him wordlessly. Something that she had only imagined for the longest time had just become reality and she was speechless. She felt her heart flutter, but she couldn't put the feeling to words when she looked back up at him, offering him a half hearted smile.

" Just. . never do that again, please. " She remarked, and Steve let out a small chuckle, nodding as he lowered his gaze to his feet briefly.

              " I'll try. " He replied, returning the smile as his eyes looked over the brunette's face. " Man, I really had you scared, didn't I? "

              " Yeah. " She agreed in a 'duh' tone, turning her body forward so that they could start walking again, now a greater distance between them and the three kids a few feet ahead of them. Even though she pulled one of her hands from his as she began walking, she kept her fingers loosely entwined with the other. " You scared the shit out of me. "

              " Yeah? " He asked, a grin on his face as he bumped her shoulder with his, " Well, you don't have to worry about me, Walker, it'll take a lot more than a few mutated alien dogs to keep me away from you. "

             Franny rolled her eyes but if there was one undeniable thing about Steve Harrington, it was his infectious smile that seemed to brighten up and situation, and any frustration she held towards him melted at the sight of it.

             " I'm still gonna worry. " She told him, turning her head towards him as he cocked an eyebrow at her, his smile deepening even though he looked mildly confused but like he knew what she was trying to say anyways.

             " Why? "

              " Because I like you, too, Steve Harrington. " Franny replied, squeezing his hand tightly as she instantly felt heat rushing to her face. She didn't look at him after she said it. but he looked at her with a small smile on his face before he glanced down at his feet, focusing on not tripping as he became all too aware of how sweaty his hand had gotten.

             " Oh. " Steve said, and Dustin looked over his shoulder at them, propping an eyebrow at Steve teasingly as he noted their connected hands. The older boy pointedly glared at him, causing the curly haired boy to turn back around, snickering to Lucas and Max. They, very not subtly, both glanced back and shared a mischievous grin before facing forward again. " Good, that's, uh. . that's good. "

              " God, you are such a dork, Harrington. " Franny mentioned at his faltering response, and he went to shoot her an offended look, but decided not to as Lucas began talking loudly enough for them all to hear.

             " So, you're positive that Demodog was Dart? " The boy asked, fixing the bandana that was wrapped around his head.

             " Yes. He had the exact same yellow pattern on his butt. " Franny looked puzzled as Dustin revealed that information; she wondered how he had possibly seen that small detail in the darkness.

            " He was tiny two days ago. " Max pointed out, and Dustin shrugged.

            " He's molted three times already. " He told them, and Steve chimed in, flashing his light at Dustin's back, " Molted? "

            " Molted. " Dustin repeated, glancing back at Steve with a confused expression as if the older boy had never heard of the word. " He shed his skin to make room for more growth, like hornworms. "

           " When's he gonna molt again? " Max asked, voicing Franny's own concern.

           " It's gonna be soon. When he does, he'll be fully grown, or close to it. So will his friends. " Dustin explained shortly, sighing almost regrettably, " Then he'll be full Demogorgon. "

            " Yeah, and he's gonna eat a lot more than just cats. " Steve remarked, a morbid look on his face as Lucas's head spun to shoot an accusatory look at Dustin, stopping in his tracks.

         
            " Wait, cat? Dart are a cat?! " The dark skinned boy exclaimed, shoving Dustin's shoulder as the curly boy shook his head, lifting his palms in mock surrender.

           " What? No! "

           " You definitely said Dart ate Mews. " Steve insisted, and Max's head shot to the taller teen before looking between the others.

           " Who's Mews? "

           " Dustin's cat. " Franny informed her, and Dustin's eyes darted between the two teenagers in disbelief as they outed him.

            " Guys! " He shouted, and Lucas hit him again as he gave him a wide eyed incredulous look.

            " I knew it! You kept him! "

            " No! N-no. . " Dustin trailed off, but Lucas's challenging dark eyes made him rethink his next words. He quietly sighed before struggling, " No, I. . He missed me! He wanted to come home. "

             " Bullshit! " Lucas exclaimed, and Franny flinched at the harshness in his voice.

             " I didn't know he was a Demogorgon! " Dustin pointed out defensively, making Lucas roll his eyes.

             " Oh, so now you admit it? " Franny looked over at Steve, the two of them sharing a look of uncertainty as the kids bickered.

              " Guys, who cares?! " Max attempted to cool the argument, but Lucas dismissively waved her off.

              " I care! " He declared, jabbing a finger into Dustin chest as he glared at the curly haired boy, " You put the party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law! "

             " So did you! You told a stranger the truth! " Dustin yelled right back, pointing towards the ginger and, in turn, shining the bright flashlight in her eyes; she reactively shielded her eyes and scowled at him.

              " Stranger?! " She snapped, and Franny squeezed Steve's hand to try and get him to say something to break up the arguing, but she felt his grip loosen and she turned to see him pointing his flashlight off into the trees, eyes narrowed as he slowly walked towards it, his hand falling from hers.

             " Hey, hey!" Franny called loudly, but their fighting was too eccentric for them to hear her, or they were simply choosing to ignore her in favor of continuing to yell at each other. Her eyebrows lowered and she frowned before she suddenly stepped in between Dustin and Lucas, placing a hand on either of their shoulders and pushing them back lightly, giving them both a pointed look before shooting a similar one at Max. " Cut that shit out. It doesn't matter if you both broke the party rules, you can fight about it like toddlers later, like, after we stop these monsters from killing anyone? Understand? "

            Dustin and Lucas averted looking at her, simultaneously crossing their arms with defeated expressions as they muttered, " Yeah, I got it. "

             " Good. " Franny exhaled, turning on her heel to see Steve walking further into the trees; the girl inwardly groaned and pushed Dustin in the direction, gesturing for the other two to follow him as she took the rear, calling, " Steve, what is it? "

              The long haired boy stared at the patch of darkness beyond the nearby trees and lifted a hand, holding a finger to his lips, and they went silent. A minute passed, then they heard it: a loud, animalistic howl. Then, a second later, it came again, vibrating against the trees. Franny raised an eyebrow as Steve waited another minute before turning back to the others with a determined look on his face.

            " You think it's them? " She asked, and Steve tilted his head in consideration, clicking his flashlight off and tossing it to her before pulling his bat out from his bag.

              " Let's check it out. " He decided, turning on his heel and marching further into the trees. Franny urged the kids to follow, telling them to keep up while she jogged to catch up with Steve. Max seemed the only one fazed by the sudden spontaneous change of path, looking at them in disbelief.

              " Guys, why are you walking towards the sound? Hello?! " She was ignored, so she huffed angrily and followed after the four of them.

     
               Just before Franny was going to say that leaving the trail was a bad idea, the reached a clearing, which turned out to be a cliff that loomed over the small town of Hawkins. It was kind of insane to Franny that she could see the entire town, every lit up building and house in sight, looking so small and bland. She guessed that made sense, Hawkins was just that: small and bland. Dustin pushed between Steve and Franny to look over the edge, frowning.

             " I don't see them. "

               The growling grew louder, and became more constant, not leaving room for any calm to settle in the atmosphere. Franny grabbed the sleeve of Steve's jacket in reaction, but he didn't seem fazed by it, simply draping his arm over her shoulders as he also peered off the edge. Lucas pulled his binoculars out from underneath his shirt and lifted them to his eyes, seeing small, shadowy figures sprinting towards Hawkins Lab, the lights going haywire as they grew brighter before fading out.

              He lowered his binoculars to look at the others, " The Lab. They were going back home. "

X X X

" We're too late. " Mike stated, glancing over at Charlie, then at Bob, who had ran after the two boys. Mike shook his head and started to sprint back to the room, the other two in tow as he yelled, " We're too late! "

" What's going on? " Joyce questioned as soon as they reentered the room; the lights kicked off and a loud alarm blared over the speakers.

" We're under attack. " Mike informed her, then he began looking around frantically. Charlie grabbed his arm, questioning what he was looking for, and Mike answered, " We need to make Will sleep. "

" Okay, " Charlie said uncertainly, and began searching, too. The two boys tore up the room, while Joyce, Joseph, and Bob looked at them with wide eyes filled with panic. The tall boy found a small bottle of clear liquid and a syringe wrapped in plastic. He turned and nodded to the other boy, " Mike. "

" What? " Joyce asked, looking between the boys with panic as Mike took the syringe and medicine, holding them out to the woman.

               " He's a spy, " Mike insisted, " if Will knows where we are, then so does the monster. This is the only way to make sure it doesn't find out. "

               " He's lying! " Will cried, and Charlie's head snapped in his direction, watching his face contort in agony as the Walker's eyes softened sympathetically.

               " He killed those soldiers, he'll kill us, too! " Mike exclaimed, and Joyce finally accepted the items, taking them into her shaky hands. As the woman looks over at her son with a look of horror, Joseph gently took the syringe and bottle, giving her a small nod that said he would do it. He'd given his wife her medicine like this countless times when she was bed ridden, and he often hated looking at needles because it reminded him of the one time he was late for work and the routine task slipped his mind. His wife had tried to kill their children that day.

            " NO! " Will screamed, thrashing violently in his bed as he pulled his arms every which way against his newfound restraints; Charlie felt his own eyes widen in fear then, his heart racing as he stared at the face of his best friend that was not really him at all. " He's lying! They're lying! They're lying! THEY'RE LYING! "

           
             A round of gunshots rang out in the hallway after Will's booming voice, making the group turn around towards the door. Joseph placed the anesthesia in his pocket, just in case, and he held up the needle, calling out quietly, " Joyce. . "

           The woman nodded feverishly, then leaned towards Will, placing her hands on his forearm as she asked, " Okay, Will, listen, do you know who I am? Do you know who I am? "

            Will stared blankly at her for a moment, as Joyce's grip became increasingly tighter, Bob copying her motion on the other side of the boy, then he finally answered, " You're. . Mom. "

             Joyce bit her lip and glanced back at Joseph, nodding at him. The blond man didn't hesitate, moving forward and injecting the syringe into the boy's arm as he let out an ear piercing shriek. Joseph pulled it out once it was emptied, tossing it aside as Will's cries turned into soft whimpers before they stopped. Everyone in the room seemed to have held their breath as dreadful silence filled the air briefly, interrupted by the door slamming open, revealing Hopper and Owens. Their eyes quickly take in the scene, and they aren't allowed a second to speak when a ferocious growling roared. It sounded far too close for comfort.

           Out the window of the door, the Demodogs have rampaged throughout the hallway, screams bouncing off the walls. Hopper turned away from the door and met Joyce's eyes briefly before he moved to the bed, heaving an unconscious Will over his shoulder and saying, " We gotta go. "

            The group is led by Doctor Owens and Joseph Walker, who had swiped a large medical device as his weapon. They ran out of the room and down the hall, trying their best to ignore the smeared blood covering the floor and the screeching of the Demodogs that blended eerily with the wails of the dying scientists and guards. As they nearly rounded the upcoming corner, a Demodog appeared in front of them, running at them like a rabid animal. Luckily, a door was on their left and Owens shoved them inside, locking the door behind them as Hopper lowered Will onto a metal table, trying to regain his breath.

            Charlie held a hand to his chest, feeling his heart erratically pummeling against his ribs, panic racing up and down his veins. He heard Bob gasp as the man whispered, " Oh, my god. "

            Charlie turned to look at what the man was looking at, only to see a set of black and white, grainy monitors showing the footage from around the lab. Among all the long halls and lab rooms, there wasn't a single living soul, dead bodies littering the floor in pools of blood while the Demodogs chewed on their flesh. Charlie felt bile rise in his throat but he couldn't pull his eyes away as he realized: they were all dead. The eight people in this room were all that was left. And they were trapped.

           Owens flipped on a light that seemed to be powered by a backup generator or something, and then tore a map tacked to a nearby bulletin board down. He flattened it on a table identical to the one Will's pale body was lying on, and he pulled a pen out from his lab coat, drawing on the map. He gestured for the others to pay attention, " Look, this is us. And this is the nearest exit. But, even if we somehow make it there, there's no way out. "

            " What do you mean? " Hopper asked, eyebrows furrowed as he looked across the table to the doctor, who held a regretful expression.

            " The locks are fail secure. "

             " Fail secure? " Joyce repeated, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Charlie blew a breath of air out as he pressed his hands into the cold surface of the table to try and distract himself.

             " It means the building's on lockdown. Exits are sealed. " Charlie explained, glancing over at Owens for confirmation, his heart dropping to his stomach as the doctor nodded.

              " Can it be unlocked remotely? " Bob asked, and Charlie swore he heard a crackling at his walkie, his eyes darting down to it. Mike also heard the noise, and the two of them stared at it, waiting anxiously for a voice.

               " With a computer, sure, but somebody's gotta reset the breakers. " Owens explained with a shrug, a quizzical look on his face at the plan seeming to brew amongst the adults.

               Hopper leaned forward, questioning, " Where are the breakers? "

               " Breakers are in the basement, three floors down. " Owens answered, pushing the pen to draw a circle around the area on the map before sliding it slightly towards Hopper, understanding his intentions.

              Joseph, however, didn't seem to be following. He reached out and grabbed Hopper's forearm as he took the map and began to walk past them; the blond man had to look an inch up to look the sheriff in the face as he asked, " Woah, where you goin, Hop? "

             " To reset the breakers. " He replied bluntly,   and then Charlie heard it again. The radio attached to his waistband crackled with static, louder this time, and his eyes shot to Mike's as he quickly lifted the walkie to his mouth. The adults didn't seem to notice as the boy held down on the button.

            " Hello? Is anyone there? This is Charlie Walker, we're in Hawkins Lab and we need help. " The boy explained, Mike staring at him impatiently as they waited for an answer; still, just static responded. And, just as Charlie was about to change the station, he heard the faintest sound of an oddly familiar song.

             " Uh, no, you're not, Chief. " Joseph insisted, giving the man a stern look, " I know you like to be the hero and all, but we need to think this through. "

             Charlie's eyebrows knitted together as he tried to figure out where the hell he had heard that beat, that rhythm that was somehow written into his mind. Hopper shook his head, insisting, " There's nothing to think about, Joe. Someone has to do it, might as well be me. "

             Just as Joseph opened his mouth to reply, the static became slightly clearer to reveal more of the song, and he finally heard a line of words that triggered his recognition.

           " Should I stay or should I go now? If I go, there will be trouble, and if I stay it will be double. " Charlie's eyes widened as he was able to make out the lyric clear as day even with the intense static suffocating it; Mike also seemed to realize it, his eyes locking with Charlie's as the room went silent. The adults all stopped their arguing to look at the walkie between the two boys with cautious expressions.

            " What the hell is that? " Hopper questioned, but neither of them answered him. Charlie's first instinct was to look over at Will, but, when he saw the soft rise and fall of the boy's chest, he knew that it couldn't have been him. He was knocked out, he couldn't be communicating with them without the monster knowing. And there was only one other person that he knew that had such an attachment to that song, and that same person knew that it was the same song that Will used to speak to them from the Upside Down.

              Charlie turned his head and his eyes drifted over all of them as they stared back at him, waiting for an explanation, but the boy found himself looking at his father. Joseph's grip on Hopper's arm had loosened at the sound of the song, and he was staring at his son with the same expression of fearful recognition.

              With a trembling hand, Charlie lifted the walkie to his mouth and pressed down on the button, interrupting the crackling and the song as he whispered, " Franny? "

X X X

note.

;)

   ps don't worry this'll be explained next chap and I can safely assure you I'm not giving any of the Walkers some sort of powers, I'm just toying with the vagueness of Will's connection to the Upside Down and what that could contain.

as always, all comments, questions, predictions, and feedback are greatly appreciated!