Warnings: Mentions of blood I THINK??? Slightly out of character El[again, maybe?]

A//n: just be patient with the powers thing, there's a reason it hasn't been brought up yet.

|| 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕||

It felt like hours, but we finally made it to the safety of the junkyard. Mike and El had just stopped and dismount the bike just up ahead. Lucas and I were side by side with Dustin and soon enough we were all on the grass catching our breath.

I never realized just how drained I felt until I got off the bike. Rather than risk any other injuries I collapsed to my knees to give my lungs a chance at catching up.

"Holy... Holy shit!" Dustin rambled excitedly. "Did... did you what she did to that van?"

Annoyed, Mike looked to Dustin and spoke in labored breaths. "No, Dustin, we missed it."

Despite my aching lungs, a laugh escaped me.

"I mean that was..."

"Awesome." Lucas cut in, panting.

He looked to El who was also sat on the grass, completely spent. Exhausted from recent events my energy was draining fast, but I was awake enough to make the connection that she must be exhausted from using her powers.

Lucas continued, but kept his eyes only on El, communicating it was her he was addressing.

"It was awesome."

He hobbled over to her and knelt down to her eye level.

My head begins to bob, much like one might do when they start to fall asleep sitting up. Regardless, I strained myself to stay awake, wanting to hear what Lucas had to say.

"Everything I said about you being a traitor and stuff... I was wrong." He gestured to himself and his eyes showed nothing but remorse.

I smiled warmly, thrilled to see them making amends. My eyelids were getting heavy and my head kept falling. It was getting harder and harder to stay awake.

There was a brief silence and El looked surprised.

"I'm sorry." He said.

He then brought a hand up to her and placed it on her back as a sign of comfort and genuine honesty.

Tearfully, El spoke. "Friends... friends don't lie. I'm sorry, too."

"Me, too." Mike spoke up.

We all looked to Mike to see him extending his hand out to Lucas.

It is then when I notice that the world around me begins to spin, and the last thing I see before everything goes black is Lucas and Mike shaking hands

|| 𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐎𝐕 ||

The children turned their heads at the sound of a dull thud. Y/n Henderson had collapsed and lay unconscious in the grass.

"Y/n!"

"Shit, what happened?" Dustin exclaimed, rushing to his brother's side.

The rest soon followed and they all surrounded the young boy.

"I-I don't know! He must have fainted." Said Lucas, in a confused tone.

Upon closer examination, the kids could see that their friend had lost a lot of color in his face. And very thin, very subtle veins were spread across his eyelids and the corner of his lips as if roots were sprouting from within him.

"What's wrong with him?" Mike asked worriedly.

Dustin sighed. "Shit. I, think this must have something to do with his head. Troy got him pretty bad, remember? Must have lost a lot of blood and exerted energy too quickly. Here, help me elevate his feet."

"Wait, what?" Lucas asked taken aback.

Dustin and Mike help move Y/n's feet and they are now positioned on top of Dustin's knees as a makeshift pillow. The two are angered by the memory.

"Yeah, after we split up from you, we ran into Troy. He chased us all the way to quarry. Him and his friend circled in on us and it escalated. He hit him pretty hard with a big rock. Knocked him out cold."

The boys filled their friend in on the terrifying events that only happened earlier and how El found them and saved the day and Lucas felt himself growing more angered with every word. And all the more guilty for splitting up.

|| 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕 ||

I heard the scattered voices of my friends as I came to. I let out a soft groan.

"You guys better not be fighting." I mumble weakly.

"Y/n! Jesus, what happened? Are you okay?" Dustin asked.

My eyes fluttered open and I look around seeing that I am surrounded by very concerned but relieved looking friends.

"Ugh, I don't know. But I'm... alright now. I think I overdid myself back there."

Lucas and Mike each grabbed my hands and helped me sit up slowly.

I mumble a thanks as I tuck my legs under myself and begin rubbing the back of my head.

They told me I had only been out for a minute or two, and as I listen, my fingers graze the back of my head and I frown in confusion.

"Are you sure your okay?" Lucas asked.

I nod my head yes, a slight frown still on my face as I continue to rub my fingers across the back of my head.

I take another look at their worried stares, each of them watching me carefully and I sigh. Everything about the last few minutes was begging to jump off my tongue. And in that moment it nearly did. They needed to know-- they would. But I also know we'd be lucky to get even minutes before they found us. And like it or not, that conversation would take more time than we have.

So against my wishes, I swallowed the truth still trying to digest it, myself.

"No, yeah, I'm fine. Listen, don't worry about me. We don't have time to."

Mike sighs and speaks with a hint of hesitation. "As bad as it sounds, I think he's right. The bad men are probably still looking for us. If they didn't know before that El is with us, they do now. Lucas, did you by chance find anything when we split up?" He asked tepidly.

We all look to him expectantly, and he looks at each of us before nodding his head in confirmation.

"Yeah. I found it. I think I might have found the gate."

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

The five of us now sat in a circle surrounding a makeshift map that Lucas had made out a bunch of sticks and a plank of wood.

"This is Randolph Road, right here." With one stick in hand he drew a straight line next to the plank of wood that was apart of the map. "The fence starts here," he brought the stick to the top of the plank. "and goes all the way around." The stick he held circles the makeshift shape on the map.

He grabs the empty soda can he found nearby and places it inside the odd shape.

"And this is the lab right here. The gate's gotta be in there somewhere. It's gotta be."

"Well, who owns Hakwins Lab?" Dustin asked confused.

"The sign says 'Department of Energy.'"

"Department of Energy? What do you think that means?" Dustin asks aloud to the group.

"It means government. Military."

A pit begins forming in my stomach. I shift uncomfortably as I continue listening in silence.

"Then why does it say 'Energy'?"

"Just trust me, all right? It's military. My dad's told me before." Mike says growing impatient.

"Mike's right. There's soldiers out front."

The all-too familiar flutter in my stomach picks up again and I know that I'm beginning to have anxiety.

"Do they make, like, lightbulbs or something."

"Enough with the energy thing, Dustin. They just said, it means military." I say impatiently.

"They make weapons to fight the Russians, and the commies and stuff." Mike finishes.

"Weapons." Lucas concludes.

That word triggers something in me. My eyes instinctively flicker to El and I gulp when I sense the same uncertainty in her as I feel.

Was she made to be a weapon?

Oh, God... was I?

I'm still finding it incredibly hard to believe what had happened, the scene of it all still replaying in my head. I had no idea I was capable of such things.

I'm pulled from my thoughts when I hear Dustin speak up.

"Oh, Jesus, this is bad."

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

"Well, what do we do?"

I frown once more when I hear a strange noise.

"I don't know, but we can't go home. We're fugitives now."

Suddenly the noise grows louder and I turn to look over my shoulder when I see the source of the noise.

"Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Guys!" I speak up.

They all turn to look up where I am and we all see the helicopter slowly approaching us from the distance.

"We gotta hide!" I say frantically jumping up to my feet.

Consequently, the world begins to spin again and I clutch my head in my spout of dizziness.

"Shit." I hiss, internally scolding myself for giving myself a head rush.

"The bus, we-we got hide in there. Quick, everyone, get the bikes underneath!" I point to the rusty red bus that was only a few feet from us.

We all scrambled for the bikes and began hastily shoving them under the bus.

"It's stuck."

"Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

Dustin's bike was caught on something that wouldn't let it go under and I drove to my knees and gave one final push and bike slid under.

"Come on!" I grabbed my brother's hand and dragged him with me as I followed Lucas and the others onto the bus.

"Get down!" Lucas called to us as we dove down onto the floor of the bus, each of us taking shelter behind some sort of obstruction behind the seats.

I was panting heavily, fearful for the life of my friends and my own. All we could do was sit and listen to the sounds of the helicopter circle up ahead.

"Mental." Dustin breathes, causing me to look at him frustrated at his timing.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

We all sit there in silence, nothing but the sound of the helicopter whirring overhead can be heard. My back was against one of the seats, I had my arms around my knees as I sat next to El. I nearly jump in fear when I hear the sound of the comm coming to life from Mike's backpack.

"Mike, are you there? Mike?"

It sounded like Nancy.

What could she be doing with a comm.
Wait, where did she get one?

"Is that yours, Mike?" I ask, gesturing to his backpack that lay a few feet away.

"Mike, it's me, Nancy."

He scrambles over to the backpack and hastily unzips it.

"Mike, are you there?" She sounded worried. "Answer."

We each scrambled over to surround Mike and we watched to see what Nancy wanted. Mike finally retrieves the device and holds it up for all of us to hear it clearly.

"Mike, we need you to answer."

"Is that your sister?" Lucas asks disbelieving.

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

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

"No kidding." I mumble.

Lucas goes to grand the device but Mike is quick to get it back.

"Don't answer."

"She said it was an emergency."

"What if it's a trick?" Mike fires back.

I look to El and then Dustin.

I hadn't even thought of that.

"It's your sister!" Lucas exclaimed.

"What if the bad people kidnapped her? What if they're forcing her to say this?"

"I need you to answer." Nancy's voice crackled over the comms.

"It's like Lando Calrissian. Don't answer."

I begin rubbing the bridge of my nose trying to keep my nerves in check.

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

Suddenly, the device crackles and a new, deeper voice begins speaking.

"Listen, kid, this is the chief. If you're there, pick up. We know you're in trouble and we know about the girl."

We all share a shocked look.

"Why is she with the chief? You don't think he's in on it, do you?" I ask worried.

"I... I don't know."

We all looked back to the supercomm unsure.

"And how the hell does he know about..." we all slowly look to El who begins to shrink into herself.

This only makes me grow more nervous. That man already saw what I can do. If he wants her as some sort of weapon or something, I don't know why he wouldn't want me.

The thought sends a shiver down my spine that thankfully goes unnoticed.

The chief continues, pulling me from my thoughts.

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

We all look at each other, silently deciding and encouraging Mike to answer.

"Yeah, I copy. It's Mike. I'm here. We're here."

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

It's been almost 30 minuets now. We gave the chief our location and ever minute that has passed by feels like an eternity. Mike and Lucas each occupied a seat, half of them where gone and the ones that did remain were either pushed up against the side of the wall or falling apart. Or both.

El and I shared a seat. Reluctantly, I laid my head on her shoulder, still tired from today's events. I was worried she might be weirded out, and she seemed taken aback but nevertheless, she welcomed it.

Hesitation in her movements, as if not sure if that's what is expected, she slowly brings her head to rest on mine and we sit there comfortably and watch Dustin pace the bus back and forth.

I shared Dustin's nervousness, but for a completely different reason of course. My nerves where showing themselves through my leg as it bounced up and down rapidly.

Clearly, Dustin's actions where getting to Mike.

"Will you stop pacing?" He asked frustrated.

He stopped and turned to face us all.

"It's been way too long. Do you know what? Maybe you're right. Maybe this is all a trap and the bad men are coming to get us right now!" He gestured wildly and he had picked up pacing once more.

"It's not a trap." Lucas snaps. "Why would the chief set us up? Nancy, maybe, but the chief?"

The comment about Nancy had not gone unnoticed and I saw out of the corner of my eye, Mike throw his hands up in disbelief, making a face at Lucas.

I chuckle slightly at this.

"Lando Calrissian." Dustin offers at the mention of the chief.

"Would you shut up about Lando?" Lucas shouts, frustrated at Dustin's obsession with the man who had betrayed Han, Leia and Luke on Star Wars.

"I don't feel good about this. I don't feel good about this!"

"When do you feel good about anything?"

"I don't feel good about this either, guys." I croak.

All attention is on me now, and my heart is pounding. I don't why I'm afraid to admit it, I've only known about it for barely half an hour. I guess it makes everything real.

I take a deep breath and I sit up, causing El to move her head and look at me. So do the others.

"Something happened back there, guys. Something... something I can't explain."

My hands are in my lap and I watch my fingers fidget with my thumbs.

I take another deep breath to speak and before the words can leave my lips we all immediately whip our heads around when we hear the sounds of an approaching vehicle.

Suddenly, we all get the same thought and run towards the front of the bus to see if it's the chief. Sadly, we don't recognize any of the vehicles, multiple had pulled up and were now surround the bus.

"Shit!" Dustin exclaimed.

Terrified, I grab El's hand and bring her to the back of the bus with me. She, well, now, both of us I guess, have the biggest targets on our backs and we all need to hide.

"Go, go, go, go," Mike orders frantically.

Each if scramble to the back of the bus and take shelter behind the seats.

"Lando," Dustin states firmly.

"Dustin!" I say angrily grabbing his attention. "Read. The. Room." I growl through clenched teeth.

"You think they saw us?" Lucas asked frightfully.

"All of you, shut up," Mike states in a firm whisper.

I hear footsteps growing closer and closer to the bus, worried that if our bikes didn't give us away, the sound of my heart beating violently in my chest would.

Unable to tear my eyes away from the door at the sound and sight of it being pushed open, I huddle closer to El and she does the same.

I catch a quick glimpse of a stranger's face before it is suddenly knocked into the door and I hear a body collapse.

Gasping, my hold on El only grows stronger.

We all jump when we hear a distant voice begin to shout.

"Hey!"

The next thing we hear I can only guess to be punching followed by many strange thumps.

"What the--" another voice calls.

Another thump.

The loud sound of something hitting metal accompanied the subtle sway of the bus. I fight not to jump with every sound.

The door creaks again and we all stare ahead terrified. Suddenly, we all simultaneously rise to our feet when we see none other than Hawkins Chief of police, Jim Hopper standing before us, out of breath.

"All right, let's go."

I jump to my feet, not wanting to sit in this bus as a waiting duck a second longer, I grab my jacket and stride up to the front of the bus.

Before I am able to stop myself I look up at the large man who had saved me and my friends from what could have been an unimaginable fate.

"Thank you," I mumble.

Taken aback, he stands there for a short moment, his eyes flickering past me to the rest of the party.

"Sure thing, kid. Now come on, we gotta go," I'm already leaping out of the bus and that's when I hear him raise his voice at the others.

"I said, we gotta go!" I looked back to see him motioning my friends out and then I see them all file out of the bus immediately.

Where we were going next, I had no idea.