July 4, 1985

Dustin pushed the vent opening it up, letting them climb out. He pulled himself out and scanned the room, Ally and Erica coming up seconds after. The room had been filled with containers that held multiple cylinders with the toxic green colored liquid.

"Jackpot." Dustin grinned.

"Bingo bango." Ally grinned.

Dustin looked around and saw a red, two seat vehicle outside the room. "Oh-ho-ho!" He ran to it, the two others following.

"Do you even know how to drive?" Erica asked him.

"How hard can it be?" Dustin shrugged. "Max did it."

"You mean the same Max that practiced in an empty parking lot?" Ally questioned with an eyebrow raise. "Let's not forgot you said she almost killed you all by driving last year."

"Yeah, yeah." Dustin rolled his eyes and entered, trying to find a key. "Awh, come on."

"You seriously thought they'd just leave keys in there?" Erica sassed.

"My parents do it all the time with their car. Also those Russians don't really look smart." Ally shrugged.

"There's gotta be a spare." Dustin spoke.

Erica sighed and started to search around, finding a large metal cage. "Hey guys?"

"Yeah?"

"What you need?"

"How big did you say that Demogorgon was?"

"Big. Nine feet or so." Dustin guessed. "Why?"

She walked towards something else, out of the two older kids sight. Ally looked to see a metal lockbox and tapped it to gain her friend's attention.

"Ooh!" Dustin walked over and unscrew the box. Once it opened, the vehicle keys were right there.

"Man, those Russians really don't know how to hide things. Do they?" Ally smirked.

"We found em." Dustin called out. "Erica?"

A loud zapping noise startled the two teens and Erica stood behind them with an electrified stun cane.

"Erica?!"

"What the hell is that?!"

"A deadly weapon." Erica stated in sass. "Could be useful."

She zapped it again, making them both step back.

"For what?" Dustin questioned.

"Probably to defend us." Ally laughed.

Erica nodded, "What do you think? Taking down commies, saving your friends."

"I think we should let her keep it." Ally said with excitement in her voice.

"Thought you were more realistic than that, nerds. We don't even know where they are, and even if we did, there are a million guards up there with weapons deadlier than that." Dustin explained. "The best thing we can do for them is to get out of here and find help."

"Hold on. There's only two seats and there's three of us." Ally pointed out.

"Well then enjoy sitting in the back, Al." Erica grinned as she sat in the passenger's seat.

Ally groaned as she crawled into the back, "You're very disrespectful."

"You'll get used to it."

"Easy with that." Dustin pushed the weapon out of his face. "Our chance of surviving, and theirs, rises substantially. Just trust me on this. Please?"

"Okay. Okay."

"Whatever."

€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€

Eleven had sat in front of the television in the living room. The static echoed through the cabin. El had her blindfold on, searching for Billy. The others sat on the couches, as their eyes focused on the girl. She started breathing rapidly until she let out a gasp and took the blindfold off.

"What's he doing now?" Max asked as the girl calmed.

El turned and told her that he was doing nothing. She then got up and went to the kitchen, saying she was thirsty.

"And that's not normal, right?" Nancy questioned.

"Billy staying in his room on the Fourth of July?" Max repeated what El had previously said. "No, that's not normal."

"He wants us to find him." Will told everyone.

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of." Nancy spoke up. "If we go to Billy, then the rest of the flayed know where we are."

"That definitely sounds like a trap to me." Beth muttered.

"I agree. It's totally a trap." Mike nodded towards Beth. "We'll be ambushed."

"We won't be surprised." Lucas spoke. "We'll know that they're coming, and we will kick their flayed butts."

"You mean El will kick their butts." Max corrected.

"It's too risky." Mike sighed.

"Yeah, and unnecessary." Nancy said. "Killing the flayed won't stop the Mind Flayer. We have to find out where it's spreading from. We have to find the source."

"Billy knows it." El informed them all, coming back toward the living room. "Billy's been there. To the source."

"Yeah, but-"

"It's a trap. I know." El interrupted Mike. "We can't go to Billy, but I think there's another way. A way for me to see where he's been."

El sat in front of the television once again, the static echoed. She had her blindfold ready in front of her and tissues to her right, in case she needed to wipe the blood from her nose. Max and Beth still sat on the couch, while Lucas and Will went to the kitchen.

El prepared to go under again, before Mike walked up to her. "El, I know you think you have to do this, but you don't." Beth saw Max roll her eyes as Mike said that. "It's just...you've only done this once before. And your mom, she loved you, and wanted you to know what happened. And Billy's mind is-is sick, diseased. The Mind Flayer is in him."

"He can't hurt me." El assured him. "Not in there."

Mike shook his head at her, "We don't know that."

El turned to face Mike. His hand rested on his as he kneeled to look at her. El grabbed his hand, "Mike. I need you to trust me."

Mike sighed and looked at Max who just raised her brows at him. He turned to El, "Yeah. Just...be careful."

He sat back in the recliner as Will and Lucas returned to their seats. El closed her eyes and placed the blindfold over her eyes. Everyone went silent as she did her power, searching for the source. A couple minutes passed before she started to pant, her face looking scared. Mike sat up, "Something's wrong. El, are you okay? Are you okay?"

El sighed, looking like she was going to cry before she softly said, "I'm okay."

"What's going on?" Mike asked.

"I'm...on a beach." Eleven answered.

Beth scrunched her face in confusion, "A beach? How is she on a beach?"

"Okay, I may be dense, but the last I checked, there weren't any beaches in Hawkins." Lucas explained, saying what everyone thought.

"What else do you see?" Max asked.

It took the girl a few seconds before she answered, "A woman. She's...pretty. I...I think she's looking at me." She took deep breaths. "There's...a boy. It's Billy."

"It's California." Max informed everyone. "It's a memory."

"I think I see it." Eleven told them, making everyone sit up. "The source. I think I found it."

€€€€€€€€€€€€€

"When Erica pulls the alarm, that's when you pour this on the floor." Dustin instructed. "You got it?"

Ally nodded before looking at the vital of green liquid, "Got it."

"Erica, when you're ready." Dustin looked at the younger girl.

Erica smirked and pulled down the alarm. Red lights started flickering from every corner and blaring sound was heard.

Ally opened the vital and spilled the liquid down on the floor.

"Let's go!" Dustin shouted.

Erica and Ally followed him as he ran a door open. It so happened to be the room Steve, Brandon, and Robin were in. They sat in the middle not looking very well.

Dustin let out a battle cry and electrified Doctor Zharkov with Erica's pole. The man screaming out as he was burning, before dropping.

"Ally, watch out!" Erica called.

The girl turned to a guard racing towards her and Erica. She quickly grabbed a nearby crowbar and whacked the man with it. 

"Oh my g-"

"Holy shit." She exhaled.

"Hey! Rivera, Henderson! That's crazy, I was just talking about you." Steve chuckled.

"So was I! That's so trippy dude." Brandon laughed.

"Oh my god!" Robin squealed.

Dustin and Ally started to untie the three from the chairs.

"Get ready to run."

€€€€€€€€€€€€€

"Brimborn..." El spoke. "...steelworks."

Jonathan got up quickly and ran towards the phone book. Nancy followed him as started to flip through the pages as quickly as possible. "Found it. 6522 Cherry Oak Drive."

"That's close." Nancy commented.

"El! El, we found it!" Mike shouted. "Get out of there! Get out!"

They all watched as El sat in one place, not moving.

"What the hell? Why isn't she getting out?" Beth questioned in worry.

"I don't know." Mike exclaimed. "El! El! Get out there! El!"

The girl began to breathe heavily as her chest rose and fell quickly. It reminded Beth of a panic attack, something she's had before. The group watched and waited for her, not knowing what to do. Her nose started to bleed even more before she ripped off the blindfold and screamed. "No!"

Mike quickly got up his seat and wrapped his arms around her. El had been hyperventilating and started to shed tears. "El, you're okay. It's okay." She fell into his arms and started to sob as the boy held her.

€€€€€€€€€€€€€

After El had calmed down and cleaned herself up, Nancy questioned her on what she saw.

"He said he was building something." El told them while she sat on the couch besides Max, "That it was all for me."

"Building something...is he talking about the flayed?" Max asked.

"He must be." Nancy nodded.

"So, he's building an army, just like we thought." Lucas said.

"Yeah, but he's not building this army to spread." Mike declared.

"He's building it to stop Eleven." Will informed everyone.

"Last year El had closed the gate." Beth spoke up. "That probably pissed him off real bad."

"Like royally." Lucas added.

"And the Mind Flayer now knows that she's the only thing that can stop him." Mike stated. "But if she's out of the way..."

"Game over." Lucas finished.

There was a silence before El said, "He also said he was gonna kill all of you."

"Yeah, well that's nice." Max sighed.

A low screeching noise was heard and Nancy walked forward, "Do you guys hear that?"

"It's just the fireworks." Jonathan assured her.

"Billy...when he told you this, it was here, in this room?" Nancy questioned.

"Yeah?"

A loud thudding noise started coming from outside making the group look around.

Will put his fingers to his neck, "He knows we're here."

They all ran outside, going to the car. But they stopped when they saw the giant creature in the distance smacking away the trees.

€€€€€€€€€€€€€

The alarm blared, and Dustin drove the transport vehicle with Steve, Ally, Brandon, and Robin squeezed in the back.

"Jesus, slow down!" Steve slurred, intoxicated with drugs they filled him, Brandon, and Robin with.

"Yeah, what is this, like, the Indy 500?" Robin added.

"It's the Indy 300." Steve corrected her.

"No, dude, it's 500!" Brandon yelled.

"It's 300!"

"Let's say a million." Robin finalized, making her, Steve, and Brandon to laugh out loudly.

Ally groaned, as she put her head in her lap annoyed that she was trapped with three child like adults.

"What is wrong with them?"

"I don't know."

"I know." Ally called out to them. "They've been given something and now are acting insane!"

"Dustin, watch out!" Erica warned him, but he had driven straight into some metal barrels.

"Shit!"

Steve grunted and yelled before the vehicle came to an aggressive stop, "Oh?"

"You guys all right back there?" Dustin asked while looking back at them.

The four groaned out in pain, being more affected by the stop that happened.

"I think you gave me another concussion." Ally muttered.

Dustin nodded, "They're fine."

Him and Erica climbed out and made their way towards the back letting the four out. The second the door opened, Ally crawled out and groaned.

"I hate my life." She admitted.

"Come on." Dustin ordered the three who were still inside. "We gotta go now."

"Come on! Get out!" Erica shouted.

"Let's go."

The three began to drag Steve, Brandon, and Robin, making them moan uncomfortably.

"Ow! We're coming!" Steve hissed. "This sucks."

"Why are you yelling, dude?" Brandon questioned, as Ally pulled his arm forward.

Dustin walked over to the keypad and inserted the key card he got from someone. The door beeped and opened, making him glad.

"Ally, stop pulling my arm!" Brandon whined. "I'm not two."

"Really? Cause, I couldn't tell the difference." Ally muttered as she ushered him the elevator.

Erica and Dustin ushered the other two into the elevator, and once they all were inside, Dustin pressed the button, leading them up.

Robin, Steve, and Brandon were being giddy as Steve stood on a red trolley.

"Hey! You look like you're surfing!"

"Surfing! Yeah! Whoa!"

"Totally tubular dude!"

"They seem drunk." Erica stated.

"Why would they be drunk?" Dustin asked.

"Why not?"

"I'm a natural! Check it out! Whoop!"

Robin pulled the trolley out from under Steve and watched as he fell to the floor, "Wipeout!" She yelled.

"Oh, you suck, man!" Brandon laughed.

Dustin crouched down to Steve and touched his forehead, "He's burning up."

"You're burning up." Steve repeated.

"One sec, one sec." Dustin pulled the boy's eyelids open. "Steve, Steve."

"God, no." Steve squinted distressed. "Ow!"

"His pupils are super dilated." Dustin informed them.

"I don't think they're drunk." Ally sighed. "They're high on something."

"Ugh." He tapped Dustin's nose. "Boop!"

"Steve, are you drugged?" Dustin questioned his older friend in a serious tone.

"How many times, dad? I don't do drugs." Steve explained. "It's only marijuana."

"This isn't funny, okay? I need to know what they did to you." Dustin asked. "Are you gonna die on us?"

"Boop."

"We're not going to die Dustin." Brandon laughed. "At least I don't think so."

"We all die, my strange little child friend. It's just a matter of how...and when." Robin explained.

Dustin gave them both a look and sighed, "They're gonna be looking for us up there, so I need you to tell me where you parked your car."

"You're going to drive?" Ally raised a brow.

"I drove the transportation vehicle." Dustin reminded her.

"Yeah, and you crashed it!" Ally pointed out. "Again, I think you gave me another concussion."

"You'll live."

"I've already had two!"

"Oh, can we make a pit stop at the food court?" Steve quickly said.

Robin agreed, "I would kill for a hot dog on a stick."

"Same dude." Brandon nodded.

"Ooh!"

"All right. Yeah, food." Dustin replied, "Yes, you can have as much food as you want, but only if you tell me where your car is parked."

"Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh?"

"The car's off the board." Steve admitted.

"What?"

"They took the keys." Steve explained while he showed his empty pockets. "The Russians, they took the keys - like forever ago."

Him, Brandon, and Robin chuckled.

"That's a bummer right?"

Ally and Dustin shared a look of annoyance before turning back to the older teens.

"Brandon, what about you?" Ally questioned. "You got your keys?"

"Uh..." Brandon paused, before looking through his empty pockets. "No, no. No. No. Sorry."

Ally rolled her eyes in annoyance before the elevator door opened. Ally helped Robin and Brandon up and escorted them out.

"Thanks girl." The brunette boy patted the girl's head making her swat his hand away.

"Oh! Oh my God, that tastes so good." Robin put her tongue out, "Ah, Steve, Brandon, can you both taste the air?"

Steve and Brandon mirrored her actions. "I taste it! I taste it!"

"Me too!"

As they walked, they saw two guards walking towards them, "Stop!"

"Shit!"

"Oh, holy shit." Ally swore as she almost tripped.

"Come on! Come on!" Dustin declared.

Ally and Erica grabbed onto Robin and Brandon while Dustin took Steve. They dragged them over to the door as the Russians yelled at them.

"Okay, okay, okay! Woo!"

"Why are we running?"

"I hate running."

Hey y'all!! Here's another chapter!!! This took me forever to write! I had a lot of fun writing the parts with Steve, Robin, and Brandon. I don't know why. Also Ally and Brandons's relationship is really something else. They are both super chaotic. Ally is definitely like Scott McCall.....and Brandon is Stiles...haha get it cause it's...it's Dylan O'Brien...no? Okay...

Anyways, hope you all enjoy this chapter and more is coming soon!! Season 3 is almost done and then we move onto season 4!! Super excited for that! I have lots planned. Also make sure to check out my new Teen Wolf fic I released yesterday!! I've had it in my drafts for a while and finally decided to publish it! So, make sure to give it some love.

I also published it on my Quotev account as well. Its the same name as my wattpad username: multifandombabe

Love you all!!

-Mary💕