Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"What have you done?"

There was blood.  Dead bodies, everywhere.  Everything was blurry.  And the voice heard spoke again.

"What...have you done?!"

March 1986

Eleven woke with a start.  As she sat up, she saw her bedroom door creak open.  Will was standing there.

"Morning, El."  Will said with a soft smile.  "Are you okay?"

El nodded.  "Fine.  Just didn't sleep well, that's all."

Will nodded as he said, "Well, we should start getting ready.  Jonathan made breakfast, but we should keep it quiet.  Mom's on call with a client."

"Alright," Eleven replied.  "I'll be out in a second."

Shortly after, Will and El sat down eating.  Not much was spoken.  That is until Will asked, "Bad dreams again?"

Eleven paused.  She had been having these dreams for a while, but hadn't let Mike or Joyce know.  Would they understand?  She certainly didn't even know if Will would.

"Yeah," El said.

"I won't prod, but if you ever want to talk about it...I'm here for you," Will said in response.

"Thanks," El replied.

"You're welcome," Will responded.

The two would soon finish their meal, finish their preparations for the school day, and be on their way with Jonathan to school.

Mike Wheeler could not seem to get himself out of bed.  God, school was killing him.  And the stress of holding the Party together by threads. Or at least, it felt like everyone was holding on by a thread.  After Starcourt, things changed.  And most of that change wasn't for the better.

"Mike?  Mike!!!"

Mike's thoughts were interrupted by Nancy opening the door.  She was clearly annoyed, which meant that he'd definitely overslept.

"What the hell are you doing?!  It's ten after," Nancy said.

It took a moment for Mike to process this, but the realization hit him quickly.

"Oh shit!"

"Thirty seconds or I'm leaving without you, okay?"

That was all Mike needed.  He quickly got his pants, brushed his teeth in ten seconds, and snatched his breakfast on the way out.  He and Nancy quickly drove off to school.

As school began, everyone was brought together for a special assembly.  Today was the last day before Spring Break, meaning that there was a ton of big projects and tests due.  Thankfully, the gang had been mostly helping each other out and staying afloat academically, except for Max.  She had distanced herself, and no one seemed to be getting through to her.  Still, the Party found themselves sitting together with Lucas being the exception.  He had joined the basketball team, meaning that he was probably going to be a part of the assembly.

"Look, I'm not saying my girlfriend's better than yours.  It's just that Suzie's like, a certified genius," Dustin said

Mike and Dustin had somehow gotten in a debate about girlfriends, and Mike certainly wasn't going to lose it.

"You do realize El saved the world twice, right?"

"And yet you still have a C in Spanish," Dustin countered.

All Mike could do was roll his eyes.  Suzie had done the favor of changing Dustin's grade for Latin, which to Mike was insignificant.  But he respected Dustin's rebuttal enough to concede, at least for now.

"By the way, do you know if Lucas is coming to tonight's game?" Mike asked.

"No clue," Dustin replied.

"Shit, that's not good," Mike said.

The cheer routine going on below finished up, and an announcer belted out, "Let's hear it for your Tigers!!!"

The audience cheered, as the announcer handed the microphone off to Jason Carver, one of Lucas's teammates on the team.  At this point, the team had made their way to the center of the gym.  Lucas saw Max in the audience, as he tried to wave to her.  She didn't respond.

"Good morning, Hawkins High!  Hey everyone!" Jason yelled into the mic.  The crowd cheered.

Jason continued, "First off, I'd like to thank each and every one of you.  Without your support, we wouldn't be here.  Give yourselves a big hand."

Everyone cheered again as Jason turned to the cheerleading squad and said, "And of course, I have to give a special shout-out to the best and the prettiest fans of all time, the Tiger Cheer squad."

Chrissy Cunningham, one of the cheer captains smiled at Jason.

"Chrissy, I love you babe," Jason said with a smile.

The crowd let out an "aww" in response, before quieting down as Jason cleared his throat to speak again.

"You know, I think I can speak for all of us when I say it's been a tough year for Hawkins.  So much loss.  And sometimes I wonder: 'How much loss can one community take?' In dark days like this, we need something to believe in."

Dustin sighed.  Here we go again, with the stuffy and corny jock shtick, he thought.

"So last night," Jason continued, "When we were down by ten points at half to Christian Academy, I looked at my team and said 'Think of Jack, think of Melissa, think of Heather.  Think of Billy."

Starcourt flashed back into Max's mind.

"Think about our heroic police chief, Jim Hopper."

Eleven tensed at this.  Jason continued.

"Think about every one of our friends who perished in that fire.  What did they die for?  For us to lose to some crap school.  No."

"No!" The crowd repeated back.

"I said, 'Let's win this game for them' and that's exactly what we did!"

The crowd cheered.

"We embarrassed 'em in their own home, and now...tonight we're gonna bring home the championship trophy!  Let's go!"

As the crowd cheered for Jason and the team, Dustin said in disbelief, "Tonight?!"

Mike chimed in, "How is that even possible?!"

Max answered their questions flatly, "They call it a tournament.  You win games, and you go on until there's one team left."

Eddie Munson was going to flip out if he found out.

"I don't get the big deal," Lucas said as Mike, Eleven, Dustin, and Will all stood hoping to figure out a solution with him.

"Just talk to Eddie, get him to move Hellfire to another night," Lucas suggested.

Mike scoffed at this.  "Just talk to Eddie," he said sarcastically.  "Why don't you just talk to your coach and get him to move the game?"

"I think that's a great idea, Mike," Dustin said sarcastically.

"Thank you, Dustin."

Lucas rolled his eyes, before saying, "This is the championship game."

Will sighed.  Mike and Dustin were being jerks about this, but he wasn't going to go that route.

"But it's also the end of Eddie's campaign," Will said.  "A semester of adventuring has led to this moment, and we need you."

"Yeah, and the Tigers don't," Dustin agreed.

"You've been on the bench all year," Mike chimed in.

"That's not the point," Lucas said, as his frustration grew.  He just wanted them to understand. 

"What is the point?" Eleven asked.  She and Mike were the only ones who had showed up to a game hoping to see him play, though they didn't.

"If I get in good with these guys," Lucas responded, "I'll be in the popular crowd, and then you guys will be too."

Mike couldn't believe this.  "Has it ever occurred to you that we don't want to be popular?"

"You wanna be stuck with the nerds and the freaks for three more years?" Lucas asked in response to Mike.

Everyone was taken aback by this.  The hurt was especially visible with Eleven and Will.

Lucas tried to apologize.  "Look, I'm sorry...I--"

"We are nerds and freaks," Dustin said.

Lucas shook his head, as he said, "But maybe we don't have to be.  Look, I'm tired of being bullied.  Tired of girls laughing at us, tired of feeling like a loser.  We came to high school wanting things to be different, right? So now we have that chance.  I skip tonight, that's all out the window.  So I'm asking you guys as a friend, just talk to Eddie.  Get him to move Hellfire.  Come to my game, please."

The bell rang right then, as everyone walked off to their classes in silence.  The Party had been through everything, thick and thin.  They fought an alternate dimension together.  They took on Russians, and bullies, and the US government, together.  But everything was different.  Nothing was the same anymore.

They weren't kids anymore, though.

Chapter Text

Mike and Eleven sat next to each other in class, as they listened to a popular girl finish a presentation on Helen Keller.  Mike and El's English class was doing a project that involved them presenting a person they saw as their hero whether they be famous or not.  Mike had gone up earlier in the week, his presentation being his writing influence, Edgar Allen Poe.  He had thought about El, but that would draw too much attention.  And while her powers were gone, it still needed to be kept to secrecy.  The class clapped as the girl presenting wrapped up.

"That was wonderful, Abby.  Truly wonderful, what an inspiring story," the teacher said.  "Okay, next up is...Jane."

There was light clapping as El got up with her presentation.  It was mainly just Mike, but some students at least had the courtesy to applaud.

While most people had chosen famous individuals with the occasional person presenting a hero from Indiana specifically, El decided to cover someone much closer.  She and Will had worked together, but the idea was entirely Eleven's.

Eleven took a breath.  She was nervous, but started her presentation, "For my hero, I chose Jim Hopper.  My dad.  And for my visual aid, I made a...di...orama of the cabin we fixed together."

A jock mumbled, "More like diarrhea."  This elicited laughs from his friends, before the teacher told everyone to be quiet.

"Many of you knew him as the police chief.  He taught me a few things about his job, but he also made the best Eggos.  We would feed a squirrel we named Mr. Fibbly.  And we liked to watch Miami Vice every Friday," Eleven said with a laugh.  All the memories came back, as she felt happiness...but it was bittersweet.  But she noticed the crowd.  They were looking at her.  And not in a good way.

"This was an alarm he made," El said as she point to a string near the sculpted porch.  "I know to some of you, he was a little scary.  But I was never scared because...because.."

Eleven trailed off as she noticed a raised hand.  It was Abby's.  "Abby, let's save questions until the end of the presentation," the teacher said.

"Oh, sorry," Abby said in a fake nice voice, "I'm just confused.  I thought like, this was supposed to be someone historical.  A real hero, y'know?"

"He was in the newspaper," Eleven said.  Her calmness was starting to break.

"Nobody reads The Hawkins Post besides our folks, if you didn't realize it," Abby said smugly as people began to laugh.  "I just think this presentation was meant for famous people."

"I don't know if you've been living under a rock, but he saved people," Mike spoke up, angrily.

"Well if it isn't the boyfriend coming to the rescue," Abby replied.  "I hate to break it to the two of you, but he's no hero.  Our friends died, and he didn't save them before he died.  You notice how things have finally been normal since he died, for the first time in like, three years?"

Mike and Eleven both couldn't find the words to counter this.  The teacher finally spoke up.

"Well, speaking on the rules of the assignment, you're correct.  But heroes show up in our lives everywhere, and Jane's decided to present our former chief...her father."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," Abby said with a fake smile.  "I guess you can continue."

Mike and El were the first to exit the classroom following the presentations.

"El, they had no right to be assholes.  You were great," Mike said.

"Maybe Lucas is right about being accepted," Eleven said dejectedly, "The way they look at me...they look at me like I'm a freak.  Like I'm a monster."

Mike put a hand on El's cheek, wiping away a tear with his thumb as he responded, "You're not a freak.  Or a monster.  You're an amazing person.  They just can't see it, because they're wrapped up in their own little worlds."

The two moved in for a brief kiss, but parting a few moments after as the warning bell rang for the next class.

"I love you, Mike," Eleven said with a smile.

Mike smiled back, saying, "I love you too.  No matter what."

Max didn't have a lot of ways to escape the pain.  The weight of everything she had been through.  But "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush spoke to her.  It spoke in a way that most songs didn't.  She couldn't quite figure out why, but it was one song that never got old.

"Can you remove your headphones, please?"

Ms. Kelly's question snapped Max back into the reality, away from her thoughts and the music as Max turned off her walkman.

"Sorry," Max quickly said in response.

Max felt like she kept going through the motions with Kelly.  A constant loop of not wanting to open up to her counselor.  Ms. Kelly asked Max about her mother and the new place they were living in.  She'd answer with how working two jobs has been stressful.  She'd then ask about her stepdad being gone.  It would be the same answer as always, as Max would explain how it was better since Billy's dad...was an asshole.  Another one of those questions that followed was asking about her sleep habits.

"No more headaches?"  Nightmares?"

Max would always say no to this.  She knew she was lying.  How could she even describe watching Billy die before her eyes?  Ms. Kelly was concerned.  Max knew she was.  Who wouldn't be?

"Max?  What you're going through, what you're still going through...it's a lot for anyone.  And it's okay to not be okay.  But I can only help you if you're truthful, if you open up to me."

All Max could do was lie.  Again.

"Yeah...I know.  I'm being open."

Lucas knew that most of the Party was going to be busy with Hellfire.  But he wasn't going to give up in at least getting one friend to show up to the game.  Or even...

Max had broken things off with him a while ago, but Lucas's feelings for her hadn't gone away.  And more importantly, he was worried for her.  As he saw her through the hall, he took a breath and walked over to her, game ticket in hand.

"Max, hey."

Max turned and quickly said, "Are you stalking me?"

Lucas was caught off-guard, but continued.  "No, I just...I wanted to give you this."

Lucas handed Max the ticket, as she asked, "What is this?"

"A ticket to the game.  I know you never want to go to my games, but this one's kind of a big deal."

"A big deal?" Max responded, "You really care about this?"

Lucas knew how this was probably going to end.  But he wanted to try anyways.  "Yeah, I…I do. Maybe you should find something you care about too."

"What the hell is THAT supposed to mean?!" Max asked in exasperation.

"It's like you're not even here anymore!  It's like...you're a ghost." Lucas responded, almost without thinking.

"A ghost? Really?" Max said.  Her patience was gone.

"Max, I know something's wrong."

Max retorted back, "Something must be 'wrong' with me because I broke up with you."

Lucas didn't want things to be this way.  He replied, "No, that's not what I meant."

There was a pause between the two of them.

"Lucas, people just change.  Okay?  That's it.  I've changed, it's that simple."

"Max..." Lucas tried to say, before Max turned to walk away.  But before she started, she turned back.

"Good luck," Max said, with a hint of sadness in her voice.

As she left and Lucas headed over to lunch, he felt that crushing weight of guilt that had been hanging over him for a while.  About Max, and about how his involvement in the basketball team clashed with the life he knew.

Lucas felt alone for the first time in a long, long time.

The Party's lunch schedules weren't the best.  Mike, Dustin, and Lucas had the first lunch while El, Will, and Max had the second lunch.  But it was a minor inconvenience for El.  She had bigger issues, like her struggles in Algebra.  The Party had gotten her up to speed with all things academic remarkably quick, but math was a constant thorn to Eleven's academics.

"Keep trying, Jane.  You're improving.  If you want extra help though, feel free to see me as soon as you can after break," her teacher said.

Perhaps the not-so-stellar test grade was what stopped El from noticing that Abby had stuck her foot out to trip on her way to eat outside.  While her lunch bag was mostly intact and nothing was lost in the fall, the diorama that she still had on hand landed a few feet away from her.

Abby and her posse of girls and guys started laughing as one of the guys who walked past stepped on the diorama, crushing it.

"Whoops," some of her friends said while laughing.

"Oh my God," Abby said as she laughed sarcastically.  "I'm so sorry.  Hope Mr. Fibbly's okay!"

"Abby!" Eleven yelled in anger.  Abby and her posse turned around, shocked but still grinning.

Eleven was done.  She had endured Abby's relentless bullying since she had started at school, and she wasn't going to endure it any longer as she got up.  Maybe if she got her powers back for one moment...she could finally show her what it felt like...

"Hey!"

Eleven turned to see Max walking over, as she pushed past the crowd that had formed.

"Leave her the fuck alone," Max said angrily.

"Who the hell are you?" Abby said smugly.

Max rolled her eyes, before retorting, "Does it matter? At least I'm not busy making a scene by being a royal bitch to people."

Abby was taken aback.  Max saw this, but she wasn't going to let up.  Sure, she hadn't been standing by El or her friends recently.  But she wasn't going to let them get bullied.

"Well, I wasn't finished," Abby finally replied, "I was wondering what Jane was about to say, so why don't you move? I have a lot of money to give, you know?"

"Make me," Max said through gritted teeth.

"I wasn't asking!" Abby yelled as she pushed Max back.

"Hey!"

The third voice happened to be Eleven and Mike's English teacher, who had managed to disperse the crowd a small bit.

"What's going on here?"

As El looked up for a moment, the teacher noticed the mess.  "Jane? Did someone do this?"

"I-I tripped," Eleven stuttered, noticing the glare in Abby's eyes.

Abby couldn't help but smugly blurt out, "It was just an accident."

The teacher knew what this meant.  She grabbed Abby by the arm as she said, "You come with me, Abby.  Now."

"What??  Why?!" Abby yelled in protest.  "I didn't do anything!  Tell her, Jane.  Tell her!"

The crowd dispersed after this, as Will ran over.

"Shit," Will said in shock, "El, are you okay?"

Eleven nodded, but the tears in her eyes said otherwise.  Will noticed the broken diorama at that moment.

"I'm sorry.  It's going to be okay," Will said, "It's not that bad.  We'll fix it together, okay?"

Just then, Max handed Will the diorama.

"Put it somewhere safe for now Byers, okay?" Max said, still frustrated from the altercation.

"Max..." Will started, but Max cut him off.

"Please.  I'll stick with El," Max said, "Thank you for trying, at least."

Will nodded as he picked up the diorama and the broken pieces, as he walked away.  He wished he could do more.  But he just didn't know how he could help El.

A few minutes later, Eleven and Max sat together as they silently ate their lunches.  Eleven couldn't help but think about how this was the first time in several months since she had ate with Max.  Max had closed herself off.  To El's understanding, it was due to everything that had happened with Billy.  She tried to be there, but Max made sure she wasn't followed.  And she had made it pretty hard to communicate whether it be by ignoring or lashing out.  But Max still showed up for her when it mattered the most.

"Thank you," El said, without much thought into those words.

Max shook her head as she responded, "You don't need to thank me."

Eleven quickly replied, "But you helped me.  No one else was there, and..."

Max said, "It doesn't matter.  It's not going to change how things are now."

Eleven knew what Max meant by this.  Yet now that she brought it up, she wanted to try.

"I know that things haven't been great," El said.  "But we all miss you.  And we're right here."

Max wanted to be with the Party again.  But she couldn't.  She wasn't going to put them through the hurt she was feeling.

"People change, El," Max said, her voice breaking.  "And I've changed to where I can't deal with this anymore.  How am I supposed to let you all in my life when I can't even stand being around myself?!"

"What happened to Billy wasn't your--"

Max cut off Eleven before she finished.  "Don't finish that sentence.  Don't.  Please."

"I...I just want you to be okay," Eleven responded.

"Uh...thanks," Max said.  She couldn't figure out what to say.  Or do.  "I'll be fine eventually.  Maybe.  But I need space until I get there, please."

Eleven hesitated.  Max had helped her so much, through everything.  She was worried about her.  She didn't want to lose her best friend.

"Okay," Eleven finally said, with a defeated and hurt tone to her voice.

"I'm sorry, El," Max said as she got up with her trash.  "I promise I'll tell you when things get better."

"Promise?" Eleven asked in response.

"Promise," Max said, as she walked away to toss her lunch trash.

Eleven finished her lunch in silence shortly after, trying to figure out a way to help Max as she sat alone.

Chapter Text

That evening, Hellfire Club went on without Lucas (who would win his game) as Mike and Dustin recruited Erica as a replacement.  While it moved by fast, the excitement of being with Mike, Will, Dustin, Erica, and the others as they finished the campaign and slayed the cult of Vecna was high.  It made El forget her troubles, if even for the briefest of moments.  Before long, she would be biking off with Mike and Will to the Byers home to get some rest after this late night.

Little did she know that the rest she'd get would be the last good rest for a while.

Will woke up in a cold sweat early next morning.  He swore to himself it must've been a nightmare, but shrugged it off as he ate breakfast which consisted of eggs and toast.

"Morning, Will."

Mike had entered as he went to the cabinet to dump some cereal into a bowl.  As the two ate in silence, Mike suddenly spoke up.

"I feel like I haven't been the best to you lately.  To anyone, really."

"Why would you say that?" Will asked in confusion.

Mike let out a sigh as he said, "God, I don't know.  I feel like I could be doing so much more to keep everyone together.  I've been so wrapped up with the shit with Lucas and Max and trying to be there for El after..."

Mike's breath hitched.  His thoughts were racing, and he remembered the pain that Eleven had been feeling ever since Starcourt.  Hopper was gone.  Joyce, Will, and Jonathan had been doing their best.  Mike was always worried they weren't doing enough.

"Point is," Mike continued after a pause, "I feel like I've lost you in all of this...Dustin too a little, but not as much."

Will wasn't sure what to say.  He had felt more isolated as the school year progressed, but he didn't think it was anyone leaving him out.  There were things that Will wanted to say, but he wasn't sure who to say it to.  Or when it would be a good time to talk about such things.

Mike let out another sigh, as he said, "Will, I'm sorry.  This is a lot.  And it's really sudden too."

"No," Will quickly replied.  "I get it.  Things have been different.  We're not kids anymore.  And high school...it's a lot.  But you don't need to put all of the weight of everyone's issues on yourself."

Mike sat with that for a minute.  Maybe Will had a point.  He was trying.  All the time, because of how the Party used to turn to him.  But maybe now, it wasn't fair to himself to keep shouldering that weight as everyone grew apart.  Mike just felt guilty for abandoning the rest of his friends the second El came back.  He loved her so much, but he made some misguided decisions that hurt everyone including El.

"I've just...felt guilty for abandoning you sometimes," Mike said after more silence.  "You're my best friend, and I feel like sometimes I don't show it."

Will responded, "Mike, it's fine.  What's past is past.  I just feel like I missed out a bit on my life because of everything that happened.  But it's fine now.  As long as I have you guys.  You'll never stop being my best friend."

"Really?" Mike asked.

"Always," Will said.

A couple minutes later, Eleven showed up as the three would make small talk about Spring Break plans.  Maybe Will had a point.  What happened couldn't be changed.  It was time to look to the future.

If only the past could stay in the past, maybe that could be achievable.

As the three gathered their stuff quietly to leave as Jonathan was asleep and Joyce had suddenly left on a "business trip," they opened the door only to see Dustin and Max standing in front of them.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Dustin said.

"What do you mean?" Mike asked, taken aback.

"He's been calling you three and Lucas," Max said much more calmly than Dustin.

"Oh, we had our walkies off," Will said in confusion.

"Well, we have a major problem," Dustin said, "Like a major Code Red."

"Why?" Eleven asked, now concerned.

Max quickly responded, "You know Chrissy Cunningham? The cheerleader?"

Mike started to say, "Well, sort of...but--"

"She's dead."

El, Mike, and Will were in shock.

"They think it was Eddie," Dustin added on.  "And considering she died in Eddie's trailer, it's looking bad for him."

The three of them quickly got on their bikes, as Mike responded, "Eddie's not a killer.  We have to find him."

Max nodded as she said, "He took off though, and he hasn't been seen since last night."

The five began biking away from the Byers home, as Eleven asked, "Where are we going?"

"We need a base of operations," Dustin replied, "And I think we can maybe get information from the video store.  They keep a record of purchases, and maybe Steve and Robin will get us what we need."

"We need to call the others," Mike said.

"No time," Max said.  "And Lucas isn't responding.  We're on our own."

"What about Nancy and Jonathan?" El asked.

Dustin shook his head.  "Eddie could be found in a matter of hours.  We need to get to him before someone else does."

As they biked, the group asked Will if he felt anything.  Will said he had felt something, but he was tired the night before.  But one thing was for sure.  This wasn't the Mind Flayer.  This was something else.

And everyone knew that the unknown was horrifying to consider.

As the group pulled up to the video store, El briefly turned to look down the road but turned back as she followed her friends into the store.

"Hey, Steve," Dustin said as he walked to the counter where Steve Harrington and Robin Buckley were at.

"You guys see this?" Steve asked as he pointed to the TV, which was relaying the news of the death...though not confirming the identity.

"How many phones do you have?" Dustin quickly asked.

Steve quickly continued, "Someone was murdered."

"How many phones do you have?!" Dustin asked, now annoyed.

"Two," Steve replied.

"Technically three if you have keys to the back," Robin added.

The group nodded to each other as Max said, "Three works."

Dustin threw his bag over the desk as Steve and Robin yelled out in frustration. The group quickly followed, knocking over the tapes piled up, much to Steve and Robin's dismay.

"What are you doing, man?!" Steve yelled.

"Setting up base of operations," Dustin quickly answered.

"Base of operations?!" Robin responded.

As Dustin got on the computer, Steve said, "Get off."

"I need it," Dustin replied as he continued typing.

"For what?!" Steve was getting agitated at this point.  He wasn't sure what the hell was going on.

"Eddie's friends' phone numbers," Dustin said as he continued typing.

As the two argued and Mike, El, Max, and Will set up their things, Robin chimed in.

"Seriously you guys, maybe on a Monday you can play around.  But it's Saturday," Robin said.  "It's our busiest day."

"Robin, I empathize," Dustin replied, "But this cannot wait."

"Oh my god," Robin said with an exasperated sigh.

 "Calling Eddie's friends is an emergency?" Steve asked.

"Correct!" Dustin snapped.

"You want me to strangle him or you want to?" Steve said to Robin.

"We could take turns," Robin replied.

"Can we all chill the hell out for a second?!" Mike yelled.  He had been silent for long enough, and all of this arguing was going nowhere.

Everyone fell silent, shocked.  Mike took a breath before saying, "Someone from our school is dead and we have no clue how she died!  And we're arguing about nothing, instead of figuring out whether or not Eddie is to blame.  Robin!  Can you give me the keys to the back so me and El can get the third phone wired up, please?!"

Robin said after a pause, "Sure thing Wheeler.  Here are the keys, don't break anything or else you're paying for it."

Mike took the keys as he and Eleven went to the back.  Dustin responded, "Shit.  He's got a point.  Max, Will, can you two fill in Harrington and Robin on what's going on?"

"Fill us in on what?" Steve asked.

As the group continued to call numbers, and as Steve kept the shop going while trying and failing to secure a date, things seemed a little hopeless.  Almost an hour had past with no leads.

That is until Max got off the phone and said, "Guys, I might have a lead."

Max had talked to one of Eddie's friends and she was pointed to the direction of Eddie's dealer, nicknamed Reefer Rick.  After narrowing down the search based on purchases from the store, Steve and Robin narrowed it down to a man who lived outside town.  As the group closed up shop and got ready to leave, Eleven still felt like things weren't right.  She got her bike and began biking away as everyone exited.

"Where are you going?" Max said, noticing El beginning to bike away.

"Whatever killed Chrissy...we need to find it too," Eleven said looking back.

As Mike got his bike, he turned to the rest of the group saying, "I'll go with her.  Will, stay with the others.  We'll regroup as soon as we can."

"Don't get yourself killed," Max said.

"And please, keep the walkies on!" Dustin yelled as Mike quickly biked away to catch up with Eleven.

After a few minutes, Mike caught up with El.

"Where are you going?" Mike asked.

Eleven looked at Mike as she said, "I've been having dreams of people who died, but hearing about Chrissy made me realize it might not be dreams...it might be memories."

Mike was puzzled, but also a little worried.  "Memories of what?" he asked.

El took a breath.  She hadn't talked to anyone about this.  Not Will, not Joyce, not Max, not anyone.

"Memories...of the lab.  Of kids...who died."