November 12th, 1983

Wheeler Residence

Hopper wasn't bluffing when he said that the boys were in danger. After cramming us into the police cruiser, the Chief broke just about every rule of the road on the way to the Wheeler's house. Parking the car a few blocks away from the home, we soon realized that we weren't the only ones paying the family a visit. Joining the family van on the driveway were black vehicles with heavily tinted windows while the road in front of the home was blocked off by multiple Light and Energy technician vans; they had surrounded the house entirely.

Stepping out of the car, Hopper pulled out a pair of binoculars before looking over the house, while Nancy exited the car from beside Jonathan and tried to walk past him to get to her family. "Whoa! What do you think you're doing?" Hop asked, pulling her back by the arm to stop her. "I need to go to them! Mike is over there." Nancy tried to pull her arm away from his grip though he never let go.

"He isn't there. Look, they are looking for him." Hopper pointed towards a helicopter that flew off in the distance, scanning over the woods. "That's for Mike?" Nancy asked, shocked at all the fuss her little brother had made. "Get in the car." Hopper nudged her back to her side of the car before jumping back into the driver's seat.

Once the two had settled back in their seats, Hopper turned around to face Jonathan, Nancy, and me. "Look... We need to find them before they do. Nancy, do you have any idea where Mike could have gone? Nancy placed her head in her hands as she struggled to think of any place that the boys would hide beside their basement. "I don't know... We haven't really been that close." She answered causing Hopper to move his gaze onto me.

Awkwardly sitting there, everyone seemed to focus their gazes on me as well. "Is there nowhere you can think of, Nell?" Hopper asked me this time and I shook my head slowly. "No... No, but- I can find out. The party and I use a channel on the Walkies, I could contact them." "Where is it?" Hopper asked, already having turned around in his seat in order to start the car, "At home." I answered quickly as he sped back down the road. "Then, let's go."

~~~

Once Hopper had parked the car in front of the house, we all piled out of the vehicle and into the cramped house. Leaving the others in the living room, I ran down the hall and towards my room before pushing my door to spot the walkie that rested on my nightstand. Releasing a sigh of relief, I grabbed it before hurrying back down the hall and into the living room.

"Got it." I called out to Hopper before holding it out to the man, only for him to quickly pass it off to a confused Nancy, "You're his sister. He should respond to you, right?" Slowly, Nancy nodded in agreement before taking the walkie in her shaky hand and holding it up to her mouth. "Mike? Mike, it's Nancy?" Nancy waited a second before calling out again.

"Mike, are you there? You need to answer me." She tried again but still received no response. "Why isn't he answering?" Hopper questioned, turning to look down at me while Nancy tried again. "They probably think this is like that time with Lando Calrissian." I mumbled, knowing those boys they'd probably continue to stay radio-silent. Hopper only furrowed his brow at the reference with a look of utter disbelief. "Like what, I'm sorry?"

Groaning lightly, I waved off the question before turning to Nancy. "Just give it to me..." I mumbled, holding my hand out for it as Nancy received no answer for the fifth time. Slowly, Nancy placed the walkie in my palm, allowing me to speak into the device. "Guys, it's Nell... I promise this is not a Lando operation. I'm with Chief Hopper and- And he knows all about El... Look, we just- We need you guys to answer, for you're protection, please. Over."

The silence over the other channel lasted for another minute, and giving up hope I placed the Walkie on the table, "So, what now?" I questioned just as the walkie buzzed to life from behind me. "Yeah, I copy... It's Mike... We're here. Over."

Relief rushed over all of us as Hopper rushed to grab the walkie form off of the table, "Where you at kid? I'm coming down to get you guys." He wasted no time in reassuring the group that he was actually on their side. "The old car park, it's off the path in the woods past my house." Nodding at the simple directions, he mumbled back into the walkie, "Stay there, I'm on the way." Before placing the device back on the table and making his way towards the door and out of the house, the four of us following close behind him.

"No. No, all of you stay here." He stopped us in our tracks as opened the front door for himself. "What, why?" Mom questioned with a scoff as she crossed her arms over her chest at the command. "It's safer and faster this way. Just stay, I'll be right back." And with that, Hopper shut the door in our faces, leaving us to awkwardly sit and anxiously await for him to return with the kids safely.

~~~

Once the sun had set, a pair of headlights could be seen through the window as a car pulled into the driveway. The sound of all of our feet collectively tapping anxiously against the wooden floor and Mom's pacing stopped all at once as the headlights came to a stop in front of the house.

Running towards the door, Nancy was the first outside. Pulling Mike into a hug while the rest of us followed closely behind her. "I was so worried about you..." Nancy whispered to Mike before she quickly pulled away to smile down at him. "You where?" He asked, confusion written on his face.

"Nell!" Dustin and Lucas both called out happily once they spotted me hurrying out of the house. "Holy shit... Thank God you guys are okay." I mumbled as I pulled the two boys in for a hug. "Mainly because of her." Lucas whispered to me and nodded his head back towards a scared Eleven who stood next to the car still.

Carefully letting go of the boys, I made my way towards El, "Are you okay?" I asked her and slowly pulled her in for a hug. Stiffening at the contact, El slowly wrapped her arms around me before relaxing slightly. "Yes."

"-Is that my dress?" Nancy asked once she had noticed the small girl that tagged along with the group.

~~~

Once all of us had made it back inside, Mike grabbed a piece of paper from his bag and asked for all of us to listen to him as he explained all that they knew about the Upside Down. Grabbing a marker, the boy drew a horizontal line across the middle of the paper, before placing a stick figure on the top and a fly on the bottom.

"So, in this example, we're the acrobat. And Will and Barbra, and the monster they're this flea. This is the Upside Down, where Will is hiding." He started and pointed toward the two figures he had drawn. "Mr. Clarke said the only way to get there is through a rip of time and space." He dragged his pen across the line to represent the Upside Down, while Dustin spoke up. "It's like a gate." "-That we tracked back to Hawkins Lab." Lucas finished for him.

"We found it with our compasses." Lucas added nonchalantly while the group looked at him confused. "So, the gate has a really strong electromagnetic field, How else could it change the directions of the compass's needle?" I asked trying to make sure I understood what the boy was getting at.

"Exactly." "--Is this gate underground?" Hopper asked and the quiet voice of El answered him, "Yes." "Near a large water tank?" He asked her again, and she slowly nodded, whispering again. "Yes."

"How do you know all that?" Dustin asked Hop, who continued to stare at the small girl. "He's seen it." Mike answered for him, understanding immediately.

"Is there any way that you could reach Will? That you could talk to him in this..." Mom struggled with saying the rest of her sentence but El answered for her anyways. "Upside Down." El nodded and smiled down at her.

"And my friend, Barbara... Can you find her too?" Shifting her gaze towards Nancy, El nodded to her as well. In no time we had El seated at the dining table, placing one of the boy's walkies in front of her, leaving the static playing from a random channel.

Placing the picture of Barbara in front of her, El closed her eyes and the lights of the house flickered on and off as she took in a shaky breath. After a few seconds of silence, El's eyes shot open and slowly tears started to form. "I'm sorry..." She whispered as a tear fell down her cheek. "W- What?" Mom asked as she held onto Jonathan and I's hands.

"What's wrong? What happened?" She continued to question the crying girl. "I can't find them." El's voice broke as the group continued to stare down at her. Letting go of Mom's hand, I made my way to the girl and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, it's okay... Maybe you just need a second to breathe."

Leading the girl out of the room, I walked her to the bathroom and turned on the sink for her so she could wash away any of her remaining tears. "You can take your time, okay? You've helped so much already."

Nodding, she whispered, "Tired." As a tear slowly fell from the corner of her eye. "It's okay to be tired." I told her and lightly wiped the tear away. Smiling at me through the mirror, El's gaze slowly moved towards the bath in the corner. "The Bath." She stated and turned towards me. "Would that help you with finding them? Like the one at the lab?" I asked and she slowly nodded.

Making our way out of the bathroom and back towards the kitchen, the group remained standing around the table, talking quietly about what could be wrong with Eleven. "The Bath." She stated again, grabbing everyone's attention. "I can find them... In the Bath."

"How do we even make one of those?" Hopper asked and Dustin quickly ran towards our phone. "Mr. Clarke would know!" He yelled before dialing the teachers' number into the phone.

Waiting a moment for the man on the other line to pick up, Dustin paced in front of the wall before quickly coming to a halt. "Hey, Mr. Clarke! It's Dustin, I have a quick... science question." Dustin talked into the phone quickly but it seemed the man on the other end wasn't responding the way he wanted or would have liked.

"Do you know anything about sensory deprivation tanks? Specifically how to build one?" Smooth... But then again was there a subtle way to ask that question? "It's for... fun. Please, you always say that nothing should stop us from being curious. Why are you keeping this curiosity door locked?" Struggling to hold in my laugh at the boy's statement, it seemed to be enough to get the teacher to explain what we needed.

"Alright, uh-huh. Is that all? Yes, sir, I'll be safe. Alright, thanks, Mr. Clarke. See you on Monday." Hanging up the phone, Dustin turned to us with the completed supply list and a big grin spread across his face. "Got it. Do you still have that kiddie pool we bobbed for apples in?" He asked Mom who nodded in confusion, still lost with the half-baked whole plan.

"Good. Then we just need salt. Lots of it." "How much is a lot?" Hop questioned the boy, causing him to look back down at the list. "1,500 pounds." He mumbled, disheartened. "Where are we going to find that much salt?" Nancy asked, thinking that it was impossible to find at this time of night with such short notice.

~~~

Pulling up to Hawkins Middle School with an abrupt stop, I groaned in annoyance as we all piled out of the car. We had split the vehicles and taken Jonathan and Hopper's car to get to the school.

Hopping out of his car last, Hopper decided that it would be best for Nancy and Mike to get the hoses for the water, for Dustin and Lucas to set up the pool, and for himself and Jonathan to grab all the salt we needed. Leaving Mom and me with Eleven to look for something that would help cover her eyes and block out any light.

Making our way into the Science Wing of the school, I went through the cabinets until I found a pair of goggles and duct tape. Handing the materials to my Mom, she wrapped the tape around the glasses completely while El sat nervously in the center of the classroom.

"This is going to keep it dark for you..." Mom spoke softly as she held the goggles out for El to take. "You are a very brave girl, you know that, right? Everything that you are doing for Will, for my family." Mom lightly held onto El's and my hands.

Turning to face the scared girl, I kneeled down next to her. "Listen... We are going to be with you, the whole time. If it gets too scary in there, you let me know, okay?" I asked her and she slowly nodded.

"It's ready!" Mike's voice drifted from down the hall, signaling that it was time to get started. Making our way into the gym, everyone surrounded the kiddie pool that was filled almost all of the way to the brim with salt water.

Placing the goggles over her eyes, Mom and I helped El into the pool until she was able to settle in the middle, floating just over the surface. Once everyone had gotten quiet, El sat quietly in the pool, until suddenly all the lights in the gym shut off. The Bath was working.