╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮
FIFTEEN!
fugitives in hiding
╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

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         The local junkyard in Hawkins was definitely not the best place for a group of preteens to be hanging out at. The place was dusty, dirty and filled with a ton of discarded materials that could cause harm to the average human if they weren't careful.

But it was the only place that was practically abandoned and uninhabited to the point that no one would even dare step a foot onto the property unless they had to.

This was the perfect place for Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, Dustin Henderson, Eleven, Nina, Wendy and Stanley Harrington to hide from authorities.

"This is Randolph Road right here." Lucas pointed out, drawing a line in the dirt.

Currently, the group of seven preteens were sitting cross legged on the dirty ground in front of a child like diagram of Hawkins Lab. The Sinclair boy was the only one who had actually investigated the government facility and was able to give a rundown of the place to the others. He had constructed a basic map made out of sticks.

"The fence starts here and goes all the way around." Lucas explained, drawing a singular and continuous line in the dirt around the entire diagram.

"And this is the lab right here. The gate's gotta be in there somewhere. It's gotta be." An empty coke can was place in between the diagram to signify the large government facility.

"Well, who owns Hawkins Lab?" Dustin pondered.

"Sign says, Department of Energy." Lucas shrugged.

"Department of energy? What do you think that means?" Dustin questioned in confusion.

"It's means government. Military." Mike confirmed.

"Then why does it say energy?" Dustin wondered.

"Probably to cover up top secret shit." Stanley pointed out in complete amusement.

"Just trust me, alright? It's military. My dad's told me before." Mike explained.

"Mike's right. There's soldiers out front." Lucas confirmed, agreeing with the boy.

"Do they make like lightbulbs or something?" Dustin asked in complete confusion.

"No weapons to fight the Russians and commies and stuff." Mike answered.

"Weapons." Lucas' eyes widen at the realization.

"Oh, Jesus. This is bad." Dustin exclaimed.

"Really bad. This place is like a fortress." Lucas pointed out.

"Well, what do we do?" Dustin questioned.

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

"Guys?" Dustin called randomly.

The other preteens just looked at him weirdly before the deafening sound of helicopter propellers filled the air. Wendy was able to pick up the helicopter based on how the wind around them had changed drastically.

Everyone's eyes widened as those helicopters belonged to one person and one person only, the military and the people of the lab.

"Do you hear that?" Dustin asked again, even though everyone could hear.

"Go, go, go, go, go." Mike rushed and everyone jumped up from their criss crossed position.

They all quickly ran over to their thrown bikes, each person harshly picking up the piece of metal from the ground. They had decided to hide their bikes underneath an abandoned school bus before getting into the vehicle themselves to hide.

This plan worked like a charm as they had entered their designated hiding spots in under five minutes.

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         The Party felt like they have been hiding in the abandoned school bus for hours.

The entire group had crammed themselves in the back, wanting to be as far away from the front entrance but they clearly disregarded the emergency exit behind them.

The seven preteens all sat together on the floor, doing whatever they could to pass the time, whether it be make small conversation or trying to nap. Except for Stanley, who was currently using his time to try and solve his stubborn rubix cube.

Either way, this entire experience of being a fugitive for the government was not a fun situation to be in for the Party.

"Mike? Are you there? Mike?" A familiar feminine voice rang through the air.

The seven preteens all shared a look of confusion with each other as they had no idea who the voice was or where it was even coming from.

"You guys hear that?" Dustin pondered, his own eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Mike! It's me, Nancy."

The entire Party jumped up from their seats, scrambling over to the Wheeler boy's backpack. Mike reached into the bag, pulling out his intercom. The boy turned it on to allow the signal to reach them more clearly.

"Mike, are you there? Answer." Nancy exclaimed, getting desperate at the lack of an answer. "We need you to answer."

"Is that your sister?" Lucas questioned.

"Mike, do you copy? Do you copy?" Nancy demanded, getting desperate at the lack of an answer from the younger boy.

"Ok, this is really weird." Dustin pointed out.

"Don't answer." Mike demanded, cradling the intercom close to his chest.

"She said it was an emergency." Lucas exclaimed.

"What if it's a trick?" Mike pointed out.

"It's your sister." Lucas reminded.

"What if the bad people kidnapped her?" Mike pondered out loud.

"I need you to answer." Nancy demanded.

"It's like Lando Calrissian. Don't answer." Dustin agreed with the Wheeler boy.

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

"Listen, kid! This is the chief. If you're there, pick up. We know you're in trouble and we know about the girl." Jim Hopper suddenly spoke over the intercom, causing confusion among the Party.

"Why is she with the chief?" Lucas pondered.

"How the hell does he know about us?" Dustin asked with wide eyes.

"We can protect you, we can help you but you gotta pick up. Are you there? Do you copy? Over." Hopper explained over the intercom.

"If your not feeling good about this situation then maybe......Maybe, I can see where your sister is.....to see if it's safe?" Wendy suggested on a whim.

The girl needed to test out her powers somehow and she thought right now was the best opportunity. It might seem dumb but it was perfect to her.

"How will you do that?" Mike pondered.

"Her powers! Wendy can use her powers!" Stanley exclaimed excitedly.

"I totally forgot." Dustin spoke happily.

"Yeah, remember I told you that I could see Will in the Upside Down? Well, maybe I can do the same thing but with your sister." Wendy reminded.

"Great! Can you do that?" Mike asked happily.

"I've actually never tried it on my own." Wendy announced, causing a series of frowns and glares to be directed at her.

That was the truth.

Wendy Harrington had actually never tested her own powers before. She has only seen glimpses of what she can actually do based on the nightmares that plagued and her true sight into the Upside Down.

Other than that, she had no idea on what she is truly capable of. She had no idea if her powers were severely weak or if she could accidentally rip a hole in space. It may seem like a stupid suggestion for her to try out her powers in this exact moment but she had to test them now before they were actually needed later.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Lucas exclaimed.

"I'm sorry but I've never really had enough time to test my abilities as shit has been crazy." Wendy apologized but was being sarcastic. She earned another round of glares from the boys.

"But you just have to trust me on this. Can you trust me?" Wendy asked, her voice becoming gentle.

She needed the support of her friends and family to be able to complete this trial run of her powers. Without them, she felt as if she would fail immediately and fall flat on her face. She needed the most amount reassurance in this moment from everyone. She needed to know she would have someone to fall on in case something went wrong.

"I trust you." Eleven nodded, speaking up for the first time in the last hour.

Everyone turned towards her with wide eyes as she so quickly trusted the Harrington girl but Wendy smiled gently.

"Yeah, we all trust you." Mike confirmed, answering for everyone in the group and they all nodded.

"Alright, here goes nothing." Wendy announced, trying to keep her voice from trembling with fear.

She was beyond worried, down right afraid but she was willing to task the risk and try. Stanley had taken his baby sister's hand in his to comfort her and she sent him a grateful smile.

The girl gently closed her eyes, shutting out the bright sunshine and allowing the complete darkness to take over her field of vision.

Wendy sucked in a deep breathe, trying to clear her own head of all of the panicked thoughts that clouded her mind. She knew her powers would work best if her head was completely empty and she focused.

Once her head was completely bare, she placed only one singular thought into her consciousness, finding the teen girl. It worked like a complete charm as when she opened her eyes, her consciousness was standing right beside Nancy.

The eldest Wheeler girl was currently standing in the living room of the Byers residence. Jim Hopper, Jonathan Byers and Joyce Byers were all standing right beside her, trying to get a better look at the walkie talkie that sat on the coffee table.

Wendy gasped in disbelief at the sight.

It felt like she had actually teleported herself to that location but she wasn't really there. That was made apparent when Jonathan walked right past her, without even acknowledging her presence.

It was just her consciousness was that was present but her body was still crammed in the back of the abandoned bus with the others.

And it was also easy to get back to her own body.

Wendy immediately lost the image of the Byers living room as soon as she had opened and was met with the faces of the other preteens. "It's not a trap. Nancy's safe." She announced suddenly.

"Nancy's at Will's house with the chief, Mrs Byers and Jonathan. The bad men aren't there. We're safe to answer."

"Then call them back!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Yes, I copy. We copy." Mike announced, turning on the intercom to get his voice through to the chief.

"Good." Hopper answered back.

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         "Will you stop pacing?" Mike questioned, getting annoyed at the loud Henderson boy.

The group was getting irritated at this point. They had been crammed in the back of this abandoned school bus in the dusty junkyard as the sun beat down for what felt like hours. They had practically lost hope that no one was coming to rescue them, so they were all panicked to the extreme.

Especially Dustin, who was pacing like a maniac.

"It's been way too long." Dustin pointed out, "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 was on edge to the point of snapping.

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

"Lando Calrissian." Dustin repeated.

"I don't even know who Lando is." Nina gave the curly haired boy a look of confusion. She had never seen Star Wars, so the references about the science fiction film, were confusing to her.

"Would you shut up about Lando!" Lucas exclaimed, his patience being tested.

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

"When do you feel good about anything?" Lucas questioned in annoyance.

"Do you two ever stop arguing? It's getting annoyed." Stanley glared at the two boys.

"I agree with Stan. Shut up." Wendy hissed.

Suddenly, the hissing of a car engine filled the air. This meant another vehicle had entered the yard. The preteens all shared a look of confusion with each other before getting up from their spots on the floor and running to the front of the bus.

They all crammed into the small area, trying to get a quick glance out the window at their new company. Two cars were slowly driving into the property.

"Shit." Dustin exclaimed.

"Go, go, go, go, go." They all immediately ran back to their spots at the back of the bus. They all jumped down to the floor, sitting under the windows to avoid being caught.

"Lando." Dustin panted.

"You think they saw us?" Lucas questioned.

"Both of you, shut up." Mike shushed.

"I can't g-go back." Eleven worried.

"And we won't let you." Wendy assured the girl with a soft smile.

The atmosphere went completely dead silent. Everyone was practically holding their own breathes, trying not to make a single sound that would draw attention to their hiding spots.

The only sound that echoed through the area was feet being dragged through the dirt. Someone or multiple people had gotten out of the cars and were now trekking around the area, looking for activity. The footsteps got closer to them and they all held their breaths in worry.

Panic shot through their veins when the sliding door to the bus opened but a sense of relief filled the air when said person was knocked to the floor before they even stepped foot on the bus.

The preteens all shared a look of confusion and relief when they heard the sounds of fighting outside. The fighting stopped and the sliding door creaked opened to reveal Jim Hopper.

"Alright, let's go." Hopper ordered as all of the preteens stood up from their spot with wide eyes.

"Let's go!" His demand got louder when no one had moved from their frozen position. One by one, each preteen filed out of the bus and followed him.

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         The arrival to the Byers residence was bittersweet.

The group was happy to finally no longer be crammed in the back of the abandoned school and could now rest in the comfort of the Byers home. There was a sense of relief when the preteens had reconnected with the adults, especially for the Wheeler siblings.

But the worst part was that neither one of them could go home yet. They were still fugitives, wanted for keeping Eleven and Nina in their company. They had no intentions of giving the two girls up to authorities though and would much rather live on the run or be in hiding.

That's why they were currently sitting in the comfort of Joyce Byers living room, hiding from the outside world.

"Okay, so in this example, we're the acrobat. Will and Barbara and that monster, they're this flea. And this is the Upside Down, where Will is hiding. Mr Clark said that the only way to get there is through a rip in time and space." Mike explained to the adults for them to understand the situation better.

"A gate." Dustin simplified.

"That we tracked to Hawkins Lab." Lucas added.

"With our compasses." Wendy finished happily.

"Ok, so the gate has a strong electromagnetic field and that can change the directions of a compass needle." Dustin explained in simpler terms, hoping the adults would understand better.

"Is this gate underground?" Hopper asked.

"Yes." Eleven nodded.

"Near a large water tank?" Hopper questioned.

"Yes." Eleven confirmed again with a nod.

"How do you know all of that?" Dustin pondered.

"He's seen it!" Mike realized.

"Is there anyway that you could reach Will. That you could talk to him in this place?" Joyce asked, looking straight at Eleven.

"The Upside Down." Eleven confirmed.

"Upside Down, yeah." Joyce nodded.

"And my friend, Barbara? Can you find her too?" Nancy asked, her voice fill of hope. Eleven nodded happily to both questions.

"Where's Will's walkie talkie?"

"Right here." Joyce picked up the walkie talkie from between the couch cushions and handed it to the younger girl to see, "Why do you need it?"

"Eleven needs a broadcasting signal of some sort in order to connect to that dimension. That's why I need the walkie talkie." Wendy explained. 

"She did it before in the AV room at school!" Mike exclaimed happily.

"She reached through to him, using the high powered radio system and we could clearly hear Will's voice." Dustin finished for them.

"Then let's try it." Joyce agreed on the spot at the idea of having the girl try.

The walkie talkie was placed on the table, in front of the chair where Eleven was sitting. Two pictures were placed in front of, a picture of Will and a picture of Barbara Holland. This would help the girl search for the two easier as she now had the visual aspect. The intercom was turned for her to begin her search and the rest of the group crowded around the wooden table to see.

The static was faint and the lights began to flicker but no familiar voices had made it through the signal. "I'm sorry." Eleven mumbled, on the verge of tears.

"What? What's wrong? What happened?" Joyce questioned in a worried tone.

"I can't find them." Eleven announced, causing the older woman to almost collapse into her son's arm.

She was definitely thinking the worst of the situation but Wendy thought the opposite. She thought the radio wasn't strong enough and Will was fine but clearly the other adults agreed with Joyce as a deep frown of sadness was embedded on their faces. Eleven then excused herself to the bathroom to have a solemn moment.

"Whenever she uses her powers, she gets weak." Mike announced, soothing the tense situation. He and Wendy had the same idea.

"The more energy she uses, the more tired she gets." Dustin pointed out.

"Like she flipped the van earlier." Lucas said.

"It was awesome." Dustin sighed in awe.

"But she's drained." Mike reminded.

"Like a bad battery." Wendy added.

"Well......how do we make her better?" Joyce asked, her voice filled with concern.

"We don't. We just have to wait and try again." Mike answered.

"Well, how long?" Nancy questioned.

"I don't know." Mike shrugged.

"It's a bit of a slippery slope. Eleven uses her powers and sometimes they comeback instantly and sometimes it takes all day." Wendy answered.

"It's the same way for me." Nina announced, earning looks of confusion from everyone. The teen girl had forgot to announce that she too had powers.

"You have powers too?" Dustin asked excitedly.

"Mind control. I have mind control. I used my powers earlier to distract one of the lab workers when we were being chased." Nina simplified.

"Well, how does it work for you?" Hopper asked.

"My powers take less energy from my body as it's less intensive to control another human's mind. I'm able to bounce back within an hour and that's exactly what happened but for El, it's different. Hers are more intense and high maintenance, so it can take anywhere from an hour to a whole day." Nina explained throughly.

"Well, that's great." Stanley muttered in annoyance at the situation.

"The bath." Eleven announced suddenly, making her presence known to the group.

"What?" Joyce asked, turning around to face the younger girl.

"I can find them in the bath." Eleven confirmed.

"This calls for the building of a sensory tank." Dustin announced suddenly, earning looks of confusion.

"What is a sensory tank?" Hopper questioned.

"It's basically a bath of water that helps to relax your muscles and your mind to help you focus." Wendy answers simply, "Which is exactly what El needs." She looked straight at the worried girl.

"Great but how do we get one?" Nancy asked.

"We would have to build one." Lucas pointed out.

"How do we build one?" Joyce pondered.

"I know the perfect person to answer that question." Dustin exclaimed, running over to the phone to dial a much needed number.

The lucky participant would be Mr Clark as he was the only person in Hawkins, who had enough scientific knowledge to understand the idea of a sensory tank. The science teacher unwillingly picked up the phone and explained the whole idea to Dustin, who carefully took notes on the matter.

"Do you still have that kiddie pool that we bobbed for apples in?" Dustin asked suddenly, hanging up the phone on its receiver.

"I think so." Joyce answered, looking straight at her eldest son for confirmation.

"Yeah." Jonathan nodded.

"Good." Dustin smiled happily, "Then we just need salt. Lots of it." He emphasized.

"How much is lots?" Hopper questioned.

"1500 pounds." Dustin confirmed.

"Well, where are we gonna get that much salt?" Nancy asked in complete disbelief.

"I think I know a place." Hopper announced.

"The school, right?" Wendy pondered, earning a nod of agreement from the older man.

★ 𝐎𝐃𝐃 𝐄𝐘𝐄 ! stranger things fanfic ★
(© 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝘆𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗯𝗶𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱)