American Heroes: A Stranger Things 3 Fic

The Station Wagon

Mike, Lucas, El, and Max are on their feet, Mike pacing around the grass impatiently, while Will kneels next to the radio and listens to Dustin explain what he sees in the Russian base. "It's definitely the gate. There's some machine firing into it also. A shit ton of people. I think the green liquid we found in the boxes is powering the machine."

"Are there guards around it?" Will asks.

"I think so, but I can't tell. There are a lot of people. Scientists. Some probably guards, yeah."

Will looks to his friends. "What now?"

Mike stops pacing to stare at the ground. "We need to get there. We'll get Dustin and the others out and then find Billy."

"Okay. Dustin, you still there? Over."

"Yeah, still here." Footsteps bang on metal over the radio.

"Alright, so we're going to get you guys out. Is there any way you can get to the elevator or at least back to the hallway leading there? Over."

He doesn't answer. There's a commotion before a siren begins wailing over the radio. "Code red! Code red!" Dustin shouts. "We've been compromised!"

"What's going on?" Will asks, glancing at Mike, Lucas, El, and Max's worried expressions as yelling and the bang of metal echoes over the radio.

"Shit!" Dustin screams, a whirring drowning him out.

Mike drops down beside Will. "Dustin, are you guys okay? Tell us what's going on!"

"Go!" Steve shouts before static overtakes the radio.

Will meets Mike's wide eyes. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know."

He looks to El. "Do you think you can find them? See what's going on?"

"I'll try." She sits cross-legged on the grass. Lucas gives her his bandana to wear as a blindfold, and everyone goes silent. She barely starts before Dustin's voice cuts in. "Will, are you there? It's Dustin. Over."

Will grabs the radio. "Yes, I'm here! What happened? Over."

"We've got a huge problem. Steve and Robin have just been captured by the Russians, and Erica and I are in the vents. Over."

Lucas furrows his eyebrows. "Hold up. What?"

"What happened?" Will asks.

"The Russian guy Steve beat up got away and then set off an alarm, so we had to run away. Erica and I were able to escape into the vents, but Steve and Robin were captured. I don't know what they've done to them. Over."

Will turns to the others. "We have to get to them. Now."

Mike nods and gets to his feet while Will quickly says, "We're coming to get you guys, Dustin. We need to get Steve and Robin first, so you and Erica get somewhere safe for now. Over."

"Alright, hurry. Over and out."

The five of them race down the field, their shoes smashing over the grass. Will's heart pounds in his ears. He should've expected this. There had to be something that would go wrong in their plan, yet he didn't prepare himself for it.

When they're halfway down the hill, Lucas grabs Mike and Will's arms, gesturing to the street. "Hey, Mike, isn't that your family's station wagon?"

Parked by their bikes is indeed the Wheeler's station wagon. Jonathan and Nancy are standing beside it, and the instant they see the kids, they rush up the hill and meet them halfway. Nancy hones in on Will. "We need to talk."

Mike moves closer to Will's side. "What about?"

"We need to find the Flayed before they do anything. I know you're looking for the gate, but we should find the Flayed before that so then you can close the gate without killing them."

"We already know where the gate is," Will says, "but Steve and Robin have been captured by the Russians. We might not have much time to save them if they're in danger, so we need to get to the mall right away."

He tries to move past Nancy, but she grabs his arm. "Is the gate there?"

"Yes, underneath the mall."

"Why do all of you need to go then?"

Will furrows his eyebrows at her.

"I just mean," she goes on, "if El is the only one who can close the gate, couldn't her and a few of you go to the mall to save Steve and Robin and close the gate while the rest of you come with us to look for the Flayed?"

"Why would we do that?" Mike asks. "Saving our friends is our top priority right now."

"Multi-tasking, Mike," Nancy says.

Will pauses. "She's right. I mean, if we're already going to the Russian base, we could close the gate at the same time."

"That means we'll have to find Billy first," Max reminds them.

"Exactly," Nancy says. "While some of you go to the mall, the rest of us can find him."

"Alright," Mike says, "so who's going where? El, obviously you have to go to the mall to close the gate."

"I'm going with El," Lucas says. "I need to make sure Erica's okay."

Jonathan motions to his brother. "Will, you should come with us. I don't want anything happening to you while I'm not with you."

Will crosses his arms and shakes his head. "I'll be fine. I need to help get Dustin and everyone else out of there. I'm part of the reason they got stuck there in the first place."

"Will, I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"Plus," Max adds, "can't you sense the Mind Flayer?"

Jonathan and Nancy raise their eyebrows. "You can?"

"Yeah." Will shrugs. "I can sense when he's nearby if he's activated."

"Okay," Jonathan says, "then you have to come with us. "

"Then it's settled," Mike says before nodding to Max. "You can go with them, too, and I'll go with El and Lucas."

Will frowns. "How come?"

"Billy is her brother. She can help find him. She'll know where he might be." He gives Will a hard look which makes Will's stomach churn, but Will stares right back at him until Mike drops his gaze. "That way, there's four of you looking for Billy or the other Flayed and three of us getting Dustin and the others out of the Russian base."

Nancy and Jonathan gesture for the kids to follow, and they go the rest of the way down the hill. Grabbing their bikes, Will and Max shove theirs in the back of the station wagon. "Okay," Max says, patting El on the shoulder. "Be careful."

Will nods at Lucas. "Get to the comms room in the Russian base as soon as you can, so we know that you've gotten to the gate."

"No problem."

"Good luck."

"You, too." Lucas gets on his bike, and Mike gets on his own with El. They wave before pedaling off towards the mall while Will, Max, Nancy, and Jonathan pile into the station wagon, Will and Max in the back and Nancy and Jonathan up front.

"Where would we find him?" Will asks as Nancy starts the car.

"You said Heather could be a host, right?" Nancy asks. Will and Max nod. "I'm pretty sure Tom could be as well, so we can go to their house first to see if they're there. If so, maybe we just need to burn the Mind Flayer out of them and it'll get out of Billy as well."