BAD IDEA - STRANGER THINGS

'Why did you lie?'

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Back at the Byers' house, the group sat around the table while Mike explained what they had learnt. He told them about the gate and how they had tracked it back to Hawkins Lab.

"Is this gate underground?" Hopper asked the boy.

"Yes," Eleven answered. "Near a large water tank?" he continued to ask. "Yes." the girl repeated.

"How- how did you know that?" Dustin asked. "He's seen it", Mike realized.

"Is there any way that you could reach Will? That you could talk to him in this-" Joyce started. "The Upside down" El finished. "Down, yeah" The woman whispered. The girl nodded.

"And my friend Barbara? Can you find her too?" Nancy asks. Rah scratches at her wrist as she mentions Barb.

-

Static was heard as Eleven closed her eyes, trying to find Will and Barb. The pain in Rah's neck increasing as El tries.

The lights flicker above the group before Eleven opens her eyes. "I'm sorry." Joyce looks at the girl, "what? What's wrong? What happened?"

"I can't find them," El admits.

-

While the bald girl was in the bathroom, Mike explained to everybody what happened to Eleven.

"Whenever she uses her powers, she gets weak." He said. "The more energy she uses, the more tired she gets. Along with Rah."

"Wait, Rah?" Hopper spoke up. "Why Does she get drained?" He asked. "We're not sure."

Everybody looked towards the girl questioningly, making her sheepishly smile back.

"Um, I'm not sure." the girl hesitates, "it just does?" she says, asking as more of a question.

"Why did you hesitate, kid?" Hopper asks assertively, "I didn't." The girl defends herself, "yes you did." "uh, no I didn't" the girl argues, throwing her arms in the air, the sleeves of her jacket falling down. 

Before she could pull them back up, Nancy grabbed her arm, holding it in place whilst she looked down at her wrist. Shit.

"009" Nancy read aloud. All eyes turned on the girl.

"Wait, why didn't you tell us?" Mike was now practically screaming in her face. "You could've helped this whole time, and you didn't!" His voice getting louder.

"I can't help!" The girl yelled back "it's too dangerous, I can't control them."

"Bullshit!" Mike continues, "you just wanted to make El do all the work, so you could sit back and watch."

"Shut up , Mike! You don't know anything-"

"Hey!" Hopper interrupted the pair, "enough, El has something to say."

"The bath." the girl whispers. "I can find them in the bath." Everybody looks over to the girl, unsure of what she meant. "A sensory deprivation tank." Rah stated.

"Do you know how to make one?" Lucas asked. The girl opened her mouth pausing for a moment. "No."

-

"Mr. Clark? It's Dustin," the boy says as he talks on the phone. "Yeah, yeah. I just, I.. I have a science question." Rah can only assume that the teacher has asked if everything was okay.

"Do you know anything about sensory deprivation tanks? Specifically how to build one..." Everyone watched Dustin from the table. "Fun?"

"You always say we should never stop being curious, to always open any curiosity door we find. Why are you keeping the curiosity door locked?" Dustin remarked into the phone.