Hell on Earth

Chapter Ten - Bathtub

Everyone sat down at the table and looked at the boys to explain everything that they knew. Cynthia knew she shouldn't be surprised that Dustin, Mike, and Lucas had a handle on things: they did always seem to have a knack for getting into things that they weren't suppose to.

Dustin held up a picture to the room, "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. Clarke said the only way to get there is through a rip of time and space."
"A gate," Mike interjected.

"That we tracked to Hawkins Lab with our compasses," Dustin continued to explain. "Okay, so the gate has a really strong electromagnetic field, and that can change the directions of a compass needle."
Hopper looked at the boys, "Is this gate underground?"
"Yes," Eleven nodded.
"Near a large water tank?" he asked.
"Yes," Eleven said.
Mike looked at Hopper confused, "How do you know all that?"

"He's seen it," Joyce said. She looked at Eleven. "Is there any way that you could, that you could reach Will? That you could talk to him in this.. the Upside Down?"

"And my friend Barbara?" Nancy asked. "Can you find her too?"

Eleven didn't answer any of them. Cynthia watched as the girl closed her eyes. Suddenly, the radio started to go crazy. Cynthia covered her ears at the sound of the loud static. Then, the static faded away.

"I'm sorry," Eleven started to tear up.

"What?" Joyce asked. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"I can't find them," Eleven cried.

Eleven left the table and went to the bathroom. All of the teenagers and adults looked at the boys. They were the ones who had found here: they were the ones who had the most information.

"Care to explain what is happening, Mike?" Cynthia asked.

"Whenever she uses her powers, she gets weak," he explained. "The more energy she uses, the more tired she gets."

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

"It was awesome," Dustin smiled.

"But she's drained," Mike made his point. "Like a bad battery."
"Well," Joyce was thinking out loud. "How do we make her better?"
"We don't," Mike said. "We just have to wait and try again."
Nancy looked at her brother, "Well, how long?"
"I don't know," Mike looked down.
"The bath," Eleven appeared in the doorway.
"What?" Joyce asked.
"I can find them," Eleven said. "In the bath."

Cynthia looked out the window while her brother called Mr. Clark. She couldn't believe that they were actually going to be building a DYI sensory deprivation tank for a super-powered kid to find people in an alternate dimension.

"Penny for your thoughts," Nancy said as she stood besides her.

"Just how this is absolutely crazy," Cynthia looked at her. "If you had told me a week ago that I would be in this situation, I would have asked what looney bin you escaped from." She looked at Nancy. "Do you think she's actually going to be able to find them?"

"I don't know," Nancy was honest. "But at this point, it's the only option we have to find them. Not unless you have some super-powers that I don't know about."

"Sadly, I am a mere mortal," Cynthia looked into the kitchen where everyone was sitting. "I wish Dustin didn't get caught up in this."

"I'm just surprised that Mike was able to keep it a secret," Nancy said. "Usually he's a loud mouth."

Cynthia looked at the window, "Everyone is just full of surprises it seems."

"Come on," Jonathan got their attention. "We're all heading to the school?"