Adolescence, m. mayfield

018. the plan

After Joyce's proposal of El going back and closing the gate, Hopper gathered everyone around the small table again, not overly happy about El going through with it. "It's not like it was before. It's grown. A lot. And I mean, that's considering we can get in there— the place is crawling with those dogs."

"Demo-dogs."

Hopper looked over to Dustin, eyebrows furrowed at the boys input. Everyone else looked too, Hopper sighed, "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said, uh, Demo-dogs. Like Demogorgon and dogs. You put 'em together, it sounds pretty badass—"

"How is this important right now?" Hopper interrupted loudly.

Dustin shook his head and averted his eyes from Hopper, defeated again of trying explaining his new word. "It's not. I'm sorry."

"I can do it." El said to bring to discussion back to importance.

Tom looked to her and shook his head. It's not safe, no where near safe, and definitely not something he wants to let his sister get even close to. Hopper was on his side of thinking too, his voice came quietly, "You're not hearing me."

"I'm hearing you. I can do it."

"You don't have to." Tom said, getting El to look at him. "You think you do, but you don't. Not anymore. Please."

The desperation to his words had El frowning, but her own determination and willingness got her to shake her head. "I can. I will."

"Even if El can, there's still another problem." Mike interjected. Tom furrowed his brows, still looking to his sister in hopes to change her mind, but knew it was useless to try. He looked to Mike. "If the brain dies, the body dies."

"I thought that was the whole point." Max stated.

"It is but, if we're really right about this... I mean, if El closes the gate and kills the mind flayer's army..."

"Will is apart of that army." Lucas said.

Mike nodded solemnly, "Closing the gate will kill him." Tom looked at Mike for a drawn out moment before his eyes widened. If it meant killing Will, then what about him, would Tom die too.

His hands started shaking subtly, his head rushing with questions that weren't supplied with an answer. Tom separated from the group silently, taking spot on a large armchair next to the sofa. Will is connected to the mind flayer, it possessed him. Tom is connected to the mind flayer, not sure entirely sure if the connection is like how it is with Will. He doesn't think he is, not completely the same anyway. The mind flayer can see through Will, can talk through Will, make him do stuff for him. It can't do that with Tom. It's like it's living inside Tom's head, dormant and unable to take control, however that works. It's there, just not as full on as it is with Will— or maybe it is as full on, just not in the same way.

He thought back to the lab, back to when he had to find the shadow monster for Papa. He found it. It didn't find him, it didn't possess him. Papa made Tom find it, made him connect with it. A connection. Not a possession. There was the difference, right? Maybe, as much as Tom could get his head around it anyway. Could he still die, if the mind flayer did? He could, as a possibility, and that scared him until his heart was beating loudly around his head.

Someone called out to him, Tom looked up to Hopper, breath rapidly rising and falling, hands clasped tight into fists. The man was looking at him with an odd expression, "You okay?" The boy nodded and stood up, waiting to see what he wanted. Hopper looked his kid over before nodding and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Okay... Joyce, Nancy and Jonathan are all taking Will to our cabin. We know how to get the mind flayer out of him, and it will work there. And I'm going with El back to the lab so she can try and close that gate up for good. But you're gonna have to stay here—"