Alone, No More (Harringrove)

Chapter 6//Treasure Hunt

Chapter 6
Monday came too fast.

Max has been taken back by Billy on saturday after a grueling day of watching the kids battle over their game. And Steve had taken all of sunday to sharpen the nails in his bat, while watching some random t.v program on repeat.

He had collected a couple tools, and began to map out his plan for Monday; to which he decided to skip class for. He didn't see the point, he had beaten Tommy up and probably would have to face the principal anyway.

It was chillier than usual and, even though Steve had bundled up, he felt the chill bite his cheeks. His poor car struggled to come to life. But as he drove a familiar route out of the city, he felt the heater kick in.

It was the nervousness that bubbled in his chest that made him tap on the brakes. He had been this way before, and not for good reason. In fact, he had hoped, he'd never have to come this way ever again.

But when he thought of the possibility that Hopper, or any clues to finding him, was in the daunting building ahead, he pressed on.

He pulled up to the main gate to the building, and parked. A knot twisted in his belly, when he slowly exited the car and looked up at the lab. It had only been a couple weeks since he had last been here, but fear overcame him immediately; not that he'd show it.

The building was abandoned now, the government had quickly and quietly cleaned up their mess, making it seem creepier. Steve timidly approached the glass doors to the foyer and knocked, hoping the sound would attract any activity, if any.

Nothing.

He gathered up all the courage he could muster, clutching his bat a little tighter in one hand, and pushed open the door. He wasn't fazed by the door being unlocked, for some reason, and walked passed what would have been a reception desk, but was now a dusty heap.

A bloody human sized smudge had been left on the tile, sending chills up Steve's back. With fresh memory, he cautiously descended the stairs, to what he remembered was the entrance to the other world.

The building reeked of must and carnage, and Steve silently gagged as he walked past dead mice and dried blood. He was disgusted by how little the government had cleaned.

Wouldn't they want this place spotless?  Steve thought to himself while opening the door on the lowest level. The door creaked open, making his anxiety shoot through the roof. He stopped, and listened, praying he was in the clear.

And only when he heard nothing, did he fully open the door and scan the room.

The room was dark, but he could make out control panels that had been smashed in at some point, and a wall of glass. Another door, that led into a vestibule, was in the center of the wall.

Steve squinted to see through the glass but made out nothing. He slowly inched towards the transparent wall, shaking as he did so.

Suddenly, a light from the vestibule flickered, causing Steve to gasp and jump away from the wall. He watched the flickering light, then at his surroundings to which he could see better now, and held up his bat with both hands now.

Still, there was no sound, which made sweat drip from Steve's forehead. He noted the bloody tiles below him, and  how along the wall were long claw marks scratched in. He recognized those marks to be from demo-dogs.

He had never been in this part of the lab, but had heard from El and Hop, that this was where the 'door' was. The door was a gigantic portal to some god-awfulplace  to which El was able to close, and finish this silly business.

He kept his breaths shallow, and watched the glass wall like a hawk, the light flickering still. After a moment he crept back to the wall and tried to look down; he knew there was an elevator somewhere here to get to the portal's door.

He noticed a warm glow from somewhere too far down and gulped. That couldn't be good.

He had planned to go to the only place he didn't trust, to investigate anything weird going on, knowing full well he had no other lead. Finding the glow was a sign. Anything in this building was a sign, though.

That's when he saw it.

Hopper's hat laid in the vestibule, cuts all over it. Colour drained from Steve's face, and he knew, then, that he had to get it for proof. Even if he so badly wanted to leave, he had to.

He tightened his jaw and bolted to the vestibule door, then pulled on the glass door which swung open with little effort. A rush of warm air engulfed Steve, making him panic and grab the hat as fast as he could.

He chucked the hat under one of his arms, then pushed the door shut with all his might. It was like there was something pushing from the other side, yet, he couldn't see anything. 

After fussing with the door for far too long, he decided to leave it, hoping it wasn't too important. His chuck's squealed as he turned on his heel and made a mad dash for the basement door.

Not caring about how loud he was or if the door had actually closed, he climbed the stairs as though his life depended on it, keeping Hop's hat glued to his side. And when the front doors came into sight, he let out an exasperated groan, and pushed himself to go faster.

Even though there was no real danger, as far as he knew, he was terrified. And when he made it to his car, he could barely open the door due to his shaking hands.

The sun was at its highest point, casting a looming shadow over the yard of the lab, making it seem that much more creepy. After basically falling into his car, he locked the doors and brought to engine to life. Steve shakily pulled out of the lot so fast, his car fishtailed and dust clouds were left in his wake.

"Holy shit!" Steve yelled to himself while speeding back into town and back to his house.

Sweat dripped down his back and off his nose, but he didn't let go of the hat. He threw himself into his house and locked the door. He was frantic, then, holding the hat like he had found national treasure. But to him, he had. Any sign of Hopper was special to him.

He had a choice to make, then: to tell Mike and El or not. They were just kids, though, he didn't want to drag them into something they could handle.

He slid his back down his front door to sit, and squeezed the hat to his chest. God he wished Hopper was there to tell him something, anything! Those kids looked up to Steve, but he was terrified and lost.

"Hop, what do I do," he whispered to himself, suppressing the desire to cry.

Then the phone began to ring in the living room.

He looked into the room from his seated position with wide eyes. He didn't want to answer the phone, but he also wanted it to be Hopper telling him he's back and he wants his damn hat back.

The phone continued to ring for a moment more, then stopped, and Steve let the air go from his lungs that he had been holding. Parting his lips, Steve pushed off of the ground and up to his room. He stripped from his winter jacket and toque, then flopped on the bed.

A blaring ring echoed through his empty house, causing a headache, but he continued to ignore the phone. He wasn't feeling very confrontational right now, and his heart rate hadn't returned to normal from today's adventures.

The sun had begun it's decent, casting looming shadows in Steve's room, encouraging him to flick his bed-side lamp on. He never slept in the dark; even if that meant he didn't sleep.

He thought to himself, while cocooned in his bed sheets, what his next plan of action was to be. He had gone to the lab and found Hopp's hat, and wondered if that was where he'd continue his search.

Would he have to go in the door in the vestibule and down the elevator? He knew El and Hopp had been there, but he was nowhere near as strong as the two of them together.

For a fleeting moment he thought about asking El to help him, but she was too young and he didn't want to cause her more trouble than she had already endured.

His last thought before drifting off to sleep, was how much Mike and El knew so far of Hopper being gone. Had they found another clue? Or were they as clueless as he.