10- A trip down memory lane

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HhHh
A little bit of POV jumping In this one. Sorry in advance.

Anyway, y'all silent af. Common guys, please leave comments, I'm lonely.

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Eleven ditched the two bickering teens the dust, or in this case, dirt. She was sick of standing by, constantly observing an immobile target. The party was in danger and she had to help, just like they had helped her.

As she approached the building with caution, familiar surroundings were faintly registered in her head. Between now and last year Halloween, there were many noticeable differences, but that was something to be expected. Her feet padded against the asphalt as she approached the glass doors.

A hefty chain coiled itself around the door handles, holding itself close. A padlock hung heavy off the cold metal.

Eleven raised her hand steadily, a low hum filling her ears, and a tickling sensation filled her nose. The padlock trembled, ever so slightly. This feat was taking up more power than usual.

A line of blood dribbled down her nose as a small 'click' emitted from the lock. Raising her other arm, Eleven smoothly slid off the heavy chain, and let the metal pile up into a heap onto the ground. The lab was opened once again.

She entered without hesitation

————

"Fuckfuckfuck--" Harrington tussled with his hair, as he a paced back in forth. It was a nervous habit that no one remotely liked. Nancy had voiced many times that there better ways to deal with stress other than pulling at the strands of his hair. 'It's a good thing she isn't here', said a small voice, but that wasn't reassuring since the main problem was that she wasn't here.

His breathing had started to jump off pace, and everything was starting to close him in. The surrounding trees started to twist and morph themselves into tunnels.

"Harrington listen." Billy called out, but Steve did not listen and continued to pace.

This time Billy grabbed his shoulder and jerked Steve so they were face to face. "Steve. Listen to me"

That threw Steve for a loop, and Billy took advantage of the surprised silence.

"Look. I don't know why you're so freaked out about that lab, and quite frankly I rather not learn why..." He hesitated, briefly squeezing Steve's shoulder. His blue hardened eyes bore into Steve's own brown ones. "But my bitch of a step-sister is missing, and your Scooby Doo gang is as well. So get your act together, calm the hell down and breathe."

Out of everything conveyed between them, this was the nicest thing Billy has said to Steve by far. Which, in its own way, is kinda fucked up, but progress was progress. Following the advice, Steve took in measured breaths of air. He cleared his throat, taking light note of the heavy hand that was still settled on his shoulder. "Right, right. Sorry, I lost myself there for a second." He flushed. "Thanks Billy."

If Billy was bothered by the use of his first name, he made no sign of it. Instead he pried his own hand off of Steve shoulder, leaving behind an empty feeling in that particular spot.

"Whatever Harrington." Billy turned, giving Steve a show of his muscular back. He trudged out of the foliage, loosely gripping Steve's crowbar.

————

The door was already swung wide open when they arrived. Steve had nearly tripped over the pile of metal left behind in Elevens wake.

"How'd she even open the–" Billy cut himself off, looking thoughtful. "Actually, don't tell me, I don't wanna know."

Steve snorted, despite the tense atmosphere. He stepped into the building, assessing his surroundings. To the far right, was a nearly cleaned up yet noticeable dried up pool of blood. Steve knew where it had came from; Joyce's old boyfriend, Bob.

Steve had only met him once or twice, but the guy appeared to be a nice, dorky guy. He made Joyce happier than her ex-husband ever could. The poor man didn't deserve the brutal fate he got, but that's life, isn't it? That's just the fucked up, twisted fate that the Upside-down had handed to him– to them all.

Billy followed Steve's line of sight, and made an audible chocking sound once he registered what the stain was. For what seemed like ages, neither of them moved from their respective spots. Steve managed to will himself into action.

"Right, I'm not sure where we need to go, but my guess is that El went deeper. I've only ever heard of this place from the brat pack. We should've gotten Hopper to help us"

Billy rested the crowbar on his shoulder, subconsciously imitating Steve's current position. "Yeah, but he's not exactly here, now is he?"

Steve didn't grace that response with an answer. Silence was the only response Billy got from him.

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They were two floors down when Steve heard a yelp past one of the heavy lab doors. He made no hesitation to yank the entrance open, Billy following closely behind him.

Another shout, this time more intense. Billy took the lead, readying his crowbar, Steve as well.

The origin of the noises were presumably emitted down the hallway, from inside one of the rooms in the left side. The walls of the lab were all painted the same dreary white, but the occasional black charring overlaid some areas.

They both made a mad dash towards the door. Billy kicked open the hefty hunk of metal, mimicking a trained policeman who was wielding a tool commonly used for prying things open, in place of a gun. The infiltrated room reminded Steve of the pictures he'd seen of the Arctic, from inside one of his dad's old science magazines. The overhead LEDs mixed terribly well with the starch white walls, temporarily blinding the duo as they entered.

A massive machine sat intimidatingly in the center of the room. Aggressive reds, blues and greens flickered like Christmas lights. Each blink came from a different location.

Eleven had pressed herself into a corner of the Arctic room resembling a frightened animal, her hands pressed against her ears. The room.was absolutely silent, yet it was glaringly obviously there was something they weren't hearing.
The space was silent, save for Eleven's whimpers. Steve trained his eyes on the machine, not trusting it enough for him to look away.

"STOP IT!!!" Eleven screeched, sliding down the wall to fold herself into a small ball. Wails wracked her frame, as she shook in fear. Billy leapt into action. Steve watched helplessly as Billy made a wide swing that could put a professional batter to shame. The crowbar thrashed the side of the threatening machine, leaving behind a massive dent. More lights flashed, this time as a warning.

"HARGROVE, WHAT IF THAT WAS A BOMB!?" Steve shouted as the machine started to shake vigorously. Sparks danced wildly, leaping in every direction. Billy grabbed and threw Eleven over his shoulder. The frightened girl was still shaking like a leaf. Billy shouldered the door open effortlessly, somehow still carrying Steve's crowbar.

"Then we run."

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Steve: if you destroy this machine it explodes, but-

Billy: *beats the shit outta the machine*

Steve: I didn't even finish..

Billy: *starts kicking it*

Steve: ...

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