AFTERMATH - Stranger Things 3

Chapter 7

"Wait, so Cerebro just stopped working?" Dustin asked as he checked over his radio tower.

Mike and Max called over Dustin and Lucas to tell them about what had happened. Needless to say, the two boys were shocked to hear that Hopper was alive. Dustin was looking over the wires and even stumbled back when he saw the shadowy lines covering it.

"Yeah, it did," Mike explained. "Just as we were going to try and call El to tell her about Hopper. There was no longer any sign of a signal."

"This is really weird," Lucas commented. "Joyce and Hopper closed the gate that the Russians made. There shouldn't be any sign of another one because we saw the Mind Flayer die with our own eyes."

"I agree," Max added. "If the brain dies, the body dies. That means there has to be another gate somewhere."

Dustin, all of a sudden, snapped his fingers. Everyone looked over at him as he stood up from the ground. "Guys, how do you think Hopper even survived that explosion?" He asked. Once he received shrugs from his friends, he continued. "He was trapped from that machine malfunctioning. The gate was right there in front of him. He probably jumped into the gate before the explosion."

"That explains how he lived, but how did he get to Russia?" Mike asked.

"The Russians captured him, obviously," Dustin explained. "What if there's a gate in Russia and that's how they got him?!"

Max bit her lip and rolled her eyes. "Well that's just great. How are we going to get to Russia then?" She asked. "The gate is closed here. Like you said, Hopper and Joyce closed it."

"I'm not saying we have to go to Russia," Dustin said. "Without you guys, Robin, Steve, Erica, and I would've been shot dead by the Russians that night. The only way how we could even get into that prison, if there even was a gate, is with El's powers. But she's not even here and she lost them!"

"Can we stop talking about El as if she's an object?!" Mike said, throwing his hands up into the air. "I get that her powers are badass, but you all saw what happened when she pushed to her limits. We can't just rely on her to save the day. If we were to save Hopper, it needs to be a group effort. El isn't here and we can't even communicate with her!"

"Mike's right," Max said. Mike looked over at her and gave her a thankful smile, which she returned. "We all made the mistake of relying on El too much that we pushed her. It was really stupid, so we have to do something on our own. All communications are dead and we need to find out what's going on."

"There's most likely a gate here," Lucas said. "We should go looking for one to make sure. Let's see if we can get anyone else to help. At least, the ones that are still here to help."

"Got it," Mike said. "I'll get Nancy to help."

"I'll get Robin and Steve," Dustin added.

"I'll get Erica," Lucas said.

Max raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend and folded her arms. "I thought you didn't want your sister being involved with this anymore?" She asked him.

Lucas shrugged in response. "She's just as involved as the rest of us," he said. "We're starting to get along now anyway."

"I'll come with you then," Max offered. "I have no one to get."

Mike nodded at everyone. "We'll meet back up at my house. Let's go."

...

Robin and Steve had just gotten off work and were now walking around town together. Robin stop thinking about Rey, who had walked in the video store to get a job. She blushed as she thought about her, which Steve immediately took notice of. He smirked at her and she rolled her eyes at him.