Veronica Harrington and her best friends go on an adventure of a lifetime when one of their friends turns up missing. While on their search for their friend they meet a mysterious girl with and even more mysterious background who helps them find the...
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They all pile into Hopper and Jonathan's car and head to the Middle school. Jonathan and Hopper go together to get the de-icing salt, while Mike and Nancy grab hoses. Roni, Lucas, and Dustin roll out the kiddie that was somehow super heavy.
Dustin and Lucas struggle to figure things out and Roni stands by watching it all with an amused smirk on her face. "Roni, uh, help?!" Lucas says. She rolls her eyes and helps them out. But it takes a few more tries for them to figure it out.
Roni holds the hose and points it towards the pool to fill it up. Once they do that, it was all about temperature. Getting the perfect degree to hold up the salt. Lucas puts in a thermometer inside the pool to get the right amount.
"Colder!" He screams. Nancy turns the knobs to cold. "Warmer!" He screams again. Lucas looks back at the thermometer and yells, "Right there!"
Jonathan and Hopper began pouring bags of salt into the pool. Every couple of bags, the rest of the kids see if it was enough. To test it, they put an egg. If it floats, it means there is enough salt to hold up a person.
They groan disappointedly when the egg sinks to the bottom. And a few more bags later, Dustin places the egg gently in the water, it floats. Roni smiles happily. They were another step close to Will.
Mike turns on the radio to a static setting. And El takes off her socks and she hands Roni the bracelet she gave her. Roni takes it and puts it in her pocket. Eleven puts the goggles that were covered with duct tape on her face. She sighs deeply.
El enters the pool one step at a time and lays weightlessly, floating in the pool. The light flickers rapidly and then it shuts off. Roni watches helplessly beside the pool, hoping that this would work.
A few minutes go by, and Roni was slowly losing hope that El would them. She gazes towards Mrs.Byers and notices her expression. It was mixed it's hope, nervousness, and a lot of determination. All Roni could think about was how it was her fault that they were in this situation. How selfish she was.
"Barbara?" Eleven mutters. Nancy jumps up in anticipation. She suddenly breathes heavily and the electricity pulsates.
"What's going on? Is Barb okay? Is she okay?" Nancy looks her in concern.
"Gone. Gone. Gone," Eleven said with fear in her voice. Nancy covers her mouth, tears flood her eyes. El's voice becomes panicky with every word. The lights above flicker rapidly. Roni tries to steady her breath but she subconsciously moves closer to the boys.
"It's okay, we're right here. We're right here, honey," Mrs. Byers speaks softly like a mother to her child. She and Hopper touch El's hand and shoulder comforting her. El slowly calms down and starts to search for Will.
"Castle Byers," She mumbles. Roni's eyes light up at the mention of Will's club house. "Will?" She whispers. Roni holds back a gasp.
"Tell him I'm coming," Mrs. Byers tells El.
"Hurry," A weak voice of Will's rung out from the radio. Roni wanted to cry at that moment, hearing his voice. But it sounded so shaky. So weak. What has that place done to him?
"Okay. Listen, you tell him to...to stay where he is. We're coming. We're coming, okay?" Mrs. Byers stutters nervously at hearing her son's voice. Low whimpers come from both El and the radio.
Eleven suddenly jumps up, quickly taking off the goggles. Mrs.Byers takes the girl, putting an arm around her chest. She rubs her head comfortingly. El clutches Mrs. Byers' arm, breathing heavily.
They take El out of the pool and lay on blanket around her shoulders and body. Roni fixes it for her as Eleven lays her head on Mike's shoulder. Roni turns to see Mrs. Byers talking to Hopper. The woman turns to follow the man out but Roni touches her shoulder.
"Uh, Mrs. Byers," Roni starts. She nods. "I wanted to tell you...how-how sorry I am for not riding with Will that night. I'm so, so sorry. I was just so selfish. Maybe if I would've rode with him-" Roni trails off and picks at her nail, avoiding eye contact.
Mrs. Byers puts a supportive hand on her shoulder, making the girl look up at her. She had tears in her eyes. Mrs.Byers looks into her eyes, bringing a sympathetic smile to her lips. She pulls her into a hug and Roni lays a weak hand around her torso.
"Oh, honey. It's not your fault. None of this is your fault, it's that-that things fault, not yours," She pulls back and stares determindly at the girl. "I'm going to bring him home. No matter what." Mrs. Byers smiles weakly. Roni nods and they pull away, she wipes away the tears before walking back to the boys. Mrs. Byers runs behind Hopper, trying to catch up to him to get to The Gate, go Upside Down's Castle Byers.
