FIXATION

TWELVE

TWELVE: HOUSE OF HORRORS
november 5th, 1984

"Steve?"

"Nancy?" Steve couldn't believe it.

"Jonathan." Dustin almost scoffed.

"Wh- Rosalie?" Nancy's eyes shot to her old friend, then to the rest of the group, "what are you guys doing here?"

The prior events of the night made her feel like nothing in the natural world could ever surprise Rosalie. She had seen monsters, faced death, and was now aware of a completely other world. But then she saw Jonathan Byers and Nancy Wheeler, in front of the lab her and Steve Harrington- along with the three kids she swore to protect- were trying to get into to kill a monster. You could say she was a little speechless. They saw one another and it was as if they were doing roll call, like the Scooby-Doo gang.

"What are you doing here?" Steve shot back and Rosalie still couldn't find her will to speak. He stepped away from the side of his best friend's hip to interrogate the couple in front of him further. Nancy and Jonathan.. of all the people she thought she would run into that night. The only thing more bizarre than seeing Jonathan and Nancy would be seeing Billy Hargrove jump out the car.

"We're looking for Mike and Will." Nancy answered as the two groups settled in front of the lab's front gate, where Jonathan's car was parked in front of. It was turned off, like the gate which was keeping them from getting in the building. The same gate that was keeping Rosalie from getting the proper help that would rid the lightness in her head she was starting to fight off.

"They're not in there," Dustin's eyes darted to the eerie lab, then feared for the worst, "are they?"

"We're not sure." Nancy spoke slowly, then looked back to Steve. Then to Rosalie quickly after.

"Why?" Jonathan whispered to the kids when Rosalie finally looked back at Nancy. Her eyes were.. lost? Angry? Sad? It was so hard to tell especially because it was so dark outside and with the way her eyes were shifting so quickly back and forth it was hard to keep up.

Before anyone could ask anymore questions, Dart's growl roared from inside of the lab and shook the atmosphere. All eyes shot to the lab in fear, she could feel a million questions and fears come from both Nancy and Jonathan. The usual Hawkins Laboratory gave her chills even during the day, before when the monsters that roamed the halls wore white coats. It was where her father worked before he disappeared from out of her life forever. She remembered going inside when she had to stay home from school for being sick and her father would drag her to work with him. At first it was fun, but after a while she grew tired of the lab. And somewhere along the lines that annoyance bloomed into fear. Now the lab's lights were shut off, except for the red blaring light that echoed the faint sound of an alarm. It was a common lock down of the building, something she had only heard about and never truly seen in real life. No one was allowed in and no one was allowed out. The dark lab's windows flared the red light, making the hairs on the back of Rosalie's neck stand up. She wanted to run.

"That's why." She finally whispered back, her eyes staying on the House of Horrors. "The lab's on lockdown. Something's not right."

It was like the entire group silently agreed on a moment of silence. No one spoke, no one moved, no one breathed. Everyone took in the reality of the situation that felt like anything other than real. She could feel her wound pulse beneath the bandages Steve had secured. The wound was starting to feel hot, and her head began to feel light. It was something she could brush off, like the feeling she got whenever she would be in a deep sleep but was then forced to get up for school. Like that, she was determined to brush away the groggy feeling that was starting to creep in on her. She shut her eyes tight then opened them back up, reminding herself that she was fine. Then Jonathan gasped softly, breaking the group's vow of silence, and turned to Steve.