The kids huddled around Eleven as she searched for Hopper so he could help them with the situation.

"I found him" she muttered, a bandana covering her eyes as blood dripped from her nose.

"Where is he" Max asked

"Woods"

"Woods?" Alex whispered. Static noise filled the room, an old TV at the side of the room.

"He's with... Will's mom"

"My- my mom" Will stuttered out as he leaned forward.

"What are they doing" Max asked again

"Ill... annoy, they're going to Ill-annoy" El struggled with pronouncing the word. A knock was heard from the top of the staircase where the door to the basement sat.

"Mike! Breakfast!" Mike's mom called

"Not now Mom!" He yelled back. He then turned back to Eleven

"Illinois? Illinois, like the state? The state of Illinois?" He rambled and asked questions.

"Ill-annoy" El shrugged

Max dipped the tip of a mini towel in the water that came out of the faucet. She turned it off and turned to El. She cleaned off the blood that was slowly drying.

El lifted her chin and stared at the mark Delilah had gave her when she choked her the other night.

"Does it still hurt" Max mumbled

"Only when I talk" El mumbled out while she scratched at the mark on her throat

"Well, it's a good thing you're not Mike then. Blah, blah, blah, blah, you'd be in constant pain." They both chuckled

"Something's not right. I can't get Hopper off my back all summer and now all of a sudden he's hiking with Will's mom to Illinois and Dustin's MIA too." Mike paced back and forth as he rambled and rambled. Will listen boredly while Lucas ate some cereal and Alex sat on the floor, staring into space.

"I mean, this can't be a coincidence"

"What does it matter" Lucas and Alex groaned

"The bottom line is, they're not here. It up to us" Lucas said as he gestured to the party and Alex.

"Up to us to do what exactly?" Mike asked as he continued to pace

"Find Delilah and stop her" Lucas said confidently.

"Ok, yeah, that's a really nice sentiment, but even if El could find her again and that a pretty big if, then what?" Mike sassed. Alex raised his head, realizing Mike was heading to a good point.

"We burn the shit out of her and make sure she doesn't escape this time." Lucas said as he munched on the cocoa puffs.

"Ok, then what"

"Then we win"

"No, see, that's the problem, we don't, we don't win. We got the Mindflayer out of Will before and he just came right back and who knows how long the Mindflayer has taken control of Delilah. We don't just have to stop Billy, we have to stop the Mindflayer." Mike ranted

"How in the hell do we do that" Lucas asked

"I dont know"

"Maybe El does" Will piped in. The four boys turned towards the bathroom door.

"What are they still doing in there" Lucas and Alex stood up and walked up beside Mike. Alex reached in the cereal box while still looking at the door. Lucas stared at him in disbelief as the Cuban stole his food.

"I don't know, girls just like hanging out in bathrooms" Alex mumbled as he chewed on the cocoa puffs.

"Why?" Mike obnoxiously said

"I mean, I don't know."

"They're conspiring against me" Mike concluded

"That's what you're concerned about now?" Will whisper-yelled

"It's not my main concern, it's just a sub-concern." Mike whispered back

"I thought it was already over" Alex said as he furrowed his eyebrows

"It's not over, ok. We're just taking a break."

"She said she dumped your ass, that doesn't sound like a break." Will whispered

"It's wasn't" Max's voice boomed from inside the small bathroom.

"You guys do realize we can still hear everything you're saying right" Eleven chuckled as Max rolled her eyes

"Conspiring, I told you they're conspiring" Mike repeated as Will sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. Another knock was heard at the door, like before Mike yelled at who he thought was his mom

"Not now Mom!"

"Mike, open the door" Nancy's voiced boomed throughout the basement

"It was the same thing, the exact same thing that happened to Will last year and look at this. Look at the body temperatures" Nancy pulled out sheets of paper that recorded Mrs.Driscoll's temperature.

"He likes it cold" Alex muttered, remembering what his girlfriend had told him.

"Ok, so this crazy old woman who was eating fertilizer-" Mike started but his older sister cut him off.

"Mrs. Driscoll" she corrected

"Right, Mrs. Driscoll, what time was this attack." Mike asked

"Last night" Nancy answered

"Right, but what time last night"

"Around 9:00"

"You waited all night to call" Jonathan looked at Nancy in disbelief

"I was waiting for the doctors to run some tests." Nancy nervously said

"You weren't there" Will asked his brother

"Well I'm here now aren't I" Jonathan sassed

"Hallelujah" Nancy said sarcastically

"Ooh" Lucas and Alex said

"Um, so wha-what time was your sauna test" Nancy awkwardly said after that encounter

"Around 9:00" the kids said in unison.

"Well, that proves it, that proves my theory." Nancy said

"She's flayed, just like Delilah and Billy"

"Flayed" Jonathan said confused

"The Mindflayer. He flays people, takes over their mind. Once they do that they basically become him." Mike explained

"If there are three flayed-" Alex started

"We have to assume there are more" Will finished

"Heather and Amara. Billy and Delilah were doing something to her. They were scared, they were screaming. Bad screams" Eleven muttered as she shook her head lightly.

"What's a good scream" Lucas asked

"Max said-" El was cut off from the said girl

"Doesn't matter" Alex furrowed his eyebrows until he released them realizing what the test subject had meant.

"Oh, ahora eso es asqueroso"

"I'm sorry, I'm lost. Who is Heather and Amara." Nancy asked

"Heather is a lifeguard at the pool and Amara was in our chemistry class" the redhead answered.

"Heather Holloway" Nancy yelled out in surprise. The kids nodded. Nancy and Jonathan looked at each other

"Tom" they chorused

They all marched towards Nancy's car. Alex, El and Max ran ahead wanting the seats in the middle. Will, Mike and Lucas stared annoyed

"Seriously"

"Welcome to my world" Will muttered. The three squished in the very back while Nancy put her hair into a bun.

"Seat belts" Nancy said as she finished the bun. Nancy stared the car and continued to back up into the bicycles behind her car and drove off to the Holloway's house.

Nancy pressed the door bell and waited for someone to answer. She rang it again as it chimed but still no one answered.

Jonathan and Nancy looked back at Eleven who was right behind them. The girl catched on and used her powers to open the door. They all walked in, the house giving a very weird vibe

"Tom, Heather" Nancy called

"Jesus it's freezing" Max muttered as she hugged herself and rubbed her arms to create friction and heat. They stopped in the living room, sniffing at the air.

"Do you guys smell that" Alex asked as he pinched his nose to block the putrid smell from entering his nostrils. They entered the kitchen to see a broken off counter with a bunch of cleaning supplies on it.

"Oh god"

"More chemicals" Nancy said as she neared the counter.

"You think they're guzzling this shit" Jonathan asked as he inspected one of the bottles.

"Yeah either that or they just went on a hell of a cleaning spree"

"But last year, Will didn't eat chemical. Did you" Max said confused

"No, this is something new" Will answered

"Mr. Clarke, fifth grade. Posit, what happens when you mix chemicals together" Mike asked

"You create a new substance" Will, Lucas and Alex said in unison.

"What if they're making something?" Mike suggested

"In themselves, I mean come on, if you drink this crap it'll kill you" Max said

"Yeah if you're human" Will turned to Alex

"Did Delilah drink any chemicals" He murmured. Alex shook his head

"As far as I know, she didn't but who knows, she was taken control of before we even started dating. And plus,
I had to refrain her from telling me too much" Alex told them

"Why" Max asked

"Whenever she tried to tell me something important she would start to choke herself, like the Mindflayer was trying to stop her from spilling his secrets" a tear fell down Alex's face as he remembered the nights where he spent hours trying to pry Delilah's hand of her neck and calm her down.

Silenced filled the room as they all stood shocked at what the boy had told them

They all then walked into the dining room, seeing the mess on the table. Wine was spilt as food was scattered. Alex took a bite of the food and spit it out.

"white people food" he grimaced as Lucas chuckled

"Blood" Nancy whispered as she bent down to inspect the dry blood on the living room carpet.

"Yesterday, Tom had a bandage on his forehead" Nancy turned to Jonathan. She then picked up a wine bottle a few feet away. Blood was visible on the white sticker.

"He was attacked" Nancy stated. She looked forward to see a messy carpet that led to a different room. Blood could be seen on the carpet under the door. She opened the door to the garage. Rope sat on the floor.

"They must have tied them, they must have taken them somewhere". Jonathan concluded as he inspected the rope.

"Mrs. Driscoll, she kept saying... 'I have to go back'. What if the flaying, it's taking place somewhere else. There must be a place where all this started, right, a source" Nancy ranted

"Somewhere he didn't want me to see" El interrupted

"If we can find the source, then maybe we can stop him, or at least stop him from spreading or doing whatever the hell he's doing with those chemicals." Nancy planned

"How do we find him" Eleven asked

"Mrs. Driscoll, if she wants to go back so badly, why don't we let her."

(1725 words)