Chapter Text
Thump. Thump.
The sound echoed in the dark, with nowhere to go. The echo-just like the wall before her-seemed to go on forever.
She staggered back, catching her breath before throwing herself forward, fists pounding the wall.
Nothing.
No response, no cracks, nothing.
Just as it’d been since she first found this place.
“Hello?” She shouted, her voice cracking. “Is anyone there?”
No answer; of course.
“Hey!” She yelled, punching the wall, making her fist sting. “I’m in here!”
Still, nothing.
Putting her back against the wall, Max Mayfield slid to the ground, exhaling a frustrated breath. She wiped away the tears starting to form and shook her head.
You are not going to cry, she told herself. Not over this.
She was all but certain that El had found her; found this prison that she was stuck in.
She had no clue how long it’d been, stuck in this…place. The days, weeks, and months all seemed to blend together.
“They’re coming,” she said to herself. “They have to be.”
She could still hear Lucas’s voice telling her that El was close. And then, just as sudden, Lucas’s voice had disappeared, and the faint sounds she’d heard had left with him.
Ever since Vecna had taken her, she’d been trapped in this place, this prison of the mind. She didn’t know how long she’d been walking, searching for any way out before she’d stumbled across this wall. A wall of brick-or stone; honestly, she couldn’t tell anymore-that stretched endlessly in either direction.
The other side had to be a way out, she figured. Why else would he-Vecna, the bastard-keep her away?
Max had seen him a handful of times since she’d been here. She always ran in the opposite direction, determined to get away from him and to put as much distance between him and her.
Still, it never seemed enough; he always seemed to find her.
She elbowed the wall again, cursing under her breath as pain shot through the limb.
“El? Lucas? Where are you?” She asked quietly.
“Max.”
She sat up straight, eyes searching for the source of the voice. Not any voice, *his* voice.
Vecna. He’d found her.
“They aren’t coming for you,” he spoke, as Max continued to look for his location. “You won’t be found.”
“Shut up,” she said.
“Your attempts are noble, but useless. There is no escape for you.”
“I said, shut up!”
“Accept your fate. And this will all be over soon.”
Max searched the dreamscape around her, still looking for where he was. He suddenly appeared ten feet before her, emerging from the mist and walking slowly towards her.
“You’ve survived longer than most; take comfort in knowing that. But in the end, you will meet the same finality as everyone else.”
Five feet away now. Max closed her eyes and lowered her head. “I want you to promise me something.”
Vecna paused. “And what is that?”
“Make it quick,” she said. “When you…you know…I don’t want it to hurt. Can you do that?”
He nodded. “Quick.”
“Okay,” she said, standing.
Max stood there, unmoving for a second.
“And…one more thing.” Looking up, she gave him the finger before taking off, running into the mist.
She ran until her feet hurt; until her lungs ached and until her body threatened to give out. When she finally stopped she didn’t know where she was. All she knew was that *he* wasn’t behind her.
And in a place like this, that was a victory of its own.
El clutched Mike’s shoulders as the two made their way to Hopper’s cabin. An hour had passed since El tried to contact Max, and her headache had all but vanished. She, Mike, and Lucas had spent the remaining time talking about what her Void trip meant until they’d decided to call it a night and head home.
Now, with the cabin coming into view, El felt Mike beginning to slow down. “Do you wanna walk?” He asked her.
“Sure,” El said. Mike came to a stop, and helped El climb down. They started walking, El lost in her thoughts and Mike trying not to pry.
“Are you going to tell Hopper?” Mike finally asked.
“No,” she answered, shaking her head. “We still don’t know what it means. And…he’ll want me to stop.”
She noticed Mike started to say something but changed his mind. She stopped walking. “What is it?”
“It’s nothing,” he said, also stopping.
“Friends don’t lie, Mike,” she reminded him.
He chuckled. “Yeah; yeah, I know.” He sighed before saying, “Look…I know we want to find Max, but maybe you should…take it easy for a little bit.”
El raised an eyebrow. “What? Why?”
“Today took a lot out of you. And I don’t…”
“You don’t think I can do it?” She asked.
“No, it’s not that…I don’t want to see you get hurt,” he admitted.
She paused. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t like seeing you like that, all…drained. And now that we know he can see you in there, shouldn’t we play it safe?”
El turned, continuing the walk to the cabin. “I am safe,” she said over her shoulder.
Mike scurried to catch up. Dropping his bike, he put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. “Hey. I didn’t mean anything by it, okay?” When she seemed unfazed, he continued with “Remember everything I said to you, the last time you fought him? In the pizza freezer? I still believe it. I still believe in you. I always will. I know you’re going to find Max and kick Vecna’s ass. But he’s dangerous. And…as strong as you are, I don’t want him to catch you on an off day.”
El huffed, thinking about what he said. Although he had a point, she had no intention of stopping her search. “I want this to be over,” she told him. “And stopping him means it’s over. He doesn’t want me looking for Max for a reason. The sooner I can find her, the sooner we find out why.”
Mike started to say something to that, when a pair of headlights illuminated the woods; the two teens watched as Hopper’s cruiser inched closer to where they were. Once the ignition was cut Hopper climbed out, looking over the pair. “I thought you’d already be home,” he said to El.
“We went to see Max,” she told him.
“Yeah? How’s Red doing?”
“The same,” she answered.
Hopper looked between El and Mike, picking up on the tension. “Are you two okay?”
“Yeah,” Mike answered.
“Mike was going home,” El said, walking closer to her boyfriend. “I’ll see you inside,” she told Hopper.
The chief nodded, walking past them and towards the cabin.
“At least think about what I said,” Mike said.
“I will,” she answered.
“Do you promise?”
She smiled, and nodded. “Yes, I promise.”
Mike stooped, bringing his lips to hers in a quick kiss. “I love you,” he told her.
“I love you too.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said before turning to his bike.
Minutes later, Mike had made his way out of the woods and was heading back to town. His talk with Eleven ran rampant through his mind; was she mad at him? He’d started to ask but had decided not to. He didn’t think it was smart for her to risk herself right now. She was right-obviously, Vecna didn’t want her to find Max. But now that he knew she was looking, didn’t that make things more dangerous?
Why didn’t you tell her that? He thought, mentally kicking himself.
His walkie-strapped to the front of his bike-suddenly came to life as he heard a panicked Dustin talking.
“Code red; I repeat, code red. Mike? Lucas? Will? Anybody? Come on, pick up…”
Mike pulled his bike to the side of the street before pressing talk. “I’m here, Dustin. What’s wrong?”
“Finally,” Dustin answered. “Come to The Squawk. Something’s going on.”
“Now?” Mike answered, looking at his watch.
“Yes, now,” Dustin said. “And bring Lucas and Will. Over and out.”
Mike rolled his eyes. This couldn’t be good.
Twenty minutes later he, Will, and Lucas had made their ways to the radio station. Dustin was waiting outside for them.
“You do realize it’s a school night,” Mike said to Dustin.
“Some things are more important than studies, Michael,” Dustin said. “Come in.”
The four of them entered the building, Dustin leading the way.
“Do you wanna tell us what this is all about?” Will asked.
“I will; but you need to hear this.”
“Hear what?” Lucas asked as they entered the studio. Steve and Robin were inside; Steve was fidgeting with some knobs on a receiver while Robin switched out music.
“Okay!” Dustin began. “So earlier, I think we picked up a signal.”
“A signal?” Mike asked.
“Yes, a signal,” Dustin confirmed. Looking at Steve, he asked, “You ready?”
“A ‘please’ would be nice,” Steve muttered before pushing play. The studio was filled with static, the sound monotonous and loud.
“This is static,” Lucas said. “This is what you heard?”
“Just wait,” Robin said, taking a seat.
“Wait for what, exactly?” Will asked. His question was soon answered, though, as the boys heard the same sound Steve/Robin/Dustin heard before-a combination of deep groaning and what sounded like humming. Then, just as soon as it had started, the sound vanished.
“Okay…what was that?” Mike asked.
“That’s the thing, we don’t know,” Steve explained. “It just came out of nowhere.”
“What if it was a warning?” Dustin asked his friends.
“A warning? About what?” Mike asked.
“Think about it! The earthquake, and then this, a few hours later? What if it’s Vecna?”
“Why would he be sending out signals now?” Will asked.
Mike and Lucas exchanged a look.
“What? What is it?” Dustin asked, noticing.
Lucas and Mike took a moment to tell what’d happened earlier at the hospital. When they finished, Dustin let out a breath.
“Okay, how is that not a coincidence?” Steve asked.
“The earthquake…I don’t know about that, but the hospital, and then this,” Mike said. “We must’ve pissed him off.”
“But why’s he on the radio?” Robin asked.
“We are number one in Hawkins,” Steve offered.
Robin rolled her eyes.
“He’s spying on us,” Mike said. “He must know El’s close to finding Max.”
“And he’s warning us to back off,” Will added.
“Exactly,” Mike agreed.
“Alright, but…what now?” asked Lucas, looking at his friends.
“Yeah, if your theory is right,” Dustin said, “And he’s aware of what we’re doing, doesn’t that put El in danger?”
“When isn’t that girl in danger?” Robin asked quietly.
Mike shook his head, leaning against the wall. “I already tried talking to her. She's dead set on ending this; no matter what.”
“Maybe she’ll change her mind after you tell her all of this,” Steve said.
“Um, I'm sorry, have you met El?” Dustin asked.
“This’ll only make her more determined,” Mike said.
“So…we don’t tell her?” Lucas asked.
“Not yet,” Mike said.
“You’re going to lie to El?” Will asked.
“Not lie, just…not tell her,” Mike said. Looking at Steve and Robin, he said, “And let us know if there’s any more of this…static.”
“It isn’t static,” Robin commented.
“You know what I mean,” Mike responded. “For now, we don’t say anything. To anyone else.”
“I’m sure this won’t backfire,” Dustin said quietly.
Back at the cabin, El sat at the table, absentmindedly picking at the peas on her plate. Across from her Hopper sat, finishing up his mashed potatoes.
“Come on, kid,” he said. “I didn’t even give you a whole lot. I know you hate ‘em, but you’ve gotta eat them.”
El huffed, reluctantly stabbing at the remaining peas with her fork and shoving them into her mouth.
“There. Was that so hard?” he asked.
Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, El stood, picking up her plate and dropping it off in the sink.
“Hey,” Hopper called, stopping her before she got to her room. “Everything alright?”
“Yes,” she said softly.
“What about Mike? You two good?”
“Yes,” she repeated. “I have to do my homework.”
Hopper smirked. “First time I’ve ever heard you want to do homework. Go ahead.”
El gave him a small smile before going into her room, closing the door behind her.
She took a seat on her bed, lying on her back as she looked up at the ceiling. Her backpack-with the aforementioned homework-sat on the floor next to her desk. She considered putting out her hand and beckoning it over; although her homework was inside the bag, so was her blindfold. The thought of what she’d experienced in the hospital-the brick wall with the knocking behind it was stil fresh in her mind:
Him-Vecna-speaking and sending her away
El was so close, she could feel it.
But as well as her time in the Void, Mike’s words stuck with her, too.
He’s dangerous…I don’t want him to catch you on a bad day.
He had a point.
What if Henry were stronger now? What if Max was more difficult to get to than she thought?
What if she failed?
Rising from the bed El stepped to her backpack, kneeling next to it. She slowly unzipped it. Sitting inside was her math book, with the bandana on top of it.
Sighing, she pulled her math book out and zipped her backpack shut.
Not tonight, she told herself. But soon. I’m coming, Max.
A month passed. During that time, Hawkins continued to try and be normal. As much as it could, anyway. September turned into October without much fanfare.
The Party was thankful for the reprieve, getting the chance (for the most part) to be normal teenagers. There were homework assignments, papers to write, nights of video games and movies, with the occasional trip to the arcade. For Mike and El, the time passed with study sessions in the Wheeler basement, as well as date nights, holding hands as they walked the woods.
El still searched for Max-just not as frequently. Mike’s words, as well as the memory of Vecna shoving her out of the Void, kept her trips to a minimum. When she did try, Mike was the only one she confided in.
Steve, Robin, and Dustin kept searching for signals on the radio. But ever since that first sound in early September, there hadn’t been any repeat.
Lucas still visited Max as often as he could. Sometimes members of the Party would join him, at other times Erica. He still talked to her, hoping for some kind of response; a finger moving, an eye twitch, or anything. But nothing yet.
Will, meanwhile, stayed on edge during this time. The group’s Cleric knew something was coming-he just wasn’t sure what (or when) it would be.
Before anyone knew it, homecoming season had arrived.
Fliers for the school dance started appearing in the hallways at the start of October but the group didn’t pay it too much attention. Lucas obviously wasn’t going to go and Dustin, who had recently had a falling out with Suzie, didn’t plan to attend, either. Will hadn’t considered going, so that left Mike and Eleven.
El was the one that brought it up, after seeing signs around the school. Mike quickly got the hint, and asked her to go soon after. El figured it’d be a good way to take her mind off Max, after being unsuccessful so far. Mike figured the two deserved a night out after everything the last few years had thrown at them.
Joyce helped her pick out a dress. The dark blue gown was decorated with tiny silver specks that reminded her of stars when they caught the light. The sheer sleeves that rested on her shoulders made her feel mature, something that she liked but Hopper wasn’t the biggest fan of. The dress itself wasn’t revealing, just another reminder to Jim that his daughter was growing up.
The night of the dance El stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom, attempting to clasp a necklace around her neck. Something usually so simple was giving her a hard time; she didn’t know if it was nerves or because her mind refused to stay in the moment. After trying and failing for the sixth time, she huffed and emerged from her room. Hopper sat on the couch with Joyce, a beer in his hand as a rerun played. He turned to her, his eyebrows raised. “Look at you,” he said.
Joyce put a hand to her heart. “You look amazing, sweetie.”
El blushed, then remembered why she was upset. “Can you get this for me?”
Joyce nodded, standing and stepping over Hopper’s legs to get to El. The girl turned and lifted her hair as Joyce fumbled at first before managing to clasp it.
Behind them, the police chief stood. “Mike will be here any minute,” Hopper reminded her. “Do we need to go over the rules?”
El fought the urge to roll her eyes. “So many rules,” she muttered.
“And why is that?” He asked.
“I know the rules,” she told him, ignoring the question.
“Hop, give her a break,” Joyce said.
“Humor me,” he said to El, folding his arms.
This time she did roll her eyes. “Home by eleven.”
“Good. Keep going.”
“If anything weird happens, leave.” She frowned. “Weird could be a lot of things.”
“You’ll know it if you see it,” he countered. “What’s the third rule?”
“Don’t sneak off with Mike.” She furrowed her brows. “Where would we sneak off to?”
He sighed. “I don’t know. The woods, back of a car. Anywhere teenagers go to make bad decisions.”
“I’m not making bad decisions.”
“Exactly what people making bad decisions would say.”
“Don’t you think you’re being overbearing?” Joyce asked.
“I’m being smart, is what I’m being,” Hopper muttered.
From outside came the sound of a car arriving, and El perked up. “He’s here!” she dashed off to find her shoes.
“Here we go,” Hopper said as Joyce grabbed her camera. A moment later there was a knock at the door; before Hopper could open it, though, El dashed past him-shoeless-to get the door.
El opened the door to reveal Mike, standing on the porch in jacket, sweater and tie. In his hand he held a small box with a flower inside.
For a moment he just stared before finally:
“Holy,” he began, his eyes looking her over. “El, you look beautiful.”
“Thanks,” she said, ducking her head and smiling. Behind him, El spotted Nancy sitting in the car, waiting to drive them to the dance. El glanced at the box he held. “What’s that?”
“Oh!” He said, looking down at it. “It’s something called a corsage. Nancy said I needed to get one.”
“Come in you two,” Joyce said from behind El. “Let me get some pictures before you go.”
Joyce directed the teens to the living room as Mike struggled opening the small box. Hopper eventually got it opened and explained to Mike what to do. Once Mike figured how to put it on El’s wrist, the two stood side by side as Joyce took pictures. After half a dozen photos, the two held hands as Mike led her out to the car (but not before Hopper reminded El of the rules, and gave Mike a look about curfew).
Mike opened the car door for El before going around to his side.
“Nice dress, El,” Nancy said from the front.
“Thanks,” the girl responded.
Nancy gave her brother a wink in the rear view mirror before putting the car in reverse and heading towards the dance.
At the SQWAK radio station Steve and Robin were sitting, trying to pass the time. Robin was reclining in one of the chairs, looking through a magazine while Steve tossed a ball against the wall, catching it when it bounced back.
“In case I didn’t say it,” Steve said, “Thanks for getting us roped into the Saturday night shift.”
“That’s only the fifth time,” Robin said. “And again, you’re welcome,” she said sarcastically. “You’re the one who said you had nothing to do.”
“That’s because you asked me on Monday,” he answered, throwing the ball again. It hit the wall with a smack before bouncing back to his hand. “How am I supposed to know what I’m doing on the weekend on a Monday?”
“You got me, Steve,” she responded. “Next time I’ll check with your secretary.”
He sighed, putting his hands behind his head as he leaned back in his chair. “Where are they, anyway? I’m starving.”
“They’re carrying a pizza on a bike, Steve. Not exactly the easiest thing to do.”
There was a sudden knock at the station doors, and a moment later Dustin and Will entered the studio, Dustin holding a very damaged pizza box.
“Okay, before you freak out…” Dustin began.
“What the hell did you do, man?” Steve asked, standing.
“Relax, it’s mostly intact,” Will said.
Robin stood as Dustin put the pizza on a table. “Alright, let’s see the damage.”
Dustin flipped open the top, and the group made a face at its contents. While not ruined, their food was a little smushed with various toppings scattered haphazardly.
“Oh come on, ” Steve complained.
“Look,” Dustin began, “I’m not saying the place is responsible, but I’m not not saying it, either.”
“Bullshit,” Steve responded. “What did you do, fall on it?”
“We tied it down with bungee cords,” Will said. “It doesn't look too bad.” He carefully pulled a slice out and took a bite while the others watched. “See? Still pizza.”
Robin shrugged as she took a slice, followed by Dustin. Steve still looked unconvinced. “Wait, is this pineapple? Who the hell puts pineapple on a pizza?”
“Try before you deny,” Will said, hopping into a chair.
“You’re the one that was too cheap to get it delivered,” Robin reminded him.
Steve huffed and pulled out an uneven slice before sitting down.
The group ate in silence for a moment before Robin asked, “Explain to me again how it’s the night of homecoming and two of Hawkins’ most eligible bachelors don’t have dates?”
“I didn’t want to go,” Will answered. “I don’t really like dances in the first place.”
“Me neither,” Dustin said, his mouth full of pizza. “It’s just a waste of time.”
“Still mad that Suzie dumped you, huh?” Steve asked.
“She didn’t dump me,” Dustin explained, “We mutually decided to take a break and explore other options.”
“Keep telling yourself that, champ.”
“Screw you,” Dustin told him.
“Hey,” Steve said, turning towards Dustin. “For the record, everyone gets dumped. Do you know how many times a girl’s dumped me?”
“Are we talking this month or this year?” Robin joked.
“Ignore her,” Steve said.
“Well there’s Nancy,” Dustin said, counting off on his fingers. “And there was Lisa and Veronica. Who was that checkout girl?”
“Wasn’t her name Claudette?” Will said.
“No, Claudette was the one that had the dog,” Dustin said.
“Okay, can we talk about something else now?” Steve asked, running a hand through his hair.
“Not everyone bats a thousand, Harrington,” Robin teased.
“I hate you.”
Robin snorted a laugh.
Will grabbed another slice, and offered the box to the others who ended up taking another one. After another minute of quiet eating, Steve asked, “So Lucas is at the hospital?”
Dustin nodded. “Yep.”
It got quiet again before Will asked, “Do you guys think Max will ever wake up?”
The other three exchanged glances before Robin said, “Of course she is.”
“Why wouldn’t she?” Steve asked.
“I’m not saying she won’t,” Will said. “I just…I’d hate to see Lucas go through all of this for nothing, you know?”
“Trust me,” Dustin said, “She’ll be up and busting our balls in no time.”
Will looked down at his pizza. “I hope so.”
The room got quiet again, the only sound in the room from the radio equipment, humming quietly.
At Hawkins High School, the homecoming dance was well underway. Fairy lights and balloons decorated the gymnasium, as speakers filled the room with music. Half of the students danced in the center of the room, while the other half either hung out in groups or took spots at the tables.
Mike and El were currently sitting at one of the tables, Mike holding El’s hand under the table as they talked. They’d arrived not too long ago and, not ready to dance yet, had found one of the few empty tables.
El was looking around the room; almost as if she were looking for someone. Next to her, Mike was doing the same, but not as intense as El seemed to be doing.
“Hey,” he said, squeezing her hand. She turned to him.
“Yes?”
“Is everything okay?”
She hesitated before saying “Yes,” her shoulders relaxing as she answered. “I keep…thinking something is going to happen.”
Mike nodded as he moved a little closer to her. “I get it. But hey, we’ve got Ms. Beechman to save us if anything goes wrong, right? She could assign them some homework.”
El smiled.
“And if they get past her, there’s always principal Higgins. He’d probably bore them to death.”
El laughed, leaning onto Mike as she did.
Encouraged by her laughter, Mike continued to look around. “See him?” He asked, nodding towards a student across the gym. “The guy with the punch? Wearing glasses?”
El took a second, but nodded her head.
“He’s been staring at Kelly Harper since we got here.”
El raised her eyebrows. “He wants to ask her to dance?”
Mike nodded.
“He should just ask her.”
“Believe me, it’s not always easy for nerdy guys to talk to pretty girls.”
“You did it,” El said, giving him a knowing smile.
Mike smiled back. “You were easy to talk to.”
“I barely talked,” she admitted.
“Dustin did enough talking for all of us,” Mike said.
El laughed. “He did; but you were sweet. You gave me your jacket…after you got it caught on your arm and almost fell.”
Mike winced. “You remember that?”
She smiled at him again. “Of course. I remember all of it.”
Mike returned the smile, squeezing her hand again under the table.
He chuckled at another memory from that night. “Lucas thought you escaped from a mental institution,” he told her.
Eleven raised an eyebrow. “Mental institution?”
“It’s a place for people with mental problems; he kept saying you were crazy.”
El huffed a laugh, as she got a far away look on her face again. “Do you think he’s okay? Lucas?”
Mike nodded. “I’m sure he’s fine. Probably talking Max’s ear off.”
She nodded as well before lying her head on his shoulder.
They continued people watching for a bit before a song, “With or Without You” began playing on the speakers. Mike looked down at his date. “Hey.”
She looked up at him. “Hey?”
He smiled. “Do you want to dance?”
El nodded, and she and Mike walked to the dance floor, hand in hand. They began to sway to the music and Mike smiled again, happy to see El having a good time. After a few moments, El looked up at Mike.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
Mike frowned. “For what?”
“For…finding me in the woods, and taking me home. For treating me like a person. For being so nice to me. For loving me,” she added, smiling. “And thank you for bringing me here, to get my mind off of things.”
Mike smiled back. “Am I that obvious?”
She nodded before leaning up and kissing him softly. “I love you, Mike.”
“I love you, too, El.”
She lay her head on his chest, as the music continued playing. Mike held her close, wanting to stay in this moment as long as he could.
At Hawkins Hospital, Lucas sat in his usual chair, a rerun of Knight Rider ending on the tv. He clicked off the screen before turning to Max.
“That was a good one,” he told her. “You know, as far as Knight Rider goes.” He glanced at the time, and frowned; he knew he’d need to leave soon. Scooting his chair closer to the bed, he held her hand. “You know, you still owe me a movie,” he reminded her. “Mike and El saw The Princess Bride last week and said it was really good. It’s not your kind of movie, but I was hoping maybe…” He trailed off, and gave her hand a squeeze. “I know you’re coming back, Max, but…any way you can make it sooner?”
Giving her hand one more squeeze he reached for his backpack. “Before I go,” he said, “I gotta start this new book. It’s called ‘The Outsiders’. It’s supposed to be good, so…we’ll see.” Clearing his throat, he began reading:
When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind.
He paused. “Huh.” Glancing at Max, he said “That’s actually kind of fitting; if we end up seeing that movie.”
When she didn’t respond, he grinned. “Anyway…”
He continued to read, hoping to finish the chapter before leaving. But just as he was turning the page, something made him stop.
“Lucas?”
He froze. The voice had been quiet, but he’d recognize it anywhere. Slowly, as if moving too fast would ruin everything, he looked to the bed.
And locked eyes with Max.
“Max?” Lucas whispered.
“You can not do the Moonwalk,” Robin was shouting at Dustin as the four of them continued hanging out at the radio station.
“Ten bucks says I can,” the curly haired boy responded.
“Okay, Dustin, you know I believe in you but this is pushing it,” Steve told him.
“I’m telling you, I…
Code red! This is a code red!
The foursome turned towards the walkie sticking out of Will’s backpack. “Is that Lucas?” Will asked.
I repeat, this is a code red! All hands on deck!
Will scrambled over to his bag and pulled out the walkie as Dustin followed him over. After extending the antenna, Will spoke “Lucas, we’re here. What’s going on?”
“It’s Max,” Lucas answered. A pause, then “She’s awake.”