THE THREE OF THEM VENTURE OFF INTO THE WOODS, shouting out Eleven's name as they walk on crunchy leaves and stare around their surroundings.

Wheeling their bikes through the woods, Mariella was beginning to get restless. She was beginning to lose hope in finding Eleven but she persevered. Shouting out her name with her jaw slack.  The boys did the same.

The begin to slow down, panting and sighing to themselves — stopping when they hear rustling from behind them. Mike looks to Dustin and Mariella with curious eyes.

"Hey, stop. Do you hear that?" He asks.

"What?" Dustin responds, not hearing anything as Mariella shakes her head, no.

Mike looks away and shouts out, "El!" Once more. "El?", scrunching up his nose before looking to forward once again. Seeing Troye and James coming up from a hill.

"Hey, there, Frogface," Troye says menacingly as they walk towards the group of three. "Toothless," He adds, holding a pocket knife in his hand. "Oh! Disappointment DeGray!" He laughs.

"Shit! Run, Mike, Mars!" Dustin screams, dropping his bike and sprinting away. Mariella doing the same, her hair flying behind her.

"What?" Mike screams, following after them as Mariella shouts back at him.

"Run! Go! Go!" She says as she looks back and sees Troye and James smiling with amused looks before chasing after them.

"You're dead, Wheeler!" Troye shouts as he sprints after them.

"Move, Mike!" Dustin yells, noticing how Mike was trailing behind him and Mariella — they both knew Troye and James had is out for Mike especially. They always have.

"Mike, run! Hurry up!" Mariella shouts as she hops over an overturned branch and follows after Dustin who led them.

It was a goose chase, Mike catching up to Dustin and Mariella as they run alongside each other and into the quarry, panting.

"Ah! Cramp!" Dustin groans, slowing down and grasping his stomach in pain.

"Just keep going!" Mike yells after him. "Keep going!".

"Dustin, come on!" Mariella screams, looking down at her untied shoes and yelling out, "You have got to be kidding me!".

"Shit!" Dustin says, stopping in his tracks as they stare at James who came from the other side. They were surrounded. Now where to run. No where to hide.

Mike and Dustin grab rocks and sticks off the ground and face them, Mariella looking between their bullies and breathing heavily before her eyes lighting up and going to slip her backpack off her shoulders. The gun.

"Stay back! Don't come any closer!" Mike yells, holding a rock up threateningly before tossing it. Missing James by long shot.

James scoffs, "Nice throw, numbnuts,".

Dustin yells before swinging at Troye with the stick and is grabbed by him. Pinned against Troye's body with the pocket knife to his throat as Dustin struggles against him. "Get off! Get off me!".

James notices Mariella's shaking hands as she fumbles with her backpack zippers and rushes towards her, ripping the bag from her hands and tossing it away from her and grabbing her arms. "Let go! Now! Let me go!" She screeches, kicking up and down and screaming loudly.

"Get off them! Get off of them!" Mike shouts out, looking at his struggling friends helplessly.

"Stay back, or I cut him. And James'll choke the Mute before she can let out another one of those screams!" Troye threatens.

"What do you want?" Mike asks, his eyes wide in fear and anger as Dustin grunts and groans, attempting to get free. Mariella kicking at James and even trying to bite his arm away from her.

"I want to know how you did it!" Troye responds.

"How I did what?" Mike asks again, confused. Dustin whimpering as he and Mariella make eye contact.

" I know you did something to me. Some nerdy science shit to make me do that," Troye goes on, bringing the knife closer to Dustin who continues to shake.

"You mean piss your pants?" Mike says before Mariella interjects.

"Maybe you just have a small bladder!" She says, James tightening his grip on her — her screeching at him and shouting, "Fuck off!". She was never too keen on swearing.

"Our friend has superpowers, and she squeezed your tiny bladder with her mind!" Dustin speaks up through gasps.

"Who? DeGray? As if!" Troye snorts, unknown of any other girl who ever hung out with them. "I think I should save Toothless here a trip to the dentist. Help him lose the rest of his baby teeth," He adds, looking at Dustin's mouth.

"Don't you dare!" Mariella yells.

"Let them go. Let them go!" Mike screams now.

"We'll let him go, sure. But first... it's your turn," Troye starts, pointing the knife at Mike.

"My turn for what?" Mike asks, shaking his head confused.

"Wet yourself," Troye says.

"What?" Mike sighs.

"Jump... Or Toothless here gets an early trip to the dentist and James will chime whatever miserable life left out of the Mute!" Troye goes on, nodding towards the cliff.

"No!" Mariella screams, her eyes going wide and tears beginning to well up. "No! Mike!".

"Stop! No!" Dustin cries out as he stares down at Troye's knife which got closer and closer to his mouth.

"I'll cut him right now!" Troye shouts looking to vulnerable Mike, who looked between Mariella and Dustin with worried eyes.

"Alright, just hold on! Hold on!" Mike screams to both of them as he backs up towards the cliff.

"Mike, don't do it. I don't need my baby teeth, Mike!" Dustin starts. "Mike, seriously, don't!".

"Mike! Don't you — Don't do it! Please!" Mariella cries out as James grip on her loosens, staring at Mike walk to the edge,  slowly.

"Is this what you want? You'll go to jail!" Mariella screams at Troye as Mike stops right at the edge of the cliff.

"Mike, don't do it!" Dustin says. "Seriously, don't do it, man! Seriously, don't!" He goes on as James lifts up Mariella from the ground, still holding her tightly and walking towards Troye.

"Troye, I don't think this is a good idea, man," James says.

"Mike, don't!" Dustin yells.

"Mike! Mike! Stop! Come here!" Mariella cries, kicking against James who just stood watching.

"Dentists office opens in five..." Troye starts. "Four! Three!" Troye goes on.

"Mike! Don't!" Mariella screams.

"Two!" Troye shouts.

"Mike!" Dustin yells.

"One!" Troye finishes.

They watch as Mike watch walk off the cliff and head his scream echo off the walls of the quarry.

Dustin gasps, Troye letting go of him amd Mariella pushing from James weak grip and running towards the cliff.

"Mike!" She screams out, voice breaking, the boys following after her as they look down and see Mike frozen in the air.

"Holy shit," Dustin whispers, looking to Mariella with wide eyes.

"Ah! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Mike whimpers as his body is floated up and back to the cliff and dropped onto the ground.

Mike's head looks to the side and the group follows his gaze in shock. Eleven walking towards them with a menacing look on her face, wig off and clothes dirty.

Dustin and Mariella look to each other with huge smiles, breathing out in relief as James is pushed back by an invisible force. Eleven tilts her head aggressively to the side and the sound of bones cracking fills their ears and Troye's yells.

"She broke my arm! My arm!" He cries out, knife dropping out of his hand.

"Go," Eleven says, voice harsh and stern.

"Let's get out of her! Let's go!" Troye cries out as him and James begin running away quickly.

"Yeah, that's right! Your better run! She's our friend and she's crazy!" Dustin yells after them. "You come back here and she'll kill you! You hear me? She'll kill you, you sons of bitches! She'll kill you, you hear me?" He goes on as Mariella goes to Mike and helps him up.

"You okay?" She whispers, voice shaking as she pulls him into her and hugs him tightly. He nods and hugs her back.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm okay. Are you?" He asks, pulling away and looking down at her red arms from James' grip, sighing.

"It's okay. I'm okay," Mariella nods before turning her head to Eleven.

"El? You okay?" She asks, she gets no response. Eleven falls over, barely conscious.

Mariella rushes away from Mike and leans next to her, "She's alive!" She says as the boys rush to her side.

"I'm sorry," Eleven cries, staring up at the three of them with tears in her eyes.

"Sorry? What are you sorry for?" Mike asks, with a reassuring smile as Mariella holds her hand and wipes the tears from her eyes.

"The gate... I opened it. I'm the monster," Eleven sputters out.

"No. No, El, you're not the monster. You saved me. Do you understand? You saved me," Mike comforts her.

"It's okay, El, you're okay," Mariella adds, grabbing her other hand and sitting her up before hugging her, tightly. "You're okay. You're safe with us,".

Mike joins the hug, followed by Dustin and they sit there, on the ground in each other's arm for a long time. Feeling safe. Feeling at ease. Feeling at home.