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chapter six

        
          "BE CAREFUL," Steve told Diana, as the ground sloped downward. He shone his flashlight to the ground where she walked. Diana narrowly avoided tripping over a large stick. Her converse darkened with the dirt of the forest grounds.

Her fingers were numb from the cold. She hated the cold, and her jean jacket was hardly a good protector from it. She felt uneasy and that could not, unfortunately, be chalked up to the cold.

The stars above were hidden by the tall trees that loomed above them. The five teens were bathed in shadows as they trekked along, Diana and Steve leading the group. Their goal was to reach the lab, and, as they moved toward it, the ominous roars grew louder, more prominent. It was something straight out of a horror film.

"Stop babying me—" Diana began, but her words stopped short as she tripped over an unexpected rock in her path. Steve caught her hand, halting her descent. She righted herself, and paused. There was that feeling again; that feeling that made her heart speed up. "Point made."

Steve gave a small chuckle, but didn't let go of her hand. "Next time, I'll just have to let you fall," he joked.

She mockingly narrowed her eyes. "You wouldn't dare."

"Nope." They walked in silence for a moment, the lab growing steadily growing louder. "You know, before a few days ago, you hadn't said more than two words to me."

"You were unapproachable, and I was—" Just then, someone began to worm their way between them, pushing their hands apart.

Lucas.

He had a tight smile on his face. "What are you two whispering about?"

As Diana rolled her eyes, she realized the trees where beginning to thin out. "We're just contemplating the chance that your friends made it out of the lab before all hell broke loose," she lied.

"It's not looking likely," Steve said and if she could've reached over and elbowed him, she would've..

"Who's there?" A voice called from beyond the trees. The voice was oddly familiar. Dustin and Max were closer now as they exited the woods, a few yards away from the gate of the darkened lab. "Who's there?" They yelled again.

She could see who it was now. Jonathan Byers and Nancy Wheeler. "Steve?" They both said incredulously. Diana was unsure what seeing the two together would do to Steve, but the boy wasn't oblivious to where Nancy had been for the past few days.

Steve was just as surprised. "Nancy?"

"Jonathan," Dustin added.

Nancy eyed her. "Diana?" The girl waved in response. Nancy looked to the group as they all walked to meet each other. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" Steve asked her, lowering his flashlight.

Nancy halted her stride before them. "We're looking for Mike and Will."

"Well, you've come to the right place," Diana murmured. As if it were an afterthought she added, "I think." She had to remember she was speaking to the two boys' old siblings, and that their worry would be multiplied.

"How would you know that?" Jonathan asked her.

Diana shrugged easily. "It's a long story. We hope they got out though."

Jonathan's face flooded with confusion. "Why?"

Suddenly a series of loud, inhuman screeches came from the laboratory, answering his question. The group broke out into a debate of when they'd last seen their two friends as if Diana was wrong. A few minutes later the lights of the lab began to flicker back on. Nancy said as much, halting the chatter. They moved to the gate, Jonathan entering the security booth. After a another minute of tense anticipation, the gate opened.

The screams began.

Nancy and Jonathan hopped into his car, leaving the rest of the teens alone at the gates as they drove to the lab.

Diana stood rigidly. No one spoke, she wasn't sure anyone even breathed. She stared at the road, praying that, if anyone they knew was in that lab, they were fine.

A loud horn blared, drawing their eyes to Jonathan's speeding car, and forcing them to the side of the road. The car rode right past them but the Chief's truck was right behind it. "Let's go," the Chief demanded. Without a second thought, they moved to the truck, Steve throwing open the door and pulling back the seat, gesturing for them to get in and they did.

Hopper must've broken a dozen speeding laws.

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"I don't know how many people are there," Chief Hopper said frustratedly into the phone. Diana watched Steve as he watched Nancy and Jonathan, who were hovering over and unconscious Will.

Diana was chilly. In fact, the whole house was chilly. She knew that was how he liked it. She shivered at the thought. It was surreal that her fears were slowly becoming reality. She'd hoped Will wouldn't become a seer for the Shadow Monster but it would seem that her hoping was pointless. Will had involuntarily spilled everything to that thing. A lot of people were dead in that lab, including Bob Newby, Joyce Byers' boyfriend. Diana had met him a couple of times at the RadioShack where he worked, but that was enough to gauge the man's kindness.

Joyce was devastated both for Bob's death and her son's condition. Will had helped lead the demogorgons back to the lab and that was a hard fact to swallow. No one was blaming him but it wasn't an easy thing to know just how far gone he was.

She tuned out Hopper's shouting, and watched as Steve turned around and moved closer to her, his arms wrapped tightly around his torso. His face was flushed. They just looked at each other for a prolonged moment. He held out a hand for her and she took it, squeezing it. She didn't smile but they turned to the rest of the room. Mike, Max, and Lucas were seated at the dining room table, and Dustin stood there too. No one spoke as they listened to Hopper.

After a minute, he hung up the phone and turned to the group, he didn't say anything.

"They didn't believe you, did they?" Dustin asked solemnly. With her free hand Diana rubbed her forehead, and let out a shaky sigh. Of course they didn't believe.

Hopper paused. "We'll see."

"We'll see?" Mike began, his voice loud. "We can't just sit here while those things are loose." Mike was angry, and understandably so, but what could they do? Those creatures would eat them alive. Literally.

"We stay here, and we wait for help." There was a certain authority to his words that said "don't argue", and his exiting the room just solidified that. Mike let out an exasperated breath, but said nothing. They lapsed back into a silence that was louder than words. Diana could hardly take it, so she slowly let go of Steve's hand and gingerly walked to the living room, stepping over the parts of the scribbled map of the tunnels. Jonathan and Nancy were still there.

She spoke quietly, not wanting to startle them. "You're afraid that he isn't in there." It wasn't a question. Both of their heads turned to her, their faces confused. "But, if you let me, I can try to sense him in there."

Nancy frowned. "So that rumor that you're psychic is true."

"You believed that?" Diana asked, eyes wide.

Nancy pursed her lips. "At this point, some things really aren't that hard to believe anymore. Besides, your brother told us all about it."

Diana sighed, and watched as Jonathan stood. "Just do whatever you can."

She nodded.

Diana sat on the floor next to the couch where Will lay, taking Jonathan's spot. She took his cold hand and stared ahead. The first thing she felt was an overwhelming conflict inside him. She also had the overwhelming urge to let go of him. This isn't Will. Will isn't here, she could feel the truth of those statements so deeply in her bones, that she was unsure if there was any trace left of him. She shut her eyes tight, feeling around for any sign of Will. She could've been there for seconds, hours, it was hard to tell. Suddenly she felt it, a tiny crack in all the darkness and shadows.

"There," she said aloud, relief flooding into her voice. She opened her eyes, to see a few faces peaking in at her, and Jonathan and Nancy watching her intently. "There he is." Steve was now standing behind her.

"He's in there. Can you get him out?" Jonathan asked, his eyes skeptical but scared. Guilty.

"Unlikely. I can't just go in and grab him, the Shadow Monster is too... dominant. The line between the two of them is blurring and quickly." Diana shook her head, releasing Will's hand. "We need to take it out of him."

"How?"

"God, I don't know," she let out exasperatedly, feeling the pressure and intensity of the atmosphere. "We can ask Will, but there's no telling who we'll get if we wake him up."

"Then scry." Mike said. "It's what you did the other day, isn't it. It's what we saw El do."

"You can't," Lucas let out quickly, then he turned to Mike. "She can't do that."

She shook her hands. "I can. I've only done it a few times before—"

"Who taught you how to scry?" Lucas cried, his voice squeaking.

"Grandma, Lucas. Now please—"

"So is anyone going to explain what scrying is?" Max said over the commotion.

"Seeing and hearing a particular creature of your choice that is on the same plane of existence as you are," Dustin answered as if he was reciting something. "We've done it in Dungeons and Dragons."

"This just keeps getting better," Nancy muttered.

"I'll do it. I can't guarantee anything but I'll do it." She reached out a hand. "The lamp." Mike grabbed the lamp and threw off its shade, handing it to her. She placed it on the floor before her. The lightbulb was bright in her eyes. She held out her hand again, eyeing Steve, who happened to be closest to her. He hesitated before taking it, his eyes darting around the room. He hadn't hesitated before but she could dwell on that. "Everyone just try to stay quiet."

Diana's eyes froze on the lightbulb, the brightness burning her eyes for a moment, but then she was no longer seeing it. Everything went black.

"Diana?" A shaky voice came from behind her. She turned, coming face to face with Will Byers. He looked ghostly in his hospital gown, the cheap material baggy on his small frame. "You shouldn't be here."

She moved closer to him, grabbing his hands. "Tell me how to help you."

"He can hear us, he knows you're here," Will whispered, his eyes glassy with tears. His face was stricken with terror. "Leave."

"Just tell me what to do," she begged desperately. "Tell me how to get him out."

He shook his head, his short brown hair flopping around his face. "I can't, I can't." He snatched his hands away from her.

"You can," she insisted.

Will shook his head again, but he looked at her differently this time. He leaned close to her ear, his breath cold. "Wake me up."

Diana blinked rapidly, pulling herself back to reality. She pried her eyes away from the lamp, and looked at her hand enclosed in Steve's. She was squeezing his hand too tightly. She let go, and staggered to her feet, surprising everyone.

"That was awesome," Dustin murmured in what sounded like awe. Diana knew what she looked like when she scried: blank face with empty, unblinking eyes. It really wasn't such a huge spectacle. It was more frightening than anything else.

"Will doesn't want to talk to me. He says the shadow monster is listening."

"You spoke with him?" Jonathan asked, in disbelief. Everyone looked to her for her answer.

Diana looked solely into his wild eyes. "Well, yes. He wants us to wake him up."

"Somebody get Hopper, and get the D&D Handbook, we need to catch you three up," Dustin commanded.

Great.

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another update? yes ma'am. thanks for reading!