↣ 𝘌𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘰𝘪𝘭

"I found him." El vocalised her thoughts when they were all seated in Mike's basement. Bailey was supervising them to ensure their well-being. He was exhibiting slight fidgeting. Fidgeting with his fingers following the recent occurrences.

"Where is he?" Max inquired from her position.

"Woods." She spoke plainly.

"Woods?" Lucas repeated.

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

"My... My mom?" Will inquired anxiously as he adjusted his posture slightly.

"What are they doing?" Max questioned.

"Ill... annoy." El muttered, articulating the phrase as if she were unfamiliar with its meaning. Bailey observed as she straightened and attempted to rectify herself. "They're going to Ill-annoy."

A knock resounded at the door, prompting Mrs. Wheeler to call down about breakfast, which Mike disregarded and the others readily overlooked.

"Illinois? Like the state? The state of illinois?" Mike asked.

With blood streaming from her nose, Eleven merely shrugged. Max hastened her to the nearby restroom to cleanse her nose, while the boys transitioned from the floor to occupy the couches. Bailey contemplated the activities of the others. The location of Steve and Dustin and the reason for their prolonged silence.

"Something's not right...I can't get Hopper off my back all summer, now all of a sudden,
he's hiking with Will's mom to Illinois? And Dustin's MIA, too?" As Mike paced back and forth, Lucas merely observed him. "I mean, this can't be a coincidence."

"What does it matter?" Lucas inquired while Mike gazed at him, and Bailey scratched his face, reluctant to endure another dispute. "The bottom line is, they're not here and It's up to us."

"Up to us to do what exactly?" Mike inquired, raising his fingers as though they represented an air quotation.

"Find Billy and stop him." Lucas responded simply.

"Okay, yeah, that's a really nice sentiment." Mike acknowledged his statements with a nod. "but even if El could find him again,
and that's a pretty big if, then what?"

"We burn the shit out of him and make sure he doesn't escape this time." Lucas remarked, the children had remarkably inventive methods for eliminating humans.

"Okay, then what?"

"Then we win."

"No, see, that's the problem. We don't. We don't win. We got the Mind Flayer out of Will before and he just came right back.." Mike remarked while glancing at Will before redirecting his attention to Lucas.  "We don't just have to stop Billy, we have to stop the Mind Flayer."

"How in the hell do we do that?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe El does." Will inclined his head towards the bathroom door, prompting everyone to direct their attention to it.

"What are they still doing in there?" Mike inquired while crossing his arms over his chest.

"Have you ever considered that perhaps girls prefer not to be pressured and encircled by boys constantly?"  Bailey states that Mike merely cast a brief stare in his direction.

"Girls just like hanging out in bathrooms." Lucas responded with a shrug.

"They're conspiring against me." Bailey reclined his head on the couch as he listened to his words.

Bailey was strongly inclined to join Max and El, as he lacked the patience to endure the boy's trivial complaints. A sudden knock on the door interrupted them.

"Not now, Mom!" Mike yelled once again.

"Mike, open the door." Nancy's voice was audible, prompting them to exchange glances before the microphone was directed towards the door.  Jonathan and Nancy were positioned on the opposite side.  Both in a condition of terror

𐬽𐬼𐬽

"It was the same thing, the exact same thing
that happened to Will last year." Nancy spoke while positioned in front of the young adolescents, with Bailey leaning against the wall next to them. "And look at this, look at the body temperatures."

They all gazed at the sheet of paper that now rested on the desk. "He likes it cold." Will muttered out loud.

"Okay, so this crazy old woman who was eating fertilizer..."

"Mrs. Driscoll."

"Right, yeah, Mrs. Driscoll." Mike remarks with a shrug before continuing. "What time was this attack?"

"Around 9:00." Nancy responded as silence enveloped the group, coinciding with Billy's attack.

"You waited all night to call?" Jonathan questioned a little hurt.

"I was waiting for the doctors to run some tests." She explained.

"You weren't there?"  Will asked, directing his attention to Jonathan, who was nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, I'm here now, aren't I?" Bailey shut his eyes in irritation. What is the boys' attitude towards women?

"Hallelujah!"

"Um, so, wha... what time was your...sauna test?" Nancy directed her query to Mike.

"Around 9:00." They all responded simultaneously.

"Well, that proves it...That proves my theory." She states while surveying the group, and Bailey inclines his head to the side.

"She's flayed, just like Billy." Mike spoke.

"Flayed?" Jonathan inquired as he endeavoured to comprehend everything.

"The Mind Flayer. He flays people. Takes over their mind. Once they do that, they basically become him." Mike elucidated to both Nancy and Jonathan.

"If there are two flayed..." Lucas trails off.

"We have to assume there are more." Will says as he finished Lucas's sentence.

"Heather." El prompted everyone to direct their attention on her.  It suddenly occurred to Bailey why she had been behaving so strangely.  She was a part of that monstrosity. " Billy was doing something to her...She was screaming....Bad screams."

"What's a good scream?" Lucas asked confused.

"Max said..."

"Doesn't matter." Max immediately cut off El.

"I'm sorry, I'm lost." Nancy expresses a perplexed demeanour. "Who is Heather?

"She's a lifeguard at the pool." Max answered.

"Heather Holloway?" Nancy remarked as she glanced at Bailey, who acknowledged her with a nod.  Nancy decelerated her thoughts and immediately focused on Jonathan, who was contemplating the same notion.

"Tom."

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𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿'𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀

- Another chapter and then we finally get into the good stuff, the hospital trip one of my favourite parts if season 3

To all the people that have supported me closely
Tags: @norasnetflix @wrensofvizla @KleeAlise11 @kiesluverr