WORD COUNT : 3.8k

"Does anyone know what a sensory deprivation tank is," Dustin asked the group. However, he made specific eye contact with Gordon – the only one who had been keeping up with everything, it seemed.

"I mean, I've heard of them. But I've never, like, seen one in person," Gordon replied dryly before his eyes narrowed at the younger boy. "Why? What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that something like that would make it easier for Eleven to focus on finding Will and Barbara. She closes her eyes when she's looking for them, but blocking out any other extra sensory information may just work for her," Dustin theorized. Gordon thought about Dustin's idea for a moment before looking over at Eleven.

"It's not a bad idea, but we're gonna need way more than a bathtub for it to work," Gordon sighed. He silently sized her up, trying to think back to everything he had heard regarding these deprivation tanks.

"Like what," Owen questioned, very interested in what was going through her brother's mind at that moment.

"I don't know. Just... something bigger than a bathtub," Gordon said with a shrug. Feeling the need to explain himself to the curious eyes around him, he continued on. "Basically, we need to increase the density of the water to make Eleven actually float on the surface. Sensory deprivation tanks typically use salt to increase water density. But, the amount of water that a bathtub could hold is not going to ever be dense enough to have her float," Gordon reiterated, looking around to make sure everyone understood. But the wheels were already turning in Dustin's head, his eyes lighting up before he zeroed in on Joyce.

"Do you still have that kiddie pool we bobbed for apples in," Dustin inquired abruptly. His words were leaving his mouth at nearly lightning speed.

"Uh, I think so. Yeah," Joyce answered, peeking over at Jonathan to make sure. He gave a quick nod before refocusing on Dustin, curious about where his mind had taken him.

"Good. Then we need salt. Lots of it," Dustin reported with determination. They were going to make this work. He knew they had to, if they were ever going to find Will.

"How much is 'lots'," Hopper finally spoke up, leading to all eyes diverting to Gordon for the answer. However, after doing the calculations in his head, Gordon wasn't sure that he had an answer that they would want to hear.

"Around 1,500 pounds," the dark-haired boy estimated, sure that the amount of salt they needed would have placed them right back where they started.

"Well, where are we gonna get that much salt," Nancy asked, putting a voice to everyone's main concern. Contemplative silence unfurled following her question as each person tried to think of a place where they could find salt in bulk this late.

"I... think I know a place where we can find some salt," Hopper informed the group, glancing around with a rare, hesitant look in his eye. "But it's going to take some minor breaking and entering. It should be alright because you're with me, but... I just want to be upfront about that," he explained.

"Define how much salt is 'some salt'. I'm not going to risk being put in handcuffs for the second time today if it's not enough salt," Owen asserted, glancing at Jonathan to try and tell if he was feeling the same way. However, all she could see in his eyes was pure conviction – a certain preparedness to do whatever it takes in order to see his brother again. That same feeling echoed across his mother's face, making the two of them look more alike than Owen had ever seen them.

"It's enough salt," Hopper assured her with a stern look. Owen's hands raised defensively, taking the fall for the chief's vagueness.

"Also Chief, I'm not sure if you're expecting all of us to fit into that Ford out there, but I'm thinking we may need to take a couple cars," Gordon pointed out, mentally taking count of how many of them were involved in this investigation at that point. Eleven people certainly weren't going to fit in that old Ford, no matter how huge and clunky it was. "Owen, Law, and I can go grab my dad's car and drive a couple extra people," Gordon offered.

"Jonathan and I can come with you," Nancy instantly chimed in. Her eyes darted questioningly over at Jonathan after she had offered him up, feeling bad for speaking for him like that. After all, he may have wanted to ride with his mom or something. But Jonathan still gave her a lopsided smile and a weak nod, accepting the offer to ride together.

"Okay, since we got that sorted out... Meet the rest of us at the middle school as soon as possible. No extra stops or any kind of funny business," Hopper ordered, making direct eye contact with Gordon. "Got it?" The chief asked for confirmation, not feeling especially comforted by the boy's unbothered expression. But just as he had done earlier, Gordon managed a stiff nod in response to the police chief's stony demeanor.

Jonathan and Joyce said their goodbyes and see you laters before the group of teenagers walked out the door, on their own once again. The group of five treaded quietly through the dark towards the Webb family's house. The dark, cold November air nipped at their cheeks and the tips of their noses as they walked along together, making sure to avoid any extra stops or funny business.

✯

Clearly, the extra stops rule didn't apply to Hopper, whose police car was already parked in front of the school when the teenagers arrived. Gordon whipped their dad's car right beside Hopper's, allowing for the teens to all pile out into the otherwise deserted parking lot. As it turns out, the exterior of the middle school gym still looked just as dingy at night. Anywhere you looked, the paint had been fading away for who knows how long; that included the huge bear paw painted on the front of the building, the cracked blue paint on the doors, and even down to the lines in the parking lot.

Still, the dim lights coming from within the gym beckoned Owen, a promise that the rest of their group was safely inside. Owen felt the rush of relief strengthen once she saw Hopper standing in the doorway leading into the gym, holding one of the big blue doors open for them. Although they were all stepping into the unknown here, having a group of familiar faces made it so much easier.

"Jonathan and Gordon, you two can help me with the salt. Law, you head on in and help unravel the kiddie pool. Owen and Nancy, figure out the water situation," Hopper directed, actually splitting the group up for the first time in a while. As usual, nobody questioned the older man's instructions, choosing to compliantly file into their respective locations. Gordon and Jonathan stayed out in the cold, stepping behind Hopper to wait for further directions, while Law, Nancy, and Owen were able to shuffle into the gym.

Despite how bright it looked from outside, only a couple lights had actually been turned on inside of the gym. This lighting decision had left shadows cast over the outskirts of the large room, giving it that eerie feeling you get when you're in an establishment after hours or when you see your teacher at the grocery store. Like you're accidentally seeing something you shouldn't.

"Here, let me help," Law offered, seeing Dustin attempt to push the rolled up kiddie pool towards the center of the room. Lucas wasn't supplying much help – at least not manual labor-wise. Someone had to supervise, after all. Law stepped forward to help the younger boy lift the pool and carry it along. A proud little smile threatened to tug at the corners of Owen's lips at the sight of Law taking initiative and directing the two younger boys as they set up the pool. However, she and Nancy kept moving on their personal mission to find a way to fill the damn thing with water.

Owen followed closely behind Nancy, unsure of exactly where they were headed. Nancy's purposeful stride led Owen to believe that she may have an idea, or even an inkling of an idea, though. Wheeler minds seemed to think alike, as evidenced by Mike waiting for them behind the gym.

"I take it you guys know where to find some hoses," Owen commented, watching as Mike immediately began to walk in step with his sister. At least, that's what Owen hoped they were doing. Nancy was leading the three of them towards the baseball field. So, it was either for the hoses or a surprise late night ball game.

"They typically keep some hoses out here for when they need to water the field," Nancy explained, approaching the door to one of the cinder block utility closets close to the baseball field. The group's expressions soured unanimously at the sight of a hefty lock encased around the door in question. Still, Nancy tried her luck, reaching forward to jiggle the doorknob and heave her body weight against the wooden door. But neither attempt had any effect on the unfortunate padlock.

"Well, shit," Mike muttered, dark brows knitting together as the three of them stared at the newfound obstacle. Nancy and Owen refused to take no for an answer, not able to fall through on their one task Hopper had given them.

From the corner of her eye, Owen spotted a metallic glint just a few strides away from the utility closet. Once she took a few steps closer to actually inspect the item in question, she was able to see that it was a crowbar that had got her attention. It looked to have been haphazardly tossed nearby by someone on the baseball team. Whatever the case, Owen happily reached for the crowbar and dusted off the blades of grass and spiderwebs that had collected in time it had been left there.

Another thud against the door had Owen glancing back at Mike, watching as he rubbed pitifully at his shoulder. If tiny little Nancy wasn't busting down the door with her body weight, there was no way her twelve-year-old brother was doing it. But Owen kept that thought to herself, not wanting to bruise the boy's ego beyond repair.

"Here, Mike, watch out," Owen urged, allowing him time to step out of the way before she made her next move. Once Mike was out of the way, Owen readied herself for just a moment. Her hands tightened around the cold metal of the crowbar, her eyes focusing on the padlock. Don't just hit at it, hit through it, she reminded herself. Then, without another thought, Owen swiftly swung the crowbar overhead and brought the flat end slamming through the lock.

The remaining pieces of the lock clattered to the ground beneath them, allowing for pride to flood Owen's senses. The pink-haired girl swung her attention over her shoulder towards Nancy, giving her a holy-shit-did-you-see-that grin. The brunette gave an encouraging smile and a small nod, prompting Owen to turn back around and push the door open.

Once inside the closet, Owen tugged on the pull chain for the single light bulb hanging over their heads, illuminating the small closet with an orangey glow. Despite the struggle to actually get inside, the closet was pretty unimpressive. The small room was piled high with various crates, cardboard boxes, and overflowing shelving units. But most noticeably, the air was stale and pungent with the distinct scent of mildew. Owen's nose wrinkled at the smell, but her eyes immediately locked in on a ton of hoses, just as Nancy had described.

Already thinking ahead, Nancy cleared out a wheelbarrow that had been stored away in the closet, making room for Owen to begin lugging the hoses into it. After nearly breaking a sweat while loading the wheelbarrow in spite of the freezing weather, the three of them decided that they had finally gathered enough hoses. A few of the extra long ones were stacked within the wheelbarrow and one extra was slung over Mike's shoulder.

As the group wandered back over to the gym, Nancy pushed the wheelbarrow along while Mike struggled with the single hose in his arms. Owen, on the other hand, had decided to bring along her trusty crowbar – just in case another situation arose and she needed to smack the shit out of something again.

Since they closed up the utility closet again, Nancy had been grilling Mike with questions about Eleven. Just like everyone else, she was extremely curious about this little girl who had joined the group. But there was an added layer with Nancy, as Eleven had apparently been secretly living under the same roof as her for days on end.

"What did she even eat," Nancy inquired, obviously still processing everything.

"Candy, leftovers, Eggos... She really likes Eggos," Mike shrugged, like this was all no big deal. The oddity of the boy's calm and cool demeanor had Owen glancing over at him with a little smirk.

"What about her name? I mean, I know this is rich coming from me, but Eleven's a pretty unusual name," Owen chuckled, even having her own unanswered questions about the little girl.

"She doesn't really have a name. But she does have this tattoo on her arm of a number eleven, so we've just been calling her that," Mike replied with a casual tone. His answer completely threw Owen for a loop, though. Her eyes snapped towards him, her brows knocked together in total confusion.

"She... has a tattoo," Owen repeated, just to make sure that she had heard him right.

Mike's eyes didn't even turn to meet hers as he nodded, completely unfazed by the curiosity in her tone. "Yeah, a little eleven on her arm. It's actually kinda cool," the boy said with such nonchalance that it almost drove her insane.

Owen's feet had stopped moving on their own accord, rooting her in place. As if second nature at this point, Nancy slowed to a stop beside her and lowered the wheelbarrow to the ground. She and Mike continued chattering amongst themselves, not paying much mind to suddenly Owen's frozen form.

However, at the mention of Eleven's tattoo, Owen's mind instantly flashed to her own tattoo – the row of three zeros – that she had had all of her life. Her stomach twisted at the connection between her and this mysterious little girl both having these number tattoos given to them at such young ages. It was definitely a strange coincidence, but it didn't necessarily mean anything. Owen knew that their tattoos actually being related in some way would be even weirder and even more unlikely.

She knew that, didn't she?

"Hey, are you good," Nancy murmured, one of her hands coming up to rest gently on Owen's shoulder. The other girl's gentle voice broke through whatever momentary gaze Owen had found herself in. Once she was snapped out of it, she realized that Mike had already trailed back into the gym and left the two girls out here alone.

"I'm fine," Owen reassured Nancy, forcing a small smile in hopes that it would be convincing. But if the hesitant look in Nancy's eye was any indication, Owen wasn't a very good actress. "Seriously, I'm okay," she nodded with an airy chuckle, "Let's get inside before I freeze my ass off out here." Owen's final comment broke through Nancy's worried expression, even earning a giggle from the other girl.

"I know, right? I can barely feel my fingers," Nancy muttered with a grin, once again lifting the wheelbarrow to push it the rest of the way indoors. Despite her focus being needed elsewhere once they had reentered the gym, Owen couldn't tear her mind away from the oh-so-similar tattoos hidden away beneath both her and Eleven's sleeves.

✯

"Colder!" Lucas's voice echoed through the gym, making it all the way to Nancy, who was manning the faucets. The group had unraveled the hoses and twisted them onto the faucets in the gym's huge wash basin. Once that job was completed, Owen had taken a seat on the shadowy bleachers lining the room and tucked her hands beneath her thighs in order to try and warm up a little.

"Warmer!" Lucas called out again, his eyes expertly trained on the handheld thermometer that he had partially submerged in the water of the pool. According to what Dustin had told Owen, they needed to get the water as close to human body temperature as possible or it wouldn't work. If the water was too cold or too hot, it would throw off Eleven's focus. From the sound of it, Lucas was taking this temperature business very seriously.

"Right there!" Lucas shouted to Nancy, finally satisfied.

One of the big doors leading into the gym swung open, revealing Gordon, Jonathan, Hopper, and their 1,500 pounds of salt piled high atop a couple of moving dollies. De-icing salt, specifically. Suddenly, it made sense why they came to the middle school of all places. They were tapping into the town's snow day resources. Owen almost felt a chuckle rise from within her chest, fully aware that the whole town would be screwed if it happened to snow anytime soon.

This fact didn't seem to bother Hopper as he sliced into one of the bags of salt with a pocket knife, allowing the white crystals to flow freely into the pool. Jonathan and Gordon followed suit, swiftly carving and dumping bags of salt alongside the police chief. Every once in a while, the younger boys would stop all of the salt dumping to test the water's density. After doing some snooping, Dustin had located some eggs in the school's cafeteria. Apparently an egg would be perfect for the sink or float experiment that they were conducting.

After a few failed attempts at a floating egg and more salt being poured into the water, the setting was perfect. Even Owen had moved herself off of the bleachers to get a closer look at the flawlessly floating egg right on the water's surface. When the experiment finally succeeded, Dustin glanced around at the group with the proud look of a kid who had just won the science fair.

Eleven and Joyce emerged from within the school shortly after, looking prepared to test out this sensory deprivation tank theory. Even from where Owen was sitting on the floor, she could see this intensity and determination in Eleven's dark eyes. In this setting, she almost looked menacing. But the dirt-smudged, pale pink dress that she wore served as a perfect reminder that this was still a little girl. Eleven was just a little girl who was doing something very, very scary in order to help this group of near strangers. This realization took Owen aback, amazed at how brave and selfless a girl this age could be.

The entire group sat in a circle around the pool, watching as Eleven slid some makeshift, black-out goggles over her eyes. With Joyce's hands there to steady her, Eleven stepped into the warmth of the pool. The sound of her wading through the water was only interrupted by the crackling static of the walkie talkie Mike had set up nearby. Everyone was practically holding their breath, unsure of how this was going to go.

Slowly, Eleven lowered herself into the water and leaned back, trusting the water below and around her. Just as they had prepared for, Eleven was floating perfectly on her back. Owen's eyes darted over to meet Gordon's, thrilled that the science behind the sensory deprivation tank had actually worked.

The lights flashing overhead stole her attention before she could even meet her brother's eyes. The industrial-sized lights above them screeched and rattled with the uneven surging of electricity. With a loud crash, the lights finally gave out and shrouded the group in darkness. Owen instinctively inched closer to Law, their shoulders bumping together in the shadows. He just had to know that she was there for him, even if she couldn't voice it right then.

"Barbara?" Eleven's small voice croaked. Owen's eyes instantly tore away from Law's side profile, refocusing on the girl in the pool. This single word had Nancy lurching towards the pool, eyes blinking owlishly at Eleven. The two girls didn't even dare to meet each other's gaze, both of them much too focused on whatever would come out of Eleven's mouth next.

Instead, the girl's breathing began to pick up, her chest heaving above and below the water. The gym lights began flickering yet again, the pulsating electricity making all kinds of horrendous rattling sounds. Then, just as quickly as it started, darkness settled over the gym again.

"What's going on," Nancy breathed, breaking through the group's silence.

"I don't know," Mike replied, his voice sounding just as shaky as his sister's.

Nancy returned her stare to Eleven, leaning closer to the pool in front of her. "Is Barb okay? Is she okay?" Nancy was almost shouting then, actually trying to speak to Eleven. Owen's heart hammered beneath her ribcage, knowing none of this was a good sign but not wanting to believe it. Owen's eyebrows were knitted together and her lips were bent downwards, both working together to form a deep frown on her face.

"Gone. Gone, Gone..." Eleven kept repeating the word, each time more emotional than the last. Her voice sounded choked almost, or maybe muffled. Owen couldn't decide through the ringing in her own ears.

Gone?

Even as Eleven began to scream the word into the echoing of the gym, it didn't sound real in Owen's mind. It didn't sound right.

Gone?

Through the screaming, the word's meaning began to drift further and further away from Owen's memory. But it was as if her body held the meaning of the word firmly in its grasp. Like it knew how to react to such a word, even if she didn't.

Hot tears burned at the edges of her eyes and a thick lump sat directly in her throat. This time, the tears had more control over Owen than she had over them. Mindlessly, she pressed herself up to her feet and walked as quickly as she could from the room. Once she was facing away from the group, the tears rolled speedily down her cheeks, with one constantly chasing after another.

Owen pushed through one of the doors and into the gym's lobby, not getting too far into the room before she stopped. She pressed her back against a wall that was adorned with yet another bear paw mural and slid to the floor. She wiped at the tears that just kept coming with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. They couldn't see her cry. Who was she to cry at a time like this? Over a friend that she had only known for a month? Especially in front of Nancy, who had known Barb for years?

Owen knew she needed to pull herself together and go back in there. She knew that.

But her selfish tears just wouldn't stop.