[ 17 ]

EARLIER

HOPPER WATCHED JODIE kick-up dust as she angrily biked away from the Police Station. A well of frustration filled his chest, stifling and shallow. Part of Jim wanted to take off after her, part of him wanted to hit something. And, part of him, however small it was, wanted to grab her by the shoulders, stare into those deep, brown eyes and make her understand. Understand that this was for the best. They should stick together, as friends, as partners. He couldn't fathom what she'd seen in him.

Jim cursed and spat on the ground, feeling a sour taste in his mouth. He hadn't been treating her right, after all. He knew it. She'd been upfront about her feelings from the start and he'd let them fester like an open wound.

The conversation between Callahan and Jim was private, and even though he'd said it without the intention of her ever hearing, a part of Jim knew he hadn't meant what he'd said. He just wanted to end the discussion.

Running a calloused hand over his wind-chapped cheek, Jim tried to push away the moment in his office. Jodie'd been so close, and he'd been careless. The scent of her strawberry shampoo and the soft brush of her skin lingered in his mind.

His left hand continued to buzz, even as she became a blimp on the horizon. At that moment, in his office, he hadn't cared who they were or where they were and didn't feel bogged down by all the outward pressures. All he'd thought about was pulling her in by the cuff of her flannel, trailing his fingers across her soft, rose lips and tasting her kiss. Jim clenched his fist in a feeble attempt to shake off the zinging jitters.

"Hopper, where'd Jodie go?" Joyce asked, her voice tight. The gravel crunched as Joyce stepped beside the Chief, touching his arm lightly. He could detect the concern in her tone and he didn't care for it. "Is everything alright?"

With a sharp inhale through his nose, he cleared his throat and adjusted his hat. "She's er, better off alone." He realized that, though he'd been staring in the direction Jodie had biked off, she was long gone. Not even a dot on the horizon remained.

"What?" Joyce smacked Jim's shoulder, her face bunched up in annoyed confusion. "Shouldn't we go after her? What the hell happened?"

"No," Jim's voice was tight. "No, we need to handle things on our end. Jodie can handle herself."

PRESENT

"What have you boys been up to, exactly?" Jodie asked as she looked from panicked expression to panicked expression. The bus wasn't exactly the cleanest shelter. The rusted walls were perforated by time and debris. Some of the metal seats had been yanked out by unruly teens throughout the years. The floor was littered with decayed leaves, cigarette butts, and discarded trash. But, it was hidden from prying eyes and it was large.

Jodie flopped down on one of the seats and hunched over her knees, staring at them with a patient look. The boys glanced at each other, a glimmer of weariness in their eyes. In the corner, Jane kept her distance but never took her eyes off Jodie.

The girl's gaze was red hot, piercing and cautious. It took every ounce of self-control Jodie had to refrain from desperately begging Jane to speak. So, she forced the whirlwind down into the pit of her chest, crashing and banging and aiming to explode at some other, not-so-distant time.

"We can't tell you anything," Lucas bluntly replied. "We could compromise you if you knew."

"Look around, Lucas," Jodie circled a finger in the air, "I'm already compromised. So, you might as well fill me in." There was a careful, calculated look on her face. The corners of her mouth pulled into a straight, tight line giving the boys the impression that maybe she was sure.

Jodie rolled up the sleeves of her long flannel and sighed. "We're in this together. For Will, just like with Jamey -- right?"

Jodie's mind flashed back to when Jamey had gone missing without a trace. Will, Mike, Dustin and Lucas had spent months taping up flyers and spreading the word. Those days, they'd trusted the police to find Jamey. Those days, it was all a bad dream that never ended. These days, well, they were taking matters into their own hands. Jodie wanted to help, just as they had for her.

Mike, Dustin and Lucas all shared a solemn frown but eventually caved. Beside them, Jane twisted her bracelet around her wrist, her mouth turned down as her dark eyes seemed fixated far away.

Mike was the first to speak, his pale cheeks sullen. When neither of his friends went to stop him, he felt more encouraged. "O-kay, well, Jode... it kinda all started with Will going missing, I guess."

Jodie fought back the sarcastic 'you guess?' remark, and let the boy continue.

"We found Eleven, and she was able to communicate with Will," Mike explained, "but, seriously she could --" he interjected himself, seeing the doubt splain across Jodie's face. "She was able to get the radio to connect with him, somehow, and we could hear him speaking and singing."

"Hm," Jodie allowed herself to believe. After all, there were so many ridiculous things happening this past week, how could she not? "So, where is he?"

"Well, that's the thing," Dustin said, eyes wide. There was a heartbeat's moment of pause. "He's not here."

Again, Jodie fought herself from speaking, to allow the boys time to get their story straight.

Dustin used his hands to show a flat surface, explaining something about an acrobat and a flea. Once again, Jodie was reminded that these kids were smarter than her. It was difficult for her to keep up with their explanation.

Something curious flashed in Dustin's expression, giving Jodie the impression that he realized she wasn't following his train of thought. Dustin summarized it quickly. "Well, you could say, he's upside down. Or, well, in the upside down -- a different dimension."

Jodie's brow shot up her forehead, eyes wide as a highway. "Dimension? Dimension, really?" Jodie rubbed at her temples and tried, hard, to wrap her mind around it. She suddenly had a hankering for a smoke.

The boys said nothing. They let her think it out, maybe curious how she'd react. Maybe, they thought she would call them crazy and leave. After all, wouldn't any sane person react that way?

"And, Jane?" Jodie pointed at the ever-so-silent girl. "I mean, El-even."

A metallic clang echoed in the wind. Cautiously, Lucas peeked out the window, ensuring that the coast was clear. There was a moment's pause, and the sounds of the wind outside rattled against the steely walls of the abandoned school bus. When no other sound came, Lucas picked up the conversation. "She's the reason that the government is after us."

"Yeah, men pretending to be handymen came to Lucas's house earlier, asked about her and started digging through their home for evidence," Dustin added.

Lucas puffed up his chest, a proud tilt in his chin. "I got away before anyone could notice. They want her. Bad."

Jodie made no attempt to interrupt as the boys filled her in on their findings. Some of their information meshed nicely with the details Jodie and Hopper had dug up at the Hawkins Library. The experiments, the lab, the fake body. It was straight out of a horror film. Jodie's stomach churned at the thought.

"So, what you're saying is, Will is on the other side. How did he get there?"

"Well, there's gotta be a gate," Lucas quipped. Mike and Dustin nodded along.

"Yeah, a point of entry. And, hopefully, a point of exit too," Mike explained as he looked from Jodie to Lucas, then Dustin and Jane. "If we can find the gate, we can pull Will out. We can save him."

Lucas interjected, motioning for the group to follow him outside the bus. Hesitantly, they formed a semicircle just outside the bus. Jodie eyed the horizon, making sure that no one was coming up.

"I think I've found it, guys." Lucas gathered up some discarded tree branches and formed them into a triangle in the dirt. Jodie watched and kept quiet. It felt like her tongue was firmly glued to the roof of her mouth.

Once again, she found her eyes trailing to the friendship bracelet on Jane's arm. She'd confirmed it was Jameson's, and yet, a part of her brain was already glossing it over, as if it had been a delusion. As if the girl had never spoken in the first place.

Jodie wanted to yell, to force Jane to tell her something, anything about Jamey. About what had happened. About where he was. Who she was. Jodie's hands shook violently at her sides. Her palms stung with the sharp stabbing of her fingernails into her flesh as she forced back the onslaught of confusion, frustration and anguish. Jane stared back, eyes dark and wide but not without fear.

"This," Lucas's voice yanked her from the cyclone of emotion, "is Randolph Road, right here." He drew an additional line across the left line of his triangle in the dirt. "The fence starts here and goes all the way around." Lucas pulled an old can from his backpack and set it gingerly in the top right corner of his triangle. Randolph Road, Jodie pictured it in her mind. It was on the outskirts of town. Once she could visualize the map Lucas was drawing, she felt that she was on the same page.

"And this," Lucas pointed to the can, "is the lab right here. The gate's gotta be in there somewhere. It's gotta be."

"Well, who owns Hawkins Lab?" Dustin asked.

Jodie spoke mechanically, unconsciously. "The government. Doctor Brenner." Jane's eyes snapped to Jodie's once more at the doctor's name. It struck a chord. Jodie chewed the inside of her lip, wondering how much more this little girl knew and wasn't sharing.

"It's military," Mike added. "Like, government military."

Dustin baulked and shook his head, his sandy curls bouncing with the sway. "Then why does the sign say Department of Energy?"

"It's military, just trust me alright?" Mike said. "My dad's told me before."

"They're right," Lucas agreed with a sharp eye. "There's soldiers out front."

"Do they make like," Dustin's mouth curved downwards in confusion, "lightbulbs or something?" Jodie's lips curled in slight amusement. The tension was tight on Dustin; he always needed to make jokes to ease his nerves.

"No, weapons," Mike's tone was sharp and slightly annoyed, "to fight the Russians and commies and stuff."

"Not just weapons," Jodie said, absent-mindedly, as her fingers fished for her pack of Camels in her flannel pocket. This caught the boys' attention, but Jodie never took her eyes off Jane. With a cigarette in hand, Jodie inhaled slowly and sighed through her nose. Jane's eyes darted wildly at the group. The boys could connect the dots themselves, so Jodie left the words unsaid between them. "The place is built like a fortress. There's no chance that 4 kids and I get inside through the front door."

"Plus," Mike bowed his head, "we're fugitives now."

BATA-BATA-BATA-BATA

"G-Guys," Dustin stammered. The sound was low at first, but distinct. A helicopter was circling the area.

"Boys," Jodie clipped the top of her lighter down, without lighting her cigarette. "Get in the bus." It was still a distance off, but was gaining speed as it carved a path towards the Junkyard.

"Do you hear that?" Dustin asked Jodie, eyes searching for the source.

Jodie yanked Dustin and Lucas by their jacket sleeves and thrust them towards the bus. "Get in the fucking bus! Now!" The boys scrambled.

JIM WHIPPED THE PINTO to a stop before the turn to the Wheeler residence. Joyce steadied herself with her arm against the dashboard and shot Hopper a wild look. It was her car, after all. She didn't need it to be totalled by the Chief of Police.

Jim realized before the others; they were too late. Even from the distance, he could see the pile of vans that read Hawkins Power & Energy in big, bold blue lettering. Men in suits were carrying out box after box of evidence and were packing them into the vehicles. The Wheeler house had been ransacked. Anything that could have been of use to them was long gone now. Jim slid out of the car with a sigh, leaning on the doorframe.

"Damn," Hopper muttered, pulling out a pair of binoculars to get a better look at everything that was being confiscated. "We're too late."

Nancy Wheeler jumped from the back seat and stood beside Jim. Her mouse brown hair caught in the wind while she fought for the words. It was a shocking sight, Jim knew it.

"I...," her blue eyes flickered over the sight, trying to take it all in, "I have to go home."

"No, you can't." His voice was curt, to the point.

Nancy scoffed, turning her frantic eyes onto the Chief of Police in disbelief. "M-my Mom,... my dad are there --"

"They're gonna be okay," he told her, though his deadpanned voice wasn't the least bit convincing for the young Wheeler girl. Nancy stalked away from the car, as if the close the distance on foot. She only got about 3 feet away when Hopper reached out and softly caught her by the arm. "Hey, hey, hey, hey!"

"Let go!" She said, trying to yank away from his grasp. Her defiance only giving him cause to grip tighter. "LET GO!"

"HEY!" He shouted this time, getting eye-to-eye with her and furrowing his brow. Nancy stopped trying to pull away, swallowing the tight lump in her throat. "The last thing we need right now is for you to get caught up in all of this!"

"Mike, he's over there."

"They haven't found him," Hopper assured. "Not yet at least." He pointed up at a helicopter circling over the skyline.

Nancy's face transitioned from annoyance to shock, eyes wide. "For Mike?!"

Hopper scratched at his face, his mind reeled in the attempt to come up with a Plan B. "Come on, get in the car." He wasn't surprised when Nancy followed his orders. But, he was glad he didn't have to toss her in.

With a steadying breath, Hopper checked that everyone was back in the car as he turned to face Jonathan and Nancy in the backseat. "Look, we need to find the boys before they do. Do you have any idea where Mike might have gone?"

"No," Nancy breathed out, flustered and caught up with the rush of emotions. "I don't."

Hopper kept his tone neutral, withholding any sort of judgement. "I need you to think."

"I don't know," she insisted. "We haven't talked a lot. I mean,.. lately." Jonathan was staring out the window, eyes searching over something unseen.

"Is there any place that he might go, th-that your parents don't know?" Joyce tried to help, urging Nancy to think of something.

Jonathan broke the tension, dark eyes darting from Hopper to his mom with ambition and a glimmer of hope. "I might." He recalled his words, sensing the urgency. "I don't know where he is, but... I think I know how to ask him."

JODIE WAS BEGINNING to wonder what the next step would be for them. After all, they couldn't stay in one place for too long. Sooner or later, someone was going to find them. They would be safer on the move. It was a tight predicament they were in.

Four kids with no weapons and the government on their backs. It wasn't a dilemma she'd ever considered being in. Jodie stopped picking at her hangnail and stood up, eyeing the trash and debris on the ground of the bus.

"What are you doing?" Dustin wailed. "Get down!"

"The chopper's gone, Dustin," she assured him, straining her ears for the sound that had faded a few minutes ago. "I'm looking for something to protect us."

A minute passed before Jodie found something suitable: a tire iron. It was warped with misuse and was weighty, but she was sure it would do something if needed. She picked it up and stuck it under her seat -- just in case.

*BZZZ* MIKE, THIS IS NANCY.
DO YOU COPY? *BZZZZ*

"Do you guys hear that?" Dustin asked. The group grew quiet and the noise of the radio filled the steel bus.

Mike rushed for his bag and yanked out a large radio, the feed crackling and faint, but there.

*BZZZZ* MIKE, WE NEED
YOU TO ANSWER *BZZZZ*

"Is that your sister?" Lucas asked, eyes wide.

*BZZZZ* THIS IS AN EMERGENCY, MIKE. DO YOU COPY? *BZZZZ*

"This is really weird," Dustin said. Jodie returned to picking at her nails while she watched the scene unfold. The last time she'd seen Nancy was earlier at the police station. Lucas made a grab for the radio but Mike quickly yanked it away.

"No, don't answer!" He yelled, keeping the device out of Lucas's reach.

Lucas scoffed. "But she said it's an emergency!"

"Yeah, but what if it's a trick?" Mike urged. Jodie nodded along; it was a good point.

"It's your sister!"

"What if the bad people kidnapped her?!" Mike argued. "What if they're forcing her to say this?"

*BZZZZ* I NEED YOU
TO ANSWER *BZZZZ*

"It's like Lando Calrissian," Dustin muttered, eyes wide. "Don't answer!"

Jodie bit back a snort. They were so smart, yet so naive at the same time. A new voice filtered through the static of the radio, brassy and dead serious.

*BZZZZ* LISTEN, KID, THIS
IS THE CHIEF. IF YOU'RE
THERE, PICK UP *BZZZZ*

The sound of Hopper's voice caused Jodie to straighten out. Her eyes snapped to the radio. When she'd first heard the Wheeler girl, she almost agreed with boys that it was best to ignore her. After all, they didn't want to drag her into this as well as Jodie. But, if Jim was there, Jodie knew it was safe ...and serious.

Jodie drew over to the boys, listening to Jim's voice as he coaxed the boys to pick up the radio signal.

*BZZZZ* WE KNOW YOU'RE
IN TROUBLE AND WE KNOW
ABOUT THE GIRL *BZZZZ*

"Why is she with the chief?" Lucas asked.

Dustin immediately followed up with, "How does he know about...," he let his voice trail off with the unsaid as he looked at Jane.

Jodie smirked and scratched at the bridge of her nose. "Actually, I know the answer to both of those." She nodded at Mike and sighed, feeling her chest tighten. She didn't want to see him so soon after the argument. But, this was a bigger problem. "You should answer. He's safe. Trust me."

*BZZZZ* WE CAN PROTECT
YOU, WE CAN HELP YOU,
BUT YOU GOTTA PICK UP.
ARE YOU THERE? DO YOU COPY? OVER *BZZZZ*

Jodie chewed on the page of her thumb as Mike clicked the receiver to life, answering Jim's call and telling them where they were.

After the line went dead, the boys turned to Jodie with anxious suspicion. "I really hope you were right about him," Mike said.

Jodie inhaled slowly and looked out one of the windows of the bus, heart stuttering. The chopper was cirling back around. Hopper filled her mind. "I hope so too, kid."

The time ticked away at a slow pace. The boys were growing more anxious by the minute. Jodie would have been lying if she didn't feel the same tension building inside herself, too. She passed the time unconsciously staring at Jane and the bracelet around her wrist. It was like Jodie was frozen in time. She wanted to demand to know everything, but now wasn't the time.

Dustin had taken to pacing up and down the row of the bus, sighing and scoffing as he did.

"Would you calm down?" Mike asked.

Dustin snapped. "This is taking way too long! This is a trap, they should have been here by now, it's a trap -- we shoulda known!"

"It's not a trap," Lucas and Jodie said in unison. Lucas threw his hands in the air and furthered it. "Why would the chief set us up?" He shook his head at the disbelief on Dustin's face. "Nancy, maybe, but the chief?" A chuckle formed on Jodie's lips, disregarding the dire air.

Mike scoffed and raised his hands in a half attempt at defending his older sister. But, no words left his mouth to her defence.

"I don't feel good about this! I don't feel good about this!" Dustin cried out, panic rising once more. Jodie wasn't sure what to say to make him feel any better.

She thought about telling him that the chief cared about this case, that he would never trap them, and that Jim was a good man. But, she couldn't force a sound. Instead, the heavy sound of tires on mud filled the group's attention.

The trio rushed to the front of the bus and cursed.

"What's going on up there?" Jodie asked, watching as they scurried to the back of the bus with Jodie and Jane.

"Duck down, duck down!" Lucas hollered. "Two cars just pulled up. Three Suits."

"Do you think they saw us?" Dustin frantically asked.

Jodie arched her back, pushing herself up with her forearms to watch the men casually flank the bus from three sides. She took a slow, deep breath. Only one thought came to mind.

She was the adult here.

"Lay low, boys," she cautioned. "If it comes to anything, I'll distract them and you run." The boys watched her incredulously, looking between themselves. She could see the fear on their faces as the realization of trouble dawned on them. "Do you understand me?" Her voice cut through the quiet, demanding and sharp.

The boys nodded quickly but said nothing.

"I'm going to crawl to the front," she whispered to them, reaching for the stashed tire iron under the bus seats. The rust-coated iron was heavy in her hand and sturdy, too. Jodie weighed it in her hand before crawling on her forearms and knees towards the only entrance to the bus.

Jodie fought to keep her composure as the men drew closer. Once at the front of the bus, Jodie pressed the small of her back against the base of the wide dashboard. Her pulse whooshed in her ears but she fought it back, inhaling deeply. Jodie gripped the tire iron tightly with both hands, knowing she would only have one good swing in her, maybe two, depending on how surprised the men were.

She would need to make it count.

Jodie watched their shadows draw closer and steadied her grip.

A white hand pushed into the bus's automatic door and drew it back in front of Jodie. Now was the time. "FUCKER!" She shouted, swinging the iron with the full force of her weight.

The federal agent wailed as her strike snapped his nose, causing a rush of blood by an accompanying CRUNCH. Another fist reached out and finished the job she'd started by whacking the man over his head and yanking him away from the bus.

Gunshots popped off and Jodie dropped her weapon, covering her head with her hands. In the back of the bus, the boys called her name in fear. "Stay back!" Jodie yelled.

"What the --" a man wailed, cut off with his own scream.

Two more gunshots echoed. Then, silence.

Jodie cracked one eye open, checking herself for a gunshot but finding nothing.

The bus door creaked open again and Jodie crawled for her dropped weapon. But, before she could grab it, a boot stepped down hard on the tire iron, keeping it firmly planted on the ground.

"I know you're pissed, but I don't
want my face caved in, okay?"

⌱ ⌱ ⌱

Dudes, I'm such a piece of shit.
I'm sorry it's been so long -- there really isn't an excuse for it.

I hope you enjoy this chapter -- sending you all love!

Life updates since last chapter:
i got promoted at work, i got engaged, i got a puppy

how's your life going?
sending you love and good tidings x

PS: 110k reads?! Love you all!!