Mike almost laughed as he saw Jude struggling to get the tape on the highest window. A good two inches came in handy as Mike did it for him, making Jude sigh. "I'm gonna do that to you all the time when I hit my growth spurt."

"I'll hold you to it." Mike nodded, rolling the tape back as Jude continued to do the little parts. "You feel okay?"

Jude shrugged. "I miss Bob."

"Me too." Mike nodded, doing the other side for him. "But, maybe doing this will make his death mean something. Like, he didn't die for nothing."

"He died because I brought up the idea of someone leaving." Jude snapped at him, but that anger was not directed toward Mike, it was just take out on him.

"Jude, that isn't true." the Wheeler boy looked in disbelief and shock. Jude shook his head, turning on his heels. "Jude."

"I need to help Lucas." Jude made the excuse, shaking his head as he walked away.

Mike had headed out to the shed with the Joyce, Jonathan , and Hopper. They all figured that if anyone could break through to Will, it would be Mike, who he'd known the longest, who had been the entire reason he knew the ones around him. Jude messed with his altoids box, popping it open, and shutting it again.

Hopper pushed through the door quickly, making Jude jump as he watched him grab a pen from near the door. "What's going on?"

He was ignored, Jude looked out the door in worry. "Is Mike okay? And Will?"

"I think he's talking." Hopper informed him to stop the questions, scribbling on the notepad. "Just not with words."

They all crowded around the table, looking over his shoulder. Mike ran in with Jonathan, Jude shut the door behind them and wrapped his hand around Mikes wrist, pulling him to the table. Steve looked in confusion. "Wait, what is that?"

"Morse Code." they all said back on sync.

"H-E-R-E." Hopper spelt out. "Wills still in there. He's talking to us."

Between Mike, Jonathan, and Joyce, Will had communicated through tapping his chair. Mike coded it through the walkie that Jude held. "Dash, dot, dash, dot.

"C!" Lucas called as Nancy wrote it down.

"L."

"O."

"S."

"E."

"G."

"A."

"T."

"E."

"Close Gate." they all read on sync, Jude and Max shared a look. The phone rung, getting a gasp. Jude ran over to it quickly, nearly falling over the chair, yanking the phone off before putting it back, silence ran through the house.

A second passed, Nancy went to help before Jude grabbed Steve's bat, hitting the phone over and over again with it, a pant and minor yell leaving his lips each time. The phone fell silent and clearly, extremely, broken.

Yeah, he needed that.

"Nice, J." Lucas rose his eyebrows.

"Do you think he heard that?" Max looked in a faint panic.

"It's just a phone. It could be anywhere, right?" Steve asked with a questionable look.

A screech echoed in the distance, they all turned to the window. Jude lunged for the door, yanking it open. "Mike!"

"Come on, come on. Let's go." Hopper hurried with Wills limb body, Jonathan and Joyce close after while Mike was last to come through. Jude rushed them inside, keeping the door open, out reaching his hand for Mike to grab, pulling him in the house and slamming the door quickly.

"Hey! Get away from the windows!" Hopper yelled toward Lucas and Max,
making them hurry over toward Jude and Mike. Hopper looked to Jonathan, holding a gun out. "Do you know how to use this?"

Jonathan blinked. "What?"

"Can you use this?" Hopper repeated in disbelief and more anger.

"I can." Nancy spoke up confidently, Hopper tossing it her way with ease.

The pair pointed the guns at the windows, a waiting any movement from outside. A shriek was close to the house, making them all gasp and turn the way it came from. Jude stood behind Mike slightly, pulling him as far back as he could. Nancy breathed heavy. "What are they doing?"

Another loud shriek went through the air, they all turned again with a yell. Mike reached back and grabbed a candle holder, holding it infront of him. Jude turned, grabbing a vase that was on the table. He yelled, throwing it at the demo dogs crashed through the window, complete still.

"Did I kill it?" Jude's mouth fell open. "...with a vase?"

"Holy shit. Did you hit it that hard?" Dustin looked as he took a small step forward. Hopper pushed it slightly with his foot, the lifeless creature rolling in just the slightly. "Holy shit, Jude."

"Jude." Lucas gapped ad him. "You really killed it?"

A creaking noise made them all turn with a small gasp, looking at the door as the locks twisted slowly, each other unlocking as they all stared. The door pushed open, a pair of black boot stepping on the floor as it creaked beneath her.

Jude stared. "El?"

It wasn't long before Mike was hugging her tightly, dropping his candle holding on the floor. "I never gave up on you. I called you every night. Every night for-"

"352 days." El stopped, crying with a smile at him. "I heard."

Mike looked confused. "Why didn't you tell me you were there? That you were okay?"

"Because I wouldn't let her." Hopper spoke up, Jude looked back and slapped his arm. "Ow!"

"Ow is right." Jude shoved a finger at him.

"The hell is this? Where you been?" Hopper walked to El.

"Where have you been?" she shot back, wrapping her arms around him as he hugged her tightly, rubbing her back.

"You've been hiding her." Mike glared aft him. "You've been hiding her this whole time!"

"Hey! Hey!" Hopper looked back when Mike hit him in the arm. "Let's talk."

Hopper yanked Mike off, Jude looked with raised eyebrows before sighing. "Guess I didn't kill it with a vase."

"Jude." El hugged him tightly as he smiled, hugging her back.

"My birthday wish came try." his hands pushed into her back as she hugged him tightly.

"Countens." El pulled back as she stared at him. "Said we are countens."

Jude blinked in confusion. "Countens?"

"Momma." El nodded her head, pointing at him. "Aunt Becky."

"My mom?" Jude looked oddly. "She isn't your Aunt Becky."

"Yes." El nodded. "Momma is her sister."

"Terry?" Jude shook his head. "No, she's been-"

But he stopped, he stopped when he thought about all his aunt had said. The lab. The daughter. El. The lab. Jude met her eye again. "Cousins."

"Cousins." she nodded her head. "Not countens."

"I thought she was just crazy." Jude hugged El again with a sigh of relief. "I've never had cousins before."

"Me neither." she said, and he laughed. "Funny?"

"No, sorry." he shook his head, shutting his eyes in the hug.

"We missed you." Lucas said as him and Dustin joined in on the hug.

"I missed you, too." El said back, they pulled back. She looked in confusion at Dustin, touching his teeth with her fingers. "Teeth."

"What?" he looked oddly.

"You have teeth." El said back to him in confusion.

The trio shared a laugh. "Oh. You like these pearls?"

Jude elbowed him with a grin when he gave a purr, Max speaking up. "Eleven?"

The two backed up, Jude stood by Lucas now, linking their arms. Max smiled at the eyelinered girl. "Hey, i'm Max. I've heard a lot about you."

El stared at her out reached hand, a minor glare on her face as she stood up, pushing past her. Jude sighed. "Should have known we were related."

Max gave him an offended look as Jude quickly shook his head. "No, not you. That's how I reacted when Jonathan and I met."

"Is was?" Dustin looked in confusion.

"Yup." Jude shrugged. "I was offended that he wasn't sunburnt like I was."

•

kylie speaks

i hope i can get through
this episode fast bc s3 is gonna
be so interesting for judler.