Chapter Text
The air in the junkyard was heavy with dust and smoke, the metallic tang of rusted cars mixing with the sweat of too many nervous bodies. El stood in the center, her arms still trembling, a small trickle of blood sliding from her nose. The silence after her last push with her powers was deafening.
Then it cracked.
The crunch of boots on gravel. The sharp click of a radio. The low hum of engines.
Dustin froze, eyes widening as beams of light sliced through the gaps in the old scrap metal walls. “Oh shit.” His voice barely broke a whisper.
Mike grabbed El’s arm. “They found us.”
Hopper’s head snapped toward the sound, his face instantly hardened. “Move. Now!” His voice thundered across the junkyard.
The military swarmed in fast — dark uniforms, guns raised, shouts echoing through megaphones. A spotlight washed across the junkyard, catching Steve’s face pale and tight with panic as he pulled Nancy by the arm.
Joyce shoved open the side gate of the yard. “Cars! Go!”
Chaos exploded. Metal clattered under boots as everyone scattered. Hopper fired blindly into the air with his revolver, not to hit but to stall, to scare. El stumbled, still drained, but Mike caught her around the waist, dragging her toward Hopper’s car.
Shots cracked behind them. The shriek of bullets ricocheted off car doors. Jonathan shielded Nancy with his body as they dove behind Steve’s car, then all three scrambled inside.
Dustin was already in the backseat of Hopper’s vehicle, slapping the door. “Come on, come on, come on!”
Mike shoved El in first, then scrambled after her. His chest burned with each breath, panic flooding every nerve. Hopper floored the accelerator before Joyce had even fully closed her door.
The chase began.
Headlights slashed through the trees as Hopper tore down the backroads, Joyce gripping the dashboard, yelling directions through her teeth. The other car followed close — Steve’s hands white on the steering wheel, Jonathan barking out where to turn, Nancy bracing herself against the dashboard.
Behind them, the growl of military engines grew louder, closer, the flash of blue lights flickering against the trees.
“Hold on!” Hopper roared, wrenching the wheel. The car flew off the paved road onto a dirt track, branches whipping against the windshield, the suspension groaning under the abuse.
“Jesus Christ!” Dustin screamed, holding onto the ceiling handle for dear life.
Mike held onto El, who pressed her face into his shoulder, her breaths short and sharp.
Bullets tore past them, sparking against tree trunks. Hopper slammed his foot harder on the gas.
For a terrifying thirty seconds, the sound of pursuit was right on their heels — engines snarling, orders being barked into radios. Then, suddenly, the sound began to fade.
One more sharp turn, one more violent swerve, and the forest swallowed them whole.
Silence, save for the growl of Hopper’s engine and everyone’s ragged breathing.
Moments later, tires screeched nearby as another car skidded into view — Steve’s beat-up BMW with Nancy gripping the wheel and Jonathan hanging half out of the passenger side, pale and wired. Both cars rolled to a stop in the middle of the woods, engines growling.
For a split second, silence.
“Holy shit,” Dustin panted, collapsing against the seat. His curls bounced as he laughed, wild and hysterical, trying to release the pressure in his chest. “We just out did the fucking military!”
Jonathan slapped the side of the car door as if to confirm they were alive. “That was insane,” Nancy breathed, her face pale but flushed with triumph, strands of hair plastered to her forehead with sweat. She let out a laugh that was half-shock, half-relief.
Steve leaned across Jonathan, his grin wide despite the fear still swimming in his eyes. “We’re legends. Absolute legends.”
Everyone talked at once, voices clashing, relief thick in the air.
But Mike didn’t join in. He leaned back against the seat, the roar of the celebration muffling in his ears. His hand trembled as it slid across his stomach, sticky warmth seeping through his shirt. His chest rose, fell — shallow, uneven. At first, he thought it was just the leftover terror shaking his body.
But then his palm came away red.
“I…” His voice cracked. He swallowed, throat dry as he looked down at the dark stain spreading across his shirt. His eyes widened. “I’m shot.”
The words silenced everything.
El’s head whipped toward him instantly, her brown eyes wide and unblinking. “What?” Her voice was soft, but it broke through the chaos like glass shattering.
Mike’s hand pressed harder against his stomach, only to feel another sharp stab higher up in his chest.
“I- I’m shot,” he rasped. He pulled his hand away again, blood slick and glistening in the faint glow of the dashboard lights. “El.”
Joyce spun around from the front seat, her face draining of color. “Oh my God.”
“No, no, no—” El whispered, her hands hovering uselessly over him, her face pale, panicked. She looked like she was about to try and use her powers again, though against what, she didn’t know. He’d been shot in the chest and stomach.
Hopper cursed under his breath, slamming the car into gear. “Hold him steady! Joyce—press on it!”
Joyce scrambled into the backseat, nearly falling into Dustin as she shoved her scarf against Mike’s stomach.
“Stay with us, honey, stay with us,” she begged, her hands trembling as blood seeped through the fabric almost immediately.
Dustin’s voice cracked. “Is he— is he gonna—?”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence!” Hopper barked, his voice gravelly and sharp. He floored the accelerator, the car lurching forward again, trees blurring past them.
Nancy’s car followed close behind, her headlights flashing frantically as though urging them faster.
Mike tried to speak but his voice came out thin, barely a whisper. “El…”
Her hand wrapped around his, squeezing so hard her knuckles turned white. “Don’t. Don’t talk like that. You’re okay. You’re okay.”
His vision blurred at the edges, the inside of the car tilting and swaying with every turn. He blinked hard, trying to focus on El’s face, on her fierce stare even though her cheeks were streaked with tears.
“Stay awake, Wheeler,” Steve shouted from the other car window, his voice carrying across the roar of the engines.
Hopper’s jaw was set like stone, his eyes locked on the barely-visible dirt path ahead. “We’re getting him to the hospital. Hold on, kid. You hear me? Hold on.”
Mike’s breaths grew shorter, each one sharper, harder to pull in. He felt El’s hand shaking in his, her forehead pressing to his temple as she whispered, “Please don’t leave me, Mike. Please.”
Hopper was shouting into the radio, his voice cracking despite his command “Agent Stinson, we need your help.”
“Stay with us,” Joyce urged, her voice trembling. “It’s okay, sweetheart. We’ve got you.”
Mike grit his teeth, trying not to cry out, but his body shook. He forced his eyes open, locked them on El’s. She was crying so hard she could barely breathe, whispering his name like a prayer.
Dustin was frozen beside him, pale, hands hovering uselessly. “Oh my God, oh my God, Hopper, he’s—”
“Quiet!” Hopper barked, his voice a mix of fury and fear as he focused on the road. “He’s fine. He’s gonna be fine.”
The car rattled violently over roots and bumps, the trees a blur outside the windows. Every jolt sent fire through Mike’s body, but he bit down hard on the inside of his cheek, refusing to black out.
El’s forehead pressed against his temple, her words rushing out through sobs. “You’re okay. You’re okay, Mike. Please. Just stay with me. Please.”
Mike managed the faintest whisper, his lips trembling. “I’m… here.” His eyes fluttered, but he forced them open again, looking at her through the haze of pain. “I’m not… leaving you.”
Joyce pressed harder, panic tightening her voice. “We’re losing too much blood. Hopper, floor it!”
“I am!” Hopper roared back, his eyes blazing, teeth gritted as the car shot out of the woods and onto a dark stretch of backroad.
Mike’s vision blurred, the edges darkening, but he clung to El’s hand like an anchor. Her grip was so tight it hurt, but he didn’t dare let go.
Every instinct screamed to close his eyes, to sink into the darkness tugging at him. But he fought it, forcing one shallow breath after another. His lips formed words again, broken but stubborn.
“El…” He coughed, pain wracking his chest. “…I’m… still here.”
His chest heaved, weak but steady. His eyes locked on hers, even as the world around them blurred into nothing but motion and sound.
And then —WQSK station comes into view, there’s two cars that definitely don’t usually belong there.
Hopper’s roar shook the car. “Hold on, kid. We made it!”