The kids get the equipment we need and I climb into the back seat. Dustin crawls in next to me and Mike next to Dustin. We have Steve spread out on the three of us, his head in my lap. It was either that or leave him behind. Max climbs in the front seat and Lucas sits in the passenger side.

"Explain to me again why it's a good idea for me to be in the backseat, and not driving," I sigh.

"Because," Dustin starts, "Whenever Steve wakes up you can calm him down."

"Right," I nod when Max starts the car. But who's gonna calm me down?

We start driving to the hub. After a few minutes Steve looks up at me, "Nancy?"

I frown and keep hold of the ice pack on his head. He touches his face and I push his hand away, "No, don't touch it,"

"It's okay you put up a good fight. He kicked your ass, but you put up a fight. You're okay," Dustin nods.

Steve groans and grabs my hand.

"Okay," Lucas says to Max, "You're gonna keep straight for half a mile, then make a left on Mount Sinai."

"What's going on?" Steve slurs. He looks up at Max and starts panicking, Oh, my God!"

"Just relax, Steve," I say as soothingly as I possibly can, "She's done this before."

"Yeah, in a parking lot," Mike scoffs.

"That counts," Dustin counters.

"Oh, God! Oh, God!" Steve yells over the two.

"Shh, It's okay. They were gonna leave you behind. But they didn't do that because I promised that you'd be calm, okay?"

Max starts to speed up causing Steve's panicking to get louder, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What's going on?! Oh, my God! No! Whoa! Stop the car! Slow down!"

"I told you he'd freak out!" Mike yells at me.

"Stop the car!" Steve screams.

"Micheal, be quiet! You're not helping!" I growl.

"Everybody shut up! I'm trying to focus!" Max demands.

"Oh, wait, that's Mount Sinai! Make a left!" Lucas points.

"What?"

"Make-- Turn left!" Lucas stammers. Max yanks the steering wheel left and we all scream.

Max drives for a few minutes before she brings the car to a stop right in front of a hole.

"I told you. Zoomer," Max climbs out of the car and we all climb out and put our gear on. Steve falls out of the car and groans in pain.

I put on my goggles, gloves, and bandana. Mike walks past Steve with the gasoline and rope. The other kids follow him and I grab Steves backpack filled with his bat, goggles, bandana and gloves.

Steve stands up, "We are not going down there right now. I made myself clear. Hey, there is no chance we're going into that hole, all right? This ends right now!"

"Steve!" I yell over him, "You're upset, I get it. So am I, but the bottom line is, El needs help, and we have to help her. Now, we promised that we would keep them safe. So, let's keep them safe."

Steve sighs and takes the bag from me. I go inside the hole first and help the kids down too. After Steve gets ready he jumps down into the hole with us.

Mike shines his flashlight onto the map, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's this way."

"You're pretty sure or you're certain?" Dustin sighs.

"I'm 100% sure! Just follow me and you'll know!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, hey, hey, hey. I don't think so," Steve says walking up to Mike.

"What?"

"Any of you little shits die down here. Y/N and I get the blame," He grabs the map from Mike's hands, "Got it, dipshit? From here on out, I'm leading the way. Come on, let's go."

Steve and I walk in front of the kids. I keep looking back to make sure we have all four.

We continue walking when Max exclaims, Oh, God. What is this place?"

"Guys, come on. Keep moving," Steve bosses. We continue looking for the hub.

I hear screaming and notice Dustin isn't behind us, "Shit," I panic.

I run back to where we were last and see Dustin writhing on the ground screaming.

"What happened? What happened? What's wrong?" I cry grabbing Steve's arm.

"It's in my mouth!" Dustin whimpers, "Some got in my mouth! Shit!" He coughs for a few seconds then looks up at us, "I'm okay."

"You serious?" Max scoffs.

"Very funny, man," Steve say walking off. The others follow him and I help Dustin up.

"You scared the shit out of me," I sniffle, wiping a tear that escaped my eye.

"Sorry," Dustin says as he starts walking. I punch his arm and race back up to the front with Steve.

We get to the hub and Steve stops, "All right, Wheeler. I think we found your hub.

"Let's drench it," Mike nods and we start emptying the gallons of gasoline.

When we finish the kids start walking back, to keep a safe distance from the fire, "We are in such deep shit," Steve sighs flicking open the lighter He drops it and we scramble back.

We start running and catch up with the kids, Steve and I get in front and I hear Mike screaming for help a few feet back. We stop in our tracks and turn around, looking for him.

Steve uses his bat to cut the vine that wrapped around Mike's leg. I lift Mike up and a Demo-dog growls off to the side.

I flip my flashlight around and see Dart. Dustin pushes all of is back and puts his hands up.

I put my hand on Dustin's shoulder to stop him from going any further, uttering a quiet 'don't'.

"Dart," Dustin shrugs my hand off and walks forward. We all quietly tell him to stop and I hide my face in Steve's chest.

"Shh. Trust me, please," Dustin says, "Hey. It's me, it's me. It's just your friend, it's Dustin. It's Dustin. All right. You remember me? Will you let us pass?" Dart snarls and I jump and hide deeper in Steve's chest, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry about my sister locking you in the storm cellar. That was a pretty bitchy thing to do."

I look up and see Dustin taking off his backpack, "You hungry? Yeah? I've got our favorite." He pulls out a 3 Musketeers, "See? Nougat."

He opens the wrapper and sets the candy bar in front of Dart, "Look at that. Yummy. Here, all right. Eat up, buddy."

He makes a 'come on' motion with his hand and we all sneak past Dart. Dustin stands up and walks to us. He turns back to Dart, "Goodbye, buddy."

We run back to the rope and the sound of more Demo-dogs growling echos. Steve lifts Max up and she climbs up the rope. Lucas goes next, then Mike, then me. I climb up and reach for Dustin's hand.

"Guys, come on!" I scream. Steve stands in front of Dustin with his bat up, "Dustin, come on!" For a second everything slows down. Max grabs me and pulls me away from the hole, while Lucas and Mike block my view. I cry out and try to go help the two boys I love the most in the world. Max holds on tighter and I collapse to the ground squeezing my eyes shut, sobbing. I hear Lucas and Mike grunt and look up to see them pulling Steve and Dustin out of the hole.

I let out a sigh of relief and jump up and hug Dustin as tight as I can. When we pull away, Steve takes off his mask and I walk to him.

I put my hands on the collar of his shirt and pull him into a deep passionate kiss, "I thought you died, Harrington."

Steve shakes his head, "Can't get rid of me that easily, Henderson."

I let out a loud sob and wrap my arms around him tightly.

We all climb out of the hole and the headlights get so bright we had to look away, otherwise we would be blind.

The light goes back to normal and we look around at each other

Eleven must have closed the gate.

Does this mean it's finally over?