Dropping down ungracefully, Frankie Walsh felt the breath escape her lungs as she gazed at the tunnels in front of her. Running a hand over her hair, the brunette took in a deep breath glad that her mouth was covered. There were strange particles floating through the air that looked like dead skin or ash, and whatever it was Frankie didn't want to inhale any of it.

"You're pretty sure, or you're certain?" She heard Dustin's muffled voice ask Mike a few feet away from her.

"I'm one hundred percent sure. Just follow me and you'll know!" Mike spoke up loudly as he turned around obviously annoyed at Dustin.

"Woah, woah, woah! Hey, hey, hey, hey. I don't think so." Steve exclaimed shining the flashlight into Mike's eyes.

"What?" Mike asked shielding his eyes with a gloved hand. Steve just walked up to the boy.

"If any of you little shits die down here, Frankie and I are getting the blame. Got it, dipshit?" Grabbing the map from Mike's hands, Steve turned towards the rest of the group. "From here on out, Fran and I are leading the way. Come on, lets go."

Frankie who had no idea what was going on, raised her brows before sighing as she walked over the uneven surface of the floor. Stumbling a bit over the rocks and piles of dirt, she reached Steve just in time for him to boss around the kids some more.

"Hey, a little hustle."

Frankie quickly tried to match his pace, but honestly she and the rest of the kids were starting to drag. Steve was obviously more taller than her and the kids, and the boy could walk fast.

"Steve, slow down." She said as she climbed over a rock that was in her way. Steve glanced back at the struggling girl and the rest of the kids and sighed a bit.

"Come on Franny, if we don't hurry it up who knows what will happen." Holding his hand out to the long haired girl, he sent her a small smile as she accepted it and used it to jump off the rock.

Unfortunately, Frankie hadn't estimated where to jump to. It was way too dark and she couldn't see the floor as she left the rock. She couldn't see the small hole that wouldn't have been a problem unless you accidentally jumped right in it which is what she did.

"Ah!" She screamed out as her body flew forward but her foot stayed in the same place. Feeling her ankle twist in the most uncomfortable way, the feeling started to burn red hot which caused tears to pour from Frankie's eyes. Looking over her shoulder, she felt a sob escape her lips as she stared at her foot which wasn't doing what it should be doing.

"Frankie? Frankie, are you okay?!" Steve shouted trying to gain her attention. He held onto her shoulders before looking towards her foot and feeling his stomach churn.

"Frankie!" The kids cried out as they saw her crumbled on the floor. They quickly rushed onto the scene and helped her unhook her foot from the hole, hesitantly because of her cries. Steve pulled her in to sit in between his legs as Dustin and Lucas gently prodded her ankle which was bent in an odd way.

"It's broken." Lucas said with a solemn look on his face. Frankie who was too busy trying to stop her eyes from tearing up more, just gripped onto Steve's knee digging her nails into his jeans.

"Do you think she'll be able to go further? We're almost there." Mike reasoned. He looked over to the older girl and cringed at the way her tears were running down her face. She really was in a lot of pain.

"No!" Steve and Frankie shouted in unison. The kids backed up a bit in shock.

"Well, we have to go save El." Mike spoke up looking at Steve expectantly. The older teen who was busy looking down at a pretty out of it Frankie, looked at the younger boy quickly.

"Hell no. This stops now. Frankie's already hurt, we need to take her back." Steve spat out, looking at the kids sternly.

"But-"

"No!-"

"It's okay." Frankie spoke up looking at Steve who was still crouched around her. Everyones stares landed on Frankie.

"Wha-what do you mean?" Steve asked looking down at the girl who still had tears in her eyes. She grabbed onto the two closest hands next to her, which happened to be Mike and Steve's.

"You guys need to go save Eleven." Steve just looked at her in shock and couldn't fight his head from shaking no. "I'll just stay here and you guys go, don't worry about me. Its not that far, and you'll be done before you know it."

The kids and Steve stared down at the delusional girl in shock. They couldn't believe she would even suggest that. She had to be crazy to think that they would leave her all alone in these confusing tunnels. She looked into his eyes trying to convey to him that this was the smartest decision, but Steve was having none of that.

"We're not leaving you. I'm not leaving you."

Steve just stood up and motioned for the kids to help him lift her up. He shoved the map and flashlight into Mike's hands, hoping that he wouldn't regret giving it to him. Going in front of her dazed body, he grabbed her arms and held them around his neck making sure she was secure before grabbing the backs of her knees and gently jostling her into a comfortable position.

"Let's go." Steve said quickly to the kids before they could utter a word.

The group made their way to the center of the tunnels completely astounded by the sight. It was a huge area that was more lit than the tunnels. It was surrounded by at least ten different openings and there were nasty sorts of vines littering the area.

"Drench it." Mike said, breaking the silence between the group. The kids immediately got into action except Dustin, who helped Steve lower a still crying Frankie onto the ground. She was still in shock and just sat there watching the kids spill and spray gasoline all over the walls of the hub.

"Stay here." Steve said squeezing her hand gently. Watching him walk away, Frankie rolled her eyes. Of course I'm going to stay here, where else would I go? Eyes drifting across the area, they finally zoomed onto her foot. It was twisted into an ugly abnormal way that made Frankie want to puke. The skin was bruised and raised, and it honestly looked like it was straight out of a horror movie.

Before Frankie knew it, the group was finished and went to where she was sitting. Crouching down, they all hoped that this idea would work. If it didn't, Frankie would probably kill them all. Steve grabbed the lighter he was messing with earlier out of the back of his tight jeans.

"Light her up." Dustin said through his bandana. Steve looked to his side at the curly haired boy then over his shoulder at the girl who couldn't even walk.

"I'm in such deep shit." He whispered to himself before throwing the lighter set to flame at the gasoline soaked area. The floor immediately caught on fire before quickly spreading. Squid like tentacles screeched as they danced in pain. The group stared at the scene before them, shielding their eyes from the open flames before realizing they had to get the hell out of there.

"Lets go! Lets go! Lets go!" Steve shouted before grabbing Frankie off the ground and running behind the children. Even with years of playing basketball and running track, her dead weight was taking a toll on him.

The group of preteens jumped and maneuvered themselves over rocks, holes, and flat surface to get to the start of the tunnels. Steve who was holding Frankie over his shoulder was trailing behind. Lucas who was now in control of the map, was quickly trying to find their way out whilst ignoring Dustin's anxious cries.

"Help! Help!" The group of three heard from behind them. Stopping their navigation, the kids ran back to where they heard the cries. Mike was laying on the ground, one of the rouge tentacles wrapped around his foot slowly reaching for more of his body.

Hearing the cries, Steve rushed to catch up with the group making sure he didn't fall. When he got there he could see Mike trying to get pulled out of his predicament by Dustin and Lucas. Before the teen could go to help, a nail covered baseball bat slammed onto the tentacle. As the severed limb curled back into itself releasing Mike, all of the boys looked up to his savior.

"What? Cat got your tongue, Mike?" Max teased with a raised brow. Throwing the bat over her shoulders, she cocked a hip smugly. Without even seeing her lips from behind the scarf the boys could tell she was wearing a smirk.

"Bad ass." Frankie whispered gazing at Max from Steve's other shoulder. The girl was jostled somewhat awake from Steve's inconsistent running. She was honestly going in and out of a daze, to what she suspected was shock but honestly how could she know.

Grrrrr

The group turned rapidly to their right, hearts beating wildly at the familiar growl.

"Dart?" Dustin whispered, staring down at the creature. Steve, who felt a bit hopeless carrying a half conscious Frankie, strode to Dustin's side trying to help his newfound brother. Making sure the shoulder that held Frankie was more hidden, Steve reached a hand out to Max who calmly gave him his bat.

The group frantically shouted at Dustin as he made his way closer to the monster. Dustin simply waved his hand back, letting out a 'trust me'. Leaning down, the boy removed his goggles and bandana trying to show Dart who he was.

"Hey its me. It's Dustin, all right? You remember me? Will you let us pass?" The curly haired boy asked comfortingly to the monster slowly making its way closer to him. When Dart opened up and growled at him, the group jumped back.

"Oh okay, I'm sorry." He replied back calmly, blinking away the hot air that was rushed to his face. "I'm sorry about the storm cellar. You hungry? I've got our favorite...nougat."

Dustin opened up the package and dropped the candy bar in front of his deranged pet. Motioning for the group to pass, they quickly did only stopping to let Dustin say his goodbyes.

"Bye buddy."

They quickly ran through the tunnels trying to reach their rope of salvation. As they ran through, they began to stumble as the earth moved around them. Hearing the familiar but still scary growl, the group panicked as it was accompanied by many more. Sprinting towards the rope, the kids began to push one another to the top.

Max, Lucas, Mike, Dustin. All that were left were Steve and Frankie, who was leaning shakily against the former. Frankie who didn't know what the hell was going on stared down the tunnel, quickly realizing what the hell was actually going on. Watching the shadows as the demo-dogs raced towards them, Frankie gripped onto Steve's shoulder. Steve simply got into position ready to take them out, he wasn't going out without a fight if he had anything to do with it.

As the dogs raced towards them, Frankie gasped as they moved around them like water. Holding onto Steve as the dogs gently rustled her, the two stared in shock as the pack ran away from them. Steve quickly wrapped his arms around Frankie pulling her in tightly so she wouldn't fall. Eyes wide as they stared down the tunnel at the retreating figures, the two teens couldn't even breathe.

As the group all finally made their way out of the tunnel and onto solid ground, they noticed the headlights of their stolen car grow brighter and brighter. As the lights dimmed, they all braced themselves to what would come next. Not knowing if they won or lost, if all this craziness was over, or if Eleven was okay, they shared a look, one that although held their uncertainties held relief.

also since Im finishing this book hopefully this week(im almost done w the next and final chapter) . I dont write specifically stranger things, I write all sorts of stuff so check my profile and you can suggest what I write next or can vote on what ideas I have in my conversations!

anyways thank you guys for sticking with this book, it just reached 50k reads and a lot of you guys have been very sweet and kind to me in the comments and I am beyond grateful that you all have enjoyed Frankie and her story!