Liam glanced back over his shoulder and saw that Clint had followed them, walking a few steps behind.
Clint, noticing he had Liam's attention, spoke."I noticed you're planning to do something. Want some help?"His tone was direct, no beating around the bush, but it didn't sound demanding.
Liam nodded when he heard this. Just from how proactive Clint was in offering help, he realized how desperate he was to find a way out."We're going to fly to a high altitude to see what we can find with a wider field of vision," Liam said, lifting his gaze toward the sky, squinting slightly as if already trying to picture the landscape.
"If you want to help, grab a car and drive down the road. I want to see how it looks from above when a car ends up returning to the same place," Liam added, making a small gesture toward the road, hoping this would give them some clues about an exit from this place.
"I'll do it," Clint agreed, nodding once before turning around.
Liam nodded and said, "If anything happens, I'll talk to you through telepathy. To answer, just think about what you want to say."He didn't seem to care about the surprised look on Clint's face at the revelation that he could communicate telepathically.
Clint shook his head with a faint, incredulous smile, as if trying to clear the surprise, and went to get a car to drive.
As Clint walked away, Carrie, who had heard Liam's idea, began lifting them into the air with telekinesis. Second by second, their field of vision expanded, the ground drifting farther away beneath their feet, allowing them to see the entire town. First the houses, then the police station, then the community house. The higher they went, the farther they could see, until in the distance, beyond the forest, they could clearly make out a lighthouse standing against the horizon.
"With views like this, it almost feels like this place isn't what it really is—a place where monsters enjoy people's suffering," Carrie said, amazed by the scenery, slowly turning in the air to observe everything around her.
"Not everything is what it seems," Liam said seriously, without taking his eyes off the forest.
…
Down below, Clint had already found a car and was about to start driving when he stopped after seeing two adults and a young girl approaching.
"Hi, my name's Hopper. This is Joyce," Hopper said, pausing as he placed a protective hand on Eleven's shoulder. "And this is my daughter, Eleven. It seems you spoke with that boy, Liam. I was wondering if we could join whatever it is you're doing—we just saw him flying a moment ago."Hopper spoke calmly, carefully watching Clint's reaction.
Clint studied them for a moment, realizing Hopper was clearly a man with solid combat skills who had been through hard times. His daughter seemed to struggle with social interaction, probably due to some kind of trauma, and Joyce—judging by how she stayed close to them—was likely his partner; their closeness was obvious just by watching them.
"I'm Clint. No problem. He said he wanted to see how no matter which way you drive, you always end up back in the same place," Clint said as he opened the car.
Hopper nodded and opened the passenger door, while Joyce carefully opened the back door and got in.
"Kid, what's going on? Get in, hurry," Hopper said when he saw Eleven standing still, looking with what seemed like admiration at the point in the sky where Liam and Carrie were flying.
That snapped Eleven out of her thoughts."I'm coming."
Once inside the car, as Clint drove, Hopper spoke again."Kid, I've noticed you've been looking a lot at that girl, Carrie. Tell me what's going on."His voice was gentle, without pressure.
Eleven lowered her head for a moment before answering, fidgeting with her hands in her lap.
"She's like me, but she doesn't seem afraid. She handles demogorgons easily, and she can do things with telekinesis that I never even imagined," Eleven said, unsure of what to think about Carrie.
What Clint heard surprised him a little; he hadn't thought there would be anyone else with special abilities besides Liam and Carrie, but it seemed he was wrong.
"Kid, I think it would be good for you to learn from that girl. I think it would help you—not to fear your powers and to learn how to live with them," Hopper said, seeing an opportunity for Eleven to learn from someone more experienced in telekinesis. He didn't let it slip by; this would be good for her in the future, especially now that he knew the future wouldn't be easy.
Eleven nodded, and now, with the support of her father figure, she replied,"I will. I'll talk to her when there's a chance."Her voice sounded more determined as she lifted her head slightly.
Hopper nodded proudly before turning his attention back to Clint."Clint, I noticed you have a bow and other weapons. What did you do outside?"He asked while looking ahead at the road.
Clint glanced at Hopper through the rearview mirror for a second, then returned his focus to the road.
"Special operations agent."That was all he said.
Hopper nodded, realizing from the short answer that Clint didn't want to talk much about it.
"Everyone who arrived with the superpowered couple, Liam and Carrie, had to leave their town after getting involved with a problematic organization with worldwide influence," Hopper said, beginning to explain his group's situation.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Eleven tense slightly in fear at the mention of it; he knew it couldn't have been easy for her, at only twelve years old, to see all those horrific memories from that Hydra member. Unfortunately, he hadn't been there at the time to stop her from doing that.
"That sounds problematic," Clint said as he heard this, frowning slightly as he tried to imagine an organization with that level of reach.
Hopper nodded and continued."I had to clear out an entire underground Russian base and nearly died to deal with the last problem. In the group that came with us, there are talented kids—one of them even endured Russian torture and somehow managed to escape before I arrived," Hopper said, gripping the passenger-side handle for a second as he thought about the kids in his group. Even he was surprised by how they had survived everything they'd faced.
"Sounds like your group went through hell before getting here. I hope we manage to get out of this place soon, for our families' sake," Clint said, a bit surprised that Hopper and a few kids had taken down a Russian base.
"Yes. If Liam manages to get us out of here, I'll fully trust him to keep my family safe," Hopper said, staring out the window at the endless forest.
Clint nodded as he kept driving, eyes fixed on the straight road ahead, where only trees could be seen on both sides.
…
Up above, as Liam watched Clint drive the car forward, he and Carrie focused on the vehicle, paying close attention to any change, following every meter of its progress.
Then something changed. The car seemed to pass through an invisible barrier and suddenly appeared on the other side of the road leading back to town.
"Stop," Liam said telepathically to Clint, his voice firm.
Inside the car, the voice in Clint's head startled him, even though he'd been expecting it. He reacted immediately, braking as fast as he could, causing the car to jolt slightly.
"Good. Now back up a few meters. I'll tell you when to stop," Liam said, watching closely as the car began reversing. A few meters back, it appeared once again on the other road, crossing the invisible wall once more.
"Stop. Stay right there," Liam said, then looked at Carrie."Let's go to them, Carrie."
Carrie nodded without hesitation, and they flew toward them at full speed, the wind cutting against their faces as they descended.
…
A few minutes later, they were there, carefully observing the area, moving back and forth across the exact point where the change occurred, hoping to find an exit, a crack—any sign at all.
"Carrie, do you feel anything?" Liam asked seriously as he stepped in and out of the spot where the boundary should be, extending his hand slightly as if he could touch something invisible.
Carrie shook her head."Nothing. It doesn't matter if I'm on one side or the other—it's like I'm in the same place."
Clint, Hopper, Joyce, and Eleven stood a few meters away, watching in silence, waiting for good news. Instead, they could only feel disappointed when it became clear that nothing was found beyond the moment where the road simply led them back to town.
"Let's go back to town. I'll try other ideas another day," Liam said calmly, without losing confidence.
Those words, even without an immediate solution, lifted everyone's spirits a little, seeing that Liam wasn't someone who gave up easily.