Darkest Night

Chapter 1 - The End

Day Zero:

"Eleven!"

I screamed at the top of my lungs and ran towards the innocent thirteen-year-old girl as fast as my legs could carry me. She was my best friend, and she was about to sacrifice her life to save me from death. But she never understood that I would rather be dead than live in this world without her.

My life had not always been so gloomy. Just a few hours ago, I was the luckiest bastard in the universe, but then fate threw me down from the heavens with a swift kick to the chest. Looking back at how the tragedy unfolded, I sometimes wonder whether I was a fool to have not prepared myself for the inevitable. Things were going really great for me, but I should have known, nothing good lasts forever.

Earlier that night Eleven had used her psychic powers while floating in a Sensory Deprivation tank to find Will's location in the Upside Down. Hopper and Mrs. Byers immediately left for the Lab to rescue Will before the Demogorgon could strip the flesh off his bones. In the meantime, the four of us - me, Lucas, Dustin, and Eleven - were hanging out in the auditorium minding our own damn business when the Military showed up out of nowhere. I always knew that the military was full off mouthbreathers with shit for brains. They unholstered their guns and took aim at the three of us. I couldn't see a morsel of empathy in their eyes. They didn't like loose ends, and they were prepared to kill three innocent children to bury their crimes. But they didn't possess one crucial piece of information that only I knew.

'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'

The military vanguards were aiming their guns at the boy who had just kissed their most potent weapon, and within a few seconds, Eleven blew their brains through their eye sockets in retribution. It was a gruesome sight, but given the option, I'd have done the same if someone was pointing a gun Eleven. As expected, the stress overloaded her tired, little body and she lost consciousness and fell to the floor. Before we could get the fuck out of there, the remaining military force came through and finally captured us.

A man with a headful of white hair held Eleven and kept consoling her that she would be going home soon. But she already had a home.

"LET HER GO!" I shouted the words as the wall collapsed and the beast from hell came through and attacked those scoundrels. I never looked a gift-horse in the mouth, so we ran away with Eleven in the nick of time while the military kept fighting a fruitless battle with the nightmare envisioned by themselves.

The Demogorgon, unintentionally, had freed Eleven from the clutches of the Bad men. We were going home, and this time, there would be five of us because the party had a new member. We made our way to a classroom, closed the door and gently laid Eleven on the table. Then we waited breathlessly for the fight outside to get over. Now that I think about it, did Lucas and Dustin knew what was going to happen? Is that why they moved away and gave Eleven and me some space to hold our hands and speak our last words?

Back in the classroom, I was already forming plans in my head about how to introduce Eleven to my mom;

'Hi Mom, this is Eleven, she can move a car with her mind.'

'Uhh, Mom, this is Eleven, she likes Eggos.'

'Mom, this is Eleven, no that's her real name. She's been hiding in our basement for the week.'

'Mom, this is Eleven, she is. a friend, and has no place to go. Can she stay with us?'

Damn it, should I tell Mom that I kissed her? She's gonna be so freaked out.

'Hi Mom, this is Eleven. I found her in the woods the following night after Will disappeared. I've been hiding her in my basement for the last week. She likes Eggos, and she also likes my clothes. She helped bring Will back but please don't ask how. I kissed her tonight, and I think she likes me too. Please let her stay with me... oops... I mean us!'

I was already blushing at that time. I had never kissed a girl before, and contrary to what Dustin thought, it felt incredible. Then I looked into Eleven's eyes and suffered a heart attack. Eleven was looking into my eyes with an intense stare, and they spoke volumes. Of course, she didn't talk much. Her vocabulary was limited to a set of simple words like, 'Bad, Eleven, Night, Understand, Papa, Hiding' and 'Mike'. But she didn't need to use fancy words to communicate. It was her eyes that always did the talking, and at that very moment, they said only one thing;

'I will never leave you again, Mike.'

I also didn't want her to leave me, ever again. Lucas could go screw himself, but I wanted Eleven in the party. I don't know exactly why I wanted her to join the party. It wasn't the kiss, it wasn't the fact that she was the first girl to speak to me for more than ten minutes without boring me to death.

'She makes me feel warm and fluffy.'

She could give me the cooties for all I cared, but I never regretted the soft peck on the lips. She didn't either. It was a story made in the heavens.

Then it all went to shit as the door burst open and the monster prowled into the room looking for prey. We were assembled in a room; it was our classroom to be precise. I sometimes assumed Fate to be a sarcastic scoundrel, and I was correct. This room was the holy shrine of learning where we were supposed to acquire knowledge, and we learned a lot that day. But it came at a terrible cost, and someone else paid for us.

In a classroom designed by a nightmare, Eleven started walking away from us. No, she was actually walking away from me. The cold halogen lamps lining the ceiling kept flickering, but I could see Eleven clearly as she slowly walked towards the monster which was pinned to the blackboard by her powers. Her posture reminded me of the day she rescued me from certain death near the quarry. It was full of hatred, rage, and resolution. Usually, that wouldn't have scared me the slightest. In fact, I feel pity for the being, whether human or Demogorgon, who was about to face the wrath of Eleven. Even the monster that wiped out an entire military platoon never stood a chance.

It was always like this from the very first day after we found Eleven. The three of us would somehow manage to find ourselves in danger, but Eleven would come running no matter where she was and save us before we pissed our pants. After that, I'd bring her back to my home, feed her Eggos, tell her stories and then she would peacefully go to sleep in the tent I made for her. Only this time, she didn't plan on coming back to her home. She had a different purpose this time, and I could feel it in my bones. Eleven was not just walking away from us, she was stepping away from existence itself. And that scared me to my core. I felt worse than the time she ran away after my fight with Lucas. I felt her sorrow, I felt her guilt, I felt her heart, and they all said the same thing.

'I don't want to go, Mike, I don't want to give up even one fraction of the happiness that I finally found with you. But I have to go. For us.'

'No shit you won't. Who's gonna eat the box of Eggos in the fridge?' I thought as I ran after her. I wouldn't let her sacrifice herself to save a bunch of losers from Hawkins Middle School. In a heartbeat, I knew what I had to do. I would firmly embrace her, drag her back from her doom, and we would all run away before that monster recovered and attacked. We were good at hiding, and I was sure that the beast won't find us again.

Worst case? I'd hold her, then fling her back to the guys while I take her place, they'll run away with Eleven, and I'd divert the monster. The good part? I was skilled at running and hiding. The sad part? I was going to die. But I was ready to accept that fate because I did her make-over and she was too damn pretty to die. Mike Wheeler, the biggest pussy in Hawkins Middle School, was going to die a hero. Yay.

The only problem was that Lucas and Dustin also joined the bandwagon. Crazy fuckers, both of them. We would save her or die in the process altogether. Who were we kidding? We accepted our fate, together. Lucas was throwing rocks at that creature using his puny wrist rocket. Dustin and I were cheering him on. But the monster kept coming towards us.

'And then, we are all going to die.'

But El didn't let us die. She flung the monster with every bit of power she had left in that little body and started moving towards it with her chin tucked towards her chest. The beast screamed in agony as it felt the impending doom, and it was scared. Mr. Clarke told us one day that every living being out there possessed a sense of self-preservation. They wanted to live at all costs, but self-preservation was not only about saving ourselves. It was about protecting our DNA through our offspring. Animals would sometimes sacrifice themselves to ensure their children continued to live on. He gave numerous examples. What he forgot to tell us was that humans had a fucked-up notion about how this was supposed to work. At some point in the past fifty thousand years, we had basically stopped giving a damn about our DNA, because El didn't share any with us. We knew Eleven only for a week, and she was about to sacrifice herself to save a group of losers who weren't even visible in the rear-view mirrors of most of the people in Hawkins.

So, back in my nightmare, I ran towards El filled with confidence. I was going to protect the last mage on Earth. But then she threw me away with a flick of her hand. Did I mention that she had telekinetic powers? It all happened in an instant. Before I could realize what happened, I was flying backward and ended up crashing into the wall. It hurt like shit, but not from the fall. It hurt because I finally realized that El was going to die, and she would not let me take her place. She sensed it like we all did, but we were fools not to accept it. She had embraced her destiny. Tears came running down my cheeks as I finally gave up and started whispering, "No El, I promised, please no."

She didn't listen to my cries. She was on a mission and would finish it at all costs, precisely like how she was trained in the lab. She reached the monster and then stopped for a moment. I was feeling hopeful, maybe she would kill the fiend, and perhaps she would come back to us. Yes, she would return to the boy who had promised to take her to the Snowball. But she had other plans. She looked back at me and uttered two words that were lodged deep in my heart on that day. Like the needles of cactus, I could never get them out of my heart, ever.

"Goodbye, Mike!"

It was the answer to a question that I never had a chance to ask. And only I could comprehend the true meaning of that answer. The answer was 'Forever.'

Fate had made grand plans for me. Mike Wheeler had always been a loser, bullied by some and ignored by others. Why would he ever get the chance to lead a happy life? Let's royally fuck him up. But no, this was not only about Mike Wheeler, the dungeon master. This was indeed about Eleven, the cursed mage. I think God hated her from the moment she was born, because absolutely no one, not even Troy, deserved a fate like this. Destiny wanted to break that child apart and erase her from reality itself.

Then I heard her scream as she pulled the last bit of power from deep within her body and burned that monster into oblivion. There was a loud thunderclap, then both were gone in an instant. A cloud of ash appeared in the air and slowly drifted to the floor. The lights stopped flickering as Eleven stopped existing in the mortal realm.

I must have been dreaming because I could swear that the ashes took the shape of a heart before slowly coming down to the ground. Then we ran. We searched frantically, we looked under desks, we looked around the room, we even looked below the staircase. Eleven was nowhere to be found, and the flame of hope started waning inside us. I came back to the chessboard where Fate just checkmated four innocent kids. The ashes were still there, and it made a dark smear on the ground. I went down and picked a bit up in my fingers. It was oily and had a sickly smell. I felt like throwing up as I thought about the possible origin of that ash. But I needed to collect a sample. The police procedural movies showed that Scientists could analyze stuff to find traces of victims. I took out a small paper and scooped some ash in it.

Lucas came and stood beside me, "What are you doing, Mike?"

I was not in the mood to give an answer, so I ignored him. Suddenly Lucas touched my shoulder. "Listen, man. I'm sorry."

I looked at Lucas with sympathy. He was crying even a few minutes ago. I felt sorry for him, then I punched him in the shoulder.

"You did this, you fucking did this!" I was pissed off.

Dustin came running, "What are you saying? Have you lost your freaking mind?"

"No Dustin, he said those words. She was a stray dog. She tricked us into getting some food and shelter. SHE WAS THE MONSTER."

Lucas was taken aback, and tears started streaming down his eyes. Fuck me sideways, he was actually crying. I had a sinking feeling inside my stomach. But I trudged on, I needed to vent my frustration. Someone whispered in my ears, 'It's not him, you did this.'

The voice echoed, 'She killed herself to protect you because you made her fall in love with you. You took away her survival instinct.'

A tsunami came crashing down and swept me away. I started shaking as tears came down from my eyes. I often wondered how much we could cry before we ran out of tears. I would get the answer before the end of the day. As I said, the classroom was a temple of knowledge and learning.

"Well, food Lucas? When was the last time she ate? What food did she eat, Lucas?" Lucas didn't have an answer. I wanted to choke the life out of him. Dustin suddenly looked back towards his bag that rested on the floor. It had some pudding inside it. FUCK.

I kept venting, "You know something? Even death-row convicts get their last meal. The only thing she had were Eggos, this morning. And even then, she left it behind to save us."

The same voice whispered in my ear, 'You believe she's dead now? Good, accept the fact. She's never coming back.'

The ghost kept laughing in a hoarse voice inside my soul as I almost fell down.

"Please God, please bring her back." My prayer was not heard because God had already made a deal with Fate. I still had some tears left, and I was letting them out as fast as I could. They came streaming down through an opened floodgate and proceeded to wet my t-shirt. My words entered my ears like boiling water. "ELEVEN wanted some food Lucas, just some Eggos. We give more food to our dog, Lucas. We even took the bowl away from her."

'She was a stray dog, she was never going to stay.' The fucking voice was getting on my nerves now.

I remembered the day I was pissed off at her for telling lies about Will being alive. I was a fool to doubt her. She was right, and we were wrong all along. But that's how it was supposed to be, right? Losers are supposed to fuck up every damn time. Otherwise, the word wouldn't hold any meaning. I remembered giving her a waffle that I had sneaked in earlier. Was it out of compassion? Like how we would often give food to a stray dog? She didn't care. She grabbed it and started eating while listening to my verbal abuse. If she had even one ounce of dignity, she would've thrown that waffle away. But she didn't throw it. She kept munching the soggy leftover with tears in her eyes.

"Survival of the fittest. Animals never care about dignity." Mr. Clarke's voice rang from the pedestal. Where was that fucking instinct when she sacrificed herself tonight? Darwin was an idiot, an A-grade asshole.

Why did she come into my life? Why couldn't she just stay back in the lab? She would be safe, and I'd be oblivious but happy.

"And home, Lucas? Shelter? I left her back in the quarry that night. Still, she found her way back. You guys brought her back, didn't you? Why did you? WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST LEAVE HER THERE?" I screamed as my voice broke.

Dustin looked at me in disgust. But Lucas probably knew how I was feeling. He locked his gaze to the ground.

"Yes Lucas, she was a dog. A stray dog who wanted some food and some shelter. Who you could kick as many times as you want and still she'll come back because she yearned for some food, a shelter, and some affection. And like every stray dog out there, she got run over by a car while trying to save her master. END OF STORY." I screamed out the last words. It wasn't aimed at Lucas. It was aimed at the figure standing in front of me.

Fate was standing in front of me, ticking boxes on a piece of paper.

'Kill an innocent girl for no crime of her own?' Checked.

'Give her a taste of happiness before she died?' Checked.

'Make sure Mike Wheeler can't love again?' Checked.

'Fuck Mike Wheeler's life up?' Double Checked.

'What else?'

Then I remembered another question about Eleven. Did Lucas and Dustin know that she was the monster? There should be no doubts left in their minds because when she killed it, she also disappeared alongside it. If that wasn't a glaring proof, then I didn't know what could be. Maybe how she freakishly bled from her nose all the time should've given away her identity?

Then I touched my face. It was almost dry. Yay, I had discovered the crying capacity of Humans. I was going to get a Nobel Prize. Then I looked at Dustin and Lucas and saw the devastation that I had caused. It was too late to take back my words, but I didn't care. I was fucking pissed off at everything and everyone. I wanted to end everything. I wanted to blow this building to smithereens. I wanted..., with a crushing feeling I realized, I wanted Eleven back. I wanted my friend.

I wanted that weirdo who would stay in a tent made of blankets and pretend that it was a palace.

I wanted that freak who would bleed from her nose because she moved a truck with her mind.

I wanted that monster who would kill a dozen enemies to save her friends.

I wanted that anomaly that could find people just by looking at their photos.

I wanted that fool who would eat Eggos for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I wanted that idiot who would allow a complete loser like Mike Wheeler to kiss her and then smile as if he was her world.

I wanted her back, with all her flaws and all her oddities, because she made me feel complete. Good lord, I was crying again.

Lucas was crying too. I'd never seen him cry for so long before. I'd never seen him surrender, but his streak came to an end. Mike Wheeler beat Lucas Sinclair in a verbal battle. Dustin was too shocked to even react. He just stared at us as pain streaked through his face. I scooped some ash up and got up. "Let's get out before the police arrive."

I left Lucas and Dustin there all by themselves. I didn't need them anymore. They couldn't help me. They couldn't erase these memories that were crushing my heart in an iron grip.

"Mike!"

A brief ripple spread through my consciousness and nearly knocked me over. Was..., was that El? Great, the voice in my mind sounded like Eleven now. I went out to glaring lights and surrendered myself to the police.

A/N: This is the first story that I published and there is plenty of material that got left out. So I am doing a complete rewrite while keeping the core concept intact.
The first chapter may read like a lot of ranting, but that's a heartbroken thirteen year old boy who had just lost his first love. As we move forward, the writing style will change dramatically to indicate his acceptance of his loss and also the sheer determination to find El no matter what it takes.