"Are you sure you're going to be okay, Eleven? I really don't have to leave, you know that, don't you?"
"Yes. I'll be okay. You have to do work and work is important."
El stood in the kitchen with Hopper, clad in light pink pajamas and socks that didn't match. It was a night in late May, the time of year where it was not quite spring and not quite summer, either. Around 7 PM, the chief, along with his telekinetic teenaged daughter, had just finished eating some mediocre pot roast (El didn't verbally complain, but her all-too-obvious facial expressions confirmed Hopper's shaky cooking skills).
Hopper was accosted with a problematic situation that night. He had been working on a case at the station, and it needed to be finished by the next morning. He realized that he had no choice but to head up to the station and stick it out for the first good half of the night. The prospect of leaving Eleven alone past dark, however, worried him.
"What if you get scared, or have a nightmare? I don't want you wetting your bed again, and I especially don't want you to try and run away."
"Haven't had a nightmare in two months. And I would never run away. Scarier outside than inside." The reply did little to lessen Hopper's uneasiness.
"I don't know, kid, maybe I'll just have to let this case go."
"No! I will be fine. Comfortable by myself. I've been alone before."
Hopper leaned against the kitchen wall, contemplating what to do for what seemed like forever. El's more responsible than she was a year ago, and nothing bad could happen, right? Wrong, a shit-ton of bad things could happen. But she seems really intent on me doing my job and she knows what to do in every situation and she can always call me, right?
He brought his gaze, which was fixed on the front door, back to El.
"You have to promise me to call me if there's anything, and I mean anything, wrong. I don't care if you think you can handle it yourself, your ass is grass if you don't call me first."
El, sensing the tension, laid her tiny hand on Hopper's clenched fist.
"I will. Promise."
His expression relaxed a little. "I'll be home around 2 at the latest. And be in bed by 9, no exceptions."
"Okay."
With that affirmative, Hopper headed to his room for his boots, put at ease but still with a feeling of apprehension at the back of his mind. When he went back into the kitchen to get his keys, El was sitting on the couch in the living room, already lost in a soap opera.
"Kid, at least give me a proper goodbye."
"Oh, sorry," El mumbled as she got up from her comfy spot and gave Hopper a hug, meant to be quick because she wanted to get back to her show. However, he held on a little bit longer than usual, and El could feel his anxiety persisting.
She pulled back and looked at him straight on. "Don't worry about me. I will be okay."
"Are you absolutely sure?"
"Yes."
Slowly, Hopper opened the front door and stepped outside. He looked back at El in the doorway.
"And remember, never answer the door-"
"For anyone except you," El finished.
With that, El closed and locked the door while Hopper made his way to his truck. She watched as he drove away, the red beam from the taillights getting smaller, smaller, and eventually unseeable.
After briefly admiring the last few moments of that evening's sunset, El plopped back down in the living room and resumed watching her soap opera. When it was over, El saw that it was almost 9, so she resolved to get ready for bed. She already had her pajamas on from earlier; she liked to change into them as early as Hopper would let her. El enjoyed being comfortable and was not one for restraining or tight clothing. Not that she'd be allowed to wear anything like that, anyway. Gazing at her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her teeth, El admired the way she was beginning to look...different. Although just fourteen, she had already noticed a number of things changing. With a combination of proper nutrition and, well, puberty, her delicate features were more noticeable, her voice was less like a kid's, and her body had begun to take on a more curvaceous frame. El had no problems with this. She liked that she was often able to say, "Pretty," as she looked at herself in the mirror with full confidence.
After showering and putting back on her pajamas, El was tired and frankly wanted nothing else but to sleep. So, she sauntered to her bedroom and wasted no time getting under her blankets. Lying her head on her pillow, listening to the gentle hum of the air conditioning, her body and mind began to feel heavier..heavier..heavier...and just like that she was asleep.
That night, the first thunderstorm of the year took place in Hawkins. Whether or not it triggered El's nightmare, not even she knew for sure. But what was certain was that she did not deserve this dream.
Nor does anyone.
When the dream began, the first thing she saw was the bleak, greyish stone lining the hallway she was in. Feeling the cold floor beneath her bare feet, El knew exactly where she was.
Two men dressed in white were taking her somewhere, but she didn't know where. They were walking fast, and she had to almost run for her tiny legs to keep up. As they turned the corner, she saw Papa standing at the end of the hallway. He looked angry.
Why is he angry? Is he angry at me? El thought. Her heart rate begun to pick up. Her palms were sweating.
By the time they reached the tall, white-haired man, El could now fully see his expression of pure, utter rage.
He looked down at the terrified girl with piercing, snakelike eyes. She was shaking now.
"You have not done well, Eleven. You have not proven yourself worthy to us. I have no choice but to punish you."
"Papa, why?" He took hold of her arm, nails digging into her skin. "What did I do? What did I do?" He started dragging her down another darker, narrower hallway. Panicking now, she began to scream. "PAPA! WHAT DID I DO? PLEASE, PAPA, WHY, WHY, WHY?!"
El continued screaming, eyes blurred with tears, as they continued toward a door at the end of the hallway. Though she couldn't see anything behind it, El had a vile feeling in her stomach that took her to point of nausea. Something horrible was going to happen to her.
When Dr. Brenner opened the door, the room was dimly lit. A chair sat in the center, hooked up to many machines that were unfamiliar to El. As they got closer, she noticed the leather straps attached meant to hold down someone's forearms and ankles. Her panic grew to terror when she saw another strap right where her neck would be.
"Sit." With the two men from earlier lining the doorway, El had no other option. Even with her powers, escape would be impossible. Her entire body trembling, she hoisted herself onto the chair. It was ice cold, only making her shivering worse.
As Papa began fastening the straps, she looked at her surroundings. In front of her was a large glass window, looking into another room. The walls and floor were grey, like hers, but the similarity stopped there.
The other room had brighter lights than El's. As she peered through the glass, she noticed a table, two normal chairs, a door near the back, and a machine meant to read brain waves. Her heart stopped, though, when she saw the can of Coca-Cola on the edge the table.
Is Papa going to make me crush the can again, except this time from where I'm sitting? Why is it in another room? Why do I have to look through the glass? Is he going to hurt me again? Why, why, why, is he angry? What will he do to me?
Her mental stream of unanswered questions halted when she saw the door in the other room open.
Through it came two people, a man dressed in white, exactly like the ones guarding her own door, and Will Byers.
"WILL! WILL!" El screamed at the tops of her lungs. But Will couldn't hear her; the glass was soundproof. And it looked like he couldn't even see her, either. He didn't even glance in her direction. El realized, with horror, that it was one-way glass.
Dr. Brenner tightened the strap against El's neck so that she could barely breathe, let alone move her head. His gleaming, furious eyes burned into her petrified ones. "I'm going to explain this once and once only. You must not try to break free. You must watch. If you look away or close your eyes-"
He then took two metal objects, attached to one of the machines, and pressed them to El's temples. "You will be electrocuted."
El's mind immediately flashbacked to her mother, wide-eyed on a hospital bed. She saw Papa say, with not one trace of remorse, "four-fifty." Her mother's body violently convulsed and her eyes screamed silently.
Feeling the freezing metal on her skin, El felt every single muscle in her body stiffen. Her heart was beating so hard, she was convinced it would tear apart her chest. Her thoughts were no longer coherent and her entire brain was paralyzed with fear.
All he had to do was turn a knob and push a button, and El was dead. Or, worse, mentally obliterated. Just like her mother.
What the hell did she have to watch?
The question was answered when she saw Dr. Brenner go into the room with Will. He ordered him to sit in one of the chairs. Will was in a similar state as Eleven, confused and completely terrified. Sitting in the other chair, Papa fastened a device that encircled Will's head and allowed a machine to read his brain activity. It was the exact same one he used on El when he made her crush the Coke can. She realized what was about to happen when she saw him say something to Will. She couldn't hear through the soundproof glass, but from reading his lips and watching Will's eyes grow even bigger, El knew.
Papa wanted Will to crush the can, just like she had.
But, he can't. He doesn't have powers. Why are they making him do this?
El watched as Dr. Brenner leaned in close to Will and said something else. Tears began to stream down the boy's face and it looked as if he had never been more frightened. Even after all his experiences with the Upside Down and the Shadow Monster.
El's shivering intensified.
Papa came back into El's room to observe Will. Gazing at her trembling limbs with a cold, emotionless expression, he reminded her. "Remember what happens if you don't watch."
Feeling tears roll down the frigid skin of her cheeks, El blinked and looked at Will.
His eyes were closed, and he was concentrating hard. He reached out his arm toward the can. Why is he even trying? Doesn't he know he can't do it?
Quietly, El asked Papa a question, dreading the answer.
"Papa, what happens if he doesn't crush it?"
The man turned to El and gave her an inhuman smile, one that showed in his mouth but not in his eyes. "Foolish girl. Don't you know better?"
El swallowed.
"He will be disciplined accordingly."
El didn't think her feeling of panic was able to get any worse, but somehow, it heightened.
Will can't move it! He can't! Oh, God, oh, God, what will they do to him?
She watched as Will put every ounce of his effort into trying to crush the can. It devastated her, seeing him try so hard and knowing it was hopeless.
Suddenly, an eager, urgent idea came to her mind.
I can crush it myself!
She almost attempted this immediately, but another thought disturbed her.
What if I get a nosebleed and Papa notices?
El, realized, though, this was the only thing she could do. She had to help her friend.
Channeling all her anxiety into an intense concentration, she focused on the can. She directed all of her bodily energy toward the object. Then, she cleared her mind and willed the can to crush. And...
Nothing.
The red can of cola sat on the edge of the table, undisturbed.
She tried again, harder this time.
Still nothing. It was almost mocking her now.
El took in a shaky inhale and attempted to crush the stupid, stupid can one more time.
"Eleven, what are you doing?"
She stopped and peered up at Dr. Brenner's beady eyes.
"You know, Eleven, if you try to help anyone in completing this task, I have reason to punish you."
He pressed the cold metal against the girl's temples, hard. Her breath caught in her throat and she looked utterly petrified.
Dr. Brenner paused a moment, reveling in the power he had over this helpless girl, and removed the electrodes.
"If I catch you doing that again, you know what will happen."
El had to bite her tongue in order to not cry out in sheer terror. The taste of blood filled her mouth.
She could do nothing now.
What is Papa going to do to Will?
The poor Byers boy was now, seemingly, mentally exhausted. He had used up every bit of energy he had, and it was evident he would not able to do what Dr. Brenner wanted. He stared at the can, powerless.
Dr. Brenner exhaled. He turned for the door, headed for Will's room. But before he could leave, he turned around at looked at El. "There are cameras recording you from every angle. If you are seen looking away or closing your eyes, I will be notified immediately."
El saw a number of things, one on top of another, after Papa closed the door and left her room. One, she looked up and finally noticed the cameras on her. Papa wasn't lying, they could see her from every direction. Two, she saw him enter Will's room. And three,
She saw Dr. Brenner wheel in a chair identical to the one she was sitting in.
The man, so much taller than Will, began speaking to him. The boy's face was in such despair, El began to struggle to watch.
What happened next, though, turned her panic into complete hysteria.
Two men in white entered Will's room, carrying a machine, the same one Papa had used to threaten El. Almost no seconds later, they dragged Will onto the chair and secured the straps over his flailing limbs. El saw his mouth form a terrible, desperate scream.
"WILL! NO! PAPA, STOP! STOP, PAPA, PLEASE! PLEASE!"
Suddenly, El heard Will's screams join her own. But, the glass is soundproof! Why do I hear Will?
Then she saw it. A speaker was on the wall in front of her, projecting the sounds of the other room. El could hear Will, but he couldn't hear her. This was purposeful, for it made El's punishment worse. She did not only have to watch her friend be tortured, but she had to hear him, too.
Will's screams became more shrill when Dr. Brenner placed two metal electrodes on his temples. El could do nothing as vulnerable, defenseless Will prepared for excruciating pain.
"NO! NO! PLEASE!" Will shrieked. El's lips trembled as she cried out again, "PAPA, STOP!" even though no one could hear her.
"Four-thirty."
El's and Will's screams were now echoing each other as El watched a man in white turn the dial.
A feeling of extreme nausea entered her body as she wailed, "NO!" The man pressed a button and a red light came on.
The sound that came from Will was unable to be described in any way other than pure agony. His whole body shook, the chair underneath him rattled the floor. El opened her mouth in a howl, tears flooding from her eyes. Every part of her wanted so badly to look away, but she knew what would happen then. So she watched Will with complete horror as vomit came up her throat.
By the time they were finished and began wheeling Will out, El's voice was hoarse from screaming and the front half of her gown was covered in sick. She wanted all of this to be over, she wanted to leave. Why haven't they released her? Haven't they done enough?
Evidently, not enough for Dr. Brenner.
He came back into El's room. Despite her state, he began to speak to her in a calm, chilling voice. "We have another person that we were planning on using for the same experiment. Unfortunately, he attempted to escape and even had the wits to try and attack me. So, I have no other choice but to punish him immediately. Your rules still apply."
El watched with dread as Papa left again. She stared at the door in the back of the other room.
Slowly, the door opened and El saw a flash of black hair.
No.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Not him.
Anyone but him.
El let out a piercing shriek that hurt her own ears as they echoed over the concrete walls.
Struggling against the hold of Papa and one of his assistants, was Mike Wheeler.
He was trying his hardest to break free, but the teenage boy did not have enough strength to escape the grip of two grown men. El could hear him through the speaker. Tears streamed down his face as he demanded, "Where is Eleven?! WHERE IS SHE?! TELL ME, YOU SON OF A BITCH, WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?"
Dr. Brenner didn't reply. El felt her heart shatter because Mike had absolutely no idea she was looking right at him. She could yell as loud as she wanted to, and it'd be no use.
With more difficulty this time, they got him into another chair. He fought Dr. Brenner and his assistant with full force, kicking and scratching his nails across any skin he could reach. Once he was secured, Papa wasted no time in preparing the electrodes.
"MIKE! NO!"
El could barely breathe as she watched the boy she loved so dearly be in such distress. I can't do this.
She then heard Papa's voice, and it sent a chill up her spine. "Four-forty."
It was too much for El. Not caring about the consequences, she shut her eyes tight and turned her head as far as she could away. She wanted to cover her ears, but the straps restrained her from doing so.
She'd rather die than see this happen to Mike.
When the screaming began, El tried to make hers louder so she didn't have to hear him. The sound of Mike in agony was the worst thing El had ever heard. El wailed, eyes closed, bruised neck fighting against the strap to turn away.
It seemed like forever until it stopped. El kept her eyes shut, still yelping and in utter emotional torment. She heard the door open and Papa's footsteps got closer, closer, until he was standing at her side. As she heard his assistant enter, Papa spoke.
"You did not listen to my orders, Eleven. I have no choice."
She felt the cold metal pressed against her temples as she let out one last guttural scream.
"Four-fifty."
El woke up, screaming so loud it shook her bedroom. Books fell off their shelf and the lightbulb in her lamp exploded into a million pieces. A flash of lightning illuminated her surroundings.
Her sheets were soaked with sweat and urine. Looking at the clock on her nightstand, she saw it was 12:23 A.M.
El felt her room begin to close in around her. She couldn't breathe. Her throat felt like it was getting smaller, allowing less and less air to enter her lungs. Her chest and head throbbed in pain. She was still screaming.
The only thing that stopped her screams was when she stood up and vomited on her bedroom floor. After throwing up everything inside of her, El collapsed on the carpet and began to sob, laying in the fetal position. Barely able to think coherently, she remembered that Hopper wasn't there. She was completely alone.
She had to call him, right now.
After getting up with shaky limbs, El ran to the kitchen, still sobbing. She was barely able to dial Hopper's phone number because her hands were trembling uncontrollably. She picked up the telephone and pressed it to her ear, thinking, please pick up. But, to her dismay, all she heard from the phone was a dull beep.
No. It can't be. Not now.
A tree near El's house had been struck by lightning and had fallen onto a telephone wire, cutting her connection.
She sunk back into the kitchen wall, beside herself. Why this night?
She couldn't call Hopper or anyone for that matter. She couldn't leave; going out in a thunderstorm at night would only worsen her situation. There was nothing left to do.
Wait.
The thought flooded to her brain urgently. My Super-Com.
She sprinted back to her bedroom for her only hope of communication. Walkie-talkies still worked in storms.
And sure, it was true that Hopper had always been there for El when she had nightmares. But on those nights, when she woke up crying or screaming, her chest always ached for someone more.
And at this point, there was no doubt that she needed him more than ever.
She pressed the side button and attempted to form words over her hyperventilation. "M-m-m-Mike. Mike?"
No answer.
"M-m-MIKE!"
She waited a few seconds, her vision blurring with tears.
"El, what's going on? Where are you? Are you safe? Please, God, tell me you're safe."
It was extremely difficult for El to speak, but she managed to get out, "At ho-home. S-s-safe. But n-not okay. Help please."
At the heartbreaking sound of El's voice, Mike replied instantaneously. "Stay where you are, El. I'm coming."
Mike knew it was storming, but he didn't take the thirty extra seconds for a raincoat or umbrella. He didn't even throw a jacket over his pajamas. He sprinted down his staircase, flew through the front door, and took off on his bike.
100 feet in, he was already drenched. But he didn't care. El needed him.
He was pedaling so fast that he briefly thought he may crash, but that didn't keep him from trying to go even faster. He started to panic, thinking of El's shaky words on the super-com. He knew from the sound of her voice that it was a nightmare, but it sounded like it had completely traumatized her. And, where was Hopper?
Meanwhile, El sat again on her bedroom floor, hugging her knees to her chest. Please, Mike. Just get here. She was so overwhelmed with grief that she was sure she couldn't hold on for any longer.
Mike threw his bike into the muddy yard outside El's house, not caring what would happen to it. He went to open the front door, but it was locked. Frantically, he pounded his fist against the rain-soaked wood. "El, it's Mike!"
When El opened the door, Mike didn't ask any questions. He didn't even say anything. He just took the two steps it took to reach her and wrapped his arms around her, enveloping El in a hold that almost immediately began to shake violently with her sobs. Partly because his intuition told him that the only thing El needed was for him to hold her, and partly because he couldn't bear to see her beautiful face stained with tears.
Trying to calm her down, he began tracing patterns on her back with his fingers, using his other hand to stroke her hair. It helped only a little; El was still making horrible noises that sounded like she had captured all the pain and suffering in the world. She sunk her head into Mike's chest, trembling.
To say that it upset Mike, seeing El in this much pain, was an understatement. It broke him. It hurt every bone in his body. It made him want to do vile, unspeakable things to anyone who had inflicted suffering on her. It made him miserable, but it also made him angry. Out of any human on the planet, El didn't deserve her past. She was the sweetest, warmest, most loving person Mike had ever known. Why was she rewarded with horrible nightmares and flashbacks? It's not fair, he thought to himself. She of all people should not have to go through this.
After a long while, El's sobs gradually resided into sniffles. Squeezing her gently, Mike kissed the top of her head. "Nightmare, right?"
Looking up at him, El noticed the tears quietly running down Mike's cheeks. The sight made her heart ache. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she nodded.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Later. Please...hold me."
So he did. Mike encircled her shivering body with his arms, tighter this time, and pressed his face into her shoulder. Rubbing her back in small circles, he did everything in his power to comfort this girl who he loved more than life itself. He would hold her for a hundred years if that's what it took.
El buried her face into Mike's t-shirt and took in his scent. The familiar aroma of honey, Tide detergent, and a hint of cinnamon finally began to calm her.
The two stayed like that, wrapped in each other's arms, for a long time. When El was ready, she took Mike's hand and led him to the living room. They sat down together on the couch and Mike took El's hands in his. "Look, if you aren't ready to talk about this, you don't have to. I don't want you to if it's going to make things worse."
Hearing him speak so gently, El felt a surge of affection for Mike. He had dropped everything, biked to her house in the pouring rain, and was there for her at 1:00 in the morning without any hesitation. And now, he didn't care if he knew the reason she was in pain.
"No, I want to." As difficult as it was, El found that talking about her nightmares helped distance herself from them, a way of confirming they weren't real.
After a few moments, El spoke again. "It...it was the worst one."
Mike rubbed his thumb over El's palm, a small but oh-so-comforting gesture. "Ever?"
"Yes, ever."
Their eyes met for a few seconds, and Mike's expression told El: you don't have to do this.
But she had to. She had to make peace with it, and the only way to do so was to get it out there.
"Papa...he put me in this chair, strapped me down...and...he made...he made me..."
El took a moment to steady her breathing. Mike squeezed her hand.
"He made me watch Will...get...get tortured. And if I looked away he told me he'd do the same thing to me."
Mike felt his heart break. Trying to stay strong for El, he swallowed the lump forming in his throat.
"And...and t-then..he made me w-w-watch...y-you."
Fighting back tears, Mike put his arm around El and pulled her closer, wanting so badly to shelter her from every bad thing in the world.
"B-but Mike. I couldn't. I couldn't watch. So he came to me and he was about to shock me and...I woke up."
El couldn't stop the flow of tears that had been threatening to spill over her cheeks. She broke down. Collapsing onto Mike's chest again, she briefly wondered if it were possible for a human to run out of tears.
Gently rocking her back and forth, Mike spoke softly in her ear. "It's okay, El. I'm here. You're safe now. I will never, ever let anyone or anything hurt you. I promise."
When Mike said that, El felt so much undeniable, deep love for him that she felt all of her grief fade away, at least for the moment. She couldn't stop herself from pulling back and pressing her lips to his in a long, anguished, passionate kiss. There was absolutely no way she would be able to live without him.
When they pulled away, Mike and El stared into each other's eyes. They were only fourteen going-on-fifteen, but their relationship was no ordinary teenage puppy-love. They had a timeless, deep connection that rendered the two completely enamored with one another. If either tried to explain it to an adult, they would laugh and shrug it off, saying that the kids "didn't know any better". But Mike and El knew that, put simply, no one else truly understood how it felt to love someone so much it hurts, so much that you'd be willing to die for them without any hesitation.
Mike brought El into a hug and kissed her on the forehead, making her feel warm and so, so safe. He was her home and she was his.
"I love you so much, El."
"I love you, too, Mike."
And, done! Please let me know what you think, I'm new to this and would really appreciate some feedback. Also, should I continue the story and tell how Hopper gets back and the aftermath? Let me know. Thanks for reading!