So, I've been tossing this idea around in my head for a while now. I absolutely adore Stranger Things and Life is Strange. They're amazing. It wasn't until after I'd finished binge-watching ST2 that this idea came to mind. But I gotta change some details to make my vision a reality. So,

1) The events of Life is Strange will have occurred in 1987 instead of 2013. All will be explained why throughout the story.

2) I'm purposely setting the end of ST2 (in 1984) and the end of LiS three years apart for the sake of age differences. I'd prefer the characters of ST to be closer to Max and Chloe's age.

3) The story itself starts two weeks after the end of LiS on October 25th, 1987 following the prologue.

These are the only details I can officially express right now, but things may change. So work with me here, okay?

September 21st, 1971

Hawkins, Indiana

10:43 pm.

Two lab doors came crashing open, creating a loud 'bang' that echoed through the corridors. Lights along the walls flashed yellow in one second intervals and an alarm blared its warning to everyone in the building that something was going on. A man and a woman propelled themselves through the door. The woman hurriedly pushed the doors shut once they were through and the man assisted her in locating something to barricade them with. They used a desk from a nearby office, forcing it against the wall.

"Where's the exit?" the woman asked. She glanced up every hallway and reached down to feel the messenger bag hanging at her hip to make sure nothing was broken.

The man adjusted the sleeping toddler in his arms, swallowing thickly. "Two floors down. There's an exit down the hall from the staircase."

"Which staircase do we take?"

Suddenly, they heard something, or someone, trying to ram through the barricaded doors.

"We know you're out there! Stop running!" a voice demanded.

"Shit, shit!" the man swore under his breath. He looked down the left hallway and pointed. "This way, come on!"

The duo took off. Their shoes made loud slapping sounds against the tile as they ran, pushing themselves to put as much distance between them and the soldiers and scientists pursuing them as possible.

"Here." the woman stopped, gesturing to the door with a sign that read 'staircase' above it.

They hurriedly shoved themselves through the doorway just as they heard the doors back where they came from break from the hinges. They made their way down the stairs, skipping steps to make their escape faster. They reached the second floor, rounded the corner to descend to the first, and-

"Stop right there!"

Their faces were illuminated from the flashlight on the soldier's gun. They squinted against the beam and took a step back, the man tightening his hold on the toddler. She was still soundly asleep thanks to the anesthesia he injected her with. The woman held up her hands.

"Let us through." the man demanded, his expression hardening.

"You know we can't do that, Ryan."

Another man came around the corner, his hands folded behind his back and facial expression blank as he looked up at them from beside the soldier. His white hair was a bit tousled, his clothes slightly unkempt. The only signs that was under stress about this situation.

"What you're doing to these kids are wrong, Brenner." the woman piped up. She dropped her hands and stared him down. "They aren't guinea pigs, or aliens. They are children. They deserve a normal life."

"Other children can't do the things they can." Brenner took a step up. "They are far from having any kind of normal life. You're aware of this, Vanessa."

"That doesn't give you the right to keep them locked up in this place." Ryan argued.

"I will not discuss with you how I run my laboratory." Brenner's voice was tense. He was growing impatient. "Give me the child."

"Over our dead bodies."

Vanessa came down the stairs and, before anyone could react, struck Brenner across the face with her fist. Ryan was right behind her, stepping up to the soldier and swiping his feet out from under him. Brenner stumbled back against the wall and Vanessa took the initiative to grab the gun from the soldier before he could recover. She stood in front of Ryan as they backed out of reach, aiming the gun at Brenner.

"You will not follow us." she stated, her voice strict. "You will let us leave."

"You're not going anywhere." Brenner chuckled.

Vanessa pointed the gun just above Brenner's ear and fired without warning. Brenner flinched and ducked away from the shot, though the bullet still clipped his ear before burrowing into the wall behind him. His hand came up and brushed over the shell of his ear, pulling away coated in a thin layer of blood.

Vanessa glared at him, signaling for Ryan to go first. He hesitated only a second before continuing down the stairs and into the final level. Vanessa followed after him, not taking the gun off of Brenner until she was through the door. She nearly crashed into Ryan when she turned around. He sighed in relief, seeing she was safe, and nodded down the hallway. She returned his nod and followed him, her gun armed at the ready. The child in his arms stirred a bit. The anesthesia was going to wear off soon.

They turned the corner and their stride picked up when they saw the exit. Vanessa hurriedly took out her ID card and scanned it to unlock the door. She held it open for Ryan and the two fled to the parking lot nearby. They approached the first car and Vanessa busted the window open, reaching in to unlock the doors. They climbed in, Ryan settling the child securely in the back seat.

"They reached the parking lot! All units head to the gate now!" a man barked into his walkie talkie, glaring at the security footage before him. He could hear the thunderous pounding of the soldiers' boots as they stormed through the building to get to the gate.

"No. Let them go."

The man looked up from the cameras to find Brenner standing in the doorway with a soldier by his side, holding a bloody tissue to his ear. The man straightened up, raising an eyebrow.

"Sir?"

"Do as I say."

The man stared at him for another second before turning back to the intercom, pressing the button down. "All units stand down. I repeat, stand down." And the thundering slowed to a stop.

The man moved his chair back as Brenner approached the cameras, watching the car on screen come to life and peel out of the parking space towards the gate. He watched a hand come out to scan the ID and the gate opened to let them out. And they were gone.

Vanessa headed down the dark alleyway, her knuckles white as she gripped the steering wheel a little too tightly. Ryan, in the meantime, was going through the messenger bag now at his feet. He pulled out one of the many vials that took up the main compartment.

"If we use them sparingly, they should last us a long time." he said, looking at his wife.

"And if they don't?" Vanessa croaked. Her throat was dry out of fright.

"Don't worry about that." Ryan said. "I spoke to Jenn the other day. She'll get us anything we need for as long as she can."

"Are you sure we can trust her?"

"She wants those kids out of there as much as we do. She'll help us."

Ryan glanced back at the girl slumped over onto the door in the backseat, his brow creased. "We'll have to change our names. We can't stay 'Telle' anymore."

"We'll figure that out later. Right now, we need to get somewhere safe." Vanessa said as she turned down another back road.

Ryan looked down at the girl's arm. His heart broke a bit when he saw the 'M4X' branded on her wrist. They'd also have to figure out how to explain that to her if they couldn't get it off her skin. But how? He turned back around to face the road ahead, his fingers tapping against his knee absently.

M4X. He thought. He smiled to himself. Max.

She'd never know it, but this was the best birthday present they ever could have given her.

So, this story will just exist for now as a mini side project that I'll be using for whenever I get my daily dose of writer's block. I have other stories to work on (and I know I'm piling things on to my already full plate but if I don't write and publish it now, then I never will) so don't expect too much too soon. I'll be lucky if I can get through this story.

But I thank you guys so much for reading! If you liked it, be sure to give it a follow/favorite/review! I hope to see you guys somewhere in the future with a new chapter!

CaptainVampireKing awaaay!