Hawkins Arcade- 2:12 PM

Mike hopped off his bike as he pulled up alongside the sizable Hawkins Arcade, spotting Lucas, Will and Dustin impatiently waiting at the entrance. He spotted Dustin standing with his hands placed on his hips, looking at him with a half-smile.

"You're twelve minutes late" Dustin informed him as he reached them, to which Mike shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'm not always right with bike ride arrival estimates" he proclaimed. "And it's just twelve minutes. Not a big deal".

"Come on, dude" Lucas groaned, "you even made up the time!"

Mike found himself often irritated with Lucas's stubbornness, but he accepted it long ago. As long as Lucas existed, stubbornness would remain a large presence in the group itself. Mike even hypothesized that Lucas's middle name could be "stubborn".

"Come on" Will unexpectedly intervened, being the reasonable one of the group. "We came here to play some games, not argue".

The group considered his words in silence for a moment, nodding in agreement.

"Will's right" Dustin confirmed, "We're here to play some sweet ass arcade games, not fight. Well, except on the new Punch-Out machine..."

"You're kidding!" Mike exclaimed. "They have Punch-Out now!?"

Dustin gave a somewhat excited thumbs up, knowing the group would be hoarded around that lone game machine the entirety of their visit. Although he enjoyed their time together, he really hated the conflicts that were due to come with it.

The group proceeded with excitement; an excitement they retained even through the harsh, dark, confusing time known as November. When they were together, it somehow made them feel so much stronger; like they could face the concept of an alternate reality with open arms.

They rushed to the brand new "Punch-Out" machine; the only one lacking their usual energy being Will. Now, he was never the most outrageous of the group, but he certainly wasn't the same as they approached the new video game. After being stuck in the Upside-Down, he would never be the same...

He experienced a strange occurrence back in November in which he seemed to vomit a slug into the bathroom sink. It continued scratching away at his patience, although he refused to directly address it. It bothered him too much to look it in the eye.

Will also never bothered to inform his parents of the bizarre event, as he figured his mother had worried far too much already. The possibility of such events occurring again or even worsening had crossed his mind many times already, which only worsened his mental state.

"Mike and Lucas first!" Dustin suggested, which the group accepted as a good opening match.

As the match commenced and eventually went on to be a win for Mike, the figure of a well-known police officer appeared at the entrance to the arcade before wandering inside and stumbling upon a celebrating Mike in front of the arcade machine.

The group then spotted him, turning their attention to him as they held their spare change in their hands.

"Officer Hopper" Dustin exclaimed in shock, "what are you doin' at the arcade?"

Officer Hopper rubbed his chin, looking over the children as if he were trying to tell if they had done any wrong. Ever since the startling events of November, Officer Hopper had been suspicious of anything and everything. Nothing seemed to evade his piercing yet sluggish gaze and powerful skepticism.

"'Was stoppin' by to get some pizza next door for the officers back at the station. Saw your bikes outside... you kids aren't up to anything, are you?"

The kids looked around at each other, careful not to say anything to draw more of Hopper's attention.

"Just playing some... games" Mike answered, gesturing to the arcade machine.

Hopper nodded, narrowing his eyes at the arcade machine for no clear reason. One of Hopper's worst, most nagging fears was the possibility that the lab still hasn't gotten rid of the portal. The police station made them promise that the portal would be gone within a week or two, and that they'd find some way to close it. He, of course, still had his suspicions, and feared any possibility of there being another portal...

"Games ruin your brain" Hopper told the children, attempting to sound knowledgable.

"So does alcohol" Lucas retorted, drawing a dirty look from the chief.

"Watch your mouth" he said, pointing at the child. "Didn't your parents ever teach you respect?"

Lucas shrugged casually.

"It's just a suggestion, Chief".

Hopper purses his lips, moving on in the conversation. He knew the children had firsthand knowledge of this threatening alternate dimension, so he always made sure to keep them on his watch. Perhaps if something happened regarding... well, unknown methods of crime... they'd be first on his list.

"I'll leave ya' to your game, but you kids remember: anything weird happens, you know the number".

"What's the number for 911?" Dustin asked jokingly, elbowing Lucas and Mike in attempt to gain amusement, to no avail.

Officer Hopper glared at him with a serious expression, apparently in no mood for any type of laughter or jokes.

"Oh, come on!" Dustin groaned in his usual toothy voice. "It's a joke! You know... sarcasm? Satire?"

The silence continued on as Dustin sighed once more, turning back to the arcade system with an exasperated expression.

"Well, good luck with the pizza" Mike said genuinely although the ending sounded much like a question, to which Hopper tilts his head upwards, signaling something similar to a nod.

"Call us if anything happens" he repeated once more before turning and exiting the arcade. Hopper, although keeping the town at peace was his key job, hated days like those of the past few weeks; boring, slow, uneventful and forgettable. Perhaps this was to make up for the week of extreme eventfulness back in November; although he thought of that week as making up for the months and months of boredom prior to that. So, all in all, he wished for the best of both worlds. Some simple non-inter-dimensional trouble downtown would certainly suffice...

"Sorry Will" Lucas spoke. "I know he helped find you and all, but he's gotta be the weirdest cop I've ever known".

"Lucas" Mike responded. "He's the only cop you've ever really known".

Lucas blinked.

"Still, my point rings true. He's weird".

Dustin chuckled in agreement as they watched Hopper walk out of the arcade and back to his police car.

"I wish El was here" Dustin stated. "She was like our one man wrecking crew. Like our bodyguard or something".

"Yeah. We never had to worry about anyone hurting us. Not even Troy" Lucas replied, speaking of the classic school bully figure, Troy. Ever since his humiliation at the hands of Eleven as well as his broken arm, he had been a bit quiet at school; evading any sort of unnecessary attention. He was almost considered a joke of sorts by other pupils, aside from his loyal cronies.

"I miss her too" Mike said, "but I mean, there's no reason to think too much about it. We won't ever see her again" he added with strong hint of disappointment.

Dustin patted him on the back in encouragement.

"Oh, come on! She's basically a superhero! She'll be back sooner than you can say: "Oh, look! Eleven is back!"'.

Mike rolled his eyes, turning back to the arcade game, preparing to play Dustin in the second round.

"You are a master of comedy, Dustin" he muttered.

Although Mike wanted to believe he'd see El again, it just seemed impossible for him to set his mind on. After seeing her explode into nothing but mere ashes, the idea of ever feeling her presence again... well, it just vanquished itself from his mind.

As the others played the arcade game with all their attention focused, Will lingered a few feet behind them, drawing on his sketch pad that he seemed to carry around everywhere. Among his drawings that most considered "normal", there were more than a few that raised some eyebrows. Human corpses being devoured, skulls being crushed, shadowy figures, beastly creatures with bloody jaws and blunt, harrowing writings of his experiences; many thought to be exaggerated by him, or simply made up.

In one disturbing writing, Will wrote of seeing the death of another child while in the Upside-Down, describing the child's demise as:

Today, I woke up to the sounds of shrieks and the roar of the demogorgon. I kept quiet, but I couldn't help myself from looking out the window of my fort. She was nine, maybe ten. She was scared. More than scared. She was horrified. She was confused. She had no place to run, no place to hide. The Demogorgon was moving faster than she could crawl...

I've seen the Demogorgon's usual method of execution, and this was nothing like it. It seemed more hungry, more desperate... I can't explain why. I watched as it tore into her, ripped her, in all bluntness, in two. She choked on blood for a while until it put an end to her by ripping into her throat, but that was more than enough to nauseate me. I managed to keep quiet and hide my scent, but it killed me to see such grotesque violence right outside of my home of sorts...

The smell of the girl's blood and the sound of her horrified screams still will not leave.

However, in all likelihood, considering the demogorgon only stalked one town and only two people; Will and the teenage Barb went missing, there's not really any real chance of his graphic story being truthful. When others would ask Will about his story, he'd keep quiet, insisting that talking about it was "useless".

As they occupied the arcade, Will stared down at his current drawing with a concealed intrigue, eyeing the graphite-carven slug-like creature. He recalled the night he happened to vomit one into the bathroom sink, creating a whole new fear for him:

What happens next?


Meanwhile At The Lab...

Eleven sat quietly in the lone metallic chair in the small "makeshift interrogation room of sorts", eyeing the two scientists in front of her; Dr. Price, and Dr. Rogers. They stared back at her, noting nearly each and every one of her actions and words. Words, however, happened to be scarce.

"How did you survive in there?" Dr. Rogers asked for perhaps the hundredth time, although in a calm tone, to which Eleven holds her blank stare. She wrinkled her nose as she sniffed the air pointlessly, gazing up at the ceiling.

"For God's sake" Dr. Price abruptly moaned, "get on with it! Answer the damn questions!" he roared, shaking Eleven by her shoulders, to which she just looked back with emptiness.

"Calm down, Doctor!" Rogers strongly urged him, to which he, with a sigh, reluctantly followed. He sank back into his seat, rubbing the back of his head with an overwhelming frustration.

Dr. Rogers leaned a bit closer to Eleven, calmly speaking as he looked her in the eye.

"Now, Eleven. Can you please answer our questions?"

Eleven looks on before nodding nonchalantly, although neither doctor knew if it would prove to be the truth.

"Okay. Can you please tell us how you survived in there without food, water, or shelter for a month?" he questioned her with a level-head.

She unexpectedly smiled, looking upwards as if she were recalling something.

"Can't".

Dr. Price clenched his fists together as well as his jaw, beyond frustrated with the child.

"Why... can't... you?!" he asked her, becoming tiresome with it all.

Eleven stared straight ahead once more, the smile now quickly absent on her face as she glared seemingly straight into his soul.

"Can't" she repeated as if it were obvious, now seeming very serious and straightforward about it. From the way she spoke the word the second time, it almost jarred the doctors to the bone. She meant what she said. There's something holding her back...

"Do I have to go back in there to find out?" Dr. Price asked with a pinched expression, as if he expected her to give in.

Eleven shook her head, but didn't say a thing other than provide the simple gesture. She stared back at them with an equal intensity, not the least bit intimidated by Dr. Price and his somewhat aggressive demeanor.

"Experiment 011" Dr. Price spoke formally, suddenly shifting his approach. "We really, really, really need to know how you survived. And also... we need you to do something for us".

Eleven's attention was further captured as she glanced at him curiously.

"Need?" she asked in a quiet voice, recalling the last time she was "needed for something". The last time she was told that she was "needed" in the lab, she was forced to perform the horrific; opening a portal to the darkest of dimensions, in which she had experienced things no human... or any being for that matter, should ever have to experience.

"Yes" he spoke coarsely. "We need you. You know that portal?"

Her eyes darted back and forth between the two doctors, the word "portal" resounding inside of her. She had heard the word many times before while in the laboratory, and it seemed to spawn a new level of terror in her bones after hearing it repeated by Dr. Price. In fact, she felt like running away right then and there; but she held herself back, knowing her power, and knowing that these two doctors were not Brenner; her papa. She wouldn't hesitate to use her abilities in self defense...

"No" she whispered, unable to control her mouth. She quickly covered it, but it was far too late. She had ignited a spark in the doctor's interest.

"You do know" Dr. Price cackled, wiping his long hair away from his eyes as he stared ahead at her somewhat menacingly. "Well then, I don't even have to do any explaining, do I?"

She held her glare defiantly, ignoring her fear as she looked him dead in the eye. She knew the power she possessed, and she wasn't afraid to use it. She wasn't afraid.

"You wanna' know somethin' funny?" he asked her in a taunting tone, reaching into his pocket in a threatening manner. "I know what you're doing. You're waiting for me to slip up so you can kill me. Right? Oh, come on! Don't be silly, Eleven. We're gonna' do this the friendly way, right? No low blows..."

Eleven scooted back in her chair, as he approached her, taking a piece of cloth from his pants' pocket.

"You see this?" he asked, holding up the piece of cloth. "This is your kryptonite, isn't it? You don't know it, but it is. Trust me, kid... I've done my research. Now, answer my question. How did you survive?"

Eleven didn't flinch, holding her composure confidently with a small breath, not showing even the smallest sign of fear.

The menacing Dr. Price nodded, pointing at her.

"Now, let me just tell ya' one thing. I respect the bravery. Awesome stuff. But guess what?" he taunted her, kneeling in front of her. "You may not even understand a word I'm sayin' other than portal. And guess what? It doesn't matter. The portal is all that matters, and I know you understand it. And guess what else? You're going to close that portal. Now, kryptonite... it's a really crazy thing... and you..." he laughed. "You're about to see that".

Before Eleven could react, he swiftly put his hands on her face, covering her eyes. She yelled in fear, grasping at his muscular arms, but cannot pry them loose. He motioned for Rogers to move around and assist in blindfolding her, which he did reluctantly, guilty for committing such an act. However, he did as he was told, tightening the blindfold against Eleven's eyes before Dr. Price handcuffed Eleven's hands behind her back, keeping her from removing the extremely tight blindfold from her face.

"So..." Dr. Price taunted. "Kryptonite. You can't see, you can't kill. That's your kryptonite. Lovely, right?"

Eleven simply shrieked in total horror, knowing that her powers cannot be used if she can't lay eyes on a target... she should've killed them while she should. Now she was stuck in the lab for an indefinite amount of time... blind, scared and defenseless.

"Now, tell me, or we'll have to move to the next step" Dr. Price threatened, covering her mouth to disable her screaming. She breathed harshly through her nose, obviously panicking at this point.

"You have five seconds" he commanded, uncovering her mouth as she gasps for breath. "Five... four... three... two..."

She looked downwards at the floor dishearteningly, beginning to cry.

"One... zero. Well, I'll be darned. I really tried to like you, kid, but you... you pushed my buttons. And until you talk..." he laughed evilly. "It's gonna be a hell of a time".

He backhanded the small child with shocking viciousness, knocking her out of the seat and on to the floor as Rogers looked on in horror, his ears suddenly not registering sound in the room. The scene seemed to move in slow motion as Rogers screamed, lunging for Price to keep him from severely injuring the child.

However, as he attempted to pry Price off, the stronger doctor pushed him away harshly, sending him slamming into the wall.

He pinned Eleven's head to the floor with a purely sadistic grin as she wept, then pulling her to her feet as she tried her best to reach her throbbing face, the pain rocking her body.

"Listen here, kid" Price grunted, holding her stiffly in front of him. "Until you open that portal, you're gonna' be stuck here. You won't escape. You won't get out. Your life will be hell until you do this".

"You can't do that, Price!" Rogers intervened, his hands on his head in horror. "You can't beat up a kid! You ca-"

"I can do what I want! I'm the lead scientist!" he argued back, pulling her along roughly. "Now come on, darling. Let's go find you a... makeshift prison cell... until you're ready to talk".


So, Eleven finally makes it back, and now she has to deal with the new lead doctor, Dr. Price? And wow, is he ever a piece of trash. The question is: will Eleven make it back to Mike in the others? Will she agree to close the portal?

That's all ahead, and much, much, much, much, much more.

Thanks for reading and please drop any thoughts or comments in the reviews! I'm hoping to write this entire series, which in order to do, I need some response! Thank you for reading! See you later, alligator.