Chapter 3

A/N: Thankyou to my reviewers, they mean a lot to me. For the story plot I will be including several of the points you made, but to say any more would spoil it. Once again thankyou for all the support and enjoy!

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3 weeks later

"Now pull" the nurse said as Luke tried desperately to pull the light weight towards him, the sweat glistened on his forehead as his muscles tensed, shaking his arm into a steady tremor. The scarred area now burned as though someone was jabbing a red hot iron into the very hole, paralysing the entirety of his left side. The intensity of the flames grew and grew as his muscles strained, the small pile of metal slowly ascending up the column before a loud crack deafened Luke and the weight fell to the floor.

"Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit" Luke cursed, grabbing his arm in pain.

"I think that's enough for today, get rested and use the bands to strengthen the muscles. An injury like that will require a lot of work on in order for you to get back up to pace" The Nurse said, packing away the machine, lowering his hand to Luke who took it and helped himself up.

Leaving the gym, Luke collapsed in a heap on the bench; the frustration and the physical pain were mentally exhausting. He took some deep breaths of the mild September air, feeling it flow through his lungs and giving him some solace of the day's events. Before long though, the stale smell of cigarette smoke announced the arrival of a familiar character.

"Long time no see stranger" Luke said, eyes unflinching from the grey tarmac of the car park.

"I could say the same to you" Hopper said.

"Is there anything I could help you with" turning to face the imposing figure of the man.

"Are we being followed?" Hopper asked, taking a seat next to Luke and throwing away the cigarette.

"No I made sure of that"

"13 is alive" Hopper stated.

"Bollocks" Luke quipped, laughing under his breath.

"She is staying at my cabin" Hopper continued, ignoring Luke.

"I saw her get shot, don't lie to me Hopper" Luke said, turning to face the man and staring him coldly in the eyes.

"She survived; her powers stopped the bullet from going too far"

"Is she okay?" Luke asked, trying to force down the stiffness in his throat.

"She's safe, she's with my daughter"

"When can I see her" Luke asked

"I will pick you up from the station at six, if you aren't there you won't get a second chance" Hopper said.

"I guess it's a date then" Luke said, getting up from the bench.

The two stood up and shook hands before turning towards their respective homes. Getting in his blazer Hopper caught sight of the picture in the sun shield of him and Joyce. The two looked happy. He remembered it was the first Christmas after the shadow monster incident; he drifted back to the warm food, hugs and delighted smiles of the boys at just being normal. He wiped away the tear half way down his cheek and put the car into gear.

XXX

The setting sun began to slip behind the thick clouds as Luke looked at his watch repetitively, trying to ignore the dull throb in his left arm. The doors to the station swung open, momentarily flooding the car park with warm light.

"Right, Get in. Any shadows?" Hopper said abruptly.

"None"

The car journey was filled with awkward silence, the rattle of the frame pierced the veil between the two every so often.

"How long have you had her?" Luke spoke up, the silence now gone.

"About two weeks, she came in a bad state" Hopper said, eyes still on the road.

"How old is your daughter?"

"We think she is 14 this year" Hopper said.

"What do you mean you think?" Luke asked, turning to look at the man quizzically.

"She's like 13" was all Hopper could reply.

The blazer turned down a beaten track into the woods, the pot holed and bumpy road jerked and shuddered as the sun baked mud remained hard,, giving way only lightly under the immense weight of the truck. Eventually Hopper turned off the engine and got out, with Luke following behind. The two walked in silence through the woods, the crunch of dry leaves being the only noise around them. Stepping over several trip wires and dodging several other traps they eventually came to the cabin. Hopper stepped up on the wooden porch and gave the secret knocks which were returned with the loud clicking sound of several latches being undone. The door swung open and a blur whizzed past hopper and slammed into Luke, throwing him onto the floor with a thud and a groan.

"I missed you too 13" Luke said, winded.

The girl got up from Luke but slammed into him once again when he regained his composure, her thin arms stretching around his waist and grasping him tightly.

"Come on, we'd better go inside" Luke said, taking 13 with him into the Cabin.

Once into the light, he noticed the wound in her head, a dark mixture of red black and green.

"How long has she had this?" Luke asked, turning 13 to have a proper look at it.

"Since she came, I've been unable to go to the hospital so we've been trying to keep it clean" Hopper said.

"Get me some salt water and a wash cloth. I'll deal with it" Luke said, getting 13 to sit down on a chair.

Hopper grabbed the things with 11 and placed a lamp so Luke could get a clear view of what he was doing. Taking off his rucksack, he took out a large medical kit bag from it and undid the straps. Taking out one of the vials, he poured the white powder into another, filled it with saline and shook it, dissolving it entirely. Taking out a pipette he dropped the solution onto the wound and either side of it, numbing it. Next he took out a bottle of rubbing alcohol, dipped a scalpel in it and removed the putrid flesh. After that he then used the salty solution to wash down the wound before pouring a very dilute solution of alcohol onto it in a similar fashion, cleaning it entirely, all this whilst 13 stayed still and unflinching due to the numbness in the area. He then took out some sutures and sealed the wound, rubbing it with alcohol once more to ensure its cleanliness. He gave 13 some white tablets before instructing hopper to give them to her once a day with meals for a month.

"How exactly do you know this?" Hopper asked.

"I wanted to be a doctor at first, a medic in the army. But then the war kicked off and but a halt to any ambitions of that nature" Luke said sadly, closing the green fabric satchel.

He carried the now sleeping 13 to her bed, tucking her in and leaving a bag of skittles next to her for when she woke up. Luke took a seat next to Hopper and for the first time got a good look at eleven. The petite brunette had dark curly hair to her shoulders, her warm brown eyes looking at him with a mixture of intrigue and fear.

"You're Papa, but not Papa" Eleven said coldly.

"I was his son. Papa is dead. I killed him" Luke replied

"Good. Bad man" Eleven responded, eyes diverting away from his face.

"How did you know?" Luke asked.

"Eyes. Same eyes. Bad Eyes" Eleven replied, turning to face him once again.

"How is thirteen Eleven?" Luke asked, looking into the girls warm brown eyes with his steely grey ones.

"She is friendly, like a sister but closer"

"I want you to look after her, only you will understand what she's been through and I cannot be here all the time. Please eleven; can you do that for me?" Luke half pleaded with the frightened girl who could open a gateway into a parallel dimension, she nodded lightly in response.

"I've got to go now otherwise people will get suspicious. Thanks chief, I really mean it" Luke shook the burly man's hand once more before leaving through the door.

The ride back home was as quiet as the ride to the cabin, Luke and Hopper remained in silence for the most part, the odd cough or yawn being the only break between them.

Luke broke through the door to the house, Finding Owens with piles of paper on the table.

"What's all this?" he asks

"I thought to make the transition smoother if we had you change your name to mine, people wouldn't ask as many questions" Owens said looking up from the piles of paper mounted either side of him.

"I'm listening" Luke said, taking a seat.

"Here you will sign your name to be Luke Owens. You will remain your former titles with the Victoria Cross but you won't have the surname Brenner. The cover story is that I am your uncle that took you in after your two brothers and father dies in a car crash"

"Where do I sign?" Luke asked pen poised ready.

"Here, here and here" Owens gestured to blank lines on the paper, quickly scribbled in by Luke.

"There we go, you are now Sergeant Luke Owens VC" Owens said, shaking the boys hand vigorously.

XXX

By the time Hopper had come back eleven had fallen asleep on the couch, the soap she was watching now dragging on into the night. He turned the TV off and was about to drape a blanket around her before he noticed the smaller figure wrapped up by eleven. He saw her breath gently and for a second or two eleven looked at peace. Here she wasn't a telekinetic girl, she wasn't a lab experiment, and she wasn't a monster. Here she was just a girl looking after a small frightened child, wrapping her up protectively in blankets and hugs. Here it was as though the lab never touched her. It was as though she was normal.

And if no one noticed Hopper tearing up and mopping his eyes on the sleeve of the shirt; that didn't matter either.

XXX

Meanwhile at the Wheeler's a dark mood hung over Nancy's room. Jonathon sobbed gently into Nancy's arms, mourning the loss of his entire family and turning to the only source of refuge and warmth he knew.

"It's okay, it's okay. I've got you" Nancy whispered over and over again softly in his ear.

"What happened exactly?" Nancy asked, breaking the embrace to look Jonathon in the eyes.

"A loony broke in and killed mom, then Will ran and fell in the woods" Jonathon replied, his voice now a whisper amongst the sobs.

"What will you do?"

"I'll stay in the house until I go to college. Then I'll sell it and use the money to pay for fees" Jonathon said rubbing his raw eyes.

"What about Lonnie?"

"He can go and fuck himself. The Will says the house is passed down to me and Will..." he broke down once again at the thought of his little brother.

"Will he give you any trouble?" Nancy asked, rubbing soft circles on his back.

"I'd like to see him try" Jonathon said coldly.

"I had better be going" Jonathon said as he looked at his watch.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay here for tonight?" Nancy asked him shuffling up on the bed.

"No thanks Nance, I had better be going" he left through the door and drove away, wiping the crusty tears from his raw face.

XXX

The house was quiet. Too quiet. The usual noise of Joyce looking for something or cooking and the noise of Will playing a video game or scribbling away on some paper were gone. The putrid insides of the house were cold and swallowing. The once vibrant and welcoming atmosphere had given way to a frigid, dead temperament. Jonathon sat on the couch, trying to force out painful memories of his family. The images swam through his mind, popping up at the next step he took around the shell of a house. Sitting down once again he poured himself a drink, the same bottle which he and Nancy got from the reporter. Sipping on the still disgusting drink he tried to force himself into oblivion. The cold shell was slipping away into a dark haze of bliss silence when a deafening boom made him jump from the couch. Breathing heavily, he looked around the house, ready for any demonic monster to jump out at him again. Poised and ready to jump he took a knife from the kitchen counter and waited for the animal to move again. The next three bangs came from the front door. Putting the knife away and letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding in he opened the door; he wished he hadn't put the knife down after all.

Standing in the doorway was a slightly less dishevelled Lonnie, his silver hair had been somewhat cleaned and the grease stained shirt had given way to a clean cotton polo.

"Why are you here?" Jonathon asked, not wanting to put up with this.

"To see my son after the tragic news" the iciness in his voice made Jonathon cringe.

"What do you want?" Jonathon said the doziness from the drink now gone.

"Didn't I just say" Lonnie exclaimed, faking confusion.

"I have learnt after these years that why you say you are here and what you want are completely different things" Jonathon quipped, making Lonnie's face darken with anger.

"That's no way to talk to family after such an unfortunate incident" Lonnie said, staring at Jonathon coldly.

"Yeah it isn't, good job you aren't family then isn't it?" Jonathon quipped, making Lonnie's face darken further.

And then it happened.

Lonnie pushed Jonathon through the door and ended up on his back on the floor.

"That should teach you to respect your elders" Lonnie sneered, spitting at the winded Jonathon.

"Get out of my house" Jonathon shouted, breathing heavily.

"Don't you mean my house?" Lonnie replied.

"Mom left it to me when she died, now fuck off" Jonathon half shouted, grasping his side as the bruising began to appear.

"Your mom was a dirty mental whore" Lonnie spat.

"Say that again, and I will kill you" Jonathon replied coolly, now staring Lonnie in the eyes.

"Oh I haven't even started, what about your queer brother William, I'm pretty sure he wasn't mine. It's good that he died actually, that way we won't have more filth here" Lonnie sneered, revelling in the fire burning in Jonathon's eyes.

"Get the Fuck out of here Lonnie" Jonathon said darkly.

"No, I haven't even started yet. Your mother probably killed Will top try and get the insurance off of him. That whore probably had debts up to her neck with all the bastards she'd been sleeping with"

Lonnie didn't notice the pain at first, nor did he notice the flash of steel in the moonlight zip across his face leaving a bloody trace in its wake. Shocked, he felt his cheek to find the thick gash now bleeding heavily, the offending blade in Jonathon's right hand. Lonnie surged forward at Jonathon, landing a punch square in his jaw and sending the blade flying. Jonathon quickly got up and retaliated, sending a bone crunching pommel into Lonnie's face. Lonnie pushed the weaker boy off of him and onto the floor, but Jonathon's speed made up for this and landed a decisive blow in Lonnie's side, winding him and sending him gasping for air, the thick blood now chocking him as well. Jonathon pinned him down with his knees and kept on hitting, the crunching and whacking grew louder and louder until Lonnie was left a bloody mess on the floor. Breathless, he stood up from the groaning Lonnie. Feeling a surge of molten metal through his veins he kicked Lonnie in the stomach, sending him scrunching up and gasping on the floor.

"Get up. I said get up!" Jonathon shouted dragging a half conscious Lonnie up against a wall.

Once he was half leaning against the wall Jonathon drew his fist back and delivered one final blow to Lonnie's face, sending him careering onto the floor. The bloody mess lied there, gasping from the pummelling and the beating he had received. Jonathon grabbed the blade from the floor and slammed it into the wooden floor by Lonnie's face.

"Come near this place again, or me for that matter, and I won't be as merciful" Jonathon whispered, eliciting a soft nod from a broken Lonnie. Jonathon grabbed the crumpled man and physically threw him out of the house and onto the porch, sending him tumbling down the steps. Coughing and spluttering, Lonnie got up and hobbled to his car. Getting into the vehicle, he rolled his window down and shouted with the strength he had left.

"I always knew you had it in you!"

XXX

I hope you enjoyed this, I don't know if you enjoyed that fight scene at the end but I certainly enjoyed writing it. Please R&R and I enjoy hearing your thoughts on where the story is going. I like the idea of a sympathetic Mind flayer but I might do it so it has a 'bit of a twist' – Read to find out! Thankyou!