Dustin, Max, Will, Lucas, and I headed to Hawkins National Lab, with me leading the pack. The original gang all rode on bikes, with Max following behind on her skateboard, which was surprisingly fast. I pedaled so fast I thought my legs would break off. This could be it. I don't know why I was so excited, or why I started to feel a little nervous. In fact, my stomach was doing somersaults. I was just so excited to see her again. It had been almost a year since I had seen her and I've waited every day for an opportunity like this. She occupied my thoughts during Dungeons and Dragons, to Mr. Clarke's science class, to sitting on the roof at three in the morning staring at the stars, wondering if she could see the same ones wherever she was. She sacrificed herself for us and we couldn't even save her. I couldn't even save her. We made it to the fence guarding the ominous building, and we began to search for openings, or parts of the fence without barbed wire so we could scale it.

After around five minutes or searching, Dustin bellowed a loud "Guys! I found an opening!", and we all ran to him and began to crawl through the hole. Luckily, we all made it in.

"Alright, Lucas will keep watch at the fence, Dustin will search East, Will will search West, Max will search North, and I'll search South. Got it?"

"Easy, Sargent." Max commented sarcastically. Dustin and Lucas chuckled, like they do at all of her jokes. It wasn't even that funny, they just like her. I feel like I'm the only one who isn't going crazy sometimes. Will is still heavily focused on the Upside Down, and I honestly can't blame him after everything that happened. Max isn't really going crazy, aside from her strange obsession with her skateboard.

"Alright, alright, let's get this stupid searching ordeal over with already. My mom wants me back home before 9 o'clock, and you know how she can be." Lucas said, leaning on the fence and flicking his flashlight on.

I sighed, "Okay, we meet back here at 8."

We all headed into opposite directions, turning on our flashlights. The sounds of leaves crunching and heavy breathing was all to be heard on a quiet October evening like this one. They stopped putting so much security after what had happened, because our families stopped searching for her before Christmas that year. They didn't forget about her, or sweep her memories under the rug. They had just not been as affected as I was, I guess. It was easy for most of them to just continue living. Dustin still cared, he had just lost interest in searching constantly, as he'd rather be playing DnD. Lucas, Nancy, Jonathan, and the rest lost interest too, becoming occupied with life. I, on the other hand, became preoccupied with El.

I shined the flashlight everywhere, searching and searching for even a hint of the quiet girl. Nothing. Seconds turned into minutes, and soon enough I was deep into the facility. Trees were everywhere, and I felt lost. Soon, I stumbled upon a box. The box was wooden, and there was an empty Eggo box in it. I moved my flashlight around a little more, scanning the area. It was no use. I turned my flashlight off, checking my watch. 7:49pm. I sat down, picking up the Eggo box. The expiration date read November 26th, 1985. The box was still new looking. This had to be hers. I heard leaves crunching in my direction. Holy shit. Was this her? I sat there, holding the box, afraid to look. I was so nervous, I don't know why. Finally, the footsteps stopped. There was a flashlight pointing at the back of my head. I shot to my feet, whipping around, to see a tall man in a lab coat with a gun. I tried to make a run for it, but he grabbed me, and put a rag over my mouth. The world went dark.


I woke up in a small padded room on a bed. It was fuggy, and humid.

"Hello? Anyone here?" I yelled. No response. I noticed the room was solid white, other than what I assume to be a one way window and a silver door with a slot in it, like in prison for meals. Oh God, where am I? This is the lab, isn't it? I got myself into deep shit this time. Will they start testing on me? This is bad.

"Anyone? Hello?" I yelled, louder this time, my voice cracking. The door opened, revealing a tall man. The man who kidnapped me was behind him, a bit shorter. The tall man wore a white lab coat with black scrubs and black shoes on. He had glasses, and was bald. He held a clipboard in his hand, the other holding a pen. The other man was dressed identically, but he had short brown hair and no glasses.

"Hello, Michael." The taller one said, pushing his glasses up.

"How do you know my na-"

"We know a lot about you. We know you're searching for a certain friend of yours. She knows it too. She can feel it. You see, she's connected to your little friend, Will, is it? Well, she's connected to him. She can communicate with him, and she's even a little connected to you."

"Eleven? How is she connected to me?"

"We don't know that yet. We were going to get the Byers boy, but it would be too much commotion if we get involved with him again. We're going to be using you instead."

"Using me? What? This is just a joke right? And how did you get Eleven, she disappeared?"

The younger, shorter one cackled, saying "Far from it, buddy. And we can't explain that to you, it's classified. We will be sending in project Eleven in a bit to see exactly how you two are connected. We'll let you go after we find out. But, tell anyone and you can say goodbye to your family and anyone who knows about this. Got it?"

"Um..." I couldn't even muster up a response. What the actual hell was going on anymore? This sort of stuff wasn't supposed to happen anymore, especially not with freaky scientists testing on preteens.

"I'm Doctor Owens. This is my assistant, Descotaeux. You'll treat us with respect while you're here, or you'll suffer consequences." The taller one explained, motioning to the shorter man. I nodded in response. They left, slamming the door and locking it.

Hours passed. I checked my watch every so often. It's 3 in the morning right now, and I'm not even tired. They dimmed the lights probably hoping I'd sleep soon. My mom is going to be so scared, and shit, my friends are probably panicking so bad right now. The lights went completely out, and I couldn't see a thing. They turned off the heat or whatever, but it's now wicked cold. I stared at the ceiling, my eyes soon adjusting, lost in thought. This bed is terrible. It's stiff, and hard, and super gross. The pillow is flat, and the single sheet they gave me is thin and almost hard. The door opened, letting in a bit of light. A small figure stumbled in, and the door slammed hard behind them. I sat up, trying to focus on them. A skinny girl, standing maybe five feet, in a crisp hospital gown stood in front of me. She had dark brown hair in a pixie cut, and hazel eyes, from what I could see.

"Mike?"

My voice seemed to get stuck in my throat, but I managed to croak out a small "...El?"

She smiled, replying "Mike."

I shot up, almost tackling her into a hug. I was shaking, I couldn't believe it. She's here, I found her. She threw her arms around me, burying her face into my neck. I held her for probably a few minutes straight. I finally let go, wiping away... tears? Wow, I didn't even realize I started crying. I felt so overwhelmed. My chest felt like it was going to burst, and I felt whole. My entire body was tingly, and for that moment there, it felt like we were the only people in the entire world.

"I missed you, El." I whispered

"Missed?" she asked, looking like a confused puppy.

"Oh. Missing someone is like... feeling sad because they aren't here anymore." I explained.

She nodded. "I missed you, Mike." I felt my face growing hot. I can't believe it. I found her. I'm was in a state of shock. But now I have to find a way out of this hell hole, and I swear to God, I'm not letting her disappear again.