Episode 2: Gravity

Act III: Unleashed

Michael Brown was a tough son a bitch. He had been a journalist for far too long, he had been attacked before, he had been shot once, he had been almost beaten to death on multiple occasions. So, it did not surprise him when he woke up tied to a chair in a well-lit room. He opened his eyes and cursed loudly as he realized that he was sitting on a stage. Hundreds of old and empty chairs lined the space in front of him. He realized that he was in a run-down theatre and he had no idea why. He heard a strange sound coming from his right, he turned his head and saw a tall man polishing a knife on a piece of lather. The man stopped the blade and looked at Michael,

"Welcome to the greatest show on earth." The man had a French accent.

"I swear if this is a prank, I'll…."

"No prank mister journalist, you have an audience."

Michael turned his head, and his heart stopped. His girlfriend was tied to a chair in front of the stage. She was apparently unconscious, and her head sagged below her shoulder.

"THE FUCK? WHAT THE FUCK?"

The men smiled, "It's an encore."

Michael calmed himself. He had faced danger before, "What do you want?"

"Salvation Mr. Brown. I want salvation." A voice spoke from the shadows.

At that exact moment, Michael knew in his guts that he was completely fucked. A man with a headful of white hair walked out from behin the curtains.

"You? You did this? Who the fuck ARE you?"

"You ask redundant questions, Mr. Brown."

"What do you want?"

The men sighed, he didn't like redundant questions.

Michael breathed. Martin Brenner was not just an evil scientist, he was also a psychopath. He needed to keep his head leveled, "What do you want from me?"

"That's the good question. I want you to disappear from this world." Martin had a finality in his voice.

Michael had made many enemies in his life. He always ran after the truth, and that pissed off too many people. But something felt odd about this interaction. He tried to remember the discussion he had with his source back in the bar.

"MKULTRA! Is that what this is all about?"

The men grimaced, "You are persistent."

"Look. I've already published the piece. I can't take it back. But I won't publish the second part. I'll disappear, just as you want." Michael was bargaining now; his girlfriend was still passed out cold.

"No, Mr. Brown. I know what you are. You're driven by a false sense of morality. I've read your earlier work covering Vietnam war, Bangladesh War, Lebanese Civil War, Iraq-Iran War amongst others. You think you are a beacon of truth in the vast sea of darkness covering the world."

Michael stared at Martin in defiance. What this man was describing was the absolute truth. Michael Brown was not a man who was motivated by fame or money. He had always chased the fact like a hound and never backed down even in the face of impossible odds. He had fought for those who couldn't defend themselves and won their wars with nothing but pen and paper. In his latest stint, he had blown the cover of a secret project run by the CIA named 'MKUltra.' He had discovered the tragedies surrounding the Project, went in like a one-man army and made so much noise that the Congress had to appoint a committee to investigate the lunacy. He was about to publish the second part of the article to erase a monster from the face of the planet. The fiend was standing in front of him right now.

"I'm familiar with your work. If not today then tomorrow, if not tomorrow then next week, if not next week then next month, if not next month then next year, you WILL try to stop me again. You'll come after me as long as both of us are alive."

Michael gritted his teeth, "You stole those children from their parents. You destroyed their lives. YOU MURDERED THEIR INNOCENCE."

"No. Mr. Brown. I am saving them from themselves."

Then Martin turned towards the other man and started talking if Michael didn't exist, "The Church committee is too much invested in the project. Someone else is driving them from behind. We're moving our timeline. We test the final Control Matrix for Subject Eleven tonight."

"Tonight? Is she ready?" The other man sounded concerned.

Martin hardened his jaw, "No, she isn't. But she's our greatest asset. If anyone can pull through, then she can."

Then he sighed, "If she can't, I want you to get rid of the body by tonight. Then blow town and meet me at Hawkins. We're going back."

Michael felt the impending doom. They had started ignoring him as if his fate had already been decided. He needed to buy time. He didn't know why but he needed to stall these men at all costs. He chose to prod further, "What's Subject Eleven? What's a Control Matrix?"

Martin looked at him in a staggered manner, as if he was hearing a dead man speaking. Then he laughed, "You like stories, Mr. Brown? Let me tell you a story. Maybe you can cover it in the afterlife."

Martin went in front of the stage and spread his arms to his sides as if he was delivering a sermon.

"A weapon starts out as a piece of metal. You take it to a forge, pump the flames and heat it till it starts glowing red hot. Then you start beating it with a hammer until it starts taking shape. Are you with me Mr. Brown?"

He didn't wait for the answer, "Then once it reaches its final form, you cool it down, take it to a grinding wheel and start sharpening the edges. It's a hectic process, and most shards don't make it through. Do you give up?"

Martin spoke with determination, "No, you discard the failures and start again."

Michael felt a fuse going off inside his head, he had figured out what the man was talking about. But it made no sense, "THEY WERE JUST CHILDREN!"

Martin didn't flinch, "They are more than what they seem to be."

He continued, "Most of our test subjects do not survive the Ascension Mechanism. It's a sorry state of affairs. We were having a lot of problems with the bodies. Not to mention the parents. Just some time ago, a woman came after us with a vengeance and nearly shut us down."

Michael knew the woman, in fact, he had visited her in the past. He had taken one look at the woman and swore to destroy the psychopath who had taken her soul away. Teresa Ives was the victim of a tragedy orchestrated by this man. Michael was the weapon that would bring forth vengeance in her name.

"Then it clicked. What if we could get our metal and the world kept chasing after a ghost? Then I found Mr. Louise right next door. He is a ghost and very good at his job."

The tall man, Louise, gave a bow.

"We would identify the targets. Mr. Louise here would take care of the parents and bring the subjects to us. In case the subjects didn't make it through, he would also take care of the bodies. It fuels his addiction and gives us our candidates. It's the perfect cover and it really helped with the accelerated program," Martin was pleased with himself.

Michael looked at the chair opposite to him and tears came into his eyes. He knew that it was too late to save her. This man had no conscience at all. He would still try; "Let her go. I am the one who you really want."

Martin crouched in front of the other chair, "No Mr. Brown. People who have lost something become spirits and hunt their prey till the end of time. Both of you need to go away."

Then he stood up and nodded towards Louise who grinned like a child who had just received a gift. Michael had heard about this man. 'The Director' had a gruesome way of killing people. Martin started walking towards the door with a smooth gait.

He was on the verge of breaking down, but he glared at Martin and spoke his last words; "We might be gone, but someone will take our place. YOU CAN NOT RUN FROM JUSTICE."

Martin stopped dead in his tracks. He stood there for a moment and then turned back. Michael saw the fury in his eyes, a hellfire was raging in those bottomless pits. Martin spoke the next words as if he was having difficulty pronouncing them, "I HAVE NEVER RUN AWAY FROM ANYTHING IN MY LIFE."

Martin wasn't speaking those words to Michael or The Director. He was shouting them to the empty seats in front of the stage. Then he slammed the door on his way out. Michael swallowed and looked at Louise. The man smiled cheerfully and then crouched in front of his girlfriend. She was still sleeping, but then the man took out a bottle, opened the cap and held it beneath her nose. She came awake in a few minutes and felt a horrible pain on her cheek.


Two police cruisers raced through the night in some random part of New York City. Their tires were spewing blue smoke as they drifted along corners at very high speed. They swerved through a final curve and came to a halt in front of a run-down theatre. Five police officers got off the cabs and started jogging towards the back door.

"Hopper, you sure this is the place?" The officer at the back asked the leader.

"We know the dates of the murders committed by the director. This is one of the four theatres in the city which hosted plays on those exact dates. And this is the only theatre which never hosted plays outside those dates."

"But he kills at random locations, he could just take the dates from the paper. He could just use the proxy. Hell, he could be a patron of the fine arts as well." The man was not convinced.

"We're not here to find a criminal. Today's not even a date. We're here to find the guy who owns this place, talk to him and go through his list of patrons. After that, we hit the next three theatres on the list."

"It's too big of a jump, don't you think?"

"Have some faith on Lady Luck."

Hopper was about to reach the back door when he saw a sedan approaching them. It was late, and he couldn't see inside the car, but he caught a glimpse of a man with white hair. The sedan picked up speed and went around the corner. Hopper reached the back entrance and placed his ear to the door, then he pulled away in shock as he heard a muffled scream coming from inside. In a moment, a battering ram crashed against the door, and Hopper charged through with his shotgun and came face to face with his prey.

A tall man was standing on the stage with a knife in his hand, there was a man tied in a chair to his right and a woman tied to a chair to his left. The woman was nearly dead, the signs of the tall man's knife were clear throughout her body. Hopper had seen marks like that before, only this time, they were still fresh. The man tied to the chair was sobbing historically. His mouth was covered with sticky tape. Hopper gritted his teeth and moved towards the tall man, the shotgun pointed straight towards his chest.

"Well well, the police! Someone there has some brain after all."

Hopper moved his eyes towards the woman and grimaced. She had wounds all over her body, and they were all bleeding heavily. She was suffering from immense pain, but she couldn't scream for some reason. Hopper looked at her mouth and almost threw up. 'This was the work of the devil.' Images flashed by his eyes, images that he could never forget. Before coming down to the theatre, he had visited a ditch near the dry docks. Some workers had found a body and called it in. He reached there, went close to the body and then threw up his breakfast along with the coffee. Hopper was a veteran of war, but even his eyes couldn't believe what it was seeing. The body was severely mutilated beyond recognition, but it had belonged to a small girl once. Hopper's wife would soon be giving birth to a baby girl as well. The child would be born in a world where monsters roamed around looking for prey, either within a prison or outside one. 'What if this body was my baby girl's?'

Hopper hardened his jaw and walked towards the man who was smiling for some god damn reason. Hopper realized that the man had no remorse, no regret and no intention to stop. He didn't deserve redemption because there was something fundamentally wrong with him. 'He needs to go back to his maker to claim warranty.'

Hopper looked calmly at the man standing in front of him. He was as tall as Hopper, and his chest was right in front of the barrel of his shotgun.
"I have the right to remain silent? Anything I say will be held…." The tall man was smiling and reciting his Miranda rights. Hopper waited for the man to finish and as soon as he was done, he confirmed, "You do."

The Remington roared to life and the top half of The Director's body disappeared in a cloud of red mist.


Mike and the guys were standing at the entrance to the gym. In front of them, Max was teaching Eleven about riding skateboards. She had tried to use her powers at first, but then Max put a stop to that, "This is not how it's done Eleven. You can't always rely on your powers. Haven't you seen superhero movies? Superman has his kryptonite."

Eleven had asked Mike multiple times about what happened back in the cafeteria, but Mike kept evading the question. He requested Eleven to withdraw the question because he didn't want to lie to her. He promised to tell her when the time would be right. So, Eleven decided to trust Mike and give him some time.

Eleven tried getting back onto the skateboard but fell down again. She jumped back up and looked at Mike who flashed him an enthusiastic smile. Eleven groaned and placed a foot on the skateboard. Before she could push the board using her other foot, Max put her arm on Eleven's shoulder, "It takes a lot of time and practice. You can't just rush things. You have to go through a bit of pain, but once you learn to control it, you become an expert. You will never fall again."

Eleven flashed a weak smile and tried getting back on the skateboard. She turned the skateboard around and froze as her eyes fell on Mike. Others did not notice it, but Mike was standing still as if he was in a trance. Eleven jumped on the skateboard and pushed on the ground with her powers. A few people in the gym noticed the skateboard that was speeding as if it was powered by a V8 engine. Eleven reached Mike in a flash and jumped off the skateboard. She held her fall using her powers as the skateboard zoomed forward and shattered into pieces after hitting the wall.

Mike remembered seeing Eleven getting onto the skateboard, he also remembered seeing Max putting her arm on Eleven's shoulder and whispering something. Then he found himself strapped to a metallic chair in a room with white walls and ceiling. Some weird contraption was placed around his head, and he couldn't move it at all. He was back into a memory fragment, and he was pissed off. Eleven came to school at long last, and he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. He knew that he would be going back to reality after some time, and in the real world, only a few seconds would have passed since his soul went missing. But the memories often left traumatic aftermath and ruined his day. He was witnessing the memory through Eleven's eyes, and he could sense the fear that was crawling through her heart. He wanted to wake up from this nightmare as soon as possible.

Suddenly a figure came into his field of vision. He moved his eyes to the front and saw the woman with the golden hair smiling at him, "Hey sweetheart. It's time for the final test. Once this is done, we can go have waffles, okay?" She looked scared as if the next few moments would decide whether she gets to live or die a horrible death. Mike knew that she was lying through her teeth, but he was stuck in a video that had been recorded earlier. He could only see it and contemplate later.

The woman lost her composure, and her voice started cracking, "This is going to hurt a bit. But we're sure that you can pull through. Just focus on my voice as I guide you, okay? Once it's done, you'll become extremely powerful. Papa will be pleased with you."

'Martin Brenner,' all the memories Eleven had with that man was disturbing and painful. Mike wanted to rip the harnesses and run away, but they were too strong. He kept looking at the woman, she disappeared for a moment to get something and came back with a piece of paper. Mike squinted his eyes. He had seen that paper before but couldn't remember where. The woman put it up on a board made of glass and hung it in front of Mike's face. Mike read the text inscribed at the top of the board, "Control Matrix – Inhibition Override"

It made no sense at all. Suddenly a man with white hair appeared beside the woman. Mike's swallowed as Martin Brenner shouted at the woman, "ABORT THE TEST. Someone found Louise."

The woman was visibly shocked, "What? Who?"

"Some random officer who got extremely lucky. I told that idiot to use a different place. But NOO, Mr. know-it-all had to use that fucking stage of his tonight. Something about an encore."

"We can ring him out before he blows our cover, right?"

"That won't be necessary. The bastard has a hole in his chest."

The woman still didn't look relieved, "What do we do? We need more subjects. The new ones can't even make it past the second trial. Thirteen was the better of the lot but still couldn't make through the third trial. That leaves Eight and Eleven as the prime candidates, and frankly, I don't think Eight has the potential. It all boils down to Eleven now. What if she can't survive the Ascension?"

Martin moved the glass panel away and spoke calmly, "No. She'll survive. She's the one who will bring salvation to this world."

He smiled at Mike, "You think it was just luck that someone caught up to Louise by chance? You think it was a coincidence that Teresa managed to get her hands on a Control Matrix? You think it was a miracle that the old geezer finally managed to create the anti-hemorrhage medicine today? You think it's a magic that helped Michael Brown escape his fate tonight?"

Martin took a pause and started releasing the harnesses that held Mike in place, "My daughter is the child of Destiny. When she wants something, the world conspires to fulfill her desires. When she seeks vengeance, demons from the deepest depths of hell rise to avenge her. When she seeks refuge, angels from the farthest corners of heaven descend to protect her. Eleven has the power to do the impossible."

Martin finished releasing the harnesses and gently helped Mike to sit up, "My daughter is like a massive star that attracts planets towards its core. Her emotions are like gravity that generates bonds that are impossible to escape from. It's about time we do something about it. I have a few ideas."

Martin looked at the woman and smiled triumphantly, "We have found our sword. We do not need any other subject. Purge the rest and blow the lab. We're going home."

Martin put a hand on Mike's head and smiled, "Hey Eleven. I've got good news. We're moving to a place called Hawkins. It's a nice place without so many people. You'll love it there." He looked as if he had finally made a choice and felt satisfied with the consequences.

Mike was dumbfounded, he always believed that Eleven had stayed inside the lab for her entire life, 'Where in the world was she before coming to Hawkins?' Then a flashbulb went off in front of his eyes, and a moment later he opened his eyes to see Eleven's face looming over his head. He also noticed that her face was upside down and to top it off, he was basically lying on the ground with his head on Eleven's lap. He wanted to commit Seppuku, 'the shame.'

Eleven gently lifted his face to hers and whispered, "Mike. You need to answer the question, now." Mike just nodded, it was time to confess his darkest moment to Eleven.

'The Field of the Fireflies.'

It was time to confront her past, together.


A week after blowing a hole through a man's chest, Hopper was sitting in front of the chief's office on the third floor of the NYPD HQ. He was summoned after two hours.

"Good afternoon Jim."

Hopper wanted this to get over with, "Hey boss."

"You were almost on your way to prison for murder. But then I received a call from a senator, someone heading the Church Committee. He pulled some strings and got you out. You are either damn lucky, or you have a guardian angel out there."

Hopper looked up in shock, he was sure that he would be going to jail.

"The DA's agreed to a deal. The man was going to kill a woman, and you tried to stop him. But he didn't listen and tried attacking you, so you had to take the shot. I think no one will try to seek retribution for the director. The last body was too gruesome."

Jim nodded, he was feeling relieved. He wanted to be there when his daughter would be born. He also prepared for what was about to come in his way.

"But you need to go away Jim" The chief growled softly and banged his hand on the table, "We need to bury this thing in a place where the sun doesn't shine."

"I'll quit the force. I'll get another job, maybe as a security guard."

The old man smiled, "No. You are a damn good officer, and the world could use someone like you. I have a better idea. There's a position open at a place called Hawkins in Indiana. Small town, no crimes reported in the last decade. There's an energy lab run by the government but not much commercial activity. Perfect place to disappear from the world in my opinion. You still get to be a police officer, and you can return to New York after, I don't know, a decade or so?"

Hopper stood up to leave. He went to the door and stopped for a second.

"Jim?"

Hopper ripped his badge off and threw it to the chief, "I'm not sorry for what I did. I'll do it again if I have to." Then he walked out.

In a certain place, at a certain time, a badge was ripped from a uniform as a man swore an oath to deliver justice to the world. The second prophecy forced the world towards the impending doom.


"Michael Brown became Murray Bauman and left his life behind. It was required to protect Lisa," Murray lowered his head.

"I didn't publish the second article. Lisa was in the hospital for a long time and was exposed to danger."

"How's she doing?" Nancy wanted to stop herself but needed to know everything about the psychopath.

"She spent nearly a month in the hospital, and a group of brilliant plastic surgeons restored part of her face. She could finally eat after three months. But she never got her speech back. And then came the trauma."

Murray grimaced, "She was never able to sleep for more than two hours. The man with the knife would slice her dreams and then she would wake up screaming and panting for breath."

Nancy remembered Mike and Eleven as they were holding each other during the dance. Then an image flashed by her eyes, Mike was holding Eleven's hand tightly as she was trying to leave him at the hospital. She inhaled deeply, 'That monster had left ruins wherever he went. He needed to be stopped.'

"I'm sorry Murray. I wish that we could do something."

"Every night leads to morning, Nancy. One day, an old geezer came out of nowhere, rescued Lisa from her nightmare and brought her to the light. He was a psychiatrist, and he was very good at reading and understanding people's emotions. Last year she left the country to live with her parents. Finally, she can sleep without crying, " Murray grinned a smile through the pain and tears.

Then he gritted his teeth, "It's not over, NOT YET. I found him once, I'll find him again and when I do…."

Jonathan spoke up, "You'll kill him?"

"No. I'll expose him for the monster that he is. There is someone else who will deliver justice."


Hopper took a shotgun out of the bag. It was the same Remington 870 that had erased a monster from this earth, it was around 7 pounds in weight. Someone left it on his porch in NY the night before he was going to move to Hawkins. There was a small note attached to the weapon, 'Justice.' He put the gun away and held the victim's photograph under the light. He always thought that 'The Director' numbered his victims out of sheer lunacy, but he noticed the number carefully this time. It was etched at the girl's wrist. '013,' the font was too similar. A font that he had seen on Eleven's wrist. A font that was the mark of the devil.

Hopper always wanted to find out whether Eleven was born with the telekinetic powers or there was something inside her that made her more suitable for imparting these powers. 'He never got to know whether it was Jane Ives or Terry Ives who was selected by destiny to become a weapon or give birth to one.' But now that he had a clue, he needed to see the old case files.

The hounds had been unleashed at long last, they would hunt their prey till the end of time.


Epilogue

It was a quiet night somewhere far away from Hawkins, Indiana. A cold wind was rustling through the concrete maze and trying its best to vanquish the fire that was providing warmth to the huddled masses spread around it. A radio crackled, and someone from the group answered it,

"What the fuck do you want?"

"Its time to move. Someone was spotted snooping around the castle."

A figure jumped up from the group and went to a corner, "Do you have eyes on the target?"

"Not yet, but a little birdie told me that they are trying to find Eleven's control matrix."

A moment later, four shadows walked away from the warmth and vanished into the night as the fire yielded to the wind.

It was a beautiful morning somewhere near Hawkins, Indiana. Hopper was making breakfast for two. He made pancakes and eggs. Then he went to the refrigerator and took out some Eggos. Today was a grand day, Eleven would be going to school, and later tonight she'll have her first grand birthday party. Joyce didn't cut any corners while making the arrangements. Eleven was taking longer to get ready today, but Hopper understood her excitement. He casually walked to the TV and switched the channel to the news. Then he rammed his coffee cup through the screen as Eleven walked out. Her face was masked by shock and horror, "You broke the TV?"

"A poisonous insect was sitting on the screen, so I squashed it. You don't need a TV now because you'll be with Mike for the better part of the day. We're getting a new TV by the end of the week. Okay?" Hopper sounded like a person facing the firing squad.

"Okay, I don't need a TV right now." Eleven flashed a smile and sat at the table.

Hopper swallowed and sat opposite to her, he could still remember part of the breaking news,

'... has gone up in flames. The firefighters are still trying to douse the flames, but we have the confirmation that...'

Hopper knew that house because he had been there multiple times in the past. Hopper felt like a soldier who had pressed his foot against a landmine and couldn't take it off. 'The problem was that, sooner or later, he had to move.

It was a peaceful morning somewhere near an unknown curb close to a little-known street in a town called Hawkins, Indiana. Karen was driving home after dropping Mike at school. He would be spending the night at the Byers. Joyce was throwing a grand party for Jane's birthday, who was Mike's date for the Snowball and Mike was a special guest. Karen felt really happy for some reason, 'My boy's all grown up. Jane is a beautiful girl. '

Yet she couldn't shake the feeling off that she had seen that girl somewhere before. Suddenly she suddenly pressed the break as hard as she could, and the car screeched to a halt. Karen kept looking through the windscreen as if she had seen a ghost, 'The birthday party! Jane Hopper! Jane Ives! Teresa Ives! The birth date coincides with the approximate date Teresa told me. Now that I remember, she does have some resemblance to Jane. Is it possible...?'

She started the engine, drove the car as fast as she could and reached home in a short time. She was about to turn the car towards the garage when she saw an unknown car in her driveway. The doors were open, and the engines were still running. Karen felt the urgent need to enter her home, she stopped the car in the driveway and ran towards the main door. She yanked the door open, ran inside and screamed at the scene in front of her.

The saga continues in 'Armageddon Part 3' (Airing Now).