"What's wrong with you!? What is wrong with you!?" Mike shouted, sounding hurt. I didn't want to hurt him, it just all happened so fast. Mike must've hated me, I ran, I didn't want to see another person that I hurt. I ran into the woods, as far away from them as I could, I ran until I got tired. I found a lake, and all I saw in my reflection was a monster. I ran until I passed out. I ran.

Once everyone was together at the Station, Hop began dispersing weapons, giving the younger kids only bats and an axe, much to their dismay. "Okay. Henderson and Sinclair, you two search near the southern side of Mirkwood. Joyce and Will, you guys stay North. Nancy and I will check the East. Everyone stay on Channel 6. If anyone finds Mike or El… or anything else, radio in. Got that?"

"Yes sir." The 3 boys replied simultaneously. Hopper looked over the group, and, with a nod, sent them off to search their separate parts of the woods. He then turned to the teenager next to him, a determined expression set over her face like stone. "Are you ready?" Nancy took the safety off her gun and placed it in her belt, turning to him. "I'm going to find El and my brother. And then I'm going to kill the bastards that took them."

After about half an hour of searching, heavy pellets of rain began pouring down onto them, threatening to flood the woods. "Alright," Hopper sighed into his radio "give it five more minutes. If the rain hadn't stopped, we head in. Copy?" Reluctant "copy"s filled through, and he turned to Nancy. He went to say something, say anything, but she was running. "Nancy? Nancy! Where the hell are you going?" Hopper chased after her, and she stopped abruptly. Coming up beside her, he noticed what she'd seen; Castle Byers. "Do you think…" she began quietly, a little hope daring to fill her eyes. He pulled beside the cover, and she peered inside. She didn't know whether to sigh in relief or scream. El was there, alive. She'd obviously escaped the bad men. But she was dirty, her face bruised and scratched, probably developing hypothermia every second, the (albeit faint) rise and fall of her chest the only sign she was still alive. And she was alone. No Mike. Where the fuck was Mike? She began to panic, ready to scream, but suddenly El's chest stood still and she felt her own heart stop beating. They had to get her indoors now, otherwise when they eventually did get Mike, he'd feel as if his life wasn't worth living. He'd been enough of a mess when she was missing… if she was dead, he'd be jumping off the edge. "Come on." Nancy said firmly, stepping back to let Hopper gather the small, fragile girl in his arms and start rushing in the direction of Joyce's house. "Does everyone copy?" She spoke into the supercom, ignoring the tears burning behind her eyes. "It's El. We found El."

They drilled him for days. They shouted down his ear, spit covering his bruised, dirty face. When that didn't work, they resorted to torture. But Mike wouldn't cave in. He was left in so much pain day after day, but he couldn't keep himself from smiling. She had escaped. She was free.

"Come on kid, just tell us where Subject Eleven went. We don't want to keep hurting you." The man's words could have been taken as pleading, but his voice was steely and cold. Mike leant forward in his chair, and gave him a sly smile. The man groaned internally. Over the last few days, they had come to recognise the grin as an act of defiance. Whenever he wore it, he'd stay stubborn and firm. "First of all, her name isn't 'Subject Eleven. It's El. Not Eleven, El. She's a real person. She's more human than any of you. And secondly, why would I tell you?" Exasperated, the man swung for Mike's face, and he sat, accepting it. He was so used to the pain by now that he didn't feel it. He didn't feel anything. Just numb.

Mike. She haunted his dreams. Except she wasn't haunting them. He didn't know how, but he felt the realness of them. They were real. She was reaching out to him. Night soon became his favourite time, when he could see her face again. He couldn't live without seeing those gentle, yet guilt ridden eyes. Or that small, sweet smile that, even now, managed to make him not feel numb. It was the only thing that could. Those nights were the only thing keeping him together. She was the only thing keeping him strong. Mike. I'll come back. I promise. He only hoped that there'd be a person to come back to.