As the day went on, they could only assume it was day, they began to feel hungry and thirsty so Mike plucked up the courage to ask when the food and the drink would be served and the possessed Dustin responded with 'Soon, little on. Master will bring food with him worthy of human consumption' and he cackled off into the tunnel leaving Hopper alone to guard the three. El had been trying to use her psychic powers but the material used in this building was blocking her powers somehow.
As time went on they got more and more agitated and bored. The being in the shadows had been spying on them waiting for the right time. Suddenly Dustin and Hopper stopped completely as they heard a knock on the door. The Boss had arrived. They went to open the door and a big man walked in with his two bodyguards. A chair appeared out of nowhere and the man sat down. There was something about his bodyguards that made them seem not entirely human and nobody wanted to find out what they really were.
The Boss sat in silence for what seemed like eternity but finally spoke. 'You're not the only one with powers you know' he said directing the statement at El. 'Why are you keeping us here?' asked Mike, aggressively. 'I just wanted to meet you and something told me you wouldn't have come quietly'. 'You're right about that' he replied'. 'I wanted to talk to you about something, a business proposition if you like' the Boss announced to them. 'I may be known as the boss but I am in no way the head of this arrangement. You may know who I'm talking about as The Mind Flayer. In the year that you have been free from him he has been busy trying to recruit people to try and round you three up to try and convince you to join you. Before you speak let me tell you my story'.
'About 3 months ago I was a low life, delivering pizzas and in my spare time taking and delivering drugs. I had just got high when my head felt strange even for a druggie like me. I heard a high pitched screech but I knew what it meant exactly, somehow. The 'Mind Flayer' was calling out to me and it asked me to find three kids each matching your descriptions. He helped me and he can help you as well.' Will, who had been silent until this point suddenly said 'No and we don't want its help' and the others nodded in agreement. 'He also has a message for you. 'Not all the gates are closed'.
With that he finished his speech, got up and left the room but as he went for the door the figure in the shadows picked its moment to attack its prey. It attacked the boss and before the bodyguards could register what happened they were lying on the floor with their life slowly draining away from them. The figure stood before the three scared teens holding the boss up by the neck. He stuck his weapon into his throat and threw him to the ground.
He turned to look at the teens. They observed that he was a 15/16 year old black male with clear skills in combat and a tattoo with the numbers 006 on his lower wrist where El's were. He finally spoke. 'Eleven, William, Michael, I am Six but I have adopted the name Callum, Cal for short. We must leave now for we have alerted it of our intentions against itself.
Cal lifted his weapon, a 7 foot long spear with a green coloured staff and a sharp metal tip, and told the others to follow him. Dustin and Hopper, who had been waiting outside, went to look at what all the commotion was inside but as they did they received a very heavy and painful hit to the head from the hilt of Cal's spear. When he did this he took both their heads and slammed them against a nearby railing. When he did this, a large cloud of smoke erupted from both Hopper's and Dustin's mouth, nose and ears.
It took them a while to find out where they were but they mumbled a few syllables before passing out. Cal lifted up Hopper and got Mike and Will to hoist Dustin into the back of his white van. They noticed that they were in Chicago and that they were near the Willis Tower. The gang was too scared to think about trust issues and so they got into his van and when they started driving. Cal explained that he would drive them back to Hawkins and would stick around to have a look in the now defunct Hawkins Lab.
After about an hour on the road they saw a sign saying to turn off for Hawkins. With their spirits raised and excited about being home they calmly chatted amongst themselves about their little 'adventure' and quizzed Cal about where he came from and who he was. He was born in Cambodia but was brought here as a child with his parents and moved to Indianapolis. He went to get milk one night and was snatched by some men and he awoke some time later in Hawkins Lab.
They pulled into Hawkins in the dead of night and the town seemed quiet and peaceful. If only this could actually be the truth…
A/N: I will be releasing Chapter 10 next Sunday but I will not be releasing #11 on the 24th. It will be a Christmas special and will be released on Monday 25th instead
