"Son, can you hear me?"
Mike opened his eyes and immediately noted that he was lying face down on the floor. Why was his face pressed against the floor?
Crouched over him was a man in his early sixties. Mike immediately recognized him as Mr. Underwood, the retired man who lived four apartments down the hall with his wife, Edith.
"Michael, can you hear me?"
Mike tried to push himself off the ground in one swift movement, but halfway up his head began to spin, and he had to sit down for a minute.
"What happened to you, son?"
Mrs. Underwood was standing a bit further down the hall, peering over her husband, a concerned look on her face. Mike pressed the palm of his hand to his forehead. What had happened? He felt like the answer to that question was so close, yet so far inside his brain. He glanced behind him and saw the door to his apartment wide open, and just like that, his memory snapped right back into focus.
"El," he whispered, scrambling to his feet.
"El?!" he screamed once he was inside their apartment. He ran down the hallway and checked their bedroom. Empty. He checked the bathroom, also empty. He went outside on their balcony, and scanned the beach. There was no one, except for two guys sitting together in the distance and a couple of kids playing volleyball.
''Oh my God,'' he whispered, running a hand through his hair as he felt the panic swell in his chest at an exponential rate.
Mr. Underwood appeared in his entrance, a worried expression on his face. ''Son, you had this in your hand,'' he said, handing him the empty needle. ''What happened?''
Mike took it from him, placing it on the kitchen counter. ''I don't know where Jane is, Mr. Underwood. We had a… fight, and I ran after her. But someone shot this needle in my back and I passed out.''
Mr. Underwood looked back at Mike, baffled.
Mike tried to focus on his breathing. ''I know who did it. I just need to find her.''
Find her. Where was he going to find her address? It's not like he could check the phonebook. He didn't even know her last name.
El must have written it down somewhere in her notes. He ran to their bedroom and starting tossing El's notebooks around until he unearthed her school agenda.
''Come on, come on,'' he whispered, flipping the pages with a trembling hand as he searched for her contacts page.
Jaclyn Currant. 1418 Elk Road, Apt. 16.
He ran to the phone and dialed 911.
''911, what's your emergency?''
''Yes, my girlfriend is missing. Someone… kidnapped her, I think. They shot me with a tranquilizer, and I passed out trying to run after her,'' he blurted out, panicked.
''Your name, sir? And your girlfriend's name? When did this happen? And do you know why she would want to kidnap your girlfriend?''
Good question, thought Mike. Why would Jackie do such a thing?
''Michael Wheeler. Jane Hopper, I don't know,'' his eyes darted to the alarm clock on their nightstand as he tried to push through his hazy memory to remember the timeline of events. He'd come home from the oil change at 1:00 pm. Jaclyn showed up 15 minutes later. El showed up 5 minutes after that.
''Around 1:20 pm,'' he said. Damn. He'd been out 2 hours.
''Your address, sir?''
''611 Milton Road. But I know who did it. It's this girl from her school. Her name is Jaclyn Currant,'' he informed the operator, and he proceeded to give her Jaclyn's address. ''I need you to send someone to check out her apartment. Right now.''
''Sir, we can't do that without a warrant. We don't even know for sure that this person really kidnapped your girlfriend. And seeing as Ms. Hopper has been gone for two hours, we can't declare her as missing yet.''
''I FUCKING KNOW SHE DID IT, OKAY?'' Mike screamed into the phone. ''WHY ELSE WOULD SHE HAVE SHOT ME WITH A TRANQUILIZER?''
''Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to keep your voice down -''
Mike hung up. He wasn't going to stay on the line for this bullshit. If the authorities weren't going to dispatch someone to raid Jackie's apartment, Mike was going to have to do it himself.
He was making his way to his car when El's purse caught his eye.
El's purse! She'd left it behind!
He slammed it down on kitchen island counter as he rummaged through it, trying to find anything that would help. He pulled out a familiar-looking white stick.
It was a pregnancy test. And it was positive.
Mike felt his knees start to give out and had to steady himself on the counter. For a moment, the world stopped turning. He stared at the pink plus sign, gripping the edge of the counter so tight his knuckles were beginning to turn white.
His heart raced. El was pregnant? Since when? Why hadn't she told him anything? He laughed, and tears he hadn't even felt coming fell down his cheeks. He couldn't take his eyes off the test. He was going to be a father!
His happy thoughts were interrupted when reality came crashing back to him in the form of Jaclyn's voice inside his head. At least our child will have your genes. Her hands on his chest. She's keeping secrets from you too, you know.
The memory hit Mike like a tidal wave. Mike leaned back on the counter, horrified as Jaclyn's true intentions became clear.
The crazy bitch was after their baby.
El woke up to pitch darkness. It took a few seconds for her to realize she was blindfolded. And bound to a chair by her hands and feet.
What is this, she thought, fear beginning to swell inside her as she searched for answers.
Then she remembered. Jackie. Mike. What that the last thing she remembered? No. She remembered making it to the first level of her apartment building. She remembered hearing Mike call her name behind her.
Then she remembered hitting the floor. That was it.
''Hello!'' she screamed at the top of her lungs.
''Hello!'' she screamed again, desperately trying to yank her wrists free. ''Jackie!''
She heard a door open in the distance.
''Ah, you're awake!'' It was Jackie's voice, no doubt about it.
''Jaclyn, what is this?!''
''Jane. I'm sorry about how all that went down,'' she said, her heels clicking on the ground as she approached El.
''Jaclyn! Untie me!'' El screamed.
''Can't, sweetheart.''
El tried not to let the panic take over. She had to stay calm.
''Can you at least untie the blindfold so we can talk?''
Jaclyn laughed. ''I can't do that either. Can't risk you using your powers on me. I fly across the room, pass out. God knows what could happen after that.''
El was shocked. How did Jaclyn know about her powers? Sure, her telekinetic abilities had been revealed to the general public after her highly publicized trial against Hawkins Lab two years ago. Had Jackie known about her true identity this whole time and not said a word to her about it?
''How did you…''
''How did I know? Oh, Jane. We have a lot to talk about, you and I.'' El heard Jackie taking a few steps away from her. Then the scraping of a chair's legs on the ground along with the clicking of her heels as she returned.
''Mind if I call you Eleven? Now that we're being honest with each other...'' When El didn't reply, Jackie went on.
''You see, Eleven, I've been watching you for a long time. I knew who you were a long time before we met,'' she continued. A clinking of plates being placed on a nearby table. Liquids being poured into receptacles. It was killing El not to be able to see what was going on.
Jackie paused. ''I think you know my uncle. Dr. Martin Brenner…''
El felt herself stop breathing, her blood instantly turning cold inside her veins. Her heart was racing so fast and so hard, all she could hear was the deafening thump of it inside her ears.
A wave of nausea hit her hard. El turned her head to the side and vomited.
''Don't worry, I'll take care of that,'' said Jackie, as if El had a choice. ''Your nausea is completely normal. The first trimester is usually pretty tough for most women.'' El felt a cold face cloth being pressed against her forehead.
''Have some water,'' said Jackie, pressing a glass against her lips. El turned her head away from it in dismissal.
Jackie sighed. ''Eleven. I'm not going to poison you. I need that baby healthy,'' she said. ''I can assure you that you're safe for the next nine months. Scout's honor.''
My baby? Thought El.
''What?''
Jackie cleared her throat. ''As I was saying. I'm a big fan of yours. My father and his brother were quite close. Twins usually are. Growing up, all I'd ever heard about was my uncle's hard work with the MKUltra project. And the amazing results it produced with the patients' children. Gifted with superhuman abilities, not one of them the same. His work with the paranormal and the other dimensions… he was the pride and joy of our family.''
El fought the urge to cry. This couldn't be happening. This had to be a sick joke from the Lab in an effort to get back at her for the lawsuit.
''Anyway… I was fascinated. Every time I'd see him, I'd ask him about the children. What their abilities were. As a child, I saw him as a sort of Charles Xavier. And you all were his X-Men.'' She laughed at her clever comparison. ''And I wanted to be one of you so bad - you in particular. You know why?''
El didn't answer.
''Because he talked about you all the time,'' she replied, leaning forward in her chair. ''You were his favorite. Did you know that? He always spoke to us about his sweet, obedient Eleven. How powerful you were at such a young age. His most promising subject. But then, you ran away.'' She paused. ''Why would you do that, El? Don't you know how powerful you could have become?''
Once again, El kept silent.
''Hawkins Lab was never the same after he died. Shame on them for throwing all my uncle's hard work out the window.''
El sniffled, trying to regain a hold on herself. She couldn't cry. Not now. ''What does any of that have to do with my baby?'' she whispered.
''Ah, yes, of course. Sorry, I got carried away.'' Jaclyn took a sip of whatever she'd poured for herself. ''I can't have children. You know, it's not physically possible for me. All the doctors confirmed it. There's something wrong with my uterus. So I figured I'd take yours. As an homage to my uncle. I've been watching you with Mike for a long time, how in love the two of you were. I figured it wouldn't be too long before he'd put a ring on it, and knock you up.'' She laughed. ''And I was right. But I have a confession to make.''
''What?''
''I've been swapping your pill packs for quite a while,'' she admitted. The words hit El like a ton of bricks. So that's how the pregnancy had happened.
''Once a month, I'd replace your pill prescription with a placebo. Whenever you'd go to the bathroom in class, I'd slip it inside your purse. Took you quite a while to get pregnant. I was surprised. Sixteen months, to be exact.''
El began to cry again. She couldn't help it.
''It's why I enrolled in nursing school in the first place. To keep you close, you know? Figured the whole thing would be easier if I befriended you. And I learned some pretty handy things along the way. How to provide medical care for you and the baby during your pregnancy. Looking back, it was an excellent idea. Hey, we almost made it through the entire the program. Too bad you'll never graduate.''
El's entire body shook with sobs as she thought of Mike. He was probably so worried about her.
''Mike,'' she whispered, her heart aching for him.
''Oh, about him,'' Jaclyn continued. ''I'm sorry about what went down earlier. I couldn't help it. I wanted us to try and make a sibling for our precious miracle… but he's got eyes only for you. Can't say I was surprised, although I can't understand it. But it was worth a try. And it was worth seeing your face when you walked in.''
El laughed bitterly. ''Mike would never sleep with you, you crazy bitch. And you're out of your mind if you think you'll ever have a love like ours - ''
El was interrupted by Jaclyn slapping her across the face so hard, a high-pitched ringing sound resonated in her ears.
''Hey, now,'' she warned. ''I'm keeping you alive and healthy, but that doesn't mean I can't fuck up your pretty face if you don't play nice. Are you going to play nice?''
El gave her a slight nod, turning her head to spit out the blood that was beginning to fill her mouth.
''I have to go make an appearance somewhere,'' said Jaclyn, rising from her seat. ''Can't tell you where. Sorry. But nice chat, El.''
El heard the clicking of her heels get fainter as Jaclyn walked away.
''I'll be back soon,'' she said. ''Don't try anything stupid.''
When she heard the door close, El screamed as loud as she could. Then she cried herself to sleep.