CHAPTER TWELVE: LITTLE WORLDS

Their hunt for Will had turned up with an unexpected surprise, and Mike didn't know what he was going to do if his mom found the young girl in their basement. He had taken her back to his house and offered her a safe haven for the night. He didn't know what she was doing out so late, and in such torrential rain, but he knew he needed to offer her some support. He had Dustin and Lucas slip her into the back of the house, away from the watchful gaze of his mother as he kept up appearances with his family for a couple minutes.

He slipped down into the basement shortly after to find the three of them standing with his two best friends staring at the girl. And it was then that he took in every little detail of her: the shaved head, the fearful eyes, the pink dress and trainers. As he stared at her in disbelief, he noticed the way she was looking at them all like a deer in headlights.

Dustin and Lucas looked over at Mike as they wondered what their next plan was. They had many questions floating around their heads: Who was she? What was she doing in Castle Byers in the rain? Where had she come from? She didn't go to their school, and they hadn't seen her around Hawkins before. She looked to be around their age which was something that made Mike question everything.

"Who are you?" Mike asked, his voice bold and questioning.

The girl hesitated for a moment before licking her dry lips. "Eleven."

"What kinda name is that?" Lucas asked, his voice harsh. Eleven flicked her gaze over to him and furrowed her brow. She didn't know much about humour, and she wondered if he was making fun of her name. She thought back to where she had been before; the trailer that belonged to the Chief seemed a distant memory.

Eleven lifted her jacket sleeve and showed them the inked number tattooed into her skin, and as the three boys stepped closer with a gasp as they inspected it, she knew there would be more questions than she could answer.

"How did… how did you get that?" Dustin asked first.

"Are you both really believing this?" Lucas was next.

"Eleven isn't your name, is it?" Mike asked, his voice softer. She looked at him then and shook her head.

"I don't have a name," Eleven whispered sadly.

"You must have a name," Mike replied reassuringly.

"I can't remember it," Eleven offered, and it was all she had. For as long as she could remember, Papa had referred to her as Eleven and she had truly believed it to be her name. She didn't know anything else, and she wondered if everything that Papa had told her was a lie.

"Okay, Eleven," Mike whispered, raising his hands as he stepped closer to her. "Why were you in Castle Byers?"

"Run…" Eleven said quickly.

"Run?" Dustin asked, his voice cautious. "Have you run away from home?"

Eleven shook her head. "I… Caroline…"

"Who's Caroline?" Mike asked with a furrowed brow.

"She lived here…"

Mike threw a confused look over at Lucas and Dustin who were equally as confused as he was. He turned back to Eleven.

"Wait… Caroline… she's the girl who went missing years ago?" Mike asked, as he tried to piece together information he'd heard and seen. Eleven nodded at his question. "How do you know her name?"

"She was with me," Eleven answered.

"Where?"

Eleven swallowed the lump in her throat and thought for a moment before answering. "In the Upside Down."

..

Caroline woke with a jolt sometime later. As her vision focused in on her surroundings, she recognised that she was still at Joyce's house. She reached her hand up to her head as she slid up the couch so that she was sitting up. The movement was heard by Hopper who slid into the room from the kitchen, his worried gaze fixed on her. He had removed his jacket which now hung upon the coat rack behind the door.

"Hey Caro…" Hopper whispered, as she moved her gaze onto him slowly. "You had us worried there. How are you feeling?"

Caroline didn't answer him, but rather moved to stand. Hopper noticed the unsteadiness in her movements, the clumsiness in her limbs, and just before she fell to the ground, he caught her arms with his strong hands.

"How long have I been out?" she asked after a moment, and it was then that she saw Hopper glance over at Joyce who appeared from around the corner.

"About an hour," Joyce glanced at her watch. Caroline studied her for a moment before nodding in appreciation.

"I have to go," Caroline said, releasing herself from Hopper. He reached for her then, his protective side coming to the surface.

"You're not going anywhere," Hopper ordered. "You made contact with Will, and we saw that monster. I don't what the hell that was. And you passed out. There's no way in hell I'm letting you just go out there in that state."

"Just let me go, Jim," Caroline ordered.

"What's gotten into you?" Hopper seethed, his eyes burning.

"Please, just… just step aside," Caroline pleaded with him. She could feel panic begin to rise in her chest, and she knew she needed to keep calm.

Hopper asked. "Or what?"

Caroline stared at him with determination. "Jim… I'm going to tell you one more time. Step aside, please."

"Do you really think we're going to let you just leave after you passed out?" Hopper asked, dumbfoundedly.

"Don't you see? Can't you add it all up?" Caroline shouted, her voice shaking with emotion. "The day I left the Lab was the day Will was taken. He's gone because I left with Eleven."

"It's not your fault," Hopper reassured, but furrowed his brows at Caroline who simply rolled eyes.

"Hopper, please…" Caroline whispered, her voice weak.

"If you're going then we're going to," Hopper stated, his voice soft and eyes dark. "We're not letting you go alone."

Caroline shook her head. "It's too dangerous. There are things down there that you will wish you never even knew about."

"Hopper's right," Joyce interjected. "My boy is down there. I can't have you go alone."

Caroline turned to observe the woman. Her eyes were exhausted from worry and lack of sleep. Her body hunched over in anguish. She wondered if her own mother looked that way when she went missing. Caroline closed her eyes for a moment, trying to conjure an image of her mother in her mind. It was difficult but like paint on a canvas, her mother's image began to take shape in her mind. Dark brown hair, bright green eyes, a soft smile, glasses framing her round face. She missed her more than anything in the world, and there was nothing she could do to bring her back. Her parents died not knowing where their daughter was, and never knowing she would turn up out of the blue after so many years.

It stung. And Caroline felt bitterness towards Brenner. She knew he'd be out looking for them with the rest of the guards, and it was only a matter of time before he stumbled upon them. Hawkins was a small town, after all. A place where no one could hide.

"I need you to promise me one thing before we go there," Caroline began. Joyce and Hopper watched her carefully. "If anyone sees us, let me handle it, okay?"

..

"This Caroline… why was she taken to the Lab?" Dustin asked as they followed the trail towards Hopper's trailer, a route being led by Eleven as she used her mind to navigate her way back.

Eleven stopped and shrugged at his question. "I don't know. She took me away."

"How long were you there for?" Mike asked, concerned.

"I can't remember," Eleven answered honestly. "It's all I remember."

As Eleven turned back around and continued leading the way, she was unaware of the concerned glances being shared between the three best friends.

"What did they do there?" Lucas piped up.

"Tests," Eleven answered quickly.

"Like mathematics?"

"What's mathematics?" Eleven asked innocently.

"I wish I didn't know what it was," Dustin smirked. "You're lucky."

Mike hit him then and shook his head. "What he's trying to say is that… we look like we're all the same age and it's strange for us to understand just how different we are from you."

"Different, how?" Eleven inquired after a moment.

"I… we… you were brought up in a Lab," Mike stuttered, trying his best to not make it sound rude. Eleven simply stared back at him and blinked a few times.

"You have family?" El asked to which they all nodded. "Family… I have Papa."

Lucas asked. "Who's Papa?"

"Papa," Eleven repeated. "My Papa. He looks after me. He makes me do brain tests."

Lucas narrowed his gaze at her and questioned her. "Why?"

His question was left unanswered as they reached the trailer in Eleven's memories. She stretched her senses inside and found no heartbeats, and sighed.

"She's not here," she whispered.

"Where could she be?" Dustin asked, but it seemed his question would be left unanswered as Eleven collapsed to the ground in sheer agony as pain ripped through her entire body. She grabbed her head in discomfort as a loud screeching ricocheted throughout her mind. Her nose began to bleed, and her breathing hitched in her throat. The boys rushed over to her in panic, and they watched as her eyes flashed black. It was for just a small moment, but it was enough for them all to realise the severity of the situation.

"El?" Mike called out to her. She glanced at him in pain. "What's happening?"

"She's gone back home."

..

The Lab was quiet which was a stark contrast to the way she left the building a few days before. Though the alarms still flashed red along the corridors, the sirens were silenced. All signs of life were gone from the building which she deemed would benefit her more than she realised. Hopper and Joyce had joined her, not wanting her to go alone. Joyce wanted to be there for her son when they found him, and Hopper wanted to support all of them. He was worried about Caroline and her behaviour when she was at Joyce's house, and it was something he knew he had to discuss with her at another time.

As they descended down the stairs into the main Laboratory, Caroline ordered for them to equip themselves with the appropriate attire to protect them from the spores. Hopper had handed Caroline one, but she dismissed him silently with the shake of her head.

"I don't need one," Caroline whispered. "I've been down here with less."

Hopper furrowed his brow at her comment but before he could ask her about it, she reached the gateway. As they adorned the suits, they followed behind Caroline as she unlocked the door to the portal. A cart was waiting for them, and Hopper stepped onto it first, and turned back to help the two of them onto it. He couldn't take his eyes off Caroline; exposed and unprotected from the spores that surrounded them as soon as they descended further down into the Upside Down.

As the cart reached the bottom, they stepped off it. The screeches surrounded them then, and Caroline closed her eyes, gathering strength as she felt the fear radiate from Hopper and Joyce behind her.

She didn't know what was to await them, but she was ready.

And the Upside Down welcomed her home.