Sophie

Once I was finished hearing the entire story, from when I had 'died' up to the very camping trip they were on, I was stunned. El had moved away, Hopper was dead, and they were all in school. Then their eyes turned to me as Max said.

'How did you survive?'

'Let me tell you. It's a long story' I say and begin.

Sophie – 5 months ago

The rain is pouring down as we rush past the construction site. The big mall is going to be built here. I can't wait to go around with El and Max, finally be able to do all the things a normal girl my age should be able to do. The storm seems to come out of nowhere as we are all just hanging out in the field enjoying the good weather. I tell everyone to huddle round me as I prepare to teleport us back to town and into a sheltered area. We all lock arms and I try and teleport. Nothing. I try again. Nothing.

'Why isn't it working?' I hear Lucas ask.

'I don't know' I reply.

I try again and again but it just never comes. Eventually I realise that it won't work and so we are stuck here. So, we all start to try and find some shelter. Unfortunately for us we are all in summer clothes that don't offer much or even any protection from the rain. Mike's hair flails about as he grabs El's arm in a desperate attempt to find shelter from the assault of rain that bedevils us.

The amount of water that was soaking into out clothes, shoes and hair was almost too much to bear as we continue our lung-busting effort to find refuge in the construction site. As we do so, the lights surrounding the site are on which provides us with some light as the sky had become greyscale with the thunderclouds above us. We all made it to one some sort of shelter or another. There is a small gazebo that most of us take up, however me, Cal and Will don't fit so they sit in a digger that is stationed near us and I stand under a crane, using one of its arms for support.

The lightning continues to flash as we try and wait the storm out. I don't know how long we had been there, but the rain began to ease slowly. When we deemed it to be calm enough to get out we started to walk away but we heard lighting and thunder so retreated again. The thunder and lightning got closer and as I reached out to find the pole I had been holding onto previously. Then a flash blinded me, and I felt my hand grow incredibly hot and numb and then my whole body became limp and I fell…

Max – 5 months ago

We looked away; the blinding flash of light too bright to see. When we looked back, the scene in front of us looked like something out of a horror movie. Sophie's body lay limp on the floor impaled directly onto a spike sticking out of the ground. Blood was pouring out of her as it combined with the rain to coat her body in liquid. It was enough to make you want to be sick. And some of us were actually sick. I heard and saw Will retch and throw up.

Then came the scream. Deafening and powerful, when I saw the digger begin to lift itself, I knew who it belonged to. She ran over to Sophie, as did we all, but especially her and Cal, they ran at full speed and began to cradle her head and arms. Her eyes weren't open, and it didn't appear that she was conscious. Cal being the trained weapon that he was couldn't help but notice the heat radiating from the pole she was holding onto. Eventually, he would tell us that he guessed that she had been electrocuted and that she had fallen onto the spike out of consciousness.

Her breathing began to labour, and we knew she was dying, we just didn't want to admit it. I guess none of us did. We didn't know what to do. We started to take her body off of the spike, but Cal stopped us, as it would mean she would bleed out faster. Lucas was the fastest of us, so he volunteered to run down and get Hopper. But we knew that it was futile. There was no changing what the outcome would be. So, we just waited. The rain didn't matter anymore. There was just too much going on for it to matter. Then the lightning and the thunder began to pick up again as it had just before Sophie was struck. Cal realised what was happening and tried to back us all off. El wouldn't leave her side though. Cal had to force her up, and get her away just as there was another lightning strike and when we looked back, she was gone.

We searched and searched and searched but eventually we had to concede to the fact that she was gone. It never was the same and we tried to get back to the way things were, and in some ways we managed it. But there was that gaping hole that wouldn't be filled. Until now.

Sophie – 5 months ago

I wake up in a bed. There is a surgical table next to me with tools on it.
'Hello again' I hear a voice say. I was sure I had heard it before. I turn my head and a silver haired man is standing there with a doctor next to him.

'What's going on? Where am I? Who are you?' I ask in quick succession.

'To answer you. I'm Dr. Brenner. You're in a secure facility just outside of Atlantic City and we just saved you from certain death.'

'You what?' I ask. I try to sit up but a searing pain cuts through my ribcage.

'We saved your life. Now don't try to move, your wounds are still healing' the man says to me. At this I recognise him as the man from the Lab all those years ago.

'What wounds?' I ask, trying to keep my surprise a secret and play along as if I don't know who it is I'm speaking to.

'You were impaled on quite a sharp metallic object. It was hard to get you here in one piece let alone save you' he says, a scowl appearing on his face.

'Thank you' I say. 'How was I injured?'

'You were caught in a lightning storm with your friends. They were daring you to touch the metallic object that had just been struck by lightning. It was still charged with electricity and you went unconscious. You fell onto said metal pole and here you are.'

'No, that can't be true' I say, starting to laugh. 'El and the gang would never let me do that, the guys are science buffs. They would've known that it was dangerous.'

'So why are you here then?' he counters.

'No. You're lying to me' I fire back. 'Now I do know who you are. You experimented on me when I was younger. Now let me go.'

'I won't force you to stay here' he says calmly. 'Why don't you try and use your powers?'

I try to use them. When I open my eyes, I'm still here and so is he with a smug grin on his face.

'I'm not lying to you' he says. 'You can choose what to believe, facts and evidence or your loyalty to the friends that wanted you gone.'

'What evidence?' I snarl at him.

'These' he says and pulls back the curtain to reveal a computer screen. He types in a few keys and Mike's voice rings out.

'We both want her gone. She just gets in the way and she just doesn't fit in. Why doesn't she just teleport away and never come back?'

Then El's voice.

'Why does she think we want to hang around with her? She was hated at Hawkins Lab. She was left out to dry. She was just a homeless girl when we picked her up anyway. She will always be nothing. Like trash in the wind. Her very worthlessness will be proven when she dies. It will matter to no one.'

Then Cal's. This one hurt the most.

'She thinks I love her. She thinks the connection we have is genuine. She is more naïve than I thought. I only keep her around to fuck around with her. I actually wish she were dead. It would be a much more fitting fate for her than this pitiful existence she lives as her life.'

I'm crying by the end of it. I don't want to believe it. I can't believe it. But… That but grows and grows.

'No, it can't be true. You're messing with my head or something. GET AWAY FROM ME!' I scream.

'I know that this is difficult to process. It would be for anyone. But I want you to draw your mind away from that. Think about the times you truly felt safe and protected. Was it with your 'friends', or was it when you actually had a place to sleep, eat and live? Answer the question for yourself.' I think about it and he starts to make sense. The times at Hawkins Lab were safe. My mind says, 'But they experimented on you.' However, that voice gets lost within the multitude of feelings I'm currently feeling.

Then a tape starts up on the TV. It was us, stuck in the construction site.

It looks normal. Then I see Mike whisper something to El.

She speaks up, in my direction. 'I dare you to touch that' she says and points to a metal pole.

'Why?' I seemingly ask.

'Because its gonna be funny' says Mike. 'Just do it.' He has a smug grin on his face.

'Okay, if you're sure' I say and place my hand on it. Nothing happens.

'See' I say and take my hand off.

'No, keep it on' says Cal. 'We'll give you $5 if you can keep it there for 10 minutes.'

'Okay, sure' I say and place my hand back on the metal pole.

Then the lightning strikes. My body crumples and I fall straight onto the metal spike.

My friends stop for a second, and each and every one of them starts to smile. They each kick my body as they walk past and head in the direction of town, unmoved by my apparent death. Then the video cuts out.

'We found you shortly after' says Dr. Brenner. 'Do you believe me now?'

I wrestle with this thought for what seems like ages. I know he can't be right, but something deep inside me tells me he is.
I finally answer.

'No. I'll never believe you. They wouldn't do that to me. I don't know how you managed to doctor that footage and audio, but you did. They saved me. And they would never turn on me. Not El. Not Mike. And definitely not Cal' I say back to him.

'Now let me go.'

'If that is truly what you want, I will let you go' he says. 'But this is not the last time we will be seeing each other; I can guarantee you that Sophie.'

The doors of the facility I'm in open up and he beckons me towards them.

'There you go' he says. 'You're way out.'

I am sceptical of this but the risks of staying outweigh the risks of leaving. I walk at a brisk pace towards the doors, not wanting to spend any more time than I need to in this place. I reach the doors and cross the threshold expecting something bad to happen. Nothing happens. I turn back and see a blank expression on Brenner's face. Then, the doors begin to close at a heart-wrenchingly slow pace until eventually the silver-haired doctor and the surgical bed I was in are no longer visible. I look back at the facility I was in and it looks more like a hangar than anything else. It's arching roof above me looks intimidating even in the night air. The air is cool, but warm enough to be comfortable. I look around and I realise I'm in an industrial estate of some kind. I start off in one direction and keep walking…

Sophie

'After that, I lay low for a few months' I said, looking at them all. 'As far as I can tell, my powers haven't come back yet. And I didn't come back straight away to keep you guys safe. I needed to know that Brenner wasn't following me. So, here I am now.'

'Well either way, welcome back Sophie' said Max and gave me another hug.

'Well, it's all good that Sophie is back, but are we gonna ignore the fact that she just said that Brenner is back' said Mike, the fear clearly exhibited in his voice.

'We have to warn El' said Lucas, as I noticed a fearful expression had arisen in his eyes.

'Okay, but not right away' said Mike. 'She's starting school tomorrow and she needs to get used to her new house first as well.'

'Mike has a point' I said. 'But what if they find her and act before we tell her. If her powers still aren't working as you said-' I was cut off.

'I felt her presence last night' said Mike. 'She has her powers back. Or some of them at least. She can still find me in the static.'

'That's good, at least she has something to defend herself with' I said, looking around. 'We'll tell her, but just not now. And on a lighter note, I wonder how El will do on her first day at school.'

El

The day went along a lot slower than I thought it would. But then again, Will had told me that school did go on for a lot longer than you would usually think, so I already had an idea of what I was going up against. But the clock seemed to move slower the faster that I looked at it. It was almost mocking me, how slowly the seconds were going. I had expected to be fascinated by the school environment, but I very quickly realised how wrong I was. It was boring, the subjects didn't really interest me, although biology second period we dissected frogs so that was kinda interesting I guess. But I couldn't wait for break to come so I could find out more about Susan, or Stargirl as she called herself. Once the bell for break finally sounded, I hoisted myself out of my seat and just walked around into the playground and sat down, waiting for either Will or Stargirl to find me. In the end it was the latter who found me first. I spotted Will hanging out with a couple of kids, so I was sure he was fine.

She came up to me, sat down, got out a notebook, turned to me and said, 'Did you know that starfish have no brain and no circulatory system?'

I shook my head.

'Well' she continued, not looking up from her notebook. 'They use filtered sea water to pump nutrients through their nervous system. It's awesome. Imagine not having to use your brain. It'd be so weird.'

I was kind of stunned by this, so I didn't really know what to say. She seemed to pick up on this because she said 'Don't worry, I know lots of cool information like that. I just love researching. It's so fascinating.' She had a faint British accent. 'And I also do exceptionally good impressions/accents if I do say so myself.'

'That's great. I'm El' I said, realising that I hadn't even introduced myself properly.

'Yes, I gathered that from the register' she said matter-of-factly. 'Now, if we're going to be more than humble acquaintances I need to gauge a few things. Number one, do you solemnly swear that you will always look on the bright side?'

'Erm, sure' I say, bamboozled at this girls… well, everything about her.

'Number two' she continued. 'Do you promise to be a good friend, to always tell the truth and to never lie?'

'I do' I say. I understand this one more. The words still linger in my head. 'Friends don't lie'

'Number three, and most key of all. Do you promise to bring Lieutenant Nibbles one snack of crackers every week?'

'Lieutenant who?' I ask.

'Lieutenant Nibbles is my hamster' she explained. 'He is currently taking a well-deserved nap in my bag. Now do you swear to the final condition?'

'Yeah' I say, with smiles forming on both of our faces.

'Well then El' she said. 'I look forwards to our partnership together. Now them, let's get to know each other. I like to start with easy questions, nothing too personal.'

She gets out her notepad and checks out a page with a list of questions on it that I can see reflected in her glasses.

'Oh, and by the way I don't always wear glasses. It's just that my new contact lenses haven't arrived, so I'm forced to wear these.' She said this without even looking up. Her infectious positivity and enigmatic nature really puzzled me as she seemed so calm and collected, yet she had a pink notebook with sparkles. As she began to rattle of questions that would seemingly be of no consequence to anyone except her, I began to think about my times with Sophie and Max, remembering every little detail. I just hoped that Sophie is happy, wherever she was…

Hopper

I was led to the helicopter by a couple of the guards. It was extremely cold, but I didn't care. I just couldn't wait to get out of this damn place. I was loaded onto the helicopter and we took off into the night air, heading for what I assumed was an airport and my ticket back to America. I hadn't figured out how I was going to ditch this lot, but I knew I had to do it somehow in order for me to get back to El. If not even for myself, I had to do it for her. I couldn't bare the thought of her feeling guilty over my death. I needed to get back to her as soon as possible. And I promised myself that I would do whatever I needed to in order to ensure her safety. She was my daughter after all…

Brenner

I watched from inside as Hopper was loaded into the helicopter. I smiled to myself. I wandered what he was thinking about. Probably trying to put together a plan to ditch us when we got back to America. Which is exactly what I was counting on. I was going to let him escape, find his loved ones and spend just enough time with them to think things were going back to normal before I snatched it all away from him. After all, I was only doing to him what he had done to me. They say revenge is a dish served cold, and that was never truer in that moment as we navigated the cold skies above the icy Russian terrain, heading for the airport that would be out gateway back to the Land of the Free…