Hey guys.

So, it's been about almost two weeks since I've updated this story. I'm sorry for that. I've got reasons.

1. I had a severe case of writer's block. I didn't know how to continue the story without seeming too repetitive.

2. These past two weeks have been finals for school, and it has kicked my ass. My head hurts for all the books I had to shove it into, and I'm SO behind on sleep. I can feel my eyes twitching all the time now.

3. A member of the family passed away this week due to complications of a stroke and COVID-19. It's been heavy on my mind and the family is down in the dumps at the moment. Please, take this epidemic seriously. It can take someone in an instant.

Anyways, I'm not a mood killer and I don't want to ramble on and on. I didn't mean to bring this upon you all. I hope you like this chapter, and I hope to at least get one more out before the holidays.

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and stay safe. Love you all.

"So, you told them?"

Joshua looked at him from the passenger side, "Yeah, I did. Everything."

Although it was getting dark outside, he could see the look on Larry's face, and it was one of worriedness.

It was shortly after Larry had just picked him up from Mike's house, when he spilled everything out to them. To say he was terrified to proclaim his past was a complete fucking understatement. He was shaking the entire time when he was telling his story, and it felt like Joshua did it just to prove it to him, like they hadn't believed at first.

Joshua was afraid that it would bite him in the ass, that all of these proclamations would somehow haunt him. And judging from the look on Larry's face that was directed towards him, Joshua would say that was perhaps likely.

"Do you think that was wise?"

There it is.

Joshua just shrugs, "I don't know."

Larry sighs, "What did you tell them, specifically?"

"I told them about my number and my experience in the lab…"

"Son of a bitch," he says, smacking the wheel.

Joshua looks at him and he could tell Larry was pissed, "What did I tell you about being discreet? Kid, that's not what that means."

"I trust them Larry," Joshua defends, and he is about to continue until Larry explodes, "What, you trust them just because they are kids?! Joshua, you've got to be smarter than that! What if they know Brenner, and what happens if they tell someone?!"

Joshua opens his mouth, but Larry continues to yell, "God dammit Josh...we haven't been under the radar for almost 4 years just for you to fuck it up. For a damn smart kid, you can really be a dumbass..."

"Larry!"

He shuts up, looking at Joshua with an open mouth, "They know about the lab because one of them is from one."

Joshua could see Larry's face turn back to normal color, and his eyes start spazzing out, looking from the road to Joshua, "Wait…"

"Yeah, who's the dumbass now?"

Larry ignores Joshua's remark, "You are telling me that you've known about this?"

"I just learned yesterday, but yeah."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"I didn't for sure! Besides, you wouldn't have believed me."

"Still don't," he hears Larry mutter.

"Well you need to. She has a number on her wrist, just like mine. Except it says Eleven."

Larry shoots him a glance, "Eleven?"

"Yeah, that's her name. El for short. That's what I was doing last night… welcoming her home."

Larry held his head, like the information was too much, "So there is more of you."

He says it more like a statement than a question, and Joshua doesn't know what to say, so there were a few minutes of uncomfortable silence as he let Larry stew all of it over, because Joshua knew that he was trying to figure out something to say. Whether it was a good thing or bad thing, he didn't know yet. When it came to situations like this, it meant that they were moving again… and Joshua didn't want that again. He'd done plenty of it and he actually liked Hawkins.

"I'm meeting them," Larry blurts out, as if that's that.

Joshua wasn't surprised though, "Ok. When?"

"Tomorrow."

"Ok," he says again, "just don't scare them away. I like them."

"No promises," Larry answers, but from the tone of his voice, Joshua knew he wouldn't.

Oxford, Mississippi (Spring 1986)

They moved again.

It wasn't surprising at this point for Joshua, because it seemed like they were both on the run for a very long time.

It had been just over 3 years since they escaped from Biloxi by the skin of their teeth, when Joshua had to kill in order to get away. Taking those soldiers' lives still haunted him. So began their journey through the state, from Hattiesburg to Jackson to Starkville, and any small town in between. Larry had tried to keep them in a seclusion for 6 months at a time, but if he ever caught wind of anything, they'd be gone before Joshua could even wrap his head around it.

Being a lanky and almost bald headed kid, almost being terrorized on a daily basis at every school he'd be in seemed to be a walk in a park, and Joshua couldn't decide whether that was bad or good.

But once they had gotten on the road again, he bundled himself underneath a blanket on the passenger side of Larry's truck as he smoked, keeping his driver's side window open to blow the smoke out. It wasn't helping the temperature situation, as both of them had to wear two jackets because the AC in the truck didn't work. It was the perk of trying to stay under the radar- they owned low budget crappy items.

The years of stress had really taken a toll on Larry. His once precious mullet was now a mix between a mohawk and a bald spot, and his beard chops were lined with grey and wispy hairs. There were bags under his eyes from all of the nights of no sleep, wondering whether or not Brenner would find them. Joshua had those too, so he understood how Larry felt.

Larry closes the window, putting his cigarette out in the ashtray settled in one of the cup holders, "You okay kid?"

Joshua wanted to say, "We are on the run again, so I'm scared out of mind… thanks for asking", but he just goes with, "Scared."

Larry nods, "I understand. But we'll deal with it like we always have."

"Like a bunch of cowards?"

"No, like survivors," Larry corrects, "and there is nothing wrong with being cowards, Josh. Nothing at all."

Joshua only grunts, knowing that he was right. He was just frustrated with everything, "Okay. Where are we heading this time?"

Larry only shrugs, "Can't say. Whenever I see a new place, that's where we'll stop."

"You moved us away from Starkville just to not have an idea of where we'll be going?"

"It's what I've always done kid, and it's worked out great."

Joshua had a sarcastic remark stuck in his throat, but he decided against it, remaining quiet. For the rest of the drive, however long it was going to be, Joshua tried to catch up on all of the sleep he missed, even if it was hard to do so against the cool spring wind infiltrating inside the truck. Larry made a couple of stops for gas and snacks, and Joshua didn't want anything, and that's probably why he's a skinny kid. He was never hungry.

Sometimes Joshua goes back to his days in the lab, and wonders if some of his side effects come from the experiments he was in. His lack of appetite, his mood swings, his undesire to do anything- it makes him think. He might have to deal with it for the rest of his life, and it's all because of damn scientists and Brenner turning him into a monster. Joshua hated them, but there was nothing he could. All he could do was run, and he might be doing it for the rest of his life.

When Larry had finally woken him up, the sun had just started to rise, making the sky a light teal color, and Joshua looked around, "So, where did we end up?"

"Oxford," Larry answers, "For knowledge and wisdom."

"What?"

"Their state motto. Saw on it the town sign once we entered," he explains, getting out of the car, "come on kid."

They got out of the car and Joshua saw they were staying at a motel again, and sighed, "Home sweet home."

Larry opens the trunk, pulling a box out and setting it down on the ground, "Come get your stuff."

"What stuff?" Joshua mutters to himself as he grabs his lone bag, throwing it over his shoulder.

"Wait here," Larry orders, "I'm going to get a room."

Larry leaves Joshua near the truck as he walks towards the administration building, and he sits on the bed of the trunk, watching his breath fly in the air against the cool breeze. Still, he couldn't help but notice a kid walking out one of the rooms with a trash bag in his hand, obviously throwing it away.

The kid had black puffy hair and short and stout like he weightlifted, and he was wearing really tattered clothes, and Joshua looked at his own shabby clothing and couldn't help for the kid. He looked like he wasn't in a good place either.

The kid catches Joshua's eyes, and when he tried to look away he knew it was too late, so he kept staring and gave him a little wave.

Joshua expected him to just ignore him, become secluded like Joshua always was, but he didn't. He gave a little smile back and started walking his way.

Joshua could feel the heart in his stomach, and he knew he made a mistake. What about being invisible? You big dumb idiot.

The kid was in front of him before he knew it, "You new here?"

Joshua didn't want to give away anything, so he stayed quiet, acting like a complete jackass. He didn't want to puset this stranger, but he also didn't want to tell him anything that might spill out of his mouth.

The kid didn't seem bothered, as he just smiles, "One of the quiet ones huh? I'm Doug by the way… who are you?"

He could give him that, "Joshua."

"Don't worry Joshua, I'm not going to kill you," Doug says, noticing how reluctant he felt right now, "I just wanna know who you are…"

"Josh!"

Larry came out of the building with a ring key in his hand, twirling around on his finger, looking at the exchange, "Who's your newly acclaimed friend?"

"Doug sir," the bigger kid says, "I live in one of the rooms here with my mom."

Larry only nods, giving Joshua a look like, "Already?"

Joshua just shrugs as Larry looks at Doug, "I'm Larry. I'm sorry to cut our conversation short, but we need to get settled into our new home."

Doug got flustered, "Of course. I won't bother you anymore. Hope to see you soon Joshua."

With that, he walks away, giving one last glance over his shoulder as he reaches his door. Larry doesn't say anything to Joshua until he leads him inside their somewhat disintegrating hotel room, and he lets out a big long sigh, "Josh."

Joshua looks at him, "Yeah?"

"Don't be surprised when you break that kid's heart. Because eventually you will."

He doesn't say anymore, but Joshua knew that it was only a matter of time before they moved again. Even if Doug were to become a friend, Larry was absolutely right.

The truck was set into park, and Larry looked at him, "Here we are."

Joshua stares at the outside of Mike's house, "Are you sure you want to meet them?"

"Damn right I do. I need to hear from them. I also need to see how they were able to win you over.."

Joshua snorts, "Fair enough."

He sees Mike coming from the basement door and waving at him, dressed warmly for the incoming snow, and Joshua steps out, placing his beanie on, "You having second guesses old man?"

Larry gives him a decisive middle finger as he finally follows Joshua's lead, and they walk towards Mike. He could see Mike look at Larry, and Joshua could tell he was worried. Maybe he thought he was in trouble. Maybe they were in trouble, he just didn't know what was going through Larry's mind.

"Josh," Mike greets, giving him a hug.

"Hey Mike," he greets back, and he could see Mike giving Larry a glance, so they separate, "So, you must be Larry."

Larry nods, "That I am. Mike, right?"

"Yep," he says, and from the look on his face, Joshua could tell that he was mad.

Joshua couldn't understand why he would be. He'd known Mike to be a very kind hearted and calm kid, putting others' needs in front of his, and he hadn't met Larry until then. The look didn't fit him at all.

Larry could tell too, because he looked at Joshua with an eyebrow raised, "Your mom here?"

Mike only nods, and Larry nods back, "Okay then. I'm going to talk to her then."

Then, he flees, leaving Joshua more confused than ever. He looks at Mike, who watches Larry walk away, "Come inside. It's freezing out here."

"Did I do something wrong?"

Mike's eyes meet his for the first time, and he seemingly calms down, "No, not you."

With that, he walks inside and Joshua walks in, and the rest of the Party is there, playing DnD.

"...Dustin, do you wish to order a protection spell or shoot fireballs?" Will asks, dressed in a purple wizard get up, as Dustin sat across from him, clearly in distress.

"I don't know…"

"Dustin, don't be a pussy," Lucas exclaims, "take a chance and use the damn fireballs!"

Dustin was frozen, not knowing what to do, and it amused Joshua a little bit. The usually loud and brash teenager was now really quiet. It was humorous, it honestly was.

"Lucas!" Max scolds, smacking him in the shoulder.

El sat quietly, watching Dustin trying to think, when she sees Joshua and Mike and smiles, "Oh hey, you are here!"

All 5 other members said hi, and Joshua could see Dustin perk up at his arrival as he smiles widely, "I'm going with the fireball."

Will's eyes widen, "You'll need a 13 or higher…"

"I know," Dustin interrupts, taking the dice in his hands, "I'm going to do it anyway."

He tosses it on the carpet, as the three boys start scavenging for the di, with Lucas yelling, "Not again dammit!"

Joshua only snickers as he sees El walking towards him, "Hey Josh."

They hug and he takes in her calming presence, "Hey El."

She backs up, placing a hand on his cheek, "Are you doing okay?"

"Better than I was a week ago that's for sure. It was good to get everything off of my chest."

"Good. We are glad to have found you."

She gives a kiss to Mike, "I should ask you if you are okay. You look like you ate something sour."

"Joshua's dad is here," he explains, with an evil like emphasis on the word dad, "he's talking with my mom as we speak."

"Oh. Why is that a bad thing?"

Before Mike could answer, a loud cheer came from Dustin, "I got 14, bitches!"

Lucas high fives him, "See? All you had to do was listen to me!"

Dustin looks at Joshua, "Sorry Lucas. I think Josh is my good luck charm. Take that you fucking beholder!"

Joshua hears Mike snicker at his friend's antics, but hears footsteps as Larry comes into the picture, taking in all of the kids in front of him, as they all look at him.

He freezes, sticking his hands in his pockets, looking at Mike, "I met your mom. She seems nice."

The look was back on Mike's face, "Yeah, that's because she is."

The room all of a sudden takes an awkward apprehension, as everyone stares at Larry, and he clears his throat, "I'm Larry, Joshua's…"

"Dad. Yeah, we know that."

There he goes with that emphasis again. Joshua was suddenly scared for Larry.

Mike is going to tear him a new one, isn't he?

Mike steps away from El and walks towards Larry, "So.. are you going to apologize for Joshua?"

"Mike!" Will loudly whispers at him, but Larry sticks a hand out, "No, it's okay…"

"It's really not," Mike interrupts, "because here's the thing. While you were dragging Josh around the country it seemed like, we were taking care of Brenner here. Him and his fucking monsters…"

"Mike," El warns, but he isn't done, "You see, when Joshua told us about the hell he was in, it reminded me a lot of what we've been through- what El has. You used to work for Brenner, right?"

Larry visibly flinches, "Yeah, used to."

"So you watched them perform on Josh?"

Larry hesitates, looking at all the pairs of eyes on him, slowly nodding, "Unfortunately."

Mike looked at his feet, "Do you regret it?"

"Every day."

Mike only nods, "I still think you are an asshole though."

"I guess I deserve that. Look, everything Joshua might have told you, is true. I regret everything. I wish I would've broken him out sooner…"

Larry walks past Mike, looking at the DnD table and Dustin, "The things that he's been through would break any grown man. Hell, it nearly broke me just watching it all. I wanted to be relocated, to serve under anyone else other than Brenner, but he forced me to stay. I had to follow his instructions."

"What did he make you do?" El asks out loud.

Larry looks at her, "El… right?"

She nods and he softly smiles, "Well, he made me do the orderly things- make sure the experiments were prepped and nothing bad happened. I was more like his assistant, much less a doctor. Not that I didn't want to do the things he wanted me to do anyway."

"So, you didn't do anything to Josh?" Lucas asks.

"No, that was all Brenner."

Mike looks at Joshua, "This true Josh?"

Joshua could only nod, as he sees Will walk up to him and rub his back, appreciating the friendly gesture, "Yeah."

"Joshua told me you knew him, but what happened with Brenner?" Larry asks.

Dustin stands up from his table and grabs one of the monster figures from his bag, tossing it to him, "The demogorgon got him."

Larry looks at the figure, "The… what?"

"Demogorgon. The thing with a flower as a head."

Larry blanches, "Oh god."

"You've seen it before?" Max asks.

Larry sits down on the couch, "Brenner might have mentioned it."

"What?!"

Joshua couldn't help it, as he yells out loud, directing his now icy glare towards his adoptive father, "You never told me there was a crazed man-made monster that we were running from as WELL as Brenner!"

"I.. I just didn't want to worry you."

"Worry me?! Larry, I was already worried enough as it was- you could've just told me! Dammit!"

Joshua wanted to feel sorry for Larry, knowing how angry the whole Party was at him, but he didn't give a shit. Years of running, and he never mentioned it once.

"You are going to tell us- no, Josh- how you knew from Brenner." Max adds.

Joshua glanced at Larry, and he could see he was surprised from the ambush of hatred coming from the kids, "Okay. Well, when Joshua had first been experimented on, Brenner was very subtle about it. He quietly mentioned that his higher ups were looking at expanding on their experiments…"

"What do you mean expanding?" Mike asks.

"What I mean is that they were testing Joshua's blood. Seeing what they could get out of it."

"That's why I always had needles inside me," Joshua mutters.

Larry nods, "Yep. Although Brenner knew the commies had you before he did, so he had some indication that something might be in you. He was obsessed on finding it… but obviously, he didn't because he left. All the shit he said, the shit he found… it made me shudder. I never wanted you to find you about it."

"What did he tell you?"

He sighs, "We wanted to use your blood for some backup. Whatever that meant at the time, but I think I know now."

An idea dawned on Joshua, "Wait, you are saying…"

"They made monsters from your blood." El finishes, unshed tears in her eyes.

"What the fuck…" Lucas drags out.

Joshua rubs his temples, trying to swallow Larry's words, "Why me?"

"I don't know kiddo. I worked with some fucked up people."

On instinct alone, Joshua stands, "All this is too much." He grabs his jacket and heads back out to the cold, letting the tears fall down as he stared at the white wonderland in front of him, whispering, "This is such bullshit. I hate this."

He hears the door open and El stands next to him, "Josh?"

Joshua doesn't say anything, but could tell she was emotional too, and she had every right to be. She went through the same thing, possibly even worse.

"Are you okay?" She asks.

Joshua shakes his head, "Not really."

"I understand. You want to talk about it?"

"I just feel overwhelmed El. I've been with Larry for as long as I can remember, and the fact he never told me about any of this…"

"Imagine it from his side though," El adds, "if he had told you sooner, would've you have spent all of those years with him?"

Joshua opens his mouth, but doesn't say anything. El nods, "You don't know, do you?"

"No, I don't."

El looks at him longer, running a knuckle across his cheek, "You think it's all your fault."

"Of course I do! I mean, my blood is responsible for all of those demogorgons…"

"You need to stop being so hard on yourself. I did when I opened the portal, the Upside Down, and it ate me up. Don't let it happen to you- it's not healthy."

"I just don't know what to say to him. I'm so… angry with him."

El is silent for a few seconds, "Did I ever tell you about my adoptive father?"

"Mike might've mentioned him. Who was he?"

El takes a breath, "His name was Hopper. He used to be the Chief of Police. He took me in as his own once we got the flayer out of Will's mind. I was technically his daughter for a couple of months before that, but that was in secret."

"Secret?"

"Yeah. I sacrificed myself to save Dustin, Lucas and Mike on one of the demogorgons, and sent myself to the Upside Down. I got out, and Hopper found me, took care of me. Hopper couldn't tell the boys I wasn't alive for their safety, so they thought I was gone forever. Of course, I didn't know Hopper's reasons, and I was so mad at him. He kept promising that I would see Mike and my friends again, but months had passed and with every time he said it, the more I grew frustrated. He even tried to separate Mike and I because we kissed too much," El snickers, "I thought it was ridiculous at the time."

"Let me guess- you actually did that."

El laughs, "Yeah, we did. If I weren't respecting his wishes, you would see Mike and I kiss a lot more."

"Good thing you don't."

"I guess it is. But, Hopper died over a year ago, during the Starcourt incident."

"The mall? Is that why it's shut down?"

"Nobody told you?"

"Mike said something about it, but didn't go far into it."

El nods, "Well, long story short, the Russians were running experiments underneath the place. Dustin and Steve found out about it, along with their friend Robin, and managed to overtake the entire place. Lucas' sister got involved, Steve nearly died, the rest of us were fighting for lives… and Hopper was putting his life on the line."

"Sounds like he loved you."

"He did. The roles were reversed for me too."

Both of them were silent, and Joshua was grateful for El's words. El smiles at him, "I tell you this because no matter how mad you are at Larry, like the rest of us are right now and how I used to be towards Hopper, you've still got him by your side. You have us as well. We are family now, Josh. Don't forget that."

She gives a soft kiss to Joshua's cheek, "Don't stay outside too long. You'll catch a cold."

El walks back inside as Joshua's tears were a past memory, as he takes a deep breath. She was right. He had a family now. He couldn't complain about anything.

But he couldn't ignore that uneasy feeling in his stomach. The claws of dread were tearing at him. He paid it no mind though as he stepped back inside.

Joshua couldn't pay it no mind.