3 weeks later
"We can't just sit around and wait for something to happen. We need to go back there." Mike explained to the group. They were sitting in Will's hotel room trying to figure out how to get El back. They had been at it all day and had finally figured it out. " We can't just barge into things, Mike." Dustin barked back.
Joyce had also been helping the group and had just gone out to get everyone something to eat. " Do you seriously want to risk each other's lives and fail then do it later and succeed?" Max asked. " No, but-" " But nothing Mike! I know you care about El, and trust me we all do, but you need to be patient." Max cut him off. " She's right you know." Will cut in. " I know." Mike said softly. " Alright then, let's get back to work." Max told the group.
…..
When El woke up she had freaked. For a second she forgot where she was. She tried to use her powers to unlock the door but to no avail. She then proceeded to realize that she was back in her room before she had met her friends and then realized where she was exactly. Hawkin's lab. Then she remembered being taken from her friends. But by who?
Her question was soon answered when Dr. Brenner, in her case Papa, walked into the room. He had told her that they were going to work on her powers and that she would never see the people she called friends ever again. She didn't say anything during the conversation. When he left she broke down in tears imagining life without her friends especially Mike.
It had now been three weeks and she was stuck in her room the whole time with the exception of leaving when she had to work on her powers. Last week she had finally been able to crush a coke can. Now she was able to, in a matter of days, be able to use her powers like she used to. They could be spotty at times and weren't as strong but she was getting better.
The door opened and Brenner walked in. For El, it meant it was time to work on her powers. " Eleven it's time to go." She got off of her rock hard bed and followed him down the long hallway into the room where she had been practicing in. All the room had in it was two chairs and a table. There was a one way window that sat on the left wall.
El sat down in the chair closest to the door. She had a strange feeling that something was going to happen but she didn't know what. Brenner sat down an empty coke can in front of her. " Let's see where your powers are today." She concentrated on the bottle and in a matter of seconds crushed it. " Try this." He set down a big rock. She focused on the object, letting her powers flow through her. The rock crumbled into a pile of dust.
"Good. Now let's try something a bit bigger." She watched as he got up from his chair and opened the door that led out into the hallway. He then walked back to where she sat and grabbed her hand. " Follow me." This prompted her to get up from her spot. She felt his grip tightened as they walked into the hallway.
It felt like he was telling her that he wasn't going to let her run off anytime soon. He led her down the stairs and into the outside front of the lab. The cool morning air felt good on her face and she wished that she could get out more. " You see that car right there?" he asked her pointing towards a generic looking car that sat in the parking lot. She nodded her head yes.
"Now I want you to flip the car. Can you do that?" Eleven raised her free hand up and proceeded to flip said car. " Very well done." He praised her as they walked back into the lab. Once back inside her room, she sat down waiting instructions. Right as Brenner was going to sit down an alarm rang out.
The lights shut off leaving them both in a dark red glow. " Stay here. If anyone comes in here use your powers." He instructed Eleven as he left the room, leaving her alone.
….
This wasn't how Mike expected it to go. He thought he could get into the lab, find El, and leave. Clearly that wasn't going to happen. He should've realized that earlier before he started running through the halls of the lab. The red glow gave him no help when it came to seeing where he was going.
As he ran he would check all the bedrooms and rooms that said project in progress. When he reached the last room and opened the door slowly hoping El would be in there. He felt a tug at the door like someone was behind it. He stepped back, ready to run at any moment.
When the door finally opened Mike sighed in relief. El stood there with her arm outstretched. She smiled when she saw who it was. "Mike?" She said running over to him and giving him a big hug. " El, I'm glad that you're alright." " You came back." She told him as she pulled away from the hug. " I promised, didn't I?" She giggled and gave a nod.
" But we have to get out of here." He grabbed her hand, rushing down the hall careful to avoid anyone. He led her to an air duct that he snuck into the lab from. " Can you give me a boost?" He asked her. She nodded and helped him up. He grabbed her hand to help her up.
As she got situated inside the vent, he closed it. " Follow me." He told her. As they both crawled through the vent, El realized something was off. " Mike?" Hearing his name caused him to stop. " Yeah?" He asked. " Something isn't right. I think they're waiting for us." She told him. " DO you know if there is a lower level we can leave through?" He asked hoping that they could possibly not get caught.
" Well if we go through the stairway and go through the lower levels we can possibly make a run for it. She explained. They crawled until they reached the next closest exit point. Mike kicked open the vent and jumped down. El went down after him, carefully. Once she was safely on the ground, he grabbed her hand and headed for the stairway.
He let her lead the way knowing that she would know her way around this lab. The pair ran as fast as they could, their shoes slapping the cemented steps. Once they reached the end of the stairs they pushed the door so hard that it left an echoing sound. They stopped for a second to catch their breath.
"There are woods behind this building. If we go through there we should reach town in no time." El responded. "Okay." Mike responded. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight as they burst through the back doors and booked it to the woods. As they were at the edge of the woods they heard someone shout. "There they are!" That motivated them to run even faster.
El knew that they wouldn't be able to catch up with them as the two of them ran even further into the woods.