El

I only wish Mike were here to share it with me. I'm having an amazing time with Stargirl as she tells me all of the stories about Britain and about how it was but how when she heard she was moving to America she was so excited but also misses her friends and transatlantic calls are incredibly expensive. Her mother herself is American anyway, born and raised in Chicago where she met her Dad on a business trip. Eventually they moved to London together where they lived for 20 years almost as a happy couple before finally relocating back to the States a few months ago. She was so proud of being British. But in all the chaos of her moving, I remember how sad I was when I had to move here. The pain saying goodbye to everyone, Max, Lucas, and Mike most of all. Mike. I miss him so much. I suddenly have the urge to go and see him. With the reacquisition of my powers, I have been trying them out, like the trash can this morning on the way to school. So, I tell Stargirl that I need to use the toilet and she directs me over to where it is. I grab the portable radio I keep in my bag as I pass it. I'm sure Stargirl noticed but she doesn't ask which I am grateful for as I turn it on, blindfold myself and enter the void. I visualise Mike in my mind, and as usual I wait for the image to come into view. I wait for a minute or two.

'Maybe it's just a little rusty' I think to myself as I continue waiting. But the image never comes. Instead, I envision Lucas in my mind, and I see him, with Max crying. I try and see what's beyond them but it's too murky. I can just about make out Dustin and Steve, so I envision them instead and I see them lowering themselves next to an object. I can't see it though. I'm starting to get worried as I concentrate all of my energy and try and visualise the whole scene. That's when I see it. Mike, lying lifeless with Sophie… Sophie. It's too much for me to take in, as I reel back. But I can't bring myself to look away as my eyes lock on Mike lying there lifeless and Sophie looking confused and dazed. And then I see the biggest shock. Hopper running in the background. A knock on the bathroom startles me out of the void and I hear Stargirl's voice.

'El, what's going on?' she asks. 'Are you okay?'

I can't bring myself to respond. I look around me in panic to see the objects in the room floating, an extension of my telekinetic abilities.

She begins to open the door and before I can shut it, she walks in and sees me, curled up on the floor shaking, with the objects of her bathroom floating.

'El, what?' she begins.

I push past her as fast as I can, grab my bag and run down the stairs, out of her front door as I make my way home as fast as I can. I don't bother to listen to her protests and questions as I hurry home, needing to tell someone, anyone about what has just happened. Eventually, I make my way onto my road, feeling sick, queasy, and dizzy, stagger in through my front door, drop my bag onto the floor and keel over as I see who I think is Joyce come over to me and comfort me.

'El, honey' she says, the worry coming out into her speech. 'What's wrong?'

'Mike, Sophie, Hopper' is all I manage to get out.

'What about them?' she asks. 'El, please you have to tell me.'

'I saw them' I say. 'I saw them all.'

'That's impossible' she says. 'Sophie and Hopper are dead.'

'I saw them' I repeat through my tears and nosebleed. 'I saw them'

'Okay El, okay' she says. 'How did you see them?'

I begin to tell her the events that preceded me getting home as I begin to wonder what I actually just saw.

Will

Tom's house was what you'd expect any science nerd's house to look like. Posters of science fiction stuff that you would expect people like us to like. We have a relatively good time, and the rocket he is making is actually very well designed and made. My mind does wonder while I am with him and I begin to think about Henry and about the way he looked at me in the library earlier. My thoughts are disrupted by Tom asking me if I like Dungeons and Dragons

'Are you asking me if I like D&D' I say, starting to get excited.

'Yes I am' Tom responds rather bluntly. 'I'm sorry if I seem straight to the point but I have a diagnosis of autism.'

'That's okay' I say. I am aware of the term but unfamiliar with the specifics. 'Well to answer your question, yes I am. Me and my friends used to have marathons of the game before, well before they grew up and left me behind.'

This remark garners a slight chuckle from Tom as I start to get more invested in himself and Henry is a mere afterthought. But he is still there, infiltrating a tiny corner of my mind. Well, a tiny corner for now. Who knows, it might get bigger the more I see him and get to know him. But my thoughts of Henry are gone for the rest of my duration of my stay at Tom's house as we delve into science and I realise that he'd be a great guy to introduce to the guys back home. If I ever get the chance. The hour passes quickly before I realise I should probably get home. I thank Tom and say hello to his parents on my way out and I walk home pretty quickly, having already memorised the route. Eventually the lights of my road greet me as I locate my front door and walk towards it, I open the door and I see a sight I thought I would never see. El is on the floor shaking with Joyce comforting her, tears in both of their eyes.

'What's going on?' I ask. 'Is everything okay?

Mum looks up at me and draws me in for a hug.

'There's a lot you should probably know' she manages to get out between sobs.

'Tell me' I say.

She doesn't reply. 'Tell me please' I beg her.

'Well,' Mum replies, tears streaming down her cheeks…

Hopper

And so it begins. Atlantic City to Hawkins via Columbus. What a journey. They tell me it will take a day to get there, factoring in the time we will spend in Ohio as well. It's after I get in the car and the drive from Atlantic City begins that I realise how long this is going to take but the wait will be worth it as I will finally be able to see my El again and to hold her and protect her, as a proper father should have done. The first hour goes by relatively slowly until we reach Philadelphia, where we hit the I-76 and start heading West. Once we clear Philadelphia, James turns to me and starts to explain to me some of the things that have happened since I was sucked into the vortex that swallowed me up and took me to Mother Russia.

'Tell me everything' I say.

'Okay' he says. 'I'll start at the very beginning. The Russians in Hawkins were found and that's all I have clearance to tell you about that.'

'Oh, come on James' I say. 'You can tell me more than that. I deserve to know.'

'Okay Jim' he says. 'What I can tell you is tha this has been relayed all the way back to Washington and an international crisis not seen since the 60's was barely avoided. That's all I can tell you.'

'Okay' I say. 'Please tell me, what happened with El. Is she okay?'

He pauses for a minute, taking a deep breath. 'El is okay, but after what happened, she lost her powers. She's only recently begun to experiment and get them back again. We've had the kids under constant surveillance, and we have been keeping a watchful eye on them.'

'Thank God' I say, the relief rushing through me. 'I can't wait to see her.'

'Another thing you should know' he says. 'She doesn't exactly live in Hawkins anymore.'

'What?' I ask. 'What do you mean?'

'She moved in with Joyce, who took her in' he replies. 'They moved away after what happened, Joyce, Will, El and Jonathan.'

'To where?' I ask, feeling confused. 'Tell me. Where?'

'To Lafayette' he says. 'Southern Indiana.'

'I know it' I say. I've been there a couple of times. Not for 10 years or so though.

'Don't worry' he says. 'It's all okay. She started school today. Her first day. You should be proud. Joyce is keeping her very well cared for.'

'If anyone would take care of El, I would want it to be Joyce' I say honestly.

'Well, your wish was granted' he says and chuckles a little bit.

Then it dawns on me I have absolutely no idea why James is here or why I am being taken to Columbus and then back to Hawkins.

'Why is all of this happening?' I ask. 'Who do you work for and what do you want with me?'

'So' he begins. 'I told you that it went all the way back to Washington and so I have been commissioned by the powers that be to look into everything that's going on here, whether that be the Upside Down, El and her powers, Dr Brenner, it all comes under my jurisdiction. And it therefore fell under my responsibility to return you to Hawkins. And Columbus is the place where we operate from. Our headquarters. That's where Brenner will be taken. We have specialist measures and protocols to deal with him. That's what we do.'

'Wow' I say. 'I'm glad finally that there is actually a legitimate concern about a fucking alternate dimension.'

James chuckles again. 'So am I' he says.

I have a feeling that with him around and keeping watch over the kids, everything will be okay.

'You should get some sleep' he says. 'We've got a few hours till we hit Columbus.'

I turn away from him, close my eyes and try and get some semblance of sleep.

There are flashes of light. Specks that I can't quite make out, but they definitely are there. They are far away, barely in my eyeline, but they are moving closer. They get closer very quickly and I try and move out of the way, but I have no body, it's almost as if just my head is viewing these lights and they get so close, almost to the point of touching my eyeball and I try and shut my eyes, but I appear to have no eyelids as they get closer and closer. All of a sudden, everything goes black. The light is nowhere to be seen. Then I hear a faint beep. Then another one. They're both so very faint. It gets louder, and louder until the rhythm seems to mimic what would be a heartbeat monitor at a hospital. An image fades into view in front of me. It's of a person, who I can almost immediately recognise as El, lying in a hospital bed unconscious. I try to touch her, but of course with no body that proves to be impossible. Then she sits up suddenly, looks directly at me and says 'Hopper.'

I jolt awake.

'Good morning Jim' says James, it still being night outside.

'How long was I out for?' I ask, rubbing my eyes.

'5 hours' he says. 'We are about an hour out from Columbus. And if you cared we're on I-70 now.'

I hadn't been on the I-70 since I came back to Hawkins from New York.

'Once we stop in Columbus' he continues. We'll be there for about an hour before we head on our way to Hawkins.'

'Perfect' I say and settle in for the journey to Columbus. The last hour and a half or so of the journey goes by quicker than I expect with conversation between me and James about the good old days and just meaningless topics to fill up time. Eventually we pull into Columbus and pretty quickly we reach the destination we drove 6+ hours to reach. He tells me to stay in the car and that he'll be back soon to get me and take me to Hawkins. The minutes go by so slowly as I wait for him to come. It rolls so slowly as I'm impatient to get back to the life I left all those weeks ago. I need to get back, to see them all, to reacquaint myself with the town I grew up in. I need to see them all again. I have to. I need to make sure that they are okay.

James

The familiar lights of the unassuming office we have as our base of operations is a welcome distraction from the rolling roads that we have taken to get here. We remove our own men before the van carrying perhaps the most dangerous man in the world right now pulls in behind us. The fact that he could wipe us all out in a matter of a minute does not deter me from doing the right thing and caging the monster that is Dr. Martin Brenner. Part man, part monster. And the human side of him, if you can call him human, is cold, intellectually brilliant, and incredibly motivated and driven. His experimentation pushed the boundaries of science further than was ever dreamed. And now he has to pay for what he did to those kids. El, Kali and Sophie to name a few. We have spent months planning this moment. We radioed ahead to confirm Protocol Six was enacted. The office is deserted. As the men we have recruited swarm out of the building. Up to 100 of them. Wearing the very armour designed for one person. The one person who with absolute precision and certainty needs to be locked up and never released.

This place may be our headquarters. But it's also a prison. Designed for one person. One inmate. And we are 5 minutes away from having him caged up in a place he cannot escape from. We just have to get him to the elevator. It's a 60 second process that's been rehearsed and enacted so many times. Everyone knows exactly what they have to do. And the van doors at the back finally open up. Out step the 6 brave men, and then in chains, that really have no impact for someone of his physical strength, steps Brenner. And so it happens. We walk the exact route designated, straight into the building, elevator doors waiting open, big enough to fit 50 people. The 100 guards stand on either side of the walkway, as we walk. Brenner moving in his sly manner. We are approaching the elevator. 50 metres. 40. 30. 25. 20. 10. 5. And then it happens. The ding of the elevator that almost scares me because of the importance of this. The prisoner is directed into the elevator. And as soon as the doors close I let out a sigh of relief. This is finally what we have been building up to.

Brenner smiles at me. He lets out a screech as he lashes out an arm, ready to attack. But nothing happens. It's the strength of the man only as the arm is easily batted away by one of the guards. He tries again, the same result.

'What?' he says. 'What's happening?'

'We have a few tricks of our own' I say and smile back at him as the realisation sinks into him.

'Let's get you caged up' I say.

He has no response as he sinks back, the realisation washing over him even more.

The elevator ride is 3 minutes that's how far down it is. When the elevator finally reaches the bottom, it stops, and we get out. Again, a clear path is illuminated as about 100m is a cell with an open door. We walk the walk and talk the talk, as after months of preparation and thousands of dollars of investment finally pays off as the man we have been looking for all this time, is now safely confined in our custody.

Hopper

James steps out about 20 minutes after he first went into the building with Brenner. And I know now it's time to head home.

'Ready to go home?' he asks as he steps back in the car.

'I am' I say. 'Let's go.'

We head out of the area, the bright lights of Columbus still visible and we head back onto the I-70, in the direction of Indianapolis. It's about three hours to Indianapolis and then 45 minutes out to Hawkins. As we drive the morning starts to dawn. I start to wonder what the reaction of the kids will be as I see them again. Will they laugh, cry, hug or be angry. Knowing these kids it'll be a mixture of it all. They are so unpredictable. I guess that's what I love about them, though I would never tell them that. It's too wholesome for me. But I need to get back to them. I need to make sure that they are safe. They ned to be told what's happening and what's going on.

As if reading my mind again James chimes in with something.

'Just so you know' James says. 'You can tell them about us and Brenner, but do not tell them any of our locations. That information needs to be kept confidential.'

'Of course,' I reply. 'I understand.'

'Good' he says sternly. 'It is of the utmost importance that what we do is disclosed to the least amount of people as possible.'

'I get it' I say, in a half annoyed half joking tone.

I'm glad' he says. 'Look out of your window'

'Why?' I ask as I turn my head. A sign greets me saying 'Welcome to Indiana.'

'I'm home' I say aloud.

'Yes you are' he says.

We keep heading along the I-70, as the Indiana sights go past my window and my eyes. Eventually we reach Indianapolis and start heading North. The anticipation builds within me every minute we get closer. And the hills and forests that I know start to come into view and I see the famous sign that I know so well 'Welcome to Hawkins.' And on the back 'Leaving Hawkins. Come again soon.' I smile to myself and I think 'I don't have any intention of leaving.' I ask them to take me straight to where the kids are I don't wanna bother with going home or anything. They take me to the local hill, and they drop me off. They say they'll be hanging around for a couple of days, which I am completely fine with. I thank them and they drive off.

I start to walk up the hill and for the first time in a long time I'm actually nervous. But I bottle it up and focus and start to walk faster. Eventually I see the top of the hill and the ground starts to level. I see some tents and some people crowding round. I speed up my walk even more and as I get closer they don't seem to realise I have returned. I go to say something, and I see the expression on Max's face is pure anguish. I start running up to them as I see Mike and Sophie lying on the floor. They see me and they are shocked as Max runs over to me and hugs me.

'What's wrong?' I ask, as I see all of them are shocked.

'It's Mike' she says through uncontrolled sobs.