El

'It was blurry at first, but I definitely saw them, they were crowded around Mike' I began through choked sobs. 'He was lying down on the floor, next to Sophie, and they were both still, but I could sense-' I stop to snivel and breathe and cry all at once.

'Slow down sweetie' Joyce says to me. I breathe a couple of times per her advice. 'Now tell me.'

'I could sense an evil presence in both, but it's like Mike's was growing and Sophie's was diminishing. Like whatever evil was inside Sophie was integrating itself into Mike. I could feel his life force, I've always been able to feel it that little bit more intensely with Mike. I could feel him, but it's like Mike himself was slipping away from me. It was like I was being torn apart; I can't explain it. It was almost like a part of myself was dying. But not dying exactly, being replaced. It was like something was taking control of Mike and kicking Mike himself out of his own body, forcing him to retreat into his own body. It was horrible, I've never ever felt pain like it. I can still feel it.'

After saying all that through clenched teeth, my lips were dry from the saline tears my eyes had been leaking all throughout my speech. My throat was dry, so Joyce went to get some water. She came back and I looked her in the eyes, and I could see her eyes were watering. I could see she wanted to know about Hopper. She was dying to know what had happened to the man that had protected both me and her other children for so long. Hell, he had even protected Joyce when she needed it. Which is more often than I'm sure she would care to admit to anyone, maybe even herself. Anyway, I could see she was wheeling up to ask the question. I knew what she was about to ask but I let her ask anyway.

'What else did you see?' she asks. 'You mentioned Hopper.' She tried to subtly to enter it into conversation. It was anything but.'

'I was too focused on Mike' I say, a little calmer now. 'But I think I saw the outline of a man running up the hill and Max clinging onto him. I have no doubt it was Hopper I would recognise him anywhere. I lived with him for all that time of course.' This garners a small laugh from Joyce. But it is short lived as a splitting pain inhabits my brain and travels all throughout my body. It hurts so much and pierces my head as I fall to the floor.

My eyes go black around me as all I can see in front of me is Mike, writhing in agony, his veins a black colour underneath his pale white skin. Sophie next to him awakens and immediately gets up disoriented, I see Hopper running in the background, as I had in my previous vision, but something is different, he is closer, close enough for me to recognise that it is him. I try and move forwards, but I am stuck in place, like glue or invisible forcefield is holding me. I try and break free both physically and mentally, but it is no use. It's like I'm being forced to watch the images and I can't do anything against it. And what I'm watching is killing me. I can't bear the thought of Mike in pain, let alone the scenes I'm witnessing right now, the agony he is clearly suffering, it kills me to see.

All I can think of is the distance that separates us and that my life is useless without him around me, without him next to me. The depth of the connection goes deeper than anything that can be described. I would go through the lowest lows with him just to experience the highest highs. He means so fucking much to me, that I can't possibly let this happen. I just can't. Anger like nothing I've ever felt begins to build up inside me. Pure rage, fury and uncontrollable violence begins to engulf me, as if the pure fires of hell have been unleashed inside my brain and inside my heart. The sight in front of me fuels this primal emotional rage even further. I'm being held back by chains, and my mind breaks those chains, almost like a knife through butter. With sheer ease and willpower, I burst through the mental block that I'm currently being subjected to. And just as I feel like I have enough energy inside myself to be able to burst through the veil and be there, just like Sophie's teleportation, I'm stopped.

My anger dissipates, the vision disappears and I'm back in the kitchen with Joyce next to me.

'But, but I was' I begin.

'You were what El?' she asks.

'I was just there; I was just back in Hawkins with them' I say.

'El, you haven't gone anywhere' she says, tears still in her eyes. 'At least not physically.'

Just then it hits me how cold I am as I start to shiver, and I curl up into a ball on the floor with Joyce still over me. Just then, Will enters.

'What's going on?' he asks. 'Is everything okay?

Joyce looks up at him and draws him in for a hug.

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

'Tell me' he demands.

She doesn't reply. 'Tell me please' He is practically begging her.

'Well,' Joyce replies, tears streaming down her cheeks

Will

After a mixture of explanations, crying, tissues, more tears and just general worry, the whole story is finally explained to me. I'm frightened because I know what Mike is going through, I know what it's like to have that. Mum seems to take some small comfort in the fact that Hopper is okay, alive, and with them. Mum listened very intently when El was describing her vision she had experienced before I got home. Mike was my oldest friend, but I could tell from the sheer agony in El's voice that their connection was so much more meaningful, so much deeper than anyone else would ever have with him. Their bond was truly special. And as I wondered if I would ever have that myself, my mind drifted to Henry.

Brenner

I observe the walls around me, the enclosure that I have been placed in, somehow keeping my newly acquired powers and abilities in check. I wondered how much of the federal budget had gone into this. I remember the days when I used to receive some of that funding. Doing work that mattered, furthering human understanding, exploration and testing the limits of reality itself. Not using the money to detain the very thing that I was trying to harness for humanity's benefit. This cage is merely even more confirmation that humans fear what they do not understand and will destroy it in the name of peace. I cannot allow that to happen. Humanity has always stood in the way of progress. If they will not willingly accept it, then they must be forced to. The forces at work from where my power came from are too great for them to understand. But they will understand eventually. They will be made to understand. I was going to free myself, and I knew how. I have a pretty good idea of how I am going to make it happen, I just need to bide my time for a little while.

And bide my time I do. For hours I wait, they deliver me meals, and nothing else. Not one word is spoken. I know they are testing me, but they had made the wise decision not to involve live people while testing me. If I was in their position, I would do the same thing. But I have a plan of getting my power back. They have ways of taking my power away, but I have ways of getting it back. And so, I carry out the relevant procedures. I attach my arms to the wall of my cell, and I start to draw energy from the very fabric of the cell, the material around it and of course the various electrical equipment that inhabited the room my cell was enclosed in. It's situated right in the centre of a room. It is hexagonal in shape, and it is big enough to fit more than just me inside it. But I suspect that this was the not the aim when it was constructed. But I have no interest in the architecture of the prison I am currently stuck in.

I feel the power accumulate inside me and I start to cloud my vision. I want to see Sophie. By my calculations the transition should have begun by now. What I see is Sophie, lying down next to Mike. But she feels clean, no outside power within her. She is no longer infected. The boy is where it is inhabited. This is beyond what I thought possible. It is so much better than what I could have hoped for. But the new circumstances present their own challenges, as I feel the girl, I once called my favourite peer through the same veil as me. I extend myself and in essence block her, contain her so she can only see what's happening and not affect any change. But I feel something, a power greater than my own, she is starting to break free. She is angry and I can feel it. It's anger I've never ever felt from her. I must accumulate more power to stop her, to force her out. And it takes everything. I hear sparks fly in the room I'm in with various people realising what's happening and scrambling to sort it out. I eventually, just as she is about to break through, push her out and her presence is no longer felt.

'That was a close one' I think to myself.

Hopper

'It's Mike' Max says through uncontrollable sobs. Lucas immediately comes over to comfort her.

'What's wrong?' I ask. 'What's going on?'

No one can seem to give me a straight answer as it's clear that everyone is in shock or at least not coherent enough to speak.

'What's happened?' I ask again. More people look up and they are surprised to see me. I see Robin and Steve huddled together, in an embrace. I clearly have missed a lot. Then I see what Max was referring to. Mike and… Sophie. I can't believe she is here. But they are both lying side by side, Sophie slowly coming to and Mike having some blackish gooey leaking out of him. I've seen that before.

'Someone tell me what's happened' I say. 'Now!'

'Well,' says Cal. It figures he would be the one to keep a straight head in a crisis like this.

He explains to me what happened, from the beginning of the camping trip, including little positive details like Robin and Steve. I'm sure that's one to look out for. Eventually he gets to Sophie's arrival and emergence and reintegration into the group. He explains that Mike felt El, he had to clarify that she had lost her ability in the end of last season. Then he tells me about Sophie's interaction with Brenner. I cringe at the mention of the man's name. He represents everything I hate. Corruption, hatred, even his name, Brenner. It sounds sinister, it sounds evil. And that describes him perfectly. He was willing to experiment on children including my Eleven. And I can never forgive someone like that. In God's name, if I see him, I will kill him. He was, excusing the cliché, pure evil. Words cannot describe how much I despise him.

As Cal explained what happened, my expression went from confused, to angry, to sadness, and pure rage in the space of a couple of minutes. This man was single-handedly destroying what I had tried to protect for so long. And when I was finally out of the way, he drove them apart. El, Will and Joyce in another town. Sophie infected, now it was Mike's turn. Now I knew that me and Mike hadn't exactly seen eye to eye on a few things, but I had to put that behind me. I knew how much El cared for him and for that reason, I was going to do everything in my power to save him, no matter the cost. If it mattered to Eleven, then it mattered to me. Eventually, Cal finished with his usual perceptive recap of what had happened and ended with Mike being infected with whatever had saved Sophie's life.

'Thank you, Cal' I say, trying to keep strength in my tone of voice.

'You are welcome' he replies, and rushes over to Sophie to cushion and comfort her as she awakens.

'Wha-' she begins. 'What happened?' She asks this in a confused tone.

'A lot' me and Cal say in unison.

Sophie

I shudder awake, only I'm not rekindling my friendships. I'm back in the hangar. I don't wanna be here, I try to move but my muscles don't respond. I don't like what's happening to me. But, as if by sheer command, I tell myself to get up and the restraint I felt earlier exists no more. I look in front of me and there's a mirror, I see my reflection, but I see something behind me. I turn around but nothing is there, just the wall of the looming, empty hangar. I begin to move closer to the mirror, as the object I can vaguely see behind me increases with size the closer I get to the mirror. I can't see it just yet, but it is a dark shade of grey, maybe even black and it seems to be mimicking the movements I make. Eventually, I am close enough to see exactly what it is. I focus and what I see almost makes me scream.

I see an exact copy of myself, a perfect replica, but completely made from the same black gooey substance I remember leaking out of my stomach earlier. I readjust my vision to lean in and have a closer look, and it does the same. It's like we're watching each other through the surface of the mirror. But that's not possible, is it? It can't be. I turn my attention away from the mirror and check behind myself once again and there is nothing there. Then I turn back to the mirror and the monster is gone. In place of the copy of me, is me. And centre-frame of the mirror is the black monster I could see only a moment ago. I look down and my hands are no longer there, replaced with claws like the ones I saw earlier. I have become the monster.

'NOOO!' I scream and I turn to run away from the mirror, I look for the door and I find it and I run outside, but I'm not greeted with the familiar comforting sight of Hawkins, instead I see what look like hurricanes, all extending from one form in the sky. I look ahead of me, and I see others like me, all infected, all changing into monsters. A deafening noise echoes into the back of my mind and I see all the monsters look around up to the form in the sky. The Mind Flayer. As if telepathically being told, 'look it's Sophie' they all turn their attention to me. They start to move towards me, every single one of them. I try to run away but my muscles fail me again as I'm forced to stay in the same position as they all come towards me. I can't do anything as they encircle me, as they swarm me and…

I wake up shivering and dazed. I don't know where I am before my eyes adjust and I realise I'm back in the park, I'm back with my friends, and I'm back with Cal. I see Hopper and I have questions, but before I can ask, all of their attention is on something next to me. I turn to look and it's Mike, lying down unconscious, with the same black goo leaking out of his left arm. Immediately I'm overcome with worry, but Cal explains to me what happened and that they're trying everything they can to save Mike. But that worry soon turns to guilt, and to anger. I did this to Mike, but Brenner did this to me. He is the one who has single-handedly set out to destroy everyone I care about and their lives. I won't have that anymore I say. If I ever see him, I'll kill him.

'Wait your turn' says the voice of Hopper, inside my head…