In this chapter, we have a few of the more important bits throughout the beginning of the new year, and some back story on our friend Luis!

Also, I meant to mention it in the last chapter, but Mike did talk to his mom about Max but Karen wouldn't be able to do anything about it. It would have been figured out instantly had Hopper been there.

Props to whoever gets the "Supernatural" quote ;D

What do you guys think El's dream is all about?

After this chapter we are finally, one hundred percent, getting on with the story, no flashbacks, nothing. We start off where we stopped and go from there, this story spanning over only a few days. I hope you guys enjoy!

Also, feel free to review! It'd be greatly appreciated!

Seriously, pls lmk what you think I'd probably update faster cause I'm very negative towards my writing lmfao. Knowing y'all are enjoying it makes me wanna get shit out faster, ya know?


Chapter Four: The Case of the Moving Magnets

Thursday, December 26, 1985

Hawkins, Indiana

"Jon." Nancy whispered, nudging at her boyfriend. He turned his gaze away from Steve and Dustin fighting to his girlfriend, who had a crease in her brow.

"What is it?" he asked quietly.

"Come with me." she stood carefully and went up to her room. No one was paying them any attention so he got up and followed her. She was sitting on her bed when he arrived, and she just pointed at the door, signaling for him to shut it.

"Nance-?"

"I'm pregnant." she blurted, covering her mouth immediately after. He stared at her for a few seconds.

"You're… pregnant." he repeated.

"Yeah. I took a test last night."

"So… that's why you were acting weird today."

"Yeah." she paused for a moment. "I already made a doctors appointment, for tomorrow. It's like thirty minutes out of Hawkins. Will you go with me?" she asked.

"Oh- Of course! Of course, Nancy," he gave her a smile. "No matter what happens, it'll be alright, okay?"


Friday, December 27, 1985

"Nine weeks, huh?" Jonathan muttered as he and Nancy sat on her bed, having just gotten back from the doctor.

"The night before you guys left." she said. That was the last time they'd done anything, having had too many people around any other time they were together. "What are we supposed to do, Jonathan?" Nancy asked.

"I-I don't know, Nancy."

"Do we keep it? Put it up for adoption? I can't kill it, I just can't."

"I mean… I kinda want to. Keep it, I mean."

"I do too, I think… My parents are gonna kill me." she let out a frustrated groan and fell back on the bed.

"Well… I don't know how your parents are going to act, I know they won't be happy and neither will my mom… but I know my mom will support us in whatever we decide to do."


Tuesday, January 7, 1986

Elgin, Illinois

See, the thing about Luis Rodriguez is he's a nerd, a loser with only one friend, another loser. So, he gets bullied. No one really bothers his friend because he's new, and hasn't exactly done anything to draw attention to him but Luis? Oh boy, he's got a loud mouth that gets him in trouble often, and not just with his teachers.

And that's how he finds himself running down the hall from three football players on the second day back from break. He ran his mouth and now they were chasing him, yelling about how fun it was going to be stuffing him in a locker.

Ha! Jokes on you fuckers, you won't get me this time! Or any time, come to think of it! Haha!

He ran straight to the stairwell at the end of the hall, darting into the shadows and popping into his little safe haven, lovingly titled by him, the Nerd Room.

And in that Nerd Room, was Luis' best, and only friend Will, who had a book hanging limply in his hands, eyes wide and staring at him.

"What the f-"

"Let me explain, it's not what it looks like-"

"You just appeared out of thin air!" Will exclaimed, pointing at him. "What the hell, Luis?"

"What? No I didn't! I've totally been there the whole time dude, I was waiting to scare you."

"Luis, you're too loud to even try and scare me, you were not there a second ago. I'm not an idiot."

"I didn't call you an idiot."

"Luis."

"Fine."

Luis sat down with a huff and Will turned to face him.

"What I just did was shadow walk, it's what my ma calls it." Will stared at him with an eyebrow raised. "I can teleport, but only using shadows. Shadow to shadow, you know?"

"Okay… your mom, does she have powers too?"

"No. My dad did, but he died before I was born."

"Huh." Will put the book on the table.

"You don't sound freaked out."

"Oh I am. But you will not believe the things I've seen."


"That really happened?" Luis asked as he and Will rode their bikes to Will's house.

"Yep. It sounds crazy, I know." Will chuckled. "And El does have powers, but… something happened in July and they're not working. We think she just has to recharge but it's been six months since then."

"Maybe it's because she doesn't need them anymore?" Luis suggested. "Like her work there is done, and she can be normal."

"The way she grew up… wasn't good. She was raised in a lab and tested on, with other people with powers. Experiments. She was Experiment Eleven. That's how we got the nickname El."

"Wow…"

"Yeah. But that's all she knew, growing up, was her powers, and then when she met us… that wasn't all she knew anymore, but she was based around them, they were normal for her. And now that they're gone, she doesn't really know how to act."


El was reading a magazine in her room, waiting for Will to get home so they could watch a movie, when she found a quote in one of the later pages, that said, "I let this presence ruin my life. And it was my fault, I created that presence, you know? Like in my head. And I couldn't do anything about it until I confronted my own emotions and did away with it myself."

"Huh." she raised her eyebrows, reading it a few more times. She didn't know what, but it did something to her, something clicked in her head, she buzzed with energy, and a light bulb exploded over her head. She let out a shriek and covered her head with the magazine.

"El!" Will yelled, running into the room, Luis following behind him. "What happened?" he helped her up carefully, avoiding the glass.

"I, um…" she widened her eyes at him and looked up at what remained of the light bulb.

"You did that with your powers?" Will asked. She startled, looking at him in shock and then back at Luis in horror.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I have powers too." Luis told her. "That's why he told me, he caught me using them today."

"Oh."

"But El! Your powers?" Will rocked up and down on his heels. "What were you doing?" he asked.

"I was just on my bed reading the magazine." she replied, and flipped to the page the quote was on. "I read this a couple times and then the light exploded."

"Are you gonna tell Mike? Or anyone in the party?"

"I don't… I don't know? Because it might not have been real." she bit her lip.

"What, you think that was faulty wiring? Honey no that was some supernatural typa shit." Luis said, raising an eyebrow. El furrowed hers at him at the use of honey.

"Um, okay. Should I try and do something else?" she asked. "Just to see?"

"Yeah! Try and pick that pencil up." Will pointed at her desk.

Luis looked so excited as she held her hand out towards the pencil. She didn't want to disappoint, so… she focused all her energy on the pencil and after a few seconds, it began to shake, and then lifted into the air. She dropped it suddenly and let out a squeal, looking at Will, who grinned at her. She clapped her hands and Luis had to sit down. Will snorted at him.

El felt something trickling out of her nose and wiped it with her hand, and groaned.

"We're back to this bullshit now?" she whined. Will busted out laughing at that. El rarely ever swore, but when she did, he found it hilarious. She couldn't help but laugh too, Luis joining in with his loud, cackling laugh.

"I love you guys." he giggled, holding his arms out to them, and the three stood there laughing and hugging, confusing Jonathan when he walked in, but neither young teen would tell him what was so funny.


Hawkins, Indiana

"Who keeps putting my name on the fridge?" Mike asked during dinner that night.

"I don't bother those things." Ted said, taking a bite of steak.

"Me neither." Nancy said, pushing her food around a bit.

"My friend!" Holly smiled.

"Her imaginary friend." Karen corrected, giving her son a smile.

"No they're real! I saw them moving the magnets!"

"You saw a person?" Mike asked.

"No. I saw the magnets move." she replied. Mike furrowed his brows and looked at his mom, who shook her head at him.

"Huh." he didn't say anything else about it.


Saturday, January 11, 1986

El jerked awake, body freezing head to toe as she came to. She was completely under the blankets, even her head, and she was curled up into a ball, tear tracks on her cheeks. Heartbreaking words from someone she loved, right on the edge of her tongue, but she couldn't remember who.

"Would you let the world die, so that I can live?"

"What the…" she muttered, sitting up and wrapping the blanket around her, eyebrows furrowed. She leaned over and looked at the clock on her bedside table. Four seventeen in the morning. She let out a low huff and untangled herself from the blankets and stood, stretching. She grabbed a note pad off her desk and wrote down what she remembered from the dream, wanting to tell Will about it later when everyone was awake. She went to the bathroom and did her business, and washed her hands. She looked at herself and despite still feeling cold, she looked like her usual self after waking up. Eyes half open, eyebrow hairs sticking up all wonky, her hair all over the place, dried blood running down her lip- wait, that wasn't usual. She flicked on the light and rubbed at her nose. It had been there a while. She grabbed a washcloth and ran it under the water, and cleaned the blood from her nose.

Had she used her powers during the night and not realized? Had she ever done that before? Well, she wouldn't know, she was asleep after all. She just shrugged it off and threw the washcloth in the wastebasket and went back to bed, wrapping herself up into a cocoon and falling asleep fairly easily.

She didn't wake up again until around ten AM, when two boys jumped on top of her, scaring her so badly she nearly threw them across the room. And she would have, had she not been used to it by now. She let out a groan and sat up.

"Wow. You look like shit." Luis said, resting his chin on his hands as if she were telling an interesting story, crossing his ankles in the air.

"Thanks." she croaked.

"Uh oh, you're sick, aren't you?" Will asked, feeling her forehead with the back of his hand. "You're warm."

"I'm cold." she retorted, wrapping her blanket around her. He snorted.

"Do you feel bad?" he asked.

"I don't feel great. I'm cold." she repeated.

"I'll go tell mom and see if we have any medicine. I think you might have a fever." El nodded and fell back onto her pillows. Luis hopped up and followed his friend, claiming he didn't want El's germs.

A few minutes later Joyce came back into her room, the boys following close behind.

"Hey sweetie, you feeling bad?" she asked, sitting on the bed next to her. El nodded. "What's bothering you?"

"My throat hurts." she said. "And nose feels weird."

"Ah, okay, have you coughed a lot?" Joyce asked. El shrugged.

"Not since I woke up."

"Okay well, we've got some medicine but it's liquid and I know you don't like liquid, but it'll work better, m'kay?" El scrunched her nose up but agreed as her adoptive mother handed her a medicine cup and a cup of pepsi to help with the taste.

After taking the medicine, they left her alone to rest for a while, and while she was alone, she grabbed the phone beside her bed and dialed the familiar number.

"Hello?" came Ted Wheeler's voice.

"Hi Mr. Wheeler, is Mike there?" she asked.

"Hold on." he said, and she distantly heard him yelling at Mike to pick up the phone. Only a second later she heard him pick up the phone in the basement, and his dad put the kitchen phone down.

"Hello?" Mike asked.

"Hi Mike." El croaked.

"El! Hey, it's early for you." he joked. She chuckled.

"It's ten thirty." she said. "Will and Luis jumped on me again."

"Wow, rude." he said, amused.

"Sure." she replied dryly and he laughed.

"You don't sound like you feel good, are you okay?" he asked, voice turning to worry.

"Yes, just a cold." she told him. That's what Joyce had told her, so she was going along with it.

"When did you start feeling it? You sounded okay last night."

"Sometime this morning. I had a… weird? Dream earlier. At four this morning."

"Do you remember what it was about?" he asked.

"I don't… I don't think so. Something bad happened and… I just remember this one thing they said."

"What was it? You don't have to say if you don't want to."

"I wrote it down. They said "would you let the world die, so that I can live?""

"Huh, that sounds kinda… sad honestly. Like from some dramatic movie or TV show or something. Would you let the world die, so that I can live? Sounds like a soap opera line to me." he chuckled.

El wouldn't lie, when Mike delivered the line she had dreamt, a chill ran down her spine and her breath caught in her throat. She started coughing, moving the phone away from her but he could hear Mike asking if she was okay.

"I'm okay." she told him finally. "Had a tickle in my throat."

"Oh, I get those a lot when I'm sick too." he told her.

"It's annoying."

"I know, but you'll start feeling better soon. Mrs. Byers will take care of you." she could practically see that sweet smile on his face, his voice was gentle as he spoke.

"I know she will." she replied softly. "But I miss you."

"I miss you too." he replied, sighing. "But hey, at least we get to see each other for Valentines Day! Just a little over a month to go. Plus you guys are coming next weekend."

"Yes, a month is too long though. Jonathan gets to see Nancy more often than I get to see you." At this point, Jonathan was taking his car and going to visit Nancy every weekend. It drove the entire Party insane, but no one could do anything about it.

Mike let out a groan and she had a feeling he was nodding, and said, "I know, right? How is that fair? Nancy told me the weekend before you guys moved that whenever she went to see Jonathan that I could come with her, or when Jonathan came to see her, you and Will could go with him. It's really not fair at all, I get that they're older but what the hell? Just because I can't drive yet doesn't mean I can't see you and Will more often." she could hear the pout in his voice as he ranted, and couldn't help but smile, stretching out on her bed.

"I agree. It's not fair, but I guess there's a good reason."

"It's not good enough for me." he replied. "I mean, we went so long without seeing each other once, and I know this is completely different, but it still sucks, you know? I get that they are making up for lost time, but it's also not my fault that Nancy took her time with Steve and beat around the bush before getting with Jonathan." he huffed and El giggled, shaking her head at her boyfriend. He was adorable. "Do you know what beat around the bush even means? I feel like I've never said that to you." she laughed at that, and said,

"I know what it means. When you want to avoid what's really important." she quipped. He chuckled.

"Exactly what it means." he told her. She smiled.

The two talked for nearly two hours before Karen forced him to get off the phone and eat lunch, whereas it took them another ten minutes to get the "I love you's" and "see you soon's" in. But they did, promising to talk to each other that night before bed. Mike went and ate his lunch, and El took a much needed nap.


Tuesday, January 14, 1986

By Tuesday, El was back to feeling one hundred percent, and was working on some school when Will and Luis came in after school to do their own homework.

"I'm thinking when we're all done dealing with this school shit, I show you guys some more of my talents." Luis said. El raised her eyebrows at him.

"Do you want to? You don't have to. I can't exactly show you any of mine other than the one." she said. He shrugged.

"I don't mind. This friendship doesn't consist of a "if you show me yours, I'll show you mine" type of thing, ya know?"

"That doesn't sound good at all, and you know it." Will scolded, throwing a balled up piece of paper. "Ignore him, El, he has a dirty mind."

"Is that like happy screams?" she asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"I'm sorry?" Luis asked, eyes widening.

"Happy screams." she repeated. She never got a complete answer from Max and hadn't ever asked anyone else. She had an inkling that Luis definitely wasn't the right person to ask, but didn't say anything to stop him.

"Happy screams, you say?"

"Luis, I swear to God, I will beat your ass so bad you'll wanna stay in the shadows forever if you say anything outta line." Will punched his shoulder and Luis yelped.

"I wasn't, my guy! I wasn't! I was only going to tell her to ask that boyfriend of hers." he said innocently. "I'm sure he knows what happy screams are."

"Oh my God." Will banged his head against the table, and El, startled, forgot about it for the moment and put her hands palm up under his head to stop him.

"Don't do that, you'll hurt yourself." she told him, as if it wasn't what he was aiming for. He lifted his head and gave her a small smile.

"Sorry." he muttered. "Let's do our homework so that Luis can show us his abilities."

And he did. What he could actually show them, at least. There was one he wasn't exactly sure about himself, so he didn't bother to mention it, but instead, showed them how he shadow walked, and did it with both of them, showing them how easy it was for him. He had Will throw rocks at him and created a dark shield, as he called it, and it was made up of shadows, but protected him completely, shaped almost like a dome.

"I can do smaller ones, too, like Captain America, but I feel safer if I use the dome." he'd told them.

The last one he showed them was the weapon, the one that could really help. He could draw energy from the darkness and create what he called "Shadow Bombs" which weren't really bombs, they didn't work like bombs, but they did damage to whatever they hit. He knocked bark off an entire side of a tree, looking as though it had been hit and damaged by a car.

The adopted siblings thought it was the coolest thing ever.


Friday, January 17, 1986

"ROBIN!" Dustin yelled at the top of his lungs as he barreled into Melvalds.

"Jesus fucking Christ Henderson, warn a guy, won't you?" Steve grumbled.

"That is very disrespectful." Dustin told him, slamming a text book and a binder on the counter in front of Steve, "Where's Robin?" he asked.

"She's out sick." Steve said. "We close early today. What do you need her for?"

"Spanish is a real bitch, Steve. Who decided it was a good idea for Freshman to have to learn a new language in a new school?" he threw his hands up, knocking his hat off in the process. "Dammit."

"I'm pretty sure it was the school board that decided that."

"Well, it's stupid, and I won't stand for it. I don't understand anything other than how to roll my R's."

"And you need Robin's help with that?" Steve asked.

"Obviously. What's her address-"

"First off, I'm not giving you her address. Second, she's sick. And even if she wasn't I wouldn't give it to you. Why can't Lil Wheeler or Sinclair help you? Or Max?"

"Mike can barely speak as it is, let alone another language." he rolled his eyes. "And the same with Lucas, they fumble over their words now more than I ever have. I blame it on the girls."

"You have a girlfriend."

"I'm confident. They are not."

"Wow, okay."

"And Max is taking French."

"Christ, okay, but don't you guys have a new friend? Will's friend? Isn't he Mexican?"

"He's Latino, jackass, or Hispanic if you will." Steve made a face. "And just because someone is Hispanic doesn't mean they can speak Spanish."

"Doesn't it though?"

"No! That's just rude to assume. And anyways, I don't know if he can speak it or not, and even if he could, it'd be incredibly hard for him to teach me through a phone."

"True. Well, if you can calm your ass down until I get off work I can help you." Steve told him. Dustin stared at him for a moment.

"You can help me." he deadpanned. "You can speak Spanish?"

"I mean, I'm not like, fluent, but I'm pretty good at it." Dustin stared at him suspiciously. "I'm not completely stupid, Henderson!" he grumbled, grabbing a roll of paper towels behind the desk and smacking Dustin with it.

"Hey, I don't think you're stupid." Dustin huffed, snatching the paper towel roll and smacking him back.

"You'd be the first. Dustin smacked him again.

"Bull shit."


Friday, January 24, 1985

"I feel like I'm going insane, Max." Mike huffed, throwing himself onto his bed. She rolled her eyes and plopped in his desk chair. "No one believes me, I swear I saw a magnet move on it's own last night and I didn't get any sleep. And Holly even says she sees them move."

"Did you get any sleep the night before?" she smirked.

"I did, yes, I didn't imagine it with my sleep deprived mind, Max."

"Okay, okay." she held her hands up. "So what? You think your house is haunted? Who would be haunting your house?"

"I don't think it's exactly… haunted. But, uh, I think it's Hopper." Max stared at the back of the boys head.

"Mike… I think you should see a doctor or therapist. Hopper's dead." she said the last part softly. "I get you're guilty over how you acted with him, before everything happened, but thinking he's a ghost in your house sounds pretty crazy. And incredibly unhealthy."

"I don't think he's a ghost!" he exclaimed, sitting up. "I don't think he's dead either."

"Then what-?"

"The Upside Down, okay?" Mike grumbled. "I think he's in there."

"Sounds a bit far fetched, don't you think? It's been way over six months, I don't think he could survive there for that long."

"I know it sounds crazy, Max but… I swear I hear him yelling my name sometimes, you know? And my name keeps popping up on the fridge with a little H next to it, like you know how you end a note? A dash and then the first letter of your first name, or just your name?" Max sighed but nodded. "And it's too tall for Holly to reach, and my parents and Nancy don't mess with them unless my mom is picking them up off the floor. And Holly can't even spell my name right, she spells it with Y instead of I." he ran a hand through his hair. "I know I sound insane but I'm not, I mean, Will messed with the lights when he was there, so Hopper could be trying to do the same but with magnets."

"But why wouldn't he do it with the lights?" she asked.

"I don't know… maybe cause my parents would flip the fuck out over the lights and get all new wiring or something? I don't know, he knows them better than I do." she made a face at that. "Went to school with my dad." he told her. "And I guess knew my mom before he left town."

"What does El think about all this." Mike didn't say anything. "You haven't told her any of this, have you, Wheeler?"

"No, and it's not to be a dick. I just… it's about Hopper, and I know she doesn't like to talk about him because it upsets her so… I don't think I'd be a good boyfriend if I told her I think her dad was in the Upside Down and talking to me with magnets. It also makes me sound absolutely fucking nuts-"

"Language!" Ted called as he walked by the door. Mike let out a groan.

"Language." Max mocked and Mike snorted.

"Anyways, you know what I mean, right?" Max nodded.

"Yeah. I understand, Mike, I do. But if it gets to the point that you're hearing a full sentence or you actually see him, promise me you'll let me take you to the crazy house."

"Oh fuck off." he threw a pillow at her and she laughed.

"On a serious note, what do we do? Do you want to try and like… contact him? Ooh do you have a ouija board? We could probably use one of those."

"No, the two of us would end up welcoming demons into my house." Mike shook his head. "Besides, we don't have one but I think Dustin does, for whatever reason."

"Dustin's a weird guy."

"You're telling me, I've known him longer than you. One time he stuffed a gummy bear up his nose and…" Mike went on telling her stories about Dustin, and then eventually moved to Lucas, whereas Mike asked,

"So… have you two been talking?"

"I feel like we're having a girly conversation here." she said.

"We are, now talk." Mike motioned with his hands. She let out a cackle at that.

"We're like… civil with each other, I guess. He doesn't ignore everything I say to him anymore."

"Well, that's a start." Mike told her. "Have you apologized for whatever he was mad about?"

"I've tried, but when I start to he just waves his hand and tells me not to worry about it."

"Well, wave your hand right back at his ass and tell him you're sorry. He's being a stubborn dick when it comes to that."

"You're one to call someone else stubborn." she retorted. He snorted.

"I know," he agreed. "But I'm not wrong."


Sunday, February 9, 1986

Mike wondered if this is what it felt like for Mrs. Byers when Will went missing and she was convinced he was right in front of her, but he wasn't. That's how Mike feels. He's almost one hundred percent certain that Hopper is trying to contact him from the Upside Down using the magnets, but he never saw them move. He swore he heard Hopper yelling at him- he'd know that voice anywhere, as much as he'd been yelled at when he was with El.

He wasn't sleeping very well, he felt like there was an added presence in his house at all times, sure it was Hopper. But no one believed him. Well, Max did, to an extent, and she'd gone as far as to ask Dustin's ass for his Ouija board, but Mike just threw a pillow at her when she showed it to him.

"What's up with you and throwing fucking pillows at me all the time?" she'd shrieked.

"Because you're annoying." he replied.

"Ew, that sounds familiar." Mike snorted at that.

"Me and Nancy throw pillows at each other, so… yeah. Consider yourself my sister I guess."

"Awe, that's so sweet!" Max cooed, laughing when she got hit with another pillow.

"Shut up, like you don't feel the same way." he stuck his tongue out at her. She shrugged and whacked him in the head with the pillow in her hands.

Mike didn't really know what to do, other than call Mrs. Byers and ask for her opinion, or beg her to come back to Hawkins, or something. It wouldn't hurt to try.

"Hello?" Joyce answered the phone.

"Um, hi Mrs Byers."

"Mike! El is in the shower right now and Will and Jonathan have gone to the store-"

"No, I, um, I called because… I wanted to talk to… to you."

"Oh. Is everything okay?" she asked, unknotting the cord and taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"I don't know." the teen was quiet, his voice shaky.

"What is it, Sweetie?"

"Um… I just… last year, did- did you feel like you were going crazy?"

"I think we've established I am kind of crazy at this point, Mike." she chuckled.

"No, no, no… like… crazy because of the… the magnets?" her eyes widened and she held her breath for a moment, before speaking,

"Is-is something wrong with the magnets?" she asked.

"Yeah." he nearly whispered it. "I-I… they keep moving. Holly's letter magnets… on the fridge."

"Have you seen them move?" she asked.

"I think I saw one move once but… they keep spelling out my name. And… there's a… a lower case L that's horizontal and an H…"

"Are you sure it's not Holly doing it? Or someone else?" Joyce asked in a hopeful voice.

"I'm sure. She can't… she can't reach high enough on the fridge and… all the letters are on the bottom. Dad is too lazy to bend down and get one, so why would he do it? Nancy hasn't touched a magnet since last year and the only time mom touches one it's just to put a drawing on the fridge or pick one up that got knocked down."

"It isn't Dustin or Lucas trying to make you think it's Holly?"

"It's not any of them, Mrs. Byers. Holly can't even spell my name right. She uses a Y instead of an I, and they know that."

"Who else could it be?" she asked.

"I… I think it's Hopper."

"Mike…" she trailed off, letting out a sigh.

"Look, I know I sound crazy, but listen. There is a whole other… you know what, out there. How do we know there isn't anything else? Hell, maybe he's actually a ghost or something. I just know something's not right."

Joyce didn't say anything, for what seemed like forever. She ran a hand through her hair, and asked, "What do you want me to do, Mike? I don't… I don't know how to help you."

"Come back." he said. "Come back here soon and-and you can see for yourself that I'm not really crazy and delusional like everyone thinks I am. I swear I keep hearing someone talking in my house and El said it was probably my dad talking in his sleep but I hear it when I'm home alone and I'm not sleeping great and I need someone who believes me. Please come back."

"Mike…"

"Please, Mrs. Byers. Something is wrong again in Hawkins."

They wouldn't be able to come until the thirteenth, because according to Joyce, she had to ask off work a few days in advance, and work her original days off prior to being off now. Jonathan had already planned to come to Hawkins on the day before, since school was out for the next two days for professional development. El and Will weren't going to go with Jonathan, because he'd outright refused to take them for whatever reason. He claimed it was because he'd only missed one or two days of school, and that Will has missed too many to miss anymore, but no one argued with him, though he was wrong He was going the day he originally planned, and the next day, Joyce, Will and El would be following him.


Wednesday, February 12, 1986

Mike was home alone for the first time in about a few weeks, and he was a little on edge. See, he heard the voice more often when he was alone, and convinced him he wasn't crazy and that it wasn't his dad talking in his sleep because he wasn't even there.

So yeah, he was on edge, and when there was a loud knock on the door, he nearly fell off the couch. It was almost five thirty in the afternoon, usually the time his dad got home, but he had a key, and was also on a business trip this week, so he was off the board of who was at the door.

"Just go look, you dimwit." Mike grumbled to himself. Whoever was knocking banged on the door again, just as Mike was about to open it. "Chill out! Damn!"

The first thing he saw were suits, and then he saw guns, and then he saw Martin Brenner. "Oh fuck."

"Michael Wheeler." Brenner said, grinning. "It's nice to see you again."

Shut the door and lock it. Shut the door and lock it. Mike said to himself, but he couldn't help but stare in shock at the white haired man.

"You're coming with us. I have a few questions I'd like to ask you."

"I'm not going anywhere with you." Mike said, furrowing his eyebrows. "Goodbye." he tried to shut the door in his face, but he knew damn well it wouldn't do any good.

"Really, child?" Brenner asked, stopping the door with only a hand. He pushed it open and grabbed Mike.

"Let me go you bastard!" Mike yelled, kicking and trying to get away. Another man grabbed him and he knew he wasn't getting out of this, so he just started screaming. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO! YOU PIECE OF SHIT- HELP ME! LET ME G-!"

"Dammit, someone get the chloroform." Brenner yelled, and almost immediately a cloth was covering Mike's mouth and nose, and everything went black. "The kid definitely puts up a fight. This'll be fun."