Chapter 2 Alice
Mike rapidly tapped his foot on the floor as the group sat around the model they'd assembled for Will in the basement. They'd been debating about disassembling it and reassembling it later with Will. Dustin had suggested asking Will what he wanted.
"Something's wrong. He should be home by now. It's been over two hours," said Mike.
"Do you know Josie's number, El?" asked Max. "Maybe he's at her house."
El nodded. She stood up and walked over to the phone. She dialed Josie's number..
"Hello?"
"Mrs. Ambrose, it's El. Are Josie and Will there?"
"Oh they went to see a movie. They should be back in a couple hours."
"Okay, thank you." El hung up the phone. The others looked at her with expectation. "She said they went to see a movie."
Dustin and Lucas both breathed sighs of relief. "So he's fine," said Dustin.
"She's lying," said El.
"Why do you think she's lying?" asked Max.
"Will would have told me. He knows I'd worry."
"Maybe he forgot," said Lucas.
"He wouldn't forget. Will and I promised each other, we'd always let each other know where we go and he always keeps his promises."
Eleven thought back to the day that she and Will actually became close friends- accepted that they were siblings and not just two members of the same friend group. He was leaving the house in Hawkins carrying some empty trash bags. Eleven had asked what he was doing and he had said that he was cleaning of the litter from Castle Byers. She had begged him to let her go with him as she needed something to occupy her mind.
Will had relented, but asked her not to talk to anyone else about the clean up. El had been shocked to find it in ruins and initially thought that a storm must have done it. Then she found the pieces of the drawing of Will the Wise and the pieces of a picture of the four original party members. Will had admitted to destroying Castle Byers himself and feeling stupid for clinging to certain things for so long.
When El asked him why he had destroyed the fort, he simply replied: "I doesn't matter." Then barely audibly muttered "I don't matter."
Will hadn't intended for her to hear the last part, but she did hear it. Those words made her realize something about her adoptive brother. His pain from being trapped in the Upside Down, then being possessed had never stopped. He had been hiding it from everyone. D&D had been his escape, but his friends had never wanted to play anymore. Everyone, including Will, had been worried about El after the loss of her powers and the death of Hopper. No one had noticed that Will was still suffering and he hadn't wanted them to notice because he felt that his mother and El were suffering more and didn't feel like anyone would really care. El felt she should have known. She'd seen him in the Upside Down, then seen him controlled by the Mind Flayer.
El had gotten Will to open up, but he had made her promise to not tell the others. She had kept that promise, but had often wondered if she should have broken it and told Mike. Would things have been different? It hadn't gone unnoticed by El that Will seemed to shut down when they visited Hawkins. He had really looked forward to seeing Mike the first couple of times they visited Hawkins or Mike came to Pawnee, but the excitement of seeing his first ever friend seemed to shrink over time.
"Why would Josie's mom lie though?" asked Mike.
"I don't know," said El. "But I'm sure she was lying. We have to find Will."
The group headed upstairs. Joyce was sitting on the sofa messaging her feet after working a double shift. Being a manager at a clothing store paid better than being a cashier at a convenience store, but the hours were grueling close to Christmas.
"Hey there," said Joyce to the group. "Glad you all got here okay."
"Mom!" said El, who had quickly and easily started calling Joyce 'Mom" after joining the Byers family.
"What is it, Sweetheart?" asked Joyce as she took El's hands. She glanced at the group. "Where's Will?"
"He went for a walk with Josie," said El. "Her mom said they went to see a movie, but she's lying, I know she is."
El's eyes suddenly widened. She felt the back of her head, then passed out. Her nose was bleeding slightly.
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Hopper desperately banged on the door of his cell. "You've made your point, Brenner! I'll do what you want, just get the kid out of there!"
"The creature isn't going to kill the boy, don't worry, chief," said Brenner.
The rapidly blinking lights caused Josie to snap out of her trance. She glanced around the room with her eyes landing on the demogorgan standing over an unconscious Will. She saw Hopper desperately banging on the cell door. She didn't know how she could do it, only that she could do it.
Josie raised her arms and screamed. Brenner and his men levitated and slammed into the walls. Josie walked past Hopper's cell and unlocked it with a wave of her arm then did the same the to demogorgan's enclosure. With another wave, she slammed the demogorgan into the wall knocking it unconscious. the gate sealed shut.
Hopper ran to Will. He was still breathing. "Are you one of Brenner's experiments?" he asked Josie.
"Brenner?" asked Josie.
"That's white haired asshole over there. How'd you do that?"
"I-I don't know," said Josie as she fiddled with her locket. "I didn't even know until now I could do that. This place feels familiar."
"We need to get out of here," said Hopper. He picked up Will, who had gotten taller in the last couple of years, but was still far from a large person.
"Do you know how to get out of here?" asked Josie.
"I know someone who does," said Hopper.
Josie followed him down a hallway. There was a woman who looked slightly younger than Hopper in a cell. She stood up and walked to the door. Hopper gave Josie a nod. Josie unlocked the door and wiped blood from her nose.
"Hopper-how?" asked the woman. She looked at Josie and her eyes flickered with recognition.
"You alright, Alice?" asked Hopper. Alice nodded.
"This girl here knocked out Brenner and his men. We have a small window to get out of here. Do you think you can find Sarah and get us all out?" asked Hopper.
"Yes," said Alice. She walked over to an outlet and punched it. She seemed to be having a seizure for a moment, then gestured for the others to follow. She led them to another cell and opened it. Josie saw a girl about her age who seemed very familiar.
"Sarah, c'mon, honey, we're getting out of here," said Hopper as he walked over to her. He gently set Will down. Sarah shook her head frantically.
"I can't, Dad, I can't. There's too much stuff out there."
"I know, but I can help you get through it. We have to get out of here so that bastard can't use us anymore."
Josie walked over to Sarah and held out her hand. "C'mon, we have to hurry. Your dad's right. I don't know who that guy is, but I don't want to help him with whatever he wants."
Sarah looked up at Josie and took her hand and stood up as Hopper picked up Will. Sarah suddenly gasped an leaned against the wall.
"You disobeyed him and escaped," said Sarah. "He punished you, tortured you, he changed your memories."
"Changed my memories?" asked Josie.
We have to move now," said Alice. "I can explain everything when we're somewhere safe. She led them into what felt like a maze of air ducts. After about 20 minutes, Will groaned.
"Hang on a second," said Hopper to the others. He set Will down, but supported his head. Will opened his eyes.
"Hopper?"
"Hey, buddy," said Hopper with a smile. "Good to see you."
Will sat up and hugged Hopper. "We thought you were dead! Have you been a prisoner this whole time?"
"Yeah, it was the Russians working with Brenner than found me after I got knocked out."
"What do they want with you?" asked Josie. "You were saying you'd do what they asked if they let Will go."
Hopper cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably.
"They wanted him to father children... more test subjects," said Alice as she ran her hand over a shaved head.
"What?" said Will. "Why?"
"They think I'll have more kids like Sarah," said Hopper as he gestured to his daughter.
"Sarah?" said Will as he looked past Hopper to Sarah. "Did they fake her death too?"
"Yeah, they like to do that," said Hopper.
"Brenner was running a lot of tests on people whether they knew it or now during the Vietnam War. Hopper here, didn't know and doesn't remember. I volunteered with three other people and we had no idea. He made me his prisoner. He must have messed with your memory somehow," said Alice as she pointed at Josie.
"He said something that put her in a trance," said Will.
"Sleeper agent," said Alice. "He must have put her there to spy on you." Alice pointed at Will.
"But Will's my friend," said Josie. "I'm not spying on him."
"Not by choice," said Alice. "Brenner uses a lot of people. You were one of the children he tested on and he erased your memories of that."
"Okay, I'm starting to freak out here," said Josie. She fiddled with her locket and her eyes briefly unfocused.
"Josie, your locket," said Will. "Take it off!"
"What?" said Josie.
"That's how he's controlling you," said Will.
Josie considered Will carefully, then yanked her locket off her neck, stood up, dropped it on the floor, and stomped on it. It let out some sort of high pitched noise. Will stood up and grabbed his head to steady himself.
"Whoa, easy there," said Hopper as he stood up and took Will's arm.
"We have to get out of here," said Will. "They may have been tracking us with that locket."
"You guys go, I'll hold them off," said Josie.
"What?" said Will.
"If that psycho has been using me to spy on you, I'm a danger to you."
Hopper let go of Will's arm and stepped back next to Josie. "Alice, get Will and Sarah to safety."
"What? Hopper, no!" said Will. "We've all thought you were dead for over a year. My mom, El, they need you."
"I can't be sure that Brenner hasn't been messin' with my head, kid," said Hopper. "I'm not going to risk putting you in danger."
"Well, I'm not leaving either of you behind. For all we know *I* could be some sort of sleeper agent. It's happened before. So you're both coming with me or I'll stay right here. We can even wait to contact my family until we're sure Brenner isn't using mind control on any of us if you want," said Will.
"Hopper, it's safe," said Alice. "Let's get out of here so he can't use us anymore."
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"No one's seen him at the monoplex," said Jonathan as he got home with Nancy, Steve, and Robin.
"Josie's mother still swears they went there," said Nancy.
El stirred at that moment. "El," said Mike as he gently tapped her shoulder.
"Will," she whispered. Mike felt a small twinge of jealousy for a brief moment- toward both Will and El. They had each other away from Hawkins while Mike himself was stuck in Hawkins without Will's friendship or romance with El.
"Did you see him?" asked Mike. Joyce walked up behind him.
"Are you okay, Sweetheart?"
"Will, he hit his head. Something knocked him out," said El.
"Something?" asked Max.
El looked around at everyone. "D-demogorgan."
"What? Are you sure?" asked Lucas. El got up and walked over to the radio. She turned it on and changed the station to static.
"El, what are you doing?" asked Mike. "Your powers."
"I saw Will," she replied. "I feel my powers. I have to try. She grabbed a scarf and tied it around her head. She focused as hard as she could and nothing happened. Then suddenly, she felt a bubble form and burst inside of her nose.
She was in the void. She saw Will telling people he wasn't going to leave them behind.
"El?" said Mike. "Do you see him?" El held up her hand.
Josie was with Will. A woman with a shaved head named Alice was with him. Someone else was with him... but it couldn't be. Hopper-Dad?
"You look like your mother," said Alice to Josie. "Your father too... I can see him in you too."
"You know my parents?" asked Josie. "The Ambroses?"
"Ambrose? No, that's the fake memory Brenner put in your mind. He sent your father to the war and to his death so he could steal you from your mother."
"Papa," said El. She pulled off her scarf as she started gasping for breath.
"Papa?" asked Joyce. "Brenner? Does he have Will."
"Will was escaping with Josie and three other people," said El. "They talked about Papa. A woman told Josie that Papa changed her memories... that the Ambrose's aren't her parents."
"That's why Mrs. Ambrose lied about them going to the movies," said Dustin. "She has to be in on whatever this is."
Joyce grabbed her coat and headed to the door.
"Mom, where are you going?" asked Jonathan.
"I'm going to have a talk with that bitch and find out where your brother is," said Joyce.
"You can't go by yourself, if the Ambrose's are working with Brenner they're dangerous. We should contact Owens before we go."
"We should probably take some supplies with us. Where's your gun?" asked Nancy.
"Okay, this got insane real fast," said Steve.
"We should all go," said Lucas.
"No," said Joyce. "Anyone under 18 is staying here."
"We can help," said Mike.
"Mike, just stay here," said Nancy as Joyce dialed Dr. Owen's number on the phone.
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"I can hot wire this," said Alice as she examined the car the group found a couple miles outside of the underground facility they'd escaped. "Looks that this broke down and the owner must have gone for help."
Will leaned against the car to catch his breath. "We'd better keep you moving, kid," said Hopper. "You probably have a concussion."
Will had a strong urge to just crawl into the back seat of the car and go to sleep, but he knew Hopper was right. Hopper took his arm to help him walk. Sarah took his other arm and walked with them for a few minutes before suddenly backing away. She stared at him, her eyes were wide with fear.
"Are you okay?" asked Will.
"You.. you were trapped in that place.. for days... And he... he tried to make you part of his army... the giant spider," said Sarah.
"You saw that?" asked Will. Sarah nodded.
"It's okay, Sarah, I got this," said Hopper. "Go ahead and rest inside the car. We'll be somewhere safe soon." Sarah complied as Josie walked over to Alice.
"There's something I need to tell you, Will," said Hopper as he and Will began to circle the car. "You and El and your Mom and brother."
"What is it?" asked Will. "Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing more than the usual," said Hopper. "I just found some stuff out while I was held prisoner and I need you to remind me to tell everyone when we're all together."
"Got it," said Alice as the engine fired up. "Let's get going."
Hopper led Will to the car and helped him into the back seat with Josie and Sarah. "Keep him awake," he said to the girls. "Let's drive a while and find a pay phone," Hopper added to Alice.
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"Hey Maggie," said Joyce as Mrs. Ambrose opened the door. "Will and Josie haven't been to the monoplex." Joyce grabbed her shirt collar and shoved her against the wall. "So I'm going to give you one more chance to tell the truth, where is my son?"
"Hey, Joyce, take it easy," said Mrs. Ambrose. "If your son's missing, then so is my daughter."
"But Josie isn't your daughter, is she?" said Joyce. Mrs. Ambrose started to laugh.
"Of course that little shit isn't my daughter, she doesn't even look like me."
"You should back away from her right now, Mrs. Byers," said Kevin- the boy everyone thought was Josie's older brother. He was pointing a gun at Joyce and the man everyone thought was Josie's father stood next to him also pointing a gun at Joyce.
"You two should watch where you're pointing those things," said Steve as he and Jonathan stepped into the house pointing guns at the two supposed Ambrose men.
"Wow, you Hawkins people are tenacious, I'll give you that," said Mr. Ambrose. "Tenacious and stupid." He shot both Steve and Jonathan in their legs. Nancy and Robin suddenly charged both men, knocking them to the ground, grabbing their guns and pointing the weapons at their heads.
"Did we just do that?" asked Robin. "Because I think I peed a little."
"EVERYONE FREEZE!" a small group of soldiers entered the house. Joyce was paralyzed with fear until she looked up and saw Dr. Owens.
"I see you didn't wait like we asked," said Dr. Owens.
"My boy is in danger and you were taking too long," said Joyce.
"Sorry we took so long, but we were distracted because we found Will," said Dr. Owens.
"Is he alright?" asked Joyce.
"He has a concussion, but he'll be fine," said Dr. Owens as soldiers arrested the Ambroses and medics attended to Jonathan and Steve. Dr, Owens walked up to Joyce and lowered his voice. "Will and his friend Josie weren't alone, three other people escaped Brenner with them... Joyce, one of them was Jim Hopper. He's alive."
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Okay, this is chapter 2. This story has nothing to do with How Do We Fix This? I may do a couple more chapters on that one too, not sure. I still have to finish "Breaking Through the Portal" and "Beyond the Ripple" the continuations of the MKUltra Ripple stories- which are now AU.
