Summary: "My darling lives in a world that is not mine
An old child misunderstood out of time...
We come from difference worlds we are the same my love
I never doubted your beauty I've changed..."
- Stevie Nicks (Beauty and the Beast 1983)
A/N: DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. As the author I do not always agree with the actions the characters take. The MC has Haphephobia. The depiction of such in the story may not be entirely accurate and I do not claim it to be so. The depictions of anxiety and OCD are based on my own personal experience and do not apply to the illnesses as a whole. There will be mentions of various sensitive topics which are updated in the tags, read at your own risk
November 8, 1983
They sat in the office, a mixture of emotions between the three of them. Tris, chin high and eyes defiant; Eddie, solemn and unyielding; Mads… to put it mildly, Mads was terrified. No one, not even Papa had lectured her in such a way and it scared her.
"I'll ask you again, Madison," Mr. Wilson said irately, his anger only spurred on by the tears of his wife. "Where were you? You weren't at school, you weren't in town; so, where were you?"
But her lips stayed sealed. She couldn't tell this man where she had been, and especially not what she had been doing. Hell, she hardly knew if she could trust him at all. And yet… she wanted to.
Eddie grasped her hand tightly in his own. He wasn't saying anything, wouldn't say anything unless she wanted him to. It was because of him that she'd grown so… so willing to trust people. Opening up to him had been the best decision of her life – other than escaping that hellhole P—Dr. Brenner called a Lab.
"Well," Mr. Wilson continued, his voice cold and dangerous. "Any of you gonna speak up?"
None of them did. His nostrils flared, eyes narrowing as he observed the three teens. Him and Pam had been so worried when they received the call from Don that the three of them had been in Melvald's when they should have been in school. With that little Byers boy gone missing – who knew if some creep snatched him up – his wife had been almost inconsolable. It was like the night their little girl didn't come home all over again, and the only thing that would calm her was his promise to find the group of friends.
Which was what he'd returned from doing – empty handed of course – when he spotted them pulling into the lot. Madison… That girl was near feral. Didn't trust about anyone, and was scrappy to boot. He didn't know what drew him and his wife to her… maybe it was the color of her hair which was so like his own daughter's. Or maybe the way her big doll eyes flashed when she was angry.
His daughter used to dye her hair that shade of dark blonde, and her eyes were brown – near black – like his own, not the bluish hazel of the girl before him. But the fire in them… maybe that was it. Maybe that's what reminded them of Mandy.
"Alright," Mr. Wilson rumbled, gesturing to Eddie and Tris. "I want the two of you off the property. You're all gonna be safe in your homes tonight or I'm putting in a call to Hop."
Tris opened her mouth to argue, but Madison shot her a look. It wasn't angry, upset even. Just a resigned warning. The other girl mashed her lips together in a thin line, stood up, and stormed from the office. No one made any move to stop her. The roar of her Vega's engine filled the empty silence as she drove off.
"Does Eddie really have to go home?" Madison asked, those big doll eyes shining with unshed tears.
Mr. Wilson could tell that Pam was about to acquiesce and interrupted before she could.
"He's going home and you all are staying inside tonight, or I won't hesitate to let Hop know that you broke curfew." He glowered, crossing his arms. It may not exactly be true, but Hop would understand.
"Oh, Jamie…" Pam murmured, hands trembling.
"Don't, Pam. Don't," he snapped.
They needed to know how serious this was. She may not be his kid, but while she was living at his motel, he was going to do his damndest to make sure she was safe. Even if she didn't want him to. Even if she wouldn't tell them something as simple as the reason they played hooky today.
"Okay," Madison said, voice hollow, and stood shakily from her chair.
"I mean it, kid," Mr. Wilson warned.
"We got it," Eddie said sharply, standing as well. It was the closest he'd ever come to disrespecting the older man.
When the pair exited the office, Pam rounded on him, eyes flashing with sorrow and anger. She was so beautiful when she was angry. It reminded him of the night they first met.
"How could you be so harsh, Jamie," she chided, voice trembling with a multitude of emotions.
He was silent for a moment, contemplating his love for the woman before him, and the suspicions he had about this whole situation. With a shake of his head and a deep breath, he finally spoke.
"Something strange is going on in this town…" He began, pulling his irate wife into his arms. "And I think those three know more than they're letting on."
"I'm sorry," Mads mumbled into Eddie's jacket as they hugged outside his van.
"What for?" He asked.
"I got you and Tris in trouble… She's probably mad at me now."
Eddie snorted. Tris? Mad? Nah. Not at Mads. The prospect of their adventure being postponed until further notice? More likely.
"Don't sweat it. 'S'not like you asked the old guy to ream us out." He pulled back, smiling to show he wasn't upset with her.
"Still my fault…" She grumbled, refusing to meet his eye.
"Hey," he poked her cheek to get her to look at him, or at least smile. She did both, showing her dimples. "We'll apologize and continue looking for a way to get to Will, okay? And please, please promise me that you won't do any of that psychic shit while I'm not there."
Mads stuck her tongue out at him, childishly. "No promises."
"I'm serious, Mads." Eddie gripped her by the shoulders.
She blinked. He was very serious.
"Okay. No psychic shit."
"There, was that soooo hard?"
"You're a dickhead."
His laugh stayed with her as he drove away, leaving her feeling alone and empty. Wrapping her arms around herself, Mads headed into her motel room. Hopefully to pig out on some junk food instead of making dinner. And maybe catch up on some homework.
Aw, who was she kidding. Without Eddie or Tris around she was probably going to wallow in self-pity. Being lonely was something she'd gotten used to, something she'd grown up with… but since coming here, Mads was hardly ever lonely. It had changed so quickly that she didn't know what to do with herself when she was alone now.
But the pressure began to build behind her eyes again. She prayed it would go away, that it was just a normal migraine. She knew better though; nothing about her was normal. And when the pain began to make her head spin and her stomach heave, lurching her into the blackness once again, she was alone.
Thunder rolled in the distance, clouds like red smoke swirling in the sky. Flashes of lightning shot against the macabre backdrop, illuminating the fetid landscape below. Mads was always here, but never here. And what kept jerking her consciousness to this place?
Her head still ached, throbbing in tandem with the vines she tried so carefully to avoid treading upon. What would happen if she stayed put? Would something come across her and attempt to devour her? Would that… thing find her?
This place, the Vale, she refused to play its games. Refused to bow to its monstrousness. No, Mads was going to fight back against whatever was pulling her here.
She was laying on her back on a clear patch of ground, a playground. Rusted metal playsets stood sadly, as though they had spent the decades unused. But they had never been played upon by the children of Hawkins, Indiana. They had just been here, tainted like every other thing in the Vale.
When she sat up, Mads noticed a house across the street. It looked like it had been erected straight from a horror movie. The shingles detached in clumps, the once beautifully carved wood was rotten and spongy. One thing remained untouched however; a stained-glass window depicting a rose in the front door.
All was quiet, as though the very world were holding its breath, waiting for something to happen. Waiting for her next move.
Well, she wasn't going into that fucking place, that much was for certain.
Crossing her legs, Mads closed her eyes and breathed, searching. As she began, her senses tugged in different directions, causing her head to throb even harder. But she refused to give up, not until she found a portal she could use to get to Will.
The battle for her consciousness to stay in this plane was soon lost though, when she felt a hand upon her head, fingers sliding into the locks of her hair. Roughly her head was jerked back, popping her neck.
Her eyes met blue fire; wonder etched into every line of his angelic face. Fuck.
"Language, little one," he chided gently, tapping her lips with his index finger.
She hadn't spoken aloud. He was reading her mind, just like he'd taught her. The memory sent her heart throttling to her toes.
"Careful where you put your hands," she warned lowly in an attempt to sound brave. "I've got teeth."
He smiled lightly at that, eyes crinkling slightly around the corners as though he found her threat – found her – amusing.
"But you don't have to use them, do you sweetheart? No, you've become much more powerful than anyone ever expected, including Papa." The blue fire in his eyes blazed ravenously.
"Don't call him that," she snapped, pulling against his grip on her hair, but all that accomplished was more pain.
"You're right," he agreed with a sigh. "He was no more our father than I was your brother."
She did not like the way he said that.
She had to get out of here.
Wherever here was.
The rot was all gone… replaced with a pretty, rose colored room, dark wood lining the walls, a crystal chandelier shone brightly in her eyes. It was the prettiest room she'd ever seen… What she could see of it at least.
"Do you like it?" 001 asked gently, releasing his hold on her hair.
Her scalp prickled like pins and needles when he let go, her head falling forward. It certainly was a lovely room, though something about it felt off. She couldn't tell what, however… just that there was.
Mads was seated at a large dining table covered with a delicate lace tablecloth, large sideboards and other dark furniture lined the walls. Two doors stood proudly facing her… two doors… Janus. She'd read about Janus when she was with Kali, in a book she stole from the library because they wouldn't let her have a card without her parents' permission. And because she liked to steal things then.
He was the two-faced god of dualities and doors. And of truth and lies. Somehow, she knew that beyond one of those doors would be her escape. But which one? One would be false and seal her fate, the other would lead to safety, but she had no way of knowing for sure.
Looking toward the gilded mirror on the wall to the left of her, she saw that her hair was fixed up perfectly in tight curls and pins, even though 001 had his hand fisted in it only moments before. Her face… her makeup was now dark and smokey, and her dress… flowing black satin, layered like flower petals over her torso and legs. She looked like a fairytale princess in the stories the nice nurse used to tell her when Peter would help her play sick.
"It's pretty…" She whispered, curling in on herself the way she used to do when she was small. The big, heavy boots she always wore were gone too, replaced with silken slippers.
Perhaps that was the wrong thing to do, because 001 pulled her seat away from the table, kneeling before her while taking one of her hands in his. Mads never headed a perhaps in her life, so she should probably start doing that. The action mimicked the way he would comfort her before she ran.
His orderly's uniform was gone, but his clothes were still white, pristine. Like an angel. She knew better. Knew why she was dressed in black, her face done up sultry and tempting.
This was 001's illusion, and in his mind, he was God. And if he was God, then she was his downfall, his temptation, his only mistake. His dark, hedonistic counterpart. She was his Devil.
Mads was the Devil and she had God on his knees.
Somewhere far away a girl was screaming for help, pulling her attention away from the scene before her – the edges blurring slightly, rot seeping in – but 001's hand captured her jaw, directing her attention back to him once more and everything snapped back into place so quickly that she hardly noticed it at all.
It was so lovely here.
"So lovely…" He murmured, stroking her jaw with his thumb. "So perfect, just how I knew you would be."
But she was a child, only on the cusp of seventeen, waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
"We don't have to wait any longer, you and I," 001 said, thumb pausing over her lips, pressing lightly. His eyes were pleading almost, though she knew if she refused his wrath would be unleashed, just as it was the last time she refused him. "We do not have to close off our minds, we do not have to pretend. We do not have to follow made up rules that limit us for who we are."
Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, her skin crawling at the feeling of his touch on her skin. She wanted to be sick. His hands were gentle, but they were not kind. They took, and took, and took. And they would continue to take until there was nothing left of her but a shell of whatever 001 wanted her to be.
Mads thought of Eddie, of Joyce, of Pam, Mr. Wilson, and Tris. Their hands were soft and kind. They didn't take anything they weren't able to give her themselves. They wanted her happy and safe. They didn't want her to belong to anyone but herself.
Here, sitting in this pretty room with this pretty man in these pretty clothes, Mads knew she was being caged. That 001 wanted her, that he wanted to own her, for her to belong completely to him and not herself.
She thought of how angry Eddie would be, knowing how 001 was doing what he wanted and not what she wanted. She thought of the fire in Tris' eyes and how she probably wouldn't hesitate to attack him for putting his hands on her – even if he wasn't hurting her.
Or Mr. Wilson, and Pam, and Joyce… even Jake. How they would huddle around her with guns and fists and claws because she was just a child. Just a child, just a child, just a child. And she loved them. She loved them all.
When she came back to herself, 001 was still staring at her, rage simmering beneath his skin. She could feel the heat in his hands, on her face, on her wrist. It would be easy, she thought, to give in. He was right, in his own sick way, that the world they were born into was not made for them… And for all the times it had failed her, it would be so easy.
"Then be with me," he demanded, the rage burning into something else, something worse. "I can give you whatever you desire. We can burn everything to ash and start anew, you and I."
He brought her hand to his lips – they were so warm and soft and alive – and pressed a chaste kiss against her skin. She could almost believe that he only loved her, nothing more. She could almost believe that he didn't want to destroy her from the inside out, ravaging her mind – she didn't want to even think about what else.
"Madison…" He purred, pressing his lips to her fingertips, her tattoo. "I know you, what you are, better than anyone else. Better than that boy you cling to, better than our false father, and better than yourself. I can show you who you are made to be."
Gently, he pulled her from her chair and guided her towards the gilded mirror. With both hands gripping her shoulders, he bade her look at her reflection and she obeyed, only because his hands were so close to her fucking neck. Her pulse throbbed beneath her scars.
"Language," he reminded her, a smirk ghosting over his full lips.
"I'll think whatever the fuck I want," she retorted in a whisper, eyes never leaving his reflection.
001 merely laughed, giving her shoulders a gentle, reassuring squeeze. He seemed… pleased? Pleased by her defiance of him? She didn't know what to make of him, his reactions. But she had to play along if she wanted out of this place, she knew that much.
So, with a slow exhale, she met the gaze of her own reflection.
In it, she saw the world as it was… burning. Deep fissures where eldritch abominations of every kind crawled, death and pestilence following in their wake. A thick, black smoke ripping its way through the worlds as though it were a sentient disaster. Above it all she stood, seemingly on nothing but air, her hair long and flowing around her black clad form. She was not alone, 001 stood beside her, dressed in white – like always. Their eyes held the same ravenous fire as they watched the destruction of the world below. The world that had failed them both.
And it was as beautiful as it was terrible.
Just like him.
"I can give you that and more," he whispered, lips grazing her ear. She could feel him smile when she trembled. "If only you'll give yourself to me."
She gulped. "In what way?"
"In any way you want."
But he didn't mean it. Mads knew that eventually he would have her in whichever way he wanted, whatever way he wanted. It would only be a matter of time.
"Why not 011?" She asked, her voice cracking. "Why me? 011 and I were so similar, so weak, until you helped me."
"011 is the reason I'm in this place," he snapped, claws forming on her shoulders, digging into the exposed flesh there, his voice harsh and rough. "Perhaps I should thank her for helping me realize my true potential… But had it not been for her, I would have rescued you sooner. I could have saved you from that girl who neglected to realize what a magnificent, no divine, being you are. I would have made you realize how perfect you are, how precious."
The tears in her reflection's eyes threatened to spill over as his form began blurring around the edges. She wasn't safe, this wasn't safe. She needed to get out of here.
"But you tried to kill me…" Her voice trembled and broke.
"And that was wrong of me… Let me redeem myself, let me show you how forgiving I can be." His voice, once so soft and sweet and angelic, was now so, so horrid.
It hadn't even changed, but she knew, she knew the monster that lay underneath the gilded veneer he wore. 001 had forgotten the encounter in the false rainbow room. He had forgotten she destroyed his illusion. He had forgotten she had forced him to show his true form, the rot, the infection, the disease that the Vale infected him with.
Or, brought out of him.
Brought his true form to the surface.
Abruptly, she turned to face him – pulling his claws from her shoulders – the sharp angles of his heartbreakingly lovely face distorting, becoming harsher and more pronounced. With shaking hands, she gently cupped his face in her palms gazing deeply into the deep blue pools of his irises.
Slowly, slowly, slowly she brought his lips down to meet her own, showing him desire, and only that. When his mouth was only a hair's breadth away from her own, she paused, heat searing her flushed skin.
"I don't need your forgiveness."
Mads reared back then surged forward, her forehead connecting with his with a horrible crack.
"Shit!" She cursed, pulling away as 001 stumbled backward in shock. That hurt.
Before he could recover, she rushed across the dining room, her slippered feet making barely a thud with each step, unnervingly. She was used to her steps making noise. The twin doors loomed in front of her – one leading to salvation, the other, destruction. There was little time to choose, so she didn't.
Mads thought of Eddie, her mind flooded with him, his goofy smile and infectious laugh, that stupid little thing he did with his tongue when he concentrated. Then Tris, and the sharpness of her tongue and the fire in her eyes, the silly way she babbled when she was nervous. Joyce and her frenzied desire to find her son. Pam and Mr. Wilson, and Jake and how they wanted to keep her safe.
It all flooded her mind at once, her mind pulling in the right direction. Angry, thundering footsteps arose behind her and she could hear the snarl forming on 001's lips. But before his long, clawed fingers could wrap around her wrist – her neck – she grasped the freezing brass doorknob and pulled, the ghost of his fingertips lingering on her skin.
Air rushed in her ears, her hair, now unbound, fluttered and tangled as she fell, the blackness rising up to meet her. She splashed into it with a resounding smack, her muscles screaming and bones barking in pain.
Her eyes flew open and she was sprawled out on her bed, but it was not her bed. It was musty, riddled with mold and rot. Before her, on the wall where a tacky art print used to hang was a thick, pulsating portal. It reminded her of the placenta and amniotic sac she pulled off a feral cat's kitten when it couldn't struggle through. The mother devoured the shed skin soon after, licking her baby clean.
There was no mother cat here.
But there was an increasingly familiar cry outside the flipped motel room.
Mads didn't waste a second, hurtling herself through the portal. She landed face first on the rough carpet, earning herself a few scrapes, before scrambling around and squeezing her hands into fists.
The lights flickered, flickered, flickered until her mouth filled with the coppery tang of blood and no trace of the portal remained in the yellow-striped wallpaper. Crackling static filled her ears, growing louder and louder until the sound grew into the blaring tunes of The Clash playing loudly from her cassette player. She didn't even own any tapes by The Clash.
Scrambling on scraped hands and bruised knees, Mads yanked the cord from the wall, cutting off the song mid-note, and pulled the tape from the player. It was Stevie Nicks' 'Bella Donna'. How much weirder – and worse – was any of this going to get?
Her body was so weary; her mind was even more so. That thing… it had been 001 all this time. He had been stalking her this whole time, and had somehow pulled her from this dimension into the Vale. Probably by tugging at her consciousness like 011 did the night Will went missing. She'd gotten a migraine then too.
God, she was so tired. All she wanted to do was let her aching body fall into the carpet, but she couldn't; she was still covered in Vale goop… and had left a trail of it on the floor. God dammit.
With a groan, she peeled herself up off the floor and dragged herself to the shower. She washed her hair three times from root to tip just to make sure it was clean, then a fourth to get the feeling of 001's hands out of it. She scrubbed her skin raw everywhere he touched, hoping force would wash away any trace of him. Tonight, she scrubbed at her tattoo until it bled.
November 9, 1983
"There should be a doctor's note on file," Mads sighed, rubbing her aching eyes. "I have chronic migraines; that's why I left school early yesterday. I forgot to tell a faculty member."
The principal pursed her lips, but said nothing as her secretary bustled into the room.
"We just found the note Ms. Johnson, sorry for the trouble." The secretary handed the principal the doctor's note – forged of course – to the principal, who gave it a cursory glance and a nod.
"What about your friends, Mr. Munson and Ms. Buckley? Did they also abstain from classes because of spontaneous migraines?" She asked, steepling her fingertips.
"I don't know where they were yesterday," Mads lied through her teeth with a pretty smile. "I went straight back to my room at the Wilson's motel and didn't leave."
She put the full force of her abilities into that lie, pressing her thumb against the bandage underneath the leather band on her wrist. Where 001 had kissed her. Where he tried to mark her, covering the one that Pa—Dr. Brenner had left.
That had been real. All of it. Somehow, she'd created a portal – or something else had – and she was dragged through it. Fuck a duck. No, fuck her. Shit.
"Ms. Johnson?" The principal said, looking at her with concern.
"Yeah?" Mads snapped.
"Are you well enough to return to classes today?" She repeated, obviously believing her lie.
"I think so," Mads huffed, standing to her feet. "Can I go now?"
"Of course." The principal gave her a dreamy smile and Mads knew she was under her influence now. Her head throbbed. "If you see your friends, let them know I want to speak with them."
"Yeah, sure." Mads agreed with absolutely no intention of doing so.
Minutes later, she caught up with Tris in the corridor, noticing The Hair and Wheeler doing their little routine off to the side. A group of kids were staring jealously in their direction. Mads still couldn't find it in herself to understand why.
"Sorry for running out like that… I… I don't do well with ultimatums," Tris apologized, holding her fist out for Mads to bump. The very thought of touching her friend's skin made her queasy after last night.
"It's okay," Mads mumbled, toeing the ground with her boot.
"No touching today?" Tris asked, lowering her hand.
Mads shook her head, worrying her bottom lip to shreds with her teeth. Eddie said no psychic shit, and she went and opened a portal to the Vale. He was going to be so upset with her. And little 011 was out there, no telling what 001 was sending after her.
Great, now she had two missing kids to find because she sure as hell wasn't letting Dr. Brenner get to either of them.
"I wanna skip first period," she muttered.
"Girls' bathroom?" Tris suggested, holding out her hand again before remembering it was a 'no touching' day.
Mads shrugged a shoulder. "Where's Eddie?"
Tris rolled her eyes with a longsuffering smile, and gestured for Mads to follow her. She did, shaking a little bit as a tall, blond boy brushed past her. It wasn't him; she didn't have to worry. She was safe, for now. But Tris wasn't leading her to the empty girls' bathroom, she led her outside and didn't stop until they were hidden away behind the bleachers on the football field.
"I couldn't get a hold of him this morning," Tris explained, pulling a joint from the pocket of her leather jacket, lighting it quickly then holding it out to her. "You look like you could use a toke. Anyway, he's probably placating the rest of the club, they've been getting pissy he's spending all his time with us lately."
Mads took the joint gratefully and breathed in, holding her inhale for as long as she could before expelling it into the frigid air. That was fair, they were his friends before she and Tris were. But she needed to tell him what happened last night, and that they now needed to look for 011 too.
Fuck.
Her eyes were burning and it wasn't the weed.
"Hey," Tris said, eyes clouding with concern. "What happened after I left? Mr. Wilson wouldn't do a thing to hurt you, and Eddie wouldn't dare either. Are you okay?"
Letting herself slump to the freezing concrete, Mads allowed the story, and the tears to flow. She told Tris about 001 and his fucked-up desires – suspected and otherwise – about needing to find 011 and how she was psychically transported to the Vale.
"So… you can, like, teleport too?" Tris asked, taking the joint from her
"Yeah, I guess." Mads shrugged, looking up at the gray sky. "But I've never done it like that before. Not with a portal, and especially not to another dimension."
"And this 001… He's got a god-complex and thinks you and 011 belong to him or some shit?"
"Pretty much."
"Wild."
Mads laughed in spite of herself. If she hadn't known Tris before today, she would have assumed the impressed, but slightly nonchalant, air was due to the dope and not her natural personality
"So," Tris said after a beat. "When do we go looking for 011?"
"Oh… I, uh," Mads coughed on her exhale. "I hadn't thought about it."
"Well, if we find her, then maybe you two can figure out how to open a portal and get Will out or somethin'. Just an idea."
"No that's… that's actually a pretty good idea…"
"After school?"
"Yeah… yeah."
Mads carefully stubbed out the joint and handed it back to Tris, who pocketed it. The walk back was quiet, for more than just stealthy reasons. Mads had a lot to think about. They both did.
Thankfully, when they reached their next class, no one mentioned their absence, or the redness of their eyes. And Eddie was there, saving her seat. Well, that didn't have to be saved. No one wanted to piss her off after the second Apple Incident and not many people wanted to sit next to Hawkins' resident freaks.
They made it through the day without much incident, Tommy and Carol were being obnoxious at lunch, but it wasn't directed towards them so they didn't care. The other Hellfire boys required apologies for hogging Eddie, but they were insincere because both girls planned on dragging him on another adventure after school. Which is exactly what happened as soon as the final bell rang and they were free.
"I've got something to tell you," Mads whispered as they left the building with the crushing throng of other students.
"Motel room?" He drummed his fingers against his thigh.
"Nah, we can talk in the parking lot."
When they reached his van Mads spilled everything, no one ever parked close enough to Eddie to overhear them anyway. She was afraid he would be angry with her because she promised no psychic shit, but he wasn't. Well, not with her.
His dark eyes were deadly calm and cold, jaw working, arms crossed over his chest. He looked the picture of an avenging angel, covered in leather, denim, and metal. So unlike the evil she encountered last night.
"I'm okay," Mads whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. "I just want to find 011 and Will, then we can figure the rest of this out."
"What if he pulls you through again?" Eddie asked, voice as deadly calm as his eyes.
"I don't… I don't think he will…"
"You don't know that Mads—"
A shout from across the parking lot interrupted him, pulling Mads' attention toward the noise. Jonathan Byers' car was nearly surrounded by Harington and his goons, none of them looking particularly happy as they tore up photo after photo.
She was off again. Stupid? Totally. Necessary? Not likely. Did she want to feel the skin of Tommy Hagan's lips splitting beneath her fist? Hell yeah. And after last night, she really wanted to punch a bully.
Tommy and Steve just happened to be the first to catch her notice.
"The fuck's going on here?" Mads demanded, storming up to them as Steve held out Johnathan's camera to him.
"Here comes Hellfire's brimstone…" Carol muttered, smiling. Nicole faked a laugh. Carol wasn't very funny, even when she tried.
"None of your business," Tommy snapped.
Steve was going to drop Jonathan's camera; she just knew it. For what reason, she was less certain. Probably something to do with the scattered pieces of photograph littered around the lot.
"Seems like you're making it everyone's business, Stevie," Tris said, sauntering up twirling her bone keychain on her finger. "Y'know, making a public spectacle and all."
"The only spectacle around here is you three," Nicole hissed, flinching back when Eddie flicked his tongue at her.
"Give the camera back to Jonathan, Harington," Mads said, her voice sickly sweet and soft. Her hands were trembling.
"He's not gonna do that," Tommy scoffed.
But Steve, his face dazed, stumbled forward, his fingers clenched around the camera.
"The hell are you doing, man?" Tommy demanded, Carol joining in on the heckling.
"Give it back and none of you will get hurt." Mads shifted her posture, ready to lunge at any moment.
"You? Hurt us?" Tommy sneered.
Just as he moved to snatch the camera from Steve's outstretched hand, Jonathan grabbed it, scurrying back a few steps. Tris and Eddie moved in front of him in a flash, loose, easy postures. Mads was proud of them; yeah, this was all her dumb idea, but Eddie was much less of a self-proclaimed coward now than when they first met.
"Back off, Hagan," Mads warned, eyes flashing. "I'm in a shitty mood today and I would be more than happy to smash your teeth in."
"Oh yeah," he jeered, rising to her challenge just like she hoped he would. "And what are you gonna do if I don't?"
"Ladies never start fights, but they sure as hell can finish them." She smirked, rolling her neck and shoulders.
It was a no touching day. If he put his hands on her, he was done for. Tommy Hagan would be unrecognizable before his friends could even pull him away from her.
With Steve in a daze, and Tris and Eddie protecting Jonathan, there was no one to hold Tommy back from trying to hit a girl. His hands made to grab for her, but she dodged to the side, grinning.
"Mads, we don't have time for this," Eddie called, exasperated.
But Tommy did, throwing punches wildly like an enraged bull rushing an opponent. He would have landed a few had he used his head, and had Mads not been in a few… altercations herself when she ran with Kali. Instead, she flitted around him with cat-like grace, dodging each punch until she finally stopped, allowing one to connect.
Her head snapped back and she could feel the warm trickle of blood run over her lips. Tommy paused as though in shock, his arm outstretched, eyes wide. Mads lifted a hand to her nose with a wild grin. It hurt like blazes, but he hadn't broken it.
"Holy shit," someone, probably Carol, gasped.
"What the fuck, dude!" Steve shouted, rushing over. He was too late.
Mads had taken advantage of Tommy's shock and grabbed him by his outstretched arm, swinging herself around to his back, pinning his arm behind him and twisting. Her grin widened at his cry of pain, leaning into him, forcing him to his knees. Her arm snaked around his throat, hand gripping his jaw, her nails bit into the flesh of his face.
"Oh, what's the matter?" She asked sweetly, but her voice was rough around the edges. "Cat got your tongue?"
Her fingers clenched around Tommy's jaw brutally, as though she were trying to force his mouth open. She wanted to rip his tongue out with her fingers.
"Remember what I said?" She whispered in his ear, relishing in his struggles – if only he knew what she could do without physical strength. "I said watch yourself, because I could crush your fucking skull!"
Her voice rose to a shout, making his ears ring. Blood thundered in her own, the coppery tang of blood filling her mouth as it rushed from her nose into her lips. The pressure in her hands began to increase, causing Tommy's arm to pop out of socket. His pained cry could barely be heard over Carol's scream. All that was left was his jaw.
"Mads!" Eddie shouted, rushing over, pulling her off the other boy. "No! He's not fucking worth it."
She snarled, thrashing against him, reaching, scrabbling, clawing for Tommy again. She was going to show him just how witchy she could be. There would be nothing left of him. Mads was going to obliterate him off the face of the fucking planet.
"Get out of here!" Tris shouted at Steve and his friends, who rushed Tommy away from Jonathan's vehicle without a second glance behind them.
"Mads," Eddie whispered in her ear. "Mads, enough. You're not gonna kill Hagan, like… ever. Okay? We can't be friends if you're gonna go around killing people. You're better than that."
Suddenly, her thrashing stopped and she fell limp in his arms. Not friends? Tommy deserved it though… Did Eddie not care about that? Not be her friend… Sorrow seized her throat and chest like a vise, gripping her so tightly that she couldn't breathe.
"You can kill the fuck that put his hands on you though," he amended and she looked up into his face, that goofy smile plastered across it.
At once, her body was freed from the viselike clutches of her emotions and she leaned back against him in a backwards sort of hug since he still had her arms pinned behind her back.
"Is it still a 'no touching' day?" Tris asked, holding her arms open.
Mads shook her head with a smile, welcoming the feeling of Tris' slim arms folding around her shoulders.
"That was pretty badass, not gonna lie," she said, giggling.
"Don't encourage her." Eddie leaned his head back in a groan.
"How much longer am I gonna be a Mads sandwich?" Mads asked, mouth muffled by the shoulder of Tris' jacket.
"As long as we say so, kiddo," Eddie teased.
"Oh, fuck off. I'm not that much younger than you."
They laughed at her. Laughed at her. It felt good.
"I'm kinda liking the 'Mads sandwich' situation," Tris mused, squeezing her tighter. Mads found that she didn't hate it.
But they had an audience, and the dork duo laughing was drawing attention. Attention she didn't want. However… something was wrong. Barb was rarely ever out of Wheeler's sight, and she was nowhere to be found. She also hadn't been in any of their shared classes today. And Wheeler hadn't run off with Steve yet. She was knelt on the ground, helping Jonathan pick up the ripped pieces of his photographs.
"Hey," Mads called, extracting herself from her friends' embrace. "Wheeler, where's Barb? I didn't see her in class today."
"I-I, um," Nancy looked both frightened and concerned simultaneously. "I don't know, probably skipping?"
"Barb doesn't skip…" Mads said, brow furrowing.
"Yeah, well… I don't know what else could have happened…" Nancy gripped a torn photo to her chest, doe eyes brimming with tears.
For Wheeler to have such a reaction… she must suspect something bad happened to Barb. The distant screams for help echoed in her mind and the brown sugar smell filled her nostrils. Oh fuck.
"I don't know what you did, Byers," Mads hissed, turning to him. "But you need to keep the fuck away from them, got it? Your mom doesn't need your hospital bills on top of everything she's got going on."
Jonathan's jaw set defiantly – who was she to tell him what to do? – but nodded, shoving his things in his bag before setting off in his car, leaving the photograph pieces Wheeler held behind.
"Did something happen last night?" Mads asked Nancy.
"I-I don't know…" Nancy's voice faltered. "We went to a party at Steve's and she wasn't enjoying herself, so I told her to go home. Her mom hasn't seen her this morning…"
God dammit!
"Oh, well… maybe she's just pissed off or something…" Mads supplied half-heartedly. She knew what had happened, and could only hope that Barb could hide as well as Will Byers.
"I hope that's it…" Nancy said, eyeing her warily with those glassy doe-like eyes.
Mads' lips pressed together in what she hoped was a smile, but probably resembled a grimace, and turned on her heel. Grabbing both Eddie and Tris by the hand, she dragged them to the van, stopping right next to her motorcycle.
"Barb's missing and I think the monster took her," she informed them in a whisper.
"No," Tris gasped, horror coloring her face. "Barb Holland? Are you sure?"
"Yeah, Wheeler's friend. Why?"
"She was my kid sister's best friend…"
Eddie's face also dropped into a horrified sort of panic, leaning against his van with a thud. They all stood, staring into space, their thoughts running miles a minute.
Shit… This was getting personal now. People she was getting close to were being affected, and she didn't know how to deal with the feelings that came along with it. Yeah, Barb was nice, but she didn't really know her. It was easy to be angry instead of panicky, but the look on Tris's face was so similar to what she imagined Joyce's would be in her nightmares. The ones where she found out that her baby was trapped in a hellscape and Mads was the only one who knew.
The only one who had a chance of saving him, but couldn't.
It was horror, sadness, and pity all rolled into one expression on one person's face and was so intense that Mads wanted to jump on her bike and drive far, far, far away. She couldn't deal with all this emotion, especially her own.
But if she didn't… then Will and Barb and 011 would never be found, and 001 would never stop hunting her. Running wouldn't solve anything; it had in the past. There was no shame in running, but she couldn't run anymore. Now she had to fight.
"Okay…" She began, nodding to herself, her fingers tugged at the bracelets on her wrist. "Okay, so we can't do anything now. We have to find 011 and see if we can figure out a way to open a portal. I think that's our best chance at getting to Will and Barb before something bad happens."
"Okay… right, okay. We can do that," Eddie agreed, jumping back to life, slipping his arm around Tris' shoulders, jostling her a bit. "It's just one kid, we can find a kid."
"Y-yeah…" Tris agreed, chin wobbling. "Right, yeah. It'll be okay."
"Hell yeah it will!" Eddie encouraged, making concerned eye contact with Mads, who returned it with a solemn nod.
"I can find her, no problem," Mads said, plastering a smile on her face. "011 and I are… sisters. Sort of. In a way. I'll be able to find her easily, if she's in our dimension. Which she is, 001 didn't know she had escaped."
With the promise to meet up at Mads', they all set off in their respective vehicles, the mood somewhat lightened on Tris' part. Mads on the other hand… she was less optimistic. Sure, she could find 011 no problem, but where would they keep her when she did? Moreso, how would they get her to trust them?
And how could they protect her from 001 when Mads couldn't even protect herself?
A/N: My ears still aren't better lol, I hope I don't have to go to an ENT. Also, late update again bc I've been working on my other fic "Lullaby" and my manuscript for my second book. The first one is still in editing and idk when I'll be publishing it so yeah.
Also Jamie Bower and I have been on the same wavelength with the religious overtones in stuff? Like, My Dude, are you somehow reading my mind?
Chapter title is from "People disappear here" By Halsey on the 2021 album (and movie) "If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power".
Thanks for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! I appreciate each and every one (don't forget to review if you liked the story so far!)!
(Side note, I literally just copy and paste my notes over from AO3 so that's why I just now noticed the disclaimer mentitons "tags" and... does not use a tagging system. Also I constantly have to go back and fix this section for the correct terms of thanks - the faves/follows portion, ty for your paitence with me.)
This is the "mixtape" I created for this fic. It's not entirely period accurate, but I feel like these songs fit the theme of the show and characters.
playlist/2w0Fg6UPmVvj5L3EIMRYfw?si=d8e38810c96f4875
