The next hour was a blur. They had learned the names of the three boys that found them, Mike, Lucas, and Dustin.

They all seemed to be around Nine and Eleven's age but they all looked different.

Mike was a very fair skinned kid with brown eyes and dark black hair. It was sticking out in different places and you could still see drops of rain throughout it. He had a lanky build and wore a dark blue sweater over a white button up shirt.

Then there was Lucas. Nine may not have known these boys for very long but he could say with certainty that Lucas was practically the opposite of Mike, based on their personality and their looks. Their only common feature seeming to be their eye and hair color. Lucas had dark skin with short black hair and brown eyes. He wore a white T-shirt with red around the collar and jeans. On top of that was a thick tan jacket, something all the boys had on when they found them.

Finally, there was Dustin. If Mike and Lucas were opposites, he was the middle ground. Dustin had tan skin with blue eyes and curly light brown hair. Dustin also seemed to be missing some teeth. Nine wondered why but wasn't really curious enough to ask. He had on a thin dark green hoodie and jeans. He also had on a dark brown jacket and had on a hat over his unruly hair. It was white in the front, blue in the back, and had a red brim.

Mike had been the nicest to them so far. He had given Eleven his jacket and taken them back to his house. Nine was definitely more scared now than ever. He knew that Papa was looking for them and while he appreciated what these boys had done for them he knew this could get them killed. Nine had to watch as poor Benny got shot because of them and he didn't want to see anyone else die the same way.

Nine didn't think Lucas liked them very much. He had expressed to Mike that taking them back to his house wasn't a good idea and had been looking at them weirdly the entire time. Nine wasn't really mad, he could understand why Lucas would be cautious and honestly it wasn't a good idea to bring them back. They were putting themselves in danger. The only reason Nine hadn't tried to run was because they had nowhere else to go. He knew they couldn't stay in that forest forever. There was only so many places to hide. They needed to get as far away as possible, somewhere Papa could never find them. That's why when Mike had Eleven get on the back of his 'bike' and had Nine do the same to Dustin, he didn't protest.

Now Nine sat in Mike's basement with Eleven by his side and the trio of boys standing in front of them. Nine flinched as he heard the crack of thunder. It still hadn't stopped raining. He looked over at Eleven. She still had Mike's coat wrapped around her shoulders but it didn't do much considering she was soaked. Nine's heart ached at how scared she looked even though he knew he wasn't doing any better. He wished he could do more for her but he couldn't even take care of himself. This was their first time leaving the building they'd grew up in and they hadn't been taught about the outside world. How could he protect her from something he didn't understand?

"Is there a number we can call? For your parents?" Nine looked back at Mike who looked expectantly at them.

"Where's your hair? Do you two have cancer?" Dustin wondered aloud.

"Did you run away?"

"Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"Is that blood?" Nine recoiled as Lucas reached towards his nose. Any time they used their powers their nose would bleed. What he did at Benny's must've caused it. Nine didn't know why it had that affect but it had been happening for so long that he just got used to it. That's probably why he didn't realize it was bleeding until Lucas had pointed it out. To be fair, Nine had bigger issues on his mind than a nose bleed.

Mike smacked Lucas' hand away from Nine's face.

"Stop it! You're freaking them out!" Mike scolded.

"They're freaking me out!" Lucas hollered back, throwing his hands up.

Dustin cut the two off. "I bet they're deaf!"

Nine eyed the boy warily as he turned towards them. His hands shot out as he clapped once.

The duo on the couch flinched at the unexpected gesture. Dustin turned back to the others.

"Not deaf." He shrugged.

"All right, that's enough, all right? They're just scared and cold." Mike defended. He turned away from the group and went to the other side of the room. Nine tried to ignore Lucas and Dustin's eyes on them in favor of seeing what Mike was up to. He was rummaging through a basket filled with clothes.

Nine and Eleven shook as a particularly loud clap of thunder sounded. Nine wished it would stop raining already. He had never liked the noise it made. Back at the lab it was always muffled to the point he normally couldn't hear it. Here it was much louder and scarier.

Nine looked back up as a hand held out two outfits towards them.

"Here, these are clean, okay?" Mike explained as Nine examined the bundle. Well, if one good thing came from following them back here it was that he finally got a good shirt and pants.

Nine stood up and grabbed the hem of his soaked shirt. He started to take it off but stopped as the other three shouted out protests.

"No! No! No!" Mike held his hands out, grabbing Nine's wrists to stop him from pulling it up any further. Nine made a confused face as he looked between the three. Lucas and Dustin had turned away and put their hands over their eyes.

"See? Over there?" Mike pointed to a small dimly lit room near where he had gotten the clothes from the basket. "That's the bathroom. Privacy. Get it?"

Nine didn't. Back at the lab he rarely had to change clothes. The only time he did was when he had to for something Papa wanted him to do. Whenever that happened he normally was told to just do it right there. They didn't bother giving him a room to do it by himself.

He wasn't in the lab anymore, though. Nine just had to get used to the way things were out here. He didn't expect it to be this different.

Nine nodded and made his way towards the small room. It was very bare compared to everything else. As he looked around the room he heard the door creak. He whipped around to see Mike closing the door. Nine hastily grabbed it.

"You don't want it closed?" He questioned.

Nine shook his head.

"Okay, well, um... how about we just keep the door just like this. Is that better?" He shut the door most of the way but left a small crack open. It was enough to where the room was a little brighter and Nine nodded in approval.

Nine didn't waste more time looking around the room. He didn't like leaving Eleven out there with them. They didn't seem like they'd do anything bad but they were definitely loud and were asking way too many questions. Nine hoped that wouldn't happen with every person they met.

He could hear them talking outside but tried to tune them out. Instead he focused on changing his clothes. He had been given a black short sleeved T-shirt and black sweatpants. Nine was sure that this was the most comfortable thing he'd ever worn.

Nine walked out once he was done and Eleven took his place. He sat back down on the couch as Mike, Lucas, and Dustin kept talking. They were whispering and looking at him but he tried to ignore them. He hoped Eleven wouldn't take long. Nine couldn't stand the constant voices. He'd gotten used to the quiet over the years so he wasn't prepared for how loud the outside was.

Eleven finally came back out after a few minutes. She had on a long sleeve navy blue shirt and light gray pants. Now that the two were both done changing, Mike started setting up a fort. He said they could sleep there for the night.

Lucas and Dustin started gathering up their stuff as he did so. Nine could see them stop and stare for a second as they were walking up the stairs. He knew they were talking but he couldn't hear what they were saying.

Mike passed them both a few more blankets. He had already spread some out on the floor under them as a cushion. These would be used for covers or pillows. Then there was the sheets, towels, and other blankets that had been used to actually make the fort around them. Why he owned so many covers? Nine would never know.

"Hey, um, I never asked your names." Mike pointed out.

Nine looked away. What was it with people here and constantly asking him questions?

Nine looked back though as Eleven started pulling back her sleeve. Nine watched in shock as she showed him her tattoo. This was not a good idea. The last time they gave information to someone they just met he got shot! Nine didn't want a repeat of those mistakes but the damage had already been done. You don't exactly forget a kid with a number for a name.

Nine knew it wasn't normal. None of the adults at the lab had names like that. Just him and Eleven. He could have written that off as a coincidence but he knew it wasn't. Not to mention the way Benny had reacted to their names gave it away. It was unusual and not something you just brush off. Especially not when it was inked into their skin.

"Is that real?" Mike's eyes widened as he got excited. He reached forward to touch it but Eleven yanked her hand back. Mike seemed to get the message and pulled away.

"Sorry, I've just... never seen a kid with a tattoo before." He explained. "What's it mean? Eleven?"

"Eleven." She repeated as she pointed to herself.

"Oh, so you can speak! So, that's your name? Eleven?" He frowned. Eleven nodded.

"Eleven. Okay... what about you?" Mike turned to him. Nine sighed internally as he knew there was no use lying now.

"Nine." He answered.

"Eleven and Nine, got it. Well, my names Mike, short for Michael. Hey, maybe we can call you El? Short for Eleven." Mike suggested.

Eleven, now dubbed El, nodded her head in agreement.

"Um, well, okay. Night El, night Nine." Mike gave them a small smile as he stood up.

El peeked out the fort and looked up at him one last time. "Night Mike." She said softly.

Mike flipped the top blanket down so that it covered the entrance to the fort.

Nine watched as the light from the room was flicked off and listened to Mike's footsteps as he went upstairs. He flinched at the loud bang of the door shutting and held the covers tight to his chest.

He ignored the loud rumble of lightning in favor of shutting his eyes and trying to sleep. He was exhausted after everything that had happened today. Nine knew it would only get harder as time went on. He could only hope they could get as far away from here as possible so that Papa wouldn't be able to find them. He didn't care where it was as long as it was far enough away that they didn't have to live in fear.

Nine's eyes opened at the sound of sniffles. While making as little noise as possible, Nine turned towards Eleven. He was in the back of the fort while she was in front of the opening. Her back was turned towards him but he knew it was her. Who else would it be? They were the only two down here after all.

Nine knew she was probably just as scared and overwhelmed as he was. He frowned at the thought and scooted closer to her. He doubted she would want to talk about it so he didn't say anything. He decided that the best option was just to try comfort her.

Nine didn't know a whole lot about how to comfort someone though. Back at the lab they didn't really teach about how to deal with your or other people's feelings. He used to be an emotional kid but over time he lost most of that trait. He learned that crying never changed anything so he didn't want to waste his energy on it. Still, that didn't mean he was completely clueless. It was a rare occasion but sometimes, when Nine got really upset, Papa would give him a hug.

Now, Nine wasn't too keen on touch. He wasn't touched a lot and he liked it that way. However, Papa and Eleven were the only exceptions. They were the only two people Nine had ever been close to. Papa was their father figure and they were like siblings. Now that they'd run away from Papa, she was all Nine had left. So, as much as he may not like it, if it comforted her then he would do it.

Nine slowly shifted so he was laying completely on his right side. As he did so he hesitantly layed his left arm over El. He could feel her tense up a bit at the unexpected contact but she made no move to push his arm away.

Nine stayed like that as he silently held the crying girl, occasionally giving her arms a comforting pat. He hoped this was helping. He had no other ideas.

Luckily, it seemed to work as Eleven's quiet sniffles died down after a while and were replaced by small snores. Nine was happy to have been able to help, even if it was something small.

Nine sighed as he stuffed his face into the blankets underneath him. He'd been awake for far too long. His eyelids felt heavy and his legs ached from all the running they'd done. He wanted to be hopeful and say they wouldn't have to keep doing that for long but he knew that that probably wasn't true.

Nine eventually closed his eyes as he let his fatigue take over and felt himself drift off into unconscious.

——————

Nine listened to the static as El played with the device she'd found. It was a big rectangular box. It was all black and it had multiple buttons and knobs on it. Nine didn't know what it was for but it looked cool. He hadn't seen anything like it before.

Mike had come downstairs earlier and woke them up. He told them that he would come back down with food in a little bit. Apparently he had to eat breakfast with his family first.

It had been a while and he hadn't come back yet. Nine could hear voices talking upstairs but he couldn't understand what they were saying. Nine decided to focus on looking around instead. He didn't leave the fort but was peeking through the blankets. They had been here for an entire night and Nine was still curious about everything. The only thing he had learned from running away is that the outside world is a lot different from how he imagined it. Nine just didn't know if that was a good thing.

Nine looked up at the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. He listened as Mike walked over to the fort and flipped the blanket covering the opening up.

Mike looked inside at them and his eyes immediately caught El.

"Hey, you found my supercomm. Pretty cool, huh?" Mike smiled. "I talk to my friends with it. Mostly Lucas 'cause he lives so close. Signals pretty weak." He shrugged.

Nine wondered how that worked. He knew Eleven could find and sometimes speak to people with her powers but he didn't know that there was technology that could do the same thing.

Nine's eyes followed Mike's hand as the raven haired boy started rummaging through his jacket pocket. He had gotten back the jacket he'd given to Eleven the day prior but otherwise had changed his clothes. Now he wore a red sweater with a white collar and a horizontal white and blue stripe across his chest.

Mike finally grabbed ahold of whatever was in his pocket and pulled it out. In his hand was two circular objects of a dull yellow color.. Nine eyed them curiously as he noticed that they also had holes all over the top of it.

"I got you both breakfast." He held out the strange objects to each of them and Nine took one. Nine gazed skeptically at the food but took a bite nonetheless. It wasn't Nine's favorite thing but it was good. Apparently they were called Eggos. Eleven seemed to really like them.

"So listen," Mike spoke up, grabbing their attention. "This is gonna sound a little weird, but I just need you both to go out there."

Mike pointed to the door on the side of the room. It led outside where you could take a staircase up to the very back of the house. That's how Mike, Lucas, and Dustin had snuck them inside the house the day before.

"Then go to the front door and ring the doorbell. My mom will answer and you'll tell her that you're lost and that you need help but whatever you do, you can't tell her about last night or that you know me. Understand?" He smiled as he waited for their response. Mike's eyes flickered between Nine and Eleven as they both stared blankly at him. Nine stopped eating his Eggo, instead just holding it in front of him as he processed the other boy's words.

Mike made eye contact with Nine as he continued.

"Really, it's no big deal. We'll just pretend to meet each other again." He shrugged. "And my mom, she'll know who to call."

Nine's jaw tightened as the reality of what Mike was asking them to do set in. He knew they couldn't do that. Mike had been nice to them, he provided them with food and shelter for the night and hadn't told anyone they were there. Nine couldn't knowingly put him, his family, and his friends in danger after that. Not to mention that it would also put himself and El in danger of getting captured again.

Nine didn't want to cause trouble but he knew he couldn't do what Mike was telling him to.

"No."

Mike's face dropped. He looked shocked that Nine wasn't willing to do it.

"No?" he questioned.

"No." Nine shook his head. He wouldn't do it. Mike, who was clearly confused by his defiance, kept grilling them.

"No... you don't want my mom to get help?"

Nine shook his head again. This seemed to really set off the alarm bells in the raven haired boy's mind as he furrowed his brows at the answer.

"You're in trouble, aren't you?" He looked between the two of them, probably hoping for them to say no. Neither of them did. They just gazed back at him.

"Who... Who are you in trouble with?"

This time it was Eleven who answered. Her eyes stayed glued to the ground in front of her as she whispered.

"Bad."

"Bad? Bad people?"

Eleven nodded.

"They want to hurt you? The bad people?" Nine tried to ignore the small tremor in Mike's voice as he spoke. He felt bad that he'd gotten involved in all this just by helping them. Nine briefly wondered if maybe things would be better if they had just stayed at the lab. It seemed like now that they left they were just hurting others. Nine knew it was useless to even think about things like that. It didn't matter now. They chose to leave the lab and now they had to face the consequences of their actions, whether they liked it or not.

Nine just hoped that if they warned Mike ahead of time this time, maybe he wouldn't suffer the same fate as Benny.

Eleven held up her hand and stuck her index and middle finger out and her thumb up in the shape of a gun. Shen then moved her hand up and pointed it right at the side of her head.

Nine understood what she was doing and copied her motions but pointed to himself instead. He knew Mike got the message by the way his eyes widened. Nine glanced over at Eleven. She met his eyes and he could tell they were on the same page. Without a second thought, Nine turned back to look at Mike. He looked terrified and Nine felt bad knowing they weren't about to help the situation. Then again, it was better that he understood and was prepared for what could happen.

Nine moved his hand away from the side of his head and, in unison with the girl beside him, pointed at Mike.

"Understand?" Eleven held eye contact with him, making sure he knew that they were serious.

Mike didn't say anything. He didn't even move, just sat there with his mouth slight agape and trying to process all this new information. Nine didn't know how long they would have stayed there before he responded if someone hadn't have yelled for him.

"Michael," A woman's voice shouted from upstairs. "Where are you? We're going to be late. Let's go!"

Mike turned back to them as he struggled to stand up. His hands shot up as he reached for the blanket overtop of the fort.

"All right, I'll be back." He stammered as he finally grabbed ahold of the it.

"Just stay here, okay? Stay here." He flipped the blanket down and over the entrance to the makeshift fort and ran up the steps.

Nine closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He really wished things didn't have to be this complicated.

——————

"You want anything to drink? We have OJ, skim milk... What else? Um, we have-" Mike turned to look at the strange duo as he realized neither of them were paying any attention to what he was saying.

Mike had only been gone for about half an hour before he came back through the back door of the basement. He told them that they could come upstairs with him since no one else was home. Nine felt uneasy even with that information. He couldn't help feeling like someone was going to come home and spot them while they weren't paying attention. He needed to make sure he had his guard up, just in case someone did come back.

That being said, it was definitely a challenge to try not to get distracted. Nine had never been inside of a house until now and there was so much stuff that he had never seen before and didn't understand. He wanted to get a good look. Nine didn't know when he would get another chance like this.

One of the things that immediately caught his eye was a small rectangular box with two antennas coming out of the top of it. Nine walked over to it and stood in front of it. There was also some buttons and knobs on the front side and Nine reached out to touch them.

"Oh, this is my living room. It's mostly just for watching TV. Nice, right? It's a 22-inch, like, ten times bigger than Dustin's." Mike explained excitedly. He moved over behind the TV and sat his hands atop of it as he spoke.

Nine looked away from him and noticed El who was looking at some framed pictures on a nearby shelf. Nine walked over to her to get a closer look. Eleven seemed to really like one particular picture of a girl. She looked a few years older than them and was wearing a pink blouse, giving a small smile to the camera. Eleven traced her fingers along the bottom of the frame and smiled.

"Pretty."

"I guess." Mike made a face as he walked over to stand behind them. "That's my sister Nancy, that's baby Holly, and those are my parents."

Nine's eyes skimmed past all the different pictures, trying to memorize the names with the faces.

"What are your parents like? Do they live close?" Mike asked, curiously. Eleven ignored him and walked over to a nearby chair. She walked around it and held her hands out to touch it.

"That's our La-Z-Boy. It's where my dad sleeps." He laughed.

"You can try it if you want."

Nine eyed the chair and looked at El. She gave a small shrug. Nine contemplated it before walking towards the chair.

"Yeah, it's fun." Mike encouraged.

Nine sat down and looked at Mike who had knelt on the ground to the right of him.

"Just trust me, okay?"

Nine nodded and tried to ignore the anxiety building in his stomach. He watched as Mike grabbed a lever on the side of the chair, something Nine hadn't seen beforehand, and pulled. The chair seemed to fall backwards but stopped once it had gotten far enough back for him to be laying down. Nine reopened his eyes as he heard Mike chuckle. Eleven laughed too but she seemed just as nervous as he was.

"See? Fun, right?" Mike smiled and grabbed the lever to sit him back up.

"Now you try." He turned to Eleven.

Nine got out of the chair and switched spots with El. She didn't seem as scared now that she knew what to expect. Mike stood back as she reached for the lever and pulled it. The chair shot back again and they all laughed as it rocked back and forth.

Nine was having fun and for the first time in a long time, he stopped worrying about other people.

——————

Nine tried, and failed, to hide his flinch when Mike slammed a figurine on the table and grunted. The toy was of a short green creature in a light brown robe. It would almost look like a human if it weren't for the unnatural skin color and the large pointy ears. Apparently, he was from something called Star Wars. Nine didn't understand it but Mike spoke about it with so much excitement that he figured it must be good.

"Ready are you? What knows you of ready?" Mike mimicked it's voice.

"His names Yoda! He can use the Force to move things with his mind, like this. Whoosh!" He hollered as he threw his hands out and shoved all the toys off the small table.

"Oh, this is my dinosaur, Rory. Look, he has a speaker in his mouth so-" Nine stopped listening to the other boy's rant and slowly stood up. He looked around before heading towards the dresser next to the door. The top of it was covered with framed pictures and small golden statues. Nine leaned over and gazed at one of the statues curiously. It was a woman with her hands outstretched towards the sky. On her back were two large wings that were pointed at the top, almost making it seem like they were pointing up as well. The woman also held a small torch in her right hand.

"These are all my science fair trophies." Mike informed him, leaning down next to him with El at his side.

"We got first every year. Except for last year when we got third."

Nine's eyes travelled down to the bottom of the small trophy. The bottom of the it was made up of a solid wooden block with a small plaque on the front. It was outlined in a reflective gold and read Hawkins Middle School Team Problem Solving Champions.

"Mr. Clarke said it was totally political."

Nine looked over at Mike after he went silent. Mike had his eyes trained curiously on Eleven who had bent over with her hands on her knees as she stared at the picture next to the trophy. Nine inspected it but didn't see anything unusual about it. The picture was of Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and a fourth boy that Nine hadn't met before. He was pale and had a light brown bowl cut. He was hunched over but Nine could still tell he was short. The small group were all huddled around a table with a trophy much taller than the one Mike had been talking about. They were all smiling at the camera and looked excited. It was a nice picture.

Nine looked back at El who was still staring at the photo. She didn't look happy, which confused Nine. He started to reach out and shake her shoulder but the movement of her hand stopped him. She, never taking her eyes off the photo, slowly held out her hand and pointed at the fourth boy. Nine frowned. Had they met him before? If Eleven knew him then Nine should too.

"You know Will?" Mike seemed to voice Nine's thoughts.

"Did you see him? Last night? On the road?" Mike interrogated urgently. Nine tried to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach at the other boy's expression. He somehow managed to look scared and relieved at the same time. Nine didn't know if that was a good thing.

Nine's thoughts were cut off at the sound of a vehicle pulling up outside. Mike ran towards the window and looked down at the driveway. He let out a panicked breath as he ran back towards them.

"We gotta go!" He grabbed Eleven's wrist as he pulled the bedroom door open. Nine, trying not to freak out, was hot on their tail as they ran out the door and into the hallway.

Mike practically dragged El down the stairs as he went and Nine was worried he'd trip. Just as the trio were almost to the bottom the door opened.

"I bought pizza and macaroni."

"Okay."

The voice of the little girl was so quiet Nine almost didn't catch it. He was quick to react and, seeing as their only other exit was cut off, fled back up the stairs. He could hear Mike and Eleven right behind him. They were being way too loud but Nine was too full of adrenaline to notice.

"Ted?" The woman's voice called out. "Is that you?"

"Just me, mom!" Mike hollered back.

"Mike? What are you doing home?"

"One second!"

Mike slammed the door to his room shut and Nine tried to even out his breathing. The raven haired boy wasted no time as he grabbed Nine and Eleven by the hand and dragged them over to his closet door.

"In here." He ordered as he opened it. "I'll be right back, okay?"

Mike could see the hesitation on their faces immediately.

"Please, you have to get in, or my mom, she'll find you." He begged.

"Do you understand? I won't tell her about you, I promise."

Nine looked the other in the eyes.

"Promise?" He questioned. Nine hadn't ever heard of that.

Mike was clearly desperate and Nine felt bad. He didn't wanna cause any trouble but he didn't wanna be trapped. Not again! He couldn't do it. Besides, what if he was lying? Granted, Mike had been nice to them thus far but they'd really only known him for a day. Nine couldn't put much faith in that.

"It means something that you can't break. Ever."

"Michael?"

Mike looked back at him.

"Please?"

Nine looked to Eleven who let out a soft sigh and stepped inside. Nine could practically feel his legs trembling as he realized he really had no other choice. He moved forward and stepped inside the small room. He felt the hangers stab into his back as he turned around. Mike was already shutting the door and Nine felt like he could cry.

The door made a loud slam as it closed. Nine breathed heavily as he backed up, moving the hangers and clothes as he went. He didn't stop until he felt his back hit the solid wall behind him. Eleven didn't seem to be doing all the much better but she was still standing. Nine could barely stand with the shaking in his legs. He leaned against the wall as he tried not to sink down onto the floor. He closed his eyes as old, terrible, memories came flooding back into his head.

"Papa!" A younger Nine screamed. There were two men on either side of him and they each had a hold of his arms, dragging him down the white hallways of the lab.

They were gonna take him back. He didn't want to go back. It wasn't his fault that he couldn't do what Papa had asked! He really tried, he just wasn't strong enough. That wasn't his fault! Was it?

Nine planted his heels out in front of him, desperately trying to get them to stop. He didn't wanna go back. He could do it! He'd just have to try harder! Just as long as he didn't have to go back in the room.

"Papa! Papa!" Nine cried out as the men shifted their grip from his forearm to under his armpits. They lifted his small body so that his feet could no longer touch the floor and he couldn't resist them.

Nine turned his head back as he called out. He could see Papa there. He was standing in his usual jeans and long white coat. That's what almost everyone wore here. If they weren't in the coats then they were in white button ups and dress pants.

Nine could feel the tears building in his eyes as he looked at him. Papa was just standing in the middle of the hallway, watching him. His expression was blank and Nine knew that he wasn't going to help him. That didn't stop him from begging though. It was the only thing he could do and he tried to hold on to the sliver of hope that Papa might just come to his defense. Maybe he'd feel sorry for him and yell at the men, telling them to put him down. That he could be given another chance to do as he was asked. Nine was sure he could do it, he'd just have to use more strength.

"Papa! No!"

Nine kept kicking and screaming as he tried to fight his way out of the two men's grip. He felt what little hope he had left evaporate as they turned the corner and Papa was no longer in his sight.

"No! No! No!" The room was just a few feet ahead of them now and Nine only screamed louder as they got closer. The tears that had been threatening to fall earlier were now full sobs.

Nine fought harder as they finally approached the open door. He yelped as the men threw him inside and onto the hard floor. He tried to catch himself but only managed to land his hands on the ground to hold him up right. Nine quickly jumped back onto his feet and tried to race out the door but it was too late. He ran towards the entrance only to have the heavy metal slammed in his face. He pounded against the door, desperate to be let out.

"Papa! Papa! Papa!" Nine pleaded.

It only took those few seconds for Nine to slow down with the pounding, knowing it wouldn't help him. His cries echoed in the room around him as he turned his back to the door. He rested his head against the cool metal and clutched his hands to his chest as he slid down to sit on the tiled floor. Nine shut his eyes as he tried to calm himself.

Nine tried to stop shaking as he sat on the carpeted floor of the closet. He didn't know when he sat down but it was probably for the best. If he stayed standing any longer he might have fell over.

He could feel his heart racing and opened his eyes. The room almost looked like it was spinning but Nine couldn't tell whether it was his imagination or not. He tried to ignore the heat flashing throughout his body as he glanced around. He needed to try and distract himself. Nine doubted that would do much but it was better than nothing.

Eleven, who he had momentarily forgot was with him, was now crouched in front of him. She looked down at him and he could see tears in her eyes too. She sat down on his right side and lifted her left arm to rest over his shoulders like he had done to her the night before.

He hated that he had reacted so badly to this. El had gone through the same things he did yet here he was, sitting on the floor bawling as she tried to comfort him. Nine wished he was stronger. Papa always punished him because he wasn't strong, yet somehow it never seemed to be enough. Nine needed to toughen up.

He couldn't help it though. He wished he wasn't so emotional but he didn't know how to control it. Nine was good at it most of the time, he had learned how to hold everything back throughout the years, but every once in awhile he would boil over. Everything would come out at once and he hated it. He hated being weak!

Nine's tears slowed after a bit and he hugged his knees, covering his face. El never said anything but she never took her arm away either, occasionally giving him a small pat on the shoulder. Nine didn't know how long they stayed there before he heard the bedroom door open and shut and Mike call out to them.

"Guys? Is everything okay?"

He could hear Mike walking closer to the closet door but didn't move his head out of his hands until it swung open. Mike crouched down in front of them as El spoke up.

"Mike."

"Is everything okay?" He asked as he glanced between the two of them, clearly taking notice to the tear tracks on their faces. He looked to Nine who took a deep breath in and nodded.

"Yes."

"Are you sure?" Mike questioned.

Nine tried to give a small smile, though he's not sure how convincing it was.

"Promise."

——————

"Are you out of your mind?"

Mike had only just closed the bedroom door before Lucas started in on him. Him and Dustin had come back from school, whatever that was, and Nine guessed they had planned for Eleven and him to be gone by now.

"Just listen to me."

"You are out of your mind!" Lucas grit his teeth as he and Dustin stared at Nine and Eleven. Nine pursed his lips from where he was sat on the bed as he could feel a fight about to break out. Nine never was one to like confrontation.

"El knows about Will." Mike tried to explain.

"What do you mean she knows about Will?" Dustin asked.

Mike let out a huff as he grabbed the picture from earlier off of the top of his dresser.

"She pointed at him, at his picture. She knew he was missing. I could tell."

"You could tell?" Lucas scoffed.

"Just think about it! Do you really think it was a coincidence that we found them on Mirkwood, the same place where Will dissapeared?"

"That is weird." Dustin's eyes widened.

"And they said bad people are after them. I think maybe these bad people are the same ones that took Will. I think they know what happened to him."

"Then why don't they tell us?" Lucas turned to look at them.

Nine stiffened as he approached them. Nine wasn't sure if he would hurt them. He didn't look like he would be much of a fight but Nine was sick of hurting people and Lucas wasn't very friendly.

"Do you know where he is?" The question seemed to be geared towards Eleven and that only put Nine more on edge. He didn't wanna use his powers against any of them but he had to be ready for anything.

Lucas, who was clearly getting more agitated every second, turned towards Nine when Eleven didn't speak. The other boy planted his hands on Nine's shoulders and shook him.

"Do you know where Will is?" He snarled. Nine held his hands to his sides as he stared back into Lucas' eyes. He wanted to answer but he couldn't. Nine had no idea who or where Will was. Nine wasn't too sure how Eleven knew him. Nine guessed it was possible that he had been at Benny's and she had noticed him while Nine hadn't but that didn't seem likely. The only other way she could have known him was if it had something to do with her powers. Nine really didn't want that to be the case.

"Stop it, you're scaring them!"

"They should be scared! If you know where he is, tell us!" Lucas ordered.

Nine glanced at El who looked like she was gonna tear up any second now. Nine glared at the side of Lucas' head as he turned back to Mike.

"This is nuts. We have to take them to your mom."

"No! Nine and Eleven said that telling any adult would put us in danger."

"What kind of danger?" Dustin squeaked.

"Their names are Nine and Eleven?" Lucas narrowed his eyes.

"El for short."

"Mike," Dustin snapped. "What kind of danger?"

"Danger, danger!"

Mike frowned as he lifted his hand and made the shape of a gun. He held it to Dustin's head, just as Nine and Eleven had done to him this morning. He ignored Dustin's shocked face as he turned and did the same to Lucas who smacked his hand away instantly.

"No, no, no!" He chanted. "We're going back to plan A. We're telling your mom."

Lucas wasted no time in making a break for the door. He started to open it before he stopped moving. Mike and Dustin, who had been following after him, halted at his sudden stop.

"Uh, Lucas?" Dustin drawled out.

Lucas said nothing but slowly started to back away from the door. He stopped once he was next to the other two boys. His friend's examined him and noticed the now glazed look in his eyes.

"Lucas? Are you okay-"

Mike started to reach out for his friend but flinched and turned back around to the door that had suddenly, and forcefully, slammed shut. Dustin stood next to him looking just as unnerved.

Lucas, who came out of his trance amidst the distraction, rubbed his forehead and groaned. However, he didn't seem to wanna give up and tried to walk back towards the door only to stop on his second step. The lock turned and let out a soft click.

"No."

Lucas spoke in a monotone voice, eyes glazed and staring straight forward. Mike reaches forward towards him and shook his shoulders.

"What? What's wrong with you?"

Lucas seemed to snap out of it as he let out a breath. He groaned and brought his hand up to rub his forehead.

"No."

The three boys turned back towards Nine who, along with El, was now standing and glaring at the boy as blood dripped from their noses.

——————

"El? Nine?"

Nine looked up from where he sat in the fort. Eleven had been playing with Mike's Supercomm again and Nine had been listening and watching. There wasn't much else to do.

They were really supposed to be upstairs. Mike, Lucas, and Dustin had been called down to dinner after their show of powers and Mike told them not to leave. They'd gotten bored though and El wanted to go back down to the fort. Nine had been nervous to leave but eventually surrendered and left with her. They were almost caught by Mike's family but Dustin distracted them by banging on the table. They never should have left the room in the first place but at least nothing bad came out of it.

Mike was holding a large tray as he came over and sat in front of them. Lucas and Dustin walked down the stairs but they made sure to keep a good distance.

"No adults. Just us and some meatloaf."

Nine ignored Mike as he stared down the other two boys in the room. Mike noticed and tried to reassure him.

"Don't worry. They won't tell anyone about you. They promise. Right?" Mike turned to look at them.

"We never would have upset you if we knew you had superpowers." Dustin smiled. Mike leaned over and punched the curly haired boy in the leg, ignoring his cry of pain, and turned back to them.

"What Dustin is trying to say is that they were just scared...earlier. That's all."

"We just wanted to find our friend." Lucas chimed in.

Nine narrowed his eyes curiously and leaned forward.

"Friend?"

"Yeah, friend. Will?"

"What is 'friend'?" Eleven questioned.

"Are they serious?" Lucas whispered to Dustin. The boy only shrugged in response. Lucas looked uncomfortable but turned back to them.

"Um, a friend-"

"Is someone that you'd do anything for." Mike cut him off.

"You lend them your cool stuff, like comic books and trading cards." Dustin added.

"And they never break a promise."

"Especially when there's spit."

"Spit?" Nine tilted his head.

"A spit swear means..." Lucas held his hand out in front of his mouth and made a noise. Nine assumed he was trying to imitate 'spit'.

"You never break your word. It's a bond." He explained as he clasped his hands together and shook them.

"That's super important because friends... they tell each other things. Things that parents don't know."

Nine looked over to El as Mike spoke. So, El was his 'friend'? Were Mike, Dustin, and Lucas his friends too? They showed them their powers and promised not to tell anyone. Did that make them friends?

Nine didn't have a lot of friends. He hoped that he could call them that someday.

——————

Nine was standing with the three other boys as they talked about who knows what. He knew it had something to do with Will but he didn't understand any of it. However, he didn't stay confused for long as his attention went to El as she walked towards a nearby table. Mike. Lucas, and Dustin seemed to notice her too as they went silent. Nine watched as she sat down in one of the chairs and stared at the board on the top of the wood.

"What's the weirdo doing?" Lucas whispered. Nine chose to ignore the remark as they approached her. Mike said her name as he approached but she didn't seem to hear him, that or she ignored him.

El sat with her hands stretched out to touch the board in front of her. It was flat and foldable with a few black figurines sat on top of it. She had her eyes closed and head tilted towards the board. She stayed that way only for a few seconds before she jerked her head up and opened her eyes.

She stared down at the figurines on the board before moving to pick one of them up. She held up the small thing to her face in silence.

"Will."

This seemed to strike a cord with the other three as Dustin stared at her, amazed.

"Superpowers."

Lucas rolled his eyes at the other as Mike sat down next to El.

"Did you see him? On Mirkwood? Do you know where he is?" He inquired. El side eyed the boy as she held her hand out and slid it over the board. The rest of the pieces fell off the table with a clatter but she payed no mind to it. Instead she reached for the top of the board and flipped it over. The underside had no designs or colors like the top did, only a pure black. Eleven then reached for Will's piece and set it in the middle.

"I don't understand." Mike whispered.

"Hiding."

"Will is hiding?"

El nodded but refused to meet his eyes.

"From the bad men?"

She shook her head.

"Then from who?"

El reached for a piece next to her. Nine hadn't noticed it there before. It was some sort of monster with two heads. She picked it up and placed it in front of Will.

Mike leaned back to look at Lucas and Dustin. Dustin put his hands over his head and let out a scared sigh while Lucas leaned over with his hands on his knees, staring at the board.

Nine was already staring at Eleven when she turned to look at him. He understood what she was saying the minute she flipped the board over. They would always tell each other about the things that Papa made them do when they had the opportunity. Nine recalled that just a few days before they had left, El had told him of something that she'd done. It wasn't her fault, but even so, he knew that must be what she was talking about. The thing she had seen, that somehow knew she was there, it was free now.

Sadly, it looks like it's already started looking for food.

——————

Hey there! I hope that everyone reading this enjoyed the chapter! I know it's been awhile, a month actually, since I've updated. I really wish I could've done it sooner but I've been swamped with school work. However, good news is that we finally know when my school is getting out! We should be done in 2 weeks! Most other schools in our area are getting out today (Lucky-) or next Friday but my school has a tendency to make us go as many days as possible so I saw this coming. I'm excited for school to finish and finally have time to write again! I think I'll try and update once every two weeks, that sounds reasonable to me.

That being said I want to thank everyone who has left reviews! I love hearing feedback so I really appreciate it. I'm still not entirely sure when I'll be bringing the gang in but I've still got time to decide so I'm not stressed about it.

Until next time, baiii!

-Merce

(P.S. Have any of y'all been playing Animal Crossing? This isn't releveant at all but like, I got it a few days ago and it's surprisingly fun.)