Minor Warning: This chapter is a little bit darker than the prior ones in terms of tone.
She was terrified. The room she was in was completely dark and no noise had been emitted for some time. Eleven wanted, so badly, to use her powers, but she knew the ramifications of such an act. The ropes ate at her forearms tied to the old, wooden chair that seemingly hadn't been used in decades. She could feel the blood pouring from her head, where she had been punched by a man of Russian descent. She closed her eyes, yet she didn't escape the darkness that had lurked all around her.
Eleven entered the void with a sense of desperation. Despite prior attempts, she only watched as the people she loved and care for disappear from the void. She was determined to find them this time.
"I think I know where they've taken her." A voice called out from within the void.
Eleven turned towards the familiar sound and a slight smile appeared on her face judging by who she saw. They were coming, all of them were. At least she hoped that was the case.
A sudden sound and bright light broke Eleven's connection with the void and she looked to see a figure standing in the doorway. The light revealed more of Eleven's injuries. The left side of her face was bruised, with scratches on her arms from the tugging of the rope. As she tried to make out the identity of the figure, she noticed the man's posture and the silhouette, presenting a shadow to her. There was no mistaking who the man was.
"It's alright now, Eleven. You're safe here and we're together again." The man said, walking into the room, turning on its light.
The light illuminated and reflected off of the man's silver hair, presented by a man in a suit.
"P…Papa?" Eleven whimpered.
Dr. Brenner nodded. "I'm glad you remember me, Eleven. Your papa's okay and he's going to take care of you now."
Eleven couldn't comprehend what she was seeing. She remembered seeing him being attacked. He was a goner. Why was he still alive?
Brenner knelt down to Eleven's height and placed his hand on her bruised face.
"How could those heartless bastards harm such an innocent girl? My daughter. I suppose it's necessary seeing as how you…are so stubborn to refuse to see me again. If it makes any difference to you, Eleven, i am grateful that you are here now and we can continue the bond that was broken, oh so many years ago."
Eleven turned away from him, the rope around her neck giving her a burn. Brenner simply sighed and stood to his feet.
"It's time to go, Eleven. We have work to do."
The large room was surrounded by bright fluorescent lights. Two guards wearing Russian uniforms guarded the only entrance to the room. In the middle of the room sat Jonathan, Will, and Joyce Byers, all in the same state of disarray.
"You bastards! What have you done with her?! I swear to god, if you laid a finger on her, I'll tear you apart!" Joyce yelled at the Russian guards.
They simply laughed and regained their status shortly thereafter. There came a knock at the door and one of the guards opened it, revealing Dr. Brenner. He walked in front of the three family members and placed his arms behind his back.
"You three ruined the experiments that had taken place over three years ago, along with the others, who we are looking for now. Now, don't worry, we have no plans to kill you, that much is certain. All we want is your unconditional ability to work as our…guinea pigs, so to speak." Brenner turned his head to the door. "Come in now, Eleven."
Eleven entered the room with Joyce immediately gasping at the sight of the poor girl. The guards had their guns immediately aimed at Eleven, ensuring that her powers would not be used. Eleven walked to Brenner and stood beside him. He placed his hand on her shoulder.
"What is this? Just a revenge plot?!" Jonathan yelled, blood emerging from his mouth.
Brenner simply chuckled and spoke in a soft tone. "I wouldn't call it revenge. I would merely call it…elimination. We will find the others soon, those that were away of what went on within the Hawkins national laboratory. We cannot allow that information to simply…float within society."
Brenner turned towards Will, whose head was simply hanging down during the whole exchange.
"Wake him up, Eleven." Brenner ordered.
Eleven shook her head. "I can't hurt him, Papa. I don't want to."
"You will do as I say, Eleven. Do you want what happened to you to happen again? I surely don't want to see it again, despite its cooperative results from you. You…will do as I say."
Eleven turned towards Will and raised her arm towards him.
"Don't use a miniscule amount of power, Eleven. Use it at full force. I know when you don't. Don't make this any worse for your…friend."
Eleven lower lip shook as she could feel the power coursing through her arm and the feeling of it leaving her fingertips.
"AHHHH! Stop! Please!" Will suddenly awoke, screaming.
"Keep going, Eleven." Brenner said, a devious look in his eye.
Eleven naturally obeyed her father's orders, almost instinctively. The punishments would be worse than the bathtub, Eleven knew that. She continued her surge of power, causing Will to scream in pain. The screams brought tears to Eleven's eyes as she watched her friend wail about. She could feel his pain.
Brenner placed his hand on Eleven's shoulder. "You may stop now, Eleven. He's awake."
Eleven stopped immediately as she had the ability to. Tears flowed down Will's cheeks as he stared at Eleven.
"I'm sorry." Eleven mouthed to Will, in order for Brenner not to hear.
Joyce began to move frantically in her chair, her bindings beginning to dig into her forearms.
"You're going to hell, Brenner! I'll make sure to send you there myself!"
Brenner simply waved his finger towards the frantic woman.
"If you continue your resistance, you'll have to watch your son, Jonathan, is it? You 'll have to watch him suffer before your very eyes. Maybe he'll even meet his demise, at your hands. I would stop if you want to see him live another day."
Joyce knew she had to surrender, she couldn't let Eleven being forced to harm anyone. Her frantic movements stopped and she fell into a relaxed state.
Eleven was distracted by a slight noise that was coming from directly above her. She looked up, with her eyes solely, and noticed a loudspeaker that was emitting a slight crackling noise. Her instincts immediately kicked into action. As Brenner continued his talk with Joyce, Eleven closed her eyes and tuned into the crackling noise.
Eleven's connection with the void was poor, but she had to do something. An illusion of Hopper was directly in front of her. He appeared to be surrounded by Dustin, Steve, and Mike. Hopper was holding a radio in his hand, but Eleven could tell where he was. The cabin that she had become accustomed to all too well. She quickly moved to the group standing close to one another. She pressed the button on the radio and began to speak into it.
"They're looking for you guys. You have to stay hidden. They…want to…eliminate." Eleven's voice emerged from the radio.
Hopper was immediately taken aback as he heard her voice. Dustin, Steve, and Mike couldn't believe it either. Mike immediately snatched the radio from Hopper's hand.
"Eleven, are you okay?! What's going on?!" Mike yelled into the radio.
"No time…they are looking for you…don't let them find you. Joyce…Will…Jonathan, taken. Please…help." Eleven said, cutting in and out before the static disappeared.
Hopper snatched the radio back and pressed the button.
"El?!"
Absolute silence.
"EL?!"
Once again, no response.
Hopper lowered his head, looking down at the floor.
"What did she mean by, "They're looking for you."? Was that a clue of some kind?" Steve asked.
"It means the Russians are looking for us, dumbass. Who else would be looking for us?" Dustin replied, answering a seemingly obvious question.
"What now, Hop? What's the plan?" Steve asked.
Hopper simply froze for a moment, trying to take everything in. He looked up to the trio standing in front of him.
"We need to get everyone to a safe location, this cabin. No one knows where it is and they have to stay here until we get them back. We have to move, now!" Hopper said, placing the radio on his belt.
The trio simply followed Hopper out of the cabin with no questions. Hopper walked to his new police truck, which was the most recent Chevrolet Blazer model. He hated it. Mike followed him to the truck while Dustin followed Steve to his car. As Mike and Hopper entered the car, so did the other duo. As Hopper started the truck and drove down the dirt path, he turned to Mike, whose head was down.
"We'll get her back, Mike. We will." Hopper said, nodding as if agreeing to his own statement.
"You're damn right." Mike replied, before going back to his prior posture.
Hopper looked in his rear-view mirror to see Steve following behind in his car. He sighed as he continued down the dirt trail and onto the main highway. He didn't know how he was going to get to Russia, but he knew that he would find a way.