Still here
"Eleven it's time to wake up now."
El turned away from the voice and opened her eyes slowly, her head hurt but she couldn't remember why, her thoughts coming too slowly as if she was underwater. Was she sick?...Maybe Hopper would make her a Triple-Decker Eggo Extravaganza and let her watch schoolhouse rock instead of having to study with books.
"Eleven get up now! We have testing to do today."
El sat up, her eyes going wide at the sound of the voice she believed she would never have to hear again.
Papa stood in the doorway of her old room, it wasn't the warm wooden colors of Hopper's cabin, but the stark white of the lab. The smell of lemon cleaner that covered the pain and sadness of this building assaulted her nose once again. A sliver ran down her spine as the hospital gown did nothing to keep the cold away.
"H-how did I get here?" El asked as she stood slowly from her white bed, the only thing in the room as she looked at the man who had taken her childhood, her birth mother's mind, her freedom and used her like a lab rat. "Where are my friends?"
"Don't you remember?" Papa said walking slowly towards her, his white lab coat stained with something red, his hair whiter then she remembered. "They didn't want you anymore."
"W-what," El breathed, her heart freezing, "Didn't want?"
"Oh my dear Eleven, after Hopper died and you lost your powers no one wanted you around, after all you put everyone in danger with the Mind Flayer after you and all. You can't protect anyone anymore, not even yourself."
Papa moved to stand in front of her and reached out to run a hand across her hair but she flinched away from him.
"Liar! Your lying, they would never let that happen! Mike would never let me be taken back!"
El reached out and focused on making him fly back into the wall but nothing happened and he only laughed. As if she was a puppy trying to scare away a bear.
"You can try as much as you want, but there's no escaping this time."
El shook her head, her breath coming faster and faster as panic started to take over as she looked down at her hands. Without thinking she pushed past him and started running.
This building had been the only place she had known since she could remember so she knew the way to get out, knew which halls to turn into and which would lead to punishment.
As she ran though she noticed how empty the halls were. No one was around, no other doctors, no staff, not even guards like before. Even the lights were dimmer. But she didn't let that stop her as she kept running, the only sound around was her own feet hitting the cold tile and her blood racing in her ears.
Finally, she reached the hall that would lead to the front doors.
She looked behind herself as she tried to catch her breath and saw no one was following after her. It was weird but she didn't have the time to think about it as she took off again and turned the corner to the lobby where she would be able to getaway.
But she stopped dead and let out a surprised scream. Papa stood where doors had once been, now walled over with white sheetrock.
"No.." El breathed, her heart sinking to the bottom of her stomach.
Papa smiled, his teeth showing white in the dark, "It's just you and me now Eleven. No one is coming to save you, so there's no point to this little game."
El shook her head and started to back away as tears burned at the corner of her eyes. She turned away and started running back but this time she didn't know where to go.
"Mike! Mike! Someone help me!" El screamed into the darkness as she slammed into one of the side walls as tears made her world turn to watercolors.
But she didn't stop, couldn't. She had to find a way out. She turned another corner but this time she wasn't met with another hall but dark water.
El let out a gasp and tried to stop herself but it was too late. She fell into the freezing water head first, her body went still a moment her veins turning to ice as her world turned dark.
After a moment she opened her eyes and saw she was in the sensory deprivation tank.
The glass reflected her image back to her, her scared face pale in the dark.
She swam up but just as she reached the top someone slammed the lid down. She hit it with her fists a moment but knew it was hopeless, how many times had she tried getting out before.
She swam down and over to the front of the glass and started to bang on it with all the strength she had left, a scream turned to bubbles escaped her lips.
"No one can hear you here Eleven, but it's okay no one can hurt you here as well," Papa said from behind the glass, his image blurry. "Remember what a told you all those years ago? You're safe with your Papa."
El stopped banging on the glass then as a dark shadow seemed to grow from the corner of the blurry room. She watched it get bigger and bigger until it engulfed the room, Papa and her tank.
For a second the world was silent as it lay dark then El jumped suddenly as the sound of someone tapping on the glass rang out around her, but with the room in darkness, she couldn't see a thing. Then she heard it. Whispering.
"You did this, You did this, You did this."
The voice was Billy's and it seemed to be getting closer and closer.
Suddenly something hit the glass so hard it sent cracks spidering down the tank like a river of ice ready to break.
El swam away from the ever forming cracks as whatever it was out there kept hitting the tank over and over again, the voice getting ever closer.
"You think you stopped us? You think we won't find another way in?"
El felt her chest start to ache as her brain screamed for air, the cracks forming faster and faster as water started to escape.
"We will find you and no one will save you this time!"
El had no choice but to suck in a deep breath filled with water as finally the glass broke and she was sent flying forward with the wave until she was on the floor choking.
"I will find a way back, no matter what I have to do, I will find my way back to you and this time no one can save you."
She looked up just in time to see the shadow Mind Flayer engulf her.
El awoke with a gasp, her eyes going wide as she looked around herself to see a hospital room. She sat up even when her body screamed at her for it and quickly took off the things in her nose. Something next to her started beeping but she didn't mind it as she started to take out the IV but stopped when she heard a door open.
El looked up to see Mike standing there, a bandage on his nose from the other night, his eyes wide as he looked at her.
"Mike?" El choked out, her voice dry and she wondered how long she had been asleep for.
For a moment Mike simply stood there looking at her like she was a dream come to life. Then the next thing she knew he was pulling her into a hug.
She let herself fall into him, his warmth calmed her racing heart that still beat to fast from the nightmare and the smell of his familiar clean clothing a comfort in this unknown place. "El you're finally awake, you scared me, you scared us all," he said running a hand through her hair and El heard the honesty in his words.
"How long have I been asleep?" she asked not letting go of him.
"Two days."
El pulled back surprised. "Two days?"
Mike nodded and took her hand into his own. "Yeah, the doctor said it was because of the blood loss from you're leg."
El looked away as that night came back to her in all its horrors and she felt her heart freeze.
"What about Hopper?"
Mike looked down and away from her. "El…"
"Hopper," she repeated, "What happened!"
Mike closed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak but the door opened again and Mrs. Byers came in with a graying female nurse.
"Hey you need to have your oxygen in," the nurse said walking over to the side of her bed and picked up the things that had been in her nose before. The nurse tried to put it around her head but El leaned away as far as she could without falling off the bed.
How many times had those men put things like that on her? How many times had they made her hurt with them.
"This isn't going to hurt you, now stop it," the nurse said grabbing at her.
"Get away from me!" El hissed.
"Okay, okay," Mrs. Byers said, coming over to them and gently pushed the older woman away. "You're scaring her."
"She needs to wear them," the nurse said annoyed.
Mrs. Byers took the tubes from her, "Fine, I'll get her to wear them but can you give us a minute."
The older woman looked annoyed but stepped back, "Fine, but I'll be back with her lunch and if she's not wearing them-"
"Will do," Mrs. Byers said cutting her off and basically pushed her out of the room and closed the door before returning to them and scooped El into a hug.
"How are you feeling honey?" she asked into her ear before pulling away and sat in one of the uncomfortable chairs next to Mike where he sat still holding her hand.
"My head hurts a little but I'm fine."
Mrs. Byers nodded and El saw than that she looked as if she hadn't slept in a while, with the deep dark circles under her eyes and when she looked at Mike she saw the same ones.
"You're not fine."
"Don't worry about us," Mrs. Byers said trying to put on a small smile but it didn't reach her eyes.
"Yeah you're the one in a hospital bed and all," Mike said and started to play with her fingers, maybe trying to get her to smile, but it didn't really help at the moment.
"What happened to Hopper?" El asked looking at Mrs. Byers gently pulling her hand away from Mike.
Mrs. Byers was quiet a moment before she spoke again, "Mike can you give us a moment?"
"Yeah, I'll go let everyone know she's awake," Mike said and left them to themselves.
They sat there a second before Mrs. Byers let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes before looking at her.
"I'm sorry," Mrs. Byers started, but El cut her off.
"I don't blame you, so no sorrys, just tell me what happened down there. Tell me he...he didn't hurt."
Mrs. Byers bit her lip and El saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes. But she went on her voice hollow. "When we were about to close the gate one of the Russians who had been chasing us down found us and he and Hopper got into a fight."
She went into detail about how both men somehow made it onto the catwalk for the gate opener. How Hopper killed the Russian but ended up trapped on the wrong side.
"I had no choice, I knew he wanted you safe, he wanted you all safe. So I-I turned the keys."
By the time Joyce was done she was having a hard time talking because of the tears, she was trying to keep back.
El reached over and took her hand, for some reason she wasn't crying. All she felt was numbness. It was like someone had turned her feelings off like a light switch and she hadn't figured out how to turn it back on yet.
"It was fast?" El asked.
Mrs. Byers nodded.
It took El a long moment to remember how to breathe again, the horrible feeling of her heart shattering felt like it was consuming her.
"What's going to happen to me now?"
Her nightmare still felt too real even now in the sunlight. "They didn't want you anymore." still echoed in her head.
"Don't worry, I've spoken with Dr. Owens and he's agreed to let me take charge of you so you'll be coming to live with us. Me, Will and Jonathan."
El nodded as Mrs. Byers grabbed the things that had been in her nose and gently placed them back behind her ears. "There now that old lady can't come in and yell at you."
El tried to put on a little smile but she didn't think it reached her eyes.
The door opened again then and the nurse came back in with a tray of food but this time she was followed by a zoo of people.
"I don't see why there's still a two people limit on how many people can go into a room when there is clearly enough space for all of as, given we at the most take about three feet of space and a hospital room is 13 feet by 14 feet," Dustin said.
"Dude would you stop talking about feet," Lucas said.
"I'm just making a point."
El felt her heart lift a moment as she saw Dustin, Lucas, Max and Will all standing behind Mike.
"Holy shit your awake!" Dustin said and pushed past the nurse and into the room.
"I told you, kids, that-" the nurses words were cut off as the rest of her friends joined her in the room.
The next thing El knew she was being crushed in a group hug as everyone talked at once. "Have you seen the news?"
"El you look like crap."
"I bet you would feel the same after having your leg cut open and almost bleeding to death too."
"El did you hear I was on the news."
A moment later they were cut off as the nurse cleared her throat. "I told you all that you can't-"
"May I talk with you a moment," Mrs. Byers said to the nurse getting up.
The nurse let out an annoyed breath but nodded, "You all have five minutes," she said looking back at all of them before closing the door.
"Someone needs to take her on a date," Lucas said rolling his eyes.
"Lucas," Max hissed hitting him with her elbow.
"What! it's true," he said rubbing at his side.
"Guys," Will said softly shooting them a look.
"Right, sorry," Lucas said.
"Its okay, she does need a cool pill," El said.
"Cool pill?" Dustin repeated in question as he lifted open the lid to the food tray.
"She means chill pill," Mike answered.
"Hey, how many channels do you have on this thing?" Lucas asked as he picked up a remote for the tv that hung on the wall.
"That's not what we should be talking about," Max said taking it from him, then turned to El. "How is your leg?"
El let out a breath, she hadn't really wanted to think about her leg, but now that she did El realized she didn't actually hurt as much as she thought it would.
She moved the blanket to find her leg wrapped with clean bandages, no blood or anything.
"They did a good job stitching you up," Max said, "Does it hurt much?"
"It doesn't," El said.
"They probably have you on some pretty good painkillers then," Dustin said, "Hey they gave you chocolate pudding!"
El looked up to see him smiling as he held it out to her.
"Have it, I don't feel very hungry," El said sitting back.
"You should at least have the jello," Will said, "It's probably the best thing they have here."
She nodded but didn't say anything as the door opened again.
"Alright times up, everyone out," the nurse said coming back in, Mrs. Byers behind her.
"Someone does need some cool pills," Max said under her breath before she turned to El opening her backpack and pulled out a whole stack of Wonderwomen comic books. "These are the best ones out of the series, I know you'll love them."
"Thanks," El said, taking them.
"I got you this," Dustin said and handed her a walkie talkie, "I upgraded it so you can talk to Mike from here."
"I helped," Lucas added as she took it from him before they started for the door.
"We'll see you tomorrow," Will added giving her a fast hug.
"Yeah," El nodded and watched them leave.
"El I need to take everyone home but I'll be right back. The doctor said they're going to release you tomorrow so you'll be able to go home soon," Mrs. Byers smiled.
El nodded trying to look happy to be going home but it wouldn't really be home, not without hopper.
"Well I'll see you tomorrow then," Mike said leaning down and kissed her forehead gently and placed something into her hand.
She looked down to see a bag of M&Ms.
"I know your species likes them now," he said before he joined Mrs. Byers and closed the door behind them.
She looked down at the candy a moment, a small smile on her lips but it was gone in a blink. "Home," El said out loud to no one but herself. How could she go home when Hopper was dead?
"I'll find a way back."
El jumped and turned at the voice to see Billy standing by the door the way he had looked after the Mind Flayer had killed him, black blood still dripping down his mouth.
"We will be back."
She sat there frozen a moment as the light bulb above her started flickering. He took a step forward then and she snapped back to reality.
"Go away! " El screamed and threw her arms out to sent him away but he simply laughed and then in a blink of an eye he was gone replaced with the nurse opening the door.
"What's wrong?" she asked concerned.
"N-nothing," El said not looking away from where Billy had been.
"Well if you need anything use the call button please."
El nodded as she closed the door, leaving her alone once more.
AN /
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it took longer then I thought to write but I'm happy with the out come. I'll be trying to update this every two days.