Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
In the Bertuzzi home, the three began to leave, but not before Joyce and Terry looked at Karen once more, who was still staring at the TV and murmuring things under her breath. Seeing her like this made Terry's heart drop while it made Joyce think of a couple of things. "Thank you for your time," Hopper said to Giana. "We appreciate it."
"I'm sorry that I couldn't be of more help," Giana said. "But good luck in your investigation." She opened the door for him and the women to get out.
"Thank you," the police chief responded.
...
After going to their cars, Terry sighed and leaned against Hopper's. "Alright, hit me," she told the two other adults. "What questions do you guys have?"
Hopper let out a sigh, pulling a pack of cigarettes and pulling one out to smoke from. "Where do I even begin...?" he muttered to himself.
Joyce decided to ask the first question. "Wh-what really happened to Karen, Terry? Do you know?"
She sighed and crossed her arms, not giving either of them eye contact. "What would've happened to me if Martin didn't give me a second chance," she answered, shocking the two adults. "They scramble your brains with shock therapy, making it impossible for you to speak about anything."
Their eyes widened. "Shock therapy?" Joyce's voice became a mere whisper.
"Less like therapy and more like torture."
Since she mentioned Brenner, Hopper figured that she was caught. "And what do you mean if Brenner didn't give you a second chance?" he asked her.
She looked at him solemnly. "I was caught and put into an interrogation room with him. Instead of scrambling my brains, he tried to trap me in that hole by sending me in there." She looked away from him. "If he knows I escaped..."
Their eyes widened again. "You'll be like Karen..." She nodded as a reply.
"Worst-case scenario, so would you and Joyce." Both looked aghast at that statement. They were crazy sons of bitches, after all...
Hopper smoked a little and asked, "Also, do you really know what happened to Michael and Nancy? We didn't see any kids in that facility."
She shrugged. "I don't know about Nancy, but Michael...remember the drawing we saw?" He nodded.
"Showed the doctors and some kid named M11..." He trailed off as he just realized something. M11...Michael started with an 'M'. "You don't mean..."
She nodded. "That's Michael, M11." Shocked faces amplified. "She was right about him having telepathy and telekinesis. He used it when he was just a young boy, about two. I've seen it." She then remembered a young little boy with dark hair and freckles carrying a block up with just his mind. That was Michael, from the last she had seen him.
"Okay, Terry, listen to me." The woman focused on him. "I think he was at Benny's five days ago."
She looked puzzled. "What? How can that be? The labs have tight security..." She trailed off, thinking about the possibility that...maybe he did escape. Nancy too, probably. She sure as hell didn't see them anywhere in the labs...
"Not tight enough, I bet."
Suddenly, she jolted at the static noise coming from the car. "Hey, Chief, you there?" asked Officer Callahan. Hopper heard that and got into his car to answer it. While he was doing that, Terry looked at Joyce again. She still felt guilty about breaking her promise to escape with her daughter. The two glanced at each other, not saying a word to one another, though both were thinking about the promise.
Breaking the silence, Terry stated, "Joyce, I'm sorry." The woman gave her a bit of a puzzled look. "I'm sorry I escaped and didn't find your son." Now Joyce knew what she was talking about, her eyes widening a little. "It's just that...my daughters are very special to me. Kali is no exception. I had to make sure she was alright, that I didn't lose her. That costed the promise and I'm so sorry." She sighed and frowned, shaking her head. "I'm so sorry, Joyce. I know how much Will means to you."
Joyce took a deep breath. She had already made her conclusion about what she thought about that, so she opened her mouth to tell her what she thought. Suddenly, Hopper got out of the car and told them both, "We need to go. Terry too."
The two women looked at him with slightly confused looks. "What?" Terry questioned.
"Jonathan got into a fight and Kali was with him." Both of their eyes widened at that piece of news, especially Terry's. How the hell...? She thought they were going to go test out their blood theory...
In the labs, Dr. Wheeler and Dr. Brenner were walking around, hoping to hear about the news of M11 and the secret and where they could be. A scientist approached them with a rather scared expression and said, "Dr. Brenner, Dr. Wheeler, we have a problem."
Both of them stopped and looked at him with puzzled faces. "What do you mean?" asked Dr. Wheeler.
"It's about Teresa. She escaped." Both doctors looked shocked at this piece of news, especially Brenner.
"That's impossible," he stated in disbelief. "There is no way she could have escaped without us noticing."
"My team and I believe that there was an exit created by the creature and that she found and got out through there. Communications heard a phone call of somebody finding one of our hazmat suits in the woods and another between her and the police chief." Ted sighed and shook his head while Martin just looked so baffled. He never knew the woman would be that clever...
"I told you, we should have had her go through shock therapy instead of trapping her in the hole," the man with the glasses said, turning to his fellow doctor. "Now she's becoming more trouble than needed."
The white-haired man placed a hand on his chin. Honestly, giving Terry a second chance just so she could die was the biggest mistake Brenner made in his entire life. He felt it was actually pretty naive of him to think that she would actually die there and not escape. The woman was smart, that was why he married her and hired her in the first place.
He thought about what to do about her and came to a conclusion, looking at his friend. "Send an order to locate and neutralize her," he said to him. "That woman doesn't have any more reason to keep living on with what she has done."
Dr. Wheeler smiled at him a little and nodded. "No problem, Martin." He smiled back at him, crossing his arms. It was like he and Ted were one mind.
...
A number of agents armed themselves up and went into a van disguised as an electronic repair vehicle. They drove away to look for the woman.
...
From afar, Lucas was on a tree, wearing his camouflage bandanna and black streaks on his cheeks. He saw the vehicle leave, wondering why it was...
In the station, Kali was waiting to get a bag of ice from Flo. The woman got out ice from a freezer and placed them in a bag. "So, will we get out of here?" the teen girl asked her.
"You, yes," she answered. "Him, no. He assaulted a police officer."
"How long will he be out?"
"You and him have big plans, do you?"
She thought about answering with the 'monster-hunting' answer, but they were in trouble. It'd be more trouble if he even mentioned hunting, so she didn't answer.
"Here." Flo handed her the bag, making her nod and say her thanks before exiting the room.
She sat next to a cuffed and solemn Jonathan Byers and said, "I have some ice, Jonathan."
He nodded and replied in a serious tone, "Thanks." She slowly pressed the ice against his cheek, him tensing up a little before easing. He let out a deep sigh and looked at Kali, keeping his solemn face. "I'm sorry, I just...I just snapped, didn't think twice, you know?"
She also let out a sigh. "He's an asshole, telling you all of that."
He nodded again at her. "Yeah, definitely. I don't really see what you see in him."
She initially dated him because he was hot and a good flirter. That was it, a shallow reason. Now, look where that got her. She shook her head and stated, "Me neither, to be honest with you." He was kind of surprised that she answered it that way. Well, that was teenage romance, he supposed...
In the woods, Michael almost finished the Eggos boxes while emptying one tub of mint ice cream and was halfway done with the other. That ice cream tasted good, despite them being cold like the weather. The waffles tasted weird when cold, but they still tasted good.
As he got out the last one, he felt his stomach being weird. It was like he was full and...not supposed to eat nearly two tubs of ice cream and almost two entire boxes of waffles in one sitting. He was a little anxious about the feeling in his stomach, looking at the last waffle. He thought of when Jane offered him one of these. It was warmer and softer. He frowned, thinking about the curly-haired girl as he looked at the waffle.
Maybe...maybe she'll forgive him? She did once...but that was because he channeled Will. Maybe he'll try to find him again? Then Jane would have to like him again...
But he almost killed her friend...she was really mad at him for doing that...
He sighed, looking sad. She'll never forgive him...she'll never-
"Mike!" shouted...Jane's voice from afar. His eyes widened as he stood up and looked at the direction that came from.
"Michael!" shouted Dustin too. He smiled a little, liking that they were calling for him.
Especially Jane.
He put the last waffle in the pocket of his coat and began walking quickly to their voices.
...
Off their bikes, Jane and Dustin roamed around the woods, calling out Mike's name. They both suddenly heard leaves cracking, stopping and looking around. "Did you hear that?" the tomboy asked her friend quietly.
"Yeah..." her friend replied. Both continued looking around, hoping that the sound belonged to Michael.
"Mike?!" Jane and Dustin called out at the same time.
Unfortunately, who they saw weren't him, but Troy and James, who were storming towards them angrily. Both of them looked scared. "Hey there, Tranny," Troy greeted in a furious manner as he got out his pocket knife. "Toothless."
Both of them let go of their bikes in horror. "Shit! Jane! Run!" Dustin exclaimed as he and his female friend began running away from them as fast as they could. The bullies began chasing them as fast as they could as well.
...
For God knows how many minutes, the two were still running and were at the quarry. Dustin staggered a bit, crying out, "Cramp!" He held his side as he slowed his run.
"Just keep going, Dustin!" Jane shouted out as he continued running away. Troy was catching up to them and James popped out in the other direction to stop them.
They both instantly stopped, Jane grabbing a rock and Dustin grabbing a stick, both defending themselves. "St-stay back!" she yelled at them. "Don't come any closer!" They were taking baby steps closer to them, so Jane threw her rock at James, which missed by a lot.
He chuckled and commented, "You still throw like a girl, Tranny!" She looked mad that it didn't hit him.
Dustin let out a yell and swung his stick at Troy like a sword. The bully dodged it, however, and put him in a headlock, the blade of his pocket knife hovering under his chin.
Jane looked aghast and exclaimed, "Dustin!"
"Get off! Get off me!" the curly-haired boy shrieked in horror.
Now she looked at him angrily and yelled, "Let him go, Troy! Let him go!"
As she took a step forward, he yelled back, "Don't go any closer or I'll cut him!"
She clenched her fists, stopping where she was. "What do you want?!"
"I wanna know how you did it!"
"Did what?!"
"Some nerdy science shit that made me do that!"
"What, pee yourself?!" He gave her a sharp glare.
"O-our friend had superpowers and he squeezed your bladder with his mind," Dustin stated, still sounding horrified.
"Shut up!" James yelled as Troy had his pocket knife closer to Dustin's neck.
"Maybe I should remove Toothless's baby teeth to save him a trip to the dentist," Troy suggested, making Jane even more fearful and angry.
"NO! Let him go!"
"Sure, I'll let him go! But first...since you embarrassed me, you'll pay a price." Jane felt stiff as he tilted his head toward the edge of the cliff. "Jump, or your friend gets his baby teeth removed." The knife got closer to Dustin's mouth, terrifying him even more. Jane didn't know what to do. She didn't want to jump to her death, but she didn't want Dustin to suffer...
"D-don't do it, Jane!" her friend said to her in a horrified tone. "I-I can live without my baby teeth!"
"I'll cut him right now, Tranny!" The knife got closer, making him whimper. She looked like she was about to cry. "Dentist's office opens in 5...!" She was in a state of panic. What the hell was she going to do?!
"4...3..." She didn't want Dustin to get severely hurt...
"2.." She'd die before that happens.
James, surprisingly looking worried, shouted to his friend, "Troy, wait!"
As Troy shouted one, she instantly ran to the edge of the cliff and leaped off of it, screaming and disappearing from the boys' sights. All of them looked horrified as Troy let go of a distraught Dustin. The brunette bully just realized what he did.
He made a girl kill herself. It didn't matter if she looked like a boy...
Oh shit.
All of them ran to the edge to see if she hit the water, but...she didn't. In fact, she wasn't even near the water. Probably halfway there, from the looks of it. She wasn't falling...it was like...
She was floating in midair.
Even the tomboy was surprised by this. She saw the distance between her and the water with wide eyes, panting in utter shock and her heart beating very fast. She couldn't believe this. She was floating in midair. How could this...
She suddenly felt herself floating back up onto the cliff, screaming a little. "Wh-what?!" she exclaimed. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" The boys watched her float up and back on the ground on her feet. All of them were baffled at this, including her. How the...?
She turned to see who pulled her up from her death like that, looking very surprised. The boys looked at him too.
It was Michael, his head tilted down and his eyes on the bullies as he began to approach them. He looked at them coldly. Both Jane and Dustin began smiling at the sight of him. He was back...he was actually back.
"Who the hell are you?!" James cried out as he and Troy were about to run at him. However, the freckled boy used his power to push back the taller bully into the bushes. Both him and Troy looked shocked. He then looked at Troy's arm and tilted his head to his left. A bone snapping was heard and he screamed, dropping his pocket knife and trying to hold it.
"He broke my arm!" he yelled out in utter pain.
Mike stopped in his tracks, his nose bleeding from both nostrils. He still kept his cold look at the bullies as he sharply said, "Go."
Terrified of him, the bullies stood up and began running away, Troy yelling, "L-let's get outta here!"
"Go! Go!" James also yelled out.
Keeping his smile, Dustin turned to them and shouted from the top of his lungs, "Yeah! You better run! You know why?!" He pointed at the boy with the shaved head while Jane stood up, keeping her smile as she saw the two run away. "He's our friend and he's crazy! Come back here and he'll kill you! You hear me?! He'll kill you sons of bitches!"
Mike now felt very weakened. Not only from the use of his powers, but also from his stomach due to the ice cream and waffles. Without warning, he fell to the ground limply.
In that dark place, Mike looked around, feeling very scared about finding this creature. He took a deep breath. He had to be brave, for his father and the doctor...otherwise...
He heard growling and chomping from afar, making him look to see the monster from far away. His breathing became heavy as he turned towards the direction it was in. He had to be brave...he had to be...
He slowly took steps towards the monster. The closer he got to it, the more anxious he became. He clearly saw it feeding on some sort of large egg. When he finally got close to it, he stopped. He may have not seen its face yet, but its look was scaring him already. He really did hope the two doctors were right about it not harming him...
He slowly had one finger going towards its back to touch it. It was shaking-actually, he was shaking in much fear about what may happen. His finger as a mere centimeter away from the creature. He gulped, not moving for a minute and panting unevenly. What if it can harm him? What if he dies from it?
Seriously, he hoped the men were right.
He finally poked it, causing it to instantly turn towards him and open its mouth to scream at his face. He could see all of its sharp teeth and its mouth...
It terrified him to hell.
...
His eyes shot open, his nose and ears bleeding, as he looked absolutely horrified and screamed from the top of his lungs.
...
In the bunker, the lights were flickering on and off and the waves shown on the paper were getting crazy. Michael's scream could be heard from the speakers down there as the wall suddenly began to break open. Everyone near it instantly tried to run away from it. Dr. Wheeler and Dr. Brenner were absolutely awed at the sight of the walls cracking.
"Mike!" Jane shouted to him worriedly, nudging him to wake him up. "Michael! Are you okay?!" He did begin to move and he looked at her, making her smile in relief. However, he looked very sad and began to cry, making her smile drop. "Mike?"
"Jane...I'm sorry..." he said in a sob.
She gave him a perplexed look. "Sorry? Sorry for what?"
He sniffled. "Th-the gate...I opened it...I'm the monster, Jane."
Surprisingly to him, she gave him a reassuring smile and shook her head. "No, Mike. You're not the monster." She then held his hand with both of her's. "You saved me. Please understand that, Mike. You saved me." That made him smile a little and feel so much better than he did before. She forgave him. She actually forgave him. That was all he needed. Her forgiveness.
She pulled him up and gave him a tight and warm hug, in which he returned. Dustin, who was in the background and observing all of this, smiled as well and hugged the both of them. The three stayed in that position for what felt like an hour. They didn't care though. Mike was back and they were all safe. They were back together again.
The three kids began walking back to Jane's house, Jane and Dustin having their bikes back. They didn't notice that someone was watching them from a certain van from a certain distance...
The man in the van got out a walkie-talkie and said into it, "The children are in my sight now. They're heading home, to Teresa's home."
Every agent in the facility that wasn't looking for Terry armed themselves with weapons and went outside with Dr. Brenner and Dr. Wheeler. Both doctors got inside a van, Ted on the wheel and Brenner on the passenger's seat.
As the men buckled themselves up, Dr. Wheeler stated, "Michael being in Teresa's home...this isn't a mere coincidence."
His comrade nodded. "You have read my mind, Ted." If she did find him and hid him in her home...well, she'll be rid of today. She won't be a problem anymore. He just knew it.
They then began to leave, finally going to the Ives home.
...
Lucas saw the array of vans leaving, making him feel more worried about this. What if they...knew about Michael? Jane did mention that bad people were after him...
They finally went behind Jane's house and entered inside. Mike, before entering in, took a quick look around to make sure no one was following them. When he saw nobody, he finally got in and closed the door behind him.
Done! What do you guys think of this chapter? Any typos or mistakes I may have missed?
Will Joyce forgive Terry or no? Hmm...
I actually liked writing the scene in the quarry because to me, it was a bit of an intense moment since the kids were in danger (not as much danger as the next two episodes, let me tell you...). I absolutely loved the moment when the three hugged, just... makes me smile so much. I had a joy writing that out.
Keep supporting this fanfic and Merry Christmas! If you don't celebrate that, then Happy Holidays! I'll see you guys on the next chapter!
*EDITS of 11/20/19:
-Removed the ellipses in "The woman was smart, that was why he married her and hired her in the first place." and "It was like he and Ted were one mind."
-Removed "leaving" in "He saw the vehicle leave, wondering why it was..."
-Replaced "said" with "replied" in "He nodded and replied in a serious tone,"
-Added "and a good flirter" in "She initially dated him because he was hot and a good flirter."
-Had Mike be halfway done with one tub of ice cream
-Removed the ellipses in "He smiled a little, liking that they were calling for him."
-Replaced "it's like..." with "it was like..." and "screamed" with "yelled" in "he yelled out in utter pain."
-Replaced "Its mouth" with "It" in "It terrified him to hell."