Eleven had a feeling she was dying. Of course she'd felt like that for the past six months but it was still horrible nonetheless. She was lying down in the upside down version of Mike's basement in the fort that, for some reason, had not been taken down.
After being stuck in the upside down for the past few months, El had no doubt gotten weaker. She was too weak to use her powers most of the time, unless she really strained to use them to try to reach her friends. But she was so drained that she couldn't be sure the connection really went through. And every day she felt worse she wondered how nothing had killed her yet.
So she was basically stuck in this nightmarish version of the real world with these eggos that were always kept in a box in the woods being her only food source.
El was curled up in a ball, shaking really bad. The pain and suffering was so horrible she almost wished that she were back in the lab used as a science experiment again. Tears rolled down her cheeks as her teeth chattered from the cold.
Why didn't anyone come to get her? She wondered. Where was Mike? Did he think she was gone forever? Or did he just not know how to get to her? Eleven shut her eyes, praying she would somehow be transported out of there though she knew she wouldn't.
For a second, all was quiet all was quiet and just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard a growl coming from around her.
The scare seemed to give her a jump start. Her adrenaline was high and she shrieked in terror, holding her knees to her chin as she once again tried to channel her energy into contacting her friends.
"Hey, does anyone else want the last brownie?" Dustin asked as he walked into the garage, holding the chocolate dessert in his hands. The rest of the boys rolled their eyes. They knew Dustin was just asking if he could have it.
"No!" His friends replied all at once as Lucas and Will both got on their bikes.
"Bye, guys." Mike called out as the rest of the party pedaled away.
Once his friends left, Mike wandered back into the house expecting his mom to tell him to go get ready for bed.
"Michael, can you go bring up the plates you boys left in the basement?" Karen asked. She was busy putting dishes away in the kitchen.
"Sure, mom." Mike replied, heading downstairs.
He gathered the plates in his arms, careful not to mess up the way their game was left. As he grabbed Dustin's plate off the table, he regretfully glanced in the direction of the fort again.
Thinking about Eleven sometimes hurt. Yes, that had only known each other for a week but throughout that week he felt he'd made a new friend that he hoped to keep for the rest of his life. But obviously, that hadn't been able to happen.
He didn't want to take down the fort, though. How could be able to get rid of his only reminder she was real? Without it, it was almost like she never existed.
Just as Mike was about to climb back up the steps, a small whimpering sound and static filled the room. He froze in shock. It was so quiet and sudden he couldn't be sure he actually heard it.
The whimpering started again. Back in the upside down, El was in complete hysterics, shaking and crying but trying to be as quiet as she could. The growling had stopped and she still didn't know what it was. Was it the Demogorgan?
No. it couldn't be. The Demogorgan was dead. Something else was out there. But what?
Inside the Wheelers' basement, Mike hadn't moved an inch. His eyes scanned the room until he spotted his supercomm, sitting on top of one of the blankets in Eleven's fort. He stared at it for a few seconds when the whimpering started again.
"El!" Mike hastily placed the plates on top of the table as he ran straight over to the fort. "El, it's Mike. Are you there?" But the only reply he got was static. "El!" He tried again, almost bouncing up and down where he was sitting.
"El!" Mike's voice came from around Eleven as she shot up. "Mike?" She yelled, unsure of where his voice was coming from.
"El, where are you?" Mike's voice surrounded El as she shot to her feet.
"Mike?!" Eleven shrieked again just as the connection closed.
Mike stared at his supercomm for about thirty seconds, trying to figure out what his next move would be.
"Michael?" Karen called down, breaking Mike's focus. "What's going on down there?"
"Nothing!" Her son yelled. He scrambled to his feet, his eyes still on the supercomm.
She was alive. He kept reminding himself while he clomped up the steps with the dishes. After not being able to reach her for a while, he had been sure she was dead. Now the next thing he asked himself was: how would he and his friends find her?
Authors Note: So it's been about two weeks since I last uploaded but i've been super busy with school and shit. And when I did find time to work on this chapter I kept constantly reediting and rewriting it. Anyways, a little reminder that I don't own stranger things but I hope you enjoy! And thank you so much if you reviewed earlier! They really mean a lot to me. If you haven't yet, feel free to review and let me know your thoughts and if you liked it, then subscribe for more. Thanks for reading!
