Taking Flight

Chicago, IL

June 23, 1986

Eleven awoke suddenly, with an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, and it took a moment for her to recall exactly where she was. She relaxed a little when she realized she was curled up tightly to Mike's side, a protective arm around her shoulder. From behind her, on the other bed, Hopper snored in the comforting, familiar fashion she had grown so used to when they were living in the cabin. As the fog of sleep cleared away from her mind, she focused in on what had woken her. While she had been unconscious in the hospital, she had been unable to recall anything that had happened in the days leading up the point when she suddenly awoke in the dark, wherever her mind had gone. As soon as she regained consciousness in the hospital, everything had come flooding back. She remembered the journals, going to spy on Papa and Twelve, helping her sister with Papa's test and Papa addressing her as she observed him in his office.

She also remembered every moment of her conversation with Kali. When she thought about it, she could almost still feel her rooting around the corners of her mind, trying to seek out Papa's location. It had been one thing when she planted the projection of Papa in her mind back at the warehouse. This was something different, much more personal, rooting around in her deepest thoughts and trying to steal what Eleven had been desperately trying to keep safe. Kali had held her mind hostage, refusing to let her break the connection until she got the information she wanted. She felt violated and betrayed by the sister she thought she could trust; Kali could have killed her in her arrogant attack.

Worse still, she didn't think it could be a coincidence that the people working for Papa had chosen this week to come and recover the files from her home. She had initially worried it was because she had reached out to spy on him, but she decided that couldn't be it. Papa would have had no way of discovering her location simply from her finding him in the In-Between. If he had known her location any other way, he would have come for her long ago. No, the only thing that made sense was for Kali to have done something stupid and fallen back into Papa's hands.

She had been mulling over all these things for the better part of three days now and was no closer to an answer as to what she should do about it all. She was thankful she was still unable to speak more than a few words at a time before her throat began to feel raw again. Because of that, Daddy and Mike hadn't pushed her for answers yet. They were so relieved that she was alright that they were content to wait on anything else. All weekend they had described their week by her side, and it brought a bright smile to her face knowing just how loved she was. At the same time, it made Kali's betrayal sting that much worse. If she had fallen into Papa's clutches, then Daddy and Mike were in danger as well, and that was something she couldn't tolerate.

Slipping quietly out of Mike's arm, she rolled over and sat up on the edge of the bed. The clock on the table between the two beds displayed 2:15 in numerals glowing such a harsh bright green she had to squint her eyes to make them out. She knew it was harder to reach out and find people when they were asleep, but she had to try and find Kali. Despite everything, she still wanted to know if her sister was safe. She stood and was pleased to find her balance was returning to normal as her legs got more use. She paused by the bathroom door, assuring herself that Mike and Hopper were both still fast asleep. Closing herself in the little room, she left the light off and began running water in the sink, providing enough background static to reach out. With a little apprehension, remembering her last disastrous trip into the In-Between, she shut her eyes and pushed her mind out to find Kali.

After a few minutes of searching, her sister came into clear focus and Eleven's suspicions were confirmed. Kali sat in the middle of a dimly lit warehouse, hands and feet bound to a chair. On her head rested a net of wiring, much like the one Papa used to monitor her brain back in the lab. She pulled her focus back and found the warehouse was in a remote corner of McChord; clearly Papa's new lab. Pushing her focus close again, she could see her sister was in bad shape. Intricate lacerations criss-crossed her arms and legs, scabbed over with blood left untended. Similar cuts run up the sides of her neck and across her cheeks and forehead. Bruises blackened the skin around one eye. As much as she hated what her sister had done, her heart broke seeing her like this. Whatever information she had given up, she hadn't done so without putting up a fight. Stepping close to her sister, she knew what she had to do.

Hoping not to startle her, Eleven leaned close and sent a soft whisper into her mind, "It's me. I'm okay. I'm coming to get you out."

Kali's eyes flickered open as she looked around the warehouse, trying to figure out where the voice had come from. Exhausted by the effort, she closed her eyes and let her head fall forward again.

Eleven opened her eyes, pulling herself back into the motel room. She might feel like killing her sister later, but right now, she needed to go rescue her. It had taken mere moments to convince herself it was what she had to do; convincing Mike and Daddy would be much harder. Shutting off the water, she quietly opened the door and walked back into the room. As she approached her side of the bed, she realized Mike was awake and holding up the blanket for her to slide back in next to him.

"Everything okay?" he whispered, concerned.

"Yes," she replied softly, planting a kiss on his cheek before settling back against his side.

He pulled her in close and soaked up her warming presence. Within minutes she was fast asleep again, while he lay awake mulling over thoughts of his own. When she had leaned in to kiss his cheek, he had immediately picked up the subtle but familiar scent of fresh blood. Combined with the lengthy time she ran the sink with the lights off, he could hazard a decent guess as to what she had been doing. He knew the last time she had sent her mind out in search of something, it had gone disastrously wrong. If she was sending her mind out again, it had to be really important. As much as he didn't like to push, he knew he was going to have to ask her about it in the morning. Pulling her in closer, he planted a kiss to the top of her head and then settled back into sleep himself, dreaming of a life where she could be happy and free of her past once and for all.

Hopper awoke the next morning to a harsh sunlight trying to fight its way through thick motel curtains. His eyes immediately slammed shut again as his mind argued for another hour or three of sleep before facing the new day. Behind him, he was aware of Mike talking quietly but he did his best to tune it out as he tried to shut his mind off from the world again. After about a minute, he realized that Mike carrying on one side of a conversation but Eleven wasn't responding.

"Is he on the phone?" Hopper wondered, beginning to panic.

He rolled over, ready to rip the phone out of his hands and chastise him for risking their safety. He was more than a little surprised to see the phone still sitting unused in its cradle. Mike and Eleven were sitting cross-legged on the bed, facing one another. Her eyes were closed, while he watched her face with focused attention.

"So she's there now? With him?" Mike asked.

He paused, waiting for her response. Hopper had been involved in one of these mental conversations with her on several occasions, but it was still a bizarre thing to witness from the outside.

"If you're sure, you know I'm with you. Hopper's not going to like this, though."

"What am I not going to like," Hopper groaned, alerting the two he was awake and listening.

Two pairs of eyes snapped guiltily over to Hopper as he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"Sorry," Mike apologized. "Her throat is still bothering her, so this was the only way to talk to her."

"It's fine," Hopper said, still clearing the sleep from his head. "So what am I not going to like?"

Mike looked to Eleven for support, hoping she would break the news herself. Although she could easily reach into Hopper's mind and explain things for herself, she looked back at Mike with soft, pleading eyes, silently begging him to once again do it for her. Although she she was resolved in what needed to be done, she was still afraid of being the one to ask.

"Jane…" he began, hesitating. "She says we need to go to Washington."

"Of course she wants to go somewhere," he thought, rubbing his eyes and trying not to immediately shoot down the idea. "It's too early and I have no coffee, so you're going to have to go slow. Start at the beginning."

Mike took a deep breath and launched into an explanation of everything Eleven had told him that morning. He told Hopper how she had gone back to look in on Brenner and Twelve several times, including their day out in the desert. He told him how she had delivered the news back to Kali, and how Eight had ripped the location from Eleven's mind, knocking her unconscious in the process. Hopper turned a deep red, his face twisted in anger at the news that Kali had once again invaded her mind and almost killed her in the process. Somehow, he managed to hold his tongue and allowed Mike to continue.

"She went and found Kali again last night. Dr. Brenner has her now and he's been torturing information out of her. Jane…" he paused once more and then, bringing the conversation back around to the beginning, "she wants to go and save her."

"No. Not a chance," Hopper spat out without hesitation. "You just got out the hospital. You've spent the last week unconscious and now you want to fly across the country and rescue the girl that did that to you?"

In a flash of anger, Eleven was off the bed and standing before Hopper, staring him dead in the eyes. Suddenly, he felt her present in his mind, her eyes never breaking contact.

"She is my sister. I'm not leaving her with Papa. He has to be stopped." she sent forth into Hopper's mind.

"Look," Hopper said, softening his initial reaction, "I know she is your connection to your past and you care about her. She's also the reason we're on the run in the first place. She reacted on impulse, just like you're doing now, and she wound up a prisoner again."

"We will plan. We will be safe," she pushed.

"If we go, you're going to be walking into a trap," Hopper objected. "For all his faults, Brenner isn't an idiot. He's using her as bait and you're playing right into his hands."

Standing taller, never breaking eye contact, she choked out an ultimatum through a voice still scratchy and raw, each word an effort. "You come. Or you stay. I go!"

"No, you're not," Hopper growled, standing himself, towering over the girl. "You're not going to put yourself at risk like that. We're staying here and that's final."

Three hours later, Hopper found himself in the passenger waiting area at Chicago's O'Hare airport, holding three tickets to Seattle. Though he had been present for the whole thing, he still had no clue how she had managed to convince him that this was somehow a good idea. Perhaps it was when she reminded him that Kali had tried to rescue her during her own escape from the lab years ago. Maybe it was the fact that, beyond trying to reason with her, there was nothing he could physically do to keep her from leaving. In that case, his only choice was to go along to do everything he could to keep her safe.

Whatever the reasons, there he sat, waiting for their flight. Mike and Eleven stood by the window, looking out at the plane they would soon be boarding. Mike was speaking a mile a minute, telling her everything he knew about planes and flight and what to expect. He had found early on that the more she knew about a new situation, the better she was able to handle it. For her part, Eleven soaked in every word, watching him with her usual adoring fascination.

A few minutes later, the trio boarded the plane under the guise of the Roberts family, headed off to Seattle to visit family. Mike led the way down the jetway, with Hopper bringing up the rear, casting nervous glances around for any signs of anyone taking too close an interest in their group. He had a nagging fear that whoever had been sent to the house might still be keeping tabs on them from a distance.

As they boarded the 757, Eleven took a slight comfort in the fact that the interior looked similar to the bus she had taken when she ran away to Chicago. There were certainly more seats on the plane, but the layout provided a solid point of familiarity, putting her mind somewhat at ease. As they reached their row, Mike offered her the window seat, which she happily took, anxious to see what there was to see outside. Mike settled next to her in the middle seat, with Hopper taking the aisle.

As they buckled in, Eleven stared out the window in fascination at the bustle of activity below. Soon, the plane was pushed back from the gate and out onto the taxiway. Her apprehension began to set in as the engines spooled up and the plane prepared to taxi toward the runway; this no longer felt like the bus. The rising whine of the engines set her nerves on edge and she looked over at Mike, seeking assurance that everything that was happening was going as it was supposed to. Giving her a reassuring smile, Mike extended a hand out and gently took hold of hers. He knew they were supposed to be acting like a brother and sister right now, but a quick glance around revealed no one who would even take notice. Feeling a little better, she intertwined her fingers in his and looked back out the window. The trip toward the runway felt like it took forever as they slowly rolled forward, waiting for a line of planes ahead of them to each take their turn climbing into the sky. Eventually, it was their turn and the plane curved onto the runway.

The whine of the engines grew higher still as the plane throttled up for takeoff. Eleven was no longer sure she wanted to do this, though she knew deep down it was already too late to change her mind. As the pilot let off the brakes and the plane jolted forward, she let out a sharp gasp and gave Mike's hand a tight squeeze. The rapid acceleration forced her back in her seat like a giant hand pressing on her chest and she felt an involuntary whimper escape her lips as she stared hard, eyes glued to the landscape now rushing past her window at an ever increasing speed.

Mike leaned in close and whispered, just loud enough for her to hear, "El? Are you okay?"

"No," she thought, "Nothing about this is okay. We are going way to fast. Why do we need to be going so fast? People are not supposed to go this fast."

"Yes," she squeaked out in response to Mike.

Seeing the ashen look on her face, Mike knew immediately she was anything but alright. Just then, the plane pitched upward and lifted off the runway, the ground falling away below them. At this new sensation, Eleven began to panic, her breath coming shallow. Mike reached up with his free hand and held the side of her face, gently turning her away from the window.

"Look at me El," he began softly, as comforting as he could. "It's okay. It's okay, to not be okay."

Giving a half nod, she squeezed her eyes shut and leaned her forehead into his shoulder. Sliding his free hand further around, he gently stroked her hair, holding her has best he could with both of them buckled firmly into their seats. As they climbed ever higher, she would begin to relax and then suddenly tense again as the plane bounced through a pocket of turbulence. Once they were above the clouds, the winds calmed and she grew more accustomed to the droning of the engines. Lifting her head and opening her eyes again, she gave Mike a bashful smile.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Reaching her free hand up, she planted a quick kiss on the tip of her finger and then held it out, just above the armrest that separated them. Smiling and taking the hint, Mike discretely kissed a finger on his own free hand, and then gently pressed it to hers. It had been Eleven's idea during school, so they could share a quick kiss under the watchful glare of teachers. Mike was certain he heard a brief, exasperated groan from Hopper as they shared the finger-kiss, but at the moment, he didn't much care.

Eleven turned to look out the window again, much more pleased with the view this time. Her eyes marveled at the dazzling, bright blue sky above and the puffy white clouds now far below them. Perhaps flying wasn't so bad after all, she thought.