A bit of a shorter chapter, but next chapter will make up for it.
REVIEWS:
Sameen: Leo will start to slowly regain his memories. The process will probably start next chapter because that's when the story line starts to differ from that of Stranger Things. Right now, it's more following the exact story line of the show, but next chapter it'll start to change as Leo's role starts to develop.
Never Again: yes, reviews do keep me updating, I haven't been updating some of my stories lately because I accepted some prompts from a person that were either multiple chapters or 5000-9000 words or more, so that kept me busy, but I'm working on an updating schedule.
Guest: Honestly, I'm not even sure where the idea came from. I was just watching Stranger Things and thought I love Leo Valdez; I love Stranger Things. Why don't I combine them? And this happened.
Disclaimer: I own nothing
WARNINGS: MURDER, VIOLENCE
The leaves crackled beneath Eleven's bare feet as he trekked across the ground.
He was now wearing a hospital gown, which he had quickly grabbed and changed into because the water suit he'd been wearing had made it hard to run. Dirt covered his face and skin and the ripped gown he was wearing. The humidity of the day circulated through the air, making Eleven's skin become sticky with perspiration.
Eleven didn't know how long he had been walking, much less how long he'd been crawling through the pipe, but he was at least a few miles from the lab. For a while, he was in the clear.
Eleven stumbled across a building in the center of the forest and a few yards off the road. It was a gray, one story building with windows, and the door was open.
A man exited the door with a black bag in his hands, and he tossed it into the dumpster beside the building before returning to the inside.
Eleven could smell the scent of food in the air. He hadn't eaten a decent meal since he'd come to the lab, and before then... he didn't even remember his life before the lab. All Eleven knew was that he was starving.
Eleven walked closer to the building.
Eleven pushed the doors open, and he slowly walked inside.
He found himself in a kitchen. Metal counters, an oven, a grill, and...
Eleven's mouth watered. Food.
Eleven walked further into the kitchen and stood beside the counter, where he found a basket of fries. He'd never had fries himself (at least that he remembered), but he'd seen the men in the lab eat them before.
Eleven peaked over the counter and watched as the man he'd seen outside spoke with a man that had a beard and was eating a burger. They were laughing, like they were... Eleven didn't know the word, but it was right on the tip of his tongue.
Eleven looked down at the fries, and slowly, he picked one up and placed it in his mouth
Eleven's eyes widened as a burst of flavor hit his tongue. Grease flooded his mouth, and the soft texture on the inside of the french fry flowed over his teeth and tongue.
This was the best food he had ever tasted.
Eleven picked up handfuls of the fries and inhaled them, stuffing them into his mouth and down his throat. His body and mind were screaming at him to fill the empty void of his stomach, and Eleven happily obliged.
Meanwhile, in the main area of the restaurant, the owner laughed before turning to head back to the kitchen.
He saw a young child with a buzz cut leaning over the counter and eating the food that had been sitting there.
"Hey!" The man yelled in outrage.
Eleven jolted his head up, his cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk's, to see the man staring at him in anger. His lips were pulled into a snarl.
Eleven grabbed the basket of fries, swallowing the bite in his mouth, before bolting for the door.
"Get back here!" The man yelled, chasing Eleven as he ran for the door.
Hands grabbed the back of his hospital gown, and the fries scattered everywhere as the basket clattered to the ground. Hands whipped Eleven around and held him by the upper arms.
The man's face was red with rage. He reminded Eleven of some of the mean men in the lab, and Eleven waited to be struck, or worse. Dragged to The Room.
"You think you can steal from me, boy?" The man growled, but then, he froze.
The man took in Eleven's bloody nose, the torn hospital gown, his dirty face, his scrawny form (obviously malnourished), and the wild eyed expression. Eleven flinched at the shout, and he tried to shield his face, but the man still had him by the arms.
"What the heck?" The man muttered.
Eleven trembled.
"Hey," the man said. "It's okay. Let's go back inside. I'll make you some food."
Eleven's fear and surprise was overwhelmed by the starvation he was experiencing, and he allowed the man to lead him to a break room. Eleven was handed an orange shirt that came to his knees, which he changed into. When Eleven ducked back outside, the man laid the hospital gown over a chair and took Eleven to the main part of the restaurant, where the tables were. The other man had left, and the owner gestured to a chair, which Eleven took a seat in.
The man headed back to the kitchen and made a burger on the grill before returning to sit across from Eleven. He pushed a basket of fries and a hamburger across the metal table, which Eleven picked up and began to stuff the burger in his mouth. His powers drained his energy, and the lab didn't feed him well, so Eleven felt like he could eat twenty more of these baskets of food and still be asking for more.
"Geesh," the man laughed before growing serious. "Your parents forget to feed you? That why you ran away?"
Parents, as in plural? Eleven only had Papa. Who else was he supposed to have?
"They..." The man swallowed. "They hurt you?"
Eleven didn't respond as he continued to eat.
"You went to the hospital; you got scared; you ran away; you wound up here. Is that it?" The man asked.
Eleven stayed quiet.
The man sighed before reaching forward and taking the burger and pulling the basket away.
"I'll give this back," the man promised, "and you can have as much as you want, maybe even some ice cream, but you have to answer some of my questions first."
A pause as Eleven watched the man.
"Do we have a deal?"
Eleven gave the slightest nod, almost unnoticeable.
"Okay," the man replied. "Let's start with the easy stuff."
He stuck his hand out, resting his arm on the table.
"My name's Benny. And you?"
Eleven stared at his hand in confusion before looking back at the man. In the lab, Papa was really the only one that directly addressed Eleven, and Eleven's contact with other people (aside from the Bad Men in the lab) was little to none.
"Here," Benny said, taking Eleven's hand. Eleven flinched and tried to pull away, but Benny held onto his hand, gently. "It's okay."
Benny pulled Eleven's arm forward and clasped Eleven's hand.
"Nice to meet you. What's your name?"
Eleven blinked before saying, "Eleven."
Benny frowned. "What do you mean?"
Eleven turned his wrist over to display 011 tattooed right beneath the collection of veins. He'd been given the tattoo on his first day in the lab.
Benny looked at little frightened by it.
"How old are you?" Benny asked.
Eleven frowned before shaking his head.
"You don't know?"
Eleven shook his head to confirm that.
Benny sighed. "Okay. You keep eating. I'm going to go make you another," he said as he pushed the basket across the table and Eleven continued to devour the food.
"Take it easy," Benny laughed as he stood.
"All I know is he's scared to death. I think he's been abused or kidnapped or something, " Benny said to the social worker on the phone. "Yeah, it would be great if someone came by. We're at 4819 Randolph Lane. Thanks."
An irritating sound grated on Eleven's ears, and he looked up to see a fan spinning in the corner of the room. It whirled with an annoying creaking sound, and Eleven glared at it.
The fan abruptly stopped spinning.
Benny hadn't noticed, and Eleven continued to eat as though nothing had happened.
Eleven took back what he said about French fries. Ice cream was the best food in existence.
"You like that ice cream, don't you?" Benny laughed as he did the dishes.
Eleven smiled as he licked the spoon.
"A smile looks good on you," Benny said.
Eleven blinked.
"You know? Smile?" Benny said before grinning with his teeth showing. Eleven mimicked the action, and it felt so natural, he wondered why he hadn't started smiling sooner.
A knock echoed through the silent restaurant, making Eleven's jump, the moment officially broken.
"It's okay," Benny said. "Whoever it is, I'll tell them to go away real fast."
Benny walked through the restaurant to answer the door, and Eleven tried to listen, but he only caught snippets of the conversation.
"Social..."
"Haven't told him..."
"Dead skittish..."
"Usually are..."
A woman followed Benny through the door. She was pretty and blonde and middle aged, wearing a black shirt and jacket with a bag over her shoulder. She looked vaguely familiar.
"It's funny," Benny laughed as he began to turn around. "Your voice sounded different on the ph-"
BANG!
A gun went off, and a bullet lodged himself in the side of Benny head. Benny didn't even know what hit him.
Eleven tossed the ice cream and the spoon to the floor with a clatter before leaping off the counter and running through the kitchen doors.
Two men busted through the back doors with guns aimed at Eleven.
The lights began to flicker, crackling and popping and fizzling as power radiated off of Eleven.
He screamed as two bullets flew out of the guns and into the men's brains effectively killing them, before the guns melted into unidentifiable pools of blackness.
Eleven ran out the door and didn't stop running, nor did he look back, until the he heard the voices.
By then, it had started to pour down rain, and Eleven was soaked to the bone and shivering, which was due to both the frigid rain and the fear coursing through his veins.
"Dustin, if you want to be a baby, then, go home already!" A voice shouted over the rain.
"I'm just being realistic, Lucas!"
Eleven peaked between the threes and saw three young boys with their hoods up, walking through the rain with flashlights.
"No, you're just being a big sissy."
"Did you ever think that will went missing because he ran into something bad? And we're going in the exact same direction as where he was last seen? And we have no weapons or anything?"
"Dustin, shut up," the remaining one-the one who hadn't spoken- said, listening intently.
"I'm just saying. Does that seem smart to you?"
"Dustin, shut up," he repeated.
He'd heard Eleven's footsteps. Eleven had to get out of here.
Eleven ran, his feet crashing over the fallen leaves.
The boys whipped around, shining their flashlights in the exact place Eleven had been moments before.
Eleven continued to race around them, his feet thundering against the ground.
The boys whirled around, their flashlights shining upon Eleven, who froze like a deer caught in a headlight.
He'd been caught.