New Cast:

Michael Keaton - Robert Ives

Rohan Campbell - Joseph (John Ives)

NOTE: Joseph speaks in an Orson Welles impression, sounding older than he actually is. Of course that's how I imagine him sounding, but that's up to you. He also is implied to be bipolar, turning from a pessimist to a cunning man very quickly.

PROLOGUE:

The first episode begins with this quote over a black screen,

"Monsters are tragic beings. They are born too tall, too strong, too heavy. They are not evil by choice. That is their tragedy. They do not attack people because they want to, but because of their size and strength, mankind has no other choice but to defend himself. After several stories such as this, people end up having a kind of affection for the monsters. They end up caring about them."

— Ishiro Honda

PLOT:

(Hawkins - 1986 - Just After Season Four)

The skies of Hawkins are turning blood red. The gang stares at the approaching storm with awe and terror. Everyone is deadly silent. Steve finally breaks the silence by saying, "Look, we have to go."

One half of the gang hoards weapons like crazy. The other half, really just Eleven, is trying to warn the townspeople of the impending danger. This scene is almost out of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. She shouts, "Get off the road!" "Get out of here, they are coming!" "They're in the clouds! They're in the damn clouds!" or even just "Listen to me!", but no one does. She runs through building after building, even running through traffic to try and warn someone, anyone who will listen to her pleas, but it's of no use. She starts stopping traffic in an attempt to get people to listen, but again, it's of no use. The blood red storm is very close now, almost directly above them. She starts calling everyone fools, saying that something horrible is coming, yet still, her cries are unheard.

We cut to black, and the familiar intro plays, this time with an orchestral rendition of the theme with a gigantic choir. A fitting way in my opinion to kick off the final season.

(Sacramento - December 1989)

The old Hawkins gang has moved on with their lives. Mike and Eleven have split up due to Eleven's belief that she keeps putting everyone around her in danger, and that humanity is doomed. The first 5 minutes are dedicated to where they are now. They are planning on what to do about the possible entities that could cross over to their dimension, except for Eleven.

The next few minutes focus specifically on Eleven, who is not doing well mentally. She is suffering from PTSD, paranoia, and has frequent nightmares, (with one of them being Max Mayfield running from her, covering her face. She ends up in Victor Creel's old house, which looks like it's about to collapse. Eleven pleads, "Max please! Let me help you! Max shouts, "STAY BACK! You saw what was going on, you knew something was up with me, I thought we were friends!" She reveals her face, which is hideously deformed. The house collapses with Max in it. "Why couldn't you save me?" Max wailed as she disappeared from sight.) (She also starts hallucinating an alive Martin Brenner showing up on her doorstep, and tormenting her.) She has cut off all contact with her friends. She has severe depression, and has since started drinking heavily, pretty much accepting that the world is going to end. She has recently been prescribed medication which has helped so far.

One day, she drives down an empty street. Another car pulls in front of her. She is now curious. She follows the car. This pursuit goes on for half a minute before the other car stops on the Tower Bridge. She brakes as well. He sees a man get out and walk towards the railing of the bridge. He starts to climb over it. El barrels out of her car and rushes to the man, who lets go, but is stopped midair by El's powers. The man is slowly raised through the air, and eventually laid down on the concrete of the bridge. She takes the man to her car, driving away from the bridge. He has a shaggy beard and mustache, with seemingly homemade clothing.

During the drive, he asks the man where he lives, to which he doesn't reply. This man does not talk much, for he seems to have alogia. Eleven then tries to drive him to the police station, but the car is nearly out of gas. "God damn it.", she mutters. She pulls the car up to a payphone near a gas station. She attempts to call someone, but the phone somehow collapses in on itself, tearing up her hand, making her howl in pain. She looks to the man, who is running off into the woods. She pursues him on foot, running after him. This man seems to be acquainted with the world around him, using rocks and tree branches to try and slow her down, but no cigar. We hear an all too familiar loud growl in the bushes. He stops her, pulling out an old 10 inch knife, possibly a repurposed M1 Garand Bayonet. He slowly approaches the bush, knife at ready. Suddenly, a DEMOGORGON leaps out, nearly tackling the man. He dodges the ambush. They are in a standoff. The man shouts to Eleven, "Run! Get to the car!" She only backs up slightly. The standoff between man and beast lasts for what seems like forever, before the creature finally leaps on the man, who kicks it in the ribs, knocking it to the ground, its belly facing upwards. The beast then attempts to get up, charging the man, who disembowels it with one elegant swipe of his knife. It's a seemingly impossible move. The creature goes limp, finally dead. He looks to Eleven, who is awe struck by what she witnessed. He sheaths his blade, before attempting to run again, only to collapse from exhaustion. She then realizes that this man has clothes seemingly made from Demogorgon hide and a hospital gown.

We cut to Eleven's house, where the man wakes up, tied to a chair. She notices scars all over his wrists and neck. She starts asking questions about why he attempted to kill himself, and why he ran off into the woods. He notices her number tattoo on her left wrist, and after much hesitation, the man pulls up his sleeve, revealing a scarred number underneath on his right wrist which reads, 014. This makes Eleven's eyes widen. She walks over to a phone, at first to call the police, but worrying the police wouldn't believe her, decides to call her old friends due to the fact that the man is one of the Hawkins Lab experiments. He says to her, "You shouldn't have brought me here." El responds, "Why?" The man replies with seemingly no emotion, "You are luring the bad men to us. They will hurt us. You know that, right?" El responds, "The bad men are dead. They can't hurt us anymore." He asks, "Are you sure?" El replies, "I'm positive." He asks, "You have the face of someone who has seen a beast like that before. Have you ever seen one like the one I killed?" El replies, "Yes, I have encountered many. We called them Demogorgons." Joseph responds, "Demogorgons? I personally never gave this beast a name, yet I wear their brethren as clothing. You wouldn't believe how cold it gets out in the woods during winter. They make great coats." El replies, "As a matter of fact I do know how cold it gets." He responds with a bit of a chuckle, "Well then, I stand corrected." El continues, "Sometimes it snowed." The man curiously asks, "Where did this happen?" El replies, "Hawkins, Indiana." The man replies, "Ah yes, I remember those days." El curiously asks, "If you were there, how did you get here? How'd you… you shouldn't be able to drive a car." He replies, "Was I not doing well a while ago?" El is shocked a bit. 'How did this man learn to drive? Maybe someone around here gave him lessons? Does it really matter? Ah, who cares?', she thinks to herself.

End of Chapter 1