Chapter Forty-Six
Ten Years Earlier
Veronica sat at the table toward the back of the playroom as the other children played and talked amongst themselves. She sat with a coloring book placed down in front of her, broken crayons littered across the pristine white table, but her eyes were focused on something else. Looking up and watching as the red light on the camera blinked in rhythm, the sign that even though they were alone, someone was watching.
Papa was always watching.
It has been a little over two years since Veronica was brought to the lab by Dr. Brenner after her assumed father allowed her kidnapping. Because he was afraid of the little girl that was doing unexplainable things, but also, a little girl that was never his.
The number of tests and trials that she'd had to be put through were weighing down on her small body. Her mind was haunted with nightmares; and screams of those that Dr. Brenner told her to hurt.
"What are you doing over here all alone?" a soft, almost musical, voice spoke to her.
Veronica's moon-like eyes moved away from the blinking light and toward the source of the voice. A tall, slender, blonde-haired man stared down at her. His blue eyes were so clear that they nearly looked crystal. The smile on his face spread wide as he looked down at her. The white clinical uniform he wore indicated immediately to Veronica that he was someone who worked within the lab.
"Don't you want to go and play with the other children?" He asked.
"None of the other children like me," Veronica spoke, her voice low and meek, the gentleman nearly missed what she said. Wouldn't even know she was speaking if he hadn't seen her lips move.
"Don't like you?" He spoke with concern, "That's not nice."
He moved to kneel in front of her so they were more at eye level.
"Could I maybe sit with you?" He asked.
Veronica didn't speak, just nodded her head slightly, before looking back down at the coloring book she had abandoned earlier.
"My name is Henry, what is your name?" He asked, keeping his eyes focused on her as she picked up a broken crayon.
"Seven." She replied, not looking toward him.
"Seven," He repeated, almost to himself, "Well Seven, I think you and I are going to be great friends."
"Promise?" Veronica asked, looking up at him once more.
Henry's smile widened further than before, "I promise. I will always be with you, Seven."
Steve felt a panic start to settle in his chest as he stared down at Veronica, moving his arm beneath her knees so he was holding her properly. Her head rolled slightly till it rested on his shoulder with her face nuzzled slightly into his neck.
"We have to get out of here," Steve spoke, not moving his eyes away from Veronica's face.
"How exactly are we going to walk out of here?" Dustin asked, "Not only do we still have our Russian friends out there looking for us, but we're not exactly going to slip out of her unnoticed with Veronica passed out in your arms."
"Well, we're going to have to try," Steve spoke, stress evident in the tone of his voice.
"I'm still standing here wondering what the fuck is going on," Robin rushed out, reaching to run her fingers through her hair.
"You want the quick summary?" Dustin asked, not waiting for an answer, before speaking quickly "Veronica has superpowers. She's able to move things with her mind, feel people's emotions and other things, and finally – able to teleport. But she doesn't like doing that because it hurts. If she uses her powers too much, they drain her, which causes her to pass out."
The quicker Dustin talked the more Robin's eyes seemed to widen with surprise as she stared down at him.
"My best friend has superpowers?" Robin whispered, her emotions playing out visibly on her freckled face.
"Yes, she does." Steve answered, "We can really go over and digest this a little deeper, but we have more important things to worry about."
Erica was the first to move toward the door, peeking out, and seeing the front lobby of the movie theater filling as people exit out of the theaters. She opened the door wider and waved her hand forward to the others before stepping out. Dustin, Robin, and then Steve with Veronica followed behind her, moving quickly to blend in with the crowds that were filing toward the main entrance out of the mall.
"Head toward the bus stop, we'll take it back to Hawkins, and try to find Hopper," Steve spoke softly, just loud enough for the three others to hear him, but no one else.
The three of them nodded their heads as they walked in front of Steve. But as they moved closer to the main entrance, others around them began to slow down. Steve looked around confused for a moment till he heard a soft curse coming from Dustin. The younger teen stopped in his tracks, his brown eyes focused on the main doors, where two men in black were stopping people before allowing them to continue forward. They were the same two men who came through the gate when they were at the back of the mall.
"Well, that's going to make it a little difficult to get back home," Robin spoke with a nervous chuckle.
"Head back, now" Steve spoke with a stern tone, before turning to head back toward the bathroom.
But, as if the man could feel their gaze, he turned his head in the direction of their retreating forms. Dustin's eyes widened as their eyes connected for a moment. A look of recognition came down his face, before speaking to his partner.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Dustin nearly shouted with panic.
Steve looked over his shoulder and saw the two men dressed in black pushing through the crowd and headed right toward them.
"You! Stop!" One of them spoke, his Russian accent thick with his words.
Everyone broke off into a sprint, Steve pushing everyone in front of him, before adjusting his hold on Veronica. Robin led the group as they headed toward the escalator. She hesitated for a moment since they were roped off, but she only hesitated a moment before sliding down the gap between the two sets. One by one they followed, till Steve was the last with a still unconscious Veronica in his lap. Steve stopped only for a moment to look back before throwing Veronica into his arms. The food court was vacant and empty as the four of them ran across the tiled floors. Robin was at the front and quickly climbed over the counter of the hot dog stand. Dustin and Erica followed soon after. Steve moved to set Veronica on the counter, before hoping over himself, and carefully carrying her down. He gently placed her into his lap and relaxed against the cool metal of the counter behind him.
The concession was a dart, hiding them out of view of the two Russians. But deep down Steve knew it wasn't an ideal spot. If anything it left them trapped. Beside him, Robin sat pressed tightly with her legs hugged against her chest. Dustin and Eric doing the same. The sounds of voices from above near the theater soon faded away before silence fell over the mall.
"Oh my god, oh my god," Robin whispered with her eyes closed tightly shut. "I can't believe this. We're dead. We're so dead."
"We aren't dead, not yet," Steve whispered back, before turning his attention back to Veronica.
Her face was serene as she lay in his arms. Which was the complete opposite of how Steve was feeling at the moment. In his mind, he begged and pleaded for her to open her eyes. Steve wished for nothing more than for his silent words to reach her, so he knew that she was ok. His hand caressed against her cheek as he stared down at her.
"It'd be really cool if she'd wake up right now. Could use a little superhero action to get us out of this." Erica whispered from beside Dustin.
"Her using her powers is exactly why she's not conscious right now." Steve shook his head.
"We wouldn't have gotten you out of there without her. It's a miracle really that she knew exactly where we were." Dustin shook his head.
"Come on, baby. Come on." Steve whispered into her ear, his pleading causing his voice to crack slightly. "Need you to open your eyes for me."
Everyone else beside him fell quiet again. It wasn't long till the sound of footsteps echoing through the empty mall could be heard, along with unknown words spoken in Russian, and a walkie system. Steve's stomach filled with dread, and he felt his body freeze for a moment. The sounds of the footsteps were at least down on the first floor where they were hiding. He couldn't understand what was being said, but he had a feeling it was about finding them, and god only knows what else. Steve's grip on Veronica tightened as he held her closer against his frame. He wondered if she were awake right now would she be able to feel his heart beating wildly against his chest.
It was silent again, for the most part, with footsteps echoing through the mall as they seemed to move closer.
Veronica moaned softly and began to shift in Steve's arms, but her eyes weren't opening. In a panic, he pressed her face into the crook of his neck, hoping to muffle her sounds.
But it was too late, one of the Russians was close enough to hear the noise, and his attention pulled toward the hot dog stand. A soft murmuring of words could be heard till one by one the footsteps sounded closer and closer.
Everyone seemed to freeze at the same time.
All coming to the same conclusion.
They were found.
Robin reached over and grasped one of Steve's hands, needing a little bit of comfort in the moment before her gaze moved over to him. He was sure the same panicked look on Robin's face was reflecting in his own. As the feeling of the end began to loom over the five of them the sudden sound of a loud alarm began to echo through the mall. The sudden shock of noise caused them all to jump slightly and gasp. It took a few seconds for them to recognize the noise – it was a car alarm.
"What the hell?" Steve muttered softly to himself.
The sound and sudden chaos shocked the Russians as well. The three of them turned quickly toward the car that was parked off to the left side of the food court. It was a brand-new convertible that was parked to draw people in for a contest Starcourt was holding.
But there was no one around the vehicle yet the alarm continued to sound with the lights of the car turning on and off.
As quickly as the sound started, it shifted, with the car suddenly being lifted from the floor. The three men stood there with wide eyes as they watched the car begin to levitate. But neither of them had a moment to react, move, or even breathe. The car suddenly came flying at them with enormous force and speed. It slammed against their bodies as it flew across to the other side of the food court. Knocking over and breaking chairs and tables alike. The convertible slammed against another concession counter with a loud bang, the alarm system dying out, with smoking slowly billowing into the air.
Dustin was the first to move to turn and slowly peek up to look over the counter. What he saw before him was the destruction of the food court, debris scattered across the tiled floor of the mall, with the three bodies of the Russians lying on the floor. It was obvious they were dead with pools of blood slowly forming beneath their corpses. From beside him, one by one, the others stood beside him. Steve shifted to gently lay Veronica against the counter before he stood.
No one knew what to say as they stood there in amazement.
Movement and the soft sound of footsteps at a distance caught Dustin's attention enough to draw his eye to the second story balcony of Starcourt.
El, Mike, Max, Lucas, and the others all stood there with a look of relief on their faces. Dustin couldn't stop the smile that spread across his lips.
"Thank fucking god!" He shouted, before nearly throwing himself across the counter.
Erica followed close behind before Robin and Steve did the same, Veronica, once again in Steve's arms. He followed close behind as the others rushed to meet with the rest of the group.
"You threw that car like a damn hot wheels!" Dustin laughed when El came into view.
She looked tired and weak with her arm thrown over Mike's. Mike's arm wrapped around her waist as he helped her walk. Dustin didn't hesitate to nearly fling himself into El and Mike's arms.
"Lucas!?" Erica nearly shouted the moment she saw her older brother.
"Erica? What the hell are you doing here?" He asked, with a clear mask of confusion coming across his face.
"Ask them," She spoke while pointing her finger over her shoulder in the direction of Robin and Steve. "They made me do it."
"Oh yeah. Totally true." Steve spoke coming up behind them, rolling his eyes slightly. "It's absolutely our fault."
"Can someone explain to me what the hell just happened to that car!?" Robin spoke.
"El has superpowers, like Veronica," Dustin explained simply, pointing toward the younger girl with short brown hair. "They are sisters…sort of…but like not actually related."
"What?" Robin's eyebrows shot up toward her hair.
"Come on, Robin, keep up. We've already given you a summary of everything going on." Steve shook his head.
The mention of her name caused El to notice fully that Veronica was in Steve's arms. Her brows pinched together with concern as she slowly shifted to look around Dustin.
"W-What happened?" El spoke, her voice soft, and her eyes moving to Steve to know the question was directed at him.
His lips pressed together tightly, causing a slight pain from the split in his lip, before answering. "She passed out. Might be from using her powers too much."
"When?" She asked, "How long."
Steve looked at Robin for a moment, before looking back to El. "Thirty minutes, maybe more? I-I don't really know."
"Thirty minutes?" Nancy asked, "That would've been around the time the Mindflayer attacked at the cabin."
"Mindflayer!?" Dustin asked.
"We have a lot to catch you up on dude," Lucas clarified.
"Yeah, I have the same."
As the others began to bicker and talk with their words overlapping one another, Eleven walked closer to Steve as he shifted to lay Veronica down on a bench close by. She moved closer to her sister before kneeling beside her. She pressed her hands against each of Veronica's cheeks before closing her eyes and concentrating. Pulling the energy from around her, El searched for her sister, using their connection.
"What is she doing?" Robin whispered as Steve stepped back beside her.
"Searching for Ronnie has to do with their powers, they are connected in a way."
Robin nodded her head as if she understood, but Steve knew she didn't. It was a lot to take in when you first learned of everything that has to do with the Upside Down. Steve remembers how he reacted and how everything seemed unbelievable.
"Do we really think this is a good idea? Veronica isn't the only one that's been overdoing it lately." Mike spoke up.
"Mike, El knows what she's doing, you have to trust her," Nancy said as she crossed her arms at her chest.
The lights around them began to flicker and buzz, a few of them of them becoming brighter, and a few popping. It lasted for only a few passing seconds before it all settled back down. Steve kept his focus solely on Veronica looking for any sign that she was alright. El suddenly pulled her hands away from Veronica's face before sitting back on her legs. A trickle of blood slowly moved down her upper lip with a labored breath causing her chest to rise and fall quickly.
"El?" Mike was the first to speak, taking a small step toward his girlfriend.
El shot up her hand, Mike halting his steps almost instantly, "Wait," El said softly.
Everyone seemed to freeze for a moment and waited for bated breath. The first sign was the slight twitch on Veronica's fingers before her eyes snapped open and a loud gasp passed from her lips. She shot up with a surge of energy before a cough sounded from deep within her lungs. Steve moved forward the moment she shot up, sitting behind her and rubbing a gentle hand across her face.
The group seemed to take a collective deep sigh of relief. It was quickly coming together that everything that was happening was something bigger than they expected. Bigger than they ever dealt with before. And deep down everyone knew that the only ones who could defeat the Mindflayer were Veronica and El. But with each passing second it seemed that this was draining the two of them.
Veronica calmed down and rested back against Steve, closing her eyes for a moment, as she tried to catch her breath.
"Thank you," Veronica panted with her words coming out breathy, reaching for El's hand and grasping it tightly. "Thank you,"
"Ok?" El asked.
"I think I pushed it," Veronica opened her eyes and looked at El.
As she looked at her sister, taking in her appearance, Veronica's frown deepened. "El? What happened?"
"Mindflayer," Mike spoke up stepping up to stand behind her, "He's back."
"What?" Veronica asked, her body seeming to sag with the weight of the situation.
The feeling of dread filled Veronica's stomach before it soon felt like it was tightening around her throat.
"What?" Veronica asked again.
"The Mindflayer is back, we believe when you guys closed the gate a piece of him was still on this side. In our world, locked out of the Upside Down. Well, he's grown stronger and found another host – Billy." Mike explained, "And he's flaying a bunch of people from Hawkins, taking them under his control. And now some human flesh monster is coming after El. Well…all of us really."
Veronica stared up at Mike in shock.
"He wants to take over," El spoke to Veronica. "He's mad because of what we did last time. He said that he'd kill us and everyone we loved."
Veronica shook her head, "We're not going to let him."
El nodded her head and slowly moved to stand up from the floor but winced and let out a small cry. Veronica reached forward and steadied El before she could fall to the floor.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Veronica asked with concern.
El whimpered and reached down to her leg, "My leg, my leg…i-it…hurts…"
Veronica moved so that El was sitting on the bench while everyone else rushed over. She knelt in front of her sister and grabbed at her pant leg, Nancy explaining how they needed to clean up El's leg from the attack at the cabin.
"…he got a hold of her for a moment and left a nasty cut on her calf. We cleaned it up and stitched it as best as we could." Nancy finished.
When Veronica got the pant leg up the wound was exposed for everyone to see. There was gauze wrapped around the wound with fresh blood staining it. She reached to slowly and gently peel it away to see what was underneath. They would look almost like something bit into her, puncture marks of teeth around a large, open, cut. Veronica winced slightly at the sight of it. It was red and angry looking, the skin around it turning a darkened color.
"It's a bite mark," Veronica spoke aloud.
But what caught everyone's attention was the movement that happened beneath the skin causing El to cry out again, gripping tightly to Mike and Max's arms that stood beside her.