She moaned groggily. Her body felt weak yet otherwise unhurt. What had happened? Had she somehow fainted? Slowly, Joanna's recollection returned to her. She recalled fleeing from the diner the day following Benny's murder, seeking refuge at her cousin Eddie's barn hideout, and lastly venturing into the woods. Steve Harrington and a group of near-teenagers had been there, along with Chief Hopper. The rest of her memories seemed more questionable. Had there really been an otherworldly monster chasing after them? Had Eleven really battled against it? Or had that been a fantasy resulting from her mounting exhaustion and the pain of grief and shock from losing Benny? She rolled onto her side with another moan, feeling some loose strands of her mahogany hair tickling her cheek.
"Joanna?" a familiar voice questioned. "Can you hear me?"
The voice was Eddie's, unusually gentle and filled with concern. Following his voice were the sounds of many footsteps tapping against a hard floor, followed by a second voice, this one belonging to Steve Harrington.
"Give her some room guys, Jesus," he scolded quietly.
She opened her eyes and was overwhelmed by a brightly-lit room. As things came into focus, she saw a few basic chairs and another bed across from hers, on which sat Eleven who looked to have recently awoken, still wearing Steve's jacket atop her hospital gown. Eleven gracefully stepped down from her bed and approached Joanna. The other tweens stepped aside, allowing Eleven to reach her. She bent down and gave her a very serious look.
"Hurt?" Eleven questioned, somewhat weakly.
"No," Joanna said, forcing a tired smile onto her thin lips, "I don't believe so."
She slowly sat herself up and Eleven joined her at her side. She offered everyone a look of reassurance.
"Are you all okay?" Joanna asked kindly.
Everyone nodded their heads as a wave of relief washed over them.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"Your guess is as good as ours," Steve chuckled, one hand on his hip and the other running through his tall hair.
Eddie appeared to not be in a jesting mood.
"I'm sure as hell ready to get out of here," he said, his gaze darting about the room.
"Those people saved us in the woods," Mike chimed in confidently. "I doubt they're going to hurt us."
"But why did they bring us here to begin with?" Eddie asked.
"Probably something to do with that freaky monster thing," Max sighed with an eye roll, playing with her fiery red hair.
"Or something to do with her," Eddie snarled, much to everyone's disliking as his eyes fell on Eleven.
"Leave her alone man, she's a kid," Steve retorted.
"I wouldn't be so sure," Eddie hissed back.
"It is a little weird," Lucas said cautiously. "No offense, Eleven, but you do seem to be the common denominator in everything that's happened these last two days."
"Including the monster," Eddie nodded.
"Uh, guys...?" Will said nervously.
He gestured to a large mirror hanging above the bed Eleven had previously been lying on.
"Oh, shit," Dustin uttered, adjusting his trucker hat.
"What?" Steve questioned, brow furrowed.
"Don't the feds use those one-way mirror things when they're interrogating criminals?" Dustin asked.
"You don't think...?" Will stammered.
"I absolutely think," Dustin answered.
"Just in case, let's save our speculations and accusations for later," Steve said, sending a sharp glare in Eddie's direction.
Everyone sat quietly for a time, exchanging uncertain glances back and forth, with Eleven receiving the most. Joanna could see by the downcast expression on her face that it was getting to her. She gave her dried lips a lick and was just opening her mouth to say something to lighten the mood, when suddenly, all were startled by the sound of the door unlocking and opening. The Asian man from the woods stepped in, followed by the thin woman with dark hair and bangs. They respectively bowed their heads to the group.
"You are all correct," the man said with a bit of a scoff. "Yes, we are able to see you from the mirror, but rest assured, it is only so we can monitor your wellbeing. It appears the two young ladies are recovering well."
"Secondly," the woman began, surprisingly with an English accent, "we do believe the events you've suffered are indeed related."
"Most importantly, we mean you no harm," the man said, "in fact our hope is to protect you."
"From what?" Eddie inquired.
"We are still trying to figure that out," he answered.
He bowed his head once more.
"My name is Doctor Ishiro Serizawa, and this is my research partner and friend, Vivienne Graham."
"Despite the circumstances," Vivienne said with a smile revealing some lines on her cheeks, "it is a pleasure to meet you all."
"Now, we want to get you all home," Serizawa assured them, "but we need to speak with the young lady first."
All eyes fell on Eleven who remained quiet. Her thin fingers fidgeted with the sleeves of Steve's jacket. Steve, not entirely confident in their new counterparts, felt a bit of anger rising in his belly.
"Isn't it illegal to question a minor without their parents around or something?" he asked, a bit harshly.
"Depending upon the circumstances, yes," Serizawa replied. "However, we are not seeking to incriminate anyone here. This is not a matter of legality or criminality."
"Then what is it a matter of?" Steve retorted.
"Global security," Vivienne answered sternly.
Steve's breath caught in his throat as a response failed to form. He looked Joanna for backup yet she was equally stunted. Suddenly it seemed any argument they made would pale in comparison to the severity of the situation.
"If you are worried about your young friend," Serizawa said kindly, "then you may come with us while we speak with her, however, doing so will swear you to complete secrecy regarding what you hear."
Steve gulped but tried not to let anyone see. Eleven's gaze told him that she wanted him with her, and he dared not refuse her, both out of pity and fear. He nodded to Serizawa and Vivienne, who gestured for Steve and Eleven to follow them. Alas, the rest of the tweens began moving too.
"You all feel compelled to come?" Serizawa asked.
"We travel in a pack, I guess," Steve answered for them with an eye roll.
"Fine," Serizawa replied. "But you all will be expected to never repeat what you hear tonight."
Not wanting to leave Eleven's side, Joanna opted to go with them and, not wanting to be left alone, Eddie reluctantly went too. They were taken down a long, empty hallway where the sounds of their many footsteps bounced and echoed. Occasionally, a symbol of some kind was etched into the wall, of two triangles facing one another with thick outlines. Eddie, growing increasingly antsy, broke the tension.
"Wh- when you say global security," he stammered, "you didn't mean to say national security, or even local security-"
"No," Vivienne replied sternly, shutting him up at once.
At long last they were brought into a conference room. In the far2 corner of the room stood a tall rolling shelf with a television and a VCR perched on top. Steve and Joanna took seats on either side of Eleven and everyone else filed in. Doctor Serizawa and Vivienne remained standing at the head of the table and appeared more and more serious by the second.
"What is your name?" Serizawa asked as gently as he could.
"Eleven," she replied quietly.
The sleeve of Steve's jacket was pushed up far enough for him to observe the corresponding number tattooed on her arm. Rather than drawing attention, he simply hummed as he pieced things together.
"How did you come to find your friends, Eleven?"
Her wide, brown eyes darted about the room at each face looking back at her. With a small purse of her lips, she returned her gaze to Serizawa.
"The woods," she said, almost in a whisper.
"The same woods you found us in," Mike chimed in "is where we found her."
"And how did you get to be there?"
Eleven drew in a sharp breath, giving pause to everyone in the room. The thought of now learning where she came from was both intriguing and yet scarily heavy. Joanna offered her a brief rub on her back to encourage her, yet the girl remained tense. Steve also stretched his arm to the other side of her chair and nudged her shoulder.
"These people are here to help you," he said reassuringly, "you can tell them the truth."
With a stifled sigh, Eleven nodded her head. Everyone, despite trying not to, leaned in, eyeing her intensely.
"Papa..." she said.
It was as if a wave of disappointment filled the room. The tweens especially had anticipated hearing something a little more sinister, or perhaps something a bit more sensible. To them, her answer meant little. To Serizawa and Vivienne, however, her response meant everything. With a gentle nod, Serizawa reached for a manilla folder sitting at the head of the table. He flipped through some pages before producing a glossy (yet grainy) image of a man with upright hair and a thin, later middle-aged face. Everyone watched as Eleven observed the photo. Her breath seized in her chest for all to see.
"Is that what you call this man?" Serizawa asked as kindly as he could.
Despite being obviously gripped by fear, Eleven nodded in response.
"I see..." Serizawa replied, rubbing his chin.
"What?" Steve questioned, rather displeased. "Can you please tell us what the hell is going on?"
"We can't tell you everything," Vivienne intervened, "because frankly, we don't yet know everything, but we do believe Eleven can help us piece together a few more pieces of the puzzle than what we already have."
"Which are?"
Serizawa licked his lips and drew in a slow, calm breath, which gave everyone, including Steve, pause once more.
"Eleven, you were undoubtedly being hunted by that creature in the woods this evening," he said sadly.
"Wait, what thing was after her?" Dustin asked.
"So were those rogue investigators at Benny's Diner," Lucas added, giving the table a bit of a slap. "See? I knew it was all connected."
"We don't know exactly what it is," Serizawa admitted, "but we know that it and Eleven are both connected to the gentleman in the photo, who we believe is a man by the name of Doctor Martin Brenner. For some time now we've known that he has been working with the Russians on projects - experiments you could say - involving kidnapped and brainwashed children like Eleven."
"Oh my God," Joanna gasped. "Brainwashed? Children? That's sickening."
"Eleven," Vivienne took a delicate step forward. "Do you mind us asking if you have any... abilities?"
"We know she does," Max replied confidently, blue eyes wide.
"She fought off the Demogorgon before you showed up," Dustin added with a smile.
"And my radio," Eddie said suspiciously. "She changed it to some frequency without even touching it. All we could hear on it were some foreign people screaming about blue fire or something."
Serizawa's brow raised slightly in a show of emotion greater than the group had seen yet. Now, he was invested. Still, he composed himself to continue the chain of questioning cohesively. He straightened the cuffs of his tan jacket casually.
"What did Papa have you do with these abilities?"
An uncomfortable staredown took place. Eleven, now somewhat agitated, bore into Serizawa's eyes with an intense frustration, yet he could tell that the feeling was not for him despite being the recipient. Joanna took one of the girl's hands in her own under the table, gently rubbing her thumb across her skin. At long last, Eleven spoke up.
"Open doors," she said.
Eddie and Lucas let out exasperated sighs, with Eddie going to far as to lay his dark-haired head down on the table. Will, Dustin, and Max exchanged glances, as did Joanna and Steve.
"See?" Eddie sighed once more, lifting his head from the table most dramatically. "She's just crazy."
The others were beginning to feel the same until they looked to Serizawa. He leaned in, returning Eleven's intense stare with one of his own.
"Doors to where?" he asked in such a way that the others knew he knew there was more to it.
The corner of Eleven's mouth twitched.
"Pen. Paper."
Curiously, Serizawa gave her a piece of plan paper and a pen from his jacket pocket. Eleven, almost furiously, began scribbling, until an image resembling the company sitting in the room around the table was produced.
"I open doors," she began, "from here..."
She then flipped the paper, almost smacking it against the table.
"... to here."
With that, she scribbled all across the paper, covering it with ink until there was very little white left. All watched in great intrigue, including Eddie.
"Some kind of dark world?" Will inquired.
"Or an upside down version of our world?" Dustin added.
Eleven responded to neither and returned her stare to Serizawa, who surprisingly seemed to be understanding.
"So you opened a door to escape from Papa?" he asked gently.
Eleven nodded.
"And you opened another door and found yourself in the woods?"
She nodded once more.
"The monster must have followed you through it," he said.
He rubbed his thin, black beard and began a slow walk around the table until he reached the television. His dress shoes clacked against the glossy while floor. Meanwhile, everyone heard their own hearts pounding in their ears in suspense. Most found themselves questioning if anything was real and when they would awaken from such a bizarre nightmare. Serizawa's dark eyes flickered to Vivienne, who proceeded to turn off the room lights. Serizawa turned on the television. Its bright light reflected on the faces of the frightened, curious onlookers.
"We know Doctor Brenner and those working for him operate out of numerous facilities," Serizawa began, voice deep and accent thick. "I believe you overheard the destruction of one of those facilities over the radio."
"Destruction?" Steve repeated. "By what?"
Serizawa held his gaze for a moment before pushing a tape into the VCR. It began clicking and whirring before an image of an ocean appeared on the screen. In the center there appeared to be a row of tall, jagged rocks protruding from the water. The water appeared darker, almost shadowy, around the rocks. Before anyone could make sense of it, the screen changed. Before them was now what seemed to be a radar image of some kind. A series of small circles were scattered about, but near the top there was a larger circle. Each blip of the large circle was brighter and louder than the one preceding it. Lastly, a blurry still image, likely taken from a surveillance camera, showed a long stretch of fire, seemingly coming from the sky itself, raining down on a brick building. However, as they studied the image closer, they could see that the fire had a source:
A large mouth, like one they would see on a horror film, was wide open. An enormous, scaled beast could be seen from the darkness of the sky. Its back was lined with large spikes; the jagged rocks seen in the first video. It was both magnificent and hellishly terrifying.
"That," Serizawa said, pointing to the screen, "is a prehistoric being - a titan - who we here at Monarch have been studying and observing for many years now. We believe him to be a fierce protector of nature."
"Protector?" Eddie asked. "That thing is a monster!"
"The king of monsters," Serizawa replied, an almost sinister smile crossing his lips. "We call him Godzilla."
A hush fell over the room as everyone continued to study the frightening image on the screen.
"What," Mike began quietly, clearing his throat, "does this Godzilla thing have to do with Eleven?"
"That is one of the puzzle pieces we do not have yet," Vivienne replied, fliciking the light on, prompting a collective grumble from the group.
"What we do know," Serizawa added, "is that Godzilla has now targeted two facilities affiliated with Doctor Brenner. The reason is still a mystery to us, but whatever it is he and the Russians are doing, it's putting him on the offense."
"But you said he's a protector, right?" Steve asked.
"A protector of nature's order," Serizawa nodded.
He leaned down, planting his large hands on the table. His dark eyes met each member of the group in a look of sincerity.
"Surely, Doctor Brenner and his monsters are looking for Eleven," he said. "While our objective is to continue studying and learning about Godzilla, we will do what we can to help protect you, until we find it what it is Doctor Brenner is doing to anger Godzilla."
"That thing won't come to Port Townsend, will it?" Eddie questioned.
"For the time being, we do not believe so."
"We ask," Vivienne began "that you keep all of this a secret, in exchange for our protection, both from the monsters from the other world and the humans who are after Eleven."
"But what else are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Will asked.
"Carry on as normal," Serizawa responded. "Eleven will remain in Vivienne's care, but for now, enjoy your summer, live as you normally would. Let us carry the burden of handling the rest."
He rose to his full height, straightening his tan jacket once more.
"And report anything unusual to me."