XC
She runs as if she were being chased, even though she knows no one is following her.
No: surely neither Mike nor Will want anything to do with her after what she has done…
When she runs out of air, she chooses to walk aimlessly. And this is how she arrives at a particular park… Perhaps she has unconsciously searched for this place of which she has beautiful memories. After all, Henry had brought her here on her birthday, among so many other activities he had planned during that wonderful day…
Back then, she was just a happy little girl. Happy to be free, to play with other children…
Happy of not having to live in an environment full of violence.
Eleven collapses in the shade of a tree and presses the balls of her hands against her eyes.
Am I unable to escape from that?
She's aware that Angela doesn't compare to Papa or her siblings, but having to deal with her every day is just exhausting. And that exhaustion has led her to feel cornered…
And a cornered animal is capable of anything.
Suddenly, Henry's reasoning becomes transparent to her.
And she hates it: she doesn't want to be like that. She doesn't want to be able to murder a bunch of kids and call it 'the law of the fittest'. She's tried so hard to tame—for lack of a better word—those impulses in him, only to end up discovering that she's the same…
She is plagued by these thoughts when a whimper distracts her. Eleven removes her hands from her face and straightens her neck, attentive. Awkwardly, she gets up. Between the milkshake and the dirt of the park, the original colors of her dress are barely distinguishable, but this does not worry her right now.
Because she hears the faint whimpering again…
She carefully follows the sound until she reaches the children's play area. She feels a small pain in her chest at seeing it empty on a sunny day like this—she supposes it is the result of the entertainment alternatives that Hawkins' new establishments offer. However, she soon focuses back on finding the source of the sound. She thinks it may belong to a lost child.
"Hello…?"
The cries, again, louder, more desperate.
Finally, she finds the cause: under the slide, on the sand, lies a huge cat with long white fur.
"Oh…"
Upon seeing her, the cat meows more insistently.
"What's going on…?"
Then, she notices that there is something… strange on its back. A kind of raw hole, which gives off an extremely unpleasant smell. Obviously, the animal is suffering; she can't leave it to its fate.
Carefully, Eleven kneels next to it and places a hand on its head. The cat trembles under her fingers.
"I'm going to help you, okay? But… don't scratch me…"
The cat's blue eyes shine with—what she hopes is—understanding.
Slowly, she slides her hands and then her arms under the animal so she can lift it up very delicately as she stands up herself. Since it is quite heavy, she presses it against her chest. At her action, the cat hisses and its claws dig into the skin of her chest through the fabric of the dress. Eleven bites her tongue to avoid making any sounds that might scare it. Soon, the animal calms down. She assumes it only reacted that way because of the pain.
However, now that it is only she who is moving—as the feline remains safe in her arms—the pussy closes her eyes and the whimpers stop.
She can only feel a strange rumble, like…
Like a little engine…