CXXXII

Throughout that day and night, Eleven sobs in Max's arms. By the third crying fit, Max finally understands that Eleven doesn't want to share anything more beyond the fact that, indeed, the root of the problem concerns Henry.

So Max does her best, trying to comfort her a little and distract her somewhat.

However, by the evening of the following day, Eleven realizes she can no longer avoid the inevitable.

Consequently, she wipes away her tears, washes her face, and thanks her friend.

"Are you sure you want to go back home like this?" Max asks, her lack of tact almost endearing after nearly two years of friendship.

"I have to," Eleven replies, giving her friend a farewell hug. "Thanks for everything."

"Don't mention it."

She doesn't want to go home, but, as she told Max, she has to. So, she drags her feet the entire way, delaying a situation she doesn't know how to handle.

Nevertheless, Hawkins is small, and inevitably she arrives home just an hour later.

"I'm here," she announces in a faint voice, turning on the light. Maybe Henry has gone out…?

And that's when she notices the catastrophe the living room has become.

She doesn't know what to think: has someone attacked Henry? The other Henry? It must be him, it must…

She runs upstairs as fast as she can, repeating the name of someone she fled from a day before, over and over: "Henry, Henry, Henry…!"

The portal in the attic is no more. Her heart sinks.

Then, she hears a loud "meow!" behind her.

She instantly turns: Poe has followed her after hearing her voice. She allows at least a part of herself to feel relief as she rushes to hug her cat. She scoops him up like a baby. "Poe, you're okay… You're okay, you're…" she repeats, tears blurring her vision. "What happened here? Where is…?"

And then, looking into the cat's bright blue eyes, she has an idea.

"Poe," she murmurs, "can you show me… what you've seen?"

"It's curious that you chose to live back in your old family home, Henry," Brenner remarks casually as his men tie him to a chair very similar to the one that haunts his worst memories. "Does your choice relate to your feelings of inadequacy?"

Henry feels an overwhelming rage take over him, but he only clenches his fists and lifts his chin as high as he can, defiant.

"Honestly, I didn't expect to find you there," the scientist comments almost to himself, his palms gesturing calmly, one leg crossed over the other. "I didn't expect to find you in Hawkins, to be honest."

"I didn't think you were still alive," Henry mutters.

"Obviously," Brenner agrees, clearly unaffected by his attempt at intimidation. "That's the only explanation for what you did to that young girl, Angela."

Henry's eyes widen. "Angela?"

Brenner gives a weary smile. "After Ten saved me, I admit I wasn't astute enough to consider that you hadn't gone far." He pauses. "Or, perhaps, I thought you were clever enough not to stay close."

If only he could access his powers… Oh, how he would enjoy dismembering him slowly.

"Imagine my surprise," Brenner continues, oblivious to his thoughts, "when a colleague informed me of a family whose daughter had destroyed their home for no apparent reason. 'As if she had been possessed,' in the parents' words." Since he remains silent, Brenner says it plainly: "A bit different from your modus operandi, true, but that unmistakable viciousness of yours left me no doubt."

"And now you have me at your disposal," Henry says reluctantly. "I wonder what sordid plans you have now."

"Hm, I have several ideas," Brenner replies, "but you should know, Henry, that it's not you I want."

For the first time in a long while, Henry feels genuine terror at his words. He locks eyes with the man before him, every muscle tense. "Eleven? That girl is useless," he lies.

Brenner lets out a soft laugh. "Oh, you and I both know that's not true, Henry. You saw it too, all those years ago." Brenner stands and runs a hand over one of the white tiles, his gaze distant as if he could see beyond the walls of the room they're in. "Even though you destroyed everything else, these very walls witnessed it…

"Eleven has been, from the beginning, my most successful experiment."

Eleven enters Poe's mind carefully, gently searching through his recent memories as one might prune a delicate plant. Since a cat's memory isn't as detailed as a human's, all she sees are fragmented flashes.

Poe dozing in Henry's room, disturbed by annoying noises that wake him every so often.

Poe hearing a loud crash and darting away upon seeing Henry tearing through the hallway leading to their rooms.

Poe hiding under his bed.

…

Henry lying on the ground, immobilized.

…

Papa's smile just before the punishment.