CLII
Two years, six months, and six days after Henry's disappearance
All that remains of the Hawkins National Laboratory are the ruins of its foundations. The place where she and Henry had spent all those years locked up, being manipulated and suffering experiment after experiment to feed the delusions of a narcissist, is now nothing more than rubble, yet another mystery covered up by the government.
Her father must know the kind of thoughts that trouble her, as he places his hand on her left shoulder and slightly crouches to murmur in her ear: "Hey. You're doing a really good thing today."
She looks at him and sees nothing but genuine affection in his eyes. This brings a smile to her face.
"Ready, sweetheart?" her mother asks then, standing to her right with a weapon in hand. "We'll be with you every step of the way."
Before responding, Eleven takes a moment to glance back: a few steps away, Jonathan, Nancy, and Robin, dressed in various outfits (either black or with military camouflage patterns), anxiously watch her. They know her role in all of this, but they've never seen her in action.
Eleven hopes they won't think poorly of her after today.
She takes a deep breath and finally turns her gaze back to her mother, determination clear on her face. "I am."
Opening the portal is incredibly simple, almost laughable: just a snap of her fingers, and there it is, the ominous door connecting to the other dimension. She hears muffled murmurs behind her—in them she detects mostly awe. Well, it's better than being feared by them.
"Remember," her father orders, adopting a defensive stance, a revolver firmly gripped in both of his hands and pointing forward, toward the hypnotic spectral red that seems to invite them into a trap, "our mission is solely to recover Steve Harrington. Once we locate our target, we will retreat. Also, we must assume the enemy already knows we're coming. Don't rush it, and stick together."
"Understood," everyone murmurs in response as they get into position: Jonathan and Joyce with revolvers, Nancy with a pistol, and Robin—who's holding a bottle of whiskey—taking her place behind Joyce.
Eleven's place is at the rear, next to Robin, from where she hopes to respond adequately to any attacks and look out for the others' safety.
Eleven remembers the world Henry once showed her: a barren, hostile place, full of unstable rocks and covered by thick black clouds. However, she also notices a fundamental difference between the place Henry showed her and this one.
"There are no monsters here," she murmurs solemnly.
"That's good, right?" Since no one backs up Robin's words, the girl looks for the gazes of her companions, anxious. "Isn't it?"
It's Hopper who answers her: "Way too good to not be a trap. Let's move."
"Shit," Robin mutters, quickening her pace and sticking closer to Joyce.
The relief doesn't last long after leaving the plains where they all felt incredibly exposed.
After all, finding a secret dimension with a distorted and destroyed Hawkins is not a common occurrence. Not to mention the black clouds that have been swelling more and more until they've become furious storm clouds.
"Could Steve be at his house?" Robin asks.
"It would be too obvious," Nancy replies dryly without taking her eyes off the nearest houses.
"I don't know this 'other' Henry (or the original, to be honest), but if he went through the trouble of creating a fake Hawkins, wouldn't it make sense that he'd play dollhouse with it? What better place to put a doll than in his own home?" she insists.
Everyone falls silent for a moment.
"That makes sense," says Joyce finally, grimacing as she passes too close to a thick vine.
"We don't have any other leads… I say we try it," Jonathan suggests with a hint of shyness.
"Alright," Hopper agrees, gesturing with his left palm toward that direction.
The direction—Eleven supposes—where Steve's house should be.