CXXX
Eleven observes the shadow that rises in front of them like a bad omen.
"Henry… What is that?" she manages to ask, a knot in her chest making words difficult.
"That? Oh, it's but the key to reforming the world!" Henry replies with an unsettling fervor.
Like a dream, like a nightmare, indeed, the words come to her mind: "We could reshape the world, remake it however we see fit."
She turns her head sharply toward him.
"You helped me name it." Henry looks not at her, but at the monster in front of them, pride evident in his gaze. "The Mind Flayer, remember?"
Eleven presses a hand against her mouth, her legs shaking. "Henry…" she mumbles through her fingers. "What… is it exactly that you're planning?"
He looks at her then, an expression somewhere between confused and curious on his face, a grimace-like smile curving his lips and a feverish gleam in his eyes. "What do I plan, you ask? Well… What do I not plan, rather." He takes a step towards the creature and extends his hand; like a tamed beast, the being only bends downwards, its limbs doubling over, a clear attitude of submission. "There are no limits to our might with the Mind Flayer on our side.
"But to answer your question," he adds, his hand brushing against the dark particles, "I suppose the first thing will be to take Hawkins."
She gulps, forcing herself to muster the courage to ask: "You're going to… destroy Hawkins?"
"Destroy?" Henry drops his hand, and the creature rises again as it maneuvers its massive body backwards. His eyes search for it as he adds: "I prefer the term 'remake': with your help, we will remake Hawkins at our leisure.
"I've seen it before, even. In a dimension like this one."
Eleven frowns. "What are you…?"
Henry lets out a sigh. "To tell you the truth, I wished to show you this new dimension when you came of age. However, both your insistence and… unforeseen events… have forced my hand."
"Unforeseen events?" Eleven repeats, incredulous.
The line his lips form reveals how reluctant he is to reveal the truth to her.
Still, he does.
"Another Henry?" Speaking the words out loud doesn't make it any easier to digest.
Everything she's heard is… terrifying. On the one bright side, now free of these two monumental secrets, Henry seems to have calmed down again, at least for the moment.
"Correct," he agrees, "although I think you would certainly find it difficult to confuse us from a purely physical point of view.
Eleven takes a deep breath of air: the particles make her cough.
"Hm, it will take you some getting used to," Henry says with a thoughtful expression. "I'm still investigating the feasibility of residing here for extended periods of time without the need to resort to full symbiosis like the other Henry."
The fact that he's even considering it terrifies her: the place is inhospitable, monstrous creatures roam the plains, and…
I feel it watching me, she thinks, noticing how the creature, though eyeless, seems to follow her with its pointed head.
"Can't we just… stay… on the other side?" She doesn't know what to call it, but, by way of explanation, she casts a meaningful glance at the portal they have left behind.
"Oh, we will stay on that side." Eleven can't quite exhale with relief when Henry continues: "The thing is the Mind Flayer is coming with us, and it can only breathe this corrupt air, so to speak." Her expression must betray her disbelief, for Henry adds with an impatient tone, as if it were obvious: "We'll take Hawkins…, no, we'll take the world, Eleven: we need it. Especially when you consider that the other Henry has also created one."
There's a lot to take in here, yet Eleven decides the best strategy is to stick to what's important: "Henry… I don't want to take Hawkins."
Immediately, the expression on his face darkens. "I've given you your freedom and I've given you time, Eleven, but this is the culmination of everything I've prepared for the both of us, of what I've always wanted for us."
"But I don't want this," she replies, shaking her head. "I… I want Max, and my other friends…"
"We can spare them," Henry counters unexpectedly, as if they were discussing plans for a random outing. "We can make room for them in our new world."
'Spare them.' The phrase itself, the tone of voice so free of malice, so casual…
As if they were but cockroaches.
"The first thing we must do, however, is take care of the other Henry," he says, engrossed as he is in his plans.
She can take no more: she takes a step, takes another, and suddenly…
Her fingers sink into the sleeve of Henry's white T-shirt.
"Henry… Please, don't do this."