Home // A Stranger Things Story

ii

We tracked down the bikes and took the long way back to Mike's house so he could fill me in on everything that had been happening.

"So our friend, Will, is trapped in this alternate dimension called the Upside Down." My breath hitched and my stomach clenched at the sound of those words. They knew, and someone got trapped there. I was vaguely aware of his explanation of why they needed El's help. This is all my fault. I tried to keep calm about it, but it was hard. They can't know what I did. No matter what, they can't know I created that place.

"Seven." I snapped out of my thoughts, swallowing the lump in my throat and turning back to Mike.

"Yeah?" Internally I was screaming, but outwardly I looked as if I didn't have a care in the world. 

"Since we call Eleven El, um, I was thinking we could- we could call you Ev." He suggested, seeming almost shy.

"Ev?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"Um, yeah, Ev. We could say it's short for... Eva or something. I was thinking Sev at first, but it would be hard to explain what that's short for, since earlier-"

"I like it." I interrupted before he could launch into another story. I smiled and looked at my feet as we walked. I've never had a nickname before.

"So what are your powers?" Dustin interjected eagerly. 

I looked up at him with a weird look. No one had ever really seen my abilities as a positive thing, like something to be jealous about. He made it sound like it made me special. "I don't know..." I said quietly. It was such a strange power to have, I didn't know how to describe it. "I guess I can read minds in a way?"

"Holy shit!" He shouted, his voice cracking at the end. "No way!" He mind exploded with new information and random flashes of memories. "What am I thinking now?"

I looked at Mike, who was staring at me curiously. El just stared ahead, trying and failing at covering her exhaustion.

"Well I can't completely read minds, I can see memories." Dustin motioned for me to continue. "Um, I'm still figuring it out but it's more... complicated than El's. Basically I can see people's memories like I'm living in it. I feel what they feel. So it gets really loud sometimes. And more recently, I've been able to.. um.." I racked my brain for the right word, kicking a rock. "Absorb powers." Dustin's wide eyes got even wider, if that's even possible. "So I can move things with my mind and do what El does. Long story short, I have powers involving the human brain." I decided to leave out the small detail that I made a hell dimension by accident. No biggie.

"That's awesome!" Dustin exclaimed. I held back a laugh. "But how come you don't talk like El?" He asked. I raised my eyebrows at him. "I mean, she can say like ten words, tops. But you speak normally."

"Oh. Um, I've kind of been forced inside people's heads my whole life. I spent half my time at the lab inside people's memories, so I taught myself to speak."

"That's so cool." He muttered under his breath. I smiled to myself. I don't trust many people, but I could see that Dustin would do anything for his friends. I could tell that we were going to get along.

As we approached Mike's house, I couldn't help but feel like we were being watched. I searched for suspicious minds, but my head started hurting and my nose bled.

After I had changed into an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants, I sat with Dustin the couch while Mike and El disappeared into the bathroom to clean her off. I would go after her while they figured out what to do next. 

"So you came from the lab, too. Like El?" He asked. I nodded, trying not to think about it. He noticed and changed the subject. "I bet you're hungry, though, right?"