Stranger Things: Mike x OC

V1 S4 E7 - The Massacre At Hawkins Lab

Only a few hours later, Papa had Eleven and I go into two separate rooms. In the room, I had to put the machine on my head that would read my brain waves and there was an empty coke can placed in front of me. "Begin." Came Papa's voice from a speaker in the room. I took a deep breath and began to focus on the can. I focused on it for a few seconds, but nothing was happening. I was beginning to shake and I was starting to get upset. Then, flashes of what I saw the first time I went back into my memories went through my head. Dead kids on the floor, their limbs twisted at odd angles, and blood everywhere. 

I tried to focus on the can and forget about those memories, but they kept coming back to me. Eventually, I gave one last attempt before letting out a breath and breaking my concentration, the can of coke remaining the same as when I started. 

After a few more times of trying, Papa came in and told me to stop. He sent Eleven to her room and brought me to mine. Once inside, I sat down on my bed while Papa stood in front of me. "The truth is, you're regressing, Thirteen, and so is Eleven." He told me. I put my head down, my lip quivering. The last thing I wanted to do was go backwards. It meant that it would take longer for me to get to my friends and help them. "Thirteen, look at me." Papa told me. I continued looking down, not wanting to see the disappointment in his eyes. Papa walked over and sat down next to me. "Look at me." He said, softly. I looked up, blinking away tears, before looking over at him. "I know you're frightened. You're terribly frightened by what you've seen. But it's this very fear that's now holding you back. If you want Nina to succeed, you cannot hide from the truth, no matter how frightening it may be." Flashes of what happened went through my mind again. Tears gathered as I saw it all over again. 

"I saw what I did." I said, taking a breath. "I'm a monster." I told him, looking down at the ground as tears left my eyes. 

"You speak of monsters, superheroes. That's the stuff of myth and fairy tales. Reality, truth, is rarely so simple. People are not so easily defined. Only by facing ourselves, the good and the bad, can we become whole." Papa told me. I shook my head as more tears fell from my eyes. I hated myself for what I had done. I hated myself for leaving Eleven. I hated myself for lying to my family for years. I hated myself for so many things...things I never wanted to think about again. 

"What if I don't wanna become whole?" I asked, looking back up at Papa. 

"Then that is a choice. Your choice. The door is always open. This place is not a prison. This is." He said, putting his hand on my forehead as I closed my eyes. He then removed his hand and I looked back at him. "You chose to trust me once. I'm asking you to trust me again. Journey with me into the past one last time. Stop hiding, Thirteen." He told me. I looked back over at my suit I wore in Nina. If I wasn't going to do this for myself, I was going to do it for my friends who were all in danger. I would do it for the ones I loved. I was going to do this for Dustin, I was going to do this for Lucas, I was going to do this for Max, for Steve, for Robin, for Nancy, for Erica, for Mike, for my mom, and Jonathan. I was going to do this for Will and even, Eleven. 

I took a few deep breaths and nodded. Papa put a hand on my shoulder, a small bit of understanding forming between us. 

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Not too long after, I found myself laying inside of my Nina tank. Eleven in hers. I was looking up and watching the t.v. screens replaying past footage of the lab, trying to get back into an old memory. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I felt myself slipping away. 

When I opened my eyes, I was in my old bedroom at the lab. I looked around. The room was exactly the same as I had left it. I was about to get up, but sharp pain from my ribs sat me back down. Moments later, I heard a knock on the door. Papa walked in and came up to me, holding a small light. He grabbed a chair and placed it in front of me before he sat down on it. "Try your best not to blink." He told me, turning on the light and shining it in my eyes. I did what he said, sure little me had, had a conversation before all of this had started. He moved the light from my right eye to my left. When he finished looking, he turned the light off and put it in his lap. "Any more headaches? Nausea this morning?" I shook my head. "How about your memory? Can you remember what happened now?" I shook my head again, remembering that I had been too afraid to tell him. "Perhaps someone else can help fill in the gaps. Yes?" I just looked at Papa. "First, we need Eleven." He told me. I then slowly got up, trying to cover up the fact that it pained me. However, the look on Papa's face told me he knew what I was doing.