lost love

chapter 80

-march 24th 1986-

-reader's pov-

the sun sizzled through the car's thin windows, the same almost unbearable heat hung about in the air. the vehicle bustled and jolted up and down as it sped through the desert, no longer on a road.

my head was snuggly resting upon el's shoulder and I clutched onto her arm. her head lay upon my own head and light snores blew in and out of my lungs. I was peacefully sleeping with owens and el talking in the background, el who was now awake but still remained quiet and unmoving so she didn't wake me.

- - - - -

"y/n? y/n? hello? wake up!" a voice echoed in my ears, stirring me awake from my long sleep.

"huh? wha- what's going on?" my eyes slowly fluttered open and began to search my surroundings. the fuck was I doing in a desert- oh yeah.

"we're here." el informed me as she stood back, giving me room to exit the car.

I sleepily clambered out, stretching my back the second I left. I heard almost every bone in my body click, jeez, how long was I sleeping??

"you were out for a solid eighteen hours, y/n." owens told me with a chuckle. my eyebrows shot up in surprise, for real??

with that, the three of us began to trek towards a strangely-placed grey shack. the car that transported us turned around and drove away almost instantly.

owens tapped at a keypad on the odd shack and the very next second, the door unlocked with a beep and owens pulled it open.

he gestured for el and I to go first, and we did, el taking lead as we cautiously stalked down the creaky, metallic stairs. our footsteps echoed and rang, owens now following us after closing the door.

we all continued to walk down until we reached an old elevator. it looked like one of those extremely unsafe ones that you'd find in an underground mine.

"okay, here we go." owens announced now that the door had opened. we all headed inside, and owens pressed a button after shutting the shaft door.

I noticed el take a deep, fearful breath beside me, I took her hand in mine and gave it an assuring squeeze. "it's gonna be alright, okay?" I whispered to her and she gave me a nod, holding my hand even tighter.

"you didn't really think we were working out of a shed, did you?" owens rhetorically quizzed as the elevator began to buffer down.

once it had finished it's short journey deep into the ground, el and I stepped out and gazed around. the walls were metallic and dirty, the whole place had an unnerving feel to it. the oxygen down here was weak and thin, I didn't struggle to breathe but the fact it was a little hard to do so wasn't very pleasant. eery squeaking noises came from the pipes and male guards were positioned at every corner. they all stared at us with uneasy and concerned faces. sick of the revolted looks they were shooting at us, I jumped out at one of them as a joke. he stumbled back in shock, aiming his gun at me. okay so, these guys were serious.

"chill, man," I said to him, holding my arms up in innocence, "just playing with you, honestly."

the man returned to his position, seeming attacked and annoyed. I gave him a smug look before catching up with el and owens.

"-there's no bomb here at all." owens told el, he was mid-conversation, "it's just a big old empty space. so we repurposed it to hold something much more powerful than a missile. you two."

me?? I was more powerful than a missile?? I could understand el being more powerful than a missile but me too? they seriously thought I was better than a missile?-

"-anne, tracy, morning." owens greeted a line of scientists.

"morning, do-" they all replied but paused as their eyes fell upon el and I.

"you'll have to forgive the staring." owens apologised to us, "you guys are practically celebrities down here."

"celebrities?" I repeated, my eyebrows creasing, I liked the sound of that.

"mhm, y-you guys are bigger than madonna to them." owens grinned causing el and I to share a shocked look. he then continued, "they've all given up their lives, their jobs, their families to come work on this program. 'cause they believe in the cause, they believe in you."

the heavy door ahead then opened with a buzz. owens guided us both through and we were met with this huge, metal tank. it looked like something you'd find in star wars, the carbonite-freezer for example.

"we call her nina." owens announced as I watched all of the scientists ponder about, doing their assigned jobs. some of them were sat at computers, some of them waddled about sorting out buttons and switches. there were even guards in here, they stood around the room, armed with firearms and angered faces. I didn't plan on messing with one of them again.

"what is it?" el pondered, readjusting her grip on my hand.

"if we told you, it would ruin the surprise." a cold, cruel voice I could recognise from anywhere replied. it was the one and only dr martin brenner. the very man who put el through all of this trauma when she was just a child. the very man who intended to do the same to me. this man killed my biological parents and I was ready, oh I was so ready, to kill him too.

el's face filled with pure fear in an instant, her eyes shot up to meet the person she despised the most in her life. the person she believed was dead but here he was, standing right before her very eyes. but- she watched him get killed? he was ripped apart by the demogorgon almost 3 years ago.. how??

"hello, eleven." he said, his voice sounding evil as always, "and of course, the infamous, thirteen."