0 0 1 ━ [ 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯 ]

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟶: 𝙳𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚜 & 𝙳𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚜 & 𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑

"What's wrong?" Seven asked as he watched from behind her.

"I think I just need some rest." One tried to answer with a level tone but her confidence wavered beneath. Something deep down told her that rest wasn't the issue. "We should check out the house and see if there's anywhere to sleep or anything to eat."

"Okay..." Seven reluctantly agreed, following a few feet behind One as she led the way. He picked up the pace when another eerie screech ricocheted through the dead air.

Once they reached the house something large and shadowy stepped out from a thicket of trees one hundred yards away. They didn't know it, but they weren't alone.

A week of relative peace had passed since the incident with the time-travelling portal. One spent most of her time at the Byers' house, but would venture over to Mike's when school let out to hang out with the party.

The bulk of the party's discussions had initially been geared towards the revelation that Dr. Brenner was coming back and what they could do to stop him, but after nothing further happened the topic started to become taken over by more mundane matters such as school, annoying siblings, and D&D.

On this particular day, they had decided to reignite their old campaign that they had started with Eleven and Max and add One. One had a hard time grasping the concept of the game, or the point of even playing, but played along to appease her friends. Her mind had been flooded with anxiety lately and this was a good distraction.

"What's your move, One?" Mike asked, acting as the Dungeon Master. Their characters were in the middle of a dark maze of trees and just crossed the path of a goblin who required a riddle to pass by.

"Oh, um..." One responded, having been caught up in a daydream and not paying attention. Her cheeks blushed when she realized that Steve had been a central component of the daydream. "I answer the riddle?"

"The more you take, the more you leave behind," Mike said in the raspy voice of the goblin. "What am I?"

One thought for a long moment before giving up. "Nevermind, I'm just going to kill it." Before her party could object she threw the twenty-sided die. It skidded across the table and landed with 18 face-up. Mike repeated the action for the goblin and the party watched with bated breaths as he rolled a 6.

"You've successfully killed the goblin," Mike said before dramatically pausing. "But wait, a rumbling begins to shake the ground. A 15-foot tall stone wall emerges from below, permanently sealing off the path! The keeper of the maze is angered by your attempt to cheat."

Lucas, Will, and Dustin all erupted into a fit of groans and profanity at their misfortune. "It was footsteps, the answer was footsteps!" Dustin exclaimed angrily. One offered a sheepish glance in apology, and while they continued to grumble they eventually dropped it.

After literally coming to a fork in the road, the party decided to pause the campaign to restrategize at a later date. They instead turned their attention to the future; particularly One's future.

"Are you going to stay in Hawkins?" Max asked curiously. "You know, after the whole Dr. Evil thing boils over?"

"I don't know where else to go," One replied, leaving her answer at that.

"Don't you want to try to find your family?" Mike asked. One took a while to answer.

"Even if I could remember them, I'm not sure that they'd want me back," One answered sullenly. Her eyes stuck to the ground in an attempt to hide the tears that were starting to form.

"Why do you say that?"

"Papa told me that they gave me up to the Lab when they discovered I had powers," One said. "That they didn't want a freak for a daughter."

"Papa was a liar!" Eleven burst out unexpectedly.

"Maybe, maybe not," One said. "Either way, I'm too scared to find out."

"Well, we're your family and we like you," Will offered, giving One a slight smile that she couldn't help but return. That was one thing she couldn't deny; she had found a family in Hawkins. Not only in her Lab sister, Eleven, or the Byers', who housed and fed her, but in everyone sitting before her as well.

Eleven came over to sit by One, putting an arm around her and resting her chin on her shoulder. One leaned her head to rest against Eleven's, shutting her eyes and taking in the moment. The fourteen years of trauma, abuse, and running seemed to melt away whenever Eleven was near. She had only felt that way around one other person...

Seven.

She was still unsure of whether he actually had been the one to force Will to choke her. The symptoms made it seem like him, but why would Seven want to kill her? And how would he be able to control Will from a moving car? Part of her had wanted to go looking for him but another part was scared of what she'd find.

After all, he was supposed to be dead.

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