0 0 1 ━ [ 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯 ]

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟹: 𝚂𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝙱𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑

One found her way to the candy aisle and began perusing the few bags that weren't open or covered in greasy slime. She found a bag of pop rocks and ripped it open, cautiously dumping a few sugar shards into her hand. She stuck her tongue into the pile of colored sugar and jumped back when the few that stuck began fizzling in her mouth.

She grabbed a few more promising bags of candy and continued on her journey through the supermarket. Eventually she came to the clothing section and decided to take a look around. Most of the clothing was about as holey and grimy as the clothing they had found at the house, but there were a few items that were doable.

She found a t-shirt at the bottom of a pile that only had two holes in it and read, "The Rolling Stones" across the front. For some reason the name stood out to her, and she decided to hold onto it as she looked for a pair of pants. After fifteen more minutes of searching she had a full outfit and was ready to change.

She made her way into the crusty changing room and took the only stall that didn't have strange noises coming from inside. The door only shut part-way but it was good enough. After she changed she stepped out to find a mirror and ran into James, who had come out of the other changing room.

"Nice outfit," One smiled, looking James over. He was wearing a red and black flannel with khaki pants and a shiny black leather jacket. The jacket was a bit too big on him but it was One's favorite part of his outfit.

"I like yours too," James replied. One blushed and looked down at her new apparel, which also included faded blue jeans and red high-tops. Their outfits weren't in peak condition, but overall they didn't look too bad if you could manage to ignore the mysterious stains and moldy smell.

They each grabbed a backpack and began to fill it with food, clothes, and other necessities. One found a few rusty kitchen knives and a box of matches, and James found a length of rope. They didn't know how long they'd be in the hellhole they found themselves in, but they needed to be prepared for whatever else they ran into.

And whatever would happen next.

"What is that?" Eleven asked as Hopper stepped inside. He was staring at the package in his hands and was still too entranced by the date to hear her question. "Hello?" Eleven asked again, waving her hand in his face.

"Oh, um, I don't know," Hopper answered, coming out of his stupor. He ripped apart the packaging, careful to preserve the part with the date, and found a VHS.

"What's on it?" Eleven asked, attempting to take it from his hands to see for herself. Hopper refused to release his grip until he got to the television. Eleven followed him every step of the way.

Hopper knelt down to slip the VHS into the VCR player. Static hummed as he turned on the television and flipped to the right channel. The ripples of static were instantly replaced with a black and white scene. The same date was stamped in the corner with the time: 02:37:16.

Nine minutes before Sarah had been pronounced dead.

As Hopper watched he realized that he was staring at security footage from a hospital. The camera was angled down on a crowded hallway full of doctors, nurses, patients, and visitors. It also offered a partial view into a room numbered 217. Suddenly he understood what he was looking at; footage of the hallway outside the room his daughter died in.

He was lucky that Eleven was watching as well because he was so focused on the little activity he could garner from room 217 that he didn't pay attention to the whole picture. "Look!" Eleven shouted after about a minute in. Hopper moved his eyes to where Eleven's finger was pointing and gasped in shock.

Standing just outside room 217 was a man in a white lab coat that appeared to be listening in on the activity within. He was younger, and his hair was a different color, but Hopper could still recognize the son of a bitch from anywhere.

"Papa," Eleven whispered. Hopper was too angered by the sight of Dr. Brenner to register that Eleven had used that accursed name again.

What was he doing there? The hospital was in New York! Was he involved in Sarah's death? Was Sarah even really dead, or did he fake her death and collect her as one of his little "science experiments"? Did that mean...

The blue hair tie.

The same birthday.

House of the Rising Sun.

"Grab your things," Hopper said curtly. "I'm taking you to the Byers'."

Eleven wanted to ask why, but after seeing the expression on his face she decided to just comply with orders. After she gathered the items she thought necessary for their trip, Hopper rushed her out the door and they were off to the Byers'.

☆ ★ ☆

"When you said you were going to be back soon, I didn't expect you to be back this soon," Joyce said jokingly to Hopper as he worked his way up her driveway with Eleven in tow.

"I need Eleven to stay here with One and I need you to come with me," Hopper said as he walked past Joyce and led Eleven inside. The second he was confident that she was safe, he turned on his heel and walked back to his truck.

"What's going on, Hop?" Joyce asked as she followed after him frantically. "One said that some new monster from the Upside Down is in Hawkins."

"We've got bigger things to deal with," Hopper responded. He was still very concerned about the demo-monster but before he could make any headway on that he needed answers.

Joyce stood frozen in the middle of the driveway, split between her home and Hopper's truck.

"You coming, or what?" Hopper called from the driver's seat.

Joyce looked back and forth between the two again, before biting her lip and deciding to join Hopper.

"You've gotta tell me what's more pressing than monsters," Joyce said as she slammed the passenger door shut. Hopper waited to answer until he had ripped out of the driveway.

"He was there, Joyce," Hopper responded at long last.

"Who was where?" Joyce asked.

"Dr. Brenner was at the hospital the day Sarah died." It took Hopper a second to continue because a lump got stuck in his throat. "The son of a bitch was standing outside her room, waiting."

"You think he was involved?" Joyce asked after processing the information.

"I think he was more than involved," Hopper answered. "I think Sarah is alive."

"But Hop, how?" Joyce pressed.

Hopper waited a moment before turning to look at Joyce. "I think Sarah is One."

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★