𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥〡STEVE HARRINGTON

33

They passed through a set of double doors, a maze of empty and identical corridors beginning. The walls were coated with blood, smeared with splatters and rubbings. Alongside the blood, bodies also littered the floor, ripped apart from the inside out and by limb. Andy was thankful she couldn't remember the last time she had eaten since it would have been sure to come back up. She looked to Eleven to make sure she was okay, but the girl appeared unfazed and Andy shuddered as she thought about the horrors she must have witnessed and lived through in these walls.

Their footsteps clattered against the metal of the stairwell but up ahead a puddle of blood could be seen. It was accompanied by the sound of painful grunting and groaning.

"Stay here," Hopper said to both girls, then raised his gun and proceeded down the stairs. Andy stood protectively in front of Eleven until she heard her dad exhale, "Oh shit."

Andy lead Eleven down the stairs behind her onto the next flight where Dr. Owens sat slumped against a wall. His face twisted in pain and through his blood-soaked trousers was a bloody wound on his thigh. "Those suckers got you pretty good, huh?" Hopper whispered, the tiniest hint of amusement flowing in his tone. He pulled his belt through the denim hoops of his jean waistband and began to wrap it around Owen's thigh to stop the bleeding.

As he worked, Dr. Owens's vision drifted up to Andy and then behind her to Eleven, eyes turning wide and face slack. Hopper notices. "Oh yeah, I've been meaning to tell you. Doc Owens, this is Eleven. She's been staying with me for about a year and she's about to save our asses. Maybe when this is all said and done, maybe you could help her out too, you know? Maybe you could help her lead, like, a normal life. One where she's not poked and prodded and treated like some kind of lab right, you know? Just a thought."

He pulled the belt impossibly tight round his thigh, making the doctor grown in agony. "But, uh, think about it."

Hoppers pulled a pistol from the inside pocket of his coat and passed it to Dr. Owens which the man cautiously accepted. With a fleeting glance, the three moved on.

In the next corridor, it became visibly clearer they were getting closer to the gate. Small white particles floated through the air, a clear sign of the upside-down they all dreaded. Not even the emergency lights were on to light up the eerie darkness and an acid taste filled Andy's mouth. They were to think they were all alone if it wasn't for the terrifying roars that came from up ahead.

"Stay here." Hopper ordered once again, but this time only to Eleven. He and Andy tiptoed round the corner, coming face to face with a submarine-like door filled with technical equipment. They hid out of sight, either side next to the door and peered through the glass. The room was full of dozens of the creatures, more than Andy had ever seen in one place before. Her stomach dropped in fear.

"What do we?" She whispered across to her father who despite himself looked worried. He nodded, face shifting into resolution. "Shoot."

Together they rounded the corner, charging into the room as if they were going into battle. Andy's gun was held high, her finger gripping the trigger to shoot, but by the second she was ready the demodogs entire stance changed and both she and Hopper lowered their weapons. The creatures let out a collective shriek with an overexaggerated flinch. Withering in pain they sped away towards the glass and plunged into the darkness below.

Andy looked behind her to see if it was the work of Eleven but even though she was now beside her it had nothing to do with the girl. Something somewhere else was causing them physical pain and calling them away.

Before anyone could speak Jonathan's voice crackled out of the walkie-talkie from Hopper's pocket. "Chief, are you there? Chief, do you copy?"