"this tainted love you've given,
I give you all a boy could give you,
take my tears and that's not nearly all,
oh, tainted love,
tainted love."
Hawkins was a place where nothing happened. Everything was routine. High school football ga...
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STEALING THE KEY card was the easy part. Mallory simply waited until she finally heard the loud snores of her father from his bedroom and she threw back her covers, tip-toed downstairs, pulled the thin key card from his work satchel and slipped out the back door, locking it behind her and hiding the house key beneath a rock
She crept through the backyard, glancing behind her at the window to her parent's bedroom. Her father would be furious if he knew what his daughter was doing. And worried.
That's why he'll never find out, Mallory reminded herself.
She made her way into the dark woods, passing her treehouse, which was a lot creepier on the cold, dark night. She shone her flashlight among the trees, almost wishing the sound of footsteps or an animal call would give her an excuse to turn back to the safety of her bed. But she continued, zipping her black jacket to her collarbones. She had told herself that the black-on-black outfit was for practicality so she could blend into the darkness, but really she enjoyed looking like she was from a spy film or cartoon.
As she delved deeper into the forest, she could have sworn she heard deep, ragged breathing from amongst the trees but she shone the flashlight around her and found nothing but looming trees and one raccoon. It must just be her own breathing as she attempted to remain calm in the face of some very illegal activities.
Finally, after twenty minutes of hurrying through the forest in such a loud manner that would have alerted anyone to her presence, she reached the treeline and reluctantly flicked her small flashlight off, tucking it into the back pocket of her black jeans. She crouched behind a thick tree, peering around it.
Mallory had only seen Hawkins Lab in person a few times when dropping lunch or dinner off to her Dad with her mum when she was younger. But never was she allowed past the towering, electric gates that were guarded by a bored young man in uniform. Even with how little the man was paying attention, instead electing to read a comic, she would never be able to get through the gate. Mallory's eyes trailed the buzzing, electric fence that surrounded the entire square building and suddenly began wondering why she ever thought she could make it inside.
If something -or someone- can escape, then I can get inside, Mallory told herself, suddenly full of determination.
Being careful not to alert the guards at their posts along the fence, she moved swiftly from tree to tree, surveying the fence line carefully for a gap or spot where the electricity was faulty. It wasn't until she was on the opposite side of the square fence that she found what she was looking for.
Ten or so meters away from where she hid, crouched behind a thick brush, was a broken piece of fence that was shredding away from the corner post. It was small but big enough that Mallory would be able to crawl through though she wasn't sure she would be able to avoid a slight shock. Mallory looked past the fence, to the mysterious building and the corners of her mouth twitched with a satisfied smile. A hundred meters from the fence was a back door, unguarded. Despite this, she would have to sprint to the door to avoid being caught. Mallory assumed it was for staff only, and sure enough, a panel for a key card was next to the door. Mallory felt the weight of her Dad's key card in her pocket like it was a trophy.
