HEAVEN ► STRANGER THINGS

THREE

"What happened in here?" Eli murmured in surprise, shuffling about the room uneasily as he caught glimpses of the mess that spilled onto every corner of the space.

"More importantly, what is that?" Eve's hand circled around her brother's elbow, jerking him forward and causing him to glance at the desk. Amidst the disarray of notes and strange documents, a glass tube stood proudly in the center. The top and bottom of the tube was complete with a lustrous metallic surface, and the twins gaped as they stared at the peculiar blue liquid inside.

"It looks like...some sort of science experiment," Eli mumbled in confusion.

"Well, what's it doing in Dad's office?" Eve began taking short, hesitant steps towards the desk.

"I don't know," Eli answered, his words heavy with apprehension. "I don't like this, Eve. This doesn't look like normal doctor stuff to me," his fingers moved forward to fish through the notes, carelessly thumbing through them. "I don't even know where to start."

"I'm still weirded out by this goo," Eve sighed, lifting the canister into her arms with a grunt.

"Hey, don't touch it!" Eli's hand flashed out before retreating back to his side in a quick, nervous motion. "It could be poisonous or something."

Completely disregarding her brother's anxieties, Eve slowly unscrewed the lid, the top coming off with a slick "pop" before she carefully wafted the strange substance's odor. "Smells like Brandy's laundry."

"Ugh," Eli cringed. "You probably shouldn't be smelling it," he warned her, his interest channeling into one of the gray filing cabinets behind her. "You think there's anything good in one of these?" His hand wrapped around one of the drawers, opening it to reveal rows of brown and gray folders aligned in alphabetical order.

"Huh? Lemme see."

Before he could begin to dig through the strange files, the elevator dinged at the end of the hall, causing Eli to whirl around and face the door. Instead, he was met with his sister's strangled gasp as her grip on the unfamiliar goo loosened and the open container went tumbling square into Eli's chest.

"What the heck, Eve!" He whisper yelled, his mouth parted into a large circle as the goo lapped up at the white cotton of his shirt and the ends of his jacket. To his astonishment, the liquid singed his skin, causing him to gnaw on his bottom lip to suppress a yell. "It burns! It burns!"

"I'm sorry! E, I'm so sorry!"

The door burst open, slamming against the opposing wall as Alan stormed in with a ruby colored expression. "What the hell are you two doing here? My serum!"

Panic consumed Eli's body as he met the two hurricanes of Alan's eyes, swirling with a mass of incomparable fury. "You," he growled, pointing a quivering finger at his son.

"Don't blame him!" Eve jumped in, stepping slightly in front of Eli and shielding the sky blue mess that practically blended in with his costume. "I spilled it on him!"

Alan cut around the rectangular desk, towering over his children with menacing glare. "It doesn't change the fact that you ruined it! I was working on that!" His eyes were wild and uncontrollable, kind of like a hyena's after discovering its prey. He seemed all sorts of unhinged, his hands a mad flurry as he made unreadable gesticulations and spat out a lengthy tirade. "You ran off from home and came here without my permission, tried rummaging through my papers, and spilled my hard work everywhere! This is going to result in serious punishment!"