chapter xi. | cassie henderson has a sister
"it's okay, it's okay, sweetheart"
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CASSIE PACED THE LIVING ROOM FLOOR. Once Mike told them that they were in the old junkyard, Hopper immediately set out to get them. That had been a while ago now, and the sun was almost non-existent.
"Cass, they're gonna be okay," Jonathan tried to reassure her, sitting on the couch.
"You don't know that, Jay," she shook her head, still pacing.
"Cass-"
"No, Jay," she cut him off. "Those men that are looking for them, they aren't some good-doing government officials. They're bad. Really bad, and they've done some awful things to a lot of people, and I can't let Dustin become one of them!"
Jonathan stood up and took Cassie's forearms, stopping her. "Let's go to my room, okay?" She nodded and allowed Jonathan to lead her to his room. Cassie sat down on his bed dejectedly, sniffling as she rubbed her left wrist with her thumb. Jonathan sat next to her, waiting for her to begin the conversation.
"Those men," she began, sniffling. "Uh, those men, made my life hell."
"What do you mean?" he asked her. She looked over at him.
"I can't tell you everything right now," she whimpered. "There's so much to explain, and I can't tell you without you knowing everything. But I promise you, once this mess is over, I'll tell you the whole story."
"This is about your tattoo, isn't it?" he asked, looking for confirmation. She nodded slightly.
"Yes, and no," she whispered. "The tattoo's only a part of the big picture."
Jonathan wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her toward him. He rested his forehead against her temple.
"I promise you, Cass, I'm going to make everything better for you after all of this," he whispered in her ear. She nodded and smiled at him. He smiled back. Cassie watched as Jonathan's eyes flicked down to her lips and then back up to her eyes.
The sound of tires screeching pulled Cassie and Jonathan out of their small bliss moment. The two ran out of Jonathan's bedroom and out the front door, Joyce already on the patio as Nancy was hugging Mike.
"Dustin!" yelled Cassie, making the boy turn to her. She sighed in relief. "Holy shit."
"Cassie!" he yelled back in delight.
The two siblings ran toward each other and hugged each other tightly. Cassie cradled Dustin's head to her chest, her heartbeat and nerves starting to calm down, now knowing Dustin was safe. His hat had been flung off his head, allowing Cassie to kiss his head.
"Oh, holy shit, Dustin," she mumbled, before pulling back slightly to inspect his face. She grabbed his cheeks, looking over him frantically. "Are you hurt? Please tell me you didn't get yourself hurt, Dustin!"
"I'm fine, I'm fine, Cassie." He looked down at her leg. "What happened to your leg?"
Cassie looked at Nancy and Jonathan before turning back to Dustin. She had already explained her injury to Hopper and Joyce. "That's a story for another time, okay?"
Nancy looked over at the girl that was with the group, the one Hopper and Joyce told the three about. "Is that my dress?" she asked. The girl didn't respond.
Air became stuck in Cassie's throat as she looked over at the shaven-headed girl. It was like Cassie was looking back in time at her twelve-year-old self, freshly escaped, bruised and battered. The girl looked over at Cassie finally and the older girl breathed out deeply. She knew who the young girl was. Of course she did, how could she forget her face even after four years?
The girl walked over to Cassie slowly, seemingly recognising her as well. The group watched on in surprise as Cassie just watched the girl approach her. Dustin stood back as the girl stopped in front of his sister. Tears welled in both of the girls' eyes.
"Nine?" croaked the young girl. Cassie nodded, one tear falling.
"Yeah, yeah, it's me, Eleven," she whispered. Eleven wrapped her arms tightly around Cassie's waist. Cassie bent down a little bit, holding the small girl against her. Holding someone who she called her sister for so long against her.
"You left," she sobbed into Cassie's shirt.
"I know, I know, I'm sorry," Cassie whimpered back, trying to keep the tears in. "I thought you were behind me. I thought you were there. I'm sorry, Eleven, I'm sorry."
"He's looking for me," whispered Eleven. Cassie pulled back and bobbed down, taking Eleven's face in her hands. She wiped the tears away.
"Who? Who's looking for you? Papa?" Eleven nodded. "He's not gonna get you," reassured Cassie. "We'll make sure of it."
"Okay, what the shit is going on?" Dustin asked, voicing everyone's major question. "Cassie?"
"Cassie?" Eleven repeated, confused. Cassie smiled at the girl.
"That's my name now," she told Eleven. "I'm officially Cassandra, but everyone calls me Cassie."
Cassie stood up and looked at the group, which was looking at the pair with confusion and shock. Cassie took a deep breath before responding.
"Look, it's too long to explain at this current moment. But, in simple terms, I am not Cassie. I am Doctor Martin Brenner's ninth experiment child. I'm 009."
The group's jaws dropped.
"Alright, let's get inside, shall we?" Cassie said. "We've got a certain Will Byers and Barbra Holland to find."
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The group sat in the Byers' living room, Mike showing them the example that Mr Clarke had shown them. He had drawn a stick figure on a line with a dot to represent a flea.
"Okay so, in this example, we're the acrobat," Mike said, pointing to the stick figure. "Will and Barbra, and that monster, they're this flea. And this is the Upside Down, where Will is hiding."
"That's where we were, Nance," Cassie whispered to the girl next to her. Nancy nodded along.
"Mr Clarke said that the only way to get there is through a rip of time and space," Mike finished.
"A gate," concluded Dustin.
"That we tracked to Hawkins Lab," Lucas told them. Cassie shivered.
"With our compasses," added Dustin. The group became confused. Dustin began to explain. "Okay, so the gate has a really strong electromagnetic field, and that can change the directions of a compass needle." They understood now.
"Is this gate underground?" Hopper asked them, looking directly at Eleven.
"Yes," Eleven replied softly.
"Near a large water tank?" he asked her.
"Yes," she nodded. Cassie felt sick, already envisioning what water tank he was talking about.
"H-How do you know all that?" stuttered Dustin.
"He's seen it," concluded Mike. Joyce sat forward.
"Is there any way that you could... that you could reach Will?" Joyce asked hopefully. "That you could talk to him in this-"
"The Upside Down," finished Eleven. Joyce nodded.
"Down. Yeah," Joyce whispered. Eleven nodded at her.
"And my friend Barbra?" questioned Nancy. "Can you find her, too?"
They had moved Eleven over to the dining room table, the group huddling around her. With pictures of Barbra and Will in front of her and the radio playing static, Eleven had closed her eyes to concentrate. Cassie bit at her nails as she waited. She had sat down, Jonathan behind her, holding one of her shoulders as he held his mother's hand. Cassie watched Eleven's eyes move side to side under her eyelids, making her remember the things that she did years ago. The chandelier above them flickered. Eleven opened her eyes and looked around.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"What?" Joyce asked her, confused. "What's wrong? What happened?"
"I can't find them," Eleven's voice broke, tears welling in her eyes. Cassie got out of her seat and moved over to Eleven.
"It's okay, it's okay, sweetheart," she told Eleven in a hushed voice. "You tried, okay, and that's all we can ask for. Let's get you to freshen up, okay? Yeah? Come on." Cassie took Eleven's hands and directed her down to the bathroom before returning to the group.
Cassie immediately went over to Jonathan, wrapping her arms around his torso from behind. He turned around in her arms and wrapped his arms around her.
"You okay?" she asked him. He shrugged.
"How about you?" She let out a wavering breath.
"I just wish I could help her," she said. The group looked over at her.
"Can't you help her, Cassie?" Dustin asked. "You'd have powers too, right?"
"I used to," she told them all. "But, they left me a long time ago." The group all returned to the table.
"Whenever she uses her powers, she gets weak," Mike explained.
"The more energy she uses, the more tired she gets," Dustin added.
"Like, she flipped the van earlier," Lucas said, reminding the group of what the boys had told them.
"It was awesome," Dustin said, making Cassie smile.
"But she's drained," Mike said, getting back on track.
"Like a bad battery," Dustin described.
"Well..." Joyce let out a sigh. "How do we make her better?"
"We don't. We just have to wait and try again," Mike said.
"Well, how long?" Nancy asked impatiently. Cassie sighed.
Mike shrugged. "I don't know."
"The bath," came Eleven's voice from the hallway. The group turned to her.
"What?" Joyce asked her.
"I can find them," Eleven said softly. "In the bath."
The group turned to Cassie for an explanation. Cassie stared at Eleven as if she were insane. The older girl knew what she meant, but those 'baths' had haunted her for years, even after she escaped the Lab. Some days it was tough for her to even get in the shower because of what happened in those Lab walls.
"Are you sure about this, Eleven?" Cassie asked her. "You know those things better than I do. Are you sure you wanna do this?" Eleven nodded. Cassie sighed and turned back to the group. "We're gonna have to make a sensory deprivation tank. But, we can, ah, we're gonna have to modify a few things."
Dustin had called Mr Clarke on how to build the 'tank'. After Dustin had practically guilt-tripped Mr Clarke into telling him how to build one, Dustin had the list and method ready.
"Yep, all right. Yeah, we'll be careful. Definitely. All right, Mr Clarke. Yeah, I'll see you on Monday. I'll see you on Monday, Mr Clarke. Bye." Dustin hung up the phone. He turned to Joyce. "Do you still have that kiddie pool we bobbed for apples in?"
"I think so," replied Joyce, turning to Jonathan. He nodded. "Yeah."
"Good," responded Dustin. "Then we just need salt. Lots of it."
"How much is 'lots'?" Hopper asked him. Dustin looked down at his notepad.
"1,500 pounds," he replied.
"Where the fuck are we gonna get that much salt?" Cassie asked no one in particular.
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The group arrived at Hawkins Middle School, ready to devise their plan. Jonathan and Hopper went to collect all the de-icing snow, Dustin and Lucas were setting up the kiddie pool in the gym, Mike and Nancy went out to the shed to grab supplies, while Joyce, Cassie and Eleven went to find something to block the light for Eleven.
The three sat in the science lab, Joyce and Eleven directly across each other as Cassie sat cross-legged on a desk. She had a pair of safety goggles in her hand, and she was covering them with duct tape.
"This will keep it dark for you. Just like in your bathtub," Joyce told Eleven, pointing at the goggles in Cassie's hands. Eleven nodded as Joyce sighed. "You're a very brave girl. You know that, don't you?" Eleven looked away from Joyce. "Everything you're doing for my boy... for Will... for my family... Thank you." Eleven looked at her sadly and then looked down at her hands. "Listen." Joyce took Eleven's hands. "I am gonna be there with you the whole time. And if it ever gets too scary in-in that place, you just let me know, okay?"
Eleven nodded shyly. "Yes," she whispered.
Cassie put her hand on Eleven's head and smoothed the small amount of hair back. "We've got you, kiddo." Eleven smiled at her slightly.
"Ready?" Joyce asked her.
"Ready," responded Eleven.
The three girls walked into the gymnasium, looking at the set-up. The pool sat in the middle of the gym floor, with a towel and radio on a table next to it. Mike turned the radio on, letting it play static. Eleven took off her socks and placed them with the radio. She gave Mike his watch back.
"Hey, Eleven," Cassie whispered, bobbing down to talk to her. "If you see that, thing, in that void, I want you to come straight out, do you hear me? Straight out." Eleven nodded. "Okay. Be safe in there. Please."
Joyce stood with Eleven as Cassie put the goggles over her eyes. Joyce and Hopper helped Eleven step into the pool. Cassie joined Jonathan, who grabbed her hand as soon as she sat down next to him. Nancy sat down on Cassie's other side. Eleven lowered herself down until she was floating on top of the pool.
The lights flickered before shutting off, leaving them with only the light of the moon.
"Barbra?" came Eleven's voice.
The group stared at the small girl. Nancy leaned forward at the mention of her best friend. Eleven's breathing picked up, making the lights flicker again.
"What's going on?" Nancy asked.
"I don't know," Mike responded.
"She's seeing something," Cassie whispered, staring at the girl, her own panic rising. "Something, something she doesn't like. She's panicking."
"Is Barb okay?" Nancy asked Eleven. "Is she okay?"
"Gone," whimpered Eleven. "Gone. Gone. Gone." Eleven's voice raised as her panic settled in.
Nancy began crying as Cassie's eyes welled with tears. Joyce and Hopper grabbed Eleven's hand to help try and calm her down. Cassie put her arm around Nancy's shoulder, allowing the girl to nestle her face in Cassie's neck. She rubbed Nancy's forearm.
"Gone! Gone!" yelled Eleven, Joyce starting to calm her down. Eleven wrapped her arm around Joyce's, holding desperately. She began to calm down. "Castle Byers."
Jonathan and Joyce looked at each other before looking back at Eleven. Jonathan squeezed Cassie's hand tightly. Nancy had calmed down and was looking back at Eleven
"Will?" came Eleven's little voice in questioning. Joyce gasped. Cassie looked over at Jonathan, who was staring at Eleven in shock and desperation.
"You tell him... tell him I'm coming," Joyce told Eleven. "Mum is coming."
"Hurry." The small, weak voice of Will Byers came through the radio, making everyone look over at it. Cassie looked over at Jonathan, smiling slightly. She hadn't been so overjoyed to hear anyone's voice as she had now.
"Okay," started Joyce. "Listen, you tell him to-to stay where he is. We're coming. We're coming, okay? We're coming, honey." Jonathan stared at Eleven.
Eleven's whimpering from the void came through the radio. Cassie moved over to Joyce, ready to be there for when Eleven came back. Suddenly, Eleven ripped off her goggles and sat up, startling everyone. Joyce pulled Eleven toward her, the young girl accepting the hug. Eleven's eyes flicked over to Cassie and she moved toward her.
Cassie moved to the edge of the pool, pulling a nose-bleeding Eleven toward her. Eleven held her tightly, with no intention of letting her go.
"It's okay, it's okay," Cassie told her softly as the young girl began to cry. "I've got you. I've got you, it's okay. You did so good, so good." She gave Eleven a kiss on her temple, holding her tightly against her body. "Are you okay?"
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The boys had wrapped Eleven in the towel, the four younger kids sitting on the bleachers. Nancy had left the gym, Cassie following behind her. She found her sitting against the wall, holding her knees. Cassie sat down next to her, her legs out in front of her, not talking. She didn't know what Nancy needed and so, she sat there, trying to be a comforting presence. Nancy eventually put her head on Cassie's shoulder.
Jonathan joined them soon after. He walked in silently before sitting on Cassie's other side. The three sat together in silence, not sure what to say.
"We have to go back to the station," Nancy said, breaking the tense air. She lifted her head off Cassie's shoulder as the two looked at her.
"What?" Jonathan asked softly.
"Your mum and Hopper are just walking in there like bait," Nancy replied to Jonathan. "That thing is still in there. And we can't just sit here and let it get them, too. We can't."
"You still wanna try it out?" Jonathan asked her, referring to their theory and the plan they had devised.
"I wanna finish what we started," Nancy said confidently. She turned to look at the pair beside her. "I want to kill it."
Cassie smiled as Jonathan nodded. The Henderson girl got up, stretching her legs with a loud groan.
"Lucky it's a Saturday night," Cassie said. She turned to see the other two staring up at her. "They always put the newbies on, think a Saturday night will toughen them up when in reality it's only ever me in the station." The other two stood up, making Cassie smile devilishly. She took her lighter out and sparked it, watching the flame flicker. "Let's go light up a monster."
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"you're the only one who keeps me sane"
*⁎ wondermusings ⁎* SPEAKS!
hey, did you know that if you don't like el or dustin, then you are very susceptible to being punched repeatedly by me. PROUD ELEVEN AND DUSTIN PROTECTION SQUAD LEADER
PUBLISHED: 26/03/2023