I screwed with the time line a bit here, too. Hope you don't mind, as El had to go and rescue Ella, I had to push back her rescuing the other's as well. So Will has been tied up for two days.
I awoke with a scream. My body jolts upwards, water and ice sloshing over the side of the motel tub and spilling over onto the floor. My entire body is shaking so badly that I wouldn't be able to hold a pen in my hand if I wanted to. My teeth chatter, and my hospital gown clings to me. I have to yank it down from my neck, the material having slid up to choke me as I came back into my own body. My body that felt like I'd been torn apart and burned, and maybe even beaten.
Eleven rushes forward, her cold hand grabbing onto my flailing one immediately. "It's okay," she says, "you're safe."
My teeth are still clattering loudly as I look around, sitting upright and trying to get ahold my myself and my surroundings. "W-wh-where a-a-are w-w-w-we?"
I slowly stand up, my knees shaking and ice cubes dropping from my lap. The moment I do, a thin white towel is draped over my shoulders and Reese is there, scooping me out of the tub and into his arms. I shudder, gripping his stained white shirt into my fist as tightly as I'm clinging to his body heat. "Missouri," he answers. "Thank god, you're okay."
"Wh-what h-happened?"
Reese pulls me over to sit on the bed, then goes over to rifle through a plastic Walmart bag before dropping a change of cloths onto the bed beside me. "You don't remember?"
I shake my head in the negative and Reese shares a look with Eleven who has followed us into the main room. I remember flashes of puking, and garbled words being spoken, but mostly everything has faded into a delirium that's indistinguishable.
"You had a high fever for most of the trip," Answers Reese as I shift to go through the clothes. It's a simple yellow cotton dress with white daisy's printed on it, and a plain pair of white underwear. I blush, looking at the simple but pretty lace along the hem. I was used to regular boring panties that mostly resembled Tidy Whities.
"We were scared your brain was melting," Eleven says. Her eyebrows are pulled together in a worried expression. Compassion made her face soft, and I wanted to bring her in and cuddle her as if she were still twelve. She's thirteen now, and looks so much better with dark hair framing her face. It comes down to just below her ears in soft waves.
I smile at her reassuringly while I stand to change into the dry clothes. Reese respectfully turns around while I strip. It isn't until I've pulled the dress over my head and settled it around my shins that I let him turn. He smiles, his eyes scoping me out from head to toes, frowning at my bare feet.
"I wasn't sure what size shoes to get you, so I hope these are okay." He goes to collect a pair of white tennis shoes and a stack of white socks and hands them over to me with a light blush across his cheeks. I thank him, even as I try to hide a grimace as I put them on. They are a little too small, my toes hitting the front, but it isn't too bad, and wouldn't be painful to walk in. Reese looks at the simple black watch on his hand, sucking in a breath through his teeth. "We really need to go if we are going to make it to Hawkins by night fall."
Eleven and I nod, jumping up to leave, taking nothing else with us except for a grey back pack Eleven swoops over her shoulder. As we settle back into Reese's truck in the late morning, Eleven digs into the bag and passes around chocolate muffins. I take mine greatfully, feeling the pain of hunger clawing at my insides. "You're gonna love Hawkins," the girl grins from the front seat. "They have Eggo's."
I furrow my brows in confusion, tearing off a bite of the chocolate pastry and my eyes lighting up in delight. I'd never had a muffin before, let alone a chocolate one. It was heaven, I swear. "Egg-o's?" I sounded out the word, confused beyond belief. What the hell was an Eggo? The smaller girl grins wider, if possible.
"It's like frozen waffles. You can eat them plain or with syrup!"
"Um...okay. Can't wait to try them."
Eleven holds her grin, but turns around with a nod. I tune out the rest of the drive, feeling myself become over tired, despite having spent the better part of the last day passed out. Reese turns the radio on to some classic rock channel and my head gently lays against the window as the lull of sleep pulls me in against the gentle rocking of the moving truck.
Hawkins is small midwestern town with a population of 10,000. It was nestled in between forestry and the main street was one long strip with mom and pop shops. There was an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school all separate from each other, but within walking distance from one another. It was the type of town where everyone seemed to know about everything, and what they didn't know, they tried their damned hardest to find out. But the ice that was coating my spine the further into the town we got, the more I dreaded getting wherever we were going to.
I could hear strange howls coming from the trees. The unnatural rustling of the trees only enhanced the dangerous feeling of the setting by the moon that was disclosed by clouds. It was dark out, so dark that Reese was squinting through the windshield even with the headlights on. We rolled through slowly until Eleven gasped and looked wide eyed out the window. "Take the next left," she suddenly exclaimed.
Reese had to slam on his breaks and jerk the wheel, jostling us all in our seats as he practically drifted around the corner. Eleven insisted he drive faster, to which there was a small argument, but eventually he listened, stepping on the gas and speeding down the road. I looked out the window, trying to see what was freaking Eleven out so badly, but not seeing anything. I couldn't see them, but I could hear them. My leg began to bounce with anxiety as their horrible wet growling reached my ears. I peered forward when I thought I could see whatever was following us. It was long with dark grey shin, running within the trees. I bit my lip, leaning away from the window with that odd, horrible, familiar feeling coiling around in my gut.
My friends were both freaking me out as we broke every speed law known to man up until we pulled up to a small house, low yellow lights illuminating the ground through the windows. I recognized this place...I'd dreamed of it that night I'd seen those people tie up that little boy. Confusion made me pull my lower lip between my teeth as we skidded to a stop and Eleven clambered out of the truck. I followed suit, my skin going pale as I finally saw what it was in the trees. It was those creatures from my dreams, with the toothy petals for heads. They had no eyes, no mouths, no real shape until it turned and screeched at us, it's flesh petals peeling away from the center to scream out, saliva flying out in our direction.
I fell back against the truck, chest heaving. The roaring of many, many monsters echoed through the air, louder than I was comfortable with. "What the fuck?"
Eleven didn't flinch when the monster leapt at her. It let out a wet garbled squeal as her hand came up and it stopped mid air, it's long stem like neck twisting and tearing as it was ripped open. The body fell to the floor in a black tar like mess as the decapitated head was flung away, crashing through a window. I heard shouts coming from the inside of the house, but El gave a strained smile and waved us over. I followed after her, Reese right behind me as El held her hand up and unlocked the front door, stepping inside the house.
Her mouth fell open, tears filling her eyes as she looked at the group of people inside. Blood was running down her nose, but she didn't seem to mind as relief filled her entire being. I felt in in everyone standing there. The sheriff I'd seen in my dream was looking at the girl as if his world was whole again. A boy just to his right with a head full of dark fluffy hair looked like he was going to collapse. All the kids from my dream were there, and so was Mrs. Byers. They didn't even spare me and Reese a look, their eyes fixed on the supergirl before them.
The boy with the big hair rushed forward as Eleven took a hesitant step, until they collided. "Eleven," the boy breathed happily.
"Mike!" They embraced, a quiet sob raking through them both until the boy, Mike, pulled away with a grin.
"I never gave up on you. I called you every night for-"
"353 days," Eleven interrupts, still smiling. A soft, sad smile flits across my lips, watching the intimate scene, while also feeling like I shouldn't be witnessing this moment. "I heard."
"Why didn't you tell me that you were there? That you were okay?"
"Because I wouldn't let her," the sheriff says from behind them. All our eyes shift over to the man who looked like he would bleed apologies. He quickly covered it up, masking it with anger as he walked past Mike to stare down Eleven. "What the hell is this? Where have you been?"
"Where have you been?" she shot back. The sheriff didn't answer her, but pulls her in for a hug, kissing her forehead and his eyes flitted towards me and Reese, who were still awkwardly standing in the door way. Reese closed the door, stepping further into the room.
"Who did you bring with you?" The man said gruffly.
"You've been hiding her," Mike accuses, barely concealed anger dancing through his chest. Eleven doesn't answer him right away either, shifting her weight like she's overwhelmed and doesn't know what question to answer first. "You've been hiding her this whole time!" Mike broke, lunging forward and shoving the grown adult like he could pick a fight and win.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Cried the sheriff, pushing the boy away from him. "Let's talk." He looks at everyone in the room. "Alone." He grabs Mike by his upper arm, shoving him towards a door in the back. He turns to raise his eyebrows at me and Reese.
I step forward. "Um...I'm Ella...this is Reese," I introduce slowly while pointing at the man behind me. "We...we are from the lab."
Everyone takes in a breath as I raise my wrist so they can see my tattooed number. My chest felt tight, hoping that I wasn't just locking myself up in another prison cell. My eyes flitted over to Eleven, who smiled up at me and nodded. I swallowed. "El said you have Eggos?"
"Of course! Um, come this way," says Mrs. Byers, jumping into action as if she had been caught being rude. The sheriff had his bushy eyebrows raised to his hair line.
"We'll be talking with you, next," he says threateningly as he pushes Mike into the room they'd been heading for. The boy starts yelling at him before the door is even latched closed.
I swallow and make my way forward through the kids that are parting like the red sea to let us enter the kitchen. The brunette woman yanks open her freezer as Eleven joins us, talking animatedly to her friends.
"I'm Joyce, by the way. There's Mike, who's in there with Hopper," she pointed to the door that had a screaming match going on behind it. "And this is Lucas," a dark skinned kid with knobby knees and wide brown eyes. "Dustin," the stocky kid with curly golden brown hair who is grinning ear to ear as El compliments him finally having teeth. The boy makes a weird purring sound, which amuses everyone but Lucas, who rolls his eyes.
"I'm Max," says a redheaded girl as she holds her hand out to Eleven. "I've heard a lot about you, Eleven."
I frown as Eleven glares at the girl, rudely walking past her to Joyce, who has just popped some frozen waffles into a metal device, pulling down the plunger and making them disappear inside it. Joyce pulls the younger girl in for a hug.
"Hey. Hey, sweetheart." Both of them begin crying again as Joyce pulls away and pets Eleven's hair.
The device pops up the waffles and I go over, eyes wide as I pull them out with my fingers, hissing from the heat. Joyce whips around at the noise. "Oh, dear!" She quickly grabs a plate, using a fork to pull the waffles out and place them gently on the plate and then covers them in syrup before giving me a fork and popping two more into the thing. "Here, it'll be a lot easier now. You can have the whole box if you're still hungry," she smiles kindly.
I smile and thank her, cutting through the treat with my fork. The sweet taste of the syrup dances across my tongue, and Reese laughs at my expression.
"That's just syrup," he teases me. "Wait until you try ice cream. It'll blow your mind."
I go to respond to his teasing, but Eleven interrupts. I look over at her, as she has approached Joyce again. "Can I see him?" she asks quietly.
"Yeah..." Joyce nods, her voice higher pitched than it was a moment ago. "Yeah, of course you can."
I abandon my plate, curiosity driving me to grab onto Eleven's hand, asking her with my eyes if I could come too. There was a boy missing from this group. A weird tug started in my navel, pulling me towards the door we were headed through. Joyce swings the door open, looking at me quizzically as my breath leaves my lungs harshly at the sight of the boy I'd seen tied up in my dreams.
He's asleep on top of the covers, dressed in white and looking paler than is normal. As I approach, my insides twist and turn at how unnatural his essence is. I can sense fear, rage, calm, and something that feels distinctly like a tamed beast as I draw near. I practically feel a low rumble of a growl coming through the air, but nobody else seems to notice it.
"He's not doing too well," Joyce says as they kneel before the boy.
"I know," Eleven says, sniffling. "I saw."
"What else did you see?" Joyce asks.
The words left my lips before I could even think to stop them. "There's something else inside him."
Joyce's head snaps over to look at me, her fear levels ramp up, making me wince. "What do you know about this whole thing?" She asks, not unkindly.
"Um...I...I can just sense it," I say. "I can feel...whoever it is that's in there." I left out the part that it seemed to be reaching out for me. I press my lips together, feeling what the creature inside him is feeling. My fists clench and unclench, the overwhelming need to destroy something hiding just underneath my skin.
"Can you help get rid of...of...whatever it is?"
I gulp, sharing a look with Eleven as she stands up.
"I'm not sure...but...I can try."
Joyce led us out of the room, offering me a small smile in thanks. The screaming in the other room seemed to have quieted down and everyone was beginning to gather around in the living room again. I looked over at Reese, who took a big bite out of the Eggo, and rolled my eyes.