Stranger Love
Chapter Twenty – No Such Thing As Normal
"These are the bad men, as you call them El. The ones we believe are still alive," Kali said as the group of people stood opposite a wall collaged with photographs and notes written in red ink. Anya regarded the display wearily. The sheer amount of individuals involved in the 'experiments' was overwhelming to say the least. How many of them were out in the world right now, living normal lives as if they hadn't participated in the horrific deeds of the past? How had so many of them managed to find themselves working for a madman such as Brenner?
She could still picture his cruel, calculating eyes. The man her mother had put so much faith in, the man who'd completely destroyed El and Kali's childhoods.
Anya paced forwards, peering at a photo of two men in lab coats, one with a large cross over his face. "I'm guessing the ones crossed out are...."
"Dead? Yeah." Axel finished for her, running his finger over his throat.
"You killed them?" She regarded the group.
"Does that scare you, Prom Queen?" Dottie asked her, tilting her head in a taunting way towards Anya, her make-up smeared messily around her eyes and lips.
"Doesn't exactly make me feel great, Harley Quinn," Anya bit back, earning snickers from the entire group.
"She got you there," Mick said, dodging a sharp elbowing from Dottie with a smirk on her mouth.
"Do you recognise any of them, Anya? El?" Kali, ever the serious one, got back to business quickly. Anya wasn't sure she wanted to point one of the many people out – she figured it was as good as signing their death sentence.
"Him," El spoke up, pulling a newspaper article from the cork board. El held up the picture of a balding man in his 50's who Anya recognised from her new set of memories. The words RETIRED made the title, the smaller print unreadable to her as Kali retrieved the piece of paper.
"Ray Carroll."
"He hurt mama," El said.
"He did more than hurt your mama," Kali informed her. "He hurt me, tortured me, made my life a living hell,"
"I remember him, he was the one who electrocuted me...." Anya visibly remembered him standing over her, holding an elongated taser towards her quivering form. "Did he do that to you too?" She queried El, who nodded. Anya grit her teeth. "Bastard."
"The bad men like Ray know about us. It's made them hard to track...but maybe not anymore," Kali finished her words by looking pointedly at El. Anya bit her bottom lip, feeling a surge of panic rise into her throat. Kali wasn't going to ask El to find this man, so they could actually kill him, was she?
"You want me to find him?" El flashed her brown eyes from Anya to Kali unsurely.
"Yes,"
"No,"
Both girls answered simultaneously, the pair staring at each other – Kali in surprise and Anya in sheer determination.
"You can't ask her to do that, it's not fair," Anya said, taking the photo from Kali.
"Why not? He hurt us! He is bad, and we need to get retribution for his crimes!"
"I know they hurt us, but it's not exactly that black and white, is it? My Mom supported Dr Brenner at the beginning. She handed me over to him! What are you going to do? Find her and kill her too?" Anya stressed. "Why isn't her picture up here on the wall of doom, huh?"
"Your mother made a mistake, she wasn't in there, making our lives hell," Kali retrieved the newspaper article from Anya with a swipe, holding it out to El. "If you want, take it, find him. It's your choice, El,"
Anya shook her head in exasperation. "Fine. Yeah, El it's your choice but I'm not going to be a part of this vigilante madness,"
"It's cool. Not everyone is cut out for revenge, Princess. You should go back to painting your nails and picking out a dress for homecoming," Axel's calling her Princess reminded her of Billy. It was just the sort of stupid sexist remark that he would come out with, and the constant insults towards her just because of her gender was starting to grate.
"Do you really think it's wise to insult the girl who could set you on fire? You have more hairspray than hair on your head, it wouldn't take much, trust me," Anya sniped at him, feeling a spark of heat flare at her fingertips.
Mick grinned like a kid would on Christmas morning. "I looove this chick, can we keep her?"
"El, can I talk to you a sec?" Anya implored her younger friend, ignoring the stares of all the other five occupants in the room. She took hold of El's arm and pulled her lightly out the door. "I think we need to re-think this,"
"Why?" El asked, not rudely, but sharply enough to make Anya wince as they got further enough away to avoid eavesdroppers.
"Because - look, I get it, like I said before I am angry too, but enough is enough. These people are trouble and they are going to drag you down with them,"
"Kali is our sister,"
"Yes, and that's brilliant. I love that we found her, and I'm grateful she helped me get back my memories. There has to be a line though El. Taking revenge and killing those people isn't going to bring my Dad back, or your mama. It isn't going to stop the hurt, no matter what Kali tells you," Anya pushed a stray curl from El's forehead, hoping the girl would start seeing some sense. She was blinded by anger, an anger only magnified by her abilities. It was a dangerous mix.
"I want to hurt the bad people. I want them to hurt just as much as I do, because it isn't fair. It isn't fair that they get to get away with what they did," El's eyes were icy, dead-set, determined.
"What if the police catch you? What then? I saw in the dream circle that you live with Hopper, I saw how much he cares about you. How much Will, Mike, Dustin and Lucas miss you!"
"Hopper never let me go anywhere. All he wanted to do was control me, like papa."
"Yes, you're right. Your policeman did want to control you. Because he doesn't understand you, he doesn't understand us," Kali's voice sounded from nowhere, both Anya and El wheeling around in surprise. She still held the photograph of Ray Carroll in her grasp. "They'll never truly except us, Anya. They pretend to understand, to act like they are fine with us being what we are...but the fear...the fear of the unknown will always frighten them. You can go back to your old life Anya. You can pretend everything is normal for a while. I know sooner or later, you will begin to comprehend just how different you are, how special, and that life won't be enough for you anymore."
El walked over to Kali, taking the picture out of her hand. "I'm finding this Ray Carroll. I am going to make him pay,"
Anya could see there was no use in trying to dissuade El, for the young brunette had already made up her mind. "Fine. If you want to do this El, I won't stop you. But like I said before...I'm not going to be a part of it. I'm going home, I have to have this out with my Mom,"
"I wish you would stay," El said sadly.
"It's ok El. Anya has made her own decision, and that's fine. None of us are prisoners here, and that's how it stays," Kali paced over to Anya, placing her hand on her shoulder. "I do not understand your choice, but I respect it. You will always be my sister, and I am always here for you, if you need me. All of us,"
"I'll hold you to that," Anya gave a tiny smile, that turned into a squeak as El threw herself into her arms, knocking the wind out of her lungs.
"Thank you for helping me," The girl said into her shoulder.
"Thank you for helping me, even though I wish you would just come home," Anya breathed after their embrace ended, giving her a playful knock on the chin. The other members of the gang had filtered into the equation, Funshine and Mick watching curiously whilst Axel and Dottie stood around the fire burning brightly in the incinerator.
"See you around Prom Queen, don't forget to tell your jockstrap of a boyfriend to wear a tux," Axel, who just didn't seem to get warnings at all, grinned at her snidely. Dottie snickered, the pair of them giving each other a high-five. Anya merely shrugged, clenching her fist tightly. The fire flared upwards in one huge rush, sending Dot and Axel jumping backwards with shrieks.
Grinning in triumph, Anya stalked out of the warehouse, hearing the sounds of Mick and Funshine roaring with laughter.
...
Her home looked the same as ever. The truck wheezed into the driveway, engine clanking around beneath the bonnet the moment she hit the break. Anya could hear Billy's laugh in her mind, and though it had been due to direct amusement on the state of her vehicle, she wouldn't have missed his genuine laugh for the world.
How had so much changed, within the past twenty-four-hours? Anya regarded her house with indecision. She could walk through the doorway and lie. Tell her mom she'd stayed at Gemma's and hidden in her closet so her parents didn't know. This avenue was tempting. It was far easier than what she really needed to do, far easier than the truth.
Whoever said life was easy?
Billy's engine cut off and she spied him jumping out of his car. Anya mirrored him, for one moment considering the idea of convincing him to take them away somewhere. Maybe back to Chicago, so she could keep tabs on El. The girl was perfectly capable of looking after herself, but Anya felt overly protective of her now.
"So, how much trouble you gonna be in then?" Billy asked, having just retrieved her from the cemetery. Anya had been more than surprised to see him. He'd taken it upon himself to try and find her for the best part of three hours, if he was to be believed, just because her Mom asked him to. Was Billy displaying a part of his character that he hid oh so well? Anya hated to sound cliché, but she wanted to think that maybe, just maybe, she'd been a good influence on him.
"Well, let's just say this isn't going to be an easy conversation," She replied.
"Are you ever going to tell me what the hell is going on?"
"I expect one day..." Anya wasn't so sure when that day would come. "I need to go inside,"
"You know...you still owe me a date," He said lowly, the sexy smile he used to flirt plastered onto his face. "I haven't forgotten,"
Anya watched as he placed a cigarette deliberately slowly between his straight teeth, swooping his eyes over her body. She smiled in amusement, despite the circumstances, deciding to indulge him, just once. "Tell you what, how about you pick me up tomorrow night, around 7?"
"Hm. Sure you won't be grounded?" Billy challenged.
"I'd like to see her try," Anya leant forwards and kissed the tip of his nose, leaving him to watch her retreat back to the house. The door wasn't locked as she pushed it open, the house eerily silent. The silence was broken, however, by Bracken, who raced out of the kitchen and made a beeline for Anya.
"Hey girl, have you missed me?" Anya cooed softly, giving the canine a few good scratches behind the ears. Her tail wagged furiously, paws bouncing over the floor in elation.
"Anya." Patricia voiced from the doorway, a stream of light flooding the hallway as the door was widened. "Would you care to tell me where the hell you've been?"
Anya straightened up, looking at her Mom for what seemed like the first time. The woman before her was still the same Mom. She was still the same mother who'd taken her to dance classes when she was nine, who'd held her hand on the first day of school. The same Mom who had paid for her guitar, despite having no money.
But it was also the same Mom who'd lied to her for the majority of their lives.
"I think we should sit down." Anya said swiftly, passing her Mom to sit at the breakfast table.
"Anya, what is going on?" Patricia sat opposite, the look of worry on her face blooming. Anya said nothing, merely reached into her jacket pocket to retrieve the newspaper article she had acquired from Becky Ives. She slid the piece of paper towards her Mom, who visibly paled at the sight of it. "Anya-"
"Do you know, who killed Dad?" She interrupted.
"Yeah...it was a thief -"
"Stop lying."
"Anya, as far as I know that is the truth!"
"Well you're wrong. Dad wasn't killed by someone random thief, he was murdered in cold blood, shot point blank by the people who you handed me to when I was barely five years old!" Anya slapped her hand onto the table harshly, causing her Mom to jump. "Stop pretending you didn't have suspicions! You knew there was something else going on. Will Byers, Barb? Their disappearances were not just mere coincidence, and you knew it."
"Ok, alright. I thought that maybe it was strange, but I never imagined it was them,"
"Dr Brenner. He was there, he saw Dad die," Anya let a tear fall down her cheek. "He was a monster, Mom. Pure evil through and through!"
"I didn't know!" Patricia wailed.
"It wasn't just me, either. But you did know that, didn't you? I wasn't the only child in those labs,"
"I couldn't save all of you, Anya. I was just one person, fighting a whole bunch of crazy, powerful people! Dr Brenner would have killed you, he would have killed me and your father too. I did what I had to,"
"You should have done more!" Anya exclaimed. "Or how about just not handed me over to a psychopath, huh?"
Patricia sighed heavily, tears flooding her blue eyes as she eyed the picture of a young Anya for a long while. Her fingers traced the bow on her dress, hands shaking as she looked over the words of the article. "Anya...you have to understand. When me and your father met, we were so young. He was from a family of labourers, wood loggers. I was from a wealthy family...my father, as you know, owned a prestigious law firm and had control over pretty much every bank in Indiana. I fell in love with Benny instantly, but my family, even his, they didn't except us. It was different times, back then. Money meant everything and my parents wanted me to marry an equally wealthy man who they approved of.
I was so in love with your father that nothing they said was going to change my mind, so we eloped. I figured, once we were married, they would have no choice but to be gracious of our union. Boy, was I wrong. My father was furious. He refused to except Benny, and did everything in his power to convince me to leave him. You can imagine his horror, then, when I told him I was pregnant, with you.
Knowing I was never going to leave your father, my parents cut me off completely. They wouldn't speak to me, wouldn't respond to my letters – even when I sent them a picture of you, mere weeks after you were born.
I spent my days taking care of you and my nights crying myself to sleep. Your father was a dream - he was my rock, and I realised after a while that I had all the family I would ever need.
Times however, were tough. We had no money and we were just so young...Benny worked his ass off day and night to provide for us, finally managing to save enough to buy a small house on the outskirts of Hawkins. We were so proud, so happy that we finally had a place to call our own.
I can remember so vividly the first time we notice there was something different about you. You were nearly two years old, the cutest little thing I'd ever seen. One day you just started crying, for one reason or another, and the next thing I knew, one of the hobs on the cooker flared and set fire to the tea towel on the counter.
We put it down to a malfunction of some sort, but then...things like that just kept happening. A candle would light itself, or a book would randomly burst into flames...the worst one, however, came when you were four.
I'd left you alone in the front room for two minutes...and when I returned, you had your hands on the drapes..."
"The grey curtains?" Anya asked quietly.
"Precisely. And they were on fire. The flames were scolding hot yet you stood right next to them without a single burn on you. We only just managed to get out of the house before it burnt to the ground. We were completely distraught and had no idea what we were going to do...so when I saw that Dr Brenner was taking on children with 'strange' abilities...well, I had to see, I had to know if he could help you," Patricia let out a shaky breath. "Me and your father had no help. No support from anyone. I just needed someone to tell me it was going to be alright, that you were going to be alright,"
"Why didn't you and Dad tell me this? When I was older, when I could handle it?" Anya half pleaded, still finding it hard to understand.
"Because...they told us it would be dangerous for you to remember. That if your powers stayed dormant for too long, it could trigger an overload." Her Mom grasped her hand. "I made you forget because I wanted you to have a normal, healthy life. You were far too perilous as a child, even when they tried to gain control over you,"
"Have you ever thought that they made it worse, not better?"
"Of course. And the moment I realised what they were doing, I had you removed from the programme." The older brunette stressed ardently. "Anya...you have to understand, now that you remember everything, you need to be careful."
"I know..." Anya said. "I met, a couple of others, who are like me. They were not as fortunate as me, to have parents who got me out..."
"And I'm truly sorry for them, believe me," Patricia let tears fall freely down her face. "There isn't a day that goes by that I don't see their faces. Oh, Anya...I am just so sorry, for all of it,"
Anya was crying as equally hard by now. She couldn't stop the whirling of emotions tumbling around her mind, like the sea thrashing wildly in a storm. From now on, normal wasn't going to be an option.
A whispering had begun stirring, like tiny wisps of hot smoke billowing around her subconscious.
She wasn't alone.
Not anymore...