𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄 - sisters
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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐃 rolled in swiftly tonight, dark grey clouds alighting with streaks of lightning. The rain thundered down and the rapid tip-tapping against the metal roof of the old and abandoned warehouse was almost... comforting for Eleven.
Her stomach was a bundle of nerves; she'd never left Hawkins before, never stepped foot in such a big city. But after mama had given her hints as to the whereabouts of a girl just like her, Eleven couldn't stop herself from hitching a ride with a rather nice stranger.
Her shoes were sopping wet, squelching with each tentative step, and the curls atop her head were dripping water down to her cheeks. Eleven shivered as she stared up at the building. There was a faint glow emitting from a crack in the wall; someone was here, and she could only hope it was the girl she'd been looking for.
She kept quiet, giving special attention to the sound of her steps. One, two, three and she was inside. The rain continued to hurtle down from the ever-darkening sky and Eleven pulled her dripping-wet coat closer to her body, shaking her head and watching as droplets spewed about.
Her throat was closing as she stared out at the group of miss-matched people huddled around a fire. They were laughing, hooting at each other as though they were mocking one another.
Eleven mustered the courage to call out, "Hello?"
Their heads snapped towards her and she could finally see each of their faces clearly. The flickering flames lit them up as though they had all gathered beneath a spotlight. They were an odd group, Eleven thought for a moment before remembering the boys she had grown close to back home; nobody could be odder than them.
"Well, well..." A man with a mohawk stepped forth, his milky skin glistening as the flames continued to roar. His hand was tucked into his pocket, his tall and lanky body almost folding as her peered at her with beaded eyes, "What do we have here?"
"What is she wearing?" One of them said, and Eleven spared a quick look at her sodden overalls; she quite liked them, "Are those overalls?"
A woman hopped down from an old table, her long legs unfurling as her burst of hair rocked atop her head. Unruly curls erupted from her head, coloured a golden yellow, "We don't have any cows here to milk here, kid, go on back to the farm, now."
Eleven swallowed, unwilling to falter as her hand curled around a crumpled piece of paper that had been hastily stuffed into her pocket, "I'm looking for my sister."
The man with the mohawk slumped, his shoulders drooping as his tone adopted a mocking edge, "Aw, Shirley Temple lost her sister..." He swiped a long and boney finger beneath his eyes, "So sad."
"I saw her, here." Eleven moved to show the group the paper in her hand, dragging her hand from her pocket until the biggest of the group shook his head.
"Hand out of pocket. Slow." He demanded, a deep voice rattling through Eleven's bones as she did as she was told.
The paper rustled and the very edge was about ready to topple off and slump to the ground, thanks to the heavy rain that had managed to soak it. Still, Eleven unfurled the paper and held it out for one of them to take.
The gangly man straightened, his hand reaching out to snatch the paper from Eleven's hand. His eyes narrowed, his thin lips curled towards the ground, and then he looked over at Eleven.
She could see the recognition within his eyes.
One of the girls peered over his shoulder, mouth falling agape, "Is that Kali?"
Eleven perked up, "Kali?"
"How did you find us?" The man questioned and Eleven lifted her head higher as his voice took an intimidating edge. She wouldn't back down, and she certainly wouldn't be leaving until she found what she had come for, "Who else knows you're here?"
"No one."
"So, what then? Poof! You just show up like magic with that picture?"
His steps were growing quicker, his mouth curling into a snarl, and as one of the girls grabbed his wrist and pleased for him to calm down, he shook his arm, pushing her off. Eleven kept her eyes trained on him, hand curled by her side and ready to be thrown forth.
"She's just a kid?" The man chuckled, pointing his long finger Eleven's way, "Yeah, just a kid who could get us killed!" then, much to the chagrin of his companions, he withdrew a small knife from his pocket. The blade glinted golden as the light of the dying flames bounced upon the metal, "If I have to ask again, Shirley, you'll start losing things. Starting with those pretty locks of yours."
"Axel put down the knife." One of the women reasoned, yet she didn't dare take a step closer.
Axel ignored her, "How did you find us?"
Eleven knew she should have taken a step back as the blade pointed at her form grew closer and closer with each of Axel's menacing steps but she merely squared her shoulders. It looked funny, to see a girl who couldn't have been older than thirteen standing as tall as she could whilst a six-foot man stalked towards her with a weapon in hand.
"I saw her." Eleven continued, eyes flicking from Axels and to the knife clutched in his whitening fingers.
The other continued with their pleading and begging, calling out for him to stop and put his weapon snug in his pocket. Their shouts and cries fell upon deaf and ignorant ears.
"That's not an answer." Axel's blade was a mere hair away from scratching at Eleven's cheek, but then, as Eleven prepared herself for a sharp sting, Axel fumbled with his weapon and stumbled back, all while swatting at his own hand.
He dropped the knife and it clattered to the side, entirely abandoned as Axel yelled and screamed all while assaulting his right hand. He slapped and scratched and swatted furiously as though a swarm of bugs were crawling over his skin. Little did Eleven, and Axel's companions know, that was exactly what had happened.
A cluster of spiders had crawled over his flesh, scuttling closer to his wrists with their furry eight legs. Only Axel could see them, thus his companions broke out of their reverie, no longer were they pleading, but laughing at him.
Eleven frowned, but before her lips could part to question the scene before her, a new voice flitted into the thick and foggy air.
"You're a terrible dancer, Axel." It was a girl's voice, deeper than Eleven had heard from anyone. The one who had spoken stood high above them all, at the very top of the stairs that overlooked the warehouse. A brow had crawled up her bronze skin as she watched Axel slowly come to a pause, breathing heavily.
The girl, Eleven pondered, seemed to be years older than herself, yet still, she held a youthful look. Her hair was a dark shade of plum, and one side was buzzed. She was dressed in black, a long jacket trailing down the backs of her thighs. Black makeup surrounded those dark eyes of hers, it was smudged and smeared, as though she'd been rubbing away for hours.
Her fingers tightened on the railing, and the girl threw a look over her shoulder, breaking her stare with Axel for just a moment.
"I beg to differ, Kali." Came another voice. This one was higher, sweeter almost. "I quite enjoyed his dancing."
She sounded delicate and when the owner of the voice came into view, taking her place beside this 'Kali', Eleven thought the voice matched her well. While this girl too was dressed in black, dark and stained jeans fluttering around her legs, a leather jacket fastened around her top half, and while a deep shade of wine was painted upon her lips while black stained her eyes, she had a soft face.
High and plump cheeks almost glowed beneath the light, her lips had stretched into a pretty smile and the girl twirled a jet-black strand of her shoulder-length hair around her fingertip. She couldn't have been far off from Kali's age, though her rounded cheeks and youthful grin did make her seem like she'd fit right in with the group of teenagers Eleven had gotten to know back home.
The girl had trained her eyes on Axel, sending him a clipped wink as she laughed at his pink-tinted cheeks. Then she met Eleven's gaze and straightened.
Kali and her companion descended the stairs side by side, muttering back and forth with slight smiles on their features; Eleven could easily see the bond that had prospered between the two. An odd sensation bubbled in her belly as she watched them finally step onto the ground.
Axel seemed to have recovered enough from his embarrassment to storm closer to Kali, he, again, pointed a finger out, "I told you to stay out of my head."
Kali hadn't smiled and she certainly hadn't flinched. Eleven thought she looked utterly disinterested, really.
While Eleven had expected the older girl to rebuke, for she had that look about her, it was the shorter, younger, and sweeter seeming one to round on the gangly man. She had cocked her head, hair flitting to tickle the shoulder of her shiny jacket, "You're lucky it was only a few spiders, Axel." She leaned closer, and Axel leaned back, "I don't like people threatening children."
There was a twitch upon Kali's lips, as she watched Axel recoil and look somewhat abashed. The man swiftly cleared his throat, willing his burning cheeks to cool, "She knows about you."
Then he fished into his pocket and procured the piece of paper he'd formerly snatched from Eleven. He brandished it like a sword for the two girls to observe. Painted upon the crumpled and damp sheet was a picture of a young girl. She had dark skin, wide eyes and a frown on her lips. It was Kali, only she was far, far younger.
Kali waited a moment, and then approached, "Where did you get this?"
"Mama."
The girl by Kali's side narrowed her eyes, though there was no malice within them, just utter confusion s she spoke; "Your mother gave you a picture of Kal?"
"In her dream circle."
"Dream circle," Axel sneered as he rubbed at his temple, "I think she's a schizo or something."
One of the others who had all been rendered utterly silent, popped their head forwards, pointing at Eleven, "She said she's looking for her sister."
"Yeah. Like I said, schizo." Axel bent at the waist, his boot landing just beside his previously deserted knife. He reached out, hardly acknowledging that he cast his own skin a cautious glance as though waiting for a cluster of spiders to vault at him. They didn't, but his blade soared into the air. It hurtled past him, and he had to duck to avoid being cut.
Eleven curled her hand around the knife, eyes blank as she folded the pocket knife back in, " I saw you." She uttered, looking at Kali as she held the knife out, waiting for the girl to take it, "In the rainbow room."
The shorter one of the two staring at Eleven clenched her fist; the mention of the rainbow room had made her jaw tick, and her fingers tighten, yet when she ultimately noticed Eleven's eyes trained on her, she smiled, "What's your name?"
"Jane." Her voice was quiet, almost meek and that was something new for Eleven, especially as of late. She had gotten so used to the anger, the desperation she always housed to leave the cabin she'd been secluded to. Now that she was face to face with somebody like her, Kali, she didn't really know what to do, or what to say.
"Show us your wrist."
Unlike papa, or sometimes even Hopper, this request held no edge, nor did her words sound as though there'd be a consequence if Eleven didn't obey, and for that reason alone... Eleven rose her arm and pulled back her sleeve. Her number, the ink branded into her skin permanently was on show.
Kali's eyes were trained on Eleven's arm, her own wrist itching and before she knew it, Eleven had reached out, lifting Kali's sleeve.
Her heart stuttered at the tattoo on her bronze skin. 008.
Eleven's brows curled, her lips beginning to wobble as those adorable doe-eyes of hers stared up at Kali. But then something else happened; the girl beside Kali who had been watching with a tiny curve on her lips... She lifted her arm and plied her sleeve back.
001. 008. 011.
A strangled choke echoed from the very back of Eleven's throat as she scrambled to clap her fingers around the girl's wrist, bringing the tattoo closer to her eyes. It was real. They were both oh-so-very real. She could feel the warmth of 001's skin brushing into her fingertips and Eleven couldn't keep up her charade any longer.
Her eyes watered, and crystalline tears built on the edges of her lashes, tumbling through them like a fly slipping through a web. She stumbled, her legs becoming numb as she stared at them both, clinging to them like a lifeline.
"Sisters." Eleven choked, her voice shattering like a mirror into a thousand fragments. Her lips wobbled again and her eyes fastened shut; before she knew it, a hand had lightly smoothed over her arm, tugging her forwards. She cracked an eye open, the one with the chopped ebony hair had brought her closer, sheltering her within a hug.
The girl hummed, her free arm crawling over Kali's shoulder. There was a light in her eyes, reflected vibrantly within the growing water that built along her own lash line, "Sisters." She echoed, Kali's voice intertwining with her own.
They became a knot of clustered hands and fingers and heads; a tight hug making it impossible to see where one girl ended and another started. They hardly cared. Eleven was no longer alone, and the girls supplying her with hope had found yet another sister.
They had found each other.
One couldn't quite explain how she was feeling; finding Kali all those years ago and escaping alongside her had been the first decision she had truly made for herself. She had never regretted it. Kali might have been... an acquired taste for some, especially when the older girl grew angry.
But they were sisters, they were family and while One had absolutely no experience with family, she knew for certain that all of them came with their hardships, their squabbles and disagreements. They were always resolved, even if it did take a few long and bitter days.
Jane, or Eleven, was so young. One couldn't help but feel sympathy for her as she watched the young girl beam at the city lights surrounding them. Jane had no knowledge of the world, not really, but the few things she did have experience with were the very things that kept One awake at night. The very things that had her clawing at her sheets and gasping in terror.
At least they understood one another. At least there was somebody who knew how they felt.
Jane had delved into her story; everything from her horrific time at the laboratory, her own experiences with Papa, to her fight against a... Demogorgon. One didn't exactly know what that meant, but from the way Jane had spouted her story, she could only assume it was a slimy monster one would find in a horror movie.
Jane had told them of her sacrifice, that she'd expected to die from exerting herself too much... But she hadn't. She had persevered and a man had found her, and he had taken herein as his own. Jane had halted mid-sentence, lips slamming shut as she glimpsed to the side. The guilt in her eyes was all too clear.
Thus One had prompted her on, asking what had happened after she left that cured town of Hawkins.
"So..." One spoke as she leaned back on her elbows, eyes cast to the stars glinting in the sky. The rain had stopped, and for the time of night, it was actually rather warm. They had trailed to the roof, bypassing the rickety stairs and the door that practically screamed when somebody opened it as they searched for a place to truly get to know one another, "The memory your mother shared with you is the only memory you have of Kali?"
Eleven's eyes were cast downwards, "Yes."
"Okay..." One did her best to cast the young girl a reassuring look; it couldn't have been easy to force herself to remember that damned lab. One still dreamt of that place every single night, and each night she'd wake in a cold sweat as her nails clawed at her wrists, clawed at the invisible bonds. The burns remaining on her skin seemed to sting all over again, as though they were fresh wounds... She sniffed, animatedly sitting up once more, "And the policeman who took you in? How long were you with him?"
Eleven's answer was, for lack of a better word, frighteningly precise, "Three hundred and twenty-seven days."
Kali leaned closer with furrowed brows, "And this policeman, he thinks he can work out some sort of deal with these men to set you free?
One's eyes rolled heavenward. It was absurd, a ridiculous thought on the policeman's behalf. The men and women within that lab were nothing more than hungry animals awaiting power. They did whatever it took to force it from children. They drugged and harmed women until their children came along, then they'd steal those children away and hoped that some special would awaken within them.
If it did; they were no longer considered children. Weapons, trophies, One didn't really care for the perfect word. All she knew was that they would never stop.
If they so much as caught a whiff of either of the three girls, they'd have permanent targets pained upon their backs. There was no deal to be made, at least not one that would ever truly be fulfilled.
Eleven nodded, her curls bouncing, "Yes, he says soon."
"He's naive then." Kali scoffed, her thumb absentmindedly rubbing at the brand on her wrist while One nodded her head in agreement.
"Jane, those people think we're monsters, even if they're the ones that made us. They caged us like animals, hurt us if we disobeyed them - people like that can't be swayed with a deal concocted but just one man."
As much as One felt terrible for being the cause of Jane's eyes sliding to the ground once again, her hands curling tightly around her body, but she couldn't lie. They had all been through too much to give the promise of hope and freedom if it was simply not true.
Eleven, deep down, knew it from the beginning. Despite their arguments and the screaming match that had sent a rift through her and Hopper's relationship, Eleven had always thought Hopper to be unbeatable. He always seemed so sure and so determined, that Eleven had truly looked at him and believed him when he'd said she'd one day be free.
Nobody was unbeatable, and nobody could accomplish the impossible.
Kali eyed Jane for a moment, watching the young girl fiddle with her fingers, picking at the skin around her nails, "Let me guess. Your policeman, he also stops you from using your gifts?"
Eleven nodded, her eyes trained heavily on the lines slicing through her palms. Hopper had always said it was for protection, keeping them hidden meant keeping her safe... But Eleven had seen his eyes when she'd turned her powers at him; fear had glistened.
A hand clasped her own and as Eleven lifted her head, the sweet voice of One touched her ears, "Jane, what you can do is amazing, it makes you special."
"Do..." Eleven blinked owlishly as she stared between her new sisters, "Do you have... gifts?"
One and Kali nodded in unison, there was no need to keep their secret from her. For so many years the two teenagers had only ever been able to confine within one another, Jane had never had the opportunity.
One couldn't have begun to understand just how lonely the girl must have felt. No matter how many friends she'd made amidst her time in Hawkins, no matter if she had lived with her policeman... nobody would ever really understand the pain that came with their pasts, nor the pain of being seen as nothing but a threat and a monster.
"We do," Kali spoke once more. Her hand was brought forth, fingers unfurling, "I can make people see, or not see, whatever I choose."
"Is that how you made the man with the crazy hair dance?"
Kali's lips stretched into a grin, "Axel is not so fond of spiders, so..."
"You made him see spiders?" The young girl giggled, her eyes creasing at the edges as she teetered back, only stopping as One swiftly grabbed ahold of her collar, stopping her descent.
The girl wore a coy smile as she slowly unfurled her fingers, gently patting Eleven's shoulder. Her dark eyes were cast to Kali, watching as her sister wiggled her fingers, likely creating an illusion neither she, nor Jane could spy, "But it doesn't have to be scary... While Kali could make us see spiders just like she did with Axel, she could also illuminate the sky with colourful stars, or make trees grow from the middle of the river. None of our gifts are inherently bad, Jane."
A hum echoed from Kali's pursed lips, and once more Eleven could see that hint of awe within Kali's eyes as she stared at One. Jane understood it perfectly; One had already welcomed her far more than anybody had ever done before; she had been the one to bring her into a hug, the one to lay a comforting hand on her arm, to catch her before she fell... and to reassure her of her fears. Eleven didn't want to be a monster.
Kali pushed her hand closer to Jane, and as the girl uncurled her fingers, a soft light began to glow at the very centre of her palm, and then, in a flurry, a bundle of colourful butterflies soared into the air. They fluttered around, wings glowing and changing their shade; the colours shone within Eleven's eyes as she gaped at the sight around her, giggling softly as one of the creatures landed at the very tip of her button nose.
"They aren't real," Kali explained, and with a wiggle of her fingers, half of the butterflies popped like fireworks, spraying wondrous blue, yellow and purple sparks through the air, "I've just convinced your mind that they are... Think of it as a kind of... Magic."
One by one the butterflies faded into the sky until just one remained. Kali reached out and swiped it from the air. The glittering light that had been spewing from its wings softly diminished and settled the three girls back under the dull lights of the bustling city. Kali showed her palm again, and no butterfly was to be found.
One hummed airily as she watched Eleven's face contort in bewilderment, leaning closer as though to try and coax the butterfly out of hiding. Then the girl stared wide-eyed at both One and Kali, her lip pulled between her teeth, "Are you two real?"
A finger prodded One's cheek, and Kali huffed in amusement as a digit jabbed her chin; the three of them laughed in unison and One couldn't help but sigh in contentment as she watched the youngest of them smile. She had walked into the warehouse with a grim expression and a terrible story to tell, now here she was giggling away just like a child should.
One grinned and leaned forwards, her voice but a whisper as Eleven peered at her, "We are certainly real..." She cocked her head, chopped hair flitting around her neck, "Are you?"
And then, just as Eleven had done, One jabbed the young girl's side with a finger, and then another until the girl was rendered utterly breathless against her hysterical giggles.
"What?" One mused, pausing in her efforts while mirth swam within her ever-dark eyes, "I'm just making sure you're real."
The insufferable creaking of the rooftop door rendered the girls silent and with a sheepish smile, Axel popped his head around the door. He rose a thin brow at the commotion they'd all been causing, "Hey, Doug Henning, we need you for a sec," He directed to Kali who couldn't have concealed her eye-roll at the name even if she'd tried.
"Show Jane to a room?" Kali spoke as she paused in her steps, eyes on One.
"Of course, go on."
The door had slammed shut and the harsh sound of metal scraping against metal had sent a shiver down One's spine. Still, she brushed it off and turned her sights back to Eleven. The girl had been watching her with curious eyes, though what caught her attention most was the one word that Eleven had mouthed. Pretty.
Her heart swelled.
"What is your gift?" Eleven asked, her chin firmly planted in her palms.
"I can control a form of energy -"
"- Energy?"
"It's... quite hard to explain, really." One muttered softly, staring at the scars littering her hands. There was a callous on her right pointer, a long and jagged scar at the very centre of her left hand, and a smattering of tiny ones littered all over her skin. Some had been gained during her tests, but most remained from the day she'd escaped, scars left from the stones and gravel that had torn at her flesh.
Explaining what she could do was... a lengthy process, to put things lightly. Psionic energy had been a term she'd heard the doctors use whenever they spoke of her. Did that mean she knew what it meant? No, not really. What she did know, was that she was strong and powerful and that even after the years that had passed her by, she still hadn't found their complete limit.
One shook her head, glancing at Jane with a wry smile, her fingertips wriggling like squirming little worms, "Would you like to see?"
Eleven nodded her head vigorously, her coils of brunette hair bounced and fell into her eyes. She huffed a breath and blew them away as she scooted forwards watching intently as One faced her palm upwards. A beat passed and as slowly as she could manage, One called out to her power.
A swirling ball of crimson mist seeped from her palm and jittered over her flush. It illuminated their faces, washing them with a deep-red glow. The ball continued to jostle with each twitch of her fingers, and then, with a tiny jolt, the ball began to race between her fingers.
One looked at Eleven, relishing in the way the girl gaped at her in awe and utter intrigue. There was no fear to be seen as the young girl inched her fingers out.
Eleven's eyes didn't stray from the energy dancing over her sister's palm, "Can I?" her pointer halted, waiting.
"Of course." One twisted her wrist again, and the crimson cloud settled into the middle of her palm, sitting obediently as Eleven poked it. The girl laughed as the ball tiptoed its way up her finger, ghosting over her skin and tickling her as it went. "What do you think?"
"It's..." Eleven paused, shifting to peer up at her sister, a small breath leaving her, "... Amazing."
One could feel her heart stutter within her chest; hearing such words from Kali always soothed her worries of being seen as somebody to be feared - which... she was, but even so, One had never wanted something more than a family to just... accept her. To love her, because she just couldn't do that herself, no matter how hard she tried.
To hear it from this little girl who had never known anything but horror within her life, to hear that she thought her power was amazing, that she was pretty... One felt about ready to bundle the girl into her arms and threaten to never let go.
Instead, One clasped Jane's hand and pulled her to her feet, watching with delight as Jane grinned at her, "Well then, I suppose it's time for you to get settled. Do you want a room of your own..." One smiled softly and Eleven couldn't help but grin at the dimples that appeared, "Or would you like to stay with me?"
"Stay... with you?"
"Yeah, like a sleepover."
"Whats a sleepover?"
One faltered, her shoulders slumping as she finally remembered that Jane had even less experience at being... Human, than even she did. Her resolve funnelled back, and One tapped a finger against the young girl's nose and grinned as the girl crossed her eyes to watch, "I can't believe this'll be your first sleepover, I'm honoured," She cocked her head, nodding at the door as she struggled to heave it open with her free hand, "Come on, then."
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16/11/2019
edited version: 05-06-2022