Inside of the Hawkins Laboratory, the (L/N)'s sit in an interrogation room with their hands cuffed behind their backs. They sit silently, listening to the buzzing of the overhead light above them. In the other soundproof rooms, Jim Hopper is violently tased for answers and Dr. Brenner finishes up a much more humane, unsuccessful interrogation with Joyce Byers.
Mr. and Mrs. (L/N)'s eyes are drawn to the heavy, metal door as it makes a clicking noise. Someone must be unlocking it. A white haired, older man, known as Dr. Brenner, opens the door and slips inside of the room. He closes the door shut and he takes a few steps in so that he's hidden by the shadows. He turns to face the couple, "Your daughter. We know you've been in contact with her," he steps closer. The parents stay silent. "When...and how did you make contact with her?" His tall figure looms over the table. The adults remain silent. Mr. (L/N) has the urge to say, "I have the right to an attorney," like they do on the crime shows, but he knows these guys don't give a sh*t. "Six," Dr. Brenner states.
"What?" Both (L/N)s ask, not understanding what he means by that.
"Six," Brenner removes his jacket, "Six people have been taken this week," he drapes his jacket over the chair on the opposite side of the table as the (L/N)s, "This...thing that took your daughter...we don't really understand it. But it's behavior is predictable. Like all animals," Brenner pulls this chair out for himself and sits across from them, his face is now being illuminated by the overhead light, "It eats. It will take more daughters. More sons. I want to save them. I want to save your daughter. But, I can't do that. Not without your help," Mrs. (L/N)'s stoic expression turns sour.
"Stop," she looks at him contemptuously, "We know who you are, Doctor, and we know what you've done. You've done anything but help! You knew our daughter was in that place and you left her there. To die! You faked her death and went as far as to make a...a fake body! We had a funeral. We buried her. And now you want our help," she scoffs, "Go to h*ll." Her husband looks to her, eyebrows raised, attempting to hide a smirk creeping up on his lips. Dr. Brenner's expression hardens.
♥︎
Hopper walks in with two guards. The MPs stiffly walk to the back of the (L/N)'s chairs and unlock their handcuffs which had binded them to the chairs. The couple is escorted out into the hallway where Joyce waits with two other MPs. They all continue down the dimly lit hallway. "I don't understand," Joyce says to Hopper. The (L/N)s, who stand side by side behind the two, overhear her and listen in.
"We came to an agreement," the cop states.
"What?" Joyce asks.
"Look, everything that's happened here and everything that's gonna happen, we don't talk about," he looks back at the (L/N)s, "You two hear that? We don't talk about any of this," he turns facing forward again, "You want Will and (Y/N) back. This place has nothing to do with it. That's the deal. You got it?" They're all silently compliant with the terms, willing to do anything for their children.
The scientists lead them into a room containing yellow hazmat suits. "What is this?" Hopper asks the scientist.
"Protection. The atmosphere is toxic," the smaller man states gravely.
Joyce is appalled by this, "But my son's in there. He..." The nervousness really sets in for the adults now.
"Put it on," Hopper states and grabs one off the rod.
The reality of the situation sits heavy in Mrs. (L/N)'s chest. They might really die in there. Or find their children dead in there. For a mother, the latter would be worse. "Can we have a second, please?" (Y/N)'s mother sounds like she's going to be sick. Hopper gives her a look of urgency, but she avoids his glare and looks to the scientist.
"I guess that's possible. Just try to be quick," the scientist says warily. He nods to the guard who opens the door and goes out into the hallway. Mrs. (L/N) takes her husband by the hand and brings him out of the heavy glass door. After they exit, a guard on the inside closes it behind them.
Mrs. (L/N) drops her husband's hand, "Do you want to make it up to me?" She asks him, attempting to be confident, however she knows that what she'll be asking may not be able to be done.
"What?" (Y/N)'s father asks.
"Do you want me to forgive you?" she says bluntly, knowing that there isn't much time.
"Yes," he says quickly and desperately.
"Okay, then you have to do this one thing for me. Do this one thing so that I can consider somewhat forgiving you and we can have our daughter back and be a family."
"What is it?" He asks worriedly.
"I need you to stay here," she says, determined.
Mr. (L/N) gets a heated look in his eye and crinkles his face up in astonishment, "What? No way. Are you serio--"
"Please! It's all I ask. I want to go get her, but to do that I need to make sure we're safe in there. I need to make sure these people aren't just going to close the...the portal or whatever it is. I need to be sure (Y/N) can get back safe," (Y/N)'s mother pleads.
"I can't let you go in there alone," he states protectively.
"I won't be alone! I have Hopper and Joyce. Please, right now, just do this one thing! It's all I ask. After what you did, you're lucky I'm giving you another chance," she stares up at her husband bitterly and he averts his eyes, ashamed.
They hear an abrupt banging on the glass and turn quickly to see Hopper suited up head-to-toe in the hazmat suit. He mouths, "Let's go," and Mrs. (L/N) turns to her husband, waiting for an answer.
He sighs, exasperated, "Okay. But, if you don't come back...I won't forgive myself," he says as a last attempt to guilt the woman into reconsidering. However, he can tell by how she's looking at him, she really doesn't care.
"I will come back...we will come back," the woman whips around and enters the room without her husband, ready to gear up and get going.
"Is he—" Hopper begins to ask.
"Not coming," Mrs. (L/N) replies directly. Due to her cold tone Hopper decides to leave it at that. There is obviously something going on that he doesn't know about.
♥︎
The familiar elevator doors open to reveal Joyce, Hopper, and Mrs. (L/N) clad in their protective suits. Their flashlight beams sweep over the growths sprouting from the floor and walls. They start their journey down the gloomy basement corridor.
♥︎
As the military vehicles roll out, on their way to Hawkins Middle School to collect a certain powerful, little girl, Joyce, Hopper, and Mrs. (L/N) reach the growth covered rift in the laboratory. They exchange resolute looks. Glowing green-tinted lights illuminate their faces inside of the hazmat helmets. While holding a semi-automatic weapon with a flashlight attached to the barrel out in front of him, Hopper heads forwards to the membrane. Joyce follows closely in suit and (Y/N)'s mother isn't far behind her.
The Chief pushes through the thin layer of vine before the membrane. The two women follow closely after him. The growths close back up behind them as they pass through into the eye of the storm.
♥︎
Hopper, Joyce, and Mrs. (L/N) head slowly away from the lab. Well, not exactly the Hawkins Lab, but sorta? It's the lab, but from the other side. Joyce can be heard breathing heavily, she's on the verge of hyperventilating. And Mrs. (L/N) is nearly shaking out of her hazmat suit, this is probably the most terrifying thing she's ever done. And hopefully will ever do. Hopper places an arm on Joyce's shoulder. "Hey, you all right?" He asks.
"Yeah," Joyce says through shallow breaths, she doesn't sound all right.
"I need you to relax, okay?" Hopper caringly demands, "I want you to slow down your breathing, take deep breaths. In and out. Deep breath in...and out. In and out," The group does as Hopper says and tries to be calm. Even though that's nearly impossible in this situation. Doing these breathing exercises reminds Hopper of a similar event with his daughter. For a second, he's brought back to the time when all h*ll started to break loose with her illness.
Hopper shakes his thoughts away and looks to Joyce, "You okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah," she says, this time she half means it.
"Are you?" He asks (Y/N)'s mother. She nods rapidly, not wanting to have to stop again, she wants to get through this as quick as possible.
Hopper gives her a thumbs up through his thick glove. The Chief grips onto his gun tighter and moves the flashlight's beam straight ahead of them. They move into the dark woods beyond.
♥︎
The group continues to tramp through the dark forest. It's gotten harder to move because of the obstacles surrounding them. The vines have gotten thicker and the trees have become more abundant. The beams of their flashlights cut through the dense fog, illuminating the floating particles. Hopper's beam finds a large egg-shaped pod. The light lingers and he slows down to examine it. There's a gash in the side and the egg it seems to be hollow. Something must have hatched from it. And he does not want to come in contact with that baby. Curiously, Hopper reaches out his gloved hand and runs his it over the fleshy, rotting shell.
As Hopper does this, Joyce and (Y/N)'s mother continue ahead, exploring on their own. Their flashlight beams land on the splintered remains of a demolished fort. Joyce's light traces over the wood sign labeled "Castle Byers". "Will!" Joyce screams before running towards the ruins, trying to find any trace of her son.
Mrs. (L/N) stays still and traces her light around the shadowy fort. A familiar jacket pokes out from under a pile of wood. Her heart leaps.
"(Y/N)! Oh my, God! (Y/N)," hearing the women's screams, Hopper makes his way hastily over to the fort. Mrs. (L/N) shoots towards the piled wood and begins to frantically toss pieces to the side, audibly grunting.
"Oh, God!" Joyce yelps, acknowledging what the woman is doing. Hopper shines his light on the two of them who are prying away wood in a frenzy.
"Move," he gets closer, "Move!" Hopper goes to the right edge of the stack and lifts it up, roaring as he pushes it to the opposite side. It topples over and creates a loud, echoey crash. There lies little (Y/N) (L/N). Her face is so ghostly that veins can be seen through her translucent skin. He body seems so frail and lifeless. The most eye-catching thing about her, however, is the pool of blood flowing from her hairline. The blood makes a trail all the way down her face and onto her neck. This is a direct injury from the impact of the wood hitting her. "(Y/N)! (Y/N)!" Mrs. (L/N) falls to her knees and brings her daughter's limp body to her, embracing the girl tightly, disappointed she can't feel her through the hazmat suit but grateful all the same. Loud sobs echo out into the world around them.
"Is she...is she breathing?" Joyce asks anxiously. Mrs. (L/N)'s heart speeds up and she lowers her daughter onto her lap. She struggles to grip the zipper of (Y/N)'s jacket but is able to do so after a few tries. She unzips her jacket and pushes the middle open, exposing her daughter's shirt underneath, it's drenched with slime. They all watch the girl's chest intently. Mrs. (L/N) gasps in relief when she sees (Y/N)'s chest rise ever so slightly. The mother embraces her once again. She takes deep breaths, finally able to feel truly happy. Able to stop worrying, even if only for a second.
Joyce begins to dart her eyes around the remnants of the fort, "Will! Will!" She calls into the abyss, fearing something terrible has happened to her boy. Hopper kneels down to observe a certain object that's caught his eye. He strokes the face of a worn, plush lion and regains that far away look in his eye, reliving the traumatic end of his daughter, Sarah.
"Oh, God. She's really bleeding," Hopper is jolted from his memory to see the tender mother examining her daughter's wound. The Chief makes his way over and kneels beside them.
"Add pressure. That's the best we can do right now," Hopper says placing the woman's gloved hand onto the open wound.
"Should we go back to the...the portal?" Mrs. (L/N) asks warily. Her and Hopper both look back into the vast forest.
"I think it's safer if you stay with us," Hopper states whilst getting up. Mrs. (L/N) nods and uses her strength to get both her and her daughter up off the ground. She steals another glance at (Y/N)'s face as she carries her in her arms, suddenly thankful for everything that brought her here. Thankful she believed Joyce and that they had the aid of Hopper. Thankful that she stood up for what she believed in and had the courage to bring herself here to her daughter. Who, in fact, is alive.
♥︎
Before getting very far past "Castle Byers", the group hears a pained shriek from a certain grumbling monster. "Did you hear that?" Joyce asks. (Y/N)'s mother nods and Hopper gives her a look of verification. They continue on with more urgency.
Joyce, Hopper, (Y/N)'s mother, and an unconscious (Y/N) finally come to the "Byer's house" in the Upside Down. "Come on," Hopper says quietly as he moves towards the structure.
"Is that my house?" Joyce whispers. The group creeps up the back of the house and they enter through the back door. They slide into the decomposing structure, Hopper has his gun held out for protection. Joyce is the only one to notice that the kitchen table is broken in front of the back door and not in it's usual spot, but she thinks nothing of it. After all this isn't really her house. The group moves closely against the wall as to not alarm anything of their presence. They swerve into the hall.
Little did they know, they were setting off the Christmas lights back in their realm.
♥︎
Jonathan, Nancy, and Steve look up at the illuminating lights, terrified that the monster they had just faced was coming back to get them.
♥︎
Hopper finds the monster's blood stain on the floor, "It was hurt," they continue to follow the blood trail into the living room. The stain leads to the front door, so the group prepares to move out and follow it.
♥︎
As the lights illuminate one-by-one towards the front door, Jonathan comes to the realization that the thing setting off the lights isn't a monster at all, but instead his, "Mom," he whispers, staring teary-eyed at the glowing bulbs.
♥︎
A nearly inaudible voice echoes through the living room in the Upside Down, Hopper and Mrs. (L/N) hadn't even noticed it, but Joyce had. "Is that you? Mom," Joyce turns around and stares into the vacant space.
"Jonathan?" Noticing that Joyce had spoken, the two other travelers turn her way.
"Joyce, come on," Hopper says, wanting to get a move on. Joyce turns around and they continue to follow the blood trail out of the house and back into the dark, unknown world.
♥︎
The group had picked up their pace and traveled quite some way. During the trip, (Y/N)'s mother would whisper calming things to her daughter, hoping that she'd make some sort of movement to let her mother know that she could hang on a bit longer. But, the girl never stirred.
The trail of blood leads through a lifeless, abandoned Hawkins. The three examine the empty storefronts and junk cars that lay on the sides of the road. Suddenly, the trail veers right. Everyone turns their heads slowly in that direction. They know this is where that thing must have gone. The "Hawkins Library". Joyce throws an uneasy look at Hopper. He glances back at her briefly, then moves onto the path that leads to the library. The women follow after him, taking slow, deliberate steps. This could be the end of them all. Or it could just be an empty building. All they know is that they're going in blind.
♥︎
The group moves their flashlights around the grim space, fully expecting something to jump out and attack them. The bookshelves and tables are barely visible under thick layers of webby growth. Their beams of light sweep over the checkered floor, illuminating the trail of blood which leads into the next room.
The three now enter an area cloaked with darkness. With his gun kept at ready, Hopper leads the way down a straicase. His determined features are lit up by the light inside of his helmet. He's ready to end this.
They enter a room which is dimly lit by the small amount of light that filters through an overhead window. Joyce passes a skeleton covered in dried growths, she stares at it in horror. Could that be her boy? "Oh my, God," she whispers under her breath.
Hopper's flashlight roves over bodies shrouded in the webs. Suddenly, his beam finds Barb Holland's lifeless, decaying face. His eyes widen and his face twitches as he struggles to remain composed. Mrs. (L/N) sticks behind Hopper, not able to fully look at the bodies as she's mainly focused on her daughter's which lies limp in her arms.
Joyce traces her light against the wall with her brows furrowed. Her heart skips a beat as it lands on a familiar face. It's Will. "Will! Will!" Joyce shouts after a moment of shock. The boy is deadly pale and there's a wet tendril which snakes into his mouth. Hopper and (Y/N)'s mother turn to Joyce quickly. She runs towards his elevated body, "Will! Oh my, God!" She screams as she realizes he looks so, very lifeless. "Will! Hopper!" She calls the Chief for assistance. "Get him out!" She yells in agony. Mrs. (L/N) stands frightened and is frustrated she can't do anything to help. Hopper begins to tug the tendril from Will's throat. One hand on the boy's face for balance and the other using all of its strength to remove the disgusting creature. Both women's stomachs churn as they watch the creature resistantly slide out of Will's throat. It screeches in protest, wanting to stay latched onto it's new host.
Hopper grips onto the tendril with two hands and finally manages to pull the entirety of it from the boy's mouth. It falls to the ground screeching and writhing. "Oh, Jesus," Hopper says disgusted. He begins to shoot at it. In the midst of the chaos, nobody notices the (L/N) girl's eyes blink open for a split second, her gaze fixed on the seemingly lifeless Byers boy.
Hopper had pulled Will out from the webs. He now lays on the floor. Joyce and Hopper have removed their masks, knowing what they have to do next, "He's not breathing, he's not breathing," Joyce sobs. Hopper grabs Joyce's arm.
"Alright, Joyce, Joyce, listen to me, listen to me, listen to me. I need you to lift his head back...and lift his chin."
"Okay," Joyce cups Will's face. Hopper begins to do chest compressions. He counts, "One, two, three, four. Now when I tell you, you're gonna pinch his nostrils, and breath into his mouth...twice."
"Okay," Joyce complies tearily.
"One second, then pause," Hopper coaches her, "Then one second."
"Okay," Joyce continues to sob as she waits for the Chief's command.
Hopper continues counting, "29, 30. Now! Go!" Joyce pinches Will's nose and breaths into his mouth, but he remains still.
"Oh, come on, come on," she urges Will.
"Come on. Come on, kid," Hopper pleads. Joyce cries to her son.
"Will, listen to me. It's me, it's your mom and I love you so much," The pained mother brings Mrs. (L/N) to tears. She holds her daughter even closer, if possible, and sobs against her head, feeling so lucky that she's there in her arms, breathing. "I love you more than anything in the world," Joyce cries. Hopper steadily continues with the chest compressions.
The sounds draw (Y/N) into a brief conciousness where all she can do is wince. She wants to call out for Will. She wants to cry for him, but all she can do is make a slight, pained noise that takes so much of her energy that she collapses back into unconsciousness. Mrs. (L/N) lifts up her head briefly to examine her daughter. She had definitely stirred for a second. (Y/N)'s mother rocks her daughter side to side, trying to calm her down. She whispers, "He's gonna be okay, honey. He's gonna be okay," as she rests her face against her daughter's head once again, not wanting to look at the scene in front of her.
Joyce continues to cry, "Please, please come back to me. Just..."
Hopper pushes even harder, "Come on, kid!"
"Please, please wake up. Please, please," Joyce pleads. Hopper is reminded of his dying daughter whilst he tries to resuscitate the boy. He won't let another parent lose their child like he did his. "Breathe, Will! Come on!" The frantic mother sobs. "Come back to me, breathe!" Hopper pounds on Will's chest, surely cracking one or more of his ribs. "I need you to wake up now I need you to breathe," he pounds, "Please breathe!" And pounds, "Please!" He gives one last blow to the boy's chest.
Will gasps, filling his lungs with the limited air supply around him. He coughs and spits up the residue in his throat. "Oh, my God, that's it, that's it!" Joyce leans Will over on his side, so that he doesn't choke. He continues to cough with a far off look in his eye. He had in fact been dead, but was given the breath of life, "That's it, baby. Breathe," Joyce repeats.
Mrs. (L/N) takes deep breaths, filled with joy. "He's okay, baby. He's okay," she tells her daughter subconsciously.
Hopper crawls past Joyce to grab a gas mask. He slips it over Will's face. Joyce repeats the same command to Will, telling him to "Breathe," over and over.
Out of breath, Hopper says, "Give her...give her yours, too. She's been...breathing this stuff in...for long enough," Mrs. (L/N) quickly finds the mask that's attached to her suit and places it over her daughter's face. The girl's eyelids twitch once, but that's the only response her mother gets.
Will's eyes open to see his sobbing mother. He gasps for the air, never cherishing it more in his life. He turns his head frantically looking for the girl who'd gone through all of this with him, needing to see if she was alive. When he turns to his left he indeed sees the girl lying limp in her mother's arms. "She's okay, sweetie. She's okay," Joyce says to him realizing what he was trying to do. Joyce bends over Will's body and sobs whilst the boy continues to draw in the oxygen. Hopper sits behind Joyce, exhausted but relieved, and places a hand on her shoulder.
Everyone is overcome with an overwhelming sense of relief. This is finally over. Everything is finally okay again...right?
____________________________________
Hi! I honestly got so excited when they found (Y/N)! I'm so happy for her♥︎ Also...Don't leave yet this is NOT the last chapter! There is one more after this. And yes, I will be continuing onto a season two! I'll try to get the book out there sometime in the next week so you can save it or know it exists before I end this one! If you want more information on that go to last chapter's note. I will also be posting the information again next chapter! The amount of support I have gotten is unreal and I appreciate every one of you! I hope you stick around♥︎ I can't wait to see you next chapter ~WoodCeiling♥︎
EDIT: NEXT CHAPTER IN TWO WEEKS!
*THE CHARACTERS, THEME, AND SOME DIALOGUE BELONG TO STRANGER THINGS AND THE DUFFER BROTHERS*