Chapter Text
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Mike snapped his eyes open and jolted upright from his bed. He immediately turned off the alarm that sat on the counter next to him. His heartbeat was rapid, his adrenaline persistent. He tried catching his breath, recollecting the nightmare he just had. It was repetitive as he had lost count of the amount of times it tormented him in his sleep.
It comprised of the day that he and his friends escaped that damned lab.
Exactly one year and three months ago counting today.
The first time he had this nightmare was the one year anniversary of their escape. Since then he had this dream at random, un-periodic intervals of time – different variations of it. In some variations they would successfully escape, while in some they were captured and then killed. The latter dreams encapsulated what Mike called ‘scarier alternative realities’. Sometimes they would occur once every few weeks or even as much as twice a week. Regardless of that, it was still incredibly terrifying to wake up from…just as terrifying as when he first dreamt them.
He hoped the reoccurring nightmares weren’t an ominous sign that the ‘Bad Men’ were on their tracks to capture them and take them back to the lab.
Hawkins National Laboratory.
Mike and his five friends spent nearly their entire lives trapped in that dire place. They were treated as lab-rats to be prodded and experimented on due to special powers they were born with - special powers that were integral to facilitating their escape. With the help of a very special Sherriff - Sheriff Joe Hopper - they were able to live an isolated but safe existence in the deep of the forest.
It was a small and cramped cabin that Hopper’s grandfather owned decades ago, but it was comfy. Not in the sense that the furnishings were comfortable, but in the sense that Mike and the others could feel a plentitude of safety…away from the scientists and other workers in Hawkins Lab who tested on them…or what they’d call the ‘Bad Men’. Hopper was like a father to the six of them, he housed them, fed them, and constantly reassured them that the Bad Men could never reach the remote area they resided in.
However, Hopper suddenly disappeared six months ago and he never came back. It was a unanimity among the six that he died; Mike thought that the Bad Men were the ones to find Hopper before they killed him for “betraying” them. With that, the 15 year old boy replaced Hopper as the caretaker or at least a lesser version of one and naturally took charge as he was the oldest of the six.
When Mike’s frantic heartbeat lessened, he pulled his bedsheet off of him. He didn’t have time to mull over that nightmare any longer; he just had to accept that he’d probably dream about it for the rest of his life. He looked at the alarm; it was 9:50 A.M. That meant it was time to cook breakfast.
He suddenly flinched when he heard the sound of glass break.
“What the fuck, Dustin!” A frustrated voice shouted from the kitchen.
“My hand slipped!” The voice belonging to Dustin said, “Lucas, you’re going to step on it!”
With his habitual fast-reflex, Mike immediately got off the bed and sped towards the kitchen. He stopped when he saw the other two boys standing across from each other. One of them had unruly, curly light-brunette hair, a hat partially concealing it. His clothes were baggy, his sweater almost slipping off his shoulders - Dustin. The other boy was slightly taller with a leaner frame; he was dark-skinned with short afro-textured hair – Lucas. The two were careful not to step on the numerous glass shards that surrounded them. Mike resisted the urge to yell at the two boys for being so careless.
“Can you guys for once be careful and stop breaking dishes?!” Mike exclaimed; they had a limited amount of those and they couldn’t afford to break anymore. Hopper had left them essentials such as money, food, water, glassware and dishes to drink and eat with, etc. If they ran out of anything they’d have to go out and buy something, making themselves liable to risk. Even though Hopper had given them a map of Hawkins, Indiana and instructed them of important locations and where they were located, it was imperative for them to stay within sight of the cabin unless it was an “absolute emergency”.
“That was all Dustin!” Lucas retorted, causing Dustin to eye him in irritation, “I’ve only broken a plate once and that was weeks ago!”
Mike pinched the bridge of his nose. Within a few seconds he could smell something burning from the stove.
“Shit, shit, shit!” Lucas frantically exclaimed. Dustin’s eyes widened, noticing the edges of the omelet Lucas had been frying on the stove were pitch black. Lucas immediately pulled the skillet away from the pan before the fire alarm above them started ringing. The smoke arising from the pan was clearly visible at this point.
Mike gritted his teeth together to keep from shouting expletives. He swore he loved these two, but sometimes they could frustrate him to wits end. The two were what Mike called partners-in-crime, always up to no good when they were together. Lucas’ to-the-point, rational personality often clashed with Dustin’s more carefree demeanor but they remained close. Being the second oldest at 15, Lucas often replaced Mike as the ‘designated one-in-charge’ when he wasn’t in the mood.
“What the hell happened in here?”
Mike turned around and saw a girl, messy long, red hair spilling out of the bun she tied it up in. She was still dressed in her red flannel pajamas, her blue eyes groggy with sleepiness. Max. She was the third oldest of the six, her fifteenth birthday occurring just a few weeks before Dustin’s. Although she quarreled with Mike at times, she often shared his frustration with Lucas’ and Dustin’s disastrous cooking endeavors.
“Go ask them,” Mike finally said, gesturing to the frantic Lucas who tried turning off the fire alarm and a calmer but still agitated Dustin who was looking for the broom to clean up the glass shards. He bypassed Max to go wake up the remaining two, earning a confused frown from the red-headed girl.
He knocked a door that led into another bedroom. When he heard a soft ‘come in’, he pushed open the door. A girl with short, tousled and disheveled brown hair sat up on her bed – with a slight movement of her head the micro-sized t.v that sat on the stand adjacent to her turned off.
“Hey, El.”
“Good morning, Mike,” The girl, ‘El’ responded, in her quiet but soft voice. Her full name was Eleven (being called subject 011 during their time at the lab) as she was the only one of the six who didn’t have any records of their birth name so the others simply referred to her as El, by her admission of course. Out of the six, she was the closest to Hopper so his sudden disappearance devastated her. The normally reserved and closed-off El opened up to him fast and he was immediately fascinated with her unique personality which included her almost obsessive interest in television. As a result, he gave her the small TV as a gift when she turned 14 seven months ago.
“Are we having Eggos for breakfast today?” She asked.
“If you want,” Mike replied, “I can go ahead and make some…after Dustin cleans up his mess.”
“Again?” Eleven inquired.
“Yeah, twice this week now. It’s a record, even for Dustin,” Mike said, understanding that Eleven was referring to Dustin’s habitual obliteration of the ceramic dishes. Compared to the other five, Eleven’s vocabulary was lacking as she was tested on the most. That meant less time to acquire basic English-speaking skills from the “teachers” within the lab. Her powers were of much interest to Hawkins Lab – they comprised of telekinesis and the ability to locate places and people.
Eleven smiled, amused at Dustin’s unchanging habits.
“Blueberry,” Eleven clarified, as Mike was getting ready to leave her room, “Blueberry Eggos.”
“Got it,” Mike weakly smiled back, before he left and made his way to the last door in the hallway.
When he was about to knock on the door, it opened, startling Mike. A short-statured boy who barely reached Mike’s chin had answered it. He had brown hair, shaped into a neat bowl cut, his bright, prominent hazel eyes staring up at Mike. He had already changed out of his pajamas into a navy sweater and light-blue jeans.
“Sorry, Mike,” The last and youngest of the six apologized. He was 14 year old Will Byers.
As Dustin and Lucas shared a unique bond with each other, Mike and Will shared a very special one as well. Mike felt kind of mushy admitting this, but Will meant the world to him. He was kind, easy to talk to, and incredibly selfless. Mike also was the first person Will would come to if he had trouble with anything and vice versa. Will was quiet and timid which brought on Mike’s naturally protective streak, him being the youngest added on to that.
“You don’t look well,” Will continued, noticing the sullenness in Mike’s brown eyes. Will knew that expression on his face was only apparent during those days, “…Was it that dream again?”
“How did you know?”
“Dream Walking,” Will muttered, reminding Mike for what felt like the 100th time. He spoke in louder voice, slight amusement in his tone, “I thought you caught on by now.”
“Oh, yeah- of course,” Mike nervously chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.
That was Will’s power. He had the ability to subconsciously enter people’s dreams which was just an extent of his larger scale ability of True Sight. In summarization, he was able to see between planes of alternate realities…whether it be dreams or alternate realities in real-time. He habitually did so whenever Mike had that nightmare. It seemed remarkable at first glance, but it was often a frightening ordeal for the boy as it was something he was unable to control it when his emotions got the better of him – and that frequently happened when they were kept as test subjects in Hawkins lab. Since then, Will sparingly used his powers.
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“Isn’t it too cold to take a walk?”
“You’d rather be cramped up in here for the whole day?”
Lucas raised his hands up in defeat, unable to argue with Max on that. The six were situated in their seats around the square shaped dining table. Their plates were nearly empty, as they were finishing breakfast. Eleven had eaten her weight in Eggos while the others opted for toast and jam. Since they didn’t have to deal with the stress of going to school due to being fugitives…technically at least, they had a lot of time during the day. It was either spent exploring the vast forest that surrounded the cabin or engaging in more personal ventures such as watching TV, educating themselves with the numerous amounts of books that Hopper left in their possession, and the four boys of the group playing the Dungeons and Dragons board game – another gift from Hopper.
“Those who want to go out should raise their hands,” Dustin said as his hand was up in the air, “…and those who don’t can just stay home for the day.”
“I thought we all agreed that we stay together at all costs,” Mike spoke up, causing Dustin to reluctantly put his hand back down. On the slim chance that the Bad Men actually found them in the deserted forest they resided in, it was imperative that the six be together at once for two reasons. If one or more of them were located and taken separately, the others would have no clue when and where they were taken – making the process of rescuing them difficult. The second reason was each of their specific powers. They knew that each of their powers came in handy, especially when they were together. This was evidenced by their ability to escape Hawkins Lab in the first place. Their individual skillsets complimented each other and when used together they could easily stun their enemies.
“You think they’d find us all the way out here?” Max asked, genuine curiosity in her voice, “There haven’t been any sightings of people at all since Hopper first brought us here.”
“W-well no,” Mike replied, the nightmare coming to mind.
“Better to stay safe in case something happens,” Eleven added, “We’re safest when we’re together.”
“Exactly,” Mike agreed, his composure coming back.
It was then that they unanimously agreed that they would all go out. Each of them made sure not to step on the trip wire that surrounded the cabin, curtesy of Hopper. He told them all it would make a loud, booming gunshot noise if the slightest movement was made against it.
The six were bundled up in their coats as it was freezing outside, refreshing, but freezing. As they spoke, they could see the air come out from their mouth - they were in the latter days of November, the early winter breeze already arriving. Mike and Will led the way, walking side-by-side. The smaller boy held onto a sketchbook, charcoal-based pencils stuffed in his left coat pocket. Behind them, Lucas and Dustin were busy chattering away with Eleven and Max, Eleven being the mediator between their quarrels.
When they reached a reasonable distance from the cabin, Will sat down against a tree. Mike watched as he flipped open his sketchbook (a gift to him from Hopper) to an empty page. He pulled out the charcoal pencils and began to sketch the landscape ahead of him.
Forest.
Forest that was saturated with trees with fallen colorful leaves that covered the ground. Above them the morning sun shone brightly, cracking through the sparse openings that the tree branches left.
“Do you get bored of drawing this place?” Mike spoke up, his hands in his pockets. It really was chilly, the sun barely warming him up.
Will was an amazing artist; he often used the much leisure time he had to fill his sketchbook with drawings that ranged from physical, concrete objects and scenes to more abstract mediums such as the dreams he had…or the dreams he saw. Whenever they took their group walks outside in the forest around them, Will would always bring his sketchbook to draw it. It intrigued Mike as he lost count of how many times his friend would draw the scene – the repetitive, dull sentiment of the scenery ahead of them, it just being countless numbers of trees.
“No,” Will shook his head, looking up at Mike who stood next to him, “It’s not like it looks the same all year; the trees change as the seasons change.”
They both looked ahead of them when they heard barks of laughter coming from the others. Eleven was levitating a wrist rocket in the air, which belonged to Lucas. The latter tried jumping up to take it back but Eleven kept levitating it higher – a playful glint to her eyes. This was after she kept levitating it to the back of Lucas, moving it around as he turned around as an attempt to look for it. Dustin and Max couldn’t help but to laugh at the futile attempts of Lucas trying to get back the weapon.
“There’s something so captivating about this forest too that I can’t describe…so many good memories that come with it,” Will continued, a smile forming on his face.
For the majority of their lives, they lived a life of ultimate constraint, being trapped in tiny rooms or cages and blindly following the orders of the Bad Men who abused them if they didn’t do as they said. Now they were free, free to act like regular teenagers of their age – laughing, joking around, solidifying their friendships, and furthering their hobbies. This was a place where they could act like themselves; Mike loved the tranquility of it all…just him and his ‘family’ being themselves.
Lucas’ wrist rocket suddenly dropped to the ground.
Within seconds, numerous white vans sped towards them, rocking back and forth on the rocky, uneven ground of the forest.
The other four immediately sped towards Mike and Will, making sure they wouldn’t be run over by the large vehicles. They didn’t have time to react at peculiarity their sudden appearance when they came to an abrupt stop in front of them. The doors of the vans snapped open; men and women in white uniforms came out of the van.
When the six saw the specific types of uniforms that these people wore and the writing in large letters on the side of the van – HAWKINS POWER AND LIGHT – that was when they immediately recognized who those people were and what they were here for.
Eleven’s eyes widened; she felt herself taking a few steps back when she saw a familiar man with white hair situate himself in front of the other men and women.
These were the Bad Men.
For a split second, Mike thought the nightmare he had wasn’t over, but he was wrong. This was really happening.
The Bad Men actually found them.