Chapter Text
Prologue
“Eleven.”
Her eyes screwed up beneath their lids, but she didn’t open them. She whimpered slightly against the floor as the pain caught up with her. She tasted something metallic, something she’d tasted so many times it was almost familiar: blood.
“Eleven. Wake up.” Papa’s voice. She whimpered again and forced her eyes open to find him crouching over her where she shivered on the floor, though the room was warm. She was still soaked from being in that tank, and the air pushed goosebumps against her skin.
Papa was blocking the rest of the lab from view, but all around she could hear people scrambling around and shouting. Dust coated the air, moving from place to place like mingling ghosts. She felt an echo resonating in the room, though she had no idea what the source was.
“Papa?” She croaked.
“There you are, up you get.” His voice was quite firm, but he didn’t sound angry. For some reason she thought he should be.
He scooped an arm around her back and carried her with her face pressed to his chest, blocking her view, but she caught a glimpse of a glowing red something burning where there had been a wall mere minutes before.
She nuzzled against his shoulder to block out the disturbing sight even more. Somehow, she knew she was responsible for…whatever that was. In the tank, she’d had a vision of that monster Papa told her to find. He said it couldn’t hurt her, he said nothing could even see her in the void, but somehow, that creature did. It felt her presence somehow. She wasn’t sure why she’d even approached it in the first place, why she’d reached out and touched it; maybe to prove to herself that Papa was right, maybe simply because she was curious. Either way, the second she made contact, she’d known it was going to kill her.
She didn’t know what had happened next, exactly. She remembered screaming. Screaming louder than she ever had before. She supposed that made sense, as she’d never been that afraid before. What happened next though, she had no control over. It was like her abilities had a mind of their own.
She whimpered and shut her eyes, wanting nothing more than to be safe in her room with Papa’s arms around her telling her everything was fine. But even as that thought came to fruition only minutes later, it brought her no peace. Something had gone horribly wrong; her buzzing ears and freely bleeding nose were proof of that much, not to mention the throbbing in her head.
“What happened?” She wheezed as Papa laid her down on her bed and pulled a blanket up to her chin.
“Never mind that now,” he said, tucking her in. “You rest now, I’ll send someone to come check on you in a few minutes. I have to go take care of some things right now.”
“Did I…do something wrong?” A tear slipped down her temple.
He pet her shaved head, but gave no answer. Just gave a small smile and left the room, locking it behind him. She could have gotten through it telekinetically under normal circumstances, but in her current state she couldn’t even hold her eyes open.
A few doctors came in a few minutes later and, under the impression she was unconscious, didn’t break their conversation. Most of it was lost to her addled mind, but she caught one sentence: “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen.”
Will was running.
He’d been doing a lot of that these days. Running and hiding. Two things he’d only ever done in play or brief moments of childhood panic when his mother came home and he realized he hadn’t done his chores yet. Back then, the stakes were low. A slap on the wrist, maybe, or that gutting look of disappointment, but at the end of the day he could walk away and think nothing of it.
But that was then. Now, Will had to run and he had to hide or he would die.
He pelted through the grisly neighborhood—so like his own familiar streets yet so completely foreign—leaping over vines and avoiding patches of rumble that blocked his path.
“Where do I go…where do I go?” He muttered to himself. There was no point asking aloud, of course, as the only one who might hear him was the creature following a few paces away. But for one, he figured the sound of his voice was no more obvious than that of his pounding feet. And for another, the sound of a human voice was about the only thing keeping him sane.
He’d been in this place for…well, he didn’t know how long exactly. He’d spoken to his mom through the wall what felt like years ago, though it was probably only a couple of days.
“Right now I need you to hide!” She’d said. “I…I will find you, but you have to run now. Run! Run!”
So he ran as fast and as far he could, never resting in one place for more than a few hours, no matter how much he craved it. He stopped in every hiding place he knew—between the couches at Lucas’ house, the fort in Mike’s basement, the cupboard low in the wall of his own home, Castle Byers. It almost caught up to him when he stopped there. He’d been so tired, wishing for nothing more than an actual night’s sleep. And he was so weak—the air was difficult to breathe, and he hadn’t eaten in days. When he heard the monster outside, he was almost tempted to lay back down and fall asleep forever.
“You have to run now.” His mother’s voice echoed in his ears.
So he’d made himself get up and as the creature burst through the wall of his fort, he flung a blanket over the monster’s head, disorienting it enough for Will to make a narrow escape.
He’d been running ever since. He didn’t have a clear direction in mind, just anywhere the monster wouldn’t get him.
He was in the woods now. Deeper than he usually would have dared, but for once, he wasn’t afraid of the thick forest.
What do I do? Where can I hide?
He looked up. Maybe he could climb a tree? Could the monster climb? He didn’t like the look of those spindly fingers. Even if it couldn’t climb, it could probably tear down the tree. Or it might just wait at the bottom and Will would be trapped.
So, climbing was out. In the back of his mind, he worried about going too deep into the woods so he’d never be able to find his way back out. It’s not like there was anyone or anything to give him directions back home. But that worry took up a small portion of his mind compared to the more pressing matter at hand.
If in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose. The wise words of Gandalf fortified his resolve. It helped, thinking of himself as an adventurer like in Lord of the Rings.
He pressed on, deeper into the woods. He had to go on. He would see his mom again. He would see his friends again. He would survive. He had to.
Crash!
He twisted around, still running, and caught a glimpse of the monster. It was less than a hundred feet away, close enough that he could see a branch it just swiped from a tree come tumbling down.
And it was looking right at him.
Adrenaline surged through his veins and Will ran like he’d never run before. Any and all pain in his chest instantly forgotten as he leapt over vines and between trees. There must be something around here…a place to hide, a weapon of some sort. Anything. He’d used his last bullet a few days ago, but at this point he’d settle for a rock or tree branch if it came down to it.
As incredible the adrenaline boost was, it just wasn’t enough to put the necessary distance between the 12-year-old boy and the monster. It was closing in slowly but surely, inch by inch, foot by foot.
Will gasped for breath, dodging a pile of bones scattered in his path. His foot landed strangely and his leg buckled beneath him, but he sprung up and pelted on, not even feeling it.
He could hear the monster now. Its heavy footsteps pounded against the earth, louder with each stride.
But then…another sound broke through. It was dim, almost quiet enough that Will didn’t hear. It sounded like radio static, but that was impossible, wasn’t it? Then another sound, one that almost made him stumble. A voice. A human voice.
“—thing in the woods,” it was saying. Without sparing a moment to consider, Will altered course and veered straight towards it.
More static.
“Not sure, but it’s getting closer.”
Will could see it now. Off in the distance was a figure—a man in a silver hazmat suit.
“Help!” Will shouted. “ Help! ”
“Stand by with the tether, might need a quick exit. It’s—oh my God!”
Will had just burst from the tree line, the creature right on his tail. It was close enough that had he turned around, he would have seen its petal-like face opening up in preparation for its next strike, teeth flashing and spittle flying.
Run! He wanted to shout. The man was just standing there, a weapon of some sort hanging limply from his hands, just watching the scene unfold.
At last, the man unfroze. He propped the weapon on his shoulder and took aim. At Will.
“Wait—!” He didn’t have time to finish because the man pulled the trigger. With a yelp, Will threw himself to the ground, covering his head. He was temporarily amazed at his ability to dodge bullets until a howl erupted behind him and he turned enough to catch sight of the beast engulfed in flame. He whipped his head back around and saw the streak of fire still emitting from the man’s weapon.
The monster shrieked and writhed against the onslaught. Eventually, it must’ve decided Will wasn’t worth it, because he turned and pelted back into the woods, trailing smoke.
The world was quiet again, the only sound Will’s panicked gasps. The adrenaline was fading; he could feel a twinge in his ankle now, and soreness on his elbows from when he’d landed. But that hardly mattered now. The monster was gone. He was safe.
Grunting with effort, he turned back to thank his savior. He still held the weapon ready, afraid the monster might come back maybe?
Will felt dizzy. After days of being trapped here, fighting and hiding and totally alone, finally he was saved.
“Th—thank you,” he slurred, spots overtaking his vision.
When he blacked out, the last thing he remembered thinking was, Finally. I’m safe.
The man surveyed the scene in front of him. The boy—whoever he was—was unconscious. He looked no older than 12 and bore the signs of one having traveled for a long time. He was trembling even in unconsciousness, his clothes in tatters, his body scraped and bloody. The exposed skin on his arm was already beginning to swell, stinking of charred flesh. He must’ve managed to throw up an arm to protect his head just in time.
He approached the pitiful figure and nudged him with his boot. A twitch of a finger was the only indication that he was, in fact, alive.
How on earth did a kid end up here? He wondered to himself. End up here and survive ?
“Boss, you seeing this?” He asked.
“ Yes, Harte, I see. ” Said the static-infused voice of the doctor.
“What do you want me to do with him?”
Silence.
Then, “Take him inside.”