Chapter Text
An echoing scream sounded from far off making Hop and Joyce turn as they reached the gate.
“You get him out of here okay” Hop said earnestly.
She nodded “What about you?”
“I’m going to find that thing, I’m ending this” he said removing his gun from it’s holster.
“Hop don’t this is already over” she said pulling at his arm while holding her barely conscious son to her chest.
“No it needs to die” Hop argued looking back into the darkness trying to move off again.
“Hop wait”
“Joyce you can’t stop me…”
“No I just.. Thank you for everything, believing me, bringing my boy back, just be careful” she smiled weakly.
Hop smiled and placed an arm on her shoulder and nodded “Go, he needs a hospital”
Joyce nodded and exited the gate leaving Hop in the upside down.
He walked quickly, gun out and ready, heading towards the source of the noise. As he got closer he stopped, dropping his gun as he reached the source of the noise. Eleven lay barely breathing on the ground next to the corpse of the monster.
“Eleven” He called softly walking towards her, kneeling next to her frail body. He head turned slightly her eyelids lifting slightly before fluttering shut. Hop lifted the girl into his arms hearing her short raspy breaths on his chest he made his way back to the gate.
“Michael” Mrs Wheeler called through the mess of police and ambulance vehicles gathered in front of the school “Michael she called again desperation increasing with each minute since she had gotten the phone call from police. Finally she saw him wrapped in a blanket sitting in the back of an ambulance, Dustin and Lucas sat just outside talking in hushed voices. She ran over wrapping her arms around him.
“Michael oh my god are you okay? What happened” Mrs wheeler exclaimed holding her sons face in her hands checking for any major wounds.
“Eleven’s gone” Mike said voice cracking slightly.
Mrs Wheeler looked around confused catching the equally sad looks on the other two boys faces, just as she was about to start asking questions Nancy and Jonathan came running through the heard of emergency vehicles and personnel, Nancy making a B line for Mike and Jonathan hanging back to ask the others what happened. Ignoring her mother’s stunned expression Nancy almost pushed her out of the way in her eagerness to talk to her brother.
“What happened?” she asked sounding panicked placing her hands on either shoulder to get him to look at her.
“She saved us” Mike said staring at the ground.
“Where is she” Nancy asked dread filling the pit of her stomach.
“It came and she saved us” he said not registering her question “and now she’s gone” Mike looked up at his sister, his eyes filling with more tears.
“I’m sorry” Nancy said sadly pulling Mike into a hug where tears began pouring down his face again.
“Who the hell is eleven” Mrs Wheeler exclaimed exasperatedly at her children feeling uterly confused.
“She was our friend” Lucas said from behind her, making her spin to face them.
Mrs Wheeler looked perplexed for a moment before realisation spread across her face “Those people who came to our house, the bald girl, I thought they were lying or made a mistake” she said, realization dawning quickly “You let her stay in our house?” she said turning back to her son who was still crying into her sister’s shoulder, “You let some freak running from the government stay in our home Michael…”
“She’s not a freak” Dustin exclaimed angrily.
“Yeah she was our friend and she saved our lives” Lucas said crossing his arms defensively.
Suddenly an officer came running towards them, “Just got a call from Joyce Buyers at the hospital your brothers there” he said to Jonathan.
They all jumped into action Mike, Lucas and Dustin went in the Wheelers car, Nancy and Jonathan went with one of the officers.
Everyone waited sullenly in the waiting room of the hospital for news about Will.
“Do you think he’s gonna be okay?” Lucas whispered to Dustin breaking the silence that had blanketed the room for the last 20 minutes.
“I hope so” Dustin replied “Will’s tough he’ll be okay”
“I don’t mean Will I mean Mike” Lucas corrected, in an even more hushed tone than before.
Dustin sighed “I don’t know man, we’ll be there for him though and Will” he finished looking over at their catatonic friend. He hadn’t said anything on the drive to the hospital and he hadn’t moved since they sat down in the waiting room, just stared off at the wall.
Hours passed and the silence continued with everyone still waiting. Mike continued staring off at the wall, he couldn’t stop thinking about her and all the things she would never get to see or do, he had promised she would be okay, every time he thought about how he was never going to see her again tears began to rise up in his eyes.
Suddenly Mike heard the door open and looked up to see Jonathan, he nodded and Mike jumped up shaking Lucas and Dustin out of sleep “Guys wake up, Will’s up!” he exclaimed.
The boys tore into Will’s hospital room, Mike reached him first collapsing on top of his friend, Lucas and Dustin not far behind. They immediately jumped into explaining the crazy events that had taken place while he was gone.
“We made a new friend she stopped it, she saved us, but she’s gone now” Mike explained feeling his overwhelming sadness begin to rise to the surface again.
“Her names eleven” Dustin interjected.
“Like the number?”
“We call her El for short” Lucas explained.
They all then launched into their disconnected and confusing explanation of their new magical friend. Mike went quiet listening to Lucas and Dustin’s explanation when he felt his eyes get foggy again, he was happy to finally have his best friend back but it still didn’t feel quite right, El should be here too.
Joyce was standing in the doorway looking lovingly at her son and his friends happy to finally have him back with her.
“Where’s Hopper?” Jonathan asked appearing next to her.
“He went back in after we found Will, he said he wanted to kill it”
“Oh” Jonathan replied looking back over at his brother and his friends “Do you think he’s gonna be okay?”
“Maybe but he needed to do it, I could tell” Joyce replied grabbing Jonathan’s arms and smiling at her son “He’s back”
“Yeah” Jonathan smiled.
Just then they both looked outside as they heard someone coming down the hallway, “Hop!” Joyce exclaimed seeing him walk down the hall followed by eleven still in her pink dress and flannel.
“The boys in here?” he asked as he approached.
“Uh yeah” said Jonathan quickly pointing into the room for eleven to go through.
Entering the room cautiously not wanting to interrupt the boys ongoing conversation she was immediately noticed by Will, “Hi there”
The other boys turned mouths falling open at the sight of their friend standing in the doorway, she smiled at them happily.
Mike recovered first feeling tears begin to well up in his eyes again “Eleven?”