Eleven/Mike, Scene 001

[eleggo]

Time moves differently in the Upside Down. Without the sun's warmth the night seems endless and unforgiving. Eleven has been here so long that she's lost all sense of day and only rests for extremely short periods of time. Those moments have become her saving grace, despite the dangers of falling asleep, because it's there that she's with her friends again.

El didn't grow up in a normal cookie-cutter household, so those few days spent in Mike's basement were her only glimpse of family life. And even though it was only a few days, she found solace in those memories. Before she fell asleep, her arms curling around legs, tiny body forming a protective ball, she remembered the sights and sounds of the basement.

But most of all she remembered Mike and the way he made her feel. Safe, happy, and content. Those words had been meaningless before meeting him and her new friends. Now, they were the only thing keeping her alive.

Well, that and her unique abilities. Without them she would have been ripped to shreds by now.



Eleven can hear sense them now. They move like deadly shadows through the dark trees and haze. Her only water source tastes foul. There is no food. She's still in Nancy's pink dress, but it's covered in black muck and torn in several places. The same thick black gunk coats her long, thin legs. Her face is a mask of darkness.

She still has on Chief Hopper's plaid but it's coated in mud and is ripped up one side. El is crouching behind a large tree, her breath coming out in short plumes of smoke. It's so cold here. Even colder than the lab.

Suddenly it springs, all snapping jaws and spidery limbs. It lunges at Eleven, but she cuts to the left in time. Pivoting on her heel she begins to sprint. The branches swipe at her arms and legs, threatening to trip her at any moment, but she keeps running.

The baby Demogorgon gives chase, but Eleven is ready, leading it straight into a trap.

Comments

[masterofdungeons]

Mike attempted to rally his friends, but no one wanted to go searching now Will was home. After all, that was the main reason they explored outside of their comfort zone.

Will's the only one who listens to him, his theories about El and the Upside Down. Lucas and Dustin have satisfied their exporation. As for Will ... well, as Mike fervently describes what might exist, Upside Down and Demigorgon and all, Will nods but looks away, as if perhaps he doesn't want to acknowledge it.

Mike is determined. The little that Will tells him, along with the compass knowledge Dustin has provided -- this fuels him. He explores the woods where his sister and Jonathan were just a month or so ago. He crawls through a different tree and finds himself--

--in hell. Or is it Hell --

Mike's in the Upside Down, finally. And all he has with him is a baseball bat.

"El? Are you here, El?"

[eleggo]

Eleven moves through the terrifying forest at an alarming rate. She's incredibly lithe, her tiny feet barely touching the ground. The baby Demogorgon is right behind her, nearly on her heels. It let's out a roar, razor sharp and deafening. She wants to cover her ears but she can't, she has to keep going. Ahead is her trap, if only she can make it in time.

Leaping over a fallen log and dodging to the right, El lands on her side and rolls to her feet. The monster jumps and instead of veering right it falls, right into her trap. Leaves scatter and the baby Demogorgon howls in agony. The sharpened bones from it's dead brothers and sisters pierce it's hide and organs. It thrashes around but isn't able to free itself.

Eleven watches with sick fascination as it slowly begins dying. She's about to walk back to her shelter when she feels him. It's like having a warm blanket wrapped around her shoulders after a storm. She knows in an instant who it is and the kind of danger they were both now in. Without a word she takes off, running towards the sound of his voice in her mind.

That's when it appears, crouching in the hazy darkness like a black widow. Another Demogorgon, this one significantly bigger than the baby Eleven just dispatched. It slinks along the trees, watching Mike, waiting.

Just as it goes for him Eleven is there, her face marred by muck, her eyes wild. "MIKE!" She snatches his hand and yanks him out of the way. The beast gives chase as El grabs Mike's hand and begins running as fast as her legs can move.

[masterofdungeons]

This place ... the Upside Down ... it's even creepier than his sister described.

("Why are you asking, Mike? I'm sorry," Nancy says softly, genuinely, "but she-- she's probably dead by now."

"No way. She's special. I mean -- I mean, she's got powers, you saw. Like an X-Man. She just needs our help to escape."

"Mike..."

"Come on, Nance! Just tell me what it's like. Tell me what I need.")

Mike shivers as he calls El's name, and not just from the cold. He feels like he's in a bad horror movie. He clutches the baseball bat tightly in one hand--

--and swings it wildly upwards as Eleven grabs his other hand and drags him.

"El! El, you're alive--" This really isn't the best time for a catch up conversation, Mike realises quickly, hearing (and smelling) the beast behind them. He struggles to keep pace with El, but adrenaline pushes him on.

[eleggo]

Eleven's mind is a blur. She's overjoyed to have her friend but she's also incredibly terrified. Not to mention she's starving. The last time she'd eaten had been days. The food she'd found here had all been rotted, except for a crushed box of Eggos. She'd rationed them for the first weeks, but the last few days she hadn't eaten at all. It made her dizzy and sick. Fortunately she hadn't lost conscience yet, but her vision was getting a little hazy. She felt weak.

Her feet beat the ground. She was still wearing Mike's old high tops but they were caked in crud. Her grip on him tightens as they sprint through the trees. The trap she'd set for the baby Demogorgon wasn't the only one she had in this hellish place. The Upside Down was ridden with monsters and Eleven spent the majority of her time looking for food and water. And setting traps.

Finally they made it to the clearing. Eleven pulls Mike close to her and she wraps her arms around him tightly. The Demogorgon bursts through the trees and jumps at them right as Eleven steps off the edge of the cliff and ducks to the side. The monster shrieks as it stumbles and falls. It sounds like a rusty knife on a chalkboard but Eleven can't cover her ears, because if she does she drops her best friend. They're floating over The Upside Down version of The cliff in Hawkins. The same one Eleven saved Mike's life at for the first time.

Once she's sure the Demogorgon is (momentarily) gone she flies them both back to stable ground and releases him. There's a fleeting moment where she finds herself wishing she didn't have to. It's been so long since she's seen another human, let alone one that means so much to her.

In true El fashion she doesn't speak, just looks at him, her brown eyes swimming with hopeful adoration.

[masterofdungeons]

Mike runs runs runs as hard as he can, harder than he ever did in gym class back home.

When Eleven pulls him into the clearing he's almost as grateful for the rest as she is. Physical exertion really isn't one of his strengths. And hugging her back, well, that's just a bonus-- no, it's simply a matter of survival--

--they slip off the edge of the cliff and Mike shuts his eyes and clenches his teeth. The bat he'd been clinging falls from his grasp, clattering against dark rocks below them. He hugs El tighter as he hears the creature's death cries, trusting her implicitly. El will keep him safe.

Mike closes his eyes again, swallows, and when they're both back on solid ground he doesn't let go of El. Well, he does for a millisecond. But then he grabs her left hand in his right and says, with a brave nod, "I'm here to rescue you."

[eleggo]

For the first time in what feels like forever, Eleven smiles. She has no doubt that Mike has come to save her from this harrowing place.

“I knew you would.” El says confidently. Friends didn’t leave each other to die in alternate dimensions.

Her stomach is beyond starving. In fact, she’s starting to feel like collapsing. The running, coupled with the use of her abilities, has her wiped out. Her grip on Mike’s hand tightens to keep her balance.

“Eggos?” She asks and her gaze shifts to his backpack.

[masterofdungeons]

"--yes!" Mike nods, relieved to have an excuse to let go of El. He shrugs off his backpack and concentrate on distributing the breakfast confectionery.

"I brought three boxes of Eggos." Mike's smile softens. "And some chocolate syrup. But we-- we have to get outta here, El."

He bites his bottom lip as he says this, nervously glancing around. The Upside Down is terrifying, full of angles and whispers and things that are better at a campfire sleepover, Mike thinks, not things he should encounter while he's trying to rescue his-- friend.