Work Text:
The Stranger Timeless Child.
The Vanishing of Will Byers and the Mysterious Girl.
-8-
She didn't know how long she had travelled, she had lost track of how long she had spent using time corridors, time portals, vortex manipulators, stealing starships from dozens of races as time passed, listening to the stories and myths and legends, enjoyed the different cuisines, entertainments of races who evolved over the centuries since she had destroyed Gallifrey after they had begun enslaving their galaxy so many aeons ago while saving millions of worlds, defeating creatures….and doing an awful lot of running.
There was such an amazing amount of running, it was weird.
Thasia, known as the Timeless Child, wondered if she should design and build a time travel capsule after she had left Gallifrey; she had visited Logopolis and learnt they knew of the methods behind Block Transfer Mathematics, but even though she had discovered the leftover core of the Big Bang which was an immeasurable power source, she had ultimately decided against it, after seeing for herself those alternative timelines once she'd built a viewer, of what would have happened if she hadn't escaped Tecteun. While TARDISes looked cool and amazing, Thasia knew she didn't want to create one, and besides she did enjoy a rather low-key method of time travel, and besides it didn't really make any difference to her about how she travelled the universe; she stole ships, travelled a few light years in one direction, took another, and went off again, nipping backwards and forwards through time and space.
And there were so many adventures behind her, sideways of her, on top of her, and ahead of her.
However, over the years Thasia had travelled the universe, she had learnt how to see Time in all the worlds she travelled, all the histories, and she saw herself in the whole of creation itself. And in that tapestry, she was a single golden thread. She had been running back and forth, stitching time and space together, her life running backwards and forwards.
To many cultures, Thasia would be seen as a God; her power of regeneration and her senses and abilities linked to time…
But Thasia was not a god. She wasn't all-powerful nor did she create the universe or realities. She was just a traveller, passing by, and if she saw something that she didn't like, Thasia would do what she could before moving on after helping. Sometimes she would meddle in history, whenever she wanted to improve things, but she would never interfere too much.
There was a good reason for this.
Once she visited the planet of Minyos, a world in which the Time Lords of the alternate realities had meddled in, adjusting their evolution until the Minyans rebelled against the Time Lords and killed many of them before killing themselves and blowing up their world, but she had made sure to visit the planet when the Minyans had achieved space flight. She never revealed her true identity. She had spent time helping them with their technology, helping them with conflicts before she left, hearts uplifted in the hope they never lived like the Minyans of the other realities.
But during her travels, Thasia encountered the humans. They both amazed her and worried her, and as time passed, and after the time she had spent on the Starship Voyager and helped them return to Earth, their journey reminded her of her own travels with Tecteun, although she doubted they would ever try to destroy her the way Tecteun had with her.
But now, Thasia was heading for Earth.
-8-
NOVEMBER 6THHAWKINS INDIANA, 1983
The Hawkins laboratory was shown out in the middle of the woods, illuminated with lighting. On the outside, it was calm, the only sounds being the woodland animals coming out at night. On the inside, deep in the underground areas, lights flickered and alarms blared as a man in a lab coat ran through in a hurry.
He clicked the button for the elevator rapidly, looking over his shoulder a few times, his breath coming out in painful gasps, heart thudding in panic.
Sweat poured from his face as he hurried inside and clicked the button for it to go down. He was relieved to see the hallway he came from was empty.
But as the elevator began to close, the man heard growling and slowly looked up. Something grabbed him and dragged him up to the ceiling out of sight as he screamed.
The elevator closed, and the man was no more.
-8-
Meanwhile, at Mike's house, he and the boys were playing D in his basement.
"Something is coming. Something hungry for blood." Mike explained. "A shadow grows on the wall behind you, swallowing you in darkness. It is almost here."
"What is it?" Will asked excitedly, clearly deeply invested.
"What if it's the Demogorgon?" Dustin asked nervously.
Lucas rolled his eyes. "It's not the Demogorgon."
"An army of Troglodytes charges into the chamber!" Mike exclaimed as he slammed the piece down on the table.
Dustin looked amused. "Troglodytes?"
"Told you," Lucas smirked.
They all laughed, but Mike suddenly looked nervous. "Wait a minute…did you hear that?" He looked around the room. "That…That sound… Boom, boom, BOOM!"
He slammed his hands on the table to make them all jump.
"That didn't come from the Troglodytes, no, that came from something else." He told them.
He slammed a new piece on the table. "THE DEMOGORGON!" The boys groaned.
"We're in deep shit." Dustin hissed.
"Will, your action," Mike said.
He hesitated. "I don't know!"
"Fireball him!" Lucas insisted.
"I'd have to roll a thirteen or higher!" Will protested.
"Too risky, cast a protection spell." Dustin chimed in.
"Don't be a pussy, fireball him!" Lucas snapped.
"Cast protection!"
Mike slammed his hands on the table again. "THE DEMOGORGON IS SICK AND TIRED OF YOUR SILLY HUMAN BICKERING. IT STOMPS TOWARDS YOU, BOOM!"
"FIREBALL HIM!" Lucas shrieked.
"PROTECTION!"
"IT ROARS IN ANGER!"
Will panicked and threw the dice. "FIREBALL!"
But he threw the dice a little too hard and they went flying. The boys scrambled to search for them, only for Karen to call for Mike. She opened the door and stared down at him from the top of the stairs.
"Mom, we're in the middle of a campaign!" He complained.
"You mean the end? Fifteen after." She snapped and closed the door.
Mike hurried upstairs to talk to her in the kitchen. "Mom wait, just 20 more minutes," he begged.
"It's a school night, Michael." Karen sighed. "I just put Holly to bed. You can finish next weekend."
"But that'll ruin the flow!" He insisted.
"Michael-," Karen was struggling to control her patience.
"I'm serious, mom. The campaign took two weeks to plan!" Mike groaned. "How was I supposed to know it was gonna take ten hours?"
She froze and looked at him. "You've been playing down there for ten hours?" She questioned in disbelief.
Mike paused, unsure of whether or not she would bother to listen to him, and turned to his dad who was fiddling with the TV. "Dad, don't you think 20 more minutes-?"
But Ted Wheeler didn't care. Frankly, Mike wondered, while he quickly came to regret even bothering, why he even opened his mouth.
"I think you should listen to your mother." He stated simply before turning his attention back to the TV.
Mike got frustrated to see both of his parents had gone back to their own devices as if he wasn't even in the room anymore.
Back down in the basement, Will found the dice. "Does the seven count?"
"Did Mike see it?" Lucas smirked.
"No."
"Then no."
The boys grabbed their stuff and Dustin took the rest of the pizza with him.
He went upstairs to see the door to Nancy's room was open, she was talking on the phone.
"Hey Nancy, there's a slice left if you want it." He insisted kindly.
Nancy smiled and got up, and then slammed the door right in his face.
When he got outside with the others, he spoke. "There's something wrong with your sister."
"What?" Mike frowned.
"She's got a stick up her butt."
"It's because she's been dating that douchebag Steve Harrington." Lucas huffed. "She's turned into a real jerk."
Mike rolled his eyes. "She's always been a real jerk."
"She used to be cool, like that time she dressed up as an elf for our elder tree campaign." Dustin insisted before riding off on his bike, Mike conceding that was the truth, but deep down ever since Nancy had dated Steve, she had changed a lot. Lucas followed but Will held back a moment.
"It was a seven," Will confessed.
"What?" Mike looked at him with confusion.
"The roll was a seven," He explained. "The Demogorgon got me. See you tomorrow."
He road off and the lights on Mike's house flickered briefly, but he paid it no mind and went back inside.
The boys rode their bikes together and Lucas parted off to go to his house. "Race back to my place?" Dustin asked. "Winner gets a comic."
"Any comic?" Will questioned.
"Yeah." They sped off.
The light on his bike flickered, and Will spotted a strange figure up ahead that startled him badly. He made a sharp turn off the road and fell off his bike.
-8-
Not far from the Byers' house, Thasia materialised, and she glanced at her vortex manipulator with a delighted grin. "Earth, 1983….Hawkins, Indiana," she tilted her head, while her senses adjusted themselves from the time jump, before she grinned. "I'm on Earth! Yes!" But then her smile disappeared when she saw the readings. "Hmm, a dimensional tear?"
And then she heard a feral growl, one that made her insides curl in on themselves, and with a frown, Thasia rushed in the direction of the growl, her hand slipping towards the blaster she carried. She didn't like guns or weapons, but Thasia had had more than enough conflicts with Daleks, Sea Devils, Axons, Sontarans, Cybermen, and other horrors to know she couldn't wander through time and space without defending herself.
-8-
The creature growled and began to chase after him, leaving him no choice but to run and leave his bike behind, but as he raced past, he didn't notice the girl who had appeared at the edge, but she noticed him, but he raced by so fast, she didn't have time to call out to him, but she raced after him.
He managed to get back home and screamed for his mom and brother, but the only one there was his dog. He tried to use the phone but it wasn't working, and he soon spotted the large figure outside the house. He paled as it seemed to force the lock open. Will ran outside for the shed and grabbed the rifle, hurrying to fill it with ammo.
But as he waited for whatever it was to open the door to the shed, something appeared behind him.
Will didn't even have time to scream before the monster grabbed him, and he vanished from the world. The lights came on, just as Thasia burst through the door, and looked around, cursing in frustration. She was too late.
-8-
A little drawing of a girl and her parents was hung up on the wall. Beer cans littered the house and the TV was on, talking about a strange power outage that happened the previous night.
Passed out on the couch was Jim Hopper, the chief of Hawkins Police, who was awoken by a dog barking outside. He checked his watch and groaned. He had a cigarette, took a shower and put himself together before leaving the house to go to work.
-8-
Meanwhile, at Joyce's house, she was trying to find her keys. "Where the hell are they? Jonathan?"
Jonathan was cooking breakfast. "Check the couch."
"Ugh, I did," But she complied anyway and paused when she found them. "Got them," she said sheepishly, embarrassed.
Jonathan rolled his eyes.
"Sweetie I'll see you tonight." She told him as she hurried to leave.
"See yeah."
"Where's Will?" She paused.
He shrugged. "I didn't get him up yet so he's probably still sleeping." Joyce groaned.
"Jonathan you have to make sure he's up!"
"I'm making breakfast!" He snapped.
Joyce sighed and went to his room. "Will honey, it's time to get up-," She froze when she realized he wasn't there. She looked around for a moment, wondering if Will had left earlier, but she had drummed it into his head if he was going out, he had to let either her or Jonathan know.
She went back to Jonathan. "He came home last night, right?"
"He's not in his room?" Jonathan frowned.
"Did he come home or not?"
"I don't know." Jonathan sighed.
"You don't know?" Joyce snapped.
He set the breakfast down. "I-I got home late, I was working. Eric asked me to cover, I said yeah. I thought we could use the extra cash."
"Jonathan we talked about this!" Joyce snapped. "You can't take shifts while I'm working!"
"Mom it's not a big deal, he was at the Wheeler's all day." Jonathan insisted. "I'm sure he just stayed over."
But Joyce wasn't having it and hurried to call Karen.
-8-
At Mike's, Mike was pouring syrup on his eggs, which made Nancy gag. "That's disgusting."
"You're disgusting." He replied without missing a beat.
Karen grabbed the ringing phone while holding Holly. "Hello?"
"Hi Karen, it's Joyce."
Mike poured syrup on Nancy's eggs, making her scowl. "What the hell Mike!?"
"Language," Ted warned her absentmindedly, nose in the paper.
"Quiet!" Karen snapped at all of them as Mike cackled.
"Was that Will I heard back there?"
"No, just Mike." Karen sighed.
"Will didn't spend the night?"
"No, he left a little bit after 8. Why, he's not home?" Karen asked with concern.
"Um, you know I think he just left early for school. Thank you so much, bye."Joyce hung up.
-8-
Back at the Byers, Jonathan and Joyce exchanged worried glances.
Something was obviously wrong.
-8-
At school, the boys just arrived and were confused to see Will wasn't around.
"He probably just went to class early again." Lucas reasoned.
Mike had told his friends about Will being missing.
"Yeah, he's always paranoid of pop quizzes," Dustin added, but Mike was not convinced. Yeah, Will was paranoid about pop quizzes, but from what he had picked up from his mother's questions earlier, Joyce and Jonathan hadn't seen Will all morning. That wasn't like Will. He would have woken one of them up. He was that conscientious.
That's when Troy and James got their attention. Oh no. Mike and the others groaned at the sight of the two boys who'd bullied them relentlessly, and Mike wished he had the physical strength and nerve to punch these two boys into the ground. "Step right up, ladies and gentlemen," The boys groaned and turned to face them. "Step right up and get your tickets to the freak show," Tory smirked. "Who do you think would make more money in a freak show?" He asked James. He hit each of the boys in the chest. "Midnight, Frogface, or Toothless?" They flinched at the impact. James pretended to think. "I'd go with Toothless."
"I told you a million times, my teeth are coming in," He snapped. "It's called Cleidolcranial Dysplasia."
"I told you a million times." James mocked his voice.
Troy grinned. "Do the arm thing."
Dustin huffed and took off his backpack before cracking his bones, making the two gag obnoxiously.
"Gets me every time." Troy cackled before shoving his way through them and walking off with James.
"Assholes." Lucas hissed, eyes spitting fire.
"I think it's kinda cool." Mike insisted to Dustin. "It's like superpowers or something."
"Yeah, except I can't fight evil with it," Dustin complained.
-8-
Meanwhile, at the high school, Nancy had just walked in, and her best friend Barbara walked up to talk with her.
"So? Did he call?" She asked excitedly.
"Keep your voice down." Nancy told her quickly.
"Did he?"
She sighed. "I told you, it's not like that. I mean, yes he likes me, but not like that."
She opened her locker. "We just…made out a couple of times." She grinned.
"Nance, seriously, you're gonna be so cool now it's ridiculous," Barb told her.
"No, I'm not." Nancy sighed.
"You better still hang out with me, is all I'm saying." Barb teased.
Nancy rolled her eyes fondly at her best friend. She and Barb had been friends for, like, forever, and they shared everything.
"If you become friends with Tommy H or Carol-," Barb warned.
Nancy grimaced. Steve, she adored and could tolerate, even in his douchebag moments, but Tommy and Carol, not so much. Seriously, Steve could do so much better when it came to friends, instead he chose them.
"Gross. I'm telling you it was a one-time…" Nancy paused at Barb's look. "Two times, thing."
That's when she spotted a note in her locker from Steve, asking to meet in the bathroom.
"You were saying?" Barb smirked.
The scene changed to Nancy and Steve making out in the bathroom. "Steve-" She started between kisses. "I have to go."
He kissed her neck. "In a minute."
The bell rang.
"Steve- Seriously- I have to go-"
Steve grabbed her bag before she could. "Wait, wait, wait. Let's do something tonight, yeah?"
"I can't, I have to study for a test." Nancy sighed, taking her bag from him.
"Let me help."
She smirked. "You failed chem."
"C-." He corrected. "So I'll be over around 8?"
Nancy scoffed. "My mom would never-"
"I'll go through the window." He shrugged. "Or we could chill in my car, find a nice quiet place to park and…"
"Steve, I have to study." She chuckled. "I'm not kidding." She gave him the firm, Wheeler gaze.
He grinned. "Well, why do you think I want it to be nice and quiet?"
Nancy couldn't hide her smile. "You're an idiot, Steve Harrington."
She went to leave but paused at the door. "Meet me at Dearborn and Maple at 8. To study." Steve nodded.
-8-
Hopper arrived at work, but even after hearing that Joyce couldn't find Will that morning, he didn't seem interested in anything but coffee, contemplation and doughnuts.
But, Joyce was waiting in his office, determined to make it his problem whether he wanted it or not. Right now, she was desperate. The moment he saw her, Hopper groaned inwardly, but he knew he had to get this over and done with.
"He's probably just playing hooky." Hopper insisted once he heard the story; right now, he had enough to concern himself with than some missing kid, and even if he had fond memories of Joyce when they were kids, he couldn't ignore them.
"No, not my Will. Look he's not like you Hopper, he's not like me, he's not like…" Joyce hesitated. "Most."
She continued when he seemed doubtful. "Look he has a few friends, but the kids, they're mean. They call him names, they laugh at him, his clothes-"
"What's wrong with his clothes?" He questioned in confusion.
"I don't know, does that matter?!" She snapped.
"Maybe." He shrugged.
Joyce huffed. "Look, he's…sensitive." She teared up. "Lonnie…Lonnie used to say he was queer, call him a fag." She whispered the word under her breath.
"Is he?" Hopper blinked. This was a surprise.
But as soon as the questions were out of his mouth, Hopper regretted them.
Joyce scowled. "HE'S MISSING IS WHAT HE IS!"
"When's the last time you heard from Lonnie?" Hopper questioned, deciding to take this seriously and asking other questions.
"Uh, last I heard he was in Indianapolis a year ago. But he has nothing to do with this."
Hopper hummed; deep down he agreed with her, remembering his own bad memories of Lonnie Byers, her ex-husband. Lonnie was a bastard, a scum bag, he didn't care about anybody but himself, but he had to try. "Why don't you give me his number?"
"Hopper-," Joyce began.
"Look, 99 out of a hundred kids that go missing are usually with a parent or relative." He explained.
Joyce frowned. "Fine, I'll call Lonnie then, he's more likely to talk to me than a cop. Just find my son!"
-8-
Meanwhile, at the lab, a group of men got out of their cars to greet Dr. Brenner. A tall, thin man with white hair, Brenner held his head high as he walked through the lab. A part of the lab was under quarantine.
The men geared up and went down to investigate it. Ashes floated around the hallway. Strange goop and marks littered the walls. They found a large almost bubble-like thing at the end of it, with vines around. It seemed to be the heart of the issue.
-8-
Outside the lab, having just emerged from a tunnel she was still wondering about since she seemed to instinctively know about it although she was curious about why she hadn't escaped through it before, was a young girl with a buzzcut in a hospital gown, covered in dirt and grime. With her large brown eyes, the girl silently looked around in awe. She had spent her entire life locked inside white-painted walls; being out here, in this cold place, her feet treading on leaves, and pine needles.
She spotted a bald man wearing a yellow shirt stepping out of his diner with a bag of trash, and as she watched, she caught a whiff of the cooking food inside and slipped in when he'd already gone back in.
He was serving customers by the time she walked into the diner, she went to the kitchen.
She found a thing of fries and instantly went to town on them like her life depended on it.
But it didn't take long for Benny to turn his head and spot her. "HEY!"
She snatched the fries and bolted. "COME HERE!"
He managed to grab her before she could leave, sending the fries flying out of her hands. "THINK YOU CAN STEAL FROM ME BOY!?"
But then he got a good look at her and froze. "What in the hell?"
-8-
The bell rang at school as class was dismissed. Everyone was leaving as fast as possible except for Mike, Dustin and Lucas who looked at Mr. Clarke eagerly.
"Did it come?" Dustin asked excitedly.
Mr. Clarke took them to the AV club room where the new radio had been installed.
"The Heathkit Hamshack," Mr. Clarke started as the boys fiddled with it. "Ain't she a beaut?"
"How far can it go?" Dustin asked.
"All the way to Australia." He grinned.
Lucas beamed. "When Will sees this, he's gonna blow his shit!"
"Lucas." Mr. Clarke scolded him for his language.
They kept messing with it, but soon the principal showed up and asked to speak with them. Hopper wanted to ask them questions about Will since he disappeared.
He brought them to the principal's office and the boys started talking all at once.
"Okay okay okay, one at a time," Hopper huffed. "You," He pointed to Mike. "You said he takes what?"
"Mirkwood," Mike explained.
"Mirkwood?" Hopper was lost.
"It's from Lord of the Rings," Lucas explained.
Dustin corrected him. "The Hobbit."
Mike rolled his eyes, cursing Dustins' obsessive need to correct everyone. The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings were the same thing.
Lucas looked at him with irritation. "It doesn't matter!"
They started arguing again so Hopper chimed in. "I said one at a damn time. You." He gestured to Mike again.
"Mirkwood, it's a real road, just the name is made up." He explained, not playing games. "It's where Cornwallis and Kerley meet."
Hopper looked thoughtful. "I think I know that place."
"We can help look." Mike insisted.
"No. After school, you are all to go home immediately. No biking, looking for your friend or investigating. Do I make myself clear?" He snapped.
When they didn't respond, he stood up and towered over them, looking strict. "Do I make myself…clear?"
Mike nodded timidly while the others gave weak replies of yes.
-8-
Joyce went out to Castle Byers to see if Will was there, and a memory returned to her mind. She clicked the makeshift doorbell. "Ring a ding ding, anybody home?"
"Password?" Will asked.
"Uh…Rada…Radagast?" She tried.
"You may enter."
Joyce slipped inside to see Will reading a comic. "So listen, I got off work early and…" She revealed movie tickets. "Poltergeist!"
Will beamed. "I thought I wasn't allowed to see it?"
"I changed my mind." She grinned. "As long as you don't have nightmares for a week."
"I won't. I don't get scared like that anymore." He insisted.
The scene changed back to the present to show that Will wasn't in Castle Byers.
"WILL!" Jonathan called out. "WILL!"
"WILL!" Joyce added her own shout, despite knowing it was futile.
They didn't notice the intense wind that seemed to come from inside Castle Byers.
-8-
Meanwhile, Benny cooked up a burger for the girl, setting it down in front of her along with some fries. He'd given her a big yellow shirt to wear instead of the hospital gown, which was quite small and ragged; the shirt wasn't much, but it would do for the time being. She scarfed down the burger like no tomorrow.
"Sheesh, parents forget to feed you?" Benny questioned. "That why you ran away?"
She didn't reply.
"They uh, they hurt you?" He asked.
Still nothing. "You went to the hospital, you got scared, you ran off, wound up here, is that it?" He guessed.
The girl still didn't answer him, but she did pause and look at him.
He sighed and snatched the burger from her, pulling the food away. "Alright, that's it. I'll give this back, and you can have as much as you want. But you gotta answer my questions, alright? We can start easy. My name's Benny Hammond. What's your name?" He grabbed her hand to have her shake his and spotted the tattoo.
The girl yanked her hand back instantly, looking at him cautiously when she saw his expression.
"Eleven? What's that mean?"
She frowned. "…No."
"Well I'll be damned. She speaks." He teased lightly. "No what?"
No answer.
"Alright, no more food then." He got up with the food.
"Eleven." She spoke quickly, making him pause. She slowly pointed to herself. "Eleven."
Benny nodded and handed her back her meal, which she continued to eat in an instant. "Alright then," he said while he tried to hide how unnerved he was, and worried, that someone would tattoo a number onto a young girl's wrist and say it was their name, and he worried what kind of life this poor kid had lived.
With that, he went and called child services while she was eating. "All I know is that she's scared to death. I think maybe she's been abused or kidnapped or something. Yeah it'd be great if someone could come by." He gave them the address.
While the girl was eating, the metal fan kept making noise and started to get on her nerves, so she forced it to a stop.
-8-
The police went out to search for Will and discovered his bike.
-8-
Meanwhile, at the lab, people were listening in on every conversation everyone in town was having on their phones.
"Can you please put Lonnie on?" Joyce snapped over the phone.
She knew this was a waste of time, Will wasn't with his deadbeat father, and all three of them had suffered because of Lonnie, who had only three major talents; destroying any and all love others might have had for him, hurting people physically and mentally, and spending money. All Lonnie cared about was having fun, and he didn't care who paid the price for that. He was also not interested in being a father, and he had spent a lot of his time trying to transform Will and Jonathan into copies of himself, but Jonathan was introverted and artistic, and Will was sensitive, preferring to draw, watch TV shows and read comics.
All too quickly, Lonnie discovered Will was gay, and Lonnie didn't like that, being so homophobic and soon he even beat Will, badly to the point she had gotten him out of her life, their lives, so why would Will go to him? He had visited Mike yesterday, spending the day with Mike, Lucas and Dustin at Karens's yesterday night, and he wouldn't do something so spontaneous.
And besides, even if he was going to Lonnie, why would he?
"Lonnie's not here."
Joyce scowled. "Who is this?" She spat, disliking the girl.
"Cynthia, his girlfriend."
Ah, so Lonnie had gone and found some new slut.
But she sounded so young, it sounded like she was as old as Nancy Wheeler. Surely the girl had enough sense not to go after a man like Lonnie, but she wondered how long it would take before this Cynthia bitch walked away, tired of Lonnie and the endless promises, or how he stole money whenever he sniffed it out.
But Joyce didn't care.
Joyce argued with the girl on the phone, discovering a dislike for her as they spoke and realising to herself that the girl was exactly the type of stupid person who'd fall for Lonnie's lies. Joyce had been one herself, but she had gotten wiser. How long would it take for this Cynthia bitch to get wise? It wouldn't be long, since Lonnie had a habit of stealing cash and spending it, and leaving them with scraps. Jonathan was making missing person posters for Will.
Eventually, Cynthia hung up on her.
"BITCH!" Joyce hissed and slammed the phone down.
"Mom, you have to stay calm." Jonathan insisted.
Of course, this did nothing to actually calm Joyce down and she called Lonnie again, leaving a message about how Will had gone missing.
Hopper showed up outside, giving them hope for a moment. But the hope was quickly destroyed when they realized all Hopper had was Will's bike.
He went inside and started to investigate, doing his best to ignore Joyce and Jonathan's constant questions as he looked for evidence.
"Has this always been there?" He asked, spotting the dent in the wall that was caused by the door handle being slammed too hard against it.
"I don't know, I have two boys, have you seen this place?" She snapped, gesturing around at this shitty house she had to work so hard for she had abandoned her dreams for her boys.
He ignored her much to her annoyance and went outside to the backyard, where the dog was barking strangely at the shed.
Joyce took him inside to feed him while Hopper looked in the shed.
He found the open ammo but realised the gun was missing. Hopper frowned, wondering what happened here.
That's when the lightbulb went out.
He grabbed a flashlight and realised he could hear a weird squishing noise. He looked around for the source but found nothing.
Then the light flicked on. "Hey."
Hopper jumped out of his skin as Callahan spoke. "Jesus!"
"Are you deaf? I've been calling you." Callahan explained.
Hopper stormed out with a huff and told his buddies to start a search party for Will and to get as many volunteers as possible.
The scene changed to the Wheeler household. They were eating dinner.
"We should be out there looking for him!" Mike snapped.
"We've been over this Mike, the chief said-," Karen started.
"I don't care what the chief says!"
"Michael." Karen scolded.
But he persisted. "We have to do something, Will could be in danger!"
"More reason to stay put." Karen snapped.
"Mom!"
She slammed her hand down on the table. "End of discussion."
Nancy looked like she wanted to say something but thought better of it.
Karen looked towards Ted for support but he was completely checked out of their conversation, merely enjoying his dinner. Sniffing in disgust, Karen gave up on her husband actually bothering to take this seriously.
"So…me and Barbara are gonna study at her house tonight." Nancy brought up awkwardly.
"No." Karen snapped. "Am I speaking Chinese in this house? Nobody leaves until Will is safe."
"This is such bullshit!" Nancy snapped.
"Language." Ted chided lightly, making Karen glare at him for only doing the bare minimum to keep their children in check.
Nancy scowled. "So we're under house arrest just cause Mike's friend got lost-"
"Wait this isWill'sfault!?" Mike hissed dangerously at her.
"Nancy take that back," Karen told her with a glare, knowing this would not end well.
"No," Nancy told her angrily.
"You're just pissed off 'cause you wanna hang out with Steve." Mike snapped.
Nancy's eyes widened as she gave him a look to stop talking.
"Steve?" Ted questioned, finally paying more attention although none of the females in the dining room knew for sure if he was only asking to appear like a father, or if he was genuinely protective.
"Who is Steve?" Karen asked.
"Her new boyfriend," Mike told them out of spite.
Nancy growled, anger bleeding through. "You are such a douchebag, Mike!"
"LANGUAGE!" Ted snapped as Mike looked impossibly smug.
Nancy angrily got up and left the table, storming off to her room.
Holly looked around worriedly, but Karen quickly turned her attention to her. "It's okay Holly, just drink your juice…"
"You see Michael? You see what happens?" Ted asked.
Mike scowled. "What happens when what? I'm the only one here acting normal. I'm the only one who cares about Will!"
"That's really unfair son," Ted told him simply, eating some chicken. "We care."
Mike didn't even know how to respond to his deadpanned reply, and finally just got up and left the table, ignoring Karen's calls for him.
She glared at her husband.
"I hope you're enjoying your chicken, Ted."
With that, she grabbed Holly and left the table. Ted blinked in confusion.
"What'd I do?"
Karen groaned, wondering why she had married such a moron.
-8-
Meanwhile, Hopper and many volunteers were out searching for Will.
"He's a good student," Mr. Clarke brought up as he walked with Hopper. "Will I mean? I don't think we've met. Scott Clarke. I teach Earth and Biology at the middle school."
"I always had a distaste for science," Hopper admitted.
"Maybe you had a bad teacher." Mr. Clarke smiled.
"Yeah, Mr. Ratliff was a piece of work." Hopper nodded, feeling that perhaps that was true, but still he found he kind of liked the man.
Mr. Clarke chuckled. "She's still kicking around, believe it or not."
"Oh, I believe it. Mummies never die, or so they told me. Sarah, my daughter, galaxies, the universe and whatnot, she always understood that stuff. I always figured there was enough going on down here. Never needed to look elsewhere." Hopper explained.
"Your daughter, what grade is she in?" Clarke asked. "Maybe I'll get her in my class."
Hopper hesitated. "N,o she uh, lives with her mother in the city." He walked ahead after that, not wanting to talk anymore.
But a woman nearby spoke up. "She died a few years back; his kid." Mr Clarke's eyes widened, feeling terrible about the subject he had brought up.
Unseen by Clarke or the woman, or even Hopper, a tall, young woman was looking as well, but not for Will. She knew they wouldn't find her, not in this realm. She was looking for other signs of the dimensional tear.
-8-
Mike sat down in the basement, looking at the D figures still sitting on the table. He spoke into the walkie. "Lucas, do you copy?"
"Hey, it's Lucas."
"I know it's you, and say over when you're done talking so I know when you're done. Over." Mike told him.
"I'm done, over."Lucas mocked.
Mike ignored his sass. "I was thinking, Will could've cast protection last night but he didn't. He cast fireball. Over."
"…What's your point? Over." Lucas questioned.
He had never understood why Mike was so overzealous about saying over and out on the stupid radio. Seriously, what did it matter?
"My point is, he could've played it safe, but he didn't. He put himself in danger to help the Party. Over."
Lucas seemed to get where he was going with it and sighed."Meet me in ten, over and out."
Mike packed his bag and headed out on his bike, pausing at the bizarre sight in front of him.
Steve was trying to climb his house to get to Nancy's window.
The two made very awkward eye contact, and Steve could only shrug weakly.
Rolling his eyes, Mike headed off, showing he was truly not interested in his sister's relationships.
Nancy, who was going over her cards in her room, jumped in surprise at the tapping on her window. Her eyes widened when she saw Steve and she hurried to open it.
"What are you doing here?" She hissed. "I told you I'm on house arrest over the phone."
"I figured we'd just study here." He shrugged.
"No. No way." She protested.
"Oh come on, I can't have you failing this test, so just bear with me." He came inside, much to her annoyance and secret delight.
-8-
At Benny's, the girl, Eleven, was eating ice cream while Benny washed dishes. "You like that ice cream huh?"
She smiled.
"Smile looks good on you." He insisted, but it made her confused. "Smile?" He did one to show her. She got the idea and smiled again. That's when there was a knock on the door, putting El on alert. She looked at Benny tensely. That's when there was a knock on the door, putting the girl on alert. She looked at Benny tensely.
"Whoever it is, I'll tell them to go away real quick, alright? Just sit tight." He insisted kindly before leaving to go to the door.
He opened the door to see a woman. "Hi, you must be Benny Hammond."
"I am, but we're closed." He frowned.
"Connie Frazer, social services." She explained.
His eyes widened. "Oh, social services. I didn't expect you so soon. Listen I haven't told her you were coming yet, she's a tad skittish. Please come in, I'll introduce you."
They walked back inside. "It's funny, you sound different from-"
He never got to finish his sentence, because the woman took out a gun and shot him.
Eleven jumped at the sight and bolted out the back, only for men with guns to come in through the door.
Dr. Brenner stepped inside to search for her, only to hear loud noises.
When he got to the back room, he saw the men were dead and the door was thrown open. He stepped outside to look for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. Brenner closed his eyes and walked back inside, gazing down at the bodies on the floor. He hated having to use such crude methods to find the wayward Eleven, but they were necessary.
He needed Eleven dearly to help him find out what had happened to Henry, he needed to know what else she could do, but it looked like they would have to wait until she turned up again, and that was likely going to be harder now than before. Sighing in frustration, Brenner stalked through the diner, already preparing to tell his subordinates to clean up this mess, cursing Connie for her methods; she was useful, but sometimes she was so unutterably stupid.
-8-
Mike and the others arrived at the sight where Will's bike was found.
"Guys, you feel that?" Dustin asked as water smacked him in the face. "I think we should turn back." It was starting to rain.
"No. We're not going back." Mike snapped. "Just stay close."
Lucas and Mike kept walking and Dustin very reluctantly followed them as rain poured down.
-8-
Steve read one of the questions out loud. "Which polymers occur naturally?"
"Starch and cellulose," Nancy answered with only a moment of hesitation.
"In a molecule of CH4, the hydrogen atoms are spatially oriented towards the centres of-."
"Tetrahedrons." Nancy finished.
Steve huffed. "Jesus, how many of these did you make?"
She smirked. "You said you wanted to help."
"How about this, how about every time you get something right, I have to take off a piece of clothing?" He offered with a grin. "But every time you get something wrong-"
"Pass." She cut him off.
But of course, their back-and-forth banter ended up with his lips on hers as the science questions were forgotten.
He started to fiddle with the buttons of her blouse when she stopped him. "Steve, are you crazy?" She whispered. "My parents are home."
"That's weird, I don't see them." He answered cheekily. He tried to kiss her again. But she got annoyed and pushed him off, sitting up. "Was this your plan all along? To get into my room and get another notch on your belt?" She hissed, fixing her shirt.
"No." He insisted. "That's not it Nancy."
"I'm not like those other girls. I'm not-" She started.
"A slut?"
"Shut up." But she was smiling, even if the word pissed her off.
Steve grabbed the teddy bear off her bed. "Bad Steve?" He pouted.
"You're an idiot, Steve Harrington." She grinned.
He smiled softly. "You're beautiful, Nancy Wheeler."
And with that, they returned to actually studying.
-8-
While trying to make the missing person poster, Joyce was in awe at the photos Jonathan had taken with his camera before. "These are great." She teared up against her will. "I know I haven't been there for you- I just- I'm working so hard and I feel bad because I don't even know what's going on with you… I'm sorry about that." She told him softly, biting her wobbling lip as she tried not to cry again.
Jonathan swallowed hard, trying not to cry himself.
But it was no use as the sobs began to wrack through his body.
"What is it?" Joyce asked gently.
"It's just…" He sniffed. "I should've been there for him…" He croaked.
"No, oh no, you can't do that to yourself." Joyce cried. "This was not your fault, you hear me? He is close, I know it."
They picked a nice photo of Will smiling, instantly agreeing that it was the one they should use.
The phone rang and Joyce hurried to answer, but was shocked to hear only static. "Hello? Lonnie? Hopper? Who is this?" She heard muffled breathing, and she stopped.
It was breathing she knew.
"Will!?" She gasped. "WILL!?" Jonathan hurried over to her side at once.
She heard strange growling. "WHO IS THIS? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BOY!? GIVE ME BACK MY SON-"
The phone shocked her and completely broke, forcing her to drop it, and she gazed down at the remains of the burnt-out phone in shock.
"Mom who was it? Who was it!?" Jonathan pleaded for an answer but Joyce couldn't stop sobbing. "Mom, what did he say? Was it Will!?"
"He just breathed, he just breathed!" Joyce wailed, reaching for the phone, but it wasn't working anymore.
As the Byers continued to break down, the others were still out in the storm searching.
-8-
"Will!" Mike called. He had a flashlight out.
"Byers!" Lucas called.
Dustin sighed. "Guys I really think we should turn back." The rain was just getting worse and worse.
"Seriously, Dustin? You wanna be a baby? Go home already." Lucas snapped.
"I'M JUST BEING REALISTIC LUCAS!"
Mike's eyebrows furrowed as he heard something. "Guys shut up."
They heard rustling and looked around, before quickly turning around completely.
Their flashlights pointed directly at the face of a girl, wearing a soaking wet shirt. She squinted to try and look back at them.
Mike couldn't help freezing on the spot. He couldn't stop staring at the girl before him with wonder and mild awe. This wasn't Will…but it was someone who was going to change their lives forever.
There was a flash of light, and the boys and the girl jumped up in the air and saw someone else in the woods with them. She was taller, her hair long, blonde and slightly messy, wearing a dark coat and pants, looking at some kind of large leather watch on her wrist. She turned to the kids, closing the watch with a flap.
"Oops, sorry I didn't mean to disturb you all, but I needed to make sure I found….you, Eleven; don't worry!" She quickly held up her hands, when the young girl looked like she was about to run. "I'm here to help. I know how you were kidnapped from your mother and then spent your childhood at the Lab," Mike and the boys turned to look at the girl they'd just found, who was standing transfixed, shocked. "I also know why the monster you call Papa pushed you through those experiments, and I know what happened to Will Byers."