Even Stranger Things

Not This Time

The longer they had to wait, the more restless the group got. Even Steve found himself continually checking the building for any sign of Eleven or One. They jumped when they heard distant sirens going off.

Steve got out of the car, his breathing speeding up. The alarm was going off, but no one knew what was going on inside. The kids jumped out of the car when they saw El running toward them.

As the kids embraced her, Steve glanced back at the building. He wanted to wait, he wanted to run in and find her, but One's words echoed in his head.

"Please, Steve. Promise me you'll get Eleven out of here. She deserves a normal life. She deserves friends and a family and a home. She deserves the life I never had a chance to live. Please, Steve. I can handle them. But Eleven. . . They'll hurt her."

"Let's go."

"What?" Eleven said, looking at him. Steve ushered the kids into the car. Once they were in, he glanced back at the lab. He heard One's plea.

"Promise me you'll protect them, Steve. All of them."

He forced himself to get in the car. He quickly started it and pulled away.

"We're just leaving?" Dustin whispered as he looked over at Steve driving.

"I have to get you guys home," Steve said even though every part of him wanted to go back for One.

"What about One?" Will asked.

Steve didn't say anything. Dustin looked over and saw how tightly Steve was gripping the steering wheel.

"She made you promise to keep us safe," Dustin mumbled. "No matter what. Didn't she?"

Steve looked into the rearview mirror and saw Eleven figure it out. She grabbed a random piece of cloth and covered her eyes.

"What are you doing?" Mike asked.

"One and I have a connection," she said as she tied the cloth around her eyes. "If I focus, I can see, hear, and feel what she does."

Knowing what she was going to do, Steve changed the radio station until he found one that was just fuzz. The group was quiet as Eleven focused on reaching out to One. Her whole body started to shake as images started coming to her. She saw the long hallway. She could feel arms holding tightly to her. Soon, a door was opened and El was being led to a medical table.

Her heart sank when she saw One being forced onto the table and tied down. El watched as they put a gag in One's mouth. One closed her eyes, a single tear streaming down her cheek.

El jumped, a sob getting stuck in her throat when the machine clicked on and electricity surged through One's body. It didn't matter how badly it hurt, One didn't scream. And El knew she wouldn't.

El gasped, ripping the blindfold off as tears streamed down her face.

"We have to go back."

"We can't," Steve stuttered.

"Steve," her voice broke. "You have no idea what they're going to do to her. They're not going to experiment on her. They're going to torture her."

"I promised her that. . ."

"Please," El begged, her voice getting caught in her throat. "We can't just leave her, Steve. They'll kill her!"

The car filled with silence as the kids waited for Steve's answer.

"Please," El whispered. "She's my sister. I can't leave her. Please, Steve. She'd do the same thing for any of us. I thought. . . I thought you cared about her."

The kids gasped when Steve roughly turned the car around and headed back toward the facility.