Escaping Her Mind

Chapter One: The Connection

Eleven couldn't go to the hospital with her friends. Not today. Not when she was giving up on ever making a connection to her best friend's mind. She couldn't sit there any longer as her friends crowded around Max's broken and comatose body on the hospital bed. It made her stomach turn and her palms sweat. 

The others knew she was trying to make a connection to Max's mind. They knew she was trying to infiltrate her best friend's mind like she did when she piggybacked during the big Vecna fight. They knew that she was trying to bring their friend back. And after each and every visit, she would have to look Lucas in the eye and tell him that there was nothing there...there was no-one there. Yet. No-one there yet. She always told them. But what she didn't tell them is that she is unsure whether there will ever be anyone there. 

Max's mind was completely black...completely blank. She was dead for over a minute. Her heart stopped pumping blood to her brain for over a minute. And while Eleven was able to get Max's heart started once again, she's worried she doomed her best friend to a life of permanent brain death. She didn't tell any of the others her theories yet. As far as they know, Max is in a coma for who knows how long and Eleven was unable to make a connection yet. But another thing she didn't tell them...was that she was giving up. 

Eleven wanted her best friend back. She doesn't want to give up. But going into Max's mind every single day and finding absolutely nothing -- finding no-one -- was beginning to take a toll on Eleven's mental health. Everyday for the past three months had been the same trial and failure over and over again. 

After everything she had been through, all of the hell she had endured to escape the lab, save the world, and become the superhero she is today, she is going to do the most difficult thing in her life: she is going to give up on her friend. 

And that is exactly why Eleven had snuck into the hospital at 2 in the morning. With her hood over her head, she looks down at the ground as she makes her way through the empty and dimly lit hospital. Two more right turns and then the fourth door on the left. She had the route memorized by now, constantly walking through this place with her eyes trained on the ground so that no one would see who she really was, so no one would see her true identity. 

Eleven turns right at the corner. She passes by other hospital rooms with patients that were recovering...so why wasn't her friend? It wasn't fair. But then again, Eleven knew what she did. She brought Max back. She started up her heart again. She messed with the balance of nature...and now the balance of nature was messing with Eleven back, torturing her and her friends by keeping Max locked away in a potentially brain-dead coma.  

Eleven turns right at the next corner, walking down the hallway and passing more and more hospital rooms. She remembers the first day she was here like it was yesterday. She remembers her heart pounding as her and her friends rushed through the hallways, making their way to Max's room as quickly as possible. She remembers entering the room for the first time and hugging Lucas tightly, whispering an apology to him. And although he probably didn't fully understand -- or probably wasn't in the right headspace to understand -- what she was apologizing for, she needed to say it. She needed to apologize to everyone. She needed to apologize for everything that has happened since they found her in the woods that night. But most of all, she needed to apologize to Max. 

Door number one on the left is passed. Doors two and three are passed as well. Eleven continues to look at the ground, counting the tiles. She needed to keep her identity secret which is why she never came here alone. But she couldn't tell anyone else where she was going and why. They wouldn't understand. She would break before she would be able to fully explain what was going on with her. And she couldn't break. Not now. Not when Lucas was spending every free hour he had by Max's side, reading her stories. Not when he was crying himself to sleep every night. Not when he was hurting so much. She needed to be strong for him. Lucas and her...they've come a very long way from who they used to be. Lucas hated her in the beginning and the feeling was definitely reciprocated. But over the past few years, they've made an amazing friendship and connection. Plus, he was dating her best friend. Is. He is dating her best friend. And he is still waiting for his Friday movie date with her...