below us * stranger things

prologue (000): the girl

This chapter is just like a flashback, when El goes to the cabin with Hopper. This was 1983 still. Weeks after Will came back from the upside down.

ʚɞ

"June, I want you to meet someone." Hopper, who had opened the door with a young child, tells his daughter, June. They have been living in a trailer in Hawkins, Indiana. Until this day.

"What's going on?" She asks, very confused. June had just woken up from deep sleep. She only went to make breakfast a few minutes before he entered.

"Come on," He tells the kid entering with him, who is a little girl that he brought home. "It's okay, she's nice." The little girl looks up at him and nods.

"I am so confused right now. Why did you bring a child home?" June asks.

"She was used as a little experiment in Hawkins Lab. Then last year when that thing of a monster attacked, she saved everyone, including Will." He responds.

"I'm sorry, how did a child save 'everyone'?" June knew about the Demogorgan, and she knew about Will. She even fought the Demogorgan with Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve. But she never heard about a girl saving Will or the town.

"She closed a gate to another dimension, that's where that monster that took Will came from,"Hopper says.

"Another what?" June looks at the girl then back at Hopper and asks, still very confused.

"Upside down." The little girl says.

"Upside down? I don't understand anything. Dad do you care to elaborate?" June asks.

"Look, I'll explain everything later. But what we must do now, is we have to move." Her dad says.

"Okay," She mumbles. "What's your name, strange child?" June asks the kid.

The girl looks at June for a moment. Then she says, "Eleven,"

"Eleven! Okay! Do you have like a nickname or something?" June asks curiously.

"Nickname?" Eleven asks.

"It's like what people call you for short, you know?" June states.

"Mike called me El." Eleven says.

June stares blankly for a moment, trying to think about how the little girl knew Mike. Had Mike been hiding this from everyone? Maybe this is where she was hiding and this is how she 'saved' Will. June tried to be as nice as possible and to not freak out her new sister. She also tried to be as calm and patient as she can.

"Okay, El. Since you're living with us now, I would like to introduce myself to you as your new sister, June." The older girl says with a soft smile. And she gives her hand out to El. Eleven pushes her hand away going to sit on the couch, still not trusting her.

"Well that's awkward." June mumbles to herself.

"Let's pack now, shall we? We're moving to my grandpa's old cabin in the woods." Hopper interrupts them, startling Eleven. June knew about the cabin because her father and her use it for storage.

"Why can't we just stay here? I mean it's a storage place we don't need it." The older girl asks.

"We need to protect El. The lab scientists are still on the look for her." He answers her.

She sighs and walks to her room. As she gets closer to her dad she mumbles, "Where did you find such a strange child?" Her father stares at her and she continues walking.

ʚɞ

"I'm done packing." June tells her dad who had also finished packing. June looked at the younger girl who was eating from her cereal box.

"Do you want me to pour it into a bowl for you?" June asks her new sister, who shakes her head and continues eating. "Well, we have to go now anyway. Come on, when we're at the cabin I'll make sure you have real food." She gives El a smile. The younger girl still doesn't smile back. She is still quite traumatized from the lab and she can barely trust anyone.

"Okay." Eleven tells June. This slightly reassures June because the girl didn't show any sign of affection. June knew this would take time, so she tried to be patient.

Hopper tells the kids that they have to go now and they leave the trailer. June says her final goodbyes to the place she grew up in and steps in the car with her sister.