The Devil of Hawkins || Stranger Things

Chapter 5: Awakening

"Where is she?!" Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan slammed his hands down on the interrogation desk.

Sam Owens flinched at the sound. "You tell me. After Brenner's men locked me up, I have no idea what happened to her. I thought you had your men on her?" He pulled at the cuffs tethering him to the table.

"She took down a helicopter, destroying two vehicles in the process. I lost quite a few good men, and later that same day I find out that Hawkins suffered a massive attack from an unknown source? That doesn't seem like a coincidence to me."

"Look, Eleven figured out who is responsible for these attacks. It's another of Dr. Brenner's 'pets', as you call them. His name is Henry Creel, aka One."

Sullivan stood and looked down at Dr. Owens. "And where can we find this Henry?"

"He's in that other dimension."

He squinted, "isn't that convenient?"

"I know our lab screwed up. I'm willing to take the blame for even Brenner's mistakes, but you can't fight this without Eleven."

"You will take the blame and the punishment. Whatever is causing this we can take out without the help of your science experiment."

"Give us one more chance to clean up our mess." Owens was almost begging.

Sullivan sneered. "And let you hide the girl again while she murders more innocent people? I don't think so."

"You have men in Hawkins right now. Do they have any idea what they're up against? Do those sinkholes look like any natural disaster you've ever seen?"

Sullivan looked down the bridge of his nose at Owens.

"We have seen those. My men and I have far more knowledge of what we're up against. We are on the same side, Sullivan!"

Sullivan stared silently at Dr. Owens before turning around to look at the two-way mirror. "Each of your men will be stationed with two of mine to make sure you aren't up to anything suspicious."

"That's all I ask."

He turned sharply to face Owens. "If anything, and I mean anything, goes awry you are off the case and you and all of your men will be placed in the strongest prison I can find"

Owen gave him a solid nod.

---

Steve continued his new routine; helping out at the makeshift shelter, then hanging out with Robin. Robin teased him often and asked a few prying questions about the guy he'd been with, but never pushed too hard when Steve said he wasn't able to tell her. He'd always appreciated how straightforward and understanding Robin was. Other than her having an uncontrollable big mouth, he felt like he could talk to her about anything. If she wasn't gay, he would probably already be dating her. But maybe not having to worry about sexual tension is what makes their relationship so strong.

As usual, he drove Robin home. There was more than one time that she had gotten lost riding her bike home by herself, especially with the detours from chasms. "So, exactly how far have you guys gone?" she pried as she leaned her head against the window, staring at Steve.

Steve looked at her with a cocked brow. "Not very."

"That's not an answer."

Steve sighed with a mix of annoyance and embarrassment. "Only hands and mouth." He tried to ignore the feeling of his face getting warmer.