brutal ━ mike wheeler

six. the disturbing case of hugo ives

SIX━━━━
THE DISTURBING CASE OF HUGO IVES

stranger things;
season 3 ep 4

HAWKINS, INDIANA
1979

A YOUNG BOY, BARELY nine years old, stared ahead at his barely older twin sister. She had finally been able to fall asleep without any complications, and he made a vow to watch over her until she awoke. His knees were brought up to his chest, nervously biting at the mail on his thumb. He had a bad feeling sprouting from the pit of his stomach.

His ears felt like they were being filled with cotton as he heard the sound of footsteps making their way down the hall. He froze when he heard them stop. Right in front of the door of the room he was in now. He felt his breath hitch in the back of his throat as the door was pushed open, and an older man with white hair walked into the room.

"Number Nine. Disregard Number Eleven and follow me." The boy could only shakily push himself off the ground, slowly walking over to the man in front of him. "Don't be afraid, Number Nine. It's just a couple of tests." As if that was supposed to make him feel any better. He wasn't stupid, despite the belief of the man beside him.

Nine felt a hand being placed on his back to subtly usher him into a room that he had never been in before. He heard multiple beeps, and at least twenty people were staring at him. He was pushed to keep walking into another room that was separated from the other by a large window. However, when Nine turned around, he saw that he couldn't see them but they could see him.

"Sit." Nine quickly did as he was told, having remembered being sent to isolation on multiple different equations. He felt something cold and plastic-y being placed on his head, and his eyes couldn't help but travel to the twisted-up wires that fell to the floor. His heart felt like it was going to break through his rib cage as a small kitten in a crate was set in front of him.

"I want you to kill it." Brenner was behind the other side at that point, nobody but Nine in the isolated room. Nine could only stare at the kitten in front of him, carefully reaching his hand forward so it could sniff him. "Hey, kitty." His voice was barely audible, trying to ensure that nobody but himself could hear him. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Kill it, Number Nine." Nine swallowed thickly as he looked back up into the window. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He looked straight ahead where Brenner would be, shaking his head sternly. His decision was not going to be changed. Carefully, Nine pets the kitten through the small slivers of the crate.

He heard the heavy metal door slam open and he scrambled out of his seat, backing away into a corner as one of Brenner's men made his way toward him, harshly grabbing his forearm. "Number Nine. You listen when you are told to do something." Nine frowned and struggled against the hold of the much larger man that was holding him.

"I won't kill it!" He shouted, his eyes flickering between his usual honey brown to pure black. He watched as Brenner signaled something and suddenly he was being dragged out into the hallway, another man grabbing his free arm as soon as he was out the door. "No! Let me go!" He shouted and kicked as they held him up despite how much he was squirming.

"Let go! Let go! Let go!" He continued to shout, probably alarming the other kids who were supposed to be sleeping at that time. He felt tears well up in his eyes as the grips on his arms got harsher, most definitely leaving a bruise. He struggled even more as they rounded the corner and he was suddenly thrown down on the floor. He was filled with a sense of dread when he recognized the colorless room with no windows and just one door. There were no lights either. "No!" He scrambled onto his feet and tried to rush out into the hall again, but the metal door was slammed right into his face, all light seizing to exist.