Who Am I To You? || Mike Wheeler

Chapter 8: The Mind Flayer

( Warnings: cursing, mentions of blood, needles )

(I skipped chapter 7 due to it only being based off of Eleven and her backstory.)

- Esther, Will, Bob, Mike -

"What.. what do you mean?" Joyce asked, cupping whom used to be her daughter's face. Suddenly, as if it were on cue, the alarms began going off, Mike and Bob rushed back into the room.

The lab's sirens were ringing throughout the building, and red lights were flashing through the hall's.

Joyce stood up to go and talk to the two boys. "What's going on?" She exclaimed. "We're under attack." Mike panted. He looked around the room for something, without saying anything. "We.. we need to make them sleep." He grabbed a needle. "What?" Joyce gasped, not understanding the context of why.

"They're a spy. If they know where we are, so does the shadow monster." Mike explained. Esther and Will shared a scared look. "Why are you lying?" Esther exclaimed, her face was pale and she was visibly getting more and more paler by the moment.

"I'm not!" Mike argued. "He's lying!" Will looked to Joyce, giving her a sad look to try and lure her into believing him. "They killed those soldiers. They'll kill us too!" Mike exclaimed, still having the one needle in his hand.

"He's lying!" Will exclaimed once again. Repeating it over and over while Bob and Joyce attempted to calm him down. Esther, getting fed up with Mike, tried to focus on him, trying to use her powers on him. But she just couldn't. Something in her wouldn't allow it.

"He's lying!" Esther yelled as Joyce went to her bed, she grabbed Esther's shoulders. "He's lying! Don't believe him!" She exclaimed. "Esther! Esther! Listen to me. Do you know who I am?" Joyce asked.

Esther stared at her for a few moment's. Her gaze was blank and confused. "Do you know who I am?" Joyce yelled again. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You're.. you're.. you're Mom!"

Joyce gave a disappointed look to Esther. "Hold them down." Joyce turned to Bob. "No!" Esther cried. "No!" She repeated, squirming under her mom's grasp. "No! Let me go! Let me go!"

Esther, normally so confident in her abilities, now looked small and vulnerable, her pale face drained of color as she struggled against Joyce's firm grasp. Her cries echoed off the sterile walls, pleading for release, for understanding, for someone to believe her lies.

It was obvious to tell that she was scared, terrified, but not of the needle, nor anything going on at the lab. She was afraid of the punishment she'd get since she was unable to complete the one task she was told to complete by him.

"Let me go! No, no no! Let me go! Get off of me! Now!" Esther continued to yell for her plea, her yells were so loud she couldn't even hear Will's plea's.

But Joyce couldn't afford to doubt now. She had to trust her instincts, no matter how much it pained her to do so to her own kids. With a heavy heart, she pressed the needle against Esther's skin, feeling the resistance of muscle and sinew before finally piercing through.

As the sedative took effect, Esther's struggles grew weaker, her protests fading into incoherent murmurs until finally, mercifully, she fell silent. Joyce held her daughter's limp form close, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes as she whispered words of reassurance that she prayed Esther could still hear.

Her hand was gliding through Esther's hair, whispering 'I'm so sorry, baby' or 'It'll be okay' and sweet nothings like that.

Around them, the chaos of the lab seemed to fade into the background, the blaring sirens and flashing lights reduced to mere background noise.