STRANGER THINGS - SEASON 3

Chapter 5 - A theory

Hey guys, I'm sorry if this chapter is confusing, please comment or dm me to let me know if it is. I love this chapter and I hope you do too <3

This chapter is dedicated to my friend maddie.

POV: Hopper

Sweat drips down my forehead as I crawl through the sewers. The air is thick and suffocating and the mucky water underneath me is filthy like it has been sitting her for hundreds of years. As I slosh through the nasty water, odd substances float past me in chunks and I gag at the sight of it. The walls of the sewer are covered in mould and decay and no matter how many handkerchiefs I wrap around my face, that terrible smell manages to find its way through them and fills my noise, mouth and makes my eyes water to the point where I struggle to breathe. I know that this mission puts my life in danger and I should quit...but I can't. After keeping Eleven on house arrest, this is the least I can do.

A couple of months ago I realised that not all of the clippings from the newspaper articles in the Library matched up to Hawkins Lab. Soon I suspected that there was another Lab, much like the one in Hawkins. Looking at what information I had, I saw that everything lead back to here. I have spent a week searching the whole of Delphi looking for the lab that might be holding captive more innocent kids. And here I am...standing right bellow it.

I see the tunnel brighten slightly and speed up. Or at least I try to as the current of the water tries with all it's might to drag me back into the depths of the mucky sewers. I stop under a crack of light in the roof and search for a way to get out. There. A ladder. I reach my aching arm to the side and heave my body onto the ladder. I struggle to hold on as my hands are too slippery to grip on. 

Slowly, but surely, I make my way to the top of the ladder and, every so slightly, my burning muscles pry open the metal cover above me. As I peak through the gap I see a room so big it could be a warehouse. It looks much the same as the Hawkins Lab but whiter. White walls, white doors, white benches and people in white coats. In the centre of the room a young, teenage girl lies on a white table surrounded by scientists. I can't really make out her face but I can see that she is incredibly bulky and strong, possible even stronger then the men before her. Her face is expressionless as they poke and prod at her and shine lights in her eyes. One of the men takes her arm and puts it out to her side and flexes it back and forth. He straightens it, measures around her bicep and then bends her arm and measures her bicep again. The man looks unfazed as he writes down the measurements. The men proceed to measure the circumference of her calves, thighs and stomach. After a while of this, one of the men puts out his hand for the girl, she takes it, jumps down from the table, still with a blank look in her face, and walks with the man out of the room. The other scientists follow and the rooms is left empty.

"What the hell?" I breathe.

I wait 20 seconds or so before reaching up and completely pulling back the cover. Struggling, I pull myself onto the floor of the white room. The ladder was rusted and leaves brown stains on my hands. As I stand up, I notice that at the back of the huge room, there are smaller rooms behind glass screens. Each has one table in it and outside of each small room is a larger table with chairs with a confusing looking computer system on it.

Looking behind me I notice a trail of mud that I must've brought out from the sewer. I quickly take off my jacket and frantically clean up the mess on the floor and my shoes in an effort to any evidence I had been here. I stand up, grabbing my gun from my pocket and slowly make my way to the door. I put my hand on the handle and slowly turn it. As I open the door, it makes a quiet creaking noise and I cringe at the sound. 

I look left and right before making my way through the door which leads into a long corridor. Once again, it is clean and white, almost blinding. I hear a faint shrieking sound coming from my right and I whip my head around. I make my way down the corridor as quietly as I can. Stopping every few seconds and listening out for any footsteps. 

Bang!

A door slams closed and I hear a muffled, high pitched scream. I hear two men talking as they make their way towards me. Panicking, I look around for a place to hide. A couple of metres in front of me, I see on open door. I know that it wouldn't not be safe or smart for me to hide in the room so I run to the door, open it as far as it will go and hide behind it. The men approach and walk into the room, closing the door behind them. I sigh in relief and continue towards the sound I heard earlier. 

Finally I reach another door. I can tell it is made of thick metal and there are dents covering the door like and angry bull has slammed into it. The door has a key lock on it...perfect. I grab out a bobby pin and put it into the key lock. Back in high school in my rebellious days, Joyce and I had snuck into the school one night and she taught me how to pick locks. To this day I remember how to do it and the trick has come in handy. I press my ear to the metal around the lock and listen for the clicks.

1

...

2

...

3

...

4!

I pull the door open to see the girl at the back of the small room held down by steel handcuffs around her bloody wrists and ankles. She looks up at me with wide, tired eyes and her mouth drops open. Her messy hair is covered in sweat and grease and her eyes have huge bags underneath them as if she hasn't slept properly in weeks. She wears a hospital gown that is tight against her huge muscles and frayed around the edges.

"Help, me!" she whispers.

My heart is beating so fast I think I might faint. But I can't, this girl needs me.

"I'm gonna get you out of here kid."

Hey guys, hope you enjoyed. Go check out Maddie's books: 

@ curvethan