Eleven jolted awake, sweating from the nightmare she'd just had about a monster, so evil, wanting to hurt people so much. As she properly focused on the here and now, she could hear a commotion outside her room, voices in the corridor shouting and rushing past. She made her way across the room, originally just intending to listen at the door, but as she pressed her ear to it she leaned against the handle and it silently swung open a little. Gasping slightly, it didn't take her long to decide to open it and leave her room. Listening to the shouts, it seemed as if a fire had broken out in one of the labs. She started walking in the opposite direction, being sure to keep close to the walls, silent in her movement.
She thought that she was quite familiar with the lab, her home, now, having spent her whole life there, but after walking for only a few minutes, around a few corners, she realized that she had never seen this part before, and it looked pretty extensive. How much more is there? she thought to herself, stoking the small flame of doubt that had been steadily building since her dreams had begun.
As she walked past yet another offshoot from the main corridor she realized that this one only had one door right at the end. She could see a rifle propped up against the corner, probably left by a guard helping with the firefight at the other end of the building. She knew that only the important rooms were guarded by armed men, basically whatever room she was currently in, so why was this room being guarded?
The door was only bolted on the outside, making Eleven wonder what was kept inside, so she unbolted and silently opened the heavy looking door. She could see a short, dimly lit corridor inside which she entered. To one side, the usual white tiled wall, to the other, large windows separated her from individual rooms...cells. There must have been at least 6 of these rooms, and she walked past them all, stopping at the final one where her breath hitched. She stood, staring into the small grey-walled room, watching as the lone figure inside stirred and locked eyes with her. Eleven approached the glass, raising her hand and putting it flat against the smooth, transparent, unbreakable surface. She watched as the person inside mirrored her actions until their hands were only separated by the layer of glass.
"Y...you" Eleven stated, her heart racing for a reason she couldn't explain.
"El?" said the girl, tears pooling in her eyes much to Eleven's confusion. "El...it's me...Max" she said, realizing that Eleven didn't know who she was.
Max...I know...I know that's who you are. Eleven frowned, searching her mind for more, "Max...I don't...I can't remember" she stuttered, "but you're here" she said, pointing at her own head, "I know you're here."
"Please remember me" Max begged, "please, I...I love you, you're mine and I'm yours, remember that if nothing else, remember that we love each other."
"I...don't know what that means" Eleven said, somehow knowing that her statement was awful.
"Let me out and I'll show you, please, help me...help us" Max pleaded.
Eleven didn't even hesitate to find the lock to Max's cell door and open it, for some reason trusting her explicitly. In no time at all, they were facing each other, no barrier between them. Eleven flinched slightly as Max raised her hand to her face, having been struck many times before for not performing her tasks adequately. Max stopped her hand for a second, silently cursing everyone and everything associated with Hawkins lab, before she cupped Eleven's face gently. Eleven couldn't ever remember being touched with such affection, such a simple touch causing a torrent of emotion to erupt, a torrent she could neither understand or cope with and she backed away.
Max shook her head no, silent tears streaking down her face. She grabbed El's hand and pulled her back, Eleven felt weak and unable to resist the girl only inches from her face. Images from her dream rushed through her mind and an unfamiliar feeling built in her stomach. Without understanding why, she leaned forward towards the girl who was doing the same until their lips touched gently. Eleven closed her eyes, allowing the feeling to wash over her, envelop her, she didn't know what she was feeling, but she knew how right it felt and that she never wanted it to stop.
All of a sudden, she was wrenched away, hands pulled them apart and picked her up roughly, carrying her away. She saw white-clothed men pushing the girl back into her cell while she did nothing but let the tears fall down her face as Eleven got further away.
To her horror, she wasn't taken back towards her room, "where?" she asked, fear evident in her voice.
"Treatment room" was the rough reply.
She started shaking her head no, her whole body starting to tremble in fear, "n...no, please...I'll be good, I promise...please...PLEASE!"
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Max tried to fight against the men holding her, but they were just too strong, and she was weak from lack of food, sleep, light, comfort. She watched as El was carried by burly men in uniforms to the end of the corridor, her eyes wide in terror, tears streaming down...but Max's heart couldn't help but skip a beat when El reached out her hand as if to try and reach her, mouthing Max's name. Despite the futility of the action, hope was reignited within her. But then she heard El's screams, her begging them not to take her somewhere, she sounded so afraid.
Struggling more, Max pissed off the guards too much and received a strike to her face, knocking her sideways into the wall. "We'll deal with you later" said one of the interchangeable grunts as they left the room, being sure to lock it behind them.
Sliding down the wall, she refused to let the tears fall from her eyes. After weeks of being locked away, she now knew for sure that El was alive, she'd all suspected it all along as she was clearly no use to them if something happened to El, but to see her again...Max knew she had to stay strong.
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FanfictionEleven returns home to Max and the rest of her friends, family, and Hawkins Sequel to @A life less ordinary, one of the very first (if not the first) Eleven and Max (ELMAX) works...