Tʜᴇ Sᴇᴄʀᴇᴛ Sʜᴇ's Kᴇᴘᴛ | Mɪʟᴇᴠᴇɴ (Sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇʀ Tʜɪɴɢs)

◇Chapter 008◇

Hopper trudged through the lab, looking for Brenner. Some how, some way, he was part of all of this; he always was. He followed the trail of blood to corodors and hallways before finally finding him.

Brenner stood in a control room, looking at monitors of the upside down. Hopper dropped the vile from the other room onto the floor. It clattered to the ground, making Brenner turn around.

Hopper raised his gun. "You have five minutes," He gestured down to the vile. "Tell me what that stuff is or I shoot."

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El slept peacefully on the couch as Mike ran his fingers through her curls. Her skin felt cold to his touch and her head laid on his lap. She shifted in her sleep as she dreamt. She desperatly wanted to wake up, but she couldn't.

She was running through the parking lot. It chased her and it wouldn't stop. El tried to scream but her voice caught in her throat as part of the shadow stabbed through her back. It's words filled her mind as she stood in the parking lot, frozen and cold.

It was angry with her. She had disobeyed. She closed the gate, trapping it inside it's world and blocking it's access to hers. Pain flooded her mind as she let out a scream. Her body jolted as if to be shocked by electricity. It's instructions were clear: Find the man in charge and kill him

She complied, not having a choice. Her eyes turned a lighter shade and the pain vanished. The monster was using her as it's slave, it's weapon, and it's access to her world.

El jolted and sat up, her breathing heavy. Mike had his hand on her back and was looking at her with concerned eyes.

"El?" he asked cautiously, and pulled her into his chest.

"Y-yes?" Her voice wavered as her eyes fell closed. She buried her face in his neck as his warm arms wrapped around her tightly.

"Dream?" Mike whispered against her ear.

El opened her mouth to speak, but pain flared in the back of her head. She winced and rested her forehead on his collarbone. Mike drew circles on her back gently and held her close. She wanted to say yes, she wanted to say that something was definitely wrong. But she couldn't. It wouldn't let her.

"No. No dreams," El replied with a monotone voice.

"Are you sure, love?" Mike asked. "Friends don't lie."

El sighed at his choice of words. "Yes I'm sure." El pulled away from his grasp, leaving a surprised look on his face. "Mike can you turn on the fan?"

"Um, why?"

"It's... it's really hot in here." El rolled up the sleeves on her hoodie, revealing the scar and bruise. Mike gave her a confused look before standing up and pressing the button on the fan. Cool air hit her face and she sighed contently, the pain in her head weakening.

Mike pressed his lips against her forehead, coldness hitting his lips. "El.. are you sure you're okay?"

El nodded quickly. "Why?" A slight coldness lingered in her voice.

"How come she keeps asking "Why"?" Mike thought. "She's not usually like that."

"Just making sure, El," Mike replied. "I just love you a lot and I want to make sure that you are always okay cause you should never be anything less than 'okay'."

El nodded and blushed slightly. "I love you too," she mumbled, the coldness in her voice faded, and she pressed her cold lips against his.

Butterflies fluttered in his stomach as he kissed back and moved his hand her cheek. She pulled back slightly and pressed her forehead against his. All the pain had faded from her mind... but only for a minute.

Mike ran his thumb across the back of her hand. Her skin felt like ice, even though the room was warm. "El, I'm gonna make a phone call, I'll be back." He pressed a kiss against her cheek before calling the Byers house.

"Hello?" Will asked through the phone.

"Will, it's Mike. Don't ask questions," Mike instructed. "Call the rest of the party and come over to my house quick. We have a problem."

"Okay okay, we'll be there soon," Will replied. "Bye."

Mike set down the phone and went back to El who looked up at him will dull eyes. "Where's the lab?"

"What?"

"How do you get to the lab?" El asked again, a hint of annoyance lingering in her voice.

"You cut through Mirkwood and follow the street there." Mike sat next to her cautiously. "You should know that El."

"I just forgot, okay!" El snapped before lowering her voice, her eyes blazing.  "Who did you call?"

"The party. I asked them to come over."

El nodded slowly, and looked him with dull eyes. He had seen that look before in Will's eyes. That cold, distorted look that made her look lost, confused... Dangerous.

Warmth always overthrows coldness.

"Come here El." Mike sat next to his girlfriend and wrapped his arms around her. "Is everything okay?" he asked and pressed his lips against her cheek.

A chill ran up her spine. "I'm okay Mike." El tried to smile but failed, her eyes landing on the wooden floor.

"Do you promise?" Mike asked as the doorbell rang. He looked into her eyes, searching for any coldness.

"Promise?" She tilted her head as the doorbell rung again.

"Yeah, do you promise that you feel okay?" He pulled away and walked upstairs, looking over his shoulder at her.

The next words were a shock to them both. "Promise..." She met his eyes. "It's a stupid word," El said in a monotone voice.

Mike stopped in his tracks and turned around, his eyes wide. "El?"

She nodded at him, her eyes wide with shock. Mike shook his head in shock and opened the front door. "Guys, get into the basement now!"

"Okay calm down," Dustin said. "Where's El?"

"In the basement, possessed by something. Y'know, the usual." Mike rolled his eyes. "Something happened to her. I don't know what."

"What do you mean "possessed"?" Lucas asked, confused.

"Possessed like, not acting normal, saying weird stuff," Mike replied. "That kind of thing."

Will mumbled,"What about her eyes?" His mind was lost in thought.

"Green," Mike said nervously. "It's barley noticeable."

Lucas rubbed his forehead. "Reminds me of what happened to Will."

Will nodded. "It sounds similar to what happened to me..." He gasped and his eyes widened. "You don't think the monster-"

"No way. She would have told me if something happened,"  Mike said.

"You never know, Mike..." Max said. "Should we go talk to her?"

"We need to find out what's happening, and why."  Lucas began walking to the basement door.

The party walked into the basement with Mike in lead. "El?" he called, only to see an empty basement. "El!"

"Mike..." Max pointed towards the open basement door. "Was that always open?" A cool breeze flooded the room.

Mike shook his head and jogged outside, and began calling her name, "She couldn't have gone far... did she say anything about where she would go?" Dustin asked curiously.

Mike thought for a minute, before nodding. "The lab. El asked me for directions on how to get there. She wouldn't tell me why, though."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Max asked. "Let's find El... again."