our crazy friend

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

"NO!"

Alina sank to her knees, blood dribbling from her nose. Mike's final scream had ripped through the air after his fall, and then there was nothing. Eerie quiet, four voices simultaneously hushing at the enormity of what Mike Wheeler had just done. The only noise to be heard in the Quarry was the singing of birds from above, unaware of what had just gone down below.

Alina could hear the footsteps of Troy, James, and Dustin all running to the edge of the cliff, and she forced herself to stand up, following them, and looked over the edge of the cliff, fully expecting to see the ripples where Mike Wheeler had slammed into the water, his eyes closing and his final breath drawn. Expecting to see a broken body floating to the surface, legs and arms at odd angles, neck twisted. But that wasn't what any of them saw. It wasn't what they saw at all.

Instead of floating dead in the water, Mike Wheeler was alive, hanging suspended over it, his arms flailing wildly. Even from up here, Alina could hear his terrified whimpering as he realized just how close to death he had been, what he would've done to save Dustin from pain.

"Holy shit," Dustin breathed, just before Mike began to rise up, being tugged by an invisible force. His shrieks echoed around the Quarry as he went up, up, up, until he floated upside-down over Alina, Dustin, Troy and James's heads, looking as shocked as the four of them felt. He was then dropped on the gravel behind them, four jaws dropping simultaneously as they stared at him.

And then Alina realized Mike wasn't the one who had done any of that, and whipped around just as the tug hooked itself in her stomach.

Eleven walked towards them, her small hands clenched into fists, an ugly glare on her face directed at Troy and James. Blood beaded out of her nose, and although she was still wearing her pink dress and blue jacket, albeit now covered in dirt like the rest of her, the blonde wig was gone, showing her real hair.

Dustin and Alina immediately broke into relieved smiles as she stalked towards them. James was beginning to step towards this strange girl when he suddenly flew backwards, landing roughly on the ground with a gasp. Troy turned towards his friend, confused, but Eleven jerked her head. There was a sickening crack, and Troy cried out in pain, both knives he was holding clattering to the ground.

"She broke my arm!" he shouted, clutching the now injured arm he'd used to threaten Dustin with. "My arm!"

Eleven's eyes narrowed. "Go," she ordered, and neither of the two boys—one with a now-broken arm, the other with burns on both his face and his wrist—had to be told twice.

"Let's get out of here!" Troy cried, fear and pain on his face as he stared back at Eleven, who just became a massive threat in his eyes. The two boys ran, their breaths heavy, away from the menacing force that was a twelve-year-old girl.

Dustin stepped forward. "Yeah, that's right!" he shouted to Troy and James's retreating backs. "You better run! She's our friend and she's crazy! You come back here and she'll kill you! You hear me? She'll kill you, you sons of bitches! She'll kill you, you hear me?"

Alina couldn't resist yelling a few parting words too. "Get lost, you assholes! This is for Will!" she pumped her hand in the air in triumph before bending down to pick up the two knives—Troy's pocketknife and her own switchblade. She held the blades in her hands for a moment before pocketing them both. You never know when you might need them.

But when she turned around, she found Eleven collapsed onto the ground, fresh blood streaming out of her nose. "El!" Alina shouted, wiping her own nose as she ran towards her friend. Her face throbbed, her legs burned from the run, and her eyelids drooped from her attack, but still, she ran. Pain could wait. Pain didn't matter, because Mike was alive, and they'd found Eleven, and perhaps everything was going to be okay.

Alina and Mike knelt down beside Eleven. "El, are you okay?" Mike asked. "El?"

Eleven's eyelids fluttered, and she began to sob at the sight of her friends. "Mike," she choked. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Mike repeated incredulously, gazing down at her. "What are you sorry for?"

"The gate," said Eleven. "I opened it. I'm the monster."

Dustin, Alina and Mike were silent for a moment as they processed this. Eleven had opened the gate into the Upside Down. It was because of her that the Demogorgon had taken Will, and who knew how many others. It was because of her that everything had happened.

But strangely, Alina wasn't mad at all. Eleven's words—I'm the monster— were words that she herself had thought so many times... well, it made her feel, strangely, less alone. Because they were two girls with powers they didn't know how to control, two girls who were outcasts in their own ways. Two girls who didn't get to choose how their upbringing had gone.

Maybe... it was almost hard to think. Maybe I'm not a monster. I'm not my parents, and I don't care what Lucas said. I'm going to learn to control these. I'm going to help find Will.

Or maybe you are a monster, another voice that had slithered from the depths of her mind surfaced. Maybe you're just like me. Just like us.

Alina pushed that voice away as Mike spoke. "No. No, El, you're not the monster. You saved me! Do you understand? You saved me!"

"Eleven," said Alina. "You saved all of us. You saved Mike, you saved Dustin, you saved me. You're not a monster, okay, I promise." She grabbed Eleven's hand in hers, rubbing circles into it. "I promise."

Eleven sat up, and Mike pulled her into a hug. After a beat, Alina wrapped her arms around them both, finally beginning to cry the relieved tears she'd had brimming in her eyes since she saw Mike hanging suspended over the water. Dustin knelt down and joined the hug, too, and his presence was a comforting addition.

They stayed like that for a while, uncaring if Eleven or Alina's blood smeared on their clothes, letting out quiet tears. Alina took a deep, shuddering breath. This is what it's like to have friends.

Friends would do anything for you. Friends would jump off of cliffs to make sure you don't get hurt. Friends forgive friends.

I would do anything to protect them.

I have friends.

I have friends.

Eventually, after what could've been hours or seconds, the four of them stood up. Without even speaking, they knew they needed to head into the woods to find their bikes, and so they did exactly that, beginning to walk down the path where their lives could've been ruined. Mike dead. Dustin really toothless, his mouth a fountain of blood, and Alina with a face set on fire. She rubbed her cheek where James had struck her, thinking about how fortunate she was.

Mike swallowed, looking at her. "That was really brave," he said suddenly. "Doing that for Dustin. Standing up to James like that." He frowned as she rubbed her face again. "Does it hurt?"

"A little," said Alina quietly. "Is it bad?"

Dustin managed to chuckle a little. "His whole handprint is on your face," he said. "Of course it's going to hurt. But it'll heal. We just need some ice."

"Yeah." Alina nodded. "Hey, Dustin, are you alright? Troy didn't hurt you while he was waving around his knife, did he?"

"No." Dustin shook his head, his hat bobbing on his curly hair. Last week, Alina had thought it was annoying that he wore it every day. Now she thought it was endearing, a part of Dustin's personality she wouldn't trade for anything.

It dawned on her how much she loved all of them. Dustin... Eleven... Lucas... even Mike. She'd do anything for them. She'd step off a cliff, like Mike had done.

Anything.

After finding their bikes in the woods, Alina, Dustin, Mike and Eleven biked to the Wheeler household, the exhilaration that they were still alive finally kicking in. The wind in their hair, which had been annoying before, was now one of the nicest things, and the jolt of their bikes grinding against the road made them feel like birds soaring through the sky. They were just kids, for those moments.

But reality was doomed to crash right back into them.

It started when they were wheeling their bikes up to the driveway. Alina was thinking about Eleven, who'd told them (in minimal words) what had happened during her brief time on the run, how she'd entered a grocery store only to steal about a dozen boxes of Eggos, unknowing that she had to pay for them.

"Eggos?" Alina had repeated, raising a confused eyebrow.

Mike just laughed. "I gave her some for breakfast before," he said. "I guess she likes them."

And Eleven looked at him like he was the only one there, a small smile lighting up her face. "Yes."

Alina didn't blame Eleven for stealing the food. She'd grown up in Hawkins Lab—where Alina figured was where the gate was, after Eleven had confessed she'd opened it to them—where she probably hadn't been taught manners, or even how to speak properly, much less how currency worked. She made a mental note to show Eleven the pleasures of life after all of this was over, and she wasn't on the run anymore. They could go shopping, play at the arcade, bake cupcakes. Whatever they wanted.

Then the hairs on the back of her neck rose. She rubbed her neck, looking around, but other than a parked van, the street was deserted. She narrowed her eyes. "Is someone watching us?" she asked. "The hair on the back of my neck's standing up."

Dustin glanced around. "I don't see anyone," he said after a moment. "I think you might just be cold, Al."

"Yeah, okay." Alina dropped the topic, unaware of the eyes that really were piercing into them as they walked to the Wheeler household. Unaware of the man broadcasting their location for everyone at Hawkins National Laboratory to hear.

There were so many guns. All of the men had one, and sickness swept through Brandon as he climbed into one of the trucks, still clutching Alina's notebook. They couldn't... they wouldn't shoot the other kids, would they? Leave three bleeding corpses on the road, sunlight bouncing off their blood, eyes half-closed, skin clammy? Arrange it so it looked like they'd been hit by a car or something?

They wouldn't. They would be okay. They had to be.

Mike Wheeler hadn't picked up when he'd called his house, but his mother had. He'd told her that he had a message for his daughter, who currently wasn't at home, and kindly asked for her to pass it on if Alina arrived. And it was a message he knew Alina would understand. It wasn't exactly difficult.

You know Martin? He's looking for you. He found your notebook, believes you must've lost it at school, and has kindly agreed to bring it back to you.

He wasn't stupid. He knew that his coworkers listened to every call, every radio transmission. But he was one of them, and so he knew how to cover his tracks. Perhaps it was suspicious, but it'd be even more so if he hadn't gone to any of those lengths. He'd be locked up, and he wouldn't have a chance to help his daughter. So this was what they had to do.

They were leaving in a few minutes. He clenched his fists and opened the notebook, fingers brushing against Alina's writing. He prayed she'd forgive him. Prayed she'd figure out what he was trying to tell her, and got out of Mike's as soon as possible. Prayed that the Lab's mission would fail.

Forgive me, he thought again. Please get away safely. You don't know the danger you're in.

And then the trucks rumbled as they began to drive away from the Lab, towards the Wheeler household.

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

a/n: hope you enjoyed this chapter! only twelve more until the end (plus an epilogue!)

'till next time!