Back in the real world, Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, and Lucas Sinclair were staring at a girl that they had found in the rain. Thunder rumbled above them, and rain poured heavily down on the house. The only person who seemed to notice that though was the startled and scared girl. She was in a long yellow t-shirt, as well as a beige jacket and that was about it. Her head was shaved, but the little hair that was growing on it was brown, as well as her eyes. All four were soaking wet. She was trembling and breathing heavily. The three boys started launching questions at her, not waiting for her to answer them. 

"Is there a number we can call for your parents?" Mike asked. Dustin spoke next. 

"Where's your hair? Do you have cancer?" 

"Did you run away?" Lucas was the next person to ask her a question. Then Mike.

"Are you in some kind of trouble?" 

"Is that blood?" Lucas interjected, reaching forwards. The girl shrunk away, and Mike slapped his arm away. 

"Stop it! You're freaking her out!" He exclaimed. 

"She's freaking me out!" Lucas shot back. 

"I bet she's deaf," Dustin stated, leaning towards her and clapping loudly. The girl jumped in her seat on Mike's couch. "Not deaf." 

"All right that's enough, alright? She's just scared, and cold." Mike ended their seemingly endless questions for the time being. The girl was clearly terrified out of her mind and didn't know who the boys were or what they wanted her to do. Mike walked over to a basket of clothes and pulled out a shirt and a pair of pants before walking back over to the strange girl and handing them to her. A loud clap of thunder sounded from above them and the girl flinched, closing her eyes. The other two boys peered curiously at her, watching her reaction. "Here. These are clean, okay?" Mike asked. Wordlessly, the girl took the clothes and pressed them against her face, before setting them next to her and standing up. She began to lift up her massive yellow shirt and was met by immediate protests from the boys. 

"No, no, no, no, no!" They opposed. Mike pulled it back down, while Lucas and Dustin turned their heads away. 

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," Dustin repeated. 

"See over there? T-That's the bathroom." Mike stammered, still holding the end of her shirt down. He lifted his arm and pointed in the direction of the bathroom. "Privacy. Get it?" She looked at him for a moment, before grabbing the clothes and walking over to the bathroom. Mike went to shut the door, but she quickly grabbed it and pulled it back open again. "You don't want it closed?" He asked. 

"No." The girl's voice was quiet, no more than a mutter, but still a surprise to Mike. 

"Oh, so you can speak." He said. "Okay. Well... Um, how about we keep the door..." He closed it leaving open about three inches. "Just like this. Is that better?" 

"Yes." The girl answered. Mike nodded and gave her a little smile before turning and walking away, giving her privacy. She looked around the bathroom while Mile joined the boys. 

"This is mental." Dustin expressed, looking freaked out. 

"At least she can talk." Mike defended the strange girl who was in his bathroom. 

"She said no, and yes, your three-year-old sister says more." Lucas shot back. 

"She tried to get naked," Dustin noted. 

"There's something seriously wrong with her." It was clear that Lucas and Dustin were on the same side there. "Like, wrong in the head." 

"She just went like," Dustin mimed what the girl did, crossing his arms near his stomach and bringing them upwards so hard he knocked his red and white baseball cap off. 

"I bet she escaped from Pennhurst," Lucas said while Dustin looked for his hat. 

"From where?" Mike asked. 

"The nuthouse in Kerly county."  

"You got a lot of family there?" Dustin challenged. 

"Bite me." Was Lucas' immediate response before going on. "Seriously though, think about it. That would explain her shaved hair, and why she's so crazy." 

"Why she went like..." Dustin mimed the girl attempting to take her shirt off again. 

"She's an escapee is the point." Lucas continued, "She's probably a psycho." 

"Like Michael Myers." Dustin's eyes widened slightly. 

"Exactly! We should've never brought her here!" Mike rolled his eyes at the two. 

"So you just wanted to leave her out in that storm?" He asked. 

"Yes! We went out to find Will, not another problem." 

"I think we should tell your mom," Dustin said. 

"I second that." Lucas agreed. 

"Who's crazy now?" Mike asked.

 "How is that crazy?" Lucas shot back. 

"'Cause we weren't supposed to be out tonight, remember?" 

"So?"

"So if I tell my mom and she tells your mom and your mom." Mike began but was interrupted by Dustin. 

"Oh man." He spoke nervously. 

"Our houses become Alcatraz." Lucas finished for Mike, looking defeated. 

"Exactly. We'll never find Will." Dustin turned to Lucas with wide eyes and mimed the girl taking off her shirt again. "Alright. Here's the plan. She sleeps here tonight." Immediately Dustin started speaking. 

"You're letting a girl-" Mike cut him off. 

"Just listen!" He demanded before sharing his plan. "In the morning, she sneaks around my house, goes to the front door and rings my doorbell. My mom will answer and know exactly what to do. She'll send her back to Pennhurst or wherever she comes from. We'll be totally in the clear. And tomorrow night, we go back out. And this time, we find Will." The other two friends shared a look. Then they all got to work. 

As Lucas and Dustin were walking up the stairs, they glanced back to see Mike handing the girl a sleeping bag. "Here you go, this is my sleeping bag." He informed her. The girl was sitting in a makeshift tent made out of a bunch of blankets from their basement. 

"You really think she's psycho?" Dusting asked, looking up at Lucas. 

"Wouldn't want her in my house," Lucas answered before walking up the stairs. Dustin took one more look at her and Mike where she was setting up her pillow and getting comfortable. 

"Mental." He sighed before following Lucas. The other two didn't hear their little conversation as Mike was so focused on getting her set up in the small tent.

"Hey, um, I never asked your name." He said, pushing the sleeping bag in. The door to the upstairs closed and the girl looked around her tent, before down at her arm. She pulled up the sleeve of the blue sweater she was wearing and showed three little numbers, tattooed in block lettering on her wrist. "Is that real?" Mike asked, reaching forward to grab her arm. She quickly pulled it back, not trusting the boy to touch her tattoo. He pulled his arm back. "Sorry, I've just... never seen a kid with a tattoo before." He apologized. "What's it mean? Eleven?" The girl stared before pointing to herself and tapping a finger on her chest twice. "That's your name?" She gave a quick nod. "Eleven. Okay." Mike glanced down. "Um, well, my name's Mike, short for Michael. Maybe we can call you El, short for Eleven." Eleven nodded again. "Um, well, okay. 'Night El." And with that Mike stood up. 

"Night Mike," Eleven said, looking up at him. He pulled the quilt that served as her roof over the front of the fort so nobody could see her and turned off the lights, glancing back at the tent for a minute. He then walked up the stairs. 

In her tent, Eleven lay down, flinching lightly as she heard more thunder, and let out a little shiver as she closed her eyes fearfully.