Three black cars could be seen parking in front of Hawkins Lab...
Multiple men wearing suits got out of the vehicles and made their way to the building.
They met an older man with white hair on the way. The leader of the group greeted, "Dr. Brenner."
Dr. Brenner said, "This way, gentlemen..." Then he led them into the building. They walked through a series of seemingly random hallways.
As they moved, a scientist said to Brenner, "The entire East Wing will be evacuated within the hour. We've sealed off this area following the quarantine protocol."
Dr. Brenner passed through a sealed checkpoint and began changing into a hazmat suit, joined by the other men following him.
They pulled on white suits and black rubber gloves, sealing the gap where the gloves met the sleeves with surgical tape.
They were taking this very seriously. Finally, they each donned white masks connected to respirators...
Dr. Brenner emerged from the room. The men with him were armed with machine guns.
Whatever they were heading toward... they were expecting trouble.
They proceeded down another series of hallways before arriving at an elevator.
One of them pressed the button, and they waited in silence. When the elevator arrived, the doors opened with a metallic ding.
The door had multiple layers... much like the one the panicked scientist had died within.
They rode the elevator down for several minutes, descending deep underground.
When they reached the bottom, the elevator thudded... and the doors opened slowly. The group stepped out cautiously, flashlights attached to their weapons illuminating the pitch-black hallway ahead.
Visibility was poor—they could barely see ten feet in front of them.
They moved forward slowly. Some lights flickered above them, casting brief, eerie glows.
After turning down another hallway, their lights fell on something strange... patches of weird, fleshy material clining to the walls.
They approached carefully, hearing the material squelch faintly... as if it were alive.
They passed it and entered a doorway at the end of the hall.
Inside was a large room filled with computer consoles. Particles floated visibly in the air, suspended like dust motes... but thicker.
They advanced to the far end of the room and stopped.
Huge masses of flesh-like material covered the far wall. It looked like a passageway—randomly shaped, grotesque, tangled like the roots of a giant tree... but these were slimy, tentacle-like. You could hear them squelch... softly moving.
Man 1 asked, "This where it came from?"
Man 2 replied, "Yes."
Man 1 said, "And the girl?"
Dr. Brenner grimaced before replying, ominously, "She can't have gone far..."
Suddenly, a low growling echoed through the chamber. The men turned and raised their weapons, guarding the door.
Brenner voice echoed as he radioed in for reinforcements...
...
Meanwhile, in a secluded part of the woods, a small figure could be seen. A young girl, around twelve years old, barefoot as she stepped over twigs and branches that covered the forest floor.
She wore a dirty and slightly torn hospital gown. Her face was streaked with soot, but still delicate... unmistakably a child.
Her head was buzzed, making it less obvious she was a girl at first glance.
She walked through the forest for several minutes, eyes wide... taking everything in with wonder and curiosity.
Eventually, she reached the forest's edge. In front of her stood the back of a diner. She stared at it for a moment, intrigued.
A chubby man wearing an apron came out the side door and threw a bag of garbage into a bin. The girl waited until he went back inside, then approached the door cautiously.
She opened it slowly... it creaked as she slipped in and quietly closed it behind her.
She passed through a small storage area and peeked into the kitchen. The man was busy chatting with a customer, going on about a basketball game they'd seen on TV.
He was distracted...
The girl slipped through the double doors into the kitchen and looked around.
Drawn by hunger, she spotted a plate of French fries on the counter.
She hurried over, took one... then another. Her eyes widened at the taste... she began shoveling them into her mouth as fast as she could.
She peeked out through the order window. The man was still talking.
But then, as the conversation wrapped up, he turned... and spotted her.
"Hey! Come here!" he shouted. The girl panicked and ran, clutching the fries.
She bolted for the door she came in through... but the chubby man was surprisingly fast. He caught her just before she reached it.
She dropped the fries as he grabbed her arms and turned her around.
She looked terrified... breathing heavily.
"You think you can steal from me, boy?" he snapped. But as he got a better look... he realized something.
"What in the hell..." he muttered. It wasn't a boy. It was a girl.
...
Elsewhere, the school bell rang and class was dismissed.
Mike quickly packed up his things. His teacher, Mr. Clarke, called out, "Remember, finish chapter 12 and answer 12.3 on the difference between experiment and other forms of scientific investigation.
This will be on the test, which will cover chapters 10 through 12. It'll be multiple choice with an essay section."
Mike, Lucas, and Dustin stood eagerly in front of Mr. Clarke's desk.
"Did it come?" Mike asked.
Mr. Clarke replied with a mock sad tone, "Sorry, boys. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but... it came."
The boys shouted excitedly and ran out of the classroom toward the AV Club Room. Mr. Clarke followed as they rushed through the halls. A few minutes later, they arrived.
Mike dashed to the desk and sat down.
"The Heathkit Ham Shack," Mr. Clarke said proudly. "Ain't she a beaut?"
The boys nodded in awe... then immediately began playing around with it.
"I bet you could talk to New York on this thing," Dustin said.
"Think bigger," Mr. Clarke replied.
"California?" Lucas guessed.
"Bigger."
"Australia?" Mike asked.
Mr. Clarke nodded. The boys erupted in excitement.
"When Will sees this, he's totally going to blow his shit," Lucas said.
"Lucas!" Mr. Clarke scolded.
"Sorry," Lucas muttered. Dustin chuckled.
Mike turned the dial, putting on an accent. "Hello, this is Mike Wheeler, President of Hawkins Middle AV Club."
Dustin snatched the headset from him.
"What are you doing?" Lucas asked.
In his own accent, Dustin said, "Hello, this is Dustin, and this is the treasurer of Hawkins Middle AV Club. Do you eat kangaroos for breakfast?"
Lucas moved to grab the headset, but a knock on the door interrupted him.
The principal walked in... with Chief Hopper.
"Sorry to interrupt, but, uh... may I borrow Michael, Lucas, and Dustin?"
The boys exchanged nervous glances as they followed the principal to his office.
Hopper sat across from them, another officer beside him.
Hopper began explaining the situation.
Then he asked, "Which road does Will take to go home?"
The boys all started talking at once... making it impossible to understand.
"Okay, okay, okay. One at a time, all right? You," Hopper said, pointing to Mike.
Mike nodded.
"You said he takes what?"
"Mirkwood," Mike answered.
"Mirkwood?" Hopper repeated.
"Yeah."
"You ever heard of Mirkwood?" he asked the other cop.
The officer shook his head. "No. Sounds made up to me."
"No, it's from Lord of the Rings," Lucas said.
"Well... The Hobbit," Dustin corrected.
"It doesn't matter," Lucas snapped.
"He asked!" Dustin retorted.
"He asked!" Lucas mocked.
"Shut up, guys!" Mike groaned.
"I said one at a damn time!" Hopper growled. "You."
Mike gulped. "Mirkwood. It's a real road... the name's made up. It's where Cornwallis and Kerley meet."
"I think I know that..." Hopper began.
"We can show you, if you want?" Mike interrupted.
"I said I know it," Hopper replied firmly.
"We can help look," Mike offered.
"Yeah," Dustin added.
"No," Hopper said sharply. The boys started to protest.
"No. After school, you're all to go home. Immediately. That means no biking around looking for your friend. No investigating. No nonsense. This isn't some Lord of the Rings book."
"The Hobbit," Dustin corrected.
"Shut up," Lucas snapped. The boys began to argue again.
"Do I make myself clear?" Hopper asked calmly.
They didn't answer.
He stood, towering over them. "Do I make myself... clear?!"
"Yes, sir," they mumbled together.
Hopper and the other cop walked out.
Back in the woods, outside Castle Byers, Joyce searched frantically.
"Will! Willlllll!" she shouted.
She peeked inside the small fort. It was empty.
Jonathan called out nearby, "Will!"
Joyce walked over to him. They moved on, searching elsewhere.
Will in the other world, heard faint races of their words. He quietly replied, afraid a monster would come.
He had killed 3 so far, but he was out of ammo. He couldn't afford to draw any attention.
...
At the diner, Benny was flipping a burger. He topped it with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and pickles. Fries sizzled in the fryer. He plated the meal and brought it out to the girl.
She devoured the burger.
"Geez. Your parents forget to feed you?" Benny asked. No answer.
"That why you ran away?" Still nothing.
"They, uh... they hurt you?" She kept eating.
"You went to the hospital... got scared... ran off... ended up here? That it?" She looked up at him but didn't speak.
Benny took the food away. She reached for it.
"You can have it back, okay? As much as you want. Maybe even ice cream. But you've got to answer a few questions first. Deal?"
She stared at him.
"All right... easy stuff. My name's Benny. Benny Hammond." He reached for her hand. She pulled back.
"I got you. Don't worry. Nice to meet you, yeah? And you are?"
He noticed the numbers tattooed on her wrist. She yanked her arm back.
"Eleven? What's that mean? What's it mean?"
The girl whispered, "No."
"Well, I'll be damned. She speaks. No? No what?"
He started to walk away. "Guess no more food, then."
She suddenly said, "Eleven."
"Yeah. What's it mean?"
She pointed to herself. "Eleven."
"All right then," Benny said, returning the plate.
He stepped into another room and called Child Protective Services.
"Yeah, I think she's been abused or... kidnapped or something. Yeah, it'd be great if someone came by. Yeah... we're at 4819 Randolph Lane. Yeah, Randolph."
Back at the counter, the fan in the corner hummed with a grating sound. Eleven stared at it... focused. The fan stopped spinning.
She returned to her burger and kept eating.