10. Hello

[A/N: Holy adrenaline, Batman! Okay, so I don't know what happened but I just knocked this chapter out and it's long and intense and I have no words other than I hope you like it lol]

Chapter 10: Hello (by Lionel Richie)

"I've been alone with you inside my mind and in my dreams, I've kissed your lips a thousand times. I sometimes see you pass outside my door..."

. . . . . . . .

He'd never stayed this long before. It'd already been several minutes and he was still in this cold, damp wasteland. As creepy as the lab was in the real world, it was even more unnerving in the Upside Down. After vomiting another, larger, slug, and realizing that he wasn't going to slip back out of the Upside Down right away, Will began to walk around in search of the portal. As he passed through hallways covered in vines, he could almost hear the voices of his friends like faint echoes in his mind.

He explored the halls with a different kind of trepidation than he would have in the real world. While they were fearful of being discovered by government agents in the real lab, in the Upside Down version, Will was inclined to keep an eye out for monsters. The Demogorgon may have been dead, and he might not have seen any other monsters when he spent the week here, but that didn't mean it was impossible.

This is really weird; I've never stayed in the Upside Down this long… except the first time. Will thought to himself as he stepped through throngs of vines along the floor. Maybe if I find the portal, I can go back home that way.

When he stumbled upon the clear plastic hazmat curtain, dripping with brown sludge, his curiosity piqued. A portal to another dimension would probably be behind a hazmat curtain, right? Will grimaced at the sensation of the sticky, slimey goo between his fingers as he gripped the curtain's zipper, opening it and climbing through and into another hallway. Everything was dark and he could barely see where he was going. A few paces down the hallway he came to a set of double doors. He shook and pulled on the handles to no avail. The doors were locked and he was at a dead end.

Pushing aside his anxiety at the thought that he had not flickered back home yet, as well as the residual nausea, Will huddled in the doorway in front of the double doors, sitting on a large vine that snaked itself along the wall and resting his feet against another. White particles floated through the air like snowflakes and images of the snowfall from last night fluttering through his mind. What he wouldn't give to be back home, to not have to worry about slipping in and out of the Upside Down at random, to not be puking up slugs all the time… How long would he have to deal with these side effects? Or was this his new life? Would it ever go away?

As he pined for simpler times, he realized something. He could slip back into the real lab at any moment and he had no idea who was around. The lab obviously wasn't empty, considering Hopper had been out in the hall talking to at least two other people. What if he reappeared in front of the wrong person? Not only would that be dangerous considering he was trespassing on government property but kids don't just randomly appear out of the blue. They'd know something was up, maybe recognize him as the kid who disappeared into the Upside Down back in November and then what? Conduct experiments on him like they'd done with Eleven?

Will began to hyperventilate at the thought and he scrambled to standing before running as fast as he could through the dark halls, trying to retrace the steps he and his friends had taken with Hopper on their way in.

. . . . . . . .

Video 011-27

A young Eleven was lying face down on her bed, the covers neatly made beneath her. She clutched a small stuffed tiger to her side and stared blankly at the wall beside her. Her head was freshly shaved and her feet bare, a hospital gown being the only garment she wore. The room was small and mostly empty with only the bed and a hand-drawn picture taped to one of the concrete blocks that comprised the walls of the room.

The door opened suddenly and Eleven jumped, quickly pulling herself into a sitting position and clutching her knees to her chest. She visibly relaxed, but only slightly, when Papa entered the room.

"Good afternoon, Eleven," He greeted her warmly but her gaze followed the large book in his hands. "I've brought something for you,"

She watched with interest as he sat on the edge of the bed, tilting the book so she could see. It had vivid colors and illustrations of a variety of characters she didn't recognize. Some wearing long, beautiful gowns, others with dramatically angry facial expressions, and still others were animals like geese and owls and other birds. She tentatively scooted a little closer to get a better look.

"This is a nursery rhymes book," Papa explained. "Do you know what that is?"

Eleven shook her head, wide eyes watching and waiting for him to tell her.

"It's a book of short stories that rhyme," Papa said, opening the front cover and flipping through to the table of contents. "The endings of the words sound similar,"

Eleven only blinked in response, then pointed to the book. "Story?"

Papa nodded, "Yes, would you like me to read one to you?"

Eleven nodded eagerly, her eyes sparkling were the only change in her facial expression.

"Alright, then," Papa said, scanning the table of contents and then flipping through several pages to a brightly colored image of a tall grandfather clock. Eleven had never seen anything like it but the colors and the details fascinated her. She recognized the small creature at the base of the clock as a mouse like one of the ones she'd been asked to kill last week.

"No!" She screamed, pointing at the mouse and scuttling to the far end the bed, pulling herself into a ball and peering over at the book in terror. Tears flooded her eyes in seconds and her shoulders shook violently.

"No, no, Eleven," Papa said evenly, reassuringly. He patted the spot in which she'd just been seated. "Come back, it's okay,"

Though she stopped shaking, Eleven warily shook her head, her bottom lip trembling.

"It's just a story," Papa said. "It isn't real and you don't have to hurt anything. Just listen,"

"Listen?" She asked softly.

"Yes, Eleven," He nodded, patting the spot on the bed once more. "Come listen,"

Eleven gingerly crawled across the bed and sat down, though a little further from the book than she'd once been.

"Alright now," Papa began to read. "'Hickory dickory, dock. The mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck one, the mouse ran down, hickory dickory dock,'"

Eleven stared at the book, at the mouse running up the grandfather clock and another image on the next page of the same mouse running back down to the floor. A hint of a smile touched the corner of her lips.

"Did you like that?" Papa asked, smiling and watching her reaction.

Eleven moved a little closer and tucked her legs under her, resting her hands on her knees as she looked at him and nodded.

"Good," Papa nodded affirmatively and flipped through the pages some more. "Let's do another, shall we?"

Eleven nodded in earnest, looking over his shoulder as he perused the many pages of the book.

He finally stopped on a page with a boy and a girl climbing a large grassy hill. "Ah, this is a good one," Papa commented, then paused. "I have an idea, Eleven," He was met with only a blank, expectant stare. "I'm going to go out into the hall and read this rhyme and when I come back, I want you to tell me what it was about," Her face fell slightly with disappointment and he raised his eyebrows expectantly. "Can you do that for me?"

Pursing her lips, Eleven gave a small nod.

"Excellent," Papa smiled in satisfaction and stood up, stepping outside the room and closing the door behind him.

The room was silent for a few moments before Eleven began to speak, her eyes clenched tightly shut as she focused.

"'Jack…" Her words were barely a whisper, barely audible. "And Jill… went up the hill," She paused. "To… fetch a pail… of water," Another pause. "Jack… fell down and… broke his crown," She repeated the words without any particular inflection, as if they felt foreign on her lips. "And Jill… came tumbling… after,'"

. . . . . . . .

Hopper led the boys into a room lined with dozens of mustard yellow hazmat suits of varying sizes and lengths. They hung on hangers that lined each of the walls, clustered together to make room for as many as possible.

"Find something that fits and put it on," Hopper instructed and the three of them looked through suit after suit, sizing each one up against themselves. Hopper already knew where to find his suit and he quickly picked through a nearby section of big and tall options.

"These are all huge," Lucas commented as they went section by section with little luck.

"Try those over there," Hopper pointed them to the adjacent wall where the shorter suits hung. "And make it fast,"

Mike, Dustin, and Lucas managed to find a few options that, while not the best fit, would manage. With their heights and sizes, they were able to make some of the women's suits fit.

Once everyone had climbed into their suits and Hopper had helped them to secure all of the pieces, the foursome trudged down the hall to the elevator that would take them underground.

All the while, thoughts raced through Mike's head. Was El still okay? What would it be like when they found her? Would they be able to make it out of the lab without anyone finding out? And what about Hopper? Everything he'd said upstairs had thrown all of them for a loop. To think about having to choose between Will and El… Mike couldn't do it. Or rather, his hesitation made him uncomfortable and he tried not to think about it. While he still questioned Hopper and was uncertain as to how much they could trust him, he was really their only chance at finding El. Despite his anger at the role Hopper had played in the government guys finding them at the school and the fact that if Hopper hadn't sold out their location, El wouldn't have drained her energy killing all those agents and the monster wouldn't have been attracted to all that blood and El wouldn't have put herself in danger in order to stop the Demogorgon and thereby trap herself in the Upside Down and they maybe could've gone to the Snowball. But at the same time, if Hopper hadn't made that decision, would Will still be here? Would he still even be alive? And honestly, Hopper had a point. They didn't know where they were going and it was a huge risk to be running around the lab, not knowing where they were going or if someone could pop out unexpectedly and catch them. And then there was the Upside Down, what would that be like? If they were in hazmat suits it had to be dangerous, and especially considering Will's condition when he returned… and his condition now… it was kind of scary. Still, there were more important things. They had to find El and they had to bring her home. There was no alternative; that's just what had to happen.

When they reached the bottom floor and the elevator doors opened, the first thing they noticed were white particles floating through the air. Mike recognized them from his dreams and felt an odd sense of reassurance that perhaps his dreams had been real. He'd actually communicated with El in the Upside Down and it wasn't just in his head. Thick patches of vines covered some parts of the walls and brown puddles of slime were scattered around the floor. Hopper led the group silently down dark hallways and through a door that led to a large room. A thick fog was settled over everything and it was hard to see, especially through the glass visors of the hazmat helmets. There was, what appeared to be, a control room situated high above and protected by walls and glass. Mike looked to the side of the room where a tall water tank was stationed and he assumed that was the one El had been talking about when she told them about this room last month. He wondered if that had been the "bath" they'd put her in when she used her powers to find people.

The most prominent part of the room, however, was the large, plant-like opening in one of the walls near the tank. Covered in vines and sticky brown slime, it seemed to pulsate with pink as if it were alive and breathing.

"Whoa," Lucas's voice sounded electronic through the voice adapter in his helmet.

"Holy shit," Dustin breathed.

"Are you boys ready?" Hopper asked, turning back to the boys who had paused to stare in wonder at the huge, monstrous hole in the wall.

"Y-Yeah, we're ready," Mike forced his voice and cautiously followed Hopper up to the edge of the portal.

"Now when we get through there, you kids stick close," Hopper instructed. "Don't go running off, don't fall behind, and don't draw attention to yourself. We still don't know if there's anything else out there so no screwing around, got it?"

Mike, Lucas, and Dustin all nodded obediently and Hopper pushed aside some of the slimey vines covering the entrance to the portal. Dustin made a face at the slick sound of the vines tearing and snapping before all four of them stepped through.

While Mike had some familiarity with the Upside Down from his dreams, the rotting vines and unknown brown sludge that covered everything were new to Lucas and Dustin. As the four of them walked through the Upside Down version of the lab and made their way outside, the two boys silently pointed and made faces at different piles of decaying foliage, each more disgusting than the next.

"You boys doing alright?" Hopper was the first to speak since they ventured into the Upside Down. He led them around the fence as they made their way to the woods.

"Yeah," Mike spoke for the three of them. "We're fine,"

"Good," Hopper said distantly. "Now when I was out here before, I saw something out there in the woods," He gestured to the expanse of trees just a short distance in front of them.

"What was it?" Dustin asked.

"I don't know," Hopper replied. "That's why we're gonna find out,"

As they trekked through the mucky landscape, the boys noticed several egg-shaped pods throughout the woods.

"What are those things?" Mike inquired.

"We're not sure yet," Hopper replied. "They're running tests at the lab but-" He stopped when he noticed Dustin already poking one of the luminous yellow pods. "Don't touch them," He sighed, shaking his head.

"Gross," Lucas commented as they passed a pod that had seemingly exploded, yellow-green slime oozing out and across the grass. "This one's busted,"

"There's a few like that," Mike said. "I saw a couple back on the other side of the fence,"

"There it is," Hopper said, not having been paying attention to their conversation. He squinted his eyes as they drew nearer to the mysterious dark lump on the ground. "That's my shirt," He noted, confused for a moment.

"That's the shirt El was wearing when she got sucked into the Upside Down!" Mike exclaimed. "Maybe she's nearby!"

"Alright, hold your horses," Hopper said, putting a hand on Mike's shoulder to minimize the boy's rising excitement and volume. "Let's keep looking around. If this is here, then she's probably not too far out,"

"Didn't Will say he saw her in your basement, Mike?" Dustin asked.

"Oh yeah," Mike said thoughtfully. "That's kind of far to walk in a place like this, isn't it?"

"Hmm…" Hopper pondered. "You would think, wouldn't ya?"

"Chief, do you know anything about um," Mike ventured the question. "There's this like, box out in the woods-"

"With food in it," Lucas added.

"Close to Mirkwood?" Hopper turned to them, raising an eyebrow. Once again, they'd figured him out.

"Yeah, that's it!" Mike said excitedly. "Did you…?"

"He totally did!" Dustin exclaimed.

"How long have you been putting food out there?"

"Have you seen El?"

"How did you know she was out there?"

"Alright, enough!" Hopper halted their line of questioning. "Yes, I've been putting food out because I knew she was in the Upside Down, no I haven't seen her, and yes, the three of you need to keep your voices down,"

Just as Mike was about to speak, the faint sound of a twig snapping caught Hopper's attention. "Hold on," He put his hand up in Mike's face, effectively silencing him. "Anyone else hear that?"

The three boys looked at each other, shaking their heads.

Hopper crept in the direction of the sound, peering around trees as best he could. "Eleven?" He called out into the darkness and the boys, picking up his cue, began to call out as well.

"El!"

"El, are you there?"

"El, where are you?"

"Shh, hold on," Hopper shushed them once again as they approached an old, overturned tree. It was rotting from the inside out and vines had wrapped themselves tightly around it. His instincts guiding him, Hopper cautiously approached the log and, peering over it, immediately recognized the form of the young girl they were looking for. "We found her!"

The boys hurried to get close and upon catching sight of her, Mike flung himself over the tree's edge, scrambling to El's side.

"El!" He exclaimed, shaking her shoulder. She was still wearing Nancy's old dress and she'd lost her shoes. The striped knee high socks they'd given her were stained and dark with dirt and brown goo, with holes growing in the heels and at the toes. The once pink dress was now a dingy shade of brown and her soaking wet hair was about an inch longer than it had been when they'd first met her. The length made her hair easier to tousle and some tufts stuck up in random directions while others were slicked against her forehead. Despite Mike's attempts, she didn't rouse. Mike turned back to his friends and Hopper. "She's not responding! Why isn't she saying anything?!" He shrieked desperately.

Hopper effortlessly jumped over the tree as Dustin and Lucas followed after.

"Alright, come on, El!" Hopper said, his voice firm and loud as he shook El by the shoulder. He placed two fingers against her neck, paused for a moment, then put an ear to her face. "She's alive, but barely," He quickly scooped her up into his arms. "C'mon, let's go,"

The race back to the portal was quick but cumbersome as the four of them struggled against their bulky hazmat suits.

"When we get inside," Hopper said as they awkwardly jogged back to the lab. "We've gotta make this fast. She needs to get to a hospital A.S.A.P. There's a laundry chute in the room with the suits - we get in, dump the suits, we get out. Got it?"

The boys all uttered their understanding, consumed moreso with worry about El. Mike watched her more than he watched where he was going, the sight of her dangling in Hopper's arms, her head lolled back, was gut-wrenching. What if they were too late?

Once they were back inside, they made a mad dash for the suits room, all the while praying that they were alone in the building. If ever there was a time to not get caught, this would be it.

Hopper gently laid El down on the linoleum floor so he could remove his suit. As the four of them climbed out of their suits, unbuttoning buttons, unlocking helmets, unraveling tape from around their gloved arms, and unzippering zippers, El stirred slightly.

A small whimper was all it took for Mike to kick off his suit and toss the helmet onto the pile before he was knelt down at El's side. "El, can you hear me?" He reached for her hand and held it close.

Her eyes fluttered partially open and her eyebrows clenched uncomfortably. "Mike?"

"Yeah, El!" Mike beamed with relief, almost shaking with excitement. "I'm here! I'm here!"

An unnerving sigh escaped her lips and her head lolled back and to the side once again.

"El!" Mike cried. "El! Wake up, come on!"

Hopper, having removed all parts of his suit and tossed them down the chute, hurried over as Dustin and Lucas finished putting their suits away, including Mike's. He scooped her back up into his arms. "Okay, let's get outta here," His voice was taut and authoritative and the boys obediently followed after him as they ran through the halls of the lab, finally making their way outside after an agonizing run through swipe-access doors and zippered hazmat curtains.

"My truck's down the street," Hopper said, El's limp limbs flinging about as he ran. Through the lab's parking lot, through the trees, down Mirkwood they ran until they got to a cross-section of the road and Hopper's truck was tucked inconspicuously to the side of the infrequently used road.

Balancing El against one arm and the truck, he unlocked the front door and Dustin slipped in past him to unlock the others before clambering across the center console and into the front passenger seat.

Mike and Lucas climbed into the backseat and Hopper laid El across them, her head on Mike's leg and her feet stretched across Lucas' lap. "Keep her steady, don't let her fall," Hopper ordered before throwing the back door closed and hopping into the driver's seat.

"Come on, El," Mike grabbed her hand again and leaned close to her face, hoping that hearing him better might help. "You're gonna be okay," He bit the inside of his lip to try and keep it from quivering. Lucas kept his eyes averted, pretending to not notice the way his best friend's eyes were tearing up. "Just hold on, El," Mike whispered and though he was trying to keep his voice steady, it sounded as though he could break at any moment. As he held El's hand, he slipped his grip down to her wrist, feeling for her pulse. Panic set in as he realized he couldn't feel anything.

"I can't feel her pulse!" Mike screamed, his voice hoarse.

"Wait, what?!" Dustin exclaimed, turning around in his seat as Hopper raced to the hospital.

"I can't find it!" Mike awkwardly finagled his fingers against her wrist, trying to find something before giving up and touching her neck with two fingers, just as Hopper had done in the Upside Down.

"Is she still breathing?" Hopper looked back in the rear-view mirror. "Check if she's breathing!"

"I don't know!" Mike cried helplessly and Lucas leaned across the seat, putting the back of his hand against her nose. "Well?!" Mike looked to his friend.

Lucas shrugged, "I don't know, I didn't feel anything!"

"Alright, I'm stopping the car," Hopper said, pulling over into another patch of woods and quickly throwing the car into park before jumping out and yanking the back door open. He reached across Lucas to feel El's neck for a pulse. "Get her outta there," He demanded, reaching to pick her up again.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Mike asked as Hopper pulled El out. "Is she breathing?!"

Ignoring the young boy, Hopper gently laid El down in the snowy grass beside the car. Dustin and Lucas stood behind Mike as they watched Hopper check for vital signs from El. Mike did his best to force himself to keep calm but his adrenaline was through the roof and he couldn't stop shaking. His hands trembled and he tapped his fingers against his sides nervously. He bounced in worried anticipation and there was no holding back his tears at this point. "Come on, do something!" He cried.

"Mike…" Dustin put a comforting hand on Mike's shoulder but his bouncing quickly, though unconsciously, shook it off.

"Alright, somebody get over here and help me," Hopper said and Mike was on the ground beside them before he could even finish the statement. "You know CPR, kid?"

Mike shook his head, rubbing his face with the back of his hand to wipe away the tears.

"You're about to learn," Hopper said and he perched on his knees next to El's side. "Get up there by her head,"

Mike scurried into position as Hopper continued to give directives. "Tilt her head back, lift her chin, and when I tell you," He said, cupping his hands over El's chest and giving quick, evenly paced chest compressions. "I want you to pinch her nose and breathe into her mouth, twice," The whole experience felt like de ja vu to Hopper as only a month prior had he been giving the same instructions to Joyce Byers as they struggled to resuscitate Will. "One second, then pause, then breathe again,"

Mike nodded in rapid succession. "Okay, I can do it!"

"Okay, now!" Hopper said, lifting his weight off of El's body.

Mike pinched El's nostrils shut and her lips parted just enough. He touched his lips to hers, exhaling as hard as he could into her mouth. The whole thing would have been much more awkward had he not been completely terrified. After a pause, he did the same thing and Hopper repeated the chest compressions, throwing his upper body weight into the action. He paused at one point, checking El's pulse once again but still nothing. Mike felt like a wave was crashing down on him as he watched Hopper resume the compressions yet again and more tears spilled from his eyes, dripping down onto El's forehead. He wiped them away just in time for Hopper to yell.

"Again!"

Mike repeated the breaths and with each exhale, it was like he was willing life into her as though the wish alone could bring her back. He silently pleaded in his head for her to be alright but with every second that passed, he became more and more distraught.

Hopper placed his fingers against El's pulse once more. "We got somethin'," He said, scooping her back up. "Back in the car, back in the car!" He ordered and the boys quickly scrambled back into the vehicle.

This time, as Hopper settled El back into the seat with Lucas and Mike, she stirred slightly, though her eyes never opened. Mike watched her, relieved to see the shallow rise and fall of her chest before flushing with embarrassment for looking at her there.

"We'll be at the hospital soon, El," He leaned down, putting on the best reassuring tone he could manage now that he thought she might be able to hear. "Just keep holding on. You can do this!" He said, fighting the tremble in his voice and hoping against hope that he was right.

. . . . . . . .

"Hello? Is it me you're looking for?"