37. Can She Be Saved?

Eleven clawed at Karmen's arm, which only made her tighten her grip further. Karmen stood up slowly, holding Eleven above the floor, choking her further. Karmen did her best to ignore the cries of the children and Steve from behind her, refusing to look Eleven in the eyes. Mike and Steve ran forward to stop Karmen but were quickly intercepted by a manic Billy who shoved them both onto their backs.

"Pl-please…" Eleven choked, tears streaming down her face, as her vision began to go black.

Karmen's eyes snapped up to Eleven's suddenly, seeing the hurt in her brown eyes. The betrayal that awakened some sort of feeling deep inside Karmen once again.

"Karmen…please…" Eleven choked, as her eyes fluttered shut.

Karmen's arm started to shake as she felt like she was slowly coming out of a trance. The Mindflayer was screaming in her mind to finish the job. She was there to kill Eleven. She had to.

"No…no, this isn't right…" Karmen cried, throwing Eleven to the ground, with a loud thump.

"El!" Mike yelled, pushing himself up, but Billy quickly grabbed him by the back of his shirt.

"Kill her, Karmen. Now!" Billy insisted as Karmen placed her hands against her head.

Her mind was screaming at her to save El, to kill El, she didn't know anymore. She felt like she didn't know anything. A familiar voice broke through the confusion in her mind, as her head whipped to the side.

"Karmen, don't do this! It's El! She's your sister" Steve exclaimed, as he punched Billy square in the jaw, and pulled Mike safely into his arms.

As if her hand had a mind of its own, she began to feel her sparks coming from her palm, as she raised it towards the teenage girl on the floor. She wasn't sure if Eleven was even conscious. It would be easy. One fatal blow of her power and the girl would be gone for good. Not a problem for the Mindflayer anymore.

"I don't care about her" Karmen shook her head, violently.

Eleven's eyes started to slowly open, fear growing on her face immediately when she saw Karmen looming over her. She didn't try to run, knowing she wouldn't get very far. Eleven seemed to be accepting her fate. It should have made it easier for Karmen, but it didn't.

"C'mon, kill her. Do it. Do it!" Karmen screamed as a familiar blue orb began growing from her palm.

A strange sound pulled Karmen's attention away from the electricity pulsing through her palm, as she looked down at Eleven to see she had begun sobbing. Her whole body shook as she cried, her eyes scrunched shut in fear. She was terrified. Eleven was terrified of her, Karmen realised.

"I…I'm sorry" Karmen cried, as she heard the children let out one final shout, expecting her to finish Eleven off.

Instead, she turned her palm at the last moment, so the blue orb struck her directly in the shoulder, throwing her onto her back roughly. Her head hit the ground with a sickening thud, as the others could see smoke rising from her burnt shoulder. Eleven slowly opened her eyes in shock, letting out a gasp when she saw what Karmen had done. She had stopped herself.

"Karmen!" Billy exclaimed as he rushed towards her, kneeling beside her unconscious body.

"El, are you okay?" Mike frowned, as he and Max rushed towards the teenage girl, who nodded after a moment.

Billy placed his hand against Karmen's cheek, brushing away some hair that had fallen against her forehead. She was still breathing, but he could see the red marks against her shoulder and neck from where the electricity had hit her. She was badly injured. She wouldn't be able to fight.

"Get the hell away from my girlfriend, you son of a bitch!" Steve yelled, pulling him off her by his long blond hair.

Billy glared at the other boy, as he stood up, ready to attack him. However, before he could take another step forward, his feet suddenly drifted up from the floor. He whipped his head around to see Eleven with her arms held high, straining to hold him up. Letting out a loud scream, he tried to fight against the invisible strength, but Eleven was too strong even in her weakened state. With a pained cry, she sent him flying through a nearby brick wall, which shattered on impact. Billy choked as he tried to push himself upright, feeling pain burst through his entire body. He heard the Mindflayer in his mind telling him to run, that he needed to leave Karmen and regain his strength. With his hands balled into fists, he reluctantly turned on his heels and started to sprint away. He didn't want to leave Karmen with the group, but it was a fight he knew he wouldn't win.

"Karmen? Oh, God" Steve sighed, as he carefully laid her head against his lap.

She looked awful. Black veins had spread over both her arms and neck and were concentrated around the dressing that hung loosely above her collarbone. More worryingly was the red mark on her shoulder, which Steve could see through the tatters of her shirt. He expected without the Mindflayer's presence inside her, she would already be dead.

"Steve, we need to go" Mike announced, as he placed Eleven's arm over his shoulder.

"What?" Steve frowned, looking up at the teenage boy.

"Billy could be back soon. With reinforcements. We need to leave her" Mike explained.

"We're taking her with us" Steve shook his head.

"Steve…she's one of them now" Lucas pointed out.

"We can't just leave her here!" Steve snapped.

"What happens when she wakes up and tries to kill El again?" Mike retorted.

"We'll restrain her" Steve suggested.

"How?! She's too powerful" Mike insisted.

"She's injured, okay? We'll have some time to…to…" Steve trailed off.

"To what? Steve, she's gone" Mike told him, as Steve's eyes snapped up to his.

"Don't say that. Don't ever say that!" Steve yelled, angrily.

"We could blindfold her, tie her up. Like you did with me" Will suggested.

"We'd need to take her somewhere they wouldn't be able to find us easily. Not one of our houses" Max went on.

"Hop's cabin. Not many people know about it" Eleven added, as Steve nodded.

"Have you all lost your mind? She's gone dark side! If she comes with us, she'll try to El again" Mike cried, in disbelief.

"I can handle myself," Eleven told him, pulling away from him slightly.

"She's still one of us. We got Will back. We'll get her back too" Steve announced, as he carefully pulled her up bridal style.

Steve scrunched his eyes shut as he pulled the ropes tighter aound Karmen's body, making sure they were secure enough. They had taken all the furniture out of Hopper's room and had almost finished stapling newspapers and cardboard against the walls and ceiling. Steve had already grabbed some handcuffs that Hopper owned and placed them around her wrists, attaching them to a nearby radiator. He couldn't let Karmen hurt anyone else. When she came back it would break her. And she would come back, he knew she would.

"How is she?" Max inquired, coming to sit beside him.

"Breathing. Hopefully, she'll wake up soon" Steve mumbled, turning on a few nearby bright lamps, hoping it would help to stop her discovering what room she was in.

"Do you really think she's still in there?" Max inquired, as Steve turned to her.

"She stopped herself from hurting El. She's strong. She's holding on" Steve told her.

"What about Billy? Do you…do you think he's still in there?" Max queried, in a hushed voice so the others wouldn't here.

"You saw how he reacted when she got hurt. That's very Billy behaviour" Steve scoffed, lightly.

"If this works-" Max began but was cut off by Steve.

"When it works" He insisted, as she slowly nodded.

"When it works…we'll do the same for Billy, right? I know he's been a dick in the past, but he doesn't deserve this" Max explained.

"No one deserves this" Steve mumbled, looking sadly at his girlfriend's unconscious form.

"The Mindflayer likes to steal memories. It's how my mum was able to get through to me when I was possessed. She helped give me my memories back and then I was able to fight back" Will announced, as he finished stapling the last newspaper to the wall.

"Sounds like a good plan" Steve nodded, smiling gratefully at Will.

"Uh, I just wanted to say…I didn't…I know Karmen's one of us. I shouldn't have said to leave her behind. I was just worried about El" Mike added, looking at his shoes with a guilty expression.

"They really should have listened to you" A soft voice spoke, from behind Steve.

He and Max jumped back as they realised Karmen was awake, as she cracked her neck as it had been in a painful position. Steve watched her stiffen as she realised she was blindfolded.

"How long have you been awake?" Steve asked, pulling Max behind him as if he expected Karmen to suddenly attack.

"Long enough. The Billy you knew is gone, Max. Just like me" Karmen informed them, struggling against the handcuffs.

"Then why did you stop yourself from hurting El?" Max pointed out.

"A momentary lapse of judgement. Don't worry, I'll get the little bitch next time" Karmen smirked, hearing a soft cry from somewhere in the room.

"Oh, she's here, is she? I'm coming for you, Eleven. Just wait" Karmen added, a sickening smile on her face as she heard a door open and close, with Mike calling after Eleven.

"How far does she think she can run? We won't stop. We never stop" Karmen insisted, as her blindfold was suddenly ripped off.

"Stop it. Stop saying these things. This isn't you" Steve insisted, crouching beside her.

"It is now" Karmen giggled, manically, her blue eyes seeming almost black from the dark veins covering her eyes.

"No. You're strong, Karmen. Stronger than I was, you can beat this" Will told her.

"You've certainly got that right, Byers. I am stronger than you. We remember you well. Our little spy. Did you ever think about how many people got hurt because of you? How many people died? Poor Bob, he must have been so scared in his last moments…before we ripped into him" Karmen exclaimed.

"Hey, leave him alone" Steve stated, seeing the hurt flash against Will's face.

"Okay, baby. Do you want all my attention is that it? Is that why you decided to flunk school? You knew that the moment you left I'd run off to another boy?" Karmen teased, as Steve gritted his teeth.

"You'd never do that" Steve retorted.

"Oh, but I would for the right boy. In fact…I already did. With Billy" Karmen informed him, making Steve frown.

"That's right, I never told you, did I? We kissed. That day he bit me. And let me tell you, sparks sure did fly" Karmen smirked, as she watched Steve's frown deepen.

"Your lying" Steve shook his head.

"You know I'm not. Let's be honest with each other, Steve. You were never worried about some random knight in shining armour coming along. It was always Billy. Hell, I kissed him before I ever kissed you. Halloween night. Now that, I remember" Karmen grinned.

"Then why did he bite you if you had such a mind-blowing kiss? I mean, that would kind of kill the mood, wouldn't it?" Steve pointed out, as the grin faded from her face.

"You pushed him away, didn't you? I remember what you said…that he lashed out. You rejected him, didn't you?" Steve realised, much to his own relief.

"Maybe I did then, but now? I can see clearly who I want. And it's not you" Karmen replied.

"Like I said…this isn't you," Steve told her, as he moved the cloth, they had been using to blindfold her as a gag instead, which made her laugh.

"C'mon, let's go" Steve announced, standing up, as he pushed the kids out, making sure the lights obscured the doorway.

"I really didn't need to hear about Karmen and my stepbrother kissing" Max grimaced, as they walked into the living room.

"You and me both" Steve muttered, sitting down on a nearby couch, letting his head fall into his hands.

"Anything?" Eleven inquired, a hopeful look in her eyes.

"No. The Mindflayer is not going to make this easy for us" Steve warned the group.

"It seems to be deeper inside her than it was with me. It's like it wants to hurt us" Will suggested.

"Or it wants us to lash out at her" Steve sighed, twiddling his fingers together nervously.

"Maybe I can get through to her. Like I did with my mum" Eleven offered, as Mike's eyes widened.

"El, you can't. It's too dangerous. The Mindflayer is her mind" Mike insisted.

"We need to get through to her" Eleven retorted.

"I don't want to put you in danger" Steve mumbled, mulling over the offer in his mind.

"I'll do whatever I need to do, to get her back," Eleven told him, as he smiled at her sadly.

Steve chewed on his fingernails, as he watched Eleven place a blindfold over her eyes, finishing her ritual for going into the Upside Down. His eyes flittered to Karmen's, who seemed amused by watching Eleven. Her mouth was still gagged, not that she seemed to care. In fact, Karmen didn't really seem to care about anything anymore. The group watched with bated breath, as Eleven reached out to touch Karmen's leg, with shaky hands.

"I…I see her" El mumbled, as blood started to drip down her nose.

"What's she doing?" Lucas inquired, seeing that Karmen's own eyes had closed.

"She's staring at me I think…no…she's just looking off into the distance. Like she's in a trance. Karmen, can you hear me?" Eleven frowned.

She waved a hand in front of Karmen's slack face but got no response. It was like she was a shell. Like her mind was no longer there. Eleven realised it reminded her of her own mother.

"It's like she's been switched off" Eleven announced.

"Can you get into her memories?" She heard Steve question.

"I'll try" Eleven replied, reaching out and intertwining her fingers with Karmen's.

She wasn't sure if it had worked until she opened her eyes and saw she was in a different room. It had a white ceiling, walls and chairs. It had a disturbingly clinical feel to it. The only occupants in the room were half a dozen children, who were all various ages. She found herself drawn to one young girl, who was playing with a toy rabbit, as she rushed around the room. Suddenly a large door opened, revealing a man who she knew far too well.

"Papa?" Eleven gasped, watching as he walked over to the young girl.

"This is the one?" Dr Brenner questioned, the two guards behind him, who nodded.

He crouched down beside the small girl, and took the rabbit from her small hands, not seeming to care as tears started to well in the child's eyes. He pulled the girl's wrist towards him, revealing a 011 tattoo.

"Take her to the lab" Dr Brenner announced, as he ruffled the girl's curly hair.

"Wait!" An older girl suddenly announced, rushing over to the pair.

She looked to be around ten years old, her long brunette hair went nearly as far as her waist. Eleven's eyes widened as she saw a 006 tattoo on the girl's wrist.

"Karmen?" Eleven mumbled as she watched her stand in front of the younger version of herself.

"Take me. I'm older. I won't struggle, I swear" Karmen insisted, as Dr Brenner slowly nodded, ushering his men to come forward.

"It's okay, Eleven. I'll be back soon" Karmen told the small girl, who had begun crying.

Eleven watched sadly as Karmen was dragged from the room, knowing there was nothing she could do. It was only a memory.

"I always tried to look out for you. Even from the beginning" A familiar voice announced from behind her.

Eleven's hand flew to her mouth when she saw the seventeen-year-old Karmen standing only a few metres away. Without a second's thought, she ran forward into Karmen's welcoming arms. The older girl hugged her tightly, as Eleven practically shook in her arms.

"I found you" Eleven exclaimed, resting her head against Karmen's chest.

"I knew you would. You've always been so stubborn" Karmen giggled, sadly.

"I get that from you" Eleven mumbled, pulling away and realising that they were no longer in the clinical room.

They seemed to be on a road, but not in their world, in the Upside Down. Red lightning sparked around them, lighting up the otherwise pitch-black sky. Eleven could feel herself begin to choke from the dust particles that hovered around the air. She could practically taste the decay all around them. Karmen reached out and touched Eleven's neck lightly, which had a faint red mark covering it.

"I did that, didn't I? I'm so sorry" Karmen cried, guilt clear in her voice.

"It wasn't you" Eleven shook her head.

"You don't understand, El. The Mindflayer hasn't possessed me like it did with Will. It's changed me. Taken everything that I had. My memories…" Karmen trailed off.

"You remember me?" Eleven questioned.

"Only bits and pieces. That was one of the last memories I have left" Karmen confessed.

"I…I can give you other memories, help you remember-" Eleven began, but Karmen cut her off.

"I'll just forget again. I can't win this fight, El. I'm dying" Karmen informed her, as Eleven's bottom lip wobbled.

"You can't" Eleven shook her head, furiously.

"I know you want to save me, but it's too late. I was dead the moment Billy bit me" Karmen insisted.

"No! It's not fair! It's not fair…" Eleven sobbed as Karmen brushed away a few tears that had fallen down her cheek.

"Trust me, I don't want to die. I turned seventeen last month. I was supposed to grow up…but the Mindflayer has taken that away from me. That's why you need to stop him" Karmen explained.

"I'm not strong enough" Eleven sighed.

"Of course, you are. Why do you think it's so afraid of you? You can beat it, El. I know you can" Karmen insisted.

"What about you? What happens to you if we beat it?" Eleven asked as Karmen looked away from her.

"I get to be at peace" Karmen mumbled, making Eleven whimper lightly.

"No, we can save you!" Eleven cried.

"That's what the Mindflayer wants. It knows how close we are. That's why it chose me. It knew you wouldn't be able to kill me. And I would never ask you to do that" Karmen went on.

"What are you saying?" Eleven frowned.

"I need to be stopped, El. You must let it happen. I don't want to hurt anyone else...I don't even know if I deserved to be saved anymore" Karmen explained.

"No…" Eleven sobbed as Karmen pulled her into a hug once again, seeing how upset she had become.

Suddenly they heard a faint voice in the distance, one which Karmen knew seemed familiar. It slowly got louder, until Karmen could understand what it was saying.

"El? What's going on? Is Karmen okay?" A male voice questioned.

"Who is that?" Karmen frowned, noticing her chest hurt at the sound of his voice.

"It's Steve…do you…do you remember him?" Eleven inquired.

"Steve…is that the sound of his voice? I don't…I can't even remember" Karmen sighed, her voice heavy with emotion.

"Can I talk to him?" Karmen asked, a moment later, a hopeful look in her eyes.

"No. He can't hear you" Eleven shook her head, as a large spark of lightning struck the ground near them.

Karmen whipped her head around, as they heard a strange growling in the distance. It was soon followed by the sound of footsteps, that got louder by the second. They were running out of time.

"It's found me…you need to go" Karmen told Eleven.

"But…I need to save you. How can I save you?" Eleven begged, with a panicked voice.

"You saved me a long time ago, El. Becoming friends with you back in the lab was the best decision I ever made" Karmen informed her, as Eleven smiled at her sadly.

"Tell Steve…tell him I'm holding on for him. And that I love him…always have" Karmen exclaimed, tears welling in her own eyes.

"I will" Eleven nodded, as Karmen took a step forward and placed her hand over El's eyes.

"Bye El" Karmen sobbed, as the younger girl could hear a loud growl from all around them.

"No!" Eleven screamed, opening her eyes and suddenly finding that she was back in Hopper's cabin.

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay, El" Mike insisted, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"I tried…I tried" Eleven panted, as she laid her head on Mike's shoulder, looking at Steve with a guilty expression.

"Clearly you didn't try hard enough" Karmen scoffed, having managed to spit out her gag, while everyone was focused on Eleven.

"Give her back" Eleven pleaded, kneeling only inches from Karmen, who had an amused look on her face.

"What are you talking about, El? I'm right here" Karmen grinned.

"You're not her" Eleven spat out.

"I'm the better version of her" Karmen exclaimed, as the lamps in the room suddenly began flickering.

Eleven gasped as the handcuffs around Karmen's wrists broke in half and dropped to the floor, blue sparks flying from them. Karmen's grin grew, as she raised her hand, clicking her fingers as the lights in the room exploded, leaving the group in complete darkness. Eleven couldn't stop the scream that came from her lips.

Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Poor Karmen, being stuck in your own mind is almost too terrible to imagine. Hopefully, she can be stopped before she hurts anyone else. I've been super sick this month, so sorry if there are any mistakes in this chapter. Have a Happy New Year Everyone! Please leave a review:)

NicoleR85: Thank you! So glad you're still enjoying this story:)

RoseAmeliaSarahNoblePond: The 3rd Season was super suspenseful, and I've definitely raised the stakes even more in this story. Will everyone survive this season? No comment, but the ending will certainly be sad. Thank you so much, I hope you enjoyed this chapter:)

Min234: Aw, thank you! It's very disturbing writing Karmen this way, but also quite fun as well, seeing as she is so unhinged. No spoilers, but Billy and Karmen are going to do their best to save each other, that's all I will say. I hope you like this chapter too:)

1Demoness: I will take that as a compliment, haha.

Angryfanfic: Here's the new update, enjoy:)

tazsgirl6969: Enjoy the new chapter!