╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮
FOURTEEN!
runaway with me
╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

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         The sun had reached its highest peek in the somewhat pale blue sky, meaning it had been a whole twelve hours or so since the terrifying expedition in the woods had occurred.

The three teenagers struggled to sleep, tossing and turning throughout the night. They were afraid that one sudden wink of darkness would flash images of the blood thirsty monster and the Upside Down would occur.

They could not succumb to sleep, despite how tired and drained they all were after the adventure. They just all resorted to staring up at the ceiling until the sun cracked through the night sky or until it was a suitable time for them to climb out of bed.

That is exactly the reason why Wendy Harrington was currently struggling to not collapse in her hot bowl of soup.

Her eyelids felt like a ton of bricks resting against her delicate eyes, so she was struggling to force them to stay open. She had resorted to resting her cheek against her arm that she propped up on the table as she stared down the watery liquid residing in the porcelain bowl.

"Wendy, darling. You look exhausted. Didn't get much sleep last night?" Thomas asked worryingly, investigating his daughter's frozen state.

"No." Wendy shook her head, resorting to aimlessly stirring the yellowish soup broth with her spoon to keep her awake.

"More bad dreams?" Thomas asked.

"Yeah." Wendy nodded.

"Why don't you just finish your lunch and take a nap afterwards? You don't have to help me with the dishes." Thomas suggested, trying to help her.

"Okay." Wendy mumbled in agreement, finally deciding to spoon fed herself some carrots that had gotten soggy in the soup.

"Speaking of sleeping, is Stanley still in bed? It's almost noon." Thomas pointed out.

"Probably, he didn't sleep well either." Wendy explained to her worrisome father.

"I knew he had a bad night. He left out all of ingredients for his favourite sandwich. He only eats that sickly sweet sandwich when he's upset. Did something bad happen?" Thomas questioned.

"Ah.......no." Wendy lied, shaking her head.

Of course, she had to lie. What was she supposed to say?

That they indeed broke the town's curfew, wandered into the forest to look for a portal in an alternative dimension and that Stanley Harrington was almost killed in the process. That was not a probable answer as Thomas Harrington would have a heart attack on the spot at the confession.

Instead, she just lied to keep him from freaking out.

"Alright." Thomas nodded, turning back to eating his own lunch.

Deep down he knew something was wrong between the teens as they were never this distant but he knew better than to question them. He instead just made simple conversation with the younger girl.

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         After lunch had been eaten, Wendy had cleaned up the kitchen by herself as her brother had yet to make an appearance and Thomas had to work a late afternoon shift at movie theatre since it was a Friday. This meant that the three teens were left home alone once again like they always were.

Wendy had retreated into the living room to turn on the television and invited Nina to join her as the older teen was hiding upstairs. The two girls were occupying their time by completing a safari themed puzzle, while an episode of GI Joe played on the television.

"What is GI Joe trying to achieve?" Nina questioned randomly, her eyes glued to the colourful screen.

She was so intrigued by the flashing colours and the animated explosions that she wouldn't dare pull her eyes away from the screen. She had never experienced such vivid images before, so every change she got to watch television, she took advantage of the activity.

"They're trying to fight Cobra Commander, who's the bad guy. He's like the bad people at the lab." Wendy simplified, placing another puzzle piece into her semi completed set.

"Wow...." Nina gasped happily.

The two girls sat in a comfortable silence as they were both focused on their own tasks. Nina was too engrossed in the cartoons playing on the television and Wendy wanted to complete her thousand piece puzzle set before the sun went down.

Neither one of them had noticed the practically dead lanky boy, clambering down the stairs in complete exhaustion. It didn't matter how loud his footsteps were, neither girl turned around to follow the sound.

"Hi." Stanley greeted, his voice barely above a mumble.

But it still somehow break through his sister's deep concentration. The younger girl turned around to face her brother and slightly grimaced at the sight.

Stanley Harrington was definitely not in the best shape, to say the least.

If you didn't know the kind of night that he just had then you would of thought he was hung over to the max but he was completely exhausted.

The boy's soft brown eyes were replaced by a deeper tone and were accompanied by a set of deep purple bags, big indicator that he had failed to sleep. His skin was drained all colour but his cheeks were completely flushed pink.

His usually tamed curls were dishevelled beyond disbelief and he was still only dressed in his pajamas that evidently showcased the dirty bandages wrapped around his skin.

He was not having the best day.

"Stanley, are you feeling okay?" Wendy asked worryingly, getting up from her spot on the ground.

The boy just shrugged before walking into the kitchen to make himself a much needed cup of watery coffee. Wendy followed after him, leaving Nina to rot in front of the television screen.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Wendy questioned, not understanding his shrug.

"I don't know how I'm feel. I'm kind of just here." Stanley shrugged.

He wasn't really involved in the conversation as he was more focused on scooping coffee grinds into the small machine.

"That's not a feeling. I understand that last night was hard but I can't help you if you won't talk to me." Wendy pointed out.

"I just don't know how to describe it. Last night hasn't really set in yet. We'll talk about this in a few days when I actually have a breakdown in the bathroom but for now, I just want coffee." Stanley explained, totally unenthusiastic.

"I guess but this isn't....." Wendy's thought was caught off by the sound of the door bell.

The two teens shared a look of confusion with each other before glancing over at the front door. The sound seemed to break Nina out of her trance as she had immediately jumped up from her spot on the couch and stumbled towards the door to check. She gently pushed the curtain out of the way to peek.

"There's a man here." Nina announced, closing the curtain to not expose herself.

"Is there anyone coming here today?" Stanley questioned in confusion.

"Not that I know of." Wendy answered in the same confused tone as her brother.

"Stay here." Stanley ordered and the girl complied with a apprehensive nod.

The older boy then walked out of the kitchen and towards the front door to check out what Nina had seen. He slightly pushed the curtains aside just enough to peek outside but not been seen by the other person.

There was indeed a man, standing on their porch with a clipboard.

Neither teen knew exactly why there was someone there and it was a bit suspicious but Stanley still pulled the chain off the door lock, so he could tell the man off. He then gently opened the door to reveal himself.

"Can I help you?" Stanley questioned, completely unenthusiastic about the man's presence.

"Hello, young man. I've been told by the city to do some repairs in the neighbourhood, so I've just come to let you know." The man explained with a monotone voice.

"And why would I care?" Stanley rolled his eyes, his own snarky attitude appearing. He so desperately wanted this man to get off their property.

"In case you heard any noises." The man pointed out, getting equally as annoyed with Stan.

At the echoing of voices, Wendy peeked her head out from behind the kitchen wall to get a good look at the situation occurring on the front porch.

As soon as the girl made direct eye contact with the mysterious man, a sudden flash clouded her mind and a dizzy spell struck her being.

Wendy desperately blinked her eyes to clear the sudden distraction and she was met with the sight of the interrogation room at the lab from her past nightmare.

Two people stood before, the scientist from her nightmare that forced her to use her dangerous mind power and low in behold, the mysterious man who was currently standing on the porch. It all clinked in this moment.

The man on her porch was sent by the lab to find her, Nina and Eleven, wherever she was.

It was a trap.

"How long you gonna stand here, man like go away?!" Stanley exclaimed in annoyance but that ultimately broke Wendy out from her trance.

The girl did the unthinkable and ran right out of the kitchen, completely exposing herself. She headed straight for the front door, harshly slamming the door close to get rid of the Hawkins Lab spy.

Despite the confused looks she received from the two older teens, she grabbed ahold of both of their wrists and dragged them into the kitchen. She wanted to be as far away from the door as possible.

"What was that?!" Stanley questioned.

"He's a spy. He works for Hawkins Lab. He's come for Nina." Wendy explained, trying to control his panic and hyperventilation.

She was scared beyond belief right now.

Both of their jaws dropped in disbelief, allowing the panic to set in. "What do we do? We can't stay here and be sitting ducks for those weirdos." Stanley pointed out.

"We can go to Mike's house to hide out." Wendy suggested on the spot.

She didn't really think that idea through as she didn't know if the boys had made up with each other or not, so it could be awkward for her to show up.

"That sounds good. Now, let's get whatever we need and we'll meet outback and get the fuck out of here." Stanley ordered and the two girls nodded in agreement.

They then split off to find whatever supplies they'd need before they left the house.

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         The bike ride towards the Wheeler residence was a long and hectic journey.

The three teens lived on the opposite side town from the street that Mike Wheeler and his family lived on, so it was a bit of a time stretch to get from the main roads.

But due to extreme paranoia that was caused by the Hawkin Labs, the teens decided that the best way to stay out of sight was to take every single back way possible.

This new biking route tacked on unnecessary time to their journey but it was the only way to feel somewhat safe and calm their panicked nerves. The three teens rode in concentrated towards the Wheeler house, with Wendy as the lead since she knew the neighbourhood the best.

Once they had found the typical two story house, the three teens had trekked their bikes to the back in case they had to escape quickly. Their bikes had been thrown about in the Wheeler backyard, Wendy led the two older teens over to the back door that lead to basement.

The girl knew that Mike was in the basement with Eleven, so he would answer the door and immediately let them. She knocked a total of two times before the door swung open to reveal the smaller boy. He was confused at the sight but still let the three into his basement.

Upon descending down the creaky staircase, the three teens had noticed Dustin Henderson and Eleven were also lounging about in the basement.

Nina was fascinated by the basement as she had never seen a room that look quite like it. The Harrington residence didn't have a basement as their house was built in an area where the concrete foundation was sinking into the ground.

The basement looked like a typical hangout area for teens of the 80's. The walls were plastered in film posters and even posters for arcade games. There were dozens of board games, action figures, comic books and puzzles just laying about on the floor and Nina want to waste her time with every single one.

But the thing that was the most fascinating to Nina was Eleven. The young girl with the buzz cut, sat comfortably on the couch but her face held the same inquisitive look that Nina's did.

When they locked eyes, it's as if a spark of electricity had suddenly exploded and the past memories came crashing down on them like ocean waves. The two girls shared soft smiles and watery eyes. They recognized each other as they lived together at the lab.

Often interacting, playing in the rainbow room and even participating in experiments together. Nina acted like an older sister to the younger girl and helped shape her into the resilient girl she was today.

"Nine." Eleven called, carefully sitting up from her spot on the couch.

"Eleven." Nina nodded happily, stepping forward to get closer to the girl.

Eleven met her halfway and they reunited with a hug. The two shed happy tears at the moment, completely overwhelmed with joy.

They never expected to be together again after being separated at the lab. They had tried to escape together but Nina stayed back to try and distract the staff, so Eleven could run. They promised to see each other again but it felt like a broken cause until right now, when they're in each other's arms.

No amount of happiness could describe the emotion that was currently coursing through their veins.

"Wait.......is she from Hawkins Lab too?" Mike asked in complete disbelief, pointing at Nina's back.

"Yes, I found her the day before Eleven but I didn't realize they knew each other." Wendy explained.

"Holy shit! We know three people with powers now, if you include Wendy." Dustin exclaimed happily, completely intrigued by the situation.

"Wow......" Eleven breathed out in complete awe before pulling Wendy into a hug as well.

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         After the reunion had occurred between the two former lab experiments, the preteens had decided to hide out in the Wheeler basement for the time being.

Stanley had decided to borrow a board game that laid on the floor and teach Nina how to play. Dustin and Wendy had decided to fiddle with the Wheeler boy's intercom to see if they could get in touch with Lucas, who was apparently still sort of sour about everything.

Finally, Mike had pulled Eleven off to the side and they spoke in hushed tones like always. The atmosphere was pretty quiet except for a few words here and there as everyone kept to themselves.

It wasn't until a familiar voice broke through the static intercom that everyone was pulled out of their thoughts completely. "Guys!" Dustin exclaimed, trying to get everyone's attention towards the intercom.

"It's Lucas! I think he's in trouble." The five preteens who were originally sprawled across the basement, quickly got up from their spots and ran over to the panicked curly haired boy.

"Do you remember how he said he was looking for the gate?" Dustin reminded.

"Yeah." Mike nodded.

"What if he found it?" Dustin pointed out.

"Oh, shit." Stanley exclaimed in shock.

"What's he saying?" Mike asked, when another static filled sentence filled the air.

The last few sentences or so have been just pure static with the occasional word that broke through but nothing was coherent enough for them to understand.

"I don't know, he's way out of range." Dustin pointed out with a shrug.

".....son of a bitch." Lucas' broke through again.

"Lucas, if you can hear us, slow down. We can't understand you." Dustin demanded.

The six preteens were met with another ramble of incoherent words mixed with static. The only word they picked up was 'mad hen,' as it was repeated over twelve times in the span of two minutes. The phrase must of held some importance to the Sinclair boy if he was continually repeating it.

"Mad hen? Does that mean anything to you? Like a code name or something?" Dustin pondered.

"The bad men are coming!" Lucas exclaimed again, his voice more clear this time.

"Bad men. Bad men!" Mike confirmed in a panic laced tone, his eyes widening in disbelief.

The other five preteens eyes were practically popping out of their heads upon hearing that phrase. Something dangerous was coming for them.

"Stay here." Mike ordered, directing the comment at Eleven and Nina.

The two girls complied with a nod as the four other preteens staggered up the stairs. They all ran as fast as they could to the Wheeler living room, all practically tripping over each other in order to get a view of the outside world from the glass panel.

They were met with the sight of the same man who visited the Harrington house and he was getting into a van that belonged to Hawkins Lab. He was indeed a spy for the bad men.

"What's that guy doing?" Mike pondered out loud, his face furrowed with confusion.

"You don't think....." Dustin sighed in disbelief.

Mike jumped off of the couch and quickly ran out of the room towards the kitchen. Probably to scream at his mom about something, who was currently occupying the phone in that moment.

"Same thing happened to us. One of those lab dudes came to our door and freaked when he saw Wendy." Stanley explained, earning a panicked look from the curly haired boy.

"Yeah, that's why we ran here." Wendy pointed out.

"Oh, shit....." Dustin breathed out.

They continued to the watch the man until he had made direct eye contact with them. The man knew he was being watched but his suspicions weren't confirmed until he spotted the preteens pressed up against the glass.

Upon making direct eye contact, the three preteens all ducked down in fear. "You think he saw us?" Dustin pondered.

"I think he did." Stanley nervously confirmed.

"We gotta go like now." Wendy pointed out.

The three preteens all jumped up from their ducked positions and noticed even more vans from Hawkins Lab were barreling down the streets. They all shared wide eyed looks before scurrying towards the kitchen.

Dustin had ran in to alert the Wheeler boy, who was currently screaming at his mother, of the situation. The Harrington siblings had retreated back downstairs to explain the situation to Nina and Eleven and also prepare the two girls for their sudden escape from the basement.

Another few minutes went by and Dustin and Mike came flying down the stairs, scurrying towards the door. The four preteens followed after the panicked boys and they all rushed over to their fallen bikes.

Dustin, Mike, Stanley and Wendy had grabbed ahold of their bikes, harshly pushing the piece of metal up the hill as fast as they could. Nina and Eleven were running right behind them.

Once they had reached the top of the grassy slope, each preteen hoped on their bike to get ready for dismount. Since Nina and Eleven didn't have bikes, they were each offered a seat. Nina climbed onto Stanley's bike and Eleven's had taken to riding Mike's.

"Go, go, go, go, go, go, go." Dustin exclaimed in a panicked tone, upon seeing the herd of Hawkins Lab employees that were currently waiting out front from their presence.

Each teen immediately pushed themselves off, cultivating the downhill speed to their advantage to escape faster. They sped down the pavement, heading towards the road and beginning to bike through the streets.

"Dustin, do you copy?" Lucas questioned, his voice breaking through the intercom again.

"Yes, Lucas! They're on us!" Dustin exclaimed.

"Where are you?" Lucas asked.

"Cornwallis." Dustin confirmed.

"Meet me at Elm and Cherry." Lucas ordered.

"Copy! Elm and Cherry!" Dustin repeated in a loud tone for the others to hear.

"Okay." Mike nodded happily.

The pretends road off the road and cut through someone's backyard to get onto another secluded street that was far from the main road.

This plan didn't work out too well as when their bikes hit the pavement road, a Hawkins Lab van had swerved into the street to follow them. Another van followed behind and they both barrelled towards them.

"Shit." Dustin breathed out in disbelief.

"This way! Come on!" Mike exclaimed, riding straight towards someone's driveway.

They were gonna ride up the asphalt and down the hill that was situated in the back, through the wooded area.

What they didn't expect was a group of little girls to be playing in the open area. "Out of the way! Out of the way!" Dustin demanded in a loud tone to get their point across.

The three girls immediately jumped out of the way to let the four bikes zoom through. They had made it back onto the empty street, meeting Lucas, who rode alongside on his own bike.

"Lucas." Mike called happily.

"Where are they?" Lucas asked in concern.

"I don't know." Mike answered.

"I think we lost them." Dustin sighed in relief.

The curly haired boy spoke too soon. As soon as the words left his mouth, a van came swerving into the street they were riding down. Two more, zooming at the same speed, entered the street. Together, the preteens were being chased by three vans.

"Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!" Mike exclaimed.

They they all began to pedal as fast as their legs could, in order to outrun the Hawkins Lab vans. They were getting tired but the rush of adrenaline had forced their little legs to keep going as they rode down the hill.

What they least expected was another van to come hurling into the side street, racing right towards them. There was no escape, they would either get crushed or get caught.

Clearly, they failed to realize that they had two girls with incredible powers, accompanying them.

Nina had turned her head to face the vans in the back, tightening her grip around Stanley's waist, so that she would tumble off of the bike. She shut her eyes, clearing her head of any panicked thoughts as she needed complete concentration to reach her powers.

Once her own thoughts had seized to exist, she had focused her own consciousness on the man sitting in the driver's seat of the van. Their minds connected within an instant and Nina instantly flooded his head with intrusive flashes.

Her sudden mind infliction had overwhelmed the man to the point that he began to hallucinate things that weren't there. He harshly swerved off the road to avoid object that he thought he had seen but it wasn't and he accidentally smashed into a tree.

That was one less van following after them.

Eleven had turned her focus onto the van that was rushing right towards them. She stared at the moving vehicle for what felt like hours, channeling all of her energy into the singular object.

As if on command, the van's wheels hopped off of the ground and did a front flip in the air over the preteens. The van came harshly crashing down, quickly hitting another van following them. The preteens all watched the sight in disbelief as both girls shared a smile of appreciation with each other.

Taking this new found opportunity, the Party all sped up their biking, being able to quickly escape the scene. They had just bought enough time to slip right between their fingers and find a safe haven to hide for the time being.

They had settled on hiding at the junkyard as it was mostly uninhabited and untouched by the rest of the Hawkins citizens. As soon as they had reached the open area, they all jumped off their bikes, begging for air.

"Holy shit! Did.....did you see what she did to that van?" Dustin heaved in disbelief.

"No, Dustin, we missed it." Mike replied, his voice full of pure sarcasm but the Henderson boy was too out of breath to notice.

"I mean.....that was......that was." Dustin stuttered.

"Awesome. It was awesome." Lucas finished, completely in awe, receiving a look of confusion from everyone.

Eleven was the must surprise from this change of attitude from the boy.

"Everything I said about you being a traitor and stuff, I was wrong. I'm sorry." Lucas apologized sincerely, stepping forward.

"Friends......friends don't lie. I'm sorry too." Eleven apologized, feeling terrible as well.

"Me too." Mike announced suddenly, stretching his hand out for the Sinclair boy to take.

The two shared a slight smile before joining hands, signifying the rekindle of their friendship.

★ 𝐎𝐃𝐃 𝐄𝐘𝐄 ! stranger things fanfic ★
(© 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝘆𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗯𝗶𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱)