002 - Stranger Things

Chapter Four: Hawkins Lab

The sound of discs and bricks, of hands crawling against the floor, was something you got used to when being at Hawkins lab. The white room which was dull, apart from the stretch of colour which gave it its name the rainbow room, was the only room they really ever saw apart from their own. In all honesty though, it wasn't half as bad as many would interpret. It was worse. Or at least it was for Nellie. Waking up each morning to the sound of the man she'd wished never to meet, Dr Brenner, was the worst or papa as they had to call him. It was always the same routine every day, first wake up, go to breakfast, go to the rainbow room, wait to be tested on and go to sleep. Though when Henry had finally been let out freely into the hospital things had gotten a lot better and had changed. Nellie hadn't expected him to be there alongside her but that's when she found out that they were in fact more alike than she'd thought, that they both had powers stronger than any other.

"Good evening children," Dr Brenner said after he'd walked into the rainbow room and looked around at all of his subjects.

"Good evening papa." All of the children replied in a rhythm, apart from 001 or Henry Creel as you know him.

"How are you all this evening?" Dr Brenner asked, before leading everyone out towards the room that most dreaded, the testing room.

Nellie nudged her friend and gave him a stern look look because she knew that if Dr Brenner realised he hadn't replied then he'd be in serious trouble but the young boy just grinned and then began to follow behind the others as if he didn't care. Nellie rolled her eyes at his disobedience but then followed on after him as they headed off to practise their powers to get them under control.

When entering the room Dr Brenner lined each of them up at the back of the room and then called a pair at a time out to the circles that were positioned opposite one another. Today's task was to see who was the strongest out of the two opponents. They had tried this before but Nellie had to admit it was always pretty interesting to see the outcomes and for once it was enjoyable. It was much better than the other tasks they'd had to face before that was for sure.

"001, 002 come out here." He said, finally calling them to the circles. It was no surprise to Nellie that they were facing one another, after all, Brenner feared putting them up against any of the other children as their abilities were stronger than any he'd seen before and so he thought it safer to put them up against one another.

Nellie entered the circle and put on her blindfold, facing Henry with a grin on her face so that she could hide the nerves. Facing Henry was scarier than you'd think, although the two considered each other as friends, she was aware of what he was capable of. On the other hand, he wasn't scared at all, he never was and instead, his grin was genuine. He'd never heard her though, they're promise still stood.

Dr Brenner watched as the match began. Henry stood there as still as a statue for the first few minutes as he tried to conjure up a memory that would get him angry. Having lived a life like his, however, it hadn't taken him long and soon his body began to shake but not from fear, from frustration. Nellie took a deep breath and then focused on her thoughts, she thought deeply into her past and came to the events that had happened a few months prior. The memory flooded her brain and certain moments flashed through her mind.

"Don't yell at your mother Nellie!" Her father spoke, his face red with anger and his eyes looking as though they were about to pop out of their sockets. "We only want what's best for you!"

Her fists clenched in fury as she tried to fight back the monster that wanted to break out of her.

"I'm sorry Nell I'm so sorry but Dr Brenner can help you!" Her mother had said. The words that made Nellie's insides boil.