Hawkins National Laboratory- September 1979
Two children sit at a table, both of them staring at a magic eight ball. They take turns asking questions into it and shaking it for an answer. It is one of the only ways children like them pass the time. Dr. Martin Brenner or "Papa" enters through the double doors of the room. He quickly scans over the children of an assortment of ages, the oldest being sixteen.
He walks over to where the two children are sitting, and starts a conversation with the girl, only a few months older than the boy next to her. "You seem to like the eight ball." Brenner says. The girl nods, and Brenner continues. "Do you want to continue your lessons this morning?" He asks, knowing that the girl he's talking to, along with the other children around him, are highly trained and very capable of killing him at any second. He knows that trust and consent are one of the only things keeping him alive in a room of such dangerous vessels.
The girl shakes the eight ball, and watches as the ink around it fades, revealing the answer. "Signs Point To Yes." Brenner smiles at the girl, and she smiles back. "Good," he responds. The girl sets the ball down on the table, letting the younger boy reach for it as she and Brenner leave. They walk down the hall, passing each door, numbered for the corresponding child, until they reach the one with the number nine on it. One of the orderlies follows shortly behind them, closing the door on their way in. Once 009 is seated, Brenner and the orderly begin attaching cords connected to the polygraph onto 009's shaved head.
Brenner turns on the polygraph, and the graph paper begins slowly whirring out of the machine, a shaky line of black ink following. 009 closes her eyes and Brenner begins assessing her power. "Are you ready?" He asks. "Yes." 009 replies. "Ok. I want you to tell me something I did this morning." He inquired. After a few beats of silence, the ink breaks out in larger lines. Brenner adds, "Don't force it, let it come to you." 009 slowly inhales, and the ink returns to its original speed. "A... boxes and letters. Stack of paper. Timer. Pencil." 009 recites. Brenner thinks for a second, then remarks, "Good. I got that morning's news and timed myself doing the crossword puzzle. I can tell you're getting better. Is there anything else you can see?" 009's eyebrows furrow, and the ink starts shaking, but then abruptly stops. "I can see the words. I think." She states that she doesn't know how to read. "Oh! Now I see more. You had a white cup with a handle on it. The drink in it is hot... it tastes very bad." Brenner looks up at 009 after hearing the last part. "You can taste the drink?" He asks, surprised at 009's surge of progress. "Yes," She replies, proud that she can do so. "I can-" Her sentence is cut off by sudden alarms blaring through the building. Brenner immediately stands up and goes to the intercom, where he is told that there is a "situation". Outside of the door, there is screaming. Brenner slowly walks from the intercom to the door, but as soon as he is a couple of feet away from it, it busts off of its hinges, knocking Brenner out of his consciousness.
009 screams in fear, as a tall figure walks toward her. He has blood on the tips of his blonde hair, and some dripping down onto his white collared shirt. She immediately recognizes him as another orderly. He reaches his hand out for her chin, and she looks up at him in fear.
"There is no need to be afraid, 009. This will all be over soon. Just stay very still for me." He says in a calming, yet frightening manner. He bends his knees to lower to her lever, and whispers into her ear, "and don't try to fight it." He reaches his hand out, and 009 begins levitating in the air. Despite his request, she strains in pain as she desperately tries to fight him. She quickly gives up, as she is only eight, and no match for someone so much stronger than her. She feels blood slowly pour from her eyes as they roll to the back of her head, and she has lost all hope of living. She can feel her breathing come to a stop, and the orderly throws her across the room, as her limp and lifeless body hits the wall.
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009 | mike wheeler | S4 SPOILERS!
Fanfiction[ongoing] After the Hawkins Lab Massacre, 009 is presumed dead. But apart from her pounding head and lack of memory, she is very much alive. She starts living with the Byers family and going by the name Dawn. For four years she kept the secret of he...
