Stranger Things: The Lost Family (Part 1)

Mistletoe

Christmas Eve evening. Joyce and El pulled up to the Byers house. Once they exited the car and into the house, they found Hopper laying on the couch shaking, with Will, Mike, and Jonathan looking over him. Joyce was shocked, and ran to him. "Wha... Where did you find him?" She asked. "It's a long story." Will said.

Mike saw El, and rushed over to hug her. "You okay?" He asked. El nodded. "She's Owens daughter." El whispered to him. Mike was confused. He looked at her, then at Joyce, Will, and Jonathan over Hopper. Mike and El went outside to talk.

"What?" Mike asked. El took a deep breath. "The girl with Red Eyes, her name is Adrienne Owens. Her father is Sam Owens. The Dr. Owens we know. Mike needed to think about this. "Wait, so if... Why would he hide the existence of his daughter?" Then, Mike thought of Hopper. How he sometimes acted like Sara was still alive, or how he never talked about her. Then, Mike thought of something. "Maybe he can help." Mike said. "Maybe he can... Change her mind on what she believes, I don't know." El thought about this as well. "Adrienne said she didn't have a father. Maybe if Owens spoke to her, she would realise what she was doing. That could work." El said.

At that moment, a large gust of wind went by, and with the December weather, it wasn't the best feeling. Mike and El ran back to the house, the Byers looking at Hopper. "It's like what happened with Terry. Els mom." Joyce said to Will and Jonathan. "Like he's in a dream, but he can't wake up." El walked to Hopper, looking at him. "Last year, I communicated with my Mother." She explained. "I actually saw what was in her head. It was... Terrible." Joyce was now curious. "What did you see?" She asked. "My mother was... Going through labor, then I was taken from her as a baby, then..." El couldn't talk about it anymore. Those visions always shook her up.

"Hey, El. I want to show you something." Mike whispered behind El. She saw Mike grin, and walk into the kitchen. El was curious, and followed. Once Mike saw they were alone, he dug his hand into his right pocket, and took out something. El thought it looked like a string. But as El had a closer look at it, it wasn't just a string, it was made of silver, and there was something hanging off of it. A small pink jewel.

"I saved up. Well, Nancy helped a little bit." Mike said, holding it in front of her. El looked at it. She took it, and kept looking at the pink jewel. "Put it around your neck. Let's see how it looks." El couldn't stop smiling, and put it around her neck.

Both El and Mike were smiling, looking at each other. "Pretty." El said. Then, El noticed something. There was a small plant above them on the ceiling, a red ribbon around it. Mike noticed it as well. "What's that?" El asked. Mike started blushing. "Um, it's a mistletoe." Mike said. "What is it for?" El asked. "I'll show you." Mike said. And he kissed her.

Suddenly, a light flash. Mike and El turned to the light, and saw Will holding Jonathan's camera, he, Jonathan, and Joyce smiling. An annoyed look came across Mike. "Really?" He said. Joyce started laughing. "We really don't get enough pictures of you two together." She said. El started laughing as well, extremely to be with people she loved.

Joyce knew she had to give Mike a ride home. Once they got into the car and drove off, El looked at it leave. Will was next to her. "So, the girl with red eyes, what can she do?" Will asked. "She has my power. She can see me if I'm using my powers to search for people. She can use fire. She can make someone feel uneasy. She can teleport." El explained.

Will knew he needed to tell her. "El, I met someone this month." He said. "She's like you." El looked at him. "What?" She said. Will took a deep breath. "I should have told you sooner. Her name is Winter, the name the doctors gave her was Twelve. She can Teleport." Will explained. El kept looking at him. "Where is she?" El asked. "She's been living in Castle Byers. I've been giving her food." Will explained. El looked at Will. Then, smiled. "Thank you for telling me." She said. "Can you introduce me to her in the morning?" She asked. Will nodded. "Of course." He said.

In the woods, in Castle Byers, Winter was asleep. Suddenly, somebody climbed inside to look at her. The person inside put something next to her pillow. A letter. The person came out. It was Adrienne. Her eyes were not frightening red, but the innocent blue. She looked at the fort. She could burn it if she wanted to. But Winter was becoming powerful, she knew it. Adrienne looked inside the fort one last time. "Merry Christmas, sister." She whispered. Then, disappeared.