If I Never Knew You ~Mileven~ |Stranger Things

Chapter 24: Pointless

1 Year Earlier

Hopper's POV:

I pulled up to Hawkins Laboratory and stepped out of my car. I made my way to the entrance, where I was greeted by several agents, who then led me to a meeting room. In the room stood several scientists, agents, and Dr. Owens.

"I'm so glad you could make it. Please, take a seat, Jim," Doctor Owens said, pointing to an open chair.

I sat down. Everyone else had already been sitting when I walked in.

"What did you need to speak to me about?" I asked.

Dr. Owens stood up and walked to the front of the room to a desk. He grabbed something that looked like a map and came back to where the rest of us were.

"As you all know, our lab work resulted in a side effect of tunnels under Hawkins," he said, placing a map of Hawkins on the table we all sat around.

People nodded in understanding. Where was this conversation going?

"Well, those tunnels have spread, and are still spreading. They are no longer only underneath Hawkins, but have now spread to the forest," Dr. Owens told everyone.

"Have they reached Cornwallis or Kerley?" I asked.

"No, they haven't spread that far yet. If the tunnels reach the town, then something bad might happen," he said uneasily.

"What do you mean by 'something bad,' Doctor?" I asked, standing up.

"There is a strange substance, almost like vapor, in the tunnels that cause people to lose their memory. If the tunnels get too close to the town, people might be exposed to this leak," Dr. Owens said.

"Well, how do we stop it?" I asked.

"We don't."

"What?"

"It's too dangerous. It would be pointless. As soon as we got too close to the source, we would forget what we were even doing and the mission would be over."

"So what are you going to do?"

"The scientists, agents, and I will move to a new location, on the outskirts of Hawkins, away from the tunnels. This will give us more time to come up with a better idea."

"A better idea? If you already have an idea, why not use it?"

"Our original idea doesn't exactly guarantee a happy ending."

"I came down here to listen to you, so you might as well tell me."

"We have been developing a liquid that will stop the growth of the tunnels. If we poured it onto the pumpkin patch, where we first found the tunnels, it would stop the tunnels from spreading outside of Hawkins. This is bad because then tunnels would still exist. Only the spreading would stop. The substance like vapor would eventually fill the whole town, and none of us would remember who we really are. We would be trapping ourselves by using this."

"What happens when the tunnels reach the town?"

"Everyone will lose their memories. This is why we need to move our location. We are too close to the tunnels to continue our work."

"Okay, fine. Please, try to figure something out soon."