Stranger Love [Billy Hargrove]

Stranger Love - Chapter Sixteen

Stranger Love

Chapter Sixteen: Revelations

They were rifling through old files. Anya was sat on the floor next to El, both peeling over newspaper articles, pictures of missing kids, information that may lead them to the child in the rainbow room.

Anya knew El was hiding something from her – and she didn't like it. Being in the dark for so long was beginning to drain her spirit, the more time they spent digging, the less confident Anya felt in her companion. The answer to all her questions were within grasping distance, she could feel it in her bones.

"Hold on – Anya, what is your last name?" Becky, who was also sitting beside the younger girls, asked suddenly.

"Hammond, why?" Anya replied curiously, turning her focus on a piece of paper in Becky's hands. The woman handed her the photocopy, pointing at the picture.

"Is that...you?"

Anya stared at the photograph of her much younger self. She must have only been 4 or 5 when the photo was taken. She had a big, toothless grin on her face, dark hair cut short in a bob. The dress she wore was ridiculously frilly, sleeves so puffy they almost shrouded her face.

She started to read the article quickly.

LOCAL GIRL 'OPTED IN' FOR CLINICAL TRIALS AT HAWKINS LABORATORY

Local Hawkins resident, Anya Hammond, age 4, is the latest in a line of children opted for clinical trials at Hawkins Laboratory. The controversial 'trials' are said to be completely harmless to the children and are only intended to be performed for the 'greater good' of mankind.

Anya Hammond has been the only named child in these trials, whilst any others have chosen to be anonymous. Patricia Hammond, her mother, has refused to speak on the matter, which only further fuels the debate on whether these trials are ethically sound. No Doctor from the labs has chosen to give a statement at this time.

It has been widely speculated that head of the science team, Dr Brenner, has often used inhuman methods during his time working at the lab. His infamous experiments involving chimpanzee's sparked a rage within animal welfare communities, who are now expressing concerns over his treatment of the children. In a latest statement from the Doctor himself, he implied his research would never overshadow the health and welfare of any children in his care.

The article went on further to explain other details of the trials, but Anya had stopped reading. Since when had she been 'opted in' for clinical trials at Hawkins Lab? And why had her Mom never told her about it?

More to the point, why could Anya remember absolutely nothing about it?

"So...I was in Hawkins lab...with this Dr Brenner guy, like you." This wasn't a question, rather a statement. "What does this mean?"

"It means that I was right. You can go into the dream circle, which means you have a power, like me," El looked down at the picture of Anya. "You were taken...by Papa,"

Anya cast the curly haired girl an incredulous glance, about to inquire as to who the hell 'papa' was, when El caught sight of something. She pulled out another article, the title reading 'INDIAN GIRL FROM LONDON, MISSING', with a picture of the young girl they'd envisioned earlier staring straight back at them with innocent dark eyes.

"That's her, that's the girl we're looking for," Anya said, momentarily distracted from her previous thoughts. "From the rainbow room."

"We must find her," El held out her hand to Anya. The girl was tenacious there was no doubt about it, though the thought of being pulled back into the dream circle was enough to incite bile to rise to Anya's throat.

"Ok, just go easy. I'm not so used to this stuff yet,"

They joined hands once again, Anya feeling that familiar tug on her brain as they searched through the dark place once more. It was harder this time, her body was spent and a sharp pain was beginning to throb at her temples. After what felt like hours, she eventually pulled them out by letting go of El's hands.

"Did you find her?" Becky asked as she sat beside them, her eyes widened imploringly.

"No..." Anya shook her head, wiping her nose as hot blood started to pour from her nostril. "El, we need to take a break, I can't keep up with it,"

"But I want to find her," The younger girl said, her tone downcast as she gazed at the picture in her hands.

"You will, but right now I think you both need to get some shut eye," Becky hauled herself to her feet as she looked out of the window. Night time was fast approaching, a surprise to Anya as she hadn't even noticed the sun setting. The sky had turned a luminous spectrum of neon orange, dusky pink and midnight blue. "You can use the spare room,"

The spare room, as it turned out, was in fact a nursery. It seemed even after all those years, Becky hadn't had the heart to do anything with El's room. The cot stood empty against the adjacent wall, with a baby mobile suspended above. There were baby toys, books, even a collection of lullaby records stacked on the shelves.

It was ridiculously sad, to think of the years lost between mother and baby, all because of some crazy scientist who thought he could play god.

Anya gratefully curled up onto the floral patterned armchair, her head still hurting and eyes stinging from keeping them open. She spied El for a moment, lying down on a camper bed as she continued to stare at the photo of the missing girl.

"Try to rest, El. We're going to find her," Anya said through a yawn, resting her head on a cushion as she closed her eyes.

Sleep found her quickly.

...

"Anya!"

Anya gasped, jolted awake by El who was shaking her shoulders.

"What? What is it? What's wrong?" She asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

"We have to go, now!" The younger girl tugged her arms, eyes alert and frantic. Anya wondered what time it was and how much sleep she'd managed to acquire – judging by how tired she felt, it hadn't been much. The curly haired brunette in front of her was practically bouncing up and down on her heels. "Anya, come on!"

"Will you tell me what the problem is?"

"I found her, the girl. I was going to tell Becky but I heard her on the phone, she is trying to reach Hopper!"

"Shit." Anya's attention had been attained. The last thing either of them needed was the police discovering their whereabouts, it was a one way ticket back home. "Let's get out of here,"

The two girls scrambled through the house, Anya grabbing her bag she'd left in the hallway. Becky's voice could be heard – she was still on the phone – so they slipped out of the front door and disappeared into the night.

Anya revved up her truck and they skidded from the driveway.

"Why do adults always do that? They act like they want to help and then they break your trust." El mumbled unhappily, arms folded as she sat next to Anya.

"It's...because they want to help. I don't think Becky wanted to betray us, she just didn't know what else to do," Anya sighed, running a hand through her hair as the edge of sleep finally eased off. "So, where exactly are we headed now?"

El held the picture like a vice in her fingers, casting Anya a sideways glance. "Chicago."