Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from Stranger Things or its plots or characters.

CHAPTER 1: THE VANISHING OF WILL BYERS

The light was blinding, so much so that Eleven came to a halt almost as soon as she exited the doors. Throwing her arms in front of her face in a vain attempt to block the brightness, she knew she didn't have time to stop. The bad men were still chasing her, and she had to get away.

Blinking rapidly, Eleven stumbled forward realizing the texture beneath her bare feet had changed. As she broke into a trot and her eyes adjusted, she saw that she was running on something green and itchy against the soles of her feet.

This must be grass, she thought to herself, surprised at how prickly it was, grass always looked so smooth and green in the books she had been given in the lab.

Thinking of the lab brought her back to the present and the need to get moving. Frantically, she glanced around, searching for a way out. She could hear the bad men with their guns behind her. She didn't want to but if they caught up to her then she'd have to hurt them. And she didn't want to hurt them even if they had hurt her.

Running as fast as she could, Eleven scanned the open space, looking for a break in the imposing fence that stood between her and freedom. Her eyes landed on a large metal pipe surrounded by rocks. It might be just big enough for her to slip through and the bad men definitely wouldn't be able to fit.

She practically dove for the metal tunnel, seeing light on the other side, ignoring the way her bare knees and shins scraped against the jagged rocks. It was a tight fit, but she was going to make it.

As soon as she thought she was free Eleven felt herself being pulled backwards. Her heart pounded against her chest from the adrenaline running through her veins and her breath came in short gasps as she kicked frantically against the rough hand clamped around her ankle.

Despite her best efforts, Eleven could feel herself being pulled out of the metal tunnel and she reacted on pure instinct. She glared at the man and imagined him being blown backwards and that's exactly what happened. She watched as he was forced to release her as he was shoved backwards by an invisible force, a trickle of blood already tickling her upper lip.

Not wanting to waste the advantage she now had, Eleven snapped her attention ahead of her and she crawled as quickly as she could forwards through the tube. It was longer than she expected but the light at the end got brighter and brighter until she reached the opening, one word repeating in her mind on a loop,

Free.

Mike was pretty sure there was not one square inch on his entire body that wasn't completely soaked. He had no idea how long he, Dustin, and Lucas had actually been out here searching for Will because he was too worried about ruining his watch in the rain to look at it.

None of them had really anticipated how the cold November rain would feel as it pelted their exposed faces and hands, seeping into the openings in their jackets and soaking through their jeans.

Every time Mike thought he couldn't go any further, he thought of Will out here for a whole 24 hours, cold and alone, and then he told himself he could push a little further. But Dustin needed a little more convincing as a particularly intense bout of thunder rolled above them.

Despite the din of millions of rain drops hitting millions of leaves, Mike thought he heard movement ahead of them. Almost in unison, all three of them pointed their flashlights ahead, looking for the source of the noise but seeing nothing in the darkness. Was that something or was that just the rustling of leaves from the rain and wind?

Mike's heart raced in anticipation… had they found Will? Were they about to get eaten by bear? Was it possible Mike Myers was going to kill them all? This did feel an awful lot like some of the horror films he had sneakily watched with the guys during sleepovers.

At the sound of a sharp snap of a twig breaking under foot close to their right their eyes shot in that direction. This time their flashlights landed on a person. Or rather a kid.

Heart still pounding in his ears, Mike's breathing momentarily halted before returning in erratic pants with the shock of actually finding something- someone- out here in this storm.

It took his brain more than a few seconds to comprehend that not only had they found a kid, but she was a girl. Her short, buzzed hair and the darkness made it hard to know right away. But as they all still had their flashlights pointed directly at her face, Mike was able to see her brown eyes, squinting against the harsh light. There was something else in them… fear. The girl seemed just as surprised to see them as they were to see her out here.

More information was flooding Mike's brain as they stood there, processing what their eyes were seeing. The girl also appeared to be wearing only a oversized, but thin, t-shirt, soaked through and providing very little, if any protection from the cold rain. Mike could see her shiver, frozen in place as they stared at her. He could only imagine how cold she must be if he was freezing in the protection of his thick, water-resistant rain jacket.

This thought snapped him out of his dumb-founded state. Whoever she was, she was scared and obviously not in any shape to be left out here alone.

First things, first, Mike realized they were all probably blinding her, so he quickly lowered his flashlight, using his free hand to push Dustin's down and nodding at Lucas to do the same.

The girl's chest was still rising and falling heavily, her breathing erratic and Mike could see she was terrified, so next was trying to convince her they meant her no harm.

"Hey, are you okay? What are you doing out here in the rain? Are you lost?" he asked all at once, his teeth chattering, but trying to convey that they weren't going to hurt her.

He couldn't really tell but he thought she might be similar in age to them; she was only slightly shorter than him. He had so many questions running through his head: Who was she? Why was her head shaved? Why was she out in the rain with only a t-shirt on? How long had she been out here in the storm?

Those brown eyes just stared at him in the darkness. Undeterred, Mike knew there would be time for questions later, but they had to get this girl out of the storm or she would get really sick, or worse.

"Let's get you out of the rain, okay? You're gonna freeze out here," Mike told her, internally cringing at how much he sounded like his mom right then. He reached out to her and she flinched away, causing Mike to retreat almost as quickly. She really was terrified of them, but the storm was getting worse and they had to get her somewhere warm and dry, fast.

"Hey, it's okay. We're not gonna hurt you. You can come to my house and warm up, get something to eat and then we'll figure everything out later. Okay?" Mike needed her to know that they could be trusted, but he could practically feel, Dustin and Lucas' sideways looks at him.

"Mike, you can't bring a strange girl into your house," Lucas argued but Mike was already shrugging out of his coat. He didn't want to scare her even further, so he held the coat open for her, letting her decide whether to accept it or not. Thankfully, she decided it was worth the risk because she took a hesitant step forward and let him put it over her shoulders, watching them with wide, frightened eyes as she pulled it tightly around herself.

"All right, let's go," Mike gestured to where their bikes were sitting on the side of the road and he half-expected the girl not to follow, but she did, and Mike couldn't help but notice she was barefoot too. His brow furrowed in concern and confusion. Whoever this girl was she had run away in a hurry if she didn't even have time to put on proper clothes or shoes.

If they wanted to get out of the rain fast, she was going to have to get on a bike with one of them. Judging by Dustin and Lucas' continued lack of support, Mike already knew she would be riding with him.

Picking up his bike, Mike swung his leg over, planting it firmly on the ground to steady its weight.

"Hop on. It'll be a lot quicker to ride to my house," he told her, the heavy downpour still muffling his words to the point he felt like he was practically yelling.

The girl still didn't say anything but looked at the bike as if she had never seen one before, full of apprehension. Maybe it would be easier if they walked…. His house was far but not that far away. Plus, he wasn't a hundred percent sure she spoke English or understood what he was saying to her as she hadn't responded to anything he'd said so far.

So, that's what they- really, Mike- decided. The boys picked up their bikes and began walking them quickly back up the road in the direction of the Wheeler's house, this strange girl walking alongside them. Mike found himself regularly glancing over at her, checking to make sure she was still there. He wasn't sure why he was so relieved every time his eyes fell on her petit frame, but he was.

As they sped through the rain, Mike couldn't help but wonder what the chances had been of finding another lost kid in Mirkwood while they were out there looking for their lost friend. But he supposed stranger things had happened.

A/N: So, this is the Season 1 novelization that no one asked for but was so, so much fun to write. This fic will focus solely on the development of Mike and Eleven's relationship episode to episode. Sometimes, as in this chapter, there will scenes from between episodes where I wanted to know how things progressed but wasn't in the show. This chapter is short, but this episode had the least amount of Mike/Eleven interaction, so needless to say, all of the other chapters will be much longer. I have this whole story written up, so review and let me know if it's worth posting the whole thing!