One and James had been trekking the barren wasteland that they had accidentally been transported to for three years. They had become accustomed to how the strange world worked and knew where to go for shelter and how to avoid the monsters. They had had several more run-ins after the incident with One's childhood home, but with One's ability to use electricity and James' newfound memory of his own abilities, the monsters didn't stick around long.

After time the drugs Dr. Brenner had injected in James began to wear off and pieces of his memory came back. He didn't remember everything and he still couldn't remember his life before the Lab, but he at least was able to remember One and the strong friendship they had.

One had tried to summon a portal back several times during the first year but when they still weren't working she gave up. The two had basically accepted that this was going to be their life forever. At least it was slightly better than the Lab. They had their freedom. 

They slowly made their way across the country during their three years. None of the cars they found worked and neither knew how to drive anyways so they journeyed on foot. They had made it from New York down to the tip of Florida, staying in places until they were no longer safe.

On this particular day, the two had their feet buried in the sand on a beach in a small town on the coast of Florida. The black sand stained their bare feet from all the ash that was mixed in but neither cared. The sound of the ocean waves lapping against the shore put them at ease and allowed them to imagine for a split second that they were in paradise.

Having never seen the ocean in the world they came from, they had nothing to compare their current view to but both agreed that it was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen. Well, in James' case, the second most beautiful thing.

James couldn't help but look over and admire One's silhouette as she stared out to sea. Her blonde hair had grown out and was blowing in the ocean breeze. Her blue eyes matched the sea spray that struck their faces. They were both about 17 now and having spent every second of the past few integral years of their growth together changed things. Changed feelings.

One was wearing a pastel pink beach dress that they had found at a surf shop up the street. She had been hesitant to grab more clothing since they wanted to pack light in case they had to move suddenly, but James had talked her into it. It was a change from the rock-and-roll t-shirts he was accustomed to seeing her in, but he liked it. And so did she.

One looked over and caught James staring at her. "What?" she laughed, unable to read the look on his face.

"Nothing," James blushed, kicking at the sand with his feet. The second she looked away his eyes were drawn back to her.

"Caught you!" One smiled in satisfaction as she snapped her sight back to him. He had fallen right into her trap. "Now you have to tell me why you keep looking at me like that."

James took a few moments to himself trying to figure out what to say before he finally decided how to answer. He took a deep breath, puffed up his chest, and closed the gap between them.

"What are you--" Before One could finish asking her question his lips were pressed against hers. It had startled her at first, but eventually she allowed herself to melt into him.

At the surface, she had never considered her feelings for James because she had never experienced those kind of feelings before. She was never taught love in the Lab and with all the abuse and torment Dr. Brenner had put her through she didn't think it was a feeling that she was even capable of. But standing there in such a serene place with her lips locked on James, suddenly she knew.

She loved James.

"You think Sarah is alive? You think she's One?" Joyce asked incredulously, pushing herself to the edge of her seat and stretching the seat belt as far as it could go.

Hopper hit a bump and she had to throw her arm out to prevent herself from hitting the dashboard. She had to brace herself again when he took a sharp turn into an unfamiliar driveway.

"Hop, where are we?" Joyce asked as she watched him jump out of the truck and march up to the house.

"This will only take a minute," Hopper called back. Joyce huffed and fell back against her seat.

Hopper pounded on the front door and when he didn't get a fast enough response he twisted the unlocked door knob and let himself inside.

"Jim," a surprised Dr. Owens called out from his couch where he was reading a newspaper. "To what do I owe the pleasure of you barging into my house unannounced?"

"Dr. Brenner's files," Hopper responded firmly, still standing in the open doorway. "Do you still have them?"

"Project MKUltra?" Dr. Owens asked as he adjusted his reading glasses and set the newspaper down. Hopper's eyes darted down to see that Dr. Owens had been reading the comics.

"Yes!" Hopper shouted impatiently. "The Project MKUltra files, the files that Dr. Brenner had on his subjects. Where are they?"

"Your little friends rushed us out of the Lab so quickly that we weren't able to grab all the files..." Dr. Owens blurted quickly.

"So they're still at the Lab?"

"Y-yes," Dr. Owens stammered. "But Jim--" The slamming of the door cut Dr. Owens' sentence short when he realized that Hopper was gone.

"Hell-o, earth to Hopper," Joyce said as Hopper jumped back in the truck. "What's going on? Where are we going?"

"To the Lab," Hopper answered.

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Hopper toggled the light switch several times but the Lab remained dark. He grabbed his flashlight out of his holster and shined it before him. The sun was starting to go down and the Lab didn't have many windows so it was going to be a difficult feat finding the files. Joyce stuck behind Hopper as he followed the beam forward.

Hopper had a general idea of where he was going from their last few ventures but his patience to find answers was wearing thin. They couldn't find the files soon enough.

"This way, Hop," Joyce said quietly, grabbing the flashlight out of Hopper's hands and taking the lead. Her eyes remained forward as she quickly escorted them away from the main entrance where an image of Bob's mangled body tried to push through.

Even though the Lab had been cleared out, there was still an eerie feeling that resonated in the air. Screams and howls from the past echoed in Hopper's ears like ghosts. He tried to shake off the flashbacks that washed over him but he couldn't help but see monsters at every turn.

"I think they're in here," Joyce whispered as she shined the flashlight on a metal name plate outside a door that read "Dr. Martin Brenner". She felt the need to remain quiet even though she knew the Lab was empty. Like Hopper, she too could feel the haunted atmosphere soaking into her skin. 

Hopper tried the door but it was locked. He reared his leg, ready to kick it in, when Joyce pushed him aside and did it herself. Hopper gave her a surprised look as she passed him to enter the office. "What?" Joyce asked when he wouldn't stop staring.

"Nothing," Hopper responded, entering after her. The office was empty aside from a desk, chair, and a lot of dust. Hopper sighed in defeat and was about to give up when he heard a sound and looked up to see Joyce tampering with something. "What are you doing?"

"I think I found a secret door," Joyce answered as she investigated a lone keypad mounted on the wall. "Give me your cuff key."

"How is the cuff key going to help?" Hopper asked as he placed his cuff key in her outstretched hand. Joyce wedged the tip of the key between the wall and the keypad and jimmied it off.

"Do you have a pocket knife or something?" Joyce asked next, turning around to face Hopper. Hopper had to cover his eyes as she accidentally flashed him in his face with the flashlight.

Hopper traded off his pocket knife for the flashlight and held it steadily over her shoulder as she worked her magic with the wires. Within minutes, a portion of the wall creaked open and a cold draft entered the room.

"What can't you do?" Hopper asked in surprise.

Joyce just gave him a knowing smile before she pulled the panel open and slipped into the darkness.

Hopper had to take a deep breath and calm his rapid heart before following after. On the other side of the wall could be answers, and while he was desperate for them, he didn't know if he was quite ready for what he'd find.

"Hop, you coming? I need the light!" Joyce's voice called. Based on the echo of her voice, it sounded like she was in a fairly large room. When Hopper finally found the courage to go inside he found his assumption to be right.

Through the beam of his flashlight he was met with the dull glare of metal filing cabinet after metal filing cabinet. There was an endless amount of information before him and he didn't even know where to begin. How many poor people had Dr. Brenner subjected to his evil experiments?

Joyce was already working her way through a filing cabinet, bringing the paper close to her eyes and trying to squint through the darkness at the text. Hopper joined her so that they could share the flashlight. He stood it up on one of the filing cabinets so that the beam hit the ceiling and flowed down the walls like a waterfall of light.

"It looks like it's ordered numerically. This cabinet has information on Subject Three," Joyce informed him. As Hopper began to dig through the filing cabinet in front of him he found that she was right. His cabinet contained information on Subject Four. Hopper wound behind Joyce and moved down two cabinets from her. This had to be the one.

Hopper's hands shook as he pulled out the top drawer and began rifling through the paperwork. He pulled out the first piece of paper that his fingers could successfully latch onto and immediately noticed the telltale number printed in the upper right corner: 001.

Despite Joyce's protests, Hopper snatched the flashlight back and shone it on the paper in his hand. The beam wavered over the text as Hopper's eyes purged it of all information.

Subject: 001

Date of Birth: October 17, 1963

Eye Color: Blue

Hair Color: Blonde

The next bit of information on the paper gave him pause and he found himself unable to look away from the letters. They floated in his retinas, rearranging themselves over and over but they always ended up spelling the same thing.

"Did you find anything?" Joyce asked, rising on her tiptoes to look over his shoulder. She put a hand on his arm when she heard his breathing increase rapidly. His mouth kept moving but no sound came out. "Hop?"

After he still didn't respond Joyce's eyes moved to the paper to see for herself. A gasp escaped her lips when she found the same piece of information that Hopper had:

Name: Sarah Hopper

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