chocolate pudding and confessions

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

The man in front of him groaned in pain, gritting his teeth as he collapsed to the ground, his body jolted by the taser. Connie and her coworker Matthew stood over him, cold smirks etched onto both of their faces. The sight of them lurched Brandon's stomach. They didn't seem to care that this man—Chief Jim Hopper, who had broken in here once before—was human. Their lips curled as if he was just an animal.

Then again, both of them had willingly participated in child experimentation for years, while here he was, against his will, watching Hopper clench his jaw. They'd caught him and another woman—Joyce Byers, the mother of Will—outside, trying to break in yet again. They hadn't made it to the entrance.

"Okay," said Matthew. This had been the third time they'd tased him in the past twenty minutes, and yet Hopper had refused to say a word. "Now, what do you know?"

"I'm sorry." Hopper was panting, his eyes red with unshed tears. "Did I stutter? I told you. Everything."

Christopher, who Brandon had once considered a friend, pressed the taser to Hopper's neck again. The man let out a cry of pain, screwing his face up and vomit spewed from his mouth. The sight of it made Brandon flinch visibly, making Chris turn to him with disgust. "Don't tell me you're getting soft, Fairgrieves," he said, and Brandon shook his head quickly. He couldn't let them know what he had been trying to do for the past hour, before Brenner had ordered him in here, telling him he was going to talk to Joyce Byers, who was also somewhere inside this building. Brandon didn't know where.

"I'm not going soft," Brandon said now. "It's just—don't you think he's had enough?"

"Bullshit," said Christopher, turning the taser around in his meaty hands. "He's the Chief of Police. He can take the pain."

Connie, meanwhile, was cocking her head at Hopper. "What do you know?" she repeated the question, a glare on her face.

Hopper took a deep breath, his hateful eyes travelling over each one of them. "I know you do experiments on kidnapped little kids, whose parents' brains you've turned to mush. And, here's the real funny part, you missed one of them. She's still out there, in Hawkins, and you never touched her." He let out a choked laugh as the other Hawkins Lab agents looked at each other in a panic, and Brandon's stomach lurched.

He knew exactly what girl Hopper was talking about. The real question was... how did he know about Alina? Had they met? If they met, it meant that she was okay. But if he told them about her... things might get a little messy.

Then again, they already had.

"And I know you went a little too far this time and you messed up in a big way." Hopper continued, smirking a little at Connie, Matthew, and Christopher's faces. "I mean, you really messed up, didn't you? Big time. That's why you're trying to cover your tracks. You killed Benny Hammond, you faked Will Byers' death. You made it look like that little girl just ran away. See, I told you. I know everything."

"All right," Matthew spat, "who are you working with?"

"Nobody," Hopper said quickly. "But I did give this all over to my friend at the Times. He's gonna blow this thing wide open." He began to chuckle, but his laughter was cut off when Christopher tased him again, his body jerking and twitching.

"Alright, stop," Brandon pushed through Connie and Matthew. He'd had enough. He couldn't keep watching this without throwing up. "Seriously. You're not going to get anything out of him this way."

"Good idea," said Connie. And she and Matthew hauled Hopper to his feet, shoving him into a chair. Brandon watched nervously, an unlit cigarette twirling in his fingers. He wanted to stop them. He wanted them to leave him alone. But he couldn't say it out loud.

For the past twelve years, Brandon Fairgrieves had thrust himself into his new job. Laughing with his coworkers, discussing the idea of a strange creature from another world, talking about their children or partners. He'd pretended like he couldn't hear the screams as Subject Eleven was thrown into the closet. Pretended like he didn't know that they forced her into those isolation tanks for hours on end. Pretended like everything was okay.

And then Will Byers had gone missing, and his daughter had been wrapped up in all of this. And suddenly, it wasn't something he could brush off. Kids were in danger. People were killed for no reason other than the fact that they were witnesses. Deaths were faked. And Brandon Fairgrieves realized what a terrible person he'd become. The Lab had twisted him up, warped him into being just like his coworkers. But he wasn't like them, not at all. And he knew that now. And he knew how brainwashed he'd been.

Christopher, meanwhile, was leaning forward, his voice almost a whisper. "You're just a junkie," he told Hopper. "A small-town cop who had a really bad week. Took one too many pills this time."

Matthew was filling a syringe, and Brandon realized in horror what they were going to do. He had to stop it, somehow, even if it was by stalling.

He swallowed. This was dangerous. Perhaps even more dangerous than sending that call to Alina. But he couldn't let Hopper die. His life mattered less and less every day.

Brandon Fairgrieves couldn't go on like this. He couldn't go on being a monster.

So he bent down to his eye level. His hands were shaking. "The kid," he said. "The one you missed. Who is she?"

Hopper let out an ugly laugh. "Yeah, pretend you don't know," he said, leaning back in his chair. "I know all about you. Brandon Fairgrieves, right? Your wife ran off three years ago, pretended you didn't exist, started a new life somewhere in Indianapolis. Left you and a nine-year-old daughter, the very same one that caused you to start a job here."

Connie turned to him. "What are you talking about?"

"The girl you never took was Alina Fairgrieves."

Brandon flinched, before noticing that Connie, Matthew, and Christopher were all staring at him. After a second, Matthew cleared his throat. "But Brenner said—"

"I said." Brandon knew exactly what Matthew was going to say.

Alina's notebook was in his left pocket. He'd written something else inside, a note for his daughter, if they ever saw each other again. His hands instinctively went to it, the only comfort he had before all hell broke loose.

Alina wondered if this was the next step in becoming a fully-fledged monster. Step one: get weird, freaky powers that practically defy the laws of nature. Step two: see faces of dead girls and boys with blue lips. Hear their songs sung in her head. Watch slime drip off their glassy eyes.

It had been around an hour since Hopper and Joyce had left, but Alina was so tense it felt like five or six at least. Eleven was mostly dry by now, but the towel still hung around her shoulders, her head on Mike's shoulder. Lucas and Alina were sitting a row behind Dustin, Mike, and Eleven, their hands firmly within each other's grasp. They were too afraid to let go. Afraid that Nancy and Jonathan would return and tell them that Joyce, Hopper, and Will were all dead.

"I wish I could've gone with," said Alina. "I feel—I feel useless just sitting here. Waiting."

"I know," said Lucas. "But they were trying to keep us safe. We wouldn't be able to get even close to the lab without getting caught. We're fugitives, remember?"

"I should've told them more about it," Alina sighed. "I'm just—what if they get caught? What if they're tortured or something, and then they tell them where we are? Honestly, it'd be a miracle if they even reached the Upside Down. The lab is like a fortress."

"I know," he said again. "But we've got to have a little hope. Without hope... we're screwed."

Alina nodded. "I know."

In the row in front of them, Mike suddenly checked his watch, standing up and making his way outside of the gym, without a word as to why. Alina then realized. It had been over an hour now, and there was no sign of Nancy or Jonathan. Neither of them had reappeared since Eleven had located Will.

"Where do you think Nancy and Jonathan are?" Lucas asked suddenly, as if he'd read her mind. "I mean, that's who he's looking for, right?"

"Yeah, I think," said Alina. "But Nancy was really upset earlier. I mean, she lost her best friend. Jonathan's probably just trying to console her or something."

But her theory was off, and Mike let them know it as he walked back into the gym. His face was contorted into a frown.

"They're gone," he announced.

"What?" Lucas looked up at him.

"Nancy and Jonathan. His car's gone."

"They're probably just sucking face somewhere," Dustin suggested. Alina leaned over and hit his arm, wrinkling her nose. "Ow!"

"Gross," Lucas spat, disgusted.

"No!" Mike was shaking his head. "No way!"

"Did they go with the chief?" asked Dustin, rubbing his arm.

"I don't know!"

"They were supposed to stay behind, too." Alina crossed her arms. "Instead they leave us behind and follow the chief and Will's mom?! This is so unfair!"

"No," said Eleven suddenly.

"What?" Mike asked. "Did you see them? Do you know where they went?"

Eleven nodded. "Yes."

"Where?" Mike asked quickly, desperate for answers. "Where did they go?"

Eleven stared at them with her big brown eyes, eyes that held galaxies. Eyes that held years of trauma. Eyes of a person who had seen hell and escaped it. Eyes of... well, eyes of a girl.

One word slipped out of her mouth, and shivers immediately went down Alina's spine. "Demogorgon."

"Shit." Alina threw up her arms, standing up for the first time in hours. Her legs wobbled slightly but she managed to keep her balance. "This is bullshit, they are a bunch of shitheads, I can't believe they just up and left us—"

"Alina," said Dustin, "stop saying shit."

"It's my favourite word, shitbrain!"

Lucas and Dustin, the latter slapping a palm to his forehead, got to their feet, too. Lucas let out a sigh. "So we're the only ones who aren't doing anything to help Will. Because they just left without us. It's not like we could do anything, anyway, given that the bad men are still after us, but still—"

"Guys, guys!" Mike yelled, causing both Alina and Lucas to jump. "This is crazy. We can't just wait around."

"Mike, in case you forgot, we're still fugitives," said Lucas. "The bad men are still looking for us."

"Yeah," said Dustin, "and we don't even know where your sister is."

"She could literally be anywhere," Alina pointed out. "The Demogorgon's attracted to blood, so it'll follow them no matter where they go."

"El can find them!" said Mike, gesturing back to Eleven. He seemed confident in her abilities, and who wouldn't be, after just watching her talk to Will? But the truth was that Eleven was only one girl, and there was only so much she could do.

"Mike, look at her," said Dustin, always the rational one. Eleven was still on the bleachers, her legs drawn in, her towel slipped off of her shoulders. Her eyes were closing, and her face was pale. She obviously hadn't recovered yet. "I still think we should stick to the chief's plan," Dustin continued.

"Exactly," said Lucas, making up his mind. "We stay here, keep El out of sight and keep her safe. That's the most important thing, remember? Besides, she's okay. She's with Jonathan."

"Yeah," said Dustin, "and she's kind of a badass now, so..." at that, he turned, beginning to walk across the gym. Four pairs of eyes watched as he casually strolled away.

"Well, where are you going?" Mike called to him. "You just said stick to the plan!"

"I am," Dustin called back. "I'm just gonna go get some chocolate pudding. I'm telling you, Lunch Lady Phyllis hoards that shit."

"Are you serious?!"

"El needs to be recharged!"

After a second, Alina spoke up. "Yeah, I'm coming with. I'm starving, and I'm kind of curious if Phyllis really is hoarding it. She says there's no more left every single time I come, but how many pudding cups does she have, then? Two?"

"Me, too," Lucas agreed, a loud rumble issuing from his stomach. None of the kids had eaten since the bus, which was hours ago. They all needed fuel. And so Lucas and Alina followed Dustin to the cafeteria, unaware that while no drop of pudding would reach their lips that night, something far sweeter would, just before everything went to hell.

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

a/n: things are about to go down! what do you guys think is going to happen with alina? brandon? he seems to have gotten himself in a little bit of trouble, hasn't he? well, i guess we'll see where that ends up ;)

and thank you so much for 3k reads on this book! it's more than i ever imagined and honestly i appreciate all of your support so much you have no idea. i love you all!

'till next time!