𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫: 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐛

❝ʏᴏᴜ ᴏᴋᴀʏ, ᴋɪᴅ?❞

𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐎 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄 rooms that was in the hawkins' lab. her clothes were discarded and she was now wearing a hospital gown.she had been there for awhile now, and they had taken blood and had checked her vitals to see if anything had changed within the week of her last visit. she knew that they had done the same thing to will. what happens after is what's different. they'd set arlo up in one of the rooms that had some chairs and a table in the middle of it. and whenever arlo stepped foot into one of these rooms, she felt sick. she felt like she was gonna be treated like how eleven was in that nightmare. but she also knew that hopper wouldn't let that happen.

the chief was sat right outside the door, making sure that only dr.owens would come in and out of that room. he sat with a cigarette in his hand and his hat resting on his knee, hoping that the girl inside was okay. dr.owens said that hopper couldn't be in the room because they didn't want any more distractions for arlo. he knew that was a buch of bullshit. he knew that they wanted him out the room so that they could try to manipulate arlo somehow, someway. they wanted to keep her like a lab rat. they wanted to shave her head, and carve a number into her wrist. they wanted to keep her locker away for the rest of her life. but hopper wouldn't let them. in fact, he'd raise hell if they even tried to hurt her. the chief looked up once dr.owens approached him, sending him a nod before he entered the room that arlo was in.

"good evening, arlo." dr.owens greeted, making the harrington girl look up from the floor. she felt her stomach churn at the sight of the man. she sent him a small smile. "how have you been since the last time i've seen you?"

"the same, i guess." arlo shrugged.

dr.owens nodded, used to arlo being so closed off. he looked down at his clipboard, trying to see what was on the papers. but there was nothing new because arlo had been keeping everything to herself. "any new nightmares? will just recently told me he saw something last night. have you been seeing anything lately?"

"no. it's just the same thing; i - i'll wake up, sometimes i'd scream myself awake. night terrors. but, i never remember the nightmare itself. but i know that it happened because i - i can feel this
overwhelming fear. and, my - my scars. . . they hurt, almost like it's happening all over again." arlo explained, her eyes trained on the white tiled floor.

dr.owens nodded once again, writing what arlo had said -- even if that's what she's been saying every week for the last few months. "how are your abilities? anything new?"

arlo sniffled, her eyes flickering up to look at the doctor across from her. she knew what he was trying to get at. they wanted to know if she had gained any new abilities then the ones they knew about. and she had, but she wasn't willingly gonna tell that to the doctor. she didn't trust him. even if hopper told her to tell him everything that's been happening, she was still gonna keep things to herself. what they don't know won't kill them, right? "nope. same ole thing."

dr.owens hummed, knowing that the girl was lying. he knew that she always lied whenever it was her time to visit. even if she wasn't hooked up to any machines, and she didn't have any tells that he knew about, he knew that she was lying straight through her teeth. and he understood why. i mean, why would the girl trust him? she knew what they did to kids. she knew what they did to eleven. but that doesn't make him any less mad about the fact that she was lying to him. he wanted - no, he needed to know what her abilities were. he remembered when she was a subject here at the lab. she was barely even a toddler, but he remembered her. he remembered the nightmares she would make the other doctors and scientists have. he remembered the screams. and she reminded him just like her mother. and because arlo reminded him of her mother, he knew the power that she held. he knew how powerful she would become in due time. which is why he wanted the girl on their side.

"arlo, do you know anything about your biological mother?" he suddenly asked. the younger girl's eyes snapped up towards the man, an unreadable expression on her face.

"no." she simply answered.

"well, i do." dr.owens informed, grabbing the file that was under his clipboard. "actually, i know about her. i know you've been lying about your abilities. and i understand why, okay? but i will give you this file about your biological mother. . . if you tell me the truth - and i mean, the whole truth about your abilities. sounds like a deal?"

arlo narrowed her eyes into slits as she looked at the gray haired man in front of her. was he really trying to bribe her with a file about a woman she knew nothing about? she had no memories of her mother, and she didn't know if that was because she didn't have any of her, or if she decided to block all of them out. but she didn't care.

dr.owens sent the latina a small smile before he opened the file up, looking down at the papers. arlo's eyes went down to the papers as well, seeing an old picture of a girl with jet black hair. the photo barely had any color in it. although the picture was upside down, she let her eyes scan it. the girl in the photo had to at least be 16 or 17. she continued to go over the features of the girl, noticing the scars that was scattered across her face. she also noticed how they shared a lot of the same features.

"dorothy ruiz. also known as subject '000'. born born the 31st of october, 1950." dr.owens read before he looked up at the harrington girl. "she had exact same abilities as you; making people see their worse nightmares, traveling through the shadows, being able to sense fear. but she also had numerous abilities. she was a force to be reckoned with. so i know that you're lying to me when i ask you about abilities."

arlo clenched her jaw as she stared at the older man. dr.owens stared back, that stupid smile still plastered on his face. he watched her closely, looking right into her eyes. he noticed that her honey brown irises had gotten darker within seconds and we're only getting darker. his eyebrows shot up his forehead, creating some wrinkles above them. he knew what that meant; she was using her abilities. but who was she using them on? he didn't feel an immense amount of fear. he didn't think he was living out his worse nightmare. so who was she using her abilities on? he leaned onto the table as blood dripped from arlo's lip.

arlo's eyes continued to become darker the longer she concentrated. she had only done this once, and it was extremely hard since there weren't any shadows around her. she had been trying to get her consciousness to slip travel to a particular mind. she knew it was working because she had felt something blocking her. she pushed a little more, hoping to at least get his attention. arlo physical closed her eyes, everything around her disappearing as her mind got sucked into the shadows.

"hopper!"

"charlotte!" dr.owens yelled, slamming his hands onto the table. this pulled arlo back into reality, the girl gasping for breath her eyes snapped opened. she quickly brought her hand up to wipe the blood from her nose. "what was that you just did, huh? what were you doing there?"

"nothing." arlo mumbled, hoping that hopper had heard her. or at least felt her trying to get inside his head.

"there's no shadows or darkness so you couldn't have been trying to shadow travel." dr.owens mumbled. "unless. . . you weren't trying to physically travel. you know, i know that the chief is right outside this door and that we promises that we wouldn't do anything to you. but i will figure out what you can do. and there will be a time when he's not gonna be able to stay. and when that time comes, we will stick you in a room with the brightest light and run every goddamn test there is on you. we will have you on our side, charlotte."

suddenly, the door busted opened, revealing jim hopper standing in the doorway. his hat was on his head and he had a scowl on his face as he examined the room. arlo's eyes snapped over to him, showing him the panic that had been flowing through her veins. hopper looked over to where dr.owens was sitting, picking up on the opened file that was on the table. the doctor had a small smile on his face once again, looking at the chief with an innocent look. but hopper could read right through it. he knew something was wrong. he had been in the bathroom when arlo had tried to mentally contact him, her voice echoing through his head. he had ran from the bathroom, which was basically on the other side of the building.

"jim!" dr.owens exclaimed, acting like he didn't just say what he said to arlo. "you know that you're not supposed to interrupt."

hopper didn't respond to the man, his eyes examining arlo's face. he could tell that she was ready to go. i mean, she was ready to leave the moment she stepped inside of the building. but he could tell that something happened that was making her leave right now. "will and joyce are done. so we're gonna wrap this session up for today, doc."

"actually, we're not done. there's still some things -" dr.owens started, standing up his seat to go stand in front of hopper.

"actually, we are done." hopper quickly interrupted, stepping closer to the doctor. his eyes were throwing daggers at dr.owens as he looked down at him. "now, leave so that she can get out of that stupid hospital gown and into some actual goddamn clothes."

dr.owens cowered into himself slightly. hopper was a few inches taller than the man and he could obviously take him down without much of a fight. without another word, dr.owens walked out of the room, forgetting all about the file on arlo's biological mother. hopper turned towards where arlo was seated, seeing that she was avoiding eye contact as she played with a bracelet that steve had given her.

"you okay, kid?" hopper questioned, making sure his voice is soft so that he won't add to arlo's anxiety. she simply nodded, looking up at the man with a small smile so that he would buy it. he didn't, but he nodded nonetheless. "get dressed so we can leave, okay? i don't want you to be here any longer than you need to."

arlo nodded. with that hopper left the room, closing the door behind him. arlo stood up from the chair, running her fingers through her silky hair as she turned towards the chair that was in the corner. she walked towards it, looking at her neatly folded clothes that laid on the cushion. she glanced at the camera that was in one of the top corners, feeling chills creep up her spine. hopper had made sure that they had unplugged all the wires that were connected to the camera, but arlo still felt like she was being watched. she turned back around, pulling the hospital gown over her head. she threw it onto the chair that she had been sitting on before she grabbed her shirt and pulled it over her head. she slipped her arms through her sleeves before she grabbed her jeans. she slipped her legs through, buttoning them up. she then pulled her old converses on, tying them up tightly. she stood up straight and grabbed steve's jean jacket, putting on before she grabbed her bag. and with that, she walked towards the door and out of the room, seeing hopper standing in the hall with a lit cigarette between his fingers.

"you ready to go, kid?" he asked, looking down at the girl with soft eyes. arlo simply nodded, putting her arms through her book bag straps. "okay, joyce and will are in the lobby. i'll meet you there." arlo nodded again, starting to walk down the hall that led to the lobby. hopper watched her figure get smaller and smaller before she finally disappeared around the corner. he looked around the hall, seeing that there wasn't anyone around. he slipped into the room and went over to the table, placing his cigarette between his lips. he picked up the opened file that was on the table, letting his eyes scan over the words that was on the paper. "holy shit." he mumbled, his cigarette wobbling from him doing so.

he quickly closed the file, making sure that it was nice and neat as he did so. he slipped it into his jacket, making sure that it was secure before he left the room. he didn't want anyone to stop him or have any suspicions. i mean, dr.owens didn't exactly give him the damn file. he walked to the lobby, sending smiles to scientists and doctors that walked past him. once he had finally gotten to the lobby, joyce and the kids had already spotted him, arlo and will starting to walk ahead of the adults.

"what took you so log?" joyce questioned as they left the building, a lit cigarette laid comfortable between her fingers as well.

hopper threw his onto the ground, stepping on it as they walked to their cars. "had to talk to owens, make sure everything with arlo is okay." he lied, letting his eyes scan over the two kids that were in front of them.

arlo looked back at the adults, hopper sending her nod. she turned back around, letting her eyes fall on will's figure. he had been walking a few inches ahead of her, wanting to get as far away from the lab as he could. arlo could feel the fear that was radiating from him, making her heart clench. she wished that there was something she could do to help him; make him see a happy vision or even if she could just make him stop having visions and nightmares of the upside down. but all she could only make him see his worse nightmare. she could only cause fear. she let her eyes follow the byers boy, watching as he climbed into joyce's car without bidding goodbye to her or hopper. arlo leaned on hopper's truck, waiting for the two adults to appear.

"things get worse, you call me." hopper's voice appeared as joyce went to the driver's side of her car. she turned around to face hopper, sending arlo a kind smile before she looked back at the chief. "you call me." he repeated, sounding more stern and serious.

"okay." joyce whispered, nodding her head as she threw her cigarette onto the ground. she then opened the door to the driver's side, bidding goodbye to arlo as she climbed in and starting the car. arlo and hopper watched her back out of the parking space and drive out of the parking lot of the lab.

hopper then pulled out a box, grabbing one of the many cigarettes that laid inside. he brought the cigarette to his lips as he stuff the box back into his jacket pocket, grabbing his lighter. he flicked it on as he brought it closer to his face, lighting the tobacco filled stick before he took a pull. "you hungry, kid? you want a cheeseburger or something?" he then quizzed, letting a cloud of smoke seep from his mouth.

arlo smiled, pushing herself off of his truck. "that depends on what the 'or something' is. because if it's a bucket of worms, i - i don't want it."

hopper chuckled, nodding his head as he started to walk around his truck. "'or something' can be ice cream, pizza, chinese food. it's up to you. . . ." he told her, his voice trailing off once he realized that dr.owens was watching them, standing on the balcony that was right above the parking lot. the gray haired man waved, forcing a smile onto his face as he did so. hopper just stared at him, continued his little walk to his side of the truck. arlo saw dr.owens as well, her smile dropping as she felt her stomach churn. "get in the truck, kid."

arlo climbed in without a second thought, pulling her bag from her back and stuffing it between her legs. hopper got in the truck as well, sticking his key into the ignition and turning it. he put his cigarette between his lips as he put the truck into drive, rolling down the window so that arlo wouldn't have to endure the cigarette smoke. the harrington girl smiled at that, pulling her seatbelt on as they pulled out of the parking lot. hopper had pulled his seatbelt on as well before he grabbed his cigarette, putting his arm outside of his window. he blew the smoke from out of his mouth, facing toward the window.

"hey, hop. can you actually drop me off at the arcade?" arlo suddenly questioned, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. she had the sudden urge to get a high score back in gaplus.

hopper glanced at her before he looked back at the road, "really? the arcade? don't you have homework? shouldn't you - isn't that what you're supposed to be focused on?" he quizzed, his fatherly tone popping out on instinct.

arlo rolled her eyes. "i don't have any homework. and if i did, i'd have plenty of time to do it since i barely sleep."

"yeah, okay. i'll drop you off at the arcade. it's the, uh, the new one, right?" hopper mumbled, bringing his cigarette back up to his lips to take another pull.

"yeah, that's the one." arlo confirmed, nodding her head. hopper hummed.

silence had fallen over them again, the only noise being the sound of the tires going over the concrete as they drove. arlo let her mind wander, thinking about everything and nothing all at once. she hoped that steve had chose a good shirt to wear to the dinner that him nancy had planned with barbara holland's parents. she then thought about what the boys were doing in that moment. a certain strawberry blonde then popped into her mind, making her smile slightly. she had barely known max mayfield for a day, but she was so drawn to her. it was like there was a string tied around arlo and max was the one that was tugging on it, pulling her closer and closer. she could only hope that max had felt the same about her.

"kid!" hopper's voice boomed. arlo flinched in her seat, her snapping toward the older man as her eyebrows flew up her