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Eleven had been back in thegrasp of the Institute for five years. Tearing apart the demogorgon and sending herself and it back into the Upside Down was, she thought, a foolproof way to get away from Papa's men and the rest of the scientists. But somehow, she ended up back in their 'care'. Somehow, she got out of or was taken out of the Upside Down and brought back into captivity.
And that was five years ago.
She was healed up from that and her powers had grown, but she was afraid to try to leave again. They knew her tricks all too well by this point, keeping her under near constant supervision. They tried implanting rice-sized trackers in her, but she used her powers to rip each one out, leaving the right side of her neck a pattern of scars taking up roughly two inches of space.
So it was almost constant supervision, even when she tried to sleep. Until the day a badly wounded boy from Seattle was brought in. Things started changing significantly then. Drab, plain white rooms were slowly decorated and filled with things she assumed teenagers liked. Computers (with limited internet access believe her she tried to email people only to get ACCESS DENIED in bright red on the screen). A television hooked up to a DVD player. Stacks of movies (none of which Ellie touched) and video game systems she's never seen before. Nor had she any interest in. Those sat for months before anyone used them, and it wasn't her.
It was the boy. Young man? She had no idea. It was months before she was even introduced to Andrew in what the Institute called the 'common room'. A room between hers and wherever his was that had been filled with the aforementioned Stuff, along with a couple refrigerators filled with sodas and Eggos and vending machines that didn't require money to get anything out of. Just push the buttons and there it was.
When she was brought into the room to meet the person they said they were helping, Ellie wasn't sure what they wanted from her, so there were looks of curiosity and even concern and some badly-hidden alarm when Andrew was treated as a guest. But she didn't say anything, even when he tried to get her to talk.
She just sat with a book in the corner, reading Tales of the Peculiar and trying to memorize his face and the face of the people he spoke to. At night, she'd 'listen' in, focusing on Andrew or whoever he spoke to that day, trying to get some manner of information.
Bits and pieces of conversation told her Andrew was just as screwed as she was, so after a few months of her not saying anything and instead being introduced as "Eleanor" by one of their guards (because she wasn't going to do it), she finally spoke.
It was said slowly and uncertainly, the behaviors of someone not used to speaking to people much, and the look on her face was apologetic. She knows it's wrong of her to not say anything until now, but she was curious and worried and desperate for answers. He was busy looking through the DVDs, trying to find something to watch maybe, or checking out the new movies that were brought in, so she felt like she was interrupting something important. But, if she was going to get the two of them out of there and she was sure that was what she was meant to do, she had to change things.
And this started with a question:
"Why did they bring you here?" Wherever here was. She was sure they'd moved after shit went south in Hawkins.
And that was five years ago.
She was healed up from that and her powers had grown, but she was afraid to try to leave again. They knew her tricks all too well by this point, keeping her under near constant supervision. They tried implanting rice-sized trackers in her, but she used her powers to rip each one out, leaving the right side of her neck a pattern of scars taking up roughly two inches of space.
So it was almost constant supervision, even when she tried to sleep. Until the day a badly wounded boy from Seattle was brought in. Things started changing significantly then. Drab, plain white rooms were slowly decorated and filled with things she assumed teenagers liked. Computers (with limited internet access believe her she tried to email people only to get ACCESS DENIED in bright red on the screen). A television hooked up to a DVD player. Stacks of movies (none of which Ellie touched) and video game systems she's never seen before. Nor had she any interest in. Those sat for months before anyone used them, and it wasn't her.
It was the boy. Young man? She had no idea. It was months before she was even introduced to Andrew in what the Institute called the 'common room'. A room between hers and wherever his was that had been filled with the aforementioned Stuff, along with a couple refrigerators filled with sodas and Eggos and vending machines that didn't require money to get anything out of. Just push the buttons and there it was.
When she was brought into the room to meet the person they said they were helping, Ellie wasn't sure what they wanted from her, so there were looks of curiosity and even concern and some badly-hidden alarm when Andrew was treated as a guest. But she didn't say anything, even when he tried to get her to talk.
She just sat with a book in the corner, reading Tales of the Peculiar and trying to memorize his face and the face of the people he spoke to. At night, she'd 'listen' in, focusing on Andrew or whoever he spoke to that day, trying to get some manner of information.
Bits and pieces of conversation told her Andrew was just as screwed as she was, so after a few months of her not saying anything and instead being introduced as "Eleanor" by one of their guards (because she wasn't going to do it), she finally spoke.
It was said slowly and uncertainly, the behaviors of someone not used to speaking to people much, and the look on her face was apologetic. She knows it's wrong of her to not say anything until now, but she was curious and worried and desperate for answers. He was busy looking through the DVDs, trying to find something to watch maybe, or checking out the new movies that were brought in, so she felt like she was interrupting something important. But, if she was going to get the two of them out of there and she was sure that was what she was meant to do, she had to change things.
And this started with a question:
"Why did they bring you here?" Wherever here was. She was sure they'd moved after shit went south in Hawkins.
