Carnival

Frustration climbed. She wanted out. She hated closed in spaces with a passion that flowed deep within.  Claustrophobia had got nothing on what she felt. This was pure entrapment. Caged. Like a wild animal. She pounded on the glass with her fist, "Let me out!" The air closed in. She couldn't breathe. Nineteen down to the floor stirring up years of dust, igniting a coughing spell.

Belatedly, she remembered the inhaler in her pocket. For some strange reason, she knew exactly how to use it. She shook it a couple of times, put the open end into her mouth, pressed the canister and inhaled the medicine. Her breathing calmed. Less like an elephant, more like a stuffy room.

Calmer, she stood up. She came as close as she dared to the glass with the candle.  She pressed her forehead to the glass trying to see beyond the shadows. If the other hallway were like this one she ought to see the end of it but the new hallway expanded further down.

Suddenly, the glass cracked. She jumped backward in surprise. Part of the glass had melted. From the spot came a thin crack spidering outwards. Nineteen tapped the spot and the glass bowed a little.

She angled the flame carefully so that it touched the glass but didn't go out. Time ticked by according to the beats of her heart. The candle won't melt the glass but if she could get it to crack further, she could break it.

Nineteen moved the flame along several points on the glass. The window weakened under pressure of the heat. Eventually, the cracks splintered and widened. More joined the first. touch "Come on," she muttered, "Just a little bit more."

Finally, the glass was a sheet of miniscule cracks. She set the candle down, pulled the sweatshirt sleeves over her fists and punched the glass. It gave way a little at a time. She switched to her right elbow, covering her head with the hood as an added measure of protection. With a swift jab, the glass shattered. Air rushed in. Stale but cleaner.

Nineteen reached down for the candle, discovering it to be out. She took it with her anyway, snapping off the burnt end and putting it in her backpack. Maybe along the way she would find another match. She hoped not. Surely the dim lighting in the other hallway would suffice.

With her hands covered by the sleeves of her shirt, Nineteen cleared away the broken glass. Satisfied she wasn't going to be cut, she hoisted herself up, over and through. She landed with a crouch, then straightened up. This hallway was narrower, the ceiling lower. There were no windows.

The walls were dark red in color like dried blood. She tapped her foot. The floor felt metallic but flimsy. Spongy in places. The hallway seemed to be hastily put together. Piecemeal.

Nineteen tapped the wall with her knuckles. Hollow. Dull. Not cement like that the room back there. She wished she had another match. The candle would be so helpful right now.

Nothing to do but walk. Darkness punctuated the way forward. Nineteen hugged the wall, her hand on it for a guide. Dust clung to her skin. She tried not to take deep breaths but the dust worked it's way into her lungs anyway.

It took three uses of the inhaler to get her to the end of the hallway. She shook it. The medicine was almost gone. She had to get out and soon.

At the end of this hallway, Nineteen noticed something peculiar. Red lights appeared along the bottom where the floor and the walls met. She crouched, feeling for the source. Warmth crept in between the cracks. A kind of electrical heat.

Power surged through her veins. Good. She could use this. She curled her fists letting the power build up in them. A shudder pulsed in her body. Gathering strength as if in a storm. With a cry, she unleashed the power. Walls ripped apart  as a match to paper.

They had been made of particle board. From cement to wood. None of this made any sense. Someone had captured her at Hawkins Lab but had done a poor job of keeping her locked up.

Almost as if they wanted her to escape.

Her power had torn through the wall leaving a gaping hole. Fresh, night air flowed in. She inhaled deeply able to take a deep breath without coughing.

Outside once more, she got a glimpse of the place that had held her. It was made of mostly wood and metal, joined by metallic hinges. Easy to take apart and put together. So strange.

The walls went on for a quarter of a mile. Long wires snaked out from beneath curled on the grass toward a power box attached to a pole.

Nineteen walked to the end of the makeshift building. Attached to them was another building made of cinder blocks. The room she had woke up in had to be in here. She rounded the corner and stopped in shock.

She was back at the carnival! Eagerly, she searched for Joyce and Hopper. Perhaps Eleven and Max were here too.

Lights. Music. People. Machines whirled impossibly in mid air. Small children dodged in and out of the crowd. Smells intruded on the sights.

The cacophony of lights, sounds and smells made her dizzy. Dehydration didn't help. Someone brushed past her, dropping a half full cup into the overflowing trash barrel. Liquid splashed out. Her mouth watered. She took out and downed the contents. Some kind of juice. It had a funny aftertaste she didn't like.

Her thirst quenched, she plunged into the crowd, overwhelmed by all the people. Nobody paid attention to her presence, too full of excitement to care about a strange girl with a shaved head, wearing a plaid shirt and loose fitting pants.

The people cared more about having fun. Everywhere she looked, people played games, rode the machines and ate food from boxes on wheels.

Nineteen was too absorbed with the scene to notice the man coming straight at her at first.

A rush of masculine scented breeze blew past her. Something in the scent triggered the memory of the little girl again.

She spun around just as he ran past her. It was Hopper. But wait, his features and those of the man in her mind morphed together. Her throat clenched. He was the man with the little girl! If only she could connect all the dots.

A word formed in her mind. One that had lain dormant for a long time. She couldn't summon it to her lips.

She tried to speak it but couldn't. Instead, she ran after Hopper. She chased him through the Carnival. The people, rides and games all became a blur as she focused on Hopper, determined not to lose him in the crowd.

It was all instinct that led her to do this. She had seen the man talking with a woman. That woman was Joyce. If she found the man, she would find Joyce.

The crowds were thick and she was shorter than most of the people. She soon lost sight of Hopper despite the fact he stood a foot taller than those around him.

The word left her lips and shouted it hoping he would hear her. To see him after all this time was shocking. Even more shocking was the fact that she had survived the disease which had ravaged her body years ago.

Nineteen recalled little but what she did remember was Hopper's face as he bent over her in the hospital bed. The kind faces of her parents as they struggled to be brave for her was etched indelibly on her brain.

She closed her eyes for what seemed like the last time only to open them again in Hawkins Lab just a few short weeks ago. She had aged during the time she spent in the lab.

Papa had never clarified her purpose thus she was left with so few answers. Why would Papa take her from her family? What had he done to cure her? Why hadn't he returned her to them? These were questions she wanted answered but they would have to wait.

Nineteen dodged little kids running amok. She ducked under adults holding hands and jumped over an array of benches lined up for weary parents and grandparents tuckered out from chasing after kids.

The flashing lights blinded her. She became disoriented and dizzy. So much so that she didn't see the man in black. Consequently, she collided with him. His big, rough hands steadied her. She looked up and her breath caught in her lungs.

The man from the lab. The one Hopper fought. He was here for what purpose she didn't know.

Nineteen struggled in his grip but his fingers curled tighter. "Let me go!" She screamed and kicked him in the shin. His grip loosened just enough for her to break free. She ran with all the speed she could pull from her thin, weakened body.

Nineteen reached the exit just in time to see Hopper and Joyce take off in a convertible."No!" She screamed. "Daddy!"

End of Book One