The storm outside raged on and with it brought a foreboding sense of dread that accompanied the recent disappearance of one Will Byers within the small town of Hawkins, Indiana.

After having discovered the mystery girl in the woods, Mike and company found it best for all of them to get her and themselves out of the rain and figure out their next move indoors, although Laura didn't agree nor care for the decision and desired to keep searching for Will, but she abstained from doing so due to the weather conditions most likely dampening any scent or trail she would attempt to track.

Now here they were, Laura, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas standing before the mystery girl as she sat on the couch whilst taking some form of comfort within Laura's jacket.

The young girl looked to be around their age with pretty features, Caucasian skin, brown eyes and short brown hair that was in the process of growing back after seemingly being shaved off. Her outfit left much to be desired since she was simply wearing a yellow oversized T-Shirt and now Laura's jacket was an addition to it.

"Is there a number we can call for your parents?" Mike asked in concern.

"Where's your hair? Do you have cancer?" Dustin asked.

"Did you run away?" Lucas asked.

The girl looked at each one of them as they threw a question at her then looked at Laura and wondered if she would also ask her something, but Laura just quirked an eyebrow at her with her arms folded.

"Are you in some kind of trouble?" Mike asked.

"Is that blood?" Lucas asked as he leaned closer to touch her, but Mike slapped his hand away.

"Stop it! You're freaking her out!" Mike exclaimed.

"She's freaking me out!" Lucas exclaimed.

"I bet she's deaf." Dustin suggested and he clapped his hands at the girls to which she flinched back at, deconstructing his theory, "Not deaf."

Laura rolled her eyes at them and stepped up to the girl and pushed her left hand on the side of the couch near the girl's head. The two maintained eye contact that contrasted one another, Laura's being intimidating and confrontational while the girl seemed scared and wary of Laura.

"Where is Will?" Laura asked.

It could've been a coincidence, but the fact that Will had disappeared off the face of the earth and this strange newcomer popped up was questionable and the longer he was missing, the more Laura was on edge.

The girl didn't respond and just stared up at Laura fearfully, not only confused, but feeling frightened as if she was staring down a predator that would pounce on her at any minute.

"Hey, Laura, c'mon, you're scaring her more than she already is." Mike said, grabbing her shoulder and trying to pull her back, but she wouldn't budge.

Laura ignored him and continued to stare into the girl's eyes, letting out a silent scoff as she pulled back and stepped away from her.

"Guys, can't you tell that she's just scared and cold? Guessing things and threatening her won't get us anywhere." Mike said, the last specifically referring to Laura who shrugged uncaringly.

He shook his head at her and stepped away from them, going to a clothes basket and picking out some warmer clothes.

The loud boom of thunder struck and the girl covered her eyes as she slightly jumped in fear, leaving those that watched her intrigued. Laura narrowed her eyes at the girl, feeling a slight pang of empathy for her, because that used to be her exact reaction to thunder as well, back when her father was accustoming her to the real world.

"Here, these are clean. Okay?" Mike said to the girl as he walked back to them and held out the selected clothing to her.

The girl slowly took the clothes and took a whiff of them before shedding Laura's jacket and standing up, beginning to undress herself of the oversized T-Shirt she was wearing, much to all of their surprise and the three boys quickly stopped her while she looked scared and confused.

Laura shook her head and approached the girl once more, grabbing the clean clothes from the couch and taking ahold of the girl's hand before leading her to the bathroom and shutting it behind them.

"Was that okay?" Dustin asked, staring at the closed door.

"I mean they're both girls so...I think it's fine." Lucas said with a shrug.

"I just hope she doesn't scare her again." Mike said as he stared at the closed door worriedly.

Meanwhile within the bathroom, Laura let go of the girl's hand and she took a couple of steps back in fear of her. Laura placed the clothes on the basin counter and slid them across towards the girl, stepping back from her after doing so.

"Change. Now." Laura told her as she turned around to face the door and away from the girl, listening to the boys as they discussed amongst each other.

"This is mental." Dustin stated, "She tried to get naked. In front of us!"

"There's something seriously wrong with her." Lucas told them, "Like, wrong in the head."

"She just went like..." Dustin said and Laura heard the shuffling of his clothes, assuming he portrayed some type of botched reenactment.

"I bet she escaped from Pennhurst." Lucas guessed.

"From where?" Mike asked.

"The nuthouse in Kerley County." Lucas explained.

"You got a lot of family there?" Dustin asked jokingly.

"Bite me." Lucas retorted, "Seriously though, think about it. That would explain her shaved hair and why she's so crazy."

"Why she went like..." Dustin said and the shuffling of his clothes was what she heard again.

"She's an escapee is the point. She's probably a psycho." Lucas concluded.

"Like Michael Myers." Dustin said.

"Exactly!" Lucas exclaimed in agreement.

"Will?" The girl asked and Laura slowly turned around to face the girl who was now dressed in warmer clothes and stood before her awkwardly with a nervous demeanor, "I-Is Will friend?"

"Family. Will is family...to me." Laura stated and the girl slowly nodded, "Do you know where he is?"

The girl shook her head and Laura narrowed her eyes, walking towards her and she backed up in fear. She eventually found her back to the wall and Laura stood in front of her, looking into her eyes with an unwavering gaze as the girl wondered what she would do next.

Laura leaned forward and tilted her head and the girl widened her eyes as she heard and felt Laura take a long sniff near and around her neck.

Laura slammed her palm against the wall near the girl in frustration as she flinched from the sudden action. Laura stepped back from the girl and shook her head in agitation.

"I don't smell him on you..." Laura muttered and the girl looked at her in confusion although Laura assumed she hadn't heard her.

She started to leave the bathroom, but paused as her hand touched the door handle. She looked over her shoulder and the two made eye contact, maintaining a silent exchange as they stared at each other.

"You smell nice." Laura simply stated as she opened the bathroom door and left the girl alone.

The girl didn't know nor understand why, but that entire interaction had her heart beating rapidly, but this time it was different. This time it was not out of fear, but something else entirely. It was as if the longer she was around Laura, the more her stomach was twisting into knots and that final statement from her was the icing in the cake that brought a warmth she didn't know she could feel. It felt different. It felt good.

"Wait, Laura, where are you going?" Mike asked, bringing the girl out of her daze and she rushed out of the bathroom.

As she met up with the other boys, she noticed they were all looking towards the stairwell and she looked to see Laura putting on her jacket as she marched up the stairs in an angered rush.

"Bet you guys she's still gonna look for Will." Dustin told them.

"In this weather?" Mike asked.

"The world could be ending and she'd still be trying to make sure Will was okay." Lucas told them.

"Really makes you think; would she ever go that far for one of us?" Dustin asked.

"Nah man," Lucas said with a chuckle, "Will's her best friend for a reason."

"Lucky..." Dustin said with a pout.

The girl tuned them out as she thought back to what Laura had said to her in the bathroom, slowly understanding the anger prone girl more.

"Family..." the girl muttered to reiterate Laura's previous statement.

~

The next day around the Byers residence trespassed multiple men in white hazmat suits that roamed the area around the house and the nearby forestry. Joyce and Jonathan were out of the house and the property should have been empty, making an opportune time for these trespassers to search for whatever they were looking for, should have.

Sitting atop the highest branch of a tall tree was Laura, looking down at the hazmat equipped individuals roaming the area. It would have been like staring at tiny white ants from how high up she was, but her enhanced eyesight and the training she had endured made it feel like she was watching them through a magnum lens.

They explored the backyard, a perimeter of the forestry and even the Byers' shed and Laura could hear EMF beeping from the one that had entered the shed. It seemed to increase the deeper he explored as well.

"Extraordinary." The man within the shed commented, making it clear that there was definitely something strange about that shed.

~

Mike, Dustin and Lucas led the girl down the stairs of the basement and all of them were surprised to find Laura sitting on the couch, crossing out different points of a town map she had stolen.

"Laura?" Mike asked in a mix of surprise and confusion as the girl smiled at the sight of her.

"Where the hell were you? You missed school and everything." Lucas told her.

"Did you find Will?" Dustin asked and Laura paused and looked up from the map to glare at him, "...g-guess not."

Laura looked away from him and looked at the girl, "Your name is Eleven?"

"Yes." The girl, Eleven, answered with a nod and a smile.

"El, for short, apparently." Dustin added.

"How did you know what her name was?" Mike asked.

"You told us." Laura replied.

"No, I told Lucas and Dustin in my room. You weren't even there." Mike retorted and she shrugged uncaringly.

The three boys looked at each other in confusion as Mike's mother called from upstairs for them to come up and have dinner.

"Finally! I'm freaking starving." Dustin said with a happy rub of his stomach.

"We better get up there before she comes down here." Lucas said as he looked at Mike.

"Yeah, I guess. Laura, c'mon." Mike called out to her.

"No." Laura responded, continuing her cross outs of the map.

"What do you mean no? You heard Lucas, my mom will come down here and find Eleven if we don't act like everything is normal and join them for dinner." Mike explained.

"So?" Laura asked.

"So, if she finds her then some very bad people are gonna find her too." Mike told her.

"Then we'll be completely screwed." Dustin added.

"I don't care." Laura stated, looking up from the map and at them, "Let them come."

"You're making it sound like you're gonna take them on if they do show up." Lucas said with an unbelieving look.

"I am." Laura said as she leaned back in her seat and shut her eyes to get some form of rest, "I will."

Before they could respond, Mike's mother called out to him once more, making them dire to head upstairs.

"Let's just go without her, dude. If we didn't see her get down here, then I doubt your mom did too." Lucas told him.

Mike slowly nodded as he looked at Eleven, "Hey, El,"

Eleven didn't respond as she continued to stare at Laura and only looked away when Mike placed a hand on her shoulder.

"El?" Mike asked as she looked at him, "Lucas, Dustin, and I are gonna head upstairs for dinner, I'll bring you some leftovers later when we get back. You're gonna have to stay down here, okay?"

Eleven pointed at Laura, "Her?"

"I think she'll stay down here too. Is that ok?" Mike asked and Eleven started smiling, looking back at Laura with a nod much to Mike's confusion as he felt a pang at the thought of them being around each other, a pang that he did not like, "Uh, let's go guys..."

"Well, that was weird." Dustin commented as he followed Mike and Lucas up the stairs.

"Shut up." Mike told him.

"It sounded like she was happy to stay with Laura; don't you think?" Dustin asked.

"Dude! Shut up!" Mike told him as they shut the basement door, leaving Eleven and Laura alone.

Although she was happy to see her, leaving the two of them alone together may have immediately come off as a mistake, because she did not know how to go about interacting with Laura and she was scared she would manage to anger the girl in some way.

"Are you going to stare at me all day?" Laura asked, still keeping her eyes shut as she spoke.

Eleven immediately looked down, "S-Sorry."

Laura opened her eyes and looked at the girl as she fiddled with her fingers, still standing by the steps and staring at the floor as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Sit." Laura told her and Eleven looked up from the ground and at her.

She slowly sat down on the base of the steps and Laura shook her head, patting the left side of the couch she was sitting on and gesturing towards it.

Eleven took a breath as she stood up and shuffled her way over to Laura, sitting down at the left edge of the couch, leaving a gap between the two of them.

She grew ever the more nervous as Laura began to stare at her with a stoic expression, and even though she glanced at her and they had made eye contact a few times, Laura was unbothered by that aspect.

"Why is your name Eleven?" Laura asked, gaining the girl's attention.

Eleven lifted her left sleeve and showing the number 011 tattooed on her left arm. Laura slowly widened her eyes at the number, recognizing it as a similar numerical format she was subjected to long ago and feeling a sense of dread that brought up memories she long tried to quell. This girl was a mystery and the more she seemed to learn about her the more she was beginning to understand that she may have been like her. A lab rat. A test subject that had somehow found her way to freedom, but like her years ago, this lab rat would not so easily be let go by her captors.

"Lara?" Eleven asked, bringing Laura out of her thoughts and she looked away from the tattoo towards the girl, "You are Lara?"

"Laura." Laura corrected, "My name is Laura."

Eleven nodded as she looked away with a small smile, muttering to herself, "Laura..."

"You were bleeding." Laura said and Eleven looked back at her in surprise, "Why were you bleeding in Mike's room? Did they hurt you?"

Eleven shook her head, "No."

"Then why?" Laura asked.

Eleven seemed to be contemplating it for a bit before she raised her arm towards the open bathroom door. Laura watched in surprise as the door started to shut from seemingly its own volition and she looked at Eleven, seeing her nose start to bleed and only stop when the bathroom door was shut.

Eleven slowly dropped her arm and nervously looked at Laura who kept looking at her in surprise. She shifted closer to her and raised her arm, causing the psychic girl to slightly lean back in fear from a sudden attack, but to her surprise, Laura just used the sleeves of her jacket to wipe away the blood from under Eleven's nose.

"Are...you a mutant?" Laura asked softly.

Eleven was surprised and confused by this and she softly shook her head as a response, causing Laura to slowly nod as her mind ran through the possibilities.

She shifted back and sighed, looking at the stairwell as Eleven looked down at her lap, the two of them entering a silence.

"You're a weirdo." Laura stated and Eleven glanced at her with a hurt expression before looking back down at her lap and hugging herself, shifting away from Laura, but paused as the angry girl continued her statement, "But, so am I."

Eleven looked at the girl with a confused expression and was surprised to see Laura raising up her left arm and forming it into a fist. She widened her eyes in surprise when two long and sharp Adamantium claws slowly slid out through her knuckles and stopped when they fully reached a sizable length befitting Laura's current body structure.

Eleven looked between Laura and the claws in utter surprise, questioning to herself if they were cut from the same cloth. She slowly reached forward to touch the claws, but was stopped when Laura pulled her arm back.

"Don't." Laura told her, knowing the dangers and how sharp her claws were, even the slightest touch could cause a person to lose a finger.

"No." Eleven shook her head with a soft smile, reaching forward and gently holding onto Laura's hand, avoiding the claws, "Weirdo."

Laura smiled back at her, retracting her claws back and opening her hand for them to interlock with one another, sending sparks between the two of them.

The door to the basement opened and all three boys started walking down the stairs.

"Dude, I'm pretty sure we wasted some pretty good meat loaf." Dustin complained.

"Eh, I didn't really have the appetite for it." Lucas said with a shrug.

"Makes sense with our current situation anyway." Mike said, "El?"

They reached the base of the stairs and all of them were surprised to see that not only Laura and Eleven were sitting next to each other, but they were getting along so well, they were even holding hands.

This was surprising to them all, but Mike felt the pang again and he definitely didn't like the feeling of seeing the two of them seemingly being this close.

Laura and Eleven looked away from each other and Laura immediately pulled her hand back, going back to a stoic demeanor, but Eleven still kept a happy smile.

With new mysteries revealed, Hawkins Indiana was starting to seem like the eye of the storm for much stranger things.