Chapter 20: Plan of Action
The Void has no direction, no gravity, and no sound; there is only eternal darkness and silence.
Andy stood in that void, his mental power extending like tentacles, tracking the call he had just heard—that faint but clear—
"Andy..."
Then, he saw it.
A speck of light, flickering in the distance like a lone star in a dark universe.
He "walked" toward that speck of light, which gradually grew larger and clearer.
Finally, it took the shape of a person.
A girl.
Small and thin, bald, wearing a simple hospital gown. She stood there, leaning slightly forward, hands tightly clasped in front of her, her face a mix of nervousness and anticipation.
Those large eyes, always filled with wariness and confusion, were looking at him now. In her gaze, there was surprise, confusion, and a hint of... familiarity?
Andy's breath nearly stopped.
"Eleven..." he murmured, his voice traveling through his consciousness, carrying an uncontrollable tremor.
He recognized her. It was the current Eleven, the Eleven from the real world.
"Andy?" Eleven responded, her voice also within the consciousness, filled with uncertainty and hesitation.
There was no answer.
Andy rushed over immediately. In the Void, this movement was more like "instant teleportation"; his consciousness arrived in front of Eleven in an instant.
Then, he did what he had always wanted to do in the real world but never had the chance to.
He hugged her.
"Eleven, I finally found you," Andy said in his consciousness, his voice choking with emotion.
In the real world, during the three years he spent hiding in Hawkins, he had tried countless times to contact Eleven with his abilities.
He would concentrate his mind in the middle of the night, sending out faint signals in the direction he guessed Eleven might be, like throwing a message in a bottle into a vast ocean.
But there was never a response, as if an invisible wall separated them.
Now, in this void, the wall had vanished.
They were finally connected.
Eleven's conscious form stiffened slightly in Andy's embrace; she didn't remember Andy.
In her memory, she was Subject Number Eleven, raised in the Lab.
She had asked Papa why she was Number Eleven, but Dr. Brenner told her that everyone else was dead.
She believed it, or at least, she let herself believe it.
Because in the Lab, she could only believe what Papa said.
But now, this boy calling himself Andy was hugging her, saying he had finally found her, his voice filled with a deep emotion she couldn't understand.
That emotion... didn't seem fake. It was real and burning, like a fire, so warm it almost scorched her.
"Andy, I..." Eleven began, but didn't know what to say.
She could feel Andy's excitement, feel his tears, and feel his joy at "finally reuniting."
But she herself only felt confusion and... a strange, unfamiliar warmth.
She didn't remember him.
But she could feel that this person was important to her.
Very important.
Like... family.
This thought surprised her. In the Lab, the concept of "family" was vague and twisted.
Dr. Brenner said he was their "Papa" and that the Lab was their "home."
But Eleven knew that wasn't true; that wasn't family.
Family wouldn't lock you in a dark room, wouldn't make you undergo painful experiments, wouldn't just record data while you bled, and wouldn't remain indifferent while you cried.
But now, in this Void, being embraced by this unfamiliar boy, Eleven suddenly understood another possible meaning of the word "family."
A connection that didn't need memories or explanations, only existence itself to confirm.
She relaxed, no longer stiff, and let her consciousness gently "embrace" Andy back.
She could feel Andy becoming even more excited because of her small response.
"Eleven, don't you remember me?" Andy pulled back slightly, looking at Eleven's face, his eyes showing clear concern and a hint of... heartache?
Eleven shook her head, her movement very slight.
Andy's gaze dimmed for a moment, but quickly brightened again; he wasn't too surprised.
His failed attempts to contact Eleven over the past three years had already given him a pretty good idea this might be the case.
Plus, what that monster Henry Creel had said—Eleven had almost killed him and turned him into a monster.
Perhaps that lab accident three years ago hadn't just changed Henry, but had also traumatized Eleven, causing her to lose her memory.
It was all Henry's fault!
This thought ignited a cold fury in Andy's heart. Henry had not only twisted himself and hurt Will, but he had also caused Eleven to lose her memory, leaving her to endure three years of loneliness and being hunted alone.
But Andy didn't let the anger show; he didn't want to scare Eleven.
He just wanted her to know that she wasn't alone now.
"It's okay," Andy said, his voice gentle but firm. "We won't be separated anymore. You'll remember!"
There were tears in his eyes, but a smile on his face. It was a hopeful, almost innocent smile that touched something soft in Eleven's heart.
She nodded. Although she didn't know if she could "remember," Andy's determination gave her some confidence.
Then, Andy seemed to remember something. He turned, looking at the surrounding void, and then raised his hand, reaching forward.
"I think... I can get out?" he murmured to himself, his tone one of surprise and anticipation.
"Get out?" Eleven didn't understand what that meant in this context.
Andy looked at Eleven, his expression becoming a bit more serious.
He wanted to explain about Henry, the Upside Down, and being trapped in a mental prison, but considering Eleven's memory loss, he decided to skip the complicated and terrifying parts for now.
"I was caught by a monster," he said simply, "and trapped in a mental space. Like... a dream, or a hallucination. But that dream was so real, I almost thought it was reality."
He paused, looking into Eleven's eyes. "If it wasn't for your call, I might never have realized it was fake, never escaped. You saved me, Eleven."
Eleven's eyes widened slightly. She was only... trying to find Will and Barbara, and had accidentally connected here. She didn't know she had done anything special.
"Barbara and Will..." Andy continued, his voice lowering.
"Barbara and Will?" Eleven responded immediately.
She remembered those two names. Barbara was Nancy's friend, and Will was Joyce's son. They had both gone missing in the Upside Down.
She had been trying to find them just now when she accidentally connected to Andy.
"I saved them," Andy said, a hint of bitterness in his tone. "In the Upside Down. Barbara fell into the pool at Steve's house, and Will was being chased by a monster. I found them and protected them."
"But after I was taken by the monster," Andy continued, his voice even lower, "Will was caught too. Now, he's next to me. Next to my... real body."
This news made Eleven's heart sink. Will had been caught too.
He was with Andy, somewhere in the Upside Down, imprisoned by the monster.
Meanwhile, in the real world.
Eleven lay in the bathtub, her body completely submerged in salt water, with only her face exposed. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was slow and steady, as if she were asleep. But her brow was slightly furrowed, showing that her consciousness was active.
Everyone was gathered around the bathroom door, and Will's walkie-talkie was placed nearby.
At first, the device only emitted faint static noise.
Then, as Eleven entered a deep state and began searching for Will and Barbara, some blurry fragments of what sounded like distant voices appeared in the static. But they were too distorted to make out.
Until Andy's voice came through.
"...Eleven, I finally found you."
Everyone in the living room froze.
That was Andy's voice. Mike recognized it immediately. Although he hadn't heard it in three years, and the voice was somewhat distorted by the strange connection, that was definitely Andy.
The boy who had escaped from the Lab three years ago and told him that the existence of superpowers was real.
Then came Eleven's response and Andy's explanation about the monsters, the mental space, Barbara, and Will... When she heard "Will has been caught too, and right now, he's right next to me," Joyce stood up abruptly, covering her mouth with both hands as tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
But at least she knew now: her son was still alive. He was captured, along with Andy, in a place she couldn't reach.
Nancy also tensed up upon hearing Barbara's name.
"What about Barbara?" Nancy couldn't help but speak up. Her voice drifted through the crack in the bathroom door and, through some subtle mental connection, actually echoed within the Void.
Inside the Void, Andy heard this unfamiliar female voice.
"Who is this?" he asked in confusion.
"Nancy," Eleven replied simply.
"Nancy? Oh, right. Mike's sister, Barbara's friend."
Even though it felt like a long time had passed for him within the mental space, he still clearly remembered everything that had happened in the Upside Down.
Barbara had mentioned Nancy, mentioned they were best friends who went to a party together before Barbara accidentally fell into the Upside Down.
"Barbara... I'm not sure where she is either," Andy answered Nancy's question.
"But she's not here with me. She probably hasn't been caught by the monsters yet. The last time I saw her, she decided to go look for Will. She told me to stay put and rest, and then she... left."
This news allowed Nancy in the real world to breathe a sigh of relief. Barbara hadn't been caught.
But she immediately grew worried again. Her best friend was currently alone in the Upside Down, searching for Will and facing monsters.
Joyce took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
As a mother, she had to be the strongest person right now—for Will, and for everyone trying to help her.
She approached the bathroom door and asked in as steady and clear a tone as possible, "Then where should we go to find you?"
Her voice also traveled through the door and the mental connection into the Void.
Hearing this question, a surge of complex emotions rose in Andy's heart.
Where should they go to find them?
He didn't know.
In the real world—in the Upside Down—his body was bound by vines next to Will, but he didn't know where that room was located within the Upside Down.
The Upside Down was a "reflection" of the real world, so the terrain should correspond.
However, the Upside Down was covered in organic matter, and all landmarks were twisted and deformed, making them hard to recognize.
"I... I don't know where I am either,"
Andy answered honestly, but his next words brought hope.
"However, I can open a gate to the real world."
Open a gate?
In the living room of Will's house, Andy had imitated the monster and forced open a passage. Though it was very unstable, it had indeed opened.
Barbara had used that passage to try and send a message.
If Andy could open a gate, then he and Will could come straight out!
But this thought immediately brought a new problem.
"Then what about Barbara?" Nancy asked the crucial question again.
If Andy opened the gate, he and Will could return to the real world. But Barbara was still in the Upside Down, likely still searching for them, completely unaware of the impending rescue.
If the gate opened and then closed, Barbara might be trapped there forever.
In the Void, Andy realized this problem as well.
He couldn't leave Barbara alone in the Upside Down.
That brave girl had taken care of him when he was weak. She hadn't fled alone after he opened the passage, but had chosen to go find Will instead. He couldn't abandon her.
But in his current state, he had consumed too much power in the mental space, and his physical body was bound by vines.
Even if he could force a gate open, he would be extremely weak afterward. He might not have enough strength left to search for Barbara and fight off any monsters that might appear.
"I'll stay here," Andy said, his tone firm, "and find Barbara. But I might be really weak after I open the gate, and I might not have enough strength to fight the monsters and find her."
This decision shocked the people in the real world, but Chief Hopper quickly understood Andy's logic.
As a cop, as someone who had handled countless crises, he understood that sometimes tough choices had to be made and someone had to take the risk.
"Then I'll go in and find Barbara!" Hopper said immediately.
His tone was decisive, without any hesitation.
"Tell us where you are. We'll head there. You and Will come out, and then I'll enter the Upside Down to find Barbara."
The plan sounded simple and direct: Andy opens the gate and confirms the location, the people in the real world rush there, Andy and Will come out, and Hopper goes in to find Barbara and bring her back.
But there were many problems. Could Andy successfully open a gate in his weakened state?
Would the location of the gate be safe? Would it be easily discovered by the people from the Lab?
Once Hopper entered the Upside Down, could he find Barbara? The Upside Down was so vast and full of danger; how could he, an ordinary man, deal with those supernatural monsters?
How long could the gate stay open? Would it close before Hopper found Barbara?
But under the current circumstances, this was the only viable plan.
Someone had to take a risk. Someone had to step into the darkness to bring back those who were lost.
In the Void, Andy heard Hopper's words and had no objections.
However, the priority was that he needed to "wake up" in the mental space first, return to his physical body, and then concentrate his power to open the gate.
This process might take some time, and he had to be careful not to let Henry notice.
"I need some time to prepare," he said. "Maybe... a few minutes? I'm not sure. But I'll be as fast as I can. When I'm ready, I'll communicate with Eleven."
"Good," Hopper said. "We'll be ready."
In the Void, Andy looked at Eleven, a surge of complex emotions rising in his heart.
He was about to return to that dark, vine-bound body, perhaps face Henry again, and attempt to open a gate that could decide all of their fates.
And Eleven would stay in the real world, in the bathtub, maintaining this fragile connection until he succeeded or failed.
"Eleven," Andy said, his voice gentle, "I'm going back. Back to... that body. To open the gate."
Eleven nodded, her gaze firm. "I will be here. Waiting for you."
"If... if I don't succeed," Andy hesitated for a moment before speaking the worst possibility aloud.
"If the gate doesn't open, or if something goes wrong... remember, no matter what happens, you aren't alone. We might still have brothers and sisters out there."
Eleven's eyes widened slightly. Andy's words sounded like a goodbye, causing a surge of panic in her heart.
"You will succeed," she said. Her voice was soft, but carried an unquestionable firmness.
"You saved Will and Barbara. You can open the gate. You can do it."
Andy looked at Eleven—this girl who had lost her memories but possessed an incredibly strong heart—and felt a deep sense of pride and... love.
Yes, love.
Not romantic love, nor exactly the love between siblings, but a deeper connection belonging to those of the "same kind."
They were both kids who had escaped from the Lab, both possessed abilities that weren't understood, and both had experienced loneliness and fear, yet neither had given up.
They were each other's echoes, each other's proof of existence.
"Thank you, Eleven," Andy said, his voice choking up.
Then, he gave Eleven one last hug. His consciousness began to withdraw from the Void, returning toward the physical body trapped in the mental space and bound by vines.
Before his consciousness completely departed, he heard Eleven's final whisper:
"Be careful, Andy."
And from the real world, Mike's voice came through the connection:
"We'll be waiting for you, Andy. We're going to bring you all back."
Darkness descended once more.
But this time, the darkness was no longer a cage of despair.
It was the calm before the storm.
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