{The Flayed, Part I}

Down, down, down. Down the rabbit hole.

As Alice and her friends barreled through the earth, she wondered if this was what the rabbits had been warning her about.

It was probably around midnight on July 4th—the day she was going to die.

Oh well, Alice thought as she fell. At least I won't die alone.

After an eternity of insufficient gravity, and a lot of yelling from her brother and friends, the elevator halted to a stop. The momentum pulled Alice and her friends to the ground.

She and Dustin fell in a heap, arms tangled in her backpack straps.

"Let me go!" Alice said, trying to yank her backpack free.

"I'm trying!" Dustin snapped.

"Agh!" Steve grumbled, being squished by one of the heavy boxes. "It fell on my groin! Dustin! Get this off of me!"

Dustin, once he was no longer linked with Alice, helped Steve up.

"Is everyone okay?" Robin asked as she checked her friends for visible injuries.

"Yeah, I'm great!" Steve snapped. "Now I know that Russians can't design elevators!"

Steve tried smacking the console again.

"We've clearly established that those buttons don't work!" Willie said with a glower.

"All that button-mashing is what got us in trouble in the first place," Alice pointed out, glancing around the elevator. If only she could use her powers somehow to break them free...but how?

She tuned out the rest of the group. While they freaked out about electronic keycards and the inevitability of them being trapped, Alice closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.

Clive, she thought, eyes still closed, if you want to pull a white rabbit and show me the way home, I wouldn't be opposed.

When she opened her eyes, her heart soared. Clive Cottontail, the rabbit from her dreams (and nightmares) sat upon a stack of Imperial Panda boxes. He nibbled at a delicious-looking stir fry and rolled his little pink eyes when he saw the way Alice's friends argued.

"Humans," he sniffed. "So barbaric."

Alice walked over to him and, so her friends wouldn't hear, mumbled, "Clive, you've gotta get us out of here."

"Can't do that, love," Clive said, taking a rather large bite of carrot and broccoli. "I'm just in your head."

"But you and your rabbit friends have helped before!" Alice hissed. "First on the Indiana Flyer, and then on the contest car...haven't quite figured out what that one was about yet...and last year, with those dreams when I was freezing."

Clive tapped his chin with his paw.

"Hmm," he said. "I guess I am rather helpful, aren't I? And I suppose I could help...for a price."

Steve's yelling distracted Alice for a moment. Clive seemed to imperceptibly fade, but when Alice focused on him again, he brightened back into existence.

"I'll help you and your friends get out of here alive," Clive said, "if you agree to be completely honest with them. All of them."

"About?"

"About who you are!" Clive said. "You should be proud of your blessings. You shouldn't keep them from the people who care about you."

Clive reached his paw over to Alice and patted the back of her hand.

"You're more powerful than you know," he continued, "and it's only going to get more difficult to keep secrets."

"Fine," Alice said with a huff. "I'll be honest about how crazy I am, fully honest, with all my friends. Now, how do we get out of here?"

"Ask yourself a simple question," Clive said. "What's up?"

He sniffed the air, whiskers twitching.

"Alice?" Robin asked, noticing her friend staring at empty space above an Imperial Panda box. "Are you okay?"

Alice squinted and tilted her head up.

"Of course," she said. "It's so obvious!"

"Would you like to share with the rest of the class?" Willie asked, twisting his Scoops hat in his hands.

Alice turned to the group and grinned.

"We can climb out."

The rest of the Scoops Troop looked up. There was a gap at the top of the elevator, leading to the outside world hundreds of yards above.

"What were you saying about climbing?" Steve asked, wondering just how far away they were from Hawkins.

🐇 🐇 🐇 

Things weren't going much better for Quincy at the moment.

After his fainting spell at the Hawkins Pool, he woke up in an unfamiliar basement with a washcloth on his head.

"Eek!" he squealed when he saw a shadowy figure lurking in the corner of the basement. "Stay back, demon!"

"Dude, it's me."

The "demon" was actually Mike Wheeler standing in the dark. He flipped a switch, and the basement illuminated.

Quincy rubbed his forehead, and the events of the previous night rushed back to him: Billy and his superhuman strength. El and her telekinesis. The way Billy's skin glowed with blackened veins.

"Did I dream that," he said, "or did my life just get a lot more complicated?"

Mike grimaced.

"I wish I could tell you it was a dream," Mike said, "but this town is kind of a shitshow."

Quincy nodded wordlessly, looking around the basement.

"Where are you friends?" he asked. "Are they okay?"

"They're upstairs," Mike said. "They slept over. My mom is forcing them to eat breakfast. Then, we need a game plan."

"A game plan?" Quincy asked. He choked out a hollow laugh. "Mike, be reasonable. Billy is possessed and tried to kill us last night. We need help, because Lucas's slingshot can't stop him every time. If he's going to rampage again—"

"El can stop him!" Mike said. "She's badass, and the strongest person I know—well, she and Alice are probably tied."

"Why Alice?" Quincy asked, brow creased. "I mean, she's awesome, but she can't do what El can."

Mike looked at Quincy like he was crazy.

"Are you kidding?" he said. "Quincy, Alice is like Eleven. She has powers too."

Quincy had heard a lot in the past few hours, but this was just too much.

"Absolutely not," Quincy said, mouth in a thin line. "Alice isn't like her...and her full name is Eleven? Like the number?!"

Mike scowled.

"Yes!" Mike said. "Come on. Think of all the doctor's appointments Alice has had, and the coma she was in. Isn't it all a little too strange to be normal?"

"No!" Quincy said. "She told us she had some kind of infection that caused that."

"What infection?"

"Well, I don't know!" Quincy said. He attempted to stand, but feeling dizzy, sat back down on the couch. "I'm not a doctor."

Mike rolled his eyes.

"No offense," Mike spat, "but you're not very observant."

Oh, hell no. Quincy wasn't about to let this pipsqueak push him around.

"Listen, kid," Quincy said, gathering the strength to stand and wave his finger in Mike's direction, "I've been through a lot. I've seen some whack shit and almost got killed by Billy Hargrove yesterday. Give me a break!"

Surprisingly, Mike's expression softened.

"Sorry," he muttered. "I'm just—I don't usually have to explain this stuff to people. It's a lot, I know."

Before Quincy could say anything else, the sound of thundering footsteps echoed into the basement.

"Good, you're alive," Lucas said when he noticed Quincy. "Just in time, too."

"For what?" Quincy asked.

"To see El in action," Will said. "She's going to call her dad."

📻 📻 📻

Deep underground, Dustin used his walkie-talkie to try and contact his friends—or anyone that could help. He had slept briefly during the night, but him and the rest of the group were too uneasy to get any real rest.

"Code red!" he said. "I repeat, code red! Does anyone copy?"

He repeated the phrase over and over while Steve and Alice looked above. It seemed they were much deeper than they initially thought.

"This is bad, right?" Alice said, paling. "We're in an impossible situation, right?"

"I wish I could say no," Steve said. "But...yeah."

Alice sighed. She slunk to the ground, resting her head on her knees and hugging her knees to her chest.

Steve lowered himself beside her.

"I somehow feel like this is my fault," Alice said, head still down.

"What?" Steve said, raising his eyebrows. "No!"

"Yes!" Alice said. She lifted her head and tugged on her sleeve. "I'm like a tornado in a jean jacket. I bring trouble wherever I go, and how stylish I look doing it doesn't make up for the damage."

Steve chuckled.

"How do you do that?" he asked.

"Do what?" Alice asked.

"Tell jokes and make me laugh at a time like this," he said. "You really have a gift."

Alice shrugged.

"It's how I cope," she said. "Jokes, goofs, making people laugh. If I can lighten the burden of someone else, I guess I feel like my own weight is lifted too."

Suddenly, Steve seemed nervous. He fidgeted with his fingers and cleared his throat.

"You okay?" Alice asked, noticing the gesture. "Are you sick?"

"No, no," Steve said. "It's just...I just...Alice, can I tell you something?"

"Is it a way out," Alice said. "'Cause that would be amazing."

Steve shook his head.

"No, it's something else...but it's equally important."

Alice frowned.

"Are you sure you aren't hurt or sick?" she asked. "I can fix that, if you are."

She reached over and gently held Steve's hand, using her powers for the first time in a few days. Her hand glowed, and blood dripped out of her nose.

"No, stop," Steve said, using his thumb to wipe the blood away. "Save your energy."

The two of them sat like that for a moment. They were sitting closer than they ever had.

Their hearts beat in rhythm. Alice held Steve's gaze, watching his pupils dilate.

"Al, I—"

"WE ARE INNOCENT CHILDREN TRAPPED UNDER STARCOURT MALL!"

Dustin yelled into his walkie-talkie, ruining the moment. "THE RED ARMY HAS INFILTRATED HAWKINS. IF WE ARE FOUND THEY WILL TORTURE AND KILL US!"

Steve scowled, glaring at Dustin from across the top of the elevator.

"Hey!" he said, tearing away from Alice and stomping to her brother. "Take it easy on that thing. You're going to drain the battery."

"The mall just opened," Dustin said.

"So?"

"So, someone could be in range!" Dustin said, clicking a few buttons.

"What do you think," Alice said, joining the boys. "Petey the Mall Cop is going to rappel down here and save the day?"

"He might!" Dustin snapped.

"Yeah, no!" Steve said. "You're getting your hopes up for nothing."

"Why are you such a cranky pants after getting to spend the night with Robin?" Dustin shot back.

"Are you still on that?" Alice said with an eye roll, ignoring her tightening chest.

"Will you give up on your creepy dream already?" Steve said, eyes flicking into the elevator where Robin was with Erica and Willie.

"I heard you two talking all night," Dustin said smugly.

"News flash," Alice said, flicking Dustin's arm, "they were trying to figure out a way to open that door. I had an idea that Steve shot down—"

"It would take a million years for you to melt the door," Steve said, "and you need to save your energy."

Alice stopped herself from starting their debate all over again, and instead said, "—so we don't have any other leads. Unless..."

"Unless?" Steve said. He pointed at Alice. "You holding out on me, Henderson?" 

Suddenly, Alice was gone, zipping back into the elevator without another word.

"Where are you going?" Dustin called as she shimmied out of sight. "Oh, forget it."

While Dustin continued shouting into the radio, and Steve...well, we won't get into it...Alice sat in the middle of the elevator with her eyes closed, trying to focus on summoning Clive. 

"Come on, Clive!" she muttered to herself while Robin and Erica argued about the mysterious green liquid. "I need advice."

"Who's Clive?" 

Alice, startled out of her reverie, cursed and opened her eyes. Willie was kneeling in front of her, bloodshot eyes indicating that he had been crying at some point.

Alice started to lie, fabricating something in her head about a pet bunny she missed, but she realized enough was enough. Their chances of survival were getting slimmer by the minute, and Clive had said he'd only help if she was honest.

"Rabbits appear to me sometimes, in my dreams and in real life, and they help me do shit," Alice said. "Now, sit down, be quiet, and let me see if it works this time."

Willie, fully in shock, didn't even question it. Instead, he sat down across from Alice and closed his eyes, attempting to meditate alongside her.

"What are those two doing?" Erica asked Robin as they watched from across the room.

"I have no idea," Robin said, holding the green goop tightly. "Maybe they're going to use the power of positive thinking to find a way out."

"Nerds," Erica muttered. "Now, give me that vial. If it comes down between dying of thirst or drinking this shit, I drink."

Erica tried to snatch the vial from Robin's arms, but before she could, the elevator began to whir again.

Alice and Willie stood quickly, joining Robin and Erica in the back of the elevator.

"We've got company," Willie squeaked. "We're going to die!"

Steve and Dustin poked their heads into the elevator.

"Hurry!" Steve said, reaching his hand down.

Robin handed him the vial, and then she and Alice helped Willie and Erica up. Robin followed, Alice bringing up the rear just as the elevator door dinged open.

Two Russian soldiers entered the elevator, lifting up some boxes and speaking to each other in hushed tones. One of them wrinkled his nose in the air, sniffing and gagging before leaving. 

As the soldiers walked away, the elevator door started to shut. Like a ninja, Steve leaped down from the top of the elevator and shoved the green vial underneath to force the door open.

"Let's go!" he said. "Go, go, go!"

Erica, Dustin, and Willie shimmied out first. Alice followed, Robin right on her heels.

Small cracks began to fracture the vial when it was Steve's turn to escape. 

"Come on, Steve! Let's go!" Robin said, nervously watching the vial.

He army-crawled out just before the door slammed shut, shattering the glass and spilling the green liquid.

As viscous as runny Jell-O, the liquid began steaming and bubbling.

"Geez," Steve said, wrinkling his nose.

"Still want to drink that?" Willie said, elbowing Erica.

Erica huffed, but didn't respond.

"Okay, now we're free," Alice said. "Let's get out of...holy hell."

Not only were they dropped in the middle of enemy territory, they seemed to be in the middle of a large labyrinth. The hallway they were facing was long, very long. There was no discernible exit, and the chances of breaking free in time to go to the Fun Fair were getting slimmer and slimmer.

"Well," Steve said, sounding defeated, "I hope you guys are in good shape."

He playfully smacked Dustin's stomach, adding, "Looking at you, roast beef," before starting to walk.

Dustin adjusted his Roast Beef shirt and fell in step with Steve, the other four joining the group.

As the six of them marched forward into the unknown, a small white rabbit hopped along behind them, whiskers twitching as he kept his eyes on Alice.

{Posted February 8th, 2020}

{Edited July 18, 2020; Republished February 26th, 2025}

A/N [from 2020] QOTD: Favorite moment from Stranger Things 3?

I really like when Robin and Steve are high and discussing Back to the Future. It's one of my favorite movies, but it is a weird concept!