Chapter 11: Lab Infiltration - Part 1
POV: Adam
November 14th, and the Party's plan unfolds with the desperate precision of children who've learned that adults can't always be trusted to save the day. The Hawkins National Laboratory squats on the horizon like a concrete tumor, all harsh angles and no windows, surrounded by chain-link fence topped with razor wire that gleams like broken promises in the afternoon sun.
Adam volunteers for reconnaissance before anyone can suggest otherwise, knowing that what waits inside those sterile walls holds answers to questions he's not even sure he's ready to ask. Through the bond, Scout radiates anticipation from his position in the treeline—the creature has been tracking dimensional disturbances around the facility for days, mapping patterns of wrongness that make his predatory instincts scream warnings.
[LAB PERIMETER SCAN: ACTIVE]
[DIMENSIONAL BREACH ACTIVITY: MULTIPLE SOURCES]
[SECURITY PATROL PATTERN: MAPPED]
[HIDDEN RIFT LOCATIONS: 7 DETECTED]
The system feeds him data in steady streams as he circles the facility's perimeter, staying just inside the woodline where shadows provide cover and his creatures can move without detection. Mike's group approaches the main gate with all the subtlety of a marching band, their voices raised in manufactured panic about a missing friend and demands to speak with whoever's in charge.
Perfect distraction. Now let's see what secrets you're hiding.
Scout ranges ahead, his enhanced senses mapping the facility's true boundaries—not just the visible fence, but the psychic residue that marks where reality grows thin. Through their bond, Adam perceives what human senses miss: tears in dimensional fabric that pulse with Upside Down energy, some barely larger than pinpricks, others wide enough for creatures to slip through undetected.
Seven rifts. Seven points where their experiments have damaged the barrier between worlds.
His Vine Crawlers spread through the underbrush like living shadows, their plant-based consciousness perfectly suited for this kind of patient observation. They root themselves near strategic positions, becoming indistinguishable from the forest floor while their sensory networks extend through soil and shadow.
The lab's security follows predictable patterns—guards walking routes designed by someone who's never considered that threats might come from directions that don't exist on normal maps. They watch for human infiltrators approaching from ground level, not for creatures that can phase partially between dimensions or tunnel through earth that exists in multiple realities simultaneously.
Through Scout's eyes, Adam maps the facility's true architecture. The visible building is just the surface layer—underneath, tunnels spread like roots through soil that's been contaminated by years of dimensional experimentation. Some passages lead to holding cells where subjects were kept between testing sessions. Others connect to research labs where the boundary between science and torture blurred beyond recognition.
And deep beneath it all, something massive pulses with malevolent intelligence.
[MAPPING PROGRESS: 73% COMPLETE]
[UNDERGROUND NETWORK: EXTENSIVE]
[MAJOR THREAT DETECTED: BASEMENT LEVEL -3]
[WARNING: ELITE ENTITY PRESENCE CONFIRMED]
Adam's system catalogs everything, building a three-dimensional model of the facility that includes spaces that shouldn't exist and passages that fold back on themselves in ways that hurt to contemplate. But it's the presence in the deepest levels that makes his blood run cold—something that registers as pure predatory hunger, ancient and patient and utterly without mercy.
The Demogorgon. The original. The one that took Will.
He's so focused on the mapping process that he almost misses the guard walking his patrol route early, flashlight beam sweeping through the woods with methodical precision. Adam drops behind a fallen log, heart hammering as the light passes inches from his position.
That's when he hears the soft curse from somewhere to his left, followed by the unmistakable sound of someone trying very hard to be invisible and failing completely.
Adam turns his head slowly, and there—crouched behind a cluster of saplings with a camera clutched against his chest—is Jonathan Byers.
They stare at each other for a frozen moment, two trespassers caught in the same impossible situation. The guard's footsteps continue their steady approach, and Adam can practically hear Jonathan's heart beating loud enough to wake the dead.
Move, Adam thinks desperately, sending urgent commands through the bond. Scout responds instantly, creating a distraction fifty yards to the right—the sound of something large moving through underbrush, just loud enough to draw attention without seeming obviously manufactured.
The guard's flashlight beam swings toward the sound, and both boys press themselves deeper into cover as boots crunch past their hiding spots.
When the footsteps fade into distance, Jonathan whispers with the kind of breathless relief that comes from narrowly avoiding disaster: "You're Adam. The new kid helping Mike."
Adam nods, not trusting his voice to remain steady.
"Can you help me get photos of the lab's back entrance?" Jonathan continues, holding up his camera like a peace offering. "I need evidence. Something to prove they're lying about Will."
He doesn't know his brother is alive. Doesn't know about the Upside Down or the creatures or any of it. He's just a teenager with a camera, trying to save his family with nothing but determination and teenage stupidity.
But there's something in Jonathan's eyes—a desperate intelligence that reminds Adam of his own need to protect the people who matter. And maybe, just maybe, two people working together can accomplish what neither could manage alone.
"Yeah," Adam says quietly. "I can help."
They move through the woods with careful coordination, Jonathan's knowledge of photography combining with Adam's enhanced reconnaissance to create opportunities neither could access alone. When guards patrol too close, Scout creates diversions. When Jonathan needs a better angle, Vine Crawlers shift position to provide cover.
It's through a basement window—one that Jonathan's telephoto lens can barely reach—that they spot the documents scattered across a desk in what appears to be a researcher's office. The photos are grainy, taken through dirty glass at maximum zoom, but Jonathan's careful focus brings enough detail into view to read the headers on several files.
Later, hunched over developing chemicals in Jonathan's makeshift darkroom, they study the results with growing unease. Most of the documents are incomprehensible technical jargon, but certain phrases stand out like neon signs in the darkness.
"Subject 017 - Counterbalance Protocol."
"Twin Experiment Results - Phase One Complete."
"Psychic Resonance Enhancement - Subjects 011 and 017."
Jonathan squints at the photos, trying to make sense of scientific language that might as well be hieroglyphics. But Adam stares at the documents with mounting horror as pieces of a puzzle he never wanted to solve click into place.
Eleven and I weren't random test subjects. We were designed to work together. Created as a pair.
"What does this mean?" Jonathan asks, pointing to a line about "complementary enhancement protocols."
Adam's mouth feels full of cotton. "I'm not sure. But I think... I think they were trying to create something specific. Not just psychic abilities, but psychic abilities that work together somehow."
Twin experiments. Counterbalance protocols. We're not just lab subjects—we're parts of a larger design.
The implications cascade through his mind like falling dominoes. If he and Eleven were designed as a complementary pair, then their meeting wasn't coincidence. Their instant recognition, the way their powers seem to resonate—it's all part of someone else's plan.
[MAJOR LORE DISCOVERY: ORIGIN PROTOCOL]
[CLASSIFICATION: PROJECT TWIN GATE]
[SUBJECTS 011 AND 017: DESIGNED PSYCHIC PAIR]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: +600 XP]
[JONATHAN BYERS RELATIONSHIP: BROTHERLY TRUST (45%)]
[SCOUT LOYALTY: 65% → 70%]
[ELITE DEMOGORGON ESSENCE DETECTED]
That night, standing in the red-lit darkness of Jonathan's garage while chemicals do their slow work of revealing truth, Adam watches the older boy move with the focused intensity of someone who's found purpose in the face of impossible odds.
This is what having a real brother feels like.
The thought comes unbidden, carrying with it a warmth that has nothing to do with the space heater humming in the corner. Jonathan treats him like an equal, not a traumatized kid who needs protection or a dangerous unknown who requires management. Just... a partner in the kind of mission that requires trust beyond reason.
"You know," Jonathan says, hanging another photo to dry, "Mike said you were like Eleven. Special, I mean. But you're just... normal. In a good way."
If only you knew how not-normal I really am.
"Thanks," Adam says instead, meaning it more than Jonathan could possibly understand.
Because for the first time since waking up in Subject 017's body, Adam feels like he might actually belong somewhere. Not as a strategic asset or a dangerous ally, but as family.
And that terrifies him more than any monster lurking in the spaces between dimensions.
+1 CHAPTER AFTER EVERY 3 REVIEWS
MORE POWER STONES == MORE CHAPTERS
To supporting Me in Pateron .
Love [ Stranger Things Demogorgon Tamer ]? Unlock More Chapters and Support the Story!
Dive deeper into the world of [ Stranger Things Demogorgon Tamer ] with exclusive access to 25+ chapters on my Patreon, you get more chapters if you ask for more (in few days), plus new fanfic every week! Your support starting at just $6/month helps me keep crafting the stories you love across epic universes like [ Game Of Throne ,MCU and Arrowverse, Breaking Bad , The Walking dead ,The Hobbit,Wednesday].
By joining, you're not just getting more chapters—you're helping me bring new worlds, twists, and adventures to life. Every pledge makes a huge difference!
👉 Join now at patreon.com/TheFinex5 and start reading today!