It is November 16, 1983 in Hawkins, Indiana.

Inside Hawkins National Laboratory, a

scientist bursts out a door, running from something that isn't there. He runs to the
elevator, tapping the floor button repeatedly, looking back and forth. He then gets in
and taps the button again. He looks forward then up slowly, as he hears and sees
something that we can't see. He is then pulled up as the elevator doors close, yelling
loudly.

We then see the Wheeler residence, as four friends--Mike Wheeler, Will Byers, Dustin
Henderson, and Lucas Sinclair--play Dungeons & Dragons. We then see that the
Demogorgon is played, as Will is pressured to cast Fireball. He rolls the die but it
lands on the floor, with the group scrambling for it. Mike is then called by his mother,
Nancy, to end the game. Meanwhile, the trio find it, but it is a 7, as only a 13 or
higher can cast a Fireball, which means Will was eaten. Will then leaves, after telling
Mike that it was a 7.

Will rides his bike through the woods, passing by Hawkins Laboratory. He then sees
something weird in front of him, as he accidentally falls down a steep hill and crashes.
He then abandons his bike and runs to his house. He unlocks the back door to find
nobody home, as the thing out back is probably chasing him. He tries to call his
parents, but only weird breathing is heard. Something then unlocks the bolt on the
door. Will then runs to the shed in the backyard, where he sees the thing. The light
glows brightly and then fades, revealing no one there anymore.

The next morning, November 17, Police Chief Jim Hopper wakes up shirtless. He then
walks outside, enjoying the view and then prepares for work, smoking a cigarette. He
then leaves.

Will's mother, Joyce, and his brother, Jonathan, are arguing about if Will ever came
home. It is then revealed that both were working; Jonathan took the night shift. Joyce
then calls Nancy, and then asks if Will went home, she replies that he left around
8:00. They all conclude, including his friends, that Will probably left to go to school
early. As they arrive, the trio are then bullied by Troy, the class bully, and an
accomplice. Dustin is then picked on because of his condition, cleidocranial dysplasia,
and his ability to flex bone. Lucas and Mike then acknowledge his ability.

Two students, Nancy Wheeler, Mike's sister, and Barbara Holland, Nancy's friend, then
discuss before school. Right after, Nancy's boyfriend, Steve, and she start making out
in the bathroom. Nancy has to leave, while Steve asks if she would like to go
anywhere, but she declines, having to study for her test. He then asks to come over
at 8 pm, to which she reluctantly agrees.

Hopper then arrives at the police station. The assistant, Flo, tells Hopper that Joyce
can't find her son. Drunk, he ignores Flo, but goes anyway. He then types a police
report on Will, labeling him as "missing." Joyce and Hopper don't instantly find a
solution, as Joyce is trying to engage with him in a conversation, while Hopper is
being unreliable.

Three people then arrive at the Laboratory, where they are greeted by Dr. Martin
Brenner, one of the Lab's key scientists. The four then put on hazmat suits, and go
down the elevator to a dark room. While looking, they see black roots and flesh-like
substances on the walls. They then come across a giant flesh-root substance on the
wall. One of them asks about a girl; Brenner replies, "She can't have gone far."

A girl wearing a hospital gown and with a shaved head is then seen walking through
the forest, alone. She sees the owner of a restaurant walk out, and decides to go
there. She enters without notice, but as soon as she eats the food, the owner comes
and tries to stop her, but is surprised. Hawkins Middle School then ends. Dustin,
Lucas, and Mike then ask one of the teachers, Scott Clarke, if the Heathkit Ham Shack
radio had arrived. He says yes, due to them being prime members of the AV club. A
school staff member then asks for them, as they are being questioned for the
disappearance of Will. They are told to not investigate, for their safety.

Joyce then goes to look for Will at his fort in the forest, Castle Byers. She then
remembers getting him tickets to see the 1982 film Poltergeist. But in reality, he is
nowhere there at all. Jonathan is there looking for him as well, both calling out to
him. Meanwhile, the restaurant owner feeds the mysterious girl. He asks him if she
escaped, to no answer. He then takes the food and asks her for her name, she replies
"Eleven" after he asks what the tattoo "011" means. He then gives back the food and
calls authorities to identify her. She then sees a fan and consciously stares at it; it
stops.

Hopper and his team then find Will's bike where it was, exactly in the same position.
Brenner and others are then shown at the Laboratory tapping in on conversations. We
then switch to Joyce trying to reach her ex-husband, Lonnie, but his girlfriend,
Cynthia, answers and hangs up. She then calls a neighbor, but the answering
machine beeps. Hopper then arrives and gives them Will's bike, and he reveals
evidence that Will came home. The family dog then barks at the shed, while Hopper
investigates. He finds something behind a shelf, and the light blinking until one of his
deputies come in, scaring Hopper. He then announces a search party for them to
announce to the citizens.

Mike and his family start fighting over investing for Will, but his family says "No" by
default, but his father enrages him and his mother, Karen. The search party is then
shown in the forest. Hopper and Mr. Clarke then exchange a conversation regarding
WIll, and then Sarah, her daughter. Clarke is then informed that her daughter had
died long ago, with the saying "lives with her mom in the city" implies that she is
buried there.

Mike and Lucas then discuss over the comm radios that they have. Mike suggests that
Will might've put himself in danger to protect the trio, instead of protecting them,
leading to apparent sacrifice. Lucas and Mike then resolve to meet each other at 10.
While Mike leaves, he sees Steve climbing the window to Nancy's bedroom, with her
soon closing it. The owner, Benny Hammond, and 011 then exchange a little
conversation, before Agent Connie Frazer, disguised as though she is from Social
Services, arrives. 011, looking from a distance, sees Frazer shoot Benny in the head,
killing him. She then kills two agents and escapes through the back door.

Dustin, Lucas, and Mike are then going down the back road, Mirkwood. They cross the
restricted area of the woods, with Mike telling Dustin to stay on channel 6, and to not
do anything stupid. Steve and Nancy are then shown studying, with him reading index
cards that Nancy needs to give answer to. Steve then suggests to strip off clothing for
each one if Nancy gets it correct/incorrect. After she answers one wrong, they make
out again on the bed, with Nancy asking if he was in it just for sex. He replies no, and
then jokes around before getting back to studying.

Joyce and Jonathan are then back at home on a bed, mourning over Will and his
disappearance. Jonathan then remorsefully regrets that he should've been there for
Will, which she tells him not to worry about it because it is not his fault. She then gets
a mysterious phone call from, what we believe, Will, but it shorts out after she asks
the unknown caller, "What have you done to my boy?", to which there is no one on
the phone. They then try to console each other.

Dustin, Lucas, and Mike then are shown going through the forest. They hear rustling
and then see 011, to their surprise. They decide to take her to Mike's house, where
they ask her miscellaneous questions. Mike then observes that she is scared and cold.
She tries to change out of her wet shirt, but the trio are disgusted because of gender.
Mike directs her to the bathroom, where she changes. Dustin and Lucas thinks she is
paranoid, but Mike stays sane, telling them to keep it a secret. Mike then offers 011 a
sleeping bag, where he nicknames her "El." They both then sleep.
On November 18, Joyce and Jonathan discuss xeroxing a missing poster for Will when
Hopper arrives, telling Joyce that Will hasn't been found, to her anger. She discusses
the "phone call," with Hopper dismissing it as a prank albeit her pleads. Jonathan
offers to go to Lonnie's instead of Hopper, but he says no instantly. Mike then tells El
to get help, but she says no and implies "bad people" who want to kill her. Brenner
then listens to Joyce's 9-1-1 call; the search party is still unsuccessfully looking. Steve
then invites Nancy for a party, to which she agrees, but they react toxic toward
Jonathan and Will.