How Did 008 Use Her Powers to Escape the Hawkins Lab Massacre?

Kali Prasad, known as 008, escaped from Hawkins National Laboratory before September 8th, 1979 using her potent illusion casting abilities to ultimately save her life. While most of the other test subjects were gruesomely murdered that day by the psychokinetic vengeance of 001 (Vecna), 008 slipped away unseen thanks to her unique psychic gifts.

Kali‘s Background Prior to Her Escape

Kali was born in 1964 in London to a family of fortune tellers. However, she was kidnapped by Dr Brenner’s team at the age of 5 in 1969. At Hawkins Lab, she was given the designation 008 and forced to undergo traumatic experiments to push the limits of her innate psionic talents.

By 1979, Kali was 15 years old and had been imprisoned at the lab for a decade against her will. She had endured long years of Brenner‘s cruel experiments which gave her powers but scarred her childhood.

Kali‘s Key Abilities That Allowed Her to Escape

008 manifested the psionic power of illusion manipulation and casting. She could conjure up complex and intricate illusions that appeared completely real to those that perceived them.

This ability made it possible for her to:

• Hide her actual location – She could cast an illusion that she was in her room or bed while secretly sneaking out
• Disguise her appearance – Make herself seem invisible or look like a guard to escape notice
• Trick surveillance – Ensure video feeds showed her sleeping as the illusion Kali walked free
• Distract guards – Make them see a staged commotion so their attention diverted from her

These applications of illusion granted 008 the key tools to facilitate her escape from Hawkins Lab and the forces that hoped to contain her.

The Hawkins Lab Massacre 008 Narrowly Escaped

However, Kali escaped before September 8th, 1979 – a pivotal day that would go down in Hawkins Lab‘s history as the day 001 enacted his bloody revenge.

At least a dozen staff and test subjects were gruesomely murdered that day using psychokinetic force by a vengeful 001 – who would later become known as Vecna.

Among his victims were powerful numbers like 009 and 010. But Kali escaped this massacre, using her illusions to slip away unseen in the chaos.

Why Illusion Abilities Uniquely Suited Kali‘s Escape

While other numbers like 009 had similarly potent destructive capabilities, illusion offered Kali secrecy and deception – perfect for escaping unseen.

She did not have to rely on being the strongest telekinetic to force her way out against armed guards. Instead, her abilities allowed her to trick her way outside by:

• Hiding her movements
• Disguising her appearance
• Evading surveillance
• Misdirecting attention

This made her escape subtly yet highly effective despite her young age and the lab’s security measures against her.

Contrasting 008 and 011‘s Backgrounds Post-Escape

Both 008 and 011 escaped the lab at young ages before ultimately terminating their experiments. However, their lives took very divergent paths afterward:

While Eleven found a loving adoptive father in Hopper and close bonds with Mike Wheeler and her friends, 008 remained on the run – never overcoming the pain and rage toward the scientists that tormented her childhood.

008‘s Life in Hiding After Her Escape

Very little is known about Kali‘s life between 1979 and her encounter with Eleven in 1984. She took the name Kali and likely used her illusions to remain hidden from detection all those years.

One can imagine she struggled with managing her abilities, deep mental scars, and quest for revenge against those who harmed her with no real family or friends to anchor her.

This may explain why when Eleven finally tracked her down years later, Kali had become nearly obsessed with executing revenge against all connected to Hawkins Lab – with little thought of the moral consequences.

In the end, while 008 escaped that horrific massacre thanks to her cunning use of illusion, the trauma of her stolen childhood continued haunting her for years after.