The Protector

E Pluribus Unum

"Shit", Nancy stated while the monster looked right at her. "Nancy!", "Run!", Jonathan and Maddie shouted at Nancy at the same time. "Damn", Nancy added trying to open the door that wouldn't budge.

"Hey!", Jonathan yelled trying to get the attention off of Nancy. Maddie and Jonathan quickly ripped off two poles from the wall. "Hey!", Jonathan shouted again. "I should've brought my gun", Maddie mumbled thinking to the gun still sitting in the car. 

Nancy finally got the door open and took off running causing the monster to follow her. Jonathan and Maddie limped behind her failing to keep up with her.

Jonathan and Maddie finally got to the door only to see the monster slither under it. Maddie tried opening the door only to find the door locked. "No!", Maddie shouted. "Nancy!", Jonathan yelled. "Addie! Jonathan!", Nancy screamed back.

Maddie and Jonathan both tried to open the door only to be unsuccessful. "God damn it!", Jonathan shouted out angrily. Maddie quickly looked around for another weapon. Once she found a large metal can, she tried to open the door only for the door to remain closed.

Before anything else could happen the kids approached them and Eleven ripped the door off it's hinges. "Jesus!", Mike yelled after seeing the monster. "What the fuck!", Max added.

Eleven quickly slammed the monster into the walls before sending it through the window. "Go!", the kids yell running down the hallway while Maddie followed ignoring her pain. 

The group ran out the doors to see the monster on the ground. Maddie quickly got in front of the kids before putting her arms around them. The rest of the group watched as the monster went down the drain.

Once the monster went down the drain completely, the group drove back to Hopper's cabin. Nancy was on the phone trying to see if anything else was attacked while Mike was pacing. Maddie sat with Jonathan and Will in the kitchen waiting for news.

"It can't be good for her to be in there this long", Maddie heard Mike say from the living room. "Mike, you need to relax", Max told him annoyed. "What is she gets brain damage or something?", Mike questioned causing Maddie to roll her eyes from the kitchen.

"Oh, shit. Is that, like, a real thing?", Lucas asked causing Max and Maddie to scoff. "No, it's not. He made it up. Mike doesn't know what he's talking about", Max stated.

"Oh, and you do?", Mike questioned sassily. "No, I...", Max started to say only to be cut off by Nancy.

"Yes, from The Hawkins Post. I- I called a couple days ago about the-. Yes, yes, um... I was just... following up to see if anything else had gone missing or if- Okay. Um, sorry to bother-", Nancy said before being hung up on.

"Who's next?", Nancy asked causing Jonathan to answer, "There is no next. Unless you want to start calling random people's homes". "It doesn't make any sense", Nancy stated.

"What part of any of this makes sense?", Jonathan questioned. "There's a pattern, okay? A consistency to their behavior. They've been feeding on these chemicals since this started, and- and, what, they just stop, out of the blue?", Nancy said.

Maddie and Will looked at each other before answering in unison, "Maybe they have all the chemicals they need". "Maybe they've all tuned into those... things", Will added.

"But what about the source? I mean, did the Mind Flayer just suddenly stop infecting people? And even if the flayed are monsters now, why can't El find them?", Nancy asked the two. Before the two could answer, Mike, Max, and Lucas approached the four of them.