͏b͏r͏o͏k͏e͏n || ͏b͏i͏l͏l͏y ͏h͏a͏r͏g͏r͏o͏v͏e

T H I R T E E N

"No, it's a manual. And it's not for kids," Lucas counters.

"Let's just trust them on this one. It wouldn't be the first time we've dealt with mythical creatures," I say.

"Basically, it wants to spread, take over other dimensions. We're talking about the destruction of our world as we know it."

"That's great. That's really great!" Steve huffs nervously.

"Okay, so if this thing is like a brain that's controlling everything, then if we kill it..." I trail off.

"We kill everything it controls," Mike finishes.

"We win," Steve says, hope tinged with uncertainty.

"Theoretically."

"Great. So how do you kill this thing? Shoot it with Fireballs or something?" I ask sarcastically.

"No. No Fireballs. You summon an undead army. Because zombies, you know, they don't have brains, and the Mind Flayer, it likes brains," Dustin explains awkwardly.

"It's just a game. It's a game. What the hell are we doing here?" Hopper throws his arms up in frustration.

"I thought we were waiting for your military backup," Mike retorts.

"We are!" Hopper yells.

"How are they gonna stop this? You can't just shoot this with guns. We've seen what these things can do," I huff.

"You don't know that! We don't know anything!" Hopper exclaims.

"We know it's already killed everybody in that lab. We know the monsters are gonna molt again. We know it's only a matter of time before those tunnels reach this town," I cross my arms.

"They're right," Joyce whispers. We all turn to her.

"We have to kill it," Joyce says shakily. "I want to kill it."

Hopper walks over and grabs her upper arms. "Me, too, Joyce, okay? But how do we do that? We don't exactly know what we're dealing with here."

"No. But he does," Mike says, walking over to Will's frail body. "If anyone knows how to destroy this thing, it's Will. He's connected to it. He'll know its weakness."

"I thought we couldn't trust him anymore. That he's a spy for the Mind Flayer now," Max says.

"Yeah, but he can't spy if he doesn't know where he is," Mike argues.

***

We spent the next hour setting up a room to contain Will. It's a tense time, and when we're finally done, we settle back into the house, trying to keep ourselves busy. It feels like we're waiting forever. Then, Hopper, Joyce, Jonathan, and Mike rush back in.

"What happened?" Dustin asks urgently.

"I think he's talking, just not with words," Hopper says, grabbing a crayon and a piece of paper. He starts sketching out dashes and dots.

"What's that?" Steve asks.

"Morse code," the boys reply in unison.

Hopper deciphers the message. "H-E-R-E. Here."

"Will's still in there. He's talking to us," Hopper sighs. The group heads back out to communicate with Will. The walkie-talkie starts beeping.

"Dash, dot, dash, dot," Mike says. After a tense few minutes, we figure out the code.

"Close gate," we read aloud. Suddenly, the phone starts ringing. Dustin rushes over and hangs up the phone, but it starts ringing again almost immediately.

"Shit. Shit," Dustin curses, panicking. I grab the phone and yank it out of the wall with a grunt.

"Do you think he heard that?" Max asks anxiously. "It's just a phone. It could be anywhere. Right?" I shrug, though the unsettling feeling in my stomach tells me otherwise. The rest of the crew comes back inside, looking more worried than before.

"It knows. It knows where we are," Mike breathes out as the familiar screeching noises return.

"They're coming!" Jonathan says frantically.

"Hey. Hey, get away from the windows!" Hopper yells at the kids, and they jump back.

"Do you know how to use this?" Hopper asks, holding a gun out to Jonathan.

"What?" Jonathan gasps.

"Can you use this?" Hopper turns to Nancy. She nods and takes the gun, her expression resolute. I head into the kitchen and grab a cast iron skillet, returning to the living room just in time for Mike to give me a skeptical look.

"A skillet, really?" he scoffs.

"Says the idiot holding the chalice," I retort, rolling my eyes.

The ominous sound of a demo dog moving around outside sends shivers down our spines.

"Where are they?" Max asks nervously, as the thudding continues.

Suddenly, a loud groan echoes from outside. It stops for a moment, and then the demo dog comes crashing through the window, causing everyone to gasp.

"Holy shit," Dustin whispers in disbelief.

"Is it dead?" I ask, bracing for whatever comes next. We all turn as we hear the door creak open. My eyes widen at the sight before me.

"Eleven."