𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐃 ━ max mayfield

8│THE MESSAGE

"They didn't believe you, did they?" Dustin asked once Hopper had hung up.

"We'll see."

"We'll see?" Mike repeated incredulously. "We can't just sit here while those things are on the loose!"

"We stay here and we wait for help," the older man replied sternly.

Jessie rested her cheek on her hand as she leaned her elbow on the table. The sudden burst of activity left her drained and for the first time in the hours she'd been gone, she wondered how her father was faring. The most she'd ever left him alone for was a day at a time, last year during the thick of their adventure. She hoped he was doing alright and a part of her wondered if she'd ever see him again. Max must have noticed the downturn of her emotions and used her foot to gently nudge the other girl's leg. "You okay, kooky?"

Jessie straightened. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

The redhead eyed her suspiciously. "How are you so calm still? Doesn't any of this freak you out?"

She shrugged. "It's not worse than last year. Besides, I'm fearless, remember?"

Max didn't need the brunette's reminder. The image of her staring down a Demogorgon from only a few hours ago was still crystal-clear in her mind. Jessie hadn't even hesitated to jump in between her and the creature. She could almost feel the girl's strong, protective grip on her wrist as she stood firmly in front of her. The pistol in her hand had been raised at a steady, unyielding angle and her hand hadn't even shook as she prepared to shoot the thing. Even as much as she denied that being fearless wasn't a good thing, Max couldn't help but think of her as a challenger. A fighter. A survivor.

Eventually, Mike stood and wandered over to a blue cube that rested on the nearby coffee table. He picked it up and ran his fingers over the smooth surface as he spoke: "did you guys know that Bob was the original founder of Hawkins AV?"

"Really?" Lucas asked.

"He petitioned the school to start it and everything. Then he had a fundraiser for the equipment. Mr. Clarke learned everything from him. Pretty awesome, right?"

"Yeah," the boys agreed.

He placed the cube down on the dining table. "We can't let him die in vain."

"What do you want to do, Mike?" Dustin questioned him. "The chief's right on this and we can't stop those Demo-dogs on our own."

"Demo-dogs?" Max echoed.

"Demogorgons. . . dogs," he explained. "Demo-dogs. . . it's like a compound. It's like a. . . like a play on words."

"Okay," the redhead interrupted him. "We get it."

"I mean, when it was just Dart, then maybe. . ."

"But there's, like, a whole army now," Lucas added as he shook his head.

"Precisely!"

"His army," Mike realized.

"What do you mean?"

"His army," he repeated. "Maybe if we stop him, we can stop his army too!"

The dark-haired boy hurried over to the kitchen counter where Will's drawings lay in a haphazard heap. He grabbed the first one and handed it to Dustin. "The shadow monster."

"It got Will that day on the field," he explained. "The doctor said it was a virus. It infected him!"

"And so. . . this virus, it's connecting him to the tunnels?" Max asked.