SWORD

fourteen

|CHAPTER FOURTEEN|
THE LAB

Armani's whole body ached with every step she took. Walking all day had worn down her legs, and she had further injured her arm swinging her bat at the demodogs. She stayed at the back of the group, trying to avoid the conversation with Steve that would surely come, instead she resulted to constantly turning around with fear at every sound she heard. A scowl rested on the teenager's face as she and the others made their way through the woods.

"You're positive that was Dart?" Lucas asked Dustin. 

"Yes. He had the exact same yellow pattern on his butt," "but he was tiny two days ago!" Max insisted. "Well, he's molted three times already" Dustin spoke.

"Malted?" Steve repeated in confusion, "molted. He's shed to make more room to grow" Armani spoke up for the first time since they had left the junkyard. 

"Exactly." Dustin nodded, "so, when will he molt again?" Max asked, "it's gotta be soon. When he does, he'll be fully grown. Or close to it" Dustin explained, "And so will his friends."

"Yeah and he's gonna eat a lot more than just cats," Steve said, the group stopped as Lucas came up and shoved Dustin lightly.

"Wait? A cat! Dart ate a cat?"

"N-no..no he didn't," Dustin said, looking back and forth at Steve and Lucas.

"What are you talking about? He ate mews" Steve added, "right, Mani?"
"Mews? Who's mews?" Max asked, Armani looked up from the ground, "It's Dustin's cat."

"Steve! Armani!" Dustin yelled as he stretched their names out in a whiny tone, "I knew it! You kept him!" Lucas yelled back. Armani rolled her eyes, pushing last them to keep going, but turned around once she realized they wouldn't be going anywhere.

"Guys! Who cares? We have to go" Max said, "yeah, come on" Armani urged the boys to keep walking, but they wouldn't listen. 

"You told a stranger the truth!" Dustin yelled, Max scoffed, she began yelling at Dustin too, Armani and Steve rolled their eyes at the three younger kids.

As they continued to yell at one another, Armani heard noises coming past the woods, she turned towards the woods and walked forward, and the feeling from the junkyard came back. "Steve," She ushered him over and they stood listening to the noises, low growls in the distance.
"Hey, guys" Steve spoke, but couldn't be heard over the yelling.
"GUYS!" Armani yelled, catching the three's attention as she nodded towards the direction of the noise.

Steve and Armani locked eyes, they started towards the growling, Lucas and Dustin followed as Max spoke loudly. "No no no no. Hey, guys, why are you headed towards the sound?"

As they stepped into a clearing, the whole of Hawkins was under fog. All five of them scanned the area. "I don't see him," Dustin said, Lucas raised his binoculars, pointing towards a building without lights on. "It's the lab." He concluded, "they were headed back home." A particularly loud screech went off like a siren, spooking all five of them. Armani and Steve's hands seemed to find each other as they held on to one another tightly.