Gasoline

Hair of the Dog

Diana sat on Billy's mattress, shocked at what she had just witnessed. She knew she couldn't let him go out and find Maxine alone when he was in a mood like this. She heard the Camaro's engine roar to life outside and made a mad dash to the front door. She watched as his taillights took off into the night. "Son of a bitch!" she yelled as she grabbed two fistfuls of her hair in exasperation. She hadn't driven herself to Billy's and now she was stuck here. She knew it would take her close to ten minutes if she ran home, but who knew where Billy would get to in the mean time.

She raced home, her red converse slapping the pavement. She clutched her side as a sharp pain raced through her stomach and up to her chest. She took a mental note to start working out with Billy if this running business kept up.

When she reached home she gasped for air as she knocked over the pewter goose that guarded the house key. She slapped its disheveled rain hat back on its tiny white head before fumbling to open the door.

As she threw open the door she saw a small black figure dart past her and into the night.  Hades. "Fuck! Oh, I don't have time for this" she gasped, heading inside to grab a flashlight then rushing back out,  slamming the door. "Hades!" she continuously called as she headed to the back yard. She heard a rustling in the bushes directly behind the house. 

She had an open lot behind her yard and it seemed darker than usual this evening. Typical, she thought to herself. "Hades?" she called quietly, trying not to spook him from the bushes. She heard what sounded like an extremely loud purr coming from the bushes that lead directly to the open lot. She flashed the light in the direction of the noise.

All of a sudden she heard a loud meow come from the back porch. She turned around to see Hades rubbing up against the screen door, wanting to go in. The back of her neck became littered with Goosebumps as she slowly turned toward the direction of the rustling.

"Hey.." she barely got out before she immediately wished she hadn't. A dog shaped creature emerged from the dark bushes, prowling slowly toward her. Its face seemed to open up almost into a demented flower shape, a slime like substance dripped from its mouth. She couldn't believe what she was looking at, it was like something out of one of the horror movies she loved so much.

A blood curdling scream escaped her lips as she quickly grabbed the garden hoe that leaned against the house and began furiously swinging at the creature. It made a growling noise but quickly retreated from her yard, across the open lot and into the night.

She felt hot tears escape her eyes and she raced towards the house, grabbing Hades and slamming the door behind her. She stood at the back door shaking like a leaf for a solid five minutes.

"What the fuck is happening in this town?" she asked out loud to no one in particular.

 Last fall Will Byers had gone missing then was found dead, then mysteriously showed back up, alive. She never believed that anything questionable was actually happening here in Hawkins of all places. She had just assumed , like every other local, that the authorities had made a mistake. Then this Halloween, Hopper had been called to the local pumpkin patches because all the crops had mysteriously died over night. Something had to be going on.

 Hawkins lab had always appeared to be a menacing place that no one ever willingly went to. But that creature was heading in that direction. Maybe it was returning to where it came from, she thought to herself.

"Pull it together, Red" she mumbled to herself, then grabbed the keys to her Chevelle.

She needed to find Billy, especially if there was a monster loose in Hawkins.