"Listen, if anyone, and I mean anyone, tries to hurt you guys, fight back like hell," I ordered, my hands resting on Dustin and Lucas's shoulders. "I don't care if you break some guy's arm, do whatever you need to keep yourselves safe."
"Where exactly are you older kids going?" Mike questioned, his arm wrapped around Eleven's shoulder. That didn't look like a friendly thing to do, but I decided against mentioning it.
"We're just going to buy Joyce and Hopper some time, that's all," I answered. "Stay here until Hopper gets back." I gave them each a quick hug before rejoining Nancy and Jonathan.
"Everybody ready to go?" Jonathan asked. When no one objected, he lead us out to his car.
"Should we really be leaving the kids alone?" I asked, already having second thoughts. "I mean, if these people really are able to find anyone, how do we know they won't find the boys? Especially if they're actively looking for Eleven?"
"Where else are we supposed to keep them?" Jonathan brought up. "If these guys can find them at the school, they can find them anywhere. At least the school has a lot of space and supplies."
"Yeah, but-"
"Listen, Y/n, if you're really that concerned, stay back with them," Nancy interrupted. "No one will judge you for it. But just remember, they have a girl with super powers, and we need all the help we can get."
I sighed in defeat and did up my seat belt, a smile creeping on Nancy and Jonathan's faces. Jonathan sped out of the parking lot and to the police station, not bothering to follow very many road signs.
When we pulled into the parking lot, the sudden thought crossed my mind: "How are we going to get the stuff?"
"Thankfully, Nancy and I already came up with that. While she's distracting Flo, us two are gonna sneak in and grab the boxes, ok?"
"Copy that," I agreed. We all exited the vehicle with Jonathan and I waiting outside.
Nancy walked in and started up a conversation with Flo. When they disappeared from view, Jonathan and I snuck inside, heading down the hall to Hopper's office. Jonathan grabbed his pocket knife and opened the door, granting us entry. The boxes were sitting on his desk, ready for the taking. I grabbed a few while Jonathan grabbed others before heading out.
Just as we were about to round the corner, I could hear talking in the main room. I stopped, hoping Jonathan wouldn't bump into me. He was observant and instead stood next to me.
"Well, I guess it's not here," Nancy sighed, her footsteps heading towards the front door. "Thanks for your help anyway."
"It was no problem, sweetie. I hope you find your keychain!" Flo said. The door opened before slamming shut again. A relieved sigh came from Flo as her footsteps headed our way.
"Hopper's office," I breathed, turning around and tiptoeing without checking on Jonathan. Thankfully, he got the message, and was right behind me. We rounded into his office and stealthily locked the door.
"Now what?" Jonathan sighed, his voice just a little softer than normal. The window caught my attention, an idea already starting to form.
"I've always wanted to do this." I crept over to the window and found the lock, quietly swinging the glass open. Jonathan crawled out first and grabbed boxes from me, patiently waiting for me to join him. I jumped out and took a few boxes, trying to hurry to Jonathan's car.
Instead of popping them in the trunk, we threw them in the backseat for easy access. My hands were stretched across them, making sure they didn't topple over.
"Someone needs to work on her distraction skills," I mocked as Jonathan sped to the Byers' house.
"I thought you two were done," she defended. "Plus, it sounded like Flo was getting annoyed with me, so I had to wrap it up."
"We needed just ten more seconds."
"No, you didn't. You two got out just fine."
"She is right about that," Jonathan agreed.
"How much longer until we're at your house?" I asked, changing the subject.
"I can make it in five."
"Perfect."
Luckily, no one was out driving Hawkins' roads, letting us do practically whatever we wanted. We made it to the Byers' fairly quickly, and were already setting up everything.
We all worked together to get as many Christmas lights hooked up as we could, hoping it would alert us if the monster decided to make an appearance. When that was done, we split up and worked on separate projects. I grabbed a few knives from the kitchen and put them in easy access places. Nancy situated a few chairs around before watching Jonathan with the bear trap. I crouched down beside her.
Jonathan finished nailing the trap to the ground, giving us a nod. Nancy went off to set up an alarm while I grabbed the gasoline cans. I dumped gasoline all the way down the hallway, making sure to especially douse the bear trap. With the extra gas, I created a little path into the living room, just in case we had to light it up from there.
"Woah there," I joked, noticing what Jonathan was doing. "You could take out an eye with that."
He picked up the studded-bat and lightly swung it around. "That's kinda the point."
I laughed, taking the bat from him and swinging it around. It was heavier than a normal bat, but lighter than I thought it'd be. I put it back in his hands when I noticed Nancy.
"Do you really think a gun will work?" I asked, keeping my voice low.
"It better," she stated, loading in the last bullet before tucking it into her waistline. "We'll see how long Jonathan's bat will last."
"Hey, could you guys come help?" Jonathan called, no longer in the living room. We followed his voice to the hallway where he was finishing the bear trap. Nancy grabbed the other end and the two pulled. I placed the clip in the middle, taking careful precaution to not harm myself. We all stepped away, admiring our work.
"Are we ready?" Nancy whispered, glancing at each of us.
"Definitely. That Demogorgon is gonna have one hell of a time trying to get in here," I chuckled, patting Jonathan on the back.
"I agree," Jonathan stated. "Let's do this."
As Jonathan went to the kitchen, Nancy and I stayed behind in the living room. My weight shifted from foot to foot as anxiety started to build up.
"There's gonna be a lot of blood for this stupid thing," I joked, trying to take my mind off the situation.
"Listen, Y/n, if it's stressing you out that much, you don't have to do it," Nancy assured, giving my hand a quick squeeze.
"No, Nancy, I'm being involved," I stated.
Jonathan came back with three sharp, sharp knives. He handed each of us one, keeping his down near his side. The wooden handle felt foreign to me, like I'd never held a knife before.
"Remember-" Jonathan started.
"Straight into Will's room," Nancy interrupted. "And-"
"Don't step on the trap."
"Wait for the yoyo to move," I muttered.
"Then..." Jonathan flicked open his lighter, displaying the flame for all to see. He flipped down the lid. "Alright."
My heart was pounding now, sweat beginning to bead on my forehead. We were really about to do this. We were about to fight a monster that got its name from a board game. A Junior and two Sophomores. How much weirder could the world get?
"You ready?" Jonathan asked.
Nancy and I nodded, "Ready."
I gripped the knife handle with such intensity that my knuckles turned white. The cool steel was pressed against my non-dominant hand, quietly waiting to cut through.
"On three. One." I felt like I was going to throw up. "Two." How was I going to do this? I hated pain enough as it was, and that was if it was accidental. Was I really gonna be able to cut myself intentionally? "You don't have to do this-"
"Jonathan, stop talking," Nancy ordered.
"I'm just saying, you don't have to-"
"Three!" I interrupted, swiftly drawing the blade across my skin. I dropped the weapon on the floor, clutching my wrist while hissing in pain. Dark red blood flooded my hand and dripped down to the floor.
"Where's the bandage?" I asked, my voice sounding a lot more airy than normal.
"Right here." Jonathan tossed me a roll of gauze. I grabbed it with my uninjured hand and sat on the couch, carefully wrapping to contain the blood. Nancy and Jonathan were on the other couch, carefully addressing each others' wounds. I loved being the third wheel.
"You guys doing ok?" I asked, tying off the bandage as best I could.
"Yeah, these bandages should stop the blood flow," Nancy instructed. Her hand was already wrapped, and she was focusing on Jonathan now.
"When do you think it's coming?"
She shrugged, "Can't be too long now."
"Yeah, with this much blood, I'm sure that thing will come running," Jonathan added.
I was about to let the two do their own thing when something creaked in the house. My entire body tensed up, terrified about the thought of that thing actually being here.
"Did you hear that?" Nancy muttered, casting her eyes everywhere around the room.
There was a long pause before Jonathan mumbled, "It's just the wind." Still, I scooted further down the couch so I was closer to the pair.
"Don't worry," Jonathan whispered, no doubt to Nancy. "My mom, she said the lights speak when it comes."
"Speak?"
"Blink," he corrected. "Think of them as alarms."
I watched Nancy as she finished wrapping Jonathan's bandage. She placed the tape on, her fingers lingering for just a little too long. Jonathan's hand slowly curled around Nancy's as he whispered, "Nancy?"
"Yeah?" she muttered back.
The pair leaned closer together, making me feel extremely uncomfortable. If they made out, I was going to call it quits and leave.
Before the pair could get any closer, something crashed against the door. Us three all jumped, fear flashing in everyone's eyes.
"It can't be-"
"Jonathan?" Nope, it wasn't the Demogorgon. It was Steve Harrington. "Are you there, man? It's... it's Steve!"
Us three, all baffled, turned to each other for an explanation, like trying to figure who invited Steve over.
"Listen, I just want to talk!" The pounding on the door increased, creating loud echoes in the house.
"Dammit, Harrington," I muttered, standing up. I crossed the room to the door and slightly opened it. "What do you want?"
"Y-Y/n?" Steve sputtered, his face beaten and bloodied. "What are you doing here?"
"Something that doesn't concern you. Now go away." I tried closing the door, but Steve put his foot in the way. "Move your foot before I break it!"
"Listen, I'm not trying to start anything, I just want to apol-"
"No, Steve, you need to leave, ok? I'm not going to ask again!"
"I messed up, ok!? I messed up, and I want to make it up!"
"You can make it up to us later, ok? You need to get out of here."
"No, Y/n, I want to make things right. Please, just let me..." His voice trailed off.
"What? Just let you what?"
"What happened here?" he asked, grabbing my wrist to inspect my hand. "Is that blood?"
"Like I said before, none of your business." I quickly withdrew my hand to the doorframe. Steve's eyes left my hand and trailed to my eyes.
"What's going on?"
"Do you really not understand what I just said? It doesn't concern you. Leave."
"Did he do this to you?"
"Did who do this?"
"Jonathan!"
"Are you out of your mind!? Of course not!" I shoved the door against Steve's weight, but ultimately, he pushed his way inside. He glanced around, his eyes wide with confusion and surprise.
"What is... What the-"
"Hey, man, you need to get out of here," Jonathan urged, nudging him towards the door.
"Whoa, what is all-"
"Listen to me, I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. I'm telling you, get out of here!"
"What is that smell? Is that... gasoline!?"
"Yeah, it is, now that you know, please, go away!" I ordered, trying to push him to the door.
"Steve, get out!" Nancy ordered, raising the gun to Steve's head.
"Wait, what!?" Steve yelled. "What is going on!?"
"Nancy!" I exclaimed, quickly backing away. "Put the gun down!"
"You have five seconds to get out of here," she stated.
"Ok, is this a joke? Stop, put the gun down."
"I'm doing this for you," she stated.
"Guys-"
"Nancy! Put the gun down!" I demanded, cutting off Jonathan's sentence.
"Guys-"
"Three-"
"Nancy!"
"Two-"
"No, no, no! No, no!"
"GUYS!"
All of us turned our attention to Jonathan. Now did I notice the wildly flickering lights. Realization mixed with fear and adrenaline pumped in my veins.
"It's here," I muttered, wildly glancing around.
"Wait, what's here!?"
"Where is it?" Jonathan asked, pressing his back up against mine and Nancy's. I grabbed a chair and broke off one of the legs, using it as a bat in case the Demogorgon got too close.
"I don't know, I don't see it," I panted, trying to find anything abnormal in the walls.
"Where is what?" Steve interrogated, staring at us like we were a bunch of psychopaths. We all ignored him, and continued glancing around. "Hello? Will someone-"
The sound of crumbling plaster and breaking wood echoed throughout the house, focusing our attention away from Steve and towards the roof. It was being weighed down by something, right on the edge of breaking away. Nancy began shooting at it, trying to deter it away.
"That, Harrington, is what we call a 'Demogorgon'," I answered.
"A what!?"
"A-"
The ceiling caved in, revealing the said monster. It whipped its head towards us, baring its terrifying teeth.
"That's our cue to leave!" Nancy stated. She and Jonathan ran down the hall. I followed after them, until I noticed Steve glued to his spot.
"Steve! C'mon!" When he didn't move, I grabbed his hand and dragged him down the hall. "Jump!"
We vaulted over the bear trap, setting us on the other side of the hall. We burst into Will's room with Nancy and Jonathan. They slammed the door behind us and locked it.
"What was that!?" Steve yelled. "What the h-"
"Shut up!" us three ordered, starting to get annoyed.
The monster screeched outside the door, reminding us of what we were doing. Realizing I was still holding Steve's hand, I dropped it and gripped the leg with both hands. Jonathan, Nancy, and I all huddled together, watching the door.
"What's it doing?" Nancy demanded.
"I don't know," Jonathan answered.
"It's playing with us," I stated, "like a game of cat and mouse." My eyes drifted down to the chair with the yoyo attached, waiting for something to happen.
The lights began to flicker, leaving us in completely darkness every few seconds. And then, it all stopped. The lights were stable, the growling was gone, and the yoyo stayed where it was.
"Is it still out there?" I breathed.
"No." Jonathan flipped his lighter, putting out the flame. He slowly unlocked the door and crept it open, cautiously walking into the hall. Nancy followed after him, and I after her. Steve was so close behind me that he kept bumping into me, shaking me up even more.
"Listen, Harrington, I get that you're terrified, but please," I spat, "back up a little."
Without arguing, he did. But only a little. Not enough to un-annoy me.
Nancy and Jonathan were fixated on something at the end of the hall. I followed their gaze and noticed the empty bear trap. It wasn't even set off or anything. In fact, the hall looked the exact same as when we set everything up. There were no footprints, no scratch marks, nothing.
"There is no way it just disappeared," I muttered, squatting down to inspect the trap. "No way."
"Well, if it didn't disappear, then its still in here," Jonathan reminded.
"It's still here!?" Steve gasped.
"We don't know, Harrington, have you not been paying attention?" I snapped. I rose from the trap and started walking to the living room when Jonathan held me back.
"I'll go first," he offered, holding his bat out in front of us. I stepped aside and let him pass, gripping the wooden leg tighter.
We slowly crept to the end of the hall, then swung around the corner, ready to attack something. But just like before, nothing was there. The only thing that changed was the hole in the kitchen and the debris right below it.
Jonathan stepped out into the room, glancing around. Nancy and I only partially stepped in, ready to make a quick escape if needed.
Steve started muttering something behind us, before full on saying, "This is crazy. This is crazy. This is crazy. This is crazy! This is crazy! THIS IS CRAZY!"
He went to the phone and started to dial a number. Already having an idea of what it was, I grabbed the phone from his hand and threw it at the ground, stomped on it, and, just for extra measures, drove the wood through it.
"What are you do- What are you doing!?" he cried. "Are you insane!?"
"You really think the police would be able to help us!?" I argue, standing closer to him. "We would just be involving more innocent people! That thing is going to come back, and unless you want to be its next victim, you need to leave."
Steve's eyes were welled up with tears, but none overflowed onto his face. They stared at me, almost like I was joking, but I kept my straight face.
"Right. Now."
He glanced at Jonathan, Nancy, then back to me. Finally, he brushed past me and burst out the door, leaving to who-knows-where.
I almost wished I could go with him.
A/N: these people were all mighty stupid for cutting their palms. Not even the back of their hands, they cut the part that is most likely to come into contact with something. Don't be dumb like these guys. Cut the back of your arm or something.