It was far into the day by the time we had gotten everything together. I chopped up two buckets full of meat, while Steve and Dustin swung by the gas station to get all the gasoline we might need.
They pulled back up to our house in Steve's car around 4:00. "Took you guys long enough," I teased as I walked outside to meet them. I had both buckets in my hands.
"It's not our fault!" Steve said with a shrug.
"It's a Saturday, everyone's getting out of town, therefore needing gas," Dustin said, getting out of the car.
Steve walked to the back of his car and opened the trunk. I watched as he pulled out a rusted can full of gasoline, and I set the meat buckets down next to it. "That's about it, right?" I asked, looking from Steve to Dustin. Dustin gave me a shrug.
"Are you really going unarmed?" Steve asked, looking at me concerned. "I feel like one bat with nails in it is not enough for all three of us."
I thought about what I could possibly use. I lost my axe in the Upside Down last year. "I'm not even sure what I would use. The axe we used to have is now stuck in an alternate dimension, so..."
Steve nodded and reached into his trunk again. "Would this work?" He asked, pulling something out. In his hands was an axe, though significantly smaller than my old one. This was a scout axe, only about a foot long, with a blade the size of Steve's palm. Although, Steve had pretty big hands. Pretty, big hands. With veins that traveled up his arm and flexed as he held the scout axe in his hand tightly, trying it out for size.
I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. "Now where did this come from?" I asked, looking at him curiously. This guy never ceased to amaze me.
"My dad made me be a boy scout."
"Some day you'll get arrested for all these weapons in your trunk." I grabbed the axe from his hand, testing its weight within my own.
"My parents are lawyers," he shrugged.
"Dustin? It's Lucas! Do you copy?" Lucas's voice echoed through Dustin's walkie talkie.
Dustin put his hands on his hips as if he were confronting his friend face to face. "Well, well, well. Look who finally showed up," he spoke into his microphone.
"I'm sorry man, my sister turned the receiver off," Lucas explained.
"Yeah well, while you were having sister problems, Dart grew again, he escaped, and we're pretty sure he's a baby demogorgon!"
"Wait. What?"
"I'll explain later. Just meet me, Y/N, and Steve at the old junkyard," Dustin said. I put the axe in my backpack, grabbing one of the meat buckets. Steve did the same with his bat.
"Steve?" Lucas asked in disbelief.
"Tell him to bring weapons," I reminded Dustin.
"Oh yeah," He said, then turned back to his walkie talkie. "Bring your binoculars and wrist rocket!"
"Steve Harrington?" Lucas said again, still hung up on the fact that he was with us.
"Alright," Steve said, closing his trunk, "Let's go."
"Just be there STAT. Over and out," Dustin called one last time before turning off the receiver.
The three of us walked back behind the house again, and kept walking through the red and brown leaves until we made it to the train tracks behind the neighborhood.
"Here," I said, passing my backpack to Dustin. "You carry this and I'll start on the meat trail."
"That sentence alone is enough to make me want to turn around and run in the opposite direction," Steve laughed.
"I mean, you don't have to stay," I said as we began to walk down the train tracks, every few steps dropping a few chunks of steak onto the ground. "I can handle this. I know wrangling middle schoolers isn't really your forte."
"Hey, don't be stupid," He said, pointing a gloved finger at me very sternly. We both had on these bright yellow rubber gloves on, so we weren't touching raw meat, but seeing him wear them along with those stupid sunglasses and his stupid hair, I couldn't help but hold back a laugh at his attempt to be serious. "I mean, this thing has already killed your cat, and now it's twice its size. You need all the help you can get."
At the mention of Mews, my head bowed. A few tears flooded my vision, but there was no way in hell I was crying in front of the boys.
"Oh sorry," he said quickly. "Too soon?"
"Just a little, Stevie," I said, giving him a watery smile.
"Stevie?" Dustin scoffed, turning back to look at us from a few feet ahead. "I think I just threw up in my mouth."
"Shut up," I glared at my brother, flipping him off. He flipped the bird back at me and began to walk again, this time a little farther ahead.
"How old was she?" Steve asked, a little softer this time.
"Ten." I tossed some steak behind me before we started walking again.
"Ten, that's..." Steve counted on his fingers, "The year your dad died."
"Great math, Steve," I teased, bumping into him lightly as we walked. "Yes, the year my dad died. We got Mews for mom a couple days after the funeral. It was Dustin's idea."
"So she was a pretty special cat."
"Most definitely," I smiled, my eyes starting to water again. I wiped them on my shoulder, seeing as my hands were covered in raw meat.
"Could you two just stop flirting for like, five minutes please?" Dustin called to the two of us. Steve and I immediately separated, walking with at least two feet between us now.
"We're not-" Steve started, annoyed, but Dustin cut him off.
"Nuh-Uh I don't care about your excuses," Dustin wagged a finger, laying on the dramatics. "Let's talk about something much important than your love life, Steve. Me."
I snorted. "What about you, Dustin?"
"I'm having a bit of a crisis here!" He yelled, throwing his hands up in the air.
"And what," Steve asked, throwing down more meat on the tracks for emphasis,"Would that be?"
"I'm having..." Dustin sighed, looking at me, and then back at Steve. "Girl problems."
I gasped so loud that I almost dropped the bucket. "Finally!" Both of the boys looked at me. "I've waited years for you to come to me with your crushes! This is so exciting!"
Dustin rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna pretend like you didn't say that. Ok, so..." He started, looking mostly at Steve. He had fallen back so that Steve and Dustin were walking next to each other and I was there a few steps behind them. "There's this girl. And she's so cool. Not like the other girls here, she like, skateboards and plays videogames. And so I kept Dart because I thought she might find him cool-"
"Alright wait, hold on," Steve interrupted. "You kept something you knew was probably dangerous, to what? Impress some girl you just met?"
"Not only probably dangerous, but it also had confirmed origins from the Upside Down," I added.
"Ok that is grossly oversimplifying things," Dustin said.
"I mean why would a girl like some nasty slug anyways?" Steve asked.
"An inter-dimensional slug? Because it's awesome!"
"But she didn't like it, did she?" I asked. I had a terrible suspicion that I might know the girl Dustin was talking about.
"Yeah, I just think you're trying way too hard," Steve said.
"Well not everyone can have your perfect hair," Dustin mumbled, kicking a rock on the ground as we walked.
"It's not about the hair, man," Steve said, looking like he wanted to pull at it, but couldn't because of his dirty hands. "The key with girls is just... acting like you don't care."
"Even if you do?" Dustin asked, slightly confused.
"Especially if you do," Steve emphasized. "It drives them nuts."
I don't know where Steve got this advice, because all he's done is try to show Nancy that he cares. I mean unless there's someone else who he "doesn't care about but actually does". I doubt giving a 12 year old this advice is the best idea, but the way Dustin was drinking in every word Steve was saying made me hold my tongue.
"Then what?" Dustin asked, watching Steve closely.
"You just wait until, uh..." Steve glanced at me, then quickly back to Dustin. "Until you feel it."
"Feel what?" Dustin asked. I continued tossing meat behind me every couple of feet, but I took a few steps closer so I could hear what Steve was going to say next.
"It's like before it's gonna storm, you know? You can't see it, but you can feel it, like this, uh..." Steve looked at me again, like he was asking for help. I just shrugged. God if I knew anything about romance. Steve rolled his eyes. 'You're no help,' he seemed to say. He looked back to Dustin with his face scrunched up, trying to think of the word to use. "It's like... electricity, you know?"
Dustin nodded slowly. "Oh like in the electromagnetic field when the clouds and the atmosphere-"
"No no no no no," Steve interrupted, shaking his head. "Like a-" he glanced at me again, "Like a sexual electricity."
My face scrunched up in disgust. Yeah no, definitely not a conversation I wanted to be involved in.
"Oh," Dustin said. I could see the gears working as he tried to wrap his head around this new information.
"When you feel that, you make your move."
"So that's when I kiss her?"
That's where I finally cut in. "WOAAAAH!" I said, my eyebrows raising higher than the Statue of Liberty. Dustin spun around as if he forgot I was there.
Steve just chuckled; that chuckle that made my stomach do flips. "Slow down, Romeo," He said, throwing down some steak from his bucket.
"Sorry," Dustin muttered. I laughed, shaking my head.
Steve tried to continue the conversation, "Sure, I mean yeah. Some girls, they want you to be aggressive. You know, strong, hot and heavy, like a... like a lion."
"Please do not teach my brother to be hot and heavy," I pleaded.
"Shut up, Y/N, I'm trying to listen here," Dustin said. I threw a chunk of steak at him.
"I guess with some others you gotta be slow, stealthy. Like a ninja." Steve's forte was not analogies, I can tell.
"What kind is Nancy?" Dustin asked.
"I sure don't want to know," I said shaking my head vigorously.
"Uh, Nancy's different. She's different from the other girls." I swear I saw Steve keep glancing at me.
"Ok, what about Y/N?" Dustin asked, a sly smirk on his face. I wanted to smack it off myself, but it looked like Steve almost beat me to it.
"Hey, maybe let's not discuss how I like to be treated by men with my 12 year old brother and my best friend, Ok?"
"I'm your best friend?" Steve asked, with a goofy little smile on his face.
"I think we've been over this before," I said, smiling too.
"Probably, I just love hearing it."
"You two are unbearable, you know that?" Dustin huffed, moving faster so that he was ahead of us. "Ok, whatever, Nancy is different. But M- This girl is special too. It's just, like, something about her, you know?"
"Woah, woah hang on," Steve said, throwing down a healing handful of the chopped up steak. All three of us stopped in our tracks. "You're not falling in love with this girl, are you?"
Dustin shook his head quickly. "Uh, no. Nope."
"Ok, good. Don't. She'll only break your heart and you're too young for that shit," Steve said, angrily throwing down more meat. He led the way and we continued walking. Dustin's head bowed and the group became silent. I nudged Steve and he looked back at me confused.
"Seriously?" I mouthed to him. "You made him sad!"
Steve sighed dramatically and looked back at Dustin. It took him at least 5 more seconds before he said: "Fabergé."
"What?" Dustin and I asked together.
"It's Fabergé Organics," Steve said, pointing to his hair. "Use the shampoo and conditioner, and when it's damp- Not wet, ok? Damp. Once it's damp you do four pumps of the Farrah Fawcett spray."
"You're shitting me right now," I said, my jaw on the floor.
"Farrah Fawcett spray?" Dustin asked. You could hear the smile in his voice.
"Yeah, Farrah Fawcett. If either of you tell anyone I just told you that, your asses are grass. You're dead Hendersons. Alright?"
"Yeah, yeah ok," Dustin said quickly nodding.
"You couldn't catch me if you tried, Harrington," I teased, running a few steps ahead on the train tracks. I looked ahead and noticed a clearing in the trees. "Hey, is this the junkyard?"
The two quickened their pace to catch up to me. "Yup," Dustin grinned. "Here it is."
We scanned our surroundings. There were rusted cars and large scraps of metal, a sure place to get tetanus or something. "Oh yeah," Steve said, taking off his sunglasses and squinting. "This will do just fine. Great call kid!" Steve gave Dustin a pat on the back before walking around to examine the bus.
Dustin's smile grew the largest I'd seen it all month.
I think I realized something on the walk here. Sure Dustin had me and mom, but I think he needed some sort of strong male figure in his life that wasn't his older sibling. And god forbid, but he found it in Steve. Sure Steve still had some fixer-uping to do, but honestly? I think this is good. For Dustin, and for Steve. We all know that Steve needs to be humbled just a little bit. Maybe I can force him to split up the babysitter duties with me.
"Here, I'm tired of touching this shit," I said, handing Dustin the bucket of meat. I tore off my yellow gloves, and Dustin got to work spreading the rest of the steak chunks out into a trail to the center of the junkyard. "Hey Steve!" I yelled to get his attention. "Come here with your bucket, let's put the rest of the steak cubes over here in a pile!"
While the boys dumped out the remainder of the meat, I heard a voice. "I said medium well!" Called Lucas from the other side of the junkyard. All three of us turned and looked, and right next to Lucas was Max Mayfield.
"Who's that?" Steve asked. We turned to Dustin to see a disappointed look on his face. Really disappointed. "Is that the girl?" he asked, but Dustin didn't respond. Instead, he stood up and grabbed Lucas by the jacket, and pulled him behind a broken down car.
"I hope it isn't," I muttered so only Steve could hear.
"What? Why?"
"Because Lucas also has a crush on her. In fact, yesterday I told Lucas he should go for her if he really cares about her," I explained, guilt warming my cheeks.
"Damn. You're working against your own brother," Steve said, shaking his head.
"I am not!" I said, hitting him on the arm. I watched as Max tried to follow Lucas and Dustin, but Dustin shooed her away. She groaned, annoyed, and made her way over to us.
"You're in on all of this too?" She asked, looking at me.
"Regretfully," I said, nodding. "So, did he tell you everything?"
"What, Stalker? Yeah he did. Not sure I believe him, though," She shrugged, trying to look tough. It was funny because she was barely 5'2.
"I mean, I didn't believe Y/N until I saw it for myself," Steve cut in, shrugging as well.
"And you are?" Max asked him, never ceasing to make even the simplest question seem backhanded.
"Uh.." Steve said, taken aback by the sheer amount of sass reeking from the 12 year old. "I'm Steve Harrington. Y/N's..." He looked at me and trailed off.
"Boyfriend?" Max asked, arms crossed.
"No." He said quickly. "No just friends." Ouch.
"Sheesh," Max dragged. "Sorry I asked. What do you guys want me to do? I want to help."
"You and I can work on the gasoline, Max. Steve, you fortify the bus with those metal sheets scattered across the yard. We can use the bus as a sort of bunker."
"Oh like a dugout. In baseball," Steve concluded.
I nodded slowly. "Sure, Stevie, Whatever floats your boat." I gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Let's go Max."
She and I walked farther away, and I picked up my backpack from where Dustin had set it down earlier.
"I could have sworn you two were dating," Max muttered as I pulled out a can of gasoline.
"Yeah, no. He's my best friend," I said, doing the best I could to keep the disappointment out of my voice. Max caught on.
"But you like him, right?"
"I don't know," I shrugged. "He doesn't like me back so it doesn't matter."
"Who said that?" She said. Max pointed in his direction. "Look at him. You think someone who looks like that fights demi-monster-dons or whatever for fun?" I looked over to Steve, who was carrying metal sheets into the bus, and laying them against the windows and holes in order to make sure nothing could get in. Max continued. "No. He's doing this because he wants to protect you or whatever."
"Demogorgons. They're demogorgons. And he's here because of Dustin! Not for me."
"That makes it even weirder." She said, picking up the gas can. "What do we do with this?"
"We're going to pour this on the meat and make a trail to the bus, so that when we toss a lighter on it, it will catch Dart on fire."
Max shook her head, with a smile. "I still think this is total bullshit."
"Hey dickheads!" I heard Steve yell, banging some metal against the side of the bus. "How come the only ones helping are Y/N and this random girl?"
"Get off your asses!" I yelled. "We lose light in 40 minutes!"
"Alright assholes! God!" Dustin grumbled, getting up from their hiding place to help Steve.
We spent the next 40 minutes preparing for whatever the night would bring us. Lucas set up a lookout using the fire escape at the top of the bus, and I helped Max get the ladder inside the bus for quick escape. We poured the gasoline all over the ground, barred all the bus windows, and by the time the sun had set, we were ready.
We all piled into the bus and sat down in the seats that remained inside. Steve and I shared a bench, and Max sat across from us. Lucas climbed the ladder to the roof of the bus, which was wildly dangerous.
"You could fall off the side!" I said, arguing with him and Dustin.
"That's what the tires are up there for!" Lucas said, taking a few steps more steps up the ladder.
"You have nothing up there to protect you in case Dart sneaks up behind you and eats you alive!" I said, throwing my hands up in the air.
"Well that's morbid," Max mumbled from her spot on the bench.
Dustin gave a loud sigh, one he had been doing every time Max had opened her mouth tonight.
"Y/N, I'm going to be fine. I have my binoculars and I'll be keeping watch."
"If you die your mother will kill me," I said sighing. I sat back down on the seat next to Steve.
"He'll be fine," He assured, putting a hand on my bouncing knee. We both looked down at it resting there, and I counted a whole 4 seconds before he actually lifted it away. Only once the weight was gone could I breathe again.
We settled into a silence, save Dustin, who was pacing so much he was going to wear a hole into the floor of the vehicle.
"Dustin, calm down, there's enough anxious energy in here to fuel the Millennium Falcon," I muttered, my leg bouncing again.
"Like from Star Wars?" Steve asked.
"Yes, Steve."
"We're going to have to kill him, aren't we?" Dustin asked, standing still, facing me now.
"Probably, buddy," I whispered. Monster or not, Dustin was most emotionally attached to Dart. "He's a monster. We have to make sure everyone stays safe, and the only way to do that is to get rid of him. Are you going to be ok?"
Dustin began to nod, but it slowly turned into a shrug. "I just feel like there has to be a better way."
"I mean," Steve cut in, "I really don't think there is. He's killed. And he'll kill again. Your sibling is right, the demogorgon has to go."
"So you guys really are serious about this?" Max asked. "Like these monsters are really real, and you're about to fight them?"
"Yeah, we fought them before, too," Steve said, acting nonchalant. Like he was trying to impress yet another 12 year old.
"I fought more than he did," I said quickly with a grin on my face. Steve's offended look was worth it.
Max leaned back, "And you guys are like 100% sure it wasn't a bear?"
"Shit, don't be stupid, ok?" Dustin said in an outburst. The glare Max gave him was legendary. "It wasn't a bear. Why are you even here if you don't believe us? Just go home."
"Yeesh, someone's cranky," Max said, standing up. "Past your bedtime?" With that, she climbed the ladder and sat on the roof with Lucas.
I'm not sure if I'm Team Dustin or Team Lucas, but Dusty's definitely just lost a significant amount of points.
I elbowed Steve in the ribs. Dustin was being a bitch sure, but it's Steve's fault for giving him shit advice.
Steve misunderstood me, because he said to Dustin, " Good job. Just act like you don't care." Team Steve also lost points tonight.
"I don't care," Dustin said, rolling his eyes.
"Oh no, the teenage moody funk is already here," I said melodramatically. "I thought we had more time!"
"Oh get over it," Dustin groaned at my dramatics. Steve looked up at him and winked.
"Why are you winking, Steve? Stop that." Dustin flopped down onto the bench where Max was previously sitting.
"Your love advice sucks," I whispered to Steve so Dustin couldn't hear. "I mean, you don't even use that advice yourself! Like, it's very obvious that you care about Nancy."
"I don't think I care so much about Nancy anymore," Steve said, looking deep into my eyes. We were so close together that his bangs brushed my forehead. My heart did a little flutter.
"So you two are officially broken up?" I asked, not daring to get my hopes up.
"I guess so," He said, giving a smile meant just for me. I wish I had a camera, because I wanted to cherish that smile for the rest of my life.
"It's kind of warm in here," I said, leaning back away from him to take of my jacket and put it on the seat in-between us. My change in demeanor wiped the smile from his face. A breakup doesn't change things between us. If I told him the moment he broke up with Nancy that I was in love with him, that would ruin our whole friendship. I don't want him or Nancy to think I was just waiting to swoop in this whole time.
A low, angry growl was heard in the distance. Steve, Dustin, and I ran to the window and pulled back one of the sheets of metal to try and see outside. The ground was covered in a thick fog, and none of us could see Dart anywhere.
"Do you see him?" I asked.
"No," Steve replied.
"Lucas, what's going on?" Steve yelled up to the roof.
"Hang on!" Lucas yelled back. "I've got eyes! Ten o'clock! Ten o'clock!" Lucas's voice cracked at the warning.
We peered through the gated window as a shadowy figure, twice the size of a large dog. A growling was heard flooding through the junkyard that sent chills down my arms. My stomach churned at the thought of Max and Lucas up there, vulnerable.
"Look, there!" I said in a hushed voice, worried any loud noise might anger the monster.
"What's he doing?" Dustin asked.
"I don't know," Steve muttered.
"He's not taking the bait. Why is he not taking the bait?" I asked anxiously, ready to pull the kids down from the roof at any sign of danger.
"Maybe he's not hungry?" Dustin asked, voice wavering.
"Maybe he's sick of cow."
Steve stood.
"No, wait Steve." I said, grabbing his wrist. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Grab your axe. Watch the kids," He said taking a hold of his bat.
"Steve?" Dustin asked, his voice small. I wasn't the only one Steve was important to.
Steve tossed the lighter to Dustin. "Just get ready."
Before I could protest anymore, Steve used the lever to open the door, and crept back into the fog.
"That son of a bitch," I muttered angrily, closing the door behind him. "Max! Lucas! Get down here!" I said in a forced whisper.
"Hang on!" Lucas called back. Dustin and I watched as Steve crept towards the shadow, whistling and calling to it like it was a lost puppy.
The ladder creaked and I spun around as Max clambered down into the bus. "What's he doing?" She asked.
"Expanding the menu," Dustin said, continuing to look out the window.
"I'll kill him," I said, holding on to my axe and pacing the floor.
"I think that thing out there might beat you to it," Max said quietly. She looked through the window too. "He's insane."
"He's awesome," Dustin smiled.
"He's going to die," I said. I would run out there and drag him back into the bus by the hair if I could, but Steve's right. If something happened to him, I had to protect the kids.
Dart crept closer to him, and Steve raised his bat, prepared to strike. That's when Lucas's voice rang out. "Steve! Watch out!"
I looked around to see not one but three more demogorgons surrounding him slowly, creeping in until it would be too late for him to run.
"A little busy here!" Steve yelled back, never taking his eyes off of Dart.
"THREE O'CLOCK! THREE O'CLOCK!" Lucas screeched, as the demogorgons began crawling over the old cars to get to Steve.
"Steve! Abort! Abort!" Dustin called, opening the bus door.
"Lucas get down here now!" I yelled up the fire exit. He came clambering down the ladder and huddled near the window with Max, watching anxiously.
Dart gave a big roar before charging at Steve at full speed. He dodged the monster barely before another came leaping at him. Steve knocked it away with his bat, before having to duck as another one went careening his way.
All the kids were screaming, none louder than I. We called for him to come back, our voices overlapping.
"STEVE HURRY!" I screamed, standing in the bus entrance. He rolled to the floor to avoid getting hit by one of the monsters, and then stood and broke into a dead-sprint towards the bus.
I extended my hand out to him as I noticed a demogorgon right behind him. With the combined strength of his running start, and me pulling, I yanked him into the bus. We covered the door with a sheet of metal a hair of a second before the monsters were ramming into the side of the bus.
Steve had landed on top of me, his elbow digging into my side. He was breathing so hard I wasn't sure if he would get up for a long time, but he was right back up again holding the scrap against the door while the monsters tried to claw their way through.
"They can't get in! They can't get in!" Lucas was screaming as I helped Steve keep the door closed.
The entire bus shook with the impact of the demogorgons slamming into the sides, and the kids toppled over on to one another, screaming. One of the monster's claws finally broke through the metal scraps, and reached around attempting to connect with our flesh.
Steve grabbed his bat and whacked it repeatedly until the arm retreated. As this was happening, I pulled all three kids towards the back of the bus, near the fire exit. In my dominant hand was my axe, my grip shaking.
Dustin reached for his walkie talkie. "Is anyone there?" he yelled into it. "Mike? Will? God? Anyone?"
The bus shook again, and all of us lost our balance. "Shit!" I yelled as I held on to one of the seats to stay upright.
"We're at the old junkyard, and we're going to die!" Dustin said, still calling into the receiver hoping someone would hear.
Suddenly the shaking stopped. Max looked up.
With one boom after another, the roof dented with the impact of something climbing all over it. I had Lucas behind me, and as I pulled Dustin back as well, I realized Max was only slightly out of my reach.
A demogorgon put one clawed hand on the ladder and peered inside the bus, staring right at Max. She screamed an ear piercing scream, and I grabbed her my the hood, finally.
"Out of the way!" I yelled, standing in front of all of the kids. I held the axe above my head, ready to strike. "Come and get me, piece of shit!"
But it in fact, did not.
The demogorgon's head perked up as if it heard a noise, and as quickly as the battle had started, it ended. All of the monsters went careening into the forest, leaving us in awed silence.
I looked back at the group, all of us breathing heavily. Max's hand was intertwined with Lucas's. They followed my gaze and quickly let go. It looked like Max was about to speak, but I held a finger to my lips.
"They might still hear us," I whispered. I looked to Steve, and he nodded.
Quickly and quietly, he and I tried to exit the bus, but the crank for the door wouldn't work anymore. Steve pried the door open with his hands, and at every joint it made a loud bang.
"Jesus," I muttered under my breath at the noise.
A low growling could be heard in the distance, but other than that, there was no sign an attack had even happened. I looked around as Lucas, Max, and Dustin climbed out of the bus after us.
"What. Happened." Lucas asked.
"Steve scared them off?" Dustin asked hopefully.
"I doubt it," I said, smiling.
"No, They're going somewhere," Steve said, his bat slung across his shoulder like a professional baseball player. The night was dark and the moon reflected off of the nails in the bat. If it was anyone else holding the weapon, they would have looked sinister. But nothing about Steve could scare me.
"It seemed like they were called," I said, squinting to see if I could see any through the trees. "Like a dogwhistle or something."
"Should we follow them?" Max asked.
"No." Steve and I said at the same time that Dustin and Lucas said, "Yes."
I glanced at Steve, the way Mom would look at Dad before making a big decision. "I mean we have to head in that direction if we want to get back to my car anyways," He said.
"Alright, dweebs, listen up. We are going to walk down the train tracks until we make it back to our house. If we end up seeing where the demogorgons went, so be it. If not? We are going to take you all straight home. No arguing. It's late, your families are probably worried."
"My mom thinks I'm staying at your house," Lucas said.
"Nobody at my house cares where I am," Max shrugged.
"And you are my only concerned family, Y/N," Dustin added.
I looked at them all, frustrated. "Ok but still! We aren't just going to go monster hunting! We're obviously unprepared!"
"We've got you and Steve," Lucas reassured me. "We're in good hands." He and Dustin took off into the forest, with Max close behind.
"I tried," I shrugged with a sigh.
"Those kids are so headstrong," Steve groaned. "They get it from you, you know."
We began to follow the three of them down the train tracks. "I hate to think that I have had any hand in their obnoxiously persuasive tactics."
"That was too many big words in a row," Steve said with his eyebrows furrowed.
I opened my mouth to explain, but Dustin and Lucas's conversation caught my attention. I quickened my pace so that I could listen.
"And you're positive it was Dart?" Lucas asked.
"Yes, he had the same yellow pattern on his butt."
"But he was tiny two days ago!" Max said, confused.
"Well, he's molted three times already," Dustin explained.
"Malted?" Steve asked.
"Like the milkshake?" I laughed. Steve shot me a glare. "Sorry," I whispered with a smile.
"When's Dart gonna molt again?" Max asked.
"It's got to be soon. And when he does he'll be fully grown, or close to it. And so will his friends."
"Yeah, and they're going to eat a lot more that just cats," Steve muttered. I hit him on the arm. "Ouch, sorry, too soon!"
"Wait. Cat?" Lucas asked, pulling Dustin to a stop. "Dart ate a cat?"
"No. What? No," Dustin spluttered. Did he not tell his friends about keeping Dart?
"What are you talking about? He ate Mews," Steve said, looking at Dustin confused.
"Mews? Whose Mews?" Max asked.
"Our cat," I responded.
"Y/N!" Dustin yelled, betrayed.
"I knew it!" Lucas said, pointing to Dustin. "You kept him!"
"No!" Dustin said. "No..." He repeated, but it sounded more like a question. "No I..." Dustin sighed, "He missed me! He wanted to come home."
"Bullshit!" Lucas yelled. Steve flinched.
"I didn't know he was a demogorgon, ok?" Dustin said, desperately pleading his case.
"Oh so now you admit it?" Lucas spat back.
"Guys, who cares? We have to go!" Max said, looking to me for support.
"I care!" Lucas yelled. "You put the party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law!"
"Well so did you!" Dustin yelled back. I watched as Steve and Max exchanged a look, neither of them knowing what was going on.
"What?" Lucas asked.
"You told a stranger the truth!" Dustin accused, shining his flashlight in Max's face for emphasis.
Max scoffed. "Stranger?"
"Even Y/N said I should!" Lucas said, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me into their little circle.
"Woah woah don't bring me into this!" I said putting my hands up in surrender.
"Are you kidding me right now, Y/N?" Dustin yelled. "You're going to let Lucas break the party laws but the moment I do it, you get mad?"
"Dustin, telling someone the truth is way different than keeping a dangerous creature that killed our goddamned cat!" I said, already regretting raising my voice.
Dustin was on the defensive now, being betrayed by his own sibling. "Okay, I broke the rule of law. Lucas broke the rule of law. So did Y/N. We're all even, okay?"
"No! No we're not even; don't even try that! Your stupid pet could have had us for dinner!" Lucas yelled, his arms waving in the air in frustration.
"What the hell did I do to break the rule of law?" I scoffed.
"Guys?" Steve asked, a few feet away from us. I guess I didn't notice that he moved away. I spun to face him, but the boys continued squabbling.
"Boys!" I yelled. Both of them halted.
In the silence we heard screeching coming from somewhere behind the trees. Without a word Steve slung his bat across his shoulder and moved into the darkness. Lucas and Dustin quickly followed.
"Are you kidding me? We're doing this?" I groaned, running after them, holding my axe tightly just in case.
"No, no wait, Y/N why are they headed towards the sound?" Max asked, still standing alone on the train tracks.
"It's kind of what we do," I shrugged, looking back at her. "Are you coming or not?"
She sighed. "I guess so."
We caught up to the boys, and together we all walked until we came across a clearing.
"Hold on, this is the way to the Lab," Lucas said, scanning our surroundings.
"That certainly cannot be good," I said.
"I think they're going home," Lucas said. I felt goose bumps raise on my arms and shivered. I left my jacket in the bus after everything that had happened. Lucas lifted his binoculars and could see the Lab in the clearing. "The power's out."
"No wait, there's some lights near the front gate," I said, pointing in the distance where I could see two big beams of light. Perhaps headlights.
"Maybe they'll know what's going on," Dustin said, and with that we all took off again, towards the front gate.
As we reached the clearing of the trees, someone called out to us. "Hello? Whose there?" The voice asked.
We ran down the hill the rest of the way to see who was yelling.
"Steve?" Both voices asked now, when they could see us. I ran up next to Steve to see who it was.
"Nancy?" Steve and I asked together.
"Johnathan!" Dustin said, running up to greet them.
"What are you guys doing here?" Nancy asked as we all came together.
"What are you doing here?" I asked her in return.
"We're looking for Mike and Will," she answered, coming to a stop as we all met. We all shared a look.
"They're not in there, are they?" Dustin asked, gesturing to the Lab.
"We're not sure," Nancy said, confused at all of our uneasy glances.
"Why?" Johnathan asked quietly, growing concerned. In response a loud screech echoed from the Lab.
"What's going on?" Nancy asked, shaking her head.
"I don't even know how to begin explaining everything that's been happening," I shrugged.
"Where have you guys been?" Steve asked.
"Remember that freelance investigator working with the Hollands?" Nancy asked us.
"Of course," I nodded.
"We visited the Lab and got them admitting the murder of Barb on recording," Nancy explained. "Then we took it to the investigator. He 'watered down' the evidence, I guess, and now the Lab will finally be incriminated for killing Barbara." Nancy grabbed my hands and smiled. "We're getting justice."
"I'm so proud of you for not giving up, Nancy," I said, and gave her a big hug.
"Now, why are you and Steve with the kids?" She asked, pulling away to rest her hands on my shoulders.
"Dustin kept a monster from the Upside Down until it grew up and ate Mews!" Lucas yelled.
"Let it go!" Dustin yelled back.
"Then a bunch of the monsters attacked us, but Y/N and Steve fought them off. It was badass," Max explained to Nancy and Johnathan while the boys began to fight again behind her.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Nancy asked.
"Oh, I'm Max. I just moved here."
"Does she know?" Johnathan asked, looking at me.
Max, annoyed that the question was addressed to me instead of her, stepped forward and said, "Yes, I do know."
"And what about Will and Mike?" Johnathan asked, staring at the Lab in the distance.
"We don't know," I said regretfully. "None of the kids have seen him since his episode on Thursday."
"Neither have we," Nancy said. "We stopped by Johnathan's house before coming here, and it was thrashed, with all these drawings on the wall."
"And now they're in there?" Johnathan asked, growing panicked. "With those monsters you guys fought?"
"We think!" I clarified, but it wasn't very reassuring.
"Well who knows what kind of danger they're in then!"
"Guys!" Nancy said, turned away from the group. "The power is back on."
We all spun to look, and sure enough, the lights flickered on all through the facility. Johnathan ran over to the hut beside the gate to open it mechanically, but it still wouldn't move. He slammed on the button but nothing happened.
"Let me try," Dustin demanded, forcing his way into the control center as well. Johnathan protested, but even Dustin couldn't open the gate. "Son of a bitch, you know what?" he said angrily. He began to spam-press the button, aggressively trying to get it to work.
Johnathan sighed at Dustin's antics and walked out of the control center.
All of a sudden, the front gates slid open. "Hey I got it!" Dustin chuckled. I rolled my eyes at him.
"You all wait here," Johnathan said, grabbing his keys and getting into the car. Nancy ran around the side and sat next to him in the front seat. "We're going to get them out of there."
And with that, they were gone.
"I don't think it's quite fair to just leave us here in the cold," I sighed, leaning against the control center. I could see my breath in the cold air in front of me. I rubbed my arms.
"Do you want my jacket?" Steve asked stepping closer. To share body heat, of course.
"Here, I have an extra in my bag," Dustin said, pulling one out of his backpack. Steve gave Dustin a strange look, like he wanted to strangle him, and I can't help but agreeing. It's not often a really cute guy offers you his jacket.
I begrudgingly put on Dustin's Spider-Man hoodie, as we waited for Johnathan and Nancy to come back.
"Look, I see them!" Max said, walking towards the gate. Two cars were coming at high speed towards us.
"Get out of the way!" I yelled, grabbing Max by her hood, as we all backed up. Johnathan's car zoomed past us without a second glance. Hopper's van came soon after, but he actually came to a stop.
"Let's go," Hopper said. Steve opened the door and we pushed all of the kids inside.
"There's not enough room for all of us!" I said. The three kids, plus Hopper, Steve, and I sounded like a crowd.
"We can sit in the front together," Steve said quickly.
"No, I'll just sit in Y/N's lap," Dustin said even faster.
"I don't care how you guys sit just GET IN!" Hopper yelled. Dustin pulled me into the back seat with the other kids, and Steve slammed the door closed. Then the car sped off into the night, back to the Byers's home.
"Is everyone ok?" I asked Hopper. He was wearing nurse's scrubs, and a hospital band on his wrist. What could possibly have happened to them while we were gone?
"We lost Bob," The chief said solemnly.
Out of respect for Bob Newby, we rode the rest of the way in silence.