Grief and horror had reached the marrow of her bones and the chambers of her heart. Prue felt absent and displaced, but above all, she felt lost in a dark labyrinth in her mind and her immediate memory was taking the full brunt of it all. She didn't remember driving her car over to the Byers' rundown house on the outskirts of town. But she did remember Hopper insisting that she and her brother stay with the group for safety, and she didn't protest the Chief, even though she desperately wanted to go home. The house was cluttered, with overthrown furniture and debris, like the house had been ransacked by people searching for something. The house was aglow with dull yet warm lamps and the walls and the floor were covered with childish drawings. The blue crayon made a pattern, an interjoined pattern like roots or veins, but Prue didn't have the energy to ask about it, her curiosity wasted. Grey wandered around though, his eyes soaking in the strangeness of the drawings stuck to nearly every inch of the small house that was crowded with children, teenagers and adults; the air warm and mingling with the numbered breathes and bodies. Will was unconscious on the couch, a troubled Jonathan sitting and talking to him in a low voice with Nancy standing over him, squeezing his shoulder. Steve wasn't oblivious to the sight before him or the new closeness between Nancy and Johnathan. Chief Hopper was on the phone, calling for help or back up, sharing what had happened at the lab. He was almost shouting through the receiver, but the people on the other end of the line weren't likely to believe his words. Prue felt out of place in the house and among these strangers, and if she could muster more tears, they surely would be blurring her vision, mixing with the monster blood still staining her skin. She was standing by the kitchen counter, her eyes constantly moving back to her brother still engrossed with the drawings.
"You have black shit..." Steve Harrington was suddenly by her side, waving his hand in front of Prue's face and torso. "Everywhere."
"Yeah, I'm aware of that," she replied, knowing she must have looked a fright. Her horror literally marked her skin.
"It really stinks," he noted, leaning beside her on the kitchen counter. He smelt of sweat and nature, like he had hiked through the woods or something. His thick brown hair was still flamboyant and his eyes were kind yet tired. Apparently, he had had one hell of a day a too.
"Yeah, I'm aware of that too, Steve." Her voice was flat with slight annoyance.
"There's a bathroom on your left," Steve stated, lamely pointing one finger towards a closed door. And his words suggested that he had been in this house before and Prue pondered what strange event would push pretty boy Steve Harrington into the Byers's house. Prue knew Selena Moreno would have a field day with that knowledge.
Prue nodded grimly, "Thanks." Steve offered her a kind smile in return, noticing the wear-and-tear this night was having on Prue Owens. The brunette teenager checked the house for Grey—he was talking to Mike Wheeler, probably asking about the drawings—and when she was satisfied he that was safe, she wandered to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. The bathroom was tiny and she turned towards the faded and dirty mirror. Prue took a few stray and quiet minutes to reflect on the terrible night that was far from over as she stared at her appearance. Her face was ghostly pale and the black monster blood that was sprayed across her face was grossly stark. More droplets and splatters of blood marked the exposed skin on her chest and shirt. She gingerly touched the holes in her shirt, lifting it to see the claw wounds littering her soft flesh. The wounds were bloody and sore, but they weren't too deep, more like scratches—she had been lucky—and she balled up some toilet paper and washed the wounds out, grimacing and grinding her teeth together as she dapped at the claw marks. Prue stayed in the tiny bathroom for another few long minutes, listening to her uneven breathing and pulsing heart. When she finally wandered back out she found everyone grouped around the table in the kitchen. She hung back, picking up words like the 'Mind Flayer' and 'demodogs', but she wasn't exactly trying to keep up with the group's new plan. Prue had more pressing matters on her mind, like her father stuck in a lab filled with monsters or what she was going to say to her mother when she returned home.
"Oh, my god. None of this is real, it's a kids game!" Hopper groaned out. But none of the kids felt discouraged by the adult's words, as if their game had been used to explain the strangeness of the town before. Dustin continued to ramble on and to Hopper's annoyance, who squeezed the bridge of his nose with his fingers. But momentum was rolling through the group, adrenaline spiking. And for a short moment, Hopper considered Dustin's word before turning away, muttering about what they were even doing here and Prue had to agree with him. What was she doing here when her father was in real life or death danger?
"I thought we were waiting for your military backup," Dustin called out.
"We are!" Hopper responded, his voice growing louder.
"But even if they come, how are we gonna stop this? You can't just shoot this with guns!" it was Mike Wheeler commenting back, his own anger reaching into his voice.
"You don't know that! We don't know anything!" Hopper boomed, frustration altering his words and posture greatly.
"We know it's already killed everyone in that lab!" Mike's words were a shot to Prue's chest, a kick to her stomach and a stab to her heart. Grey's eyes dropped, his shoulders sinking and Max was looking at him. And while Max was looking at Grey, Steve was looking at Prue half-hidden in the back. She didn't hear the rest of the conversation, not even when a teary-eyed Joyce ambled in. Somehow, without Prue even paying attention, they had made a plan to use Will Byers to find out how to kill this shadow monster. Everyone was helping to conceal the shed out the back so the thing inside of Will couldn't pinpoint their location. And Prue was glad of the labour, it pushed her dark thoughts to the corners of her mind. While Hopper, Joyce, Jonathan and Mike interrogated Will, trying to break through to him, the rest gathered in the house, and it was an eerie waiting game. Dustin was pacing, Nancy was leaning up against a wall and Steve was swinging his nail-studded baseball bat in front of Prue and Grey in the lounge room.
"I didn't say thank you for saving me," Grey started as Prue perched herself on the arm of the armchair Grey was curled up in.
Prue shook her head. "You don't need to thank me, Grey. I'm your sister and I'd take on a lot worse than some... demodog to keep you safe." His eyes were shimmering with tears, one spilling down his cheek. Prue reached out her fingers, brushing away the tear. Grey was an open book, his emotions raw and written on the planes of his young face. "Dad is gonna be just fine. He's strong and smart." Just like his children. And before Prue could say anything more to her younger brother, the house lights started blinking, calling the house-dwellers into action, all moving to the windows to cast their gaze towards the shed.
"What's going on out there?" Grey asked. Lucas and Max shared a concerned look while Steve shrugged, his baseball bat resting on his shoulder.
"Nothing good," Nancy Wheeler whispered, stepping back into the quiet shadows of the house to worry in isolation, for her own brother was out there in that shed. Grey followed Lucas and Max away, probably wanting to ask more questions to subdue his curiosity or talk about Mission Strange, leaving Prue and Steve along by the windows.
"Hey, Hopper told me about your dad—" Steve's voice was filled with sympathy and compassion. "I'm sure he'll be okay," he added, not knowing what else he could say but he wanted to comfort the teenage girl.
"Yeah." Her mind was alive with the memories of the dark lab hallways crawling with shadowed and violent monsters and puddled with the blood of the lost. She desperately wanted to change the subject, her heart in too much pain thinking about her father. "Guess you found out where Nancy was then."
"Yep," he muttered, "I guess I did, didn't I?" His eyes flashed with sadness and Prue regretted her attempt at changing the subject. She wanted to forget her own pain but had only brought forth Steve's pain.
"It's totally her loss," she told Steve, her words ringing with truth. His eyes shifted back to hers, and Prue knew Steve wanted to believe her words but was having trouble, believing it was only his loss. That loss being Nancy choosing Jonathan over him: a choice that had been coming for a long while now. "I'm serious, Steve. If Nancy can't see the greatness in you, that's only her loss."
"It's still shitty. I thought we were on the same page, but apparently, it was more complicated than I realised," he said honestly, running a hand through his hair.
"Complicated is a real bitch." Prue agreed, thinking of her own relationship entanglement with Patrick Turner and Billy Hargrove. Steve gave a light chuckle, the sound vibrating through his chest. And despite the horrors of the night, Prue's heart was lifted slightly with a laugh of her own, joining in with Steve Harrington, of all people. There's always lightness in the darkness, no matter how small or brief. And it was brief, for the interrogation was working: Will was talking to them, just not with words but Morse Code. It was a small breakthrough and they headed back into the shed with their hope a notch higher and with the house-dwellers working out the words while Hopper buzzed them through the Walkie Talkie. And Prue swore that Grey was almost excited because this was all way cooler than Mission Strange. And after a time the letters became words: CLOSE GATE. While the two words meant nothing to Prue or Grey, it did to the rest and at that moment the wall phone buzzed, causing everyone to jump out of their skins.
"Shit. Shit!" Dustin muttered as he ran over to stop the ringing. And while Nancy was successful (she had torn the phone right off the wall) it still meant one thing: the shadow monster knew where they were now. A distant screech broke the air and Prue's heart was shaking. "That's not good," Dustin muttered as everyone turned to face the windows and the front door.
"They're coming. The things from the lab!" Prue's voice wavered and Grey hurried to her side. She couldn't bear to deal with those things again, not after last time. Not with monster blood still soaked into the material of her shirt and the memory of that monster crouched over her with his face opening and closing, barring its rows of teeth.
"The demodogs," Dustin droned out, making sure his name for the monsters stuck.
Hopper stormed in carrying guns. "Hey, get away from the windows!" The screeching was growing ever closer and Prue's skin was prickling in fear. Nancy ended up with Hopper's spare shotgun and as Prue realised what was happening, she stepped in front of Grey standing next to Mike, using her body as a shield, while she fished out the bloodied Swiss Army Knife from her pocket and flipped it open. Her arm didn't shake as she raised it and her grip on the knife was as strong as steel. She stepped up beside Nancy and parted her legs a little, centring her core balance like she was taught to do in cheerleading.
"Whatever happens, Grey, stay behind me," she said over her shoulder, her words low. The group were on edge, adrenaline pumping through their bloodstreams as they all heard something move and growl outside. Suddenly there was a loud thudding like it was trying to get in, and the group turned in sync to the direction of the sound. Joyce gave a gasp, clutching at Jonathan. The bushes outside were rustling, the shape of the trees moving behind the dark windows. Another loud snarl occurred on the opposite side of the house and the group spun around to face it. Prue felt like she was in one of her beloved horror movies, and being on this side of the screen wasn't nearly as entertaining. But the snarling was replaced with a painful groaning and Prue recognised it because it was the same sound that had came from the demodog when she stabbed it in the lab. There was a lot of movement now that the group couldn't see, but it sounded like something or someone was hurting the demodog and with a sharp snap the groaning stopped abruptly. Silence draped over the Byers's house and Prue could hear her heartbeat in her ears as she waited for something to happen. And something did happen a moment later. A lifeless body smashed through the front windows and the sound of breaking glass was matched with screams as everyone scattered away from the body. It was a demodog, its slimy and bony body in a tangled heap against Joyce's broken furniture. Everyone was breathing hard, all still armed and on edge as Hopper drew closer to make sure it was dead.
"Holy shit," Dustin said astonishingly as the group crept closer.
"Is it dead?" Max asked, her face scrunching up as she stared at the demodog. Hopper tested the body with his boot but a creaking on the wooden threshold alerted him and the group all spun around, all holding in a sudden and collective breath. Weapons were raised again and the locks were flicking open from the outside. The deadlock fell from its locked position and the door swung open slowly on its hinges. And Prue was expecting a gross and breathing demodog to be crawling over the threshold, but it was just a girl with a bleeding nose.