Not even halfway across town, the evening was alive with colour and excitement from the fun fair that sparked vibrant joy into the balmy summer air. But back at the cabin hidden in the dense forest—that was meant to be a safe haven—a shadow creature was coming for them. Fireworks popped and sprinkled in the night sky and the dazzling explosions were just visible through the forest canopy of thick branches and dry leaves.
"This is bad. This is really bad!" Mike was muttering, pacing back and forth.
"Yeah, no shit!" Max barked, turning her attention back to Eleven by her on the couch. Prue was on the other side of Eleven, her hands pressed flat against her thighs. She studied Eleven closely; weepy eyes, leftover blood marking one nostril and shallowing breathing. Prue desperately wanted to ask what else she had seen in Billy's mind—she was desperate to know if he was still in there, still fighting for his life against the Mind Flayer; she needed the hope like a lifeline—but she couldn't bring herself to ask the girl, and they did have something more pressuring to focus on.
"He said he was building something," El clarified, her eyes rimmed red with tears. "That it was all for me," she added, her voice low and dry.
"Building something... is he talking about the flayed?" Max asked, searching the faces around her for an answer.
"He must be," Nancy replied, glancing at Jonathan beside her.
"So, he's building an army, just like we thought," Lucas concluded. Mike heaved out a sigh, slumping down on a chair in front of Eleven.
"Yeah, but he's not building this army to spread—" Mike started.
"—He's building it to stop Eleven," Will finished. It made sense, Eleven was the only threat to the Mind Flayer. She was the only one with any kind of real power. A power that was capable of terrible and great things.
"Last year, El closed the gate on him. I have a feeling that really pissed him off," Mike shared.
"Like, royally," Lucas agreed.
"Well, duh! He's locked out of his own world," Prue pointed out, her sarcasm bright. She remembered the Mind Flayer's world, so dark and cold, and surely he missed his home.
Mike ignored her dig and continued on with his theory. "And the Mind Flayer now knows that she's the only thing that can stop him. But if she's out of the way..."
"Game over," Lucas added.
"He also said he was gonna kill all of you," El whispered, looking around the room of friends and allies. There was a collective intake of breath, of fear. Prue's heart squeezed against her ribs; it was possible that the Mind Flayer would use Billy to kill them all. Use his muscles, his bones, his hands to kill the people he knew, the few people he cared about.
"Yeah, well, that's nice," Max hissed out, her sarcasm just as bright as Prue's. Outside the darkened windows, there was a sound warring against the fireworks. A low rumble that was moving fast. Nancy was the one that noticed it first, her ears perking up as she moved to peer through one of the windows.
"Do you guys hear that?" she asked, eyes locked on the forest outside, the forest shifting with shadows. The silence that followed was prickling as each party member strained their ears to hear something over the clash and pop of the fireworks.
"It's just the fireworks," Jonathan murmured out, trying to reassure his girlfriend. He didn't want it to be anything other than the fireworks dancing in the sky above Hawkins. The thud of Prue's heart and the way her scars stung along her skin told her otherwise. Prue rose from the couch, joining Nancy by the window.
Nancy glanced side-ways at Prue, her shoulders shaking. "Billy..." she started, flipping back around. "When he told you this, it was here, in this room?" she directed at Eleven, eyes wide. Eleven just nodded numbly. The rumble was like thunder now, shaking the ground and fear spiked in the cabin. Something was getting closer.
Will's hand went to the back of his neck, feeling the gooseflesh that slivered across his skin. "He knows we're here," he confirmed. The party shared a looked of terror before rushing outside with Jonathan kicking the front door to the cabin open. The teenagers scattered down the steep wooden stairs, marching along the makeshift driveway through the forest plagued with shadows that teemed. Even in the darkness, that was shattered by the brilliant sparks of the fireworks, Prue could spy something skittering towards them. The large creature—that mimicked a spider with multiple legs—knocked trees out of his way with ease as it stomped its way towards the cabin that was no longer hidden in the woods. The monster's screech made Prue's throat close up, like Bruce was strangling her again, his fingers crushing her windpipe.
"I told you this was really bad!" Mike groaned darkly as Nancy's eyes sought out Hopper's shed. Eleven couldn't tear her eyes away from the creature straight out of her nightmares and Will was violently shaking, his whole body alive with gooseflesh.
"What do we do?" Prue questioned, eyes finding Nancy Wheeler in the darkness. The red glow from the fireworks exploding in the sky highlighted one side of her face and Nancy looked from Prue to Jonathan. The two teenagers had a silent conversation; this was all so familiar to them now, monster hunting and war.
"Get the kids inside, Prue, and board the place up," Nancy said, already turning on her heels to Hopper's shed. Nancy and Jonathan knew how to weaponise themselves by now. Fear was transforming into adrenaline inside of Prue's blood as she herded the younger teenagers back into the small cabin.
"Okay," Prue breathed out, surveying the cabin's furniture, her brain winding up a plan of action. "Stack the chairs and tables against the windows. Will, Lucas... help me shift the bookshelf," Prue ordered and the kids obeyed, frantically barricading the cabin. They worked together quickly with the threat outside clambering closer and closer with each second. Jonathan returned with an axe, his grip tight on the handle. Nancy followed with a loaded shotgun over one shoulder and a rusted machete at her side.
She passed Prue the farm machete with cocked eyebrows. "Can you handle this?"
Prue nodded, taking the weapon. "I'd prefer a nail-studded baseball bat but this will do," she stated, recalling last year when they had Steve Harrington too. She wished Steve was here fighting at their side. Prue balanced the machete—that Hopper most likely used to clear away the vines that crawled along the sides of the cabin—in her hands. The dull metal caught the low light from the lamps as Prue tested the weapon, slashing it through the air; she liked the weight of it.
The cabin was locked down tight. Every door was locked, every window was secured and even the front door was blocked off with the uprooted couch. There was no way in and no way out. "Hey, get away from the windows," Nancy called out, double-checking her shotgun: the weapon suited her well. The party all merged together in a tight formation in the middle of the cabin. The fear that wafted off them was thick but this group of kids was braver than most. Prue stood with her feet apart, fingers tight around the wooden handle of the machete; she kept her arms relaxed, fluid. The weapon was rather heavy and the blade was much broader and larger than her Swiss Army Knife, but she held it fiercely, controlling her breathing through her core, just like she had done as a cheerleader.
"Max, get closer, would you?" Prue uttered, jerking her head at the girl, who was panting with fear, yet she obeyed, moving closer to Prue's side. Nancy had the shotgun ready and Jonathan had his axe raised, eyes shifting to each window systematically. The party was waiting, waiting for the inevitable. The silence was unnerving and the electricity in the tiny cable started to crackle, the walls vibrating with a low, primal rumble. As the monster got closer, the objects in the house started to shake: the lampshades jittering and the dishes at the kitchen skin rattling. Mike span around as each item jumped and Lucas was much the same. Eleven was near the middle of the group, her eyes scanning every inch of the cabin. Prue didn't dare move her feet, just stayed collected and at attention, only gliding her eyes back and forth.
"It's close," Will announced in a low voice, eyes locked on the roof. They could hear leaves rustling outside, branches snapping; all the kids were breathing rapidly. The stomping shook the cabin and coffee mugs fell from hooks, smashing to the floor. And then were was a whole, extended moment of silence and stillness.
"Where did it go?" Max whispered, her freckled skin crawling. No one answered the girl, for the lights started to flicker and the air was alive with anticipation and the shuddering breaths of teenagers.
With an alien screech, it smashed through one of the walls, it's tentacle ripping out, searching for a body to snatch. The group parted, screaming as they leapt out of the way, out of dodge. The monster twisted around for Eleven, who was standing like a shield in front of Max and Will. Jonathan came around the side, bringing down his axe sharply, but the blade only pierced the monster's flesh. Prue skidded to Jonathan's side, nearly slipping on the broken porcelain shards on the floor, and raised her machete. With a gruelling swoop, she brought down her own blade, slicing at the monster as she gritted her teeth. Monster blood—thick and dark like ichor—sprayed onto her face, already slick with sweat from the humid air. The creature shrieked, his wounded tentacle thrashing around; it even swiped at Will as he rushed forward to help his older brother. The monster turned on Jonathan, who dropped the axe as he fell to the floor. Nancy planted her feet, levelling the shotgun up and pulled the trigger as Prue slashed away at the monster, her arms screaming out in protest; the machete was much heavier than her little compactable knife. The kids shouted as Nancy fired at the creature's mouth that opened like a flower, and it advanced on Nancy as her gun jammed. The monster came at her with a roar but it didn't reach her pressed against the wall, for it paused in the air, shrieking in pain. Eleven stepped around a panting Prue, her machete dripping with black blood. The monster convulsed as El's fingers tensed, her chin down in powerful focus. With a flick of her wrist, Eleven snapped off the monster's tentacle with brilliant violence. It retreated and for a split second, the party thought that was it, but it came tearing back into the cabin with more dedication and fury than before.
"Holy shit!" Max screamed, dodging out of the way as another tentacle broke in through the wall. Eleven's other arm raised up to stop the second tentacle; she held them back for a few beats, before ripping them apart too with a scream erupting from her throat. But Eleven wasn't indestructible and her power was draining like an over-used battery. The monster smashed through the roof, breaking the mighty wood into splinters as it raced towards Eleven from above. It latched onto her ankle and pulled hard, yanking the girl through the air.
"EL!" Mike shouted, grabbing at Eleven's hands as the girl was stuck in a game of tug-of-war. Prue dropped her machete, the metal clanging against the floor, and rushed to Mike's side, clutching at Eleven's arms too. El continued to cry out and the rest of the kids took hold of their friend too, pulling her back with great effort. Nancy reloaded the shotgun, pumping in the ammo before firing at the monster through the hole in the ceiling. "Pull. PULL!" Mike continued to order out in a panic.
"We got you, El!" Prue bellowed, in an attempt to calm the girl that was sobbing, blood pooling down one leg.
"Shoot it, Nancy!" Jonathan yelled, standing next to Prue as they all heaved, grappling to save Eleven. Tears swelled in Prue's eyes as she looked up through the hole and saw the actual face of the monster. It wasn't like a flower at all but vicious and infernal, otherworldly and malignant. Not even her own nightmares could conjure up something so evil. In a moment of absolute daringness, Lucas picked up the axe and attacked the creature from the side, hacking and slashing as a feral scream fell from his tongue. The sounds of screaming, roaring and gunfire drilled into Prue's eardrums. They were the sounds of battle. The group struggled to keep their hold on Eleven, the rug slipping out from under their feet, but they couldn't let her go, wouldn't let her go. With another blow of the axe, the monster's hold on the girl vanished, and she free-fell into Mike's arms, knocking the whole party down to the floorboards.
"El? Are you okay?" Mike asked frantically, brushing away hair from her sweat and tear-stained face. Prue sucked air into her fiery lungs as she struggled on her wobbly arms, checking that Max—who was spread out next to her on the floor—was unharmed: she was fine but breathing hard. But Eleven wasn't okay, for a part of the monster was still latched to her leg, teeth sinking into her flesh. Mike rushed to pull it off and Eleven reeled in pain, more tears dotting her vision. A barking roar sounded from above as the monster leered in through the hole, drooling and blood dripping from its rows of jagged teeth. Max snaked her arm around Prue's, her fingers clutching at Prue as they both looked up at the monster. It was the monster that had a dangerous hold on Billy Hargrove and Prue stared at it hard with hatred hot in her blood. Even with pain stabbing at her leg, Eleven managed to stand, shuffling closer to the monster. A battle cry ripped through Eleven as she threw both hands up towards the hole, shoving the monster backwards with every single drop of power and strength she had left. And she tore the monster's face in two with an incredible force that was both alarming and astonishing, but it still wasn't enough to kill it.
"GO!" Nancy heaved Mike off the floor, shoving him toward the wounded Eleven. He and Max both shouldered Eleven's weight as they hurried, El wailing in pain that seared through her blood like a toxin.
"Hurry up! Come on!" Jonathan yelled, jumping around the kids to remove the couch from the front door. Prue was the last one through the door, making sure that no one was left behind as the party raced towards the station wagon parked outside the cabin. It was a frantic mess as they piled into the car as the monster continued to roar and screech, the sounds echoing through the dark forest. Nancy slammed on the accelerator pedal, rocketing away from the monster that was already repairing itself. It was going to be a long night, a night that would turn Prue Owens's world upside down again.