In touch with the ground
I'm on the hunt, I'm after you
Smell like I sound, I'm lost in a crowd
And I'm hungry like the wolf

Anthony held his hand over his sisters mouth to muffle her painful screaming.  "Oh, my god".  He looked around frantically not knowing what to do.  Calling 911 was out and he didn't want his parents to barge in.

This looked bad on so many levels.

"Oh, my god".  Anthony said again as he grabbed a pillow, letting go of his mouth.  "Please don't suffocate".  He pressed the pillow over her face.

"Oh, my god this is bad.  This looks like I'm killing you.  Oh, my god". 

Victoria grabbed the pillow and moved it away from her face.  "Stop saying that!"  She hissed through the pain.  "You're making this WORSE".  Victoria shoved her face into the pillow and screamed again.

"Ok!  Uhhhhh".  Anthony gripped at his hair.  "What do I do?" 

"Nothing!  It's all in my head". Victoria managed out as she moved back and forth on the bed, still gripping the pillow as she breathed in and out heavily.

Anthony frowned. It wasn't in her head. But the therapist and their parents drilled it into her so much that she actually started to believe it.  Anthony tried so many times to tell her that everything she experienced wasn't because she was crazy, that it was real.  But, each time Victoria would just shut down.

She truly thought she was crazy.

Victoria's withering form finally came to a stop after almost fifteen minutes. She breathed out heavily and loosened her hands that were around the pillow.

"I told you". She breathed out.

Anthony only looked down at her, not wanting to say anything that would upset her. But he knew, that wasn't in her head.

~~~

"Victoria! Phone!" Her mother called to her from the kitchen.

Victoria rolled off her bed, setting her pen down on her homework as she walked down the stairs, her one hand gliding down the banister. She heard her mother talking to whoever it was on the phone. When Victoria made herself present, her mother looked over to her daughter.

"Here she is. Bye, bye". Her mother handed her the phone before going back to cleaning the laundry in the other room.

Victoria held the phone up to her ear. "Hello?" She asked.

Victoria, it's Joyce Byers

Victoria's eyes widened slightly. "Hello, Ms. Byers-"

Please, please. Joyce. Call me Joyce.

Victoria started to play with the wire from the phone. "Okay, Joyce. Is everything alright?" She asked.

It's Will. Something happened to him last night and he does not seem like himself. I was hoping that you could come to the hospital that we are at. He has mentioned your name a few times.

Victoria breathed out, leaning against the doorframe as her hand gripped the cord tightly. "I-I don't know. Is he okay?"

Joyce sighed over the phone.

Not sure. But it would mean a lot if you were here. You know what Will went through. You know it better than anyone.

Of course. To Victoria, she thought Joyce was talking about being lost and creating an unknown world to try and cope. Victoria thought for a melt before answering; "Just for a bit. What's the address?"

~~~

"Your full name?"

"William Byers"

Victoria watched from in between Joyce and Hopper.  Will was sitting up in bed with wires attached to his head while the doctor was asking the boy questions.

"Do you know who I am?"  The doctor asked.

"A doctor".

"Have we met before?"

"I...don't remember".

"Hmm, you don't remember me?  Okay".  The doctor then pointed over to Mike.  "How about this guy here?  Remember who that is?"  He asked.

Mike took his one hand out of his coat pocket and gave Will a small wave and smile.  Meanwhile, Will was looking at Mike, not saying anything, almost like he was trying to figure it out.

"That's alright.  Take your time".  The doctor reassured him.

Will continued to look at Mike and then finally spoke.  "That's my friend.  Mike".

The group smiled slightly.

"What about me, kid?  Remember me?"  Hopper asked, looking down at Will.

Will looked up to Hopper and shook his head, 'no'.

"They tell me you helped saved me last night.  You remember that?"  Hopper asked.

Will shook his head, 'no' again.

"Do you remember anything from last night?  About what happened".  The doctor asked Will.

"I remember they hurt".  Will answered.

"You mean the doctors?"

"No.  The soldiers hurt me".  Will corrected him.

"The soldiers hurt you?"

Will nodded and then he looked over to Victoria.  "They also hurt Tori". 

Everyone's eyes turned to her, making Victoria nervous, not wanting to look at anyone, so she looked to the ground.

"They shouldn't have done that".  Will looked back to the doctor.  "It upset him".

Victoria looked back up Will not completely understanding what he met.

"You say upset him?  Is that 'him'". The doctor grabbed a picture of the demogorgon that Will drew, handing it to him.

Will nodded his head, 'yes'.

"Okay, I want to try something".  The doctor said softly, taking the picture away from Will and setting it down and looking to the others.  "It's going to seem a little odd at first but I think it's really gonna help us understand what is going on".  The doctor reassured them before turning to Will and putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.  "That okay?"

Will nodded.  "Okay".

Soon a doctor came into the room, rolling in something on a cart.  Victoria was able to glimpse at it and her eyes widened.  "What's that?"  She asked but no one answered her.

"Now, Will.  I want you to just let us know if you feel anything.  Okay?"  The doctor told Will.

The other doctor turned on the torch as he lowered it in the case, the creature letting out a small screech.  Victoria winced slightly.

"Feel anything?"  The doctor asked Will.

"A little sting".  Will answered.

Victoria was confused now.  Because she was feeling the exact same thing.

"It stings.  Where?"  The doctor asked as Will's heart monitor started to go up. 

Victoria breathed out heavily as she clenched her eyes shut, the stinging getting worse.  "Chest".  Will answered, grabbing at his chest.

"Okay".  The doctor gave the other one a nod.

The torch lowered and moved slightly more.

"How about now?"  The doctor asked as Will gasped.

"It burns!"  Will cried out and his heart monitor sky rocketed.

Victoria couldn't handle the pain anymore as she hunched over letting out a scream.  "Stop!"  Victoria begged.

This caught the eyes of the others.

Hopper grabbed onto her shoulders, keeping her from falling as she gasped.  "It's doing the same thing to her?"  Hopper questioned the doctor who looked astonished by the reveal.

"Where does it burn?"  The doctor asked the two.

The two groaned before answering at the same time;  "everywhere!"

"That's enough!  That's enough!"  Joyce shouted as Victoria and Will screamed out in pain again.

Victoria felt herself falling but if it wasn't for Hoppers grip she would've fell onto the floor. 

"That's it!  Stop!"  Hopper shouted.

And then the pain slowly went away.

"Okay".  The doctor spoke calmly.

Victoria took in some deep breaths as she looked at the ground, Hopper leaning down towards her face, trying to get her to look at him.  "You okay?"  Hopper asked but she didn't answer.

"It's okay, sweetie".  Joyce reassured her son as his heart monitor returned to normal.

"Can I speak with you two out in the hall?"  The doctor asked Joyce and Hopper.

"Let's sit you down".  Hopper told Victoria softly.

Victoria only nodded as she grabbed the edge of Wills bed and sat on the floor, leaning up against his bed as she watched the others leave the room. 

This left only Will and Victoria.

The two didn't exchange any words.

Meanwhile, outside...

"Our best guess right now is that it is some sort of virus.  Which is causing this neurological disorder.  Now, when a typical virus attaches itself to its host...it duplicates.  Right?  It spreads essentially hijacking the host.  The virus is alive.  It has an intelligence.  That's not unusual.  What is so unusual here is this virus...the infected hosts seem to be communicating.  It has some sort of hive intelligence, and it's connecting to all hosts...". The doctor gestured to the room they were just in.

"Including the girl".

"Victoria?"  Hopper confirmed.

The doctor nodded.

"The good news is a virus can be cured.  We-we're going to continue to run tests.  We're going to see what we can find". 

"What happens if he can't remember anything?"  Joyce asked, crying.  "When there's nothing else there?  What happens when my boy is gone?"

The doctor didn't answer as Hopper comforting put an arm around Joyce.

"There's one thing that I don't get".  Hopper looked to the doctor.  "Why isn't Victoria forgetting?  She's not experiencing all the same effects Will is".  Hopper asked.

The doctor looked to him.  "That's something that is still unclear to me.  But, if I had to take a guess, it's that the virus is only letting her be partially connected".

~~~

At the Parker residence, Anthony groaned as he quickly made his way down the stairs.  Someone was at the door, constantly ringing the doorbell.

"I'm coming!  Calm down.  Jesus".  Anthony groaned, walking over as he opened the door.  "What?"  He asked in irritation and then was confused.

There were two kids there.  One he hasn't seen in awhile and another he had no idea who it was.

"Yeah?"  He asked.

"Anthony, right?"  The boy asked.

Anthony gave a nod.  "Sinclair?" 

Lucas nodded.

Anthony then looked to the girl.  "Who are you?"

"Max".  The girl introduced herself.

"Why are you here?"  Anthony got straight to the point.

"We need your help.  Dustin is with Steve".  Lucas explained slightly. 

"Steve?  Like my best friend, Steve?"  Anthony asked, not believing what he was hearing.

Max pursed her lips.  "If it's the Steve with good hair than yeah". 

Anthony and Lucas both looked at her with a questioning look.  Max unfolded her arms, looking between the two.   "What?"

~~~

The three finally made it to the destination. They stood on top of a hill looking at Dustin and Steve. Lucas held his bike as he waved to the others. Anthony was the first one to move as he walked down the slope and over to Steve where Dustin went to greet his friends.

"What is going on?" Anthony asked. "I thought you were winning Nancy back over?"

Steve sighed, putting a hand on Anthony's shoulder. "Oh, plans had to change". Steve went on telling Anthony what exactly was happening and what him and Dustin were doing before he showed up.

"Let's get to work!" Steve then called to the three.

Anthony started to move some material, muttering to himself and then when he looked around he only noticed that it was him, Steve, and Max doing the work. Dustin and Lucas were just sitting whispering about something.

"Steve". Anthony called and gestured with his head over to the two by the car who finally stood up but not moving. Steve rolled his eyes before walking over with a chair in his hand and then banged it on the trunk.

"Hey! Dickheads. How come the only ones that are helping me is Tony and this random girl". Steve gestured to Max. "We lose light in 40 minutes. Let's go. Let's go, I said". Steve started walking away, the two trialing behind him.

"All right, asshole, God!" Dustin groaned.

"Okay! Stupid". Lucas grumbled.

~~~

"Tori, Tori, wait!" Hopper called as he pushed open the door, now walking outside as he followed after her.

"I can't". She shook her head at Hopper. "This. All of this is going overboard. Will is just sick. Traumatized and this isn't helping him. He should go home too". Victoria told Hopper.

Hopper looked at her with confusion. "What-What do you mean? You don't believe this? You were there. Hell, I was there". Hopper gestured with his arms.

Victoria shook her head as he spook. "No. It wasn't real".

"Tori. How do you explain what just happened to you back there?" Hopper gestured to the building.

Victoria swallowed. "It's just in my head". With that. She turned around and started to walk away.

"Tori!" Hopper called but she ignored him. Causing the man to sigh.

Victoria walked until she saw the first phone booth and went over to it. Placing the coins in and dialing the number she waited.

Hello?

"Heather. It's Tori. Can you pick me up?"

Tori?  What's wrong?  Are you okay?  Where are you?

Victoria looked around and then let out a nervous laugh.  "I honestly don't know".  She saw a street sign in the distance. "I'm off of Chestnut".

I'll be right there. Don't move.

~~~

"If I knew we would be waiting here for hours I would have brought food". Anthony has his arms crossed over his chest from where he sat in the bus, watching Steve flick his lighter on and off.

"You'll live, Tony". Dustin gave the older boy a look.

"So you really fought one of those things before?" Max asked Anthony and Steve.

Steve looked over to Max and slowly nodded his head as well as Anthony who then pointed to the bat with nails.

"My bat got ruined because of if". He was still sad for his bats fate.

"And you're, like, totally 100% sure it wasn't a bear?" Max asked.

"We don't get bears around here". Anthony stated.

"Shit. Don't be an idiot. It wasn't a bear". Dustin scolded the girl. "Why are you even here if you don't believe us?" Dustin asked her. "Just go home".

Max looked at him and then stood up. "Geesh. Someone is cranky". She went to climb the stairs. "Past your bedtime? Max then climbed up.

"Smooth". Anthony told Dustin sarcastically trying to hold back his smile.

"That's good. Just show her you don't care". Steve looked at Dustin.

"I don't". Dustin mumbled.

Steve winked up to Dustin.

"Why are you winking, Steve?" Dustin asked.

Steve flicked open his lighter again.

"Stop". Dustin said, causing Anthony to laugh.

They waited a few more minutes until a loud growling noise screeched throughout the air. This caused the three inside to hurry over to look out through pieces of the window that they didn't cover.

"You see him?"

"No".

"Lucas, what's going on?" Dustin called.

"Hold on!" Lucas shouted down as he looked through the binoculars. "I got eyes! Ten o'clock".

The three looked that way and saw the figure just there. Doing nothing.

"What's he doing?" Dustin asked.

"I don't know". Anthony answered.

"He's not taking the bait. Why isn't he taking the bait?" Steve asked.

"Maybe he's not hungry". Anthony suggested, having no idea.

"Maybe he's sick of cow". Steve then said. Steve backed up from the window.

Anthony and Dustin turned to Steve. Anthony then shook his head. "Nah, Steve don't be stupid". Anthony told his best friend.

"Steve? Steve, what are you doing?" Dustin then asked as Steve moved.

Steve grabbed the bat before turning to the two. "Just get ready". Steve tossed the lighter to Anthony who caught it.

"We're seriously doing this?" Anthony breathed out and then watched Steve open the door. "Ahh, man".

Anthony looked back out along with Dustin, and Max came to join them. "Careful". Anthony whispered as he watched Steve.

"He's insane". Max told them.

"He's awesome". Dustin smiled.

Steve looked at the creature and swung the bat slightly, preparing himself.

"Steve, watch out!" Lucas suddenly shouted.

"A little busy here!" Steve called to him.

"Three o'clock! Three o'clock!" Lucas screamed.

"Shit! Get him out of there!" Anthony shouted.

Dustin ran to the front of the bus, opening the door. "Steven. Abort! Abort!"

The creature charged at Steve where he dodged it and then whacked at another one.

"Steve get inside!"

"Hurry!"

Everyone was screaming at him.

"He's about to become dog food". Anthony freaked out.

"Steve run!"

Steve ran over to the bus, dodging the creatures and then when he was close enough he jumped inside where Dustin pulled the lever, slamming the door shut.

"Shit!" Dustin screeched as they tried to get in.

"Are they rabid or something?" Max asked as Steve grabbed a piece of metal and shoved it against the door.

"They can't get in". Lucas said. "They can't!"

Both Anthony and Steve pressed their feet against the price of metal but the creatures were stronger, pushing it back towards them. One even shoved their head inside.

Steve grabbed his bat, whacking at it while the children ran to the other side of the bus. Anthony grabbed a pole to use to defend himself and helped Steve whack at the creature.

"Is anyone there? Mike? Will?" Dustin cried into his radio. "God? Anyone?"

They screamed as a bang was heard.

"We're at the old junkyard and we are going to die". Dustin said.

"Be a little more positive, Henderson". Anthony yelled as he gave another whack to the creature.

"Okay! I'm positive we are going to die!"

Max looked up through the emergency exit on the ceiling that was still opened, being greeted by another creature. Max screamed as Anthony and Steve made their way over.

"Out of the way! Out of the way!" Steve shouted to her, getting between the kids and the creature.

"You want some? Come get this!" Steve yelled as Anthony stood by his side. The two ready to defend the kids.

The creature opened its face, screeching at them and then suddenly stopped as it looked to the side, growling and then jumping off the bus.

The rice stood there, hearing the growls not being as loud as before but waited. Anthony kicked his lips and looked to Steve. "Come on". He whispered.

The group slowly made their way back to the front where Anthony carefully opened the door, making it let out a snap. "Jeesh". Anthony breathed out as he still held his pole in his one hand.

He took cautious steps outside, looking around as the others followed.

"What happened?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know". Max said.

"Steve scared them off". Dustin concluded.

"No. No way". Steve held the bat over his shoulder before turning to the kids. "They're going somewhere".