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― season one, episode eleven;
CHOCOLATE PUDDING

0:00 |───────── 16:38
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3938 words

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*.✧ 𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐄 ✧.*

Suddenly, the front door was flung open and Steve barged back in. The monster turned to look, roaring at him.

Only this time, Steve didn't freak out or run away. He bent down, grabbing Jonathan's bat from off the ground and swinging it aggressively at the monster's neck.

The nails ripped into the flesh and it reared back in pain. This gave Nancy enough time to get away from the wall and run to help Jonathan get up.

All of this action gave me enough of an adrenaline boost to push myself to my feet, ignoring the searing pain in my foot.

Steve continued to hit the monster over and over, each time pushing it further and further down the hallway. Finally, it stepped into the bear trap and the spikes closed in around its foot, the monster roaring angrily.

"Jonathan now!" Nancy had to yell over the loud sounds coming from the creature. Jonathan pulled the lighter out of his back pocket with shaking hands and then he clicked it open. He paused, staring at the flame for a moment before tossing it at the monster's feet.

The carpet immediately burst into tall flames, causing Nancy to stumble backwards, and I stepped forward and caught her waist. We leaned against each other, watching in awe as the flames began to engulf and devour the creature.

The four of us watched it burn for a few moments then Jonathan grabbed the fire extinguisher that they had stolen from the police station and sprayed the flames until they went down enough that we could see the damage we did on that thing.

Or we would've been able to see.

Except that it was gone.

"Where the hell is it?" I gasped, letting go of Nancy. I breathed in some of the thick smoke and began to cough, everybody else doing the same.

"It has to be dead." Jonathan panted.

We slowly approached the trap, finding nothing but searing flesh covering the trap's spikes.

It had gotten away.

*.✧ 𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐋𝐄𝐘 ✧.*

I removed my hand from El's back that I had rested there, trying to comfort the exhausted little girl. I stood up from my seat on the bleachers and marched right out of the room, having an odd feeling in my gut.

I entered the hallway, frowning when I saw that it was empty. "Belle?" I called out, getting no reply.

I stepped outside, pushing the heavy double doors open, calling to Belle again. Still no reply.

The last time I saw her she was with Nancy and Jonathan. They wouldn't have left? Would they?

I went back into the gym. "They're gone." I told the kids.

"What?" Mike gasped.

"Belle, Nancy and Jonathan. They're gone."

"Are you sure?" Lucas asked.

"Yes, Jonathan's car is gone." I said. The boys sighed but Dustin just shrugged.

"They're probably just off sucking face somewhere." Dustin said.

"And Belle?" I crossed my arms across my chest.

"Threesome?" He offered.

I scrunched up my nose in disgust at him and started to turn away but then he spoke again, "Fine, you win. It's a little weird."

"Where do you think they went?" Mike asked.

"I don't know." I sighed, frustrated.

"Maybe they went with the chief." Mike suggested, but this made Eleven shake her head.

"No," she spoke quietly.

"Did you see them?" I asked her. "Do you know where they went?"

"Yes."

"Where'd they go?" I asked again.

"Demogorgon." was all she said.

I felt a chill run up my spine, and I hugged myself to stifle my shiver.

They were totally going to go try to lure that creature into our world somehow so that Hopper and Mom could have a safe recovery of Will.

It was both genius and stupid at the same time. They are going to get themselves killed.

I ran my hands through my hair, having a lot to think about, my mind running a mile a minute.

There's an alternate dimension, with monsters in it, my little brother got taken there, my Mom is currently in that dimension trying to save said little brother, not to mention my older brother is trying to lure that same monster to him to try and kill it himself, which is certainly a death wish, and then there's Belle.

Belle.

I don't know exactly what I'm feeling towards her at the moment. It came upon me very suddenly, as soon as I held her hand at the table I felt it.

It felt like a tingling feeling in my chest, and my face kept getting red, and I couldn't stop staring at her. Like there was a magnet pulling me to her at all times now.

I'd never felt like this before, it was weird.

But I don't like her like...that. I mean, I don't even like girls!

I'm just gonna settle on the fact that I care about her and want her to stay safe, because she's my classmate and I don't want anything bad to happen to her.

Yeah, that's it. That's exactly it.

"We can't just wait around while everybody else gets themselves killed!" Mike exclaimed, getting to his feet.

"Mike, in case you forgot," Lucas brought up. "We are still fugitives. The bad men are still looking for us."

"As much as I want to help too, none of us are allowed to leave, remember?" I reminded him. "Mom told me to keep an eye on all of you and that's what I'll do."

Dustin rose to his feet and started across the gym. "Where do you think you're going?" I asked him, making him stop and face me. "I literally just said that we have to stay here and I have to watch you."

"Relax." Dustin rolled his eyes. "I'm just going to get some chocolate pudding. I'm telling you, the lunch ladies hoard that shit!"

"Are you being serious?" Mike looked offended.

"El needs to be recharged!" And then Dustin was gone.

Lucas looked at me, asking with his eyes for permission to go with him. I sighed and nodded, and being given the green light, he followed Dustin out.

Mike sat back down next to El, who rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. I felt my heart soften at the sight of them and decided that I would give them some time alone.

"I'm going to go with Dustin and Lucas, to make sure they're okay." I told the pair. "Stay here, you're safe here, okay?"

Mike and El nodded at me and then I left. I followed the sound of Dustin and Lucas' loud arguing over which was better, vanilla or chocolate pudding, until I reached them in the kitchen beside the cafeteria.

Dustin flung a cabinet open, revealing tons of cans of pudding stacked up. "Aha!" He cried out. "I told you it would be here."

Lucas just scoffed at him and began piling some cans into his arms. Dustin did the same, laughing to himself. "Those lunch ladies are bald faced liars."

"It's bold faced." I corrected him.

They hadn't known that I was there, so my sudden words made them jump. This caused Dustin to drop his cans of pudding. I smirked, proud of myself for scaring them.

"Are you kidding me, Ashley!?" He groaned. "Why did you do that? These could've burst and we would've wasted precious pudding!" He bent down and started to pick up the cans.

"I didn't make you drop them," I said jokingly. "That was your own fault."

Dustin scowled and Lucas gave me a confused look. "I thought you were going to stay with El and Mike."

"I figured they needed some alone time." I winked, making the boys groan. "Besides, you two are the ones I need to worry about."

They rolled their eyes at me and went back to stacking the pudding in their arms like they were never going to eat another meal in their lives. I sighed before stepping forward.

"Plus, I like pudding too." I said, reaching in between them and grabbing a can for myself. "Did you ever think of that?"

Lucas and Dustin looked over their shoulders at me, staring at me like I had been replaced by an alien, before they shrugged and moved out of the way so I could grab some cans. I smiled to myself and piled my arms full just like they had.

Once we were all carrying as much pudding as possible, we left and went back to the cafeteria, where El was now seated at a table alone. We went up to her and I looked around, confused.

"Where's Mike?" I asked as we dropped the pudding on the table.

El nodded towards the exit door on the wall. I set the rest of my cans down and started to approach it, squinting to look out the window in the top of it. Suddenly, Mike flung them open and burst in, out of breath.

"They found us." He said.

I gasped. Oh, shit.

We all ran out of the cafeteria, leaving the 'precious pudding' behind. We ran down the halls, hearing men's voices echo around the school, but miraculously, we didn't run into them. I stayed behind the kids, my arms on their backs, pushing them onward.

We rounded a corner just as a door was being flung open. A few soldiers with blindingly bright flashlights and guns pointed at us, burst inside. They spotted us and began to approach. The five of us turned on our heels and began running the other way, only to be cornered by another set of soldiers.

We turned to run the opposite direction again, but we were now surrounded. Shit, shit, shit.

I stepped in front of the kids, staring down the soldiers. A woman in a trench coat pushed through to the front, and cocked her gun, pointing it at my chest. My breath hitched as I stared down the barrel of the weapon that was probably going to take my life. But, I tried to keep my face stone cold, show no signs of fear.

Suddenly, the flashlights began to flash and I slowly turned to see El's nose was bleeding. I stepped back and she took my place in the front, shielding me as she used her powers.

I watched in horror as the woman and the soldiers appeared to be completely frozen in place, before their eyes started to ooze blood. I brought my hand up to cover my mouth as the red liquid dripped down their cheeks.

With a thud, they all collapsed to the floor, their bodies limp. I saw El teeter on her feet a little and I reached out to grab her but I was too late and she crumbled to the floor, unconscious.

The boys and I dropped to our knees and helped to flip El over onto her back and check on her. Mike shook her but she wasn't waking up this time and I felt my panic mode start to set in. After feeling her wrist, I determined she was still alive, she had just passed out. Mike was still freaking out over her though, saying, "She's barely breathing!"

Just then, a deep voice boomed through the hall and we all jolted up to see a man in a suit with more soldiers behind him.

"Leave her!" the man demanded. "Step away from the child."

We all got to our feet and I stepped in front of the boys again, having to hold Mike back as he screamed at the man, "You're going to have to kill us first!"

I raised my fists, preparing to lunge at them and swing, even though I was trembling with fear. But I would do it. For the boys, for El.

For Will.

But, I never got the chance. The next thing I knew I was being wacked in the back of the neck with the blunt end of a gun. I crumbled to the floor, finding myself unable to move, as soldiers that had come up behind us dragged me away from the boys, before they were grabbed too.

The room was swirling before my eyes and I felt my body wanting to pass out, but I fought the feeling, hanging on to consciousness.

I watched the boys kick and scream as the man bent down and took Eleven into his arms. He cradled her head between his hands and shook her. "Eleven? Can you hear me, Eleven?"

El slowly opened her eyes and squeaked, "Papa?"

The man smiled. "Yes, it's me. It's your papa."

What the hell is going on right now? Eleven's papa? Is this the doctor that was experimenting on kids that I heard Hopper talking about? Brenner?

"You're sick, but I'm going to make you better," He went on. "I'm going to take you home, and I'll make you well again."

Eleven looked over in our direction, staring at us through half shut eyelids. Then her head rolled back into Brenner's hands, and she looked at him. "Bad." She said meekly.

Brenner's face fell.

"Mike..." She managed to lift her arm enough to point at him, and Mike stopped struggling in the guards arms.

The lights started to flicker once more and the guards looked around, confused. Brenner looked lost as well. My head started to throb and I had to close my eyes due to the flashing lights.

"Blood." Mike stated.

My eyelids shot open. I squinted through the glaring pain and realized that underneath all of the soldiers that Eleven had taken down, were growing puddles of fresh blood. My thoughts suddenly became clear and I felt the effects of the blunt force to my skull wearing off a bit.

The lights flickered faster and faster and then a chip fell out of the wall in front of us. The soldiers jumped back, scared, as more and more pieces were broken off and the wall began to crumble in chunks, falling and making a pile on the ground.

It looked like something was breaking through, from inside the wall.

The men that had been holding me back, dropped me to raise their guns at the growing hole in the wall. I caught myself with my hands when I fell, using my increasing strength to get to my feet. I struggled to find my balance for a moment but eventually I was steady.

The monster's head suddenly shot out from the wall, and it roared at all of us.

Demogorgon.

The beast tore the rest of its way out of the wall, and the soldiers dropped the boys and pulled out their guns as well. The boys stumbled back towards me and I put my arms on their backs, trying to reassure them, but really my heart was beating out of my chest.

As I watched the Demogorgon stomp towards us, I was brought back to that night, where I had seen its hand come through the wall. I felt my chest tightening and could barely breathe, but I kept a brave face for the boys, who were looking up at me for what to do next.

I stumbled forward, right towards the monster, still uneasy on my feet. The soldiers began to fire at it, creating a wall of firepower, protecting me, El and the boys. I bent down and picked her up, pushing through my burning and shaking muscles as I carried her, following the boys as they ran down the hallway, away from the Demogorgon and the bad men.

We made it to the science classroom and shut the door behind us, Dustin locking it. The gunfire and loud screaming was now muffled and my headache was started to subside. I laid a limp El on a table. The boys circled around her and Mike shoved me out of the way to take her hand.

"It's okay," He comforted her. "Just hold on. He's gone. The bad man is gone. We can go home soon."

This made Eleven smile, so Mike went on. "My mom will get you your own bed, and you can eat as many eggos as you want. And we can go to the Snow Ball."

I looked over at Lucas and Dustin, who had horrified looks on their faces. The Snow Ball was the middle school dance that was held every winter for seventh and eighth graders. I had never gone, I just stayed home with Jonathan and Will instead and we would paint or watch a movie. The latter sounded much more fun to me anyways. Besides, I never had a date.

But it looked like Eleven did.

I smiled at this thought, picturing El in a pretty dress, and her hair would be longer by then. Maybe she would let me do her makeup, or her nails. I closed my eyes and thought about this, using it to motivate me to get out of this mess.

The Demogorgon let out a loud roar from the hall and we listened as the gunfire got quieter and quieter, until it was no longer there and the school was eerily quiet.

This silence hung over us like a dark cloud until the door burst off its hinges and the creature was in the room, looking at us with saliva dripping from its mouth.

The boys started to scream at each other to get some kind of 'wrist rocket'. While they did that, I stood in front of the table where El was laying, in a wide stance, staring down the demogorgon.

Lucas pulled out a slingshot from his bag and got it ready, loading it quickly. He shot it at the monster, but it just bounced off like nothing more than a fleck of dust.

I started to panic, trying to keep my exterior calm as Lucas fired rock after rock and they didn't do a thing to hurt it.

The Demogorgon marched towards us, making the boys back up until they were standing against the wall, but I stood my ground, staying in front of Eleven.

It walked right up to me and I lifted my chin slowly to stare at its dripping jaws and large face.

My breath trembled and I couldn't stop the tears that were running down my face as it leaned in closer to me, getting only an inch away from my nose. My eyes felt like they might pop out of my skull as I felt it's warm, damp breath on my mouth.

The boys were screaming bloody murder, telling me to move away or run or do something. But I had already made up my mind. Maybe if this thing ate me, El and the boys could get away and leave the school to get help. Maybe I would quench its thirst for blood temporarily and buy everybody some more time to save Will.

And I was willing to do anything to save Will.

The demogorgon slowly opened it's jaws and I found myself staring into rows upon rows of sharp, shark like teeth. It sucked in a breath and then roared right in my face, the sound almost deafening and drops of its spit hit my face, making me flinch.

I felt it rear back and I knew that the bite down was coming. I reached behind me and grabbed the edge of the table and squeezed it, closing my eyes the rest of the way shut and bracing for impact. Hopefully it wouldn't be too painful and it would all be over soon.

I felt Eleven's fingers wrap around my wrist and squeeze and then I felt a gust of wind  whoosh in front of me.

I no longer was aware of the demogorgon's body heat close to me anymore. I opened my eyes slowly and saw that the beast was now pinned against the chalkboard in the front of the classroom, like somebody was suspending it there.

I looked down at Eleven and saw that her nose was bleeding once again. I started to frantically shake my head at her, knowing that if she used her powers one more time she would certainly die.

El sat up on the table, swinging her legs to the side. Then she dropped to the floor and began marching towards the demogorgon, bringing up both her arms to use her powers on it.

Mike ran for her, yelling at her to stop, but El flung one of her hands to the side and Mike flew back, landing on the floor. I ran over the check on him while Dustin and Lucas were frozen with awe.

I took Mike into my arms and held him back as he tried to run up to Eleven again. He kicked and screamed in my grasp but I ignored him, tightening my grip.

Eleven stopped in front of the demogorgon, before she looked back and gave us all a longing stare. I squeezed Mike even tighter even though he had gone limp with realization at the look she was giving him.

"Goodbye, Mike."

El turned back to the monster and it let out a final cry before it began to evaporate into particles. Eleven's arms were shaking and she was screaming as she used up all her energy to kill it.

I squeezed my eyes shut and buried my face in my shoulder, not being able to watch. I felt Mike dig his fingernails into my arms as we all listened to El's pained screams and the demogorgon's wounded cries.

Then it all went quiet.

I opened my eyes slowly and saw that the lights had come back on and the demogorgon was no longer in the room, in its place was a cloud of gray particles that floated slowly to the ground.

But El wasn't there either.

Mike broke free from my arms and started walking around the room, looking for her.

"El? El!" He cried. Dustin and Lucas joined him, but I remained on the ground.

I covered my mouth with my hand, listening to the boys calling out to her in agony. I felt my eyes well with tears as Dustin and Lucas stopped yelling for her, realizing that she was gone.

But Mike didn't stop calling to her until we saw the flash of police lights outside the window. Even then, we had to drag him out of the room and out of the front doors.

We were all brought to different ambulances to be checked on. After a series of tests I was told that I had a grade two concussion, but I couldn't bring myself to care.

El was gone. And I didn't know if my Mom or Jonathan were okay.

Or if Will was even alive.

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ೃ༄ author's note!

hi guys!!! i'm back with another update!! this is the second to last chapter, & the finale is next up! kinda sad that this season is ending :( but it's not the end of this book, that's for sure, there's three more seasons to go!

belle, steve, jonathan and nancy ate that demogorgan fight up!! if only if hadn't gotten away...lol.

ASHLEY AND BELLE ROMANCE WHAT DO WE THINK? thoughts? opinions?

a stupid question but i think we should lighten the mood; vanila or chocolate pudding? i prefer vanilla but I honestly kind of hate pudding in general 😭 the texture is so nasty!!

anyways thanks for reading!! i would love if you would vote for this chapter and follow me to be notified when i update.

love ya,
catie ♡