HAWKINS, INDIANA — 1984.

"YOU'RE POSITIVE THAT WAS DART?"

"Yes," Dustin replied to Lucas with exasperation, "he had the exact same yellow pattern on his butt."

Theresa glanced at him, then simply sighed. They were currently walking down the railroad tracks with no end in sight, trying to head back to Tess' car while they thought of a plan.

"He was tiny two days ago," Max cut in.

"Well he's molted three times already," Dustin responded, Steve frowning.

"Malted?"

Tess turned her head to Steve, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Molted, Steve," she shook her head again. "Seriously, go back to fifth grade."

Steve sharply looked at her, pointing the flashlight in her face. "Not all of us are secret nerds like you, Tess, mkay?"

She scoffed, offended. "I am not a nerd!"

"You kinda are," Lucas remarked with realization, staring off into the distance. "Oh my God, you're a nerd!"

Theresa was shooting him a look.

"Kiss my ass. Both of you," she glared at Steve who was smirking.

"You're a nerd," he muttered quietly, laughing softly.

Tess stopped walking, turning on him.

"Alright, you know what? You can walk home."

Steve sighed. "Tess, I was just kidding–"

"That's too bad, you're walking home."

"What if the Demogorgon comes back and eats me? I bet you'll feel really bad then, won't you?"

Tess smiled cynically. "No, not at all. At least something would want you, right?"

Her words stung a little bit, wiping Steve's smirk right off of his face. Lucas, Dustin and Max all stood there watching them argue, growing annoyed.

"That was a low blow," Steve mumbled, turning and continuing to walk.

Theresa kept her flashlight pointed in front of her as she walked, saying, "Where the hell is Hopper? Or Ms. Byers, or any adult for that matter? We need to tell someone that there are like five Demogorgons on the loose and one of them has already eaten a cat–"

"What?" Lucas stopped abruptly, grabbing Dustin by the shoulder. "One of them ate a cat?"

Dustin began to shake his head vigorously. "N-No. What? No."

"What are you talking about?" Steve looked between the two boys cluelessly. "He ate Mews."

"Mews?" Max questioned. "Who is Mews?"

"It's Dustin's cat," Steve replied, Dustin sending him a glare.

"Steve!"

Lucas hit Dustin on the shoulder. "I knew it! You kept him!"

"No!" Dustin responded, "No. No I... no I... he missed me! He wanted to come home."

"Bullshit!" Lucas exclaimed.

Dustin threw up his hands. "I didn't know he was a Demogorgon, okay?"

"Oh, so now you admit it–"

"Guys," Max cut in, "who cares? We have to go."

"I care!" Lucas quickly responded, turning back to Dustin. "You put the party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law!"

Theresa rolled her eyes at how dramatic they were being, glancing down at her watch. They did not have time for this.

Just then, from a distance rang out a familiar sounding shriek. Tess frowned, taking a few steps closer to where the nose had come from. Steve noticed her, walking over to her.

"Did you hear that?" she asked, just as another shrill screech echoed out distantly.

Steve nodded. "I heard it that time."

She turned back to the kids, Lucas and Dustin still bickering. Theresa rolled her eyes irritably.

"Guys!" Steve called, but they ignored him.

"Hey dipshits!" Tess yelled, the boys turning their heads to her. In the silence, they could hear the screeching noises coming from the woods.

She gestured with her head. "Let's go, now!"

They all followed Theresa as she led the way, running up a slope with Steve right behind her. They came to a clearing and slowed down, seeing that it was the top of a hill that overlooked Hawkins.

"I don't see him," Dustin said at once.

Lucas brought up his binoculars, scanning from left to right for a moment. Then he brought them down, pointing a finger.

"There. It's Hawkins Lab. They're going back home."

Theresa furrowed her eyebrows. "Home? The Demogorgons came from the lab?"

He nodded. "That's where the gate is."

"Gate to what?"

"The Upside Down," Dustin replied as if it were obvious. "Come on, let's go."

He started down the hill, Theresa staring at him in disbelief. Steve looked at her, then began to inch down the hill behind Dustin. She threw her head back, groaning.

"God, I hate you two."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

     THE GROUP REACHED THE END OF THE woods, able to see a tall fence topped with barbed wire not too far ahead.

"No wonder they've got this place guarded like a maximum security prison," Theresa muttered, taking a few more steps when she heard someone shout.

"Hey, who's there!"

She turned the flashlight, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

"Jonathan?"

"Tess?" He shielded his face from the light as Theresa and the others came closer, and she was then able to see someone standing beside Jonathan. Nancy Wheeler.

She fought the urge to roll her eyes, more concerned with what they were doing there.

"What are you doing here? And where the hell have you been for the past few days? You could've at least called, you know."

Jonathan sighed. "I-I'm sorry. We're looking for Mike and Will. What– what are you guys doing?"

"We just got attacked by a bunch of Demogorgons, one of them was Dustin's pet, and now we're trying to find them and we're pretty sure they're in there," Tess nodded her head toward the lab as she explained.

"Wait," Dustin interjected, "Mike and Will aren't in there, are they?"

Nancy bit her lip. "We– we don't know."

Theresa drew in a deep breath, turning toward the lab. It was completely dark, and it seemed like the power was off.

"We need to get in there," she spoke at once, the rest of them focusing their attention to her. "Is the gate not working?" she asked Jonathan and Nancy, both of them shaking their heads.

"Nothing is," Jonathan replied. "Power's out."

Tess tapped her foot. "Let me see."

She walked down the slope and everyone else followed, entering the security guard station to look for the entrance button. Squatting down, Theresa pressed the button multiple times but nothing happened.

"Hey guys," Nancy called, "I think the power's back on."

Tess looked up, seeing lights coming from the lab again. She looked back down, continuing to press buttons but nothing happening.

"Goddammit... where's Eleven when you need her?"

She stood up, taking a step back for a moment. Dustin walked in, pushing her out of the way.

"Move, lemme see." He started to push the button rapidly, and suddenly the gate lurched and began to move.

Dustin stood up with a smile. "Hey, I did it!"

Tess rolled her eyes, walking away.

"Okay, you guys wait here," Jonathan said, getting in his car and starting it up while Nancy went to the other side. "We'll be back."

Theresa was about to protest but Jonathan was already driving away. She huffed, crossing her arms.

They stood around at the entrance for a few minutes, kicking at the gravel and waiting around when they heard a vehicle coming. And it was coming at full speed, all three kids standing right in the middle.

"Get out of the way!" Theresa shrieked, grabbing Max and Lucas by their jackets while Steve pulled Dustin out of the way.

Jonathan sped away, and the police chief's vehicle came right behind him. Hopper rolled down the window, not wasting any time.

"Come on, get in!"

Theresa opened the back door, helping the kids in and then turning and seeing Steve standing there.

"I call shotgun," she said with a smile, Steve exhaling and climbing in the back.

Hopper kept his foot on the gas pedal, not stopping until they were at the Byers house. Theresa had many questions, but she waited to ask. Jim did not look like he was doing too hot at the moment.

Once inside, the first thing Tess laid eyes on was Will, asleep on the couch. He looked deathly pale, beads of sweat running down his face. Her heart skipped a beat for a moment, looking to Jonathan who was right by Will's side.

"W-What's wrong?" Theresa asked, taking a few steps closer.

Jonathan kept a hand over Will's head, his eyes darting to the floor.

"After that day you found him... things only got worse. H-He had a seizure and now I think– I don't know what I think. I should've been there," he muttered, dropping his head. "I wasn't there and I should've–"

"Hey," Tess placed a hand on Jonathan's shoulder, squatting down to eye level. "Don't blame yourself. If there's one thing I've learned in this past year... it's that I can't blame myself for everything. It's not your fault."

Jonathan drew in a shaky breath, bringing himself to nod. Theresa stood up at once, looking around. Steve was in the kitchen with the kids, leaning against the counter. She started toward him, taking the place beside him.

"So much for killing a baby Demogorgon and going to the movies, huh?"

Steve turned his head to her, then laughed a little. "Yeah. Looks like we'll have to take a rain check on that."

Theresa folded her arms, watching the kids sitting at the table. There was a sober tone to everyone at the moment, after the news that Bob had been killed back at the lab by one of the Demogorgons. Tess did not know him, aside from the one conversation she had had with him, but he seemed like a nice guy. She felt terrible for Joyce.

"Did you guys know that Bob was the founder of the Hawkins AV Club?" Mike said, standing up. He set something on the kitchen table, a blue cube. "He petitioned the school and everything. Then he had a fundraiser for equipment. Mr. Clarke learned everything from him."

Theresa gave a small sigh, keeping her eyes on the floor. Even she did not have a plan in this situation, no matter how hard she racked her brain. She was tired, drained of energy, and felt almost completely clueless as to what was going on. All she knew was that someone was dead because of those monsters, and it could have been her. Or Steve, or her brother, or anyone else. And Theresa wanted the creatures dead.

"We can't let him die in vain," Mike continued.

"Well what do you want to do, Mike?" Dustin countered. "The Chief's right on this. We can't stop those Demodogs on our own."

Tess narrowed her eyes. "Demodogs?" she inquired, Dustin looking back at her.

"Demogorgon dogs." He brought his hands together. "Demodogs. It's a compound. It's like a play on words, you–"

"Yeah, I got that."

There was silence for a moment.

Dustin continued, "I mean, when it was just Dart, then maybe..."

"But there's an army now," Lucas finished.

Mike seemed to realize something in that moment. "His army," he said, looking up.

Theresa and Steve both frowned, confused.

"What?" Steve questioned.

"His army!" Mike repeated. "Maybe if we stop him, then we can stop his army too."

Tess raised a hand. "Who is 'he'?"

Mike looked around, snatching a piece of paper and holding it up for her and Steve to see. There was a drawing of some kind of dark monster, colored with crayons.

"The shadow monster. It got Will that day on the field. The doctor said it was like a virus, it infected him."

Theresa took a few steps forward, tilting her head in thought. "So you're saying that Will is, what– possessed? And he's connected to the Upside Down?"

The three boys all nodded like it was obvious.

"Woah woah woah," Steve cut in. "Slow down."

Mike shot him a look. "The shadow monster is inside of everything in the tunnels. And if the vines feel something like pain, then so does Will."

"And so does Dart," Lucas replied.

"Yeah," Mike nodded. "It's like what Mr. Clarke taught us. The hive mind."

"Hive mind?" Steve looked lost.

Theresa decided to explain it for him. "It's like a collective consciousness. It's a super-organism, essentially. It makes everything connected."

Mike pointed at the drawing. "And this is the thing that controls everything. It's the brain."

"Like the Mind Flayer," Dustin's mouth fell open, Lucas' as well as he snapped his fingers in agreement.

Tess, Steve and Max were all lost. "What?" they said in unison.

A few minutes later, they had a Dungeons and Dragons book on the kitchen table, opened up to a page with a character titled 'The Mind Flayer.'

"The hell is that?" Hopper asked, having joined them.

"It's a monster from an unknown dimension," Dustin explained. "It's so ancient that it doesn't even know its true home. I-It enslaves races of other dimensions by taking over their brains using its highly-developed psionic powers."

Theresa blinked a few times. "I'm sorry, but this is from a fantasy game. We're talking about real life, here."

"I agree," Hopper said. "None of this is real."

"Well unless you know something that we don't, this is the best metaphor–"

"Analogy," Lucas corrected.

Dustin gave him a look. "Analogy? That's what you're worried about? Fine– an analogy for understanding whatever the hell this is."

Tess huffed, leaning against the table. "Alright, so what does the Mind Flayer thingy want with us?"

"To conquer us, basically," Dustin replied. "It believes it's the master race."

"Great, so it's racist," Theresa remarked.

Dustin tilted his head. "I-I mean, yeah."

Mike grew impatient. "It wants to spread and take over other dimensions."

"We are talking about the destruction of our world as we know it," Lucas added, Tess giving him a deadpan stare.

"You're so dramatic."

Nancy looked down at the book. "Okay, so if this thing is like a brain that's controlling everything, then if we kill it..."

"We kill everything it controls," Mike finished.

Theresa put up her hands. "Pause. May I remind everyone, yet again, that this is from a game. We still have no clue how to stop what's actually out there. Which, no offense, is not a Mind Flayer."

"Well then what do you suggest we do?" Dustin snapped at her, Tess turning on him.

"Look for an actual solution! Because this," she gestured at the Dungeons and Dragons book, "is not helping!"

Hopper pushed his hair back. "Everyone just needs to calm down, alright? We just need to wait, wait for backup."

"What is the military gonna do?" Mike retorted. "They don't know anything either, and you can't just kill these things with guns."

"They're gonna keep molting," Lucas muttered.

"And it's only a matter of time before the tunnels reach our town," said Dustin.

Theresa brought her head up suddenly.

"Will. Will knows. He's been in the Upside Down a-and he's connected. If anyone knows how to destroy this thing then it's him, right?"

"You're right."

Hopper moved, revealing Joyce standing in the hall. She had a tearstained face, sniffling.

"I want to kill this thing," Joyce continued. "I want it dead."

"But I thought Will was a spy for the Mind Flayer now," Max said. "I thought we couldn't trust him anymore."

Mike shook his head. "Yeah, but... he can't spy for the Mind Flayer if he doesn't know where he is."

Thirty minutes later, they had the Byers' shed completely covered, leaving no trace of what it was before. Will was still unconscious, but they were soon going to wake him. Tess was unsure if their plan was going to work, but she still had hope that Will was in there.

Theresa, Steve, Nancy and the kids all went back to the house, while Jonathan, Joyce, Mike and Hopper stayed in the shed.

"Do you think it's gonna work?" Steve asked Tess, who sat on the couch and bounced her knee uncontrollably.

He took a seat beside her, Theresa twisted her fingers, chewing inner lip.

"It has to work. Otherwise... we're fucking screwed."

notes.
kindaaa boring chapter but the next one is where all the good shit happens, and omg i can't believe i'm almost done writing season two

when theresa threatens billy with a knife what then?? istg her in that scene is about to EAT

the bickering of tess and steve... the way they act like an old married couple... it's beautiful. i crave more of it

idk if any of y'all have picked up on this but i'm curious if you guys have any theories; why do you think theresa hates nancy so much? i plan on writing a scene with them btw, i just wanna see what y'all think 😋 (we could get a real enemies to lovers with them fr but whatever)

anyway can't wait for steve to get his ass kicked by b*lly yay!!!!