Chapter Six : The Spy

chapter thirty-seven , Guardian: Part Two

a/n : Gus being an absolute badass this chapter 🧎🏾‍♀️

Don't be afraid to vote and comment! You have no idea how much motivation that gives me!

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"Oh, yeah. Yeah, this will do."

Gus looks up at Steve as he takes his shades off. Steve walks toward the junkyard. "This'll do just fine. Good call, dude."

A giddy smile spreads across Dustin's lips. Dustin looks at Gus, "He's so cool. Now I know why you've been in love with him."

A dry chuckle escapes Gus' lips. She holds a hand up and pulls the bill of Dustin's hat down. His hat goes over his eyes and he groans. "Dammit!"

Gus laughs and walks over to Steve. They pour the rest of the raw meat into the middle of the junkyard.

"I said medium-well!"

Gus, Steve, and Dustin turn to the two kids. Lucas waves at them and Gus waves back. Her eyes shift to the red-head and her eyes light up. "Hi, MadMax!"

Max waves back at the teenager.

"Who's that?" Steve asks.

Dustin doesn't answer, he just stares at her. Gus looks at Dustin and just from the look across his face, she knew that this was the girl. The short-haired brunette's eyes widen. "Wait, she's the girl you've been fawning over?" Her voice was low.

Dustin looks at Gus, "Yeah. Who else would it be?"

Gus squints her eyes. She closes her mouth and clenches her jaw. A sharp breath leaves her nostrils. "No. One..." Gus forces out. She turns on her heel and walks away from the two boys.

Steve pulls his brows together, "What's her deal?"

Dustin shrugs a shoulder. Lucas and Max make their way over to Steve and Dustin. Lucas and Dustin go behind a car to talk in secret, while the other three work on fortifying the junkyard.

"You told her?"

"So what?" Lucas shrugs.

"So what?" Dustin lets out a chuckle if disbelief.

"Sofía wanted me to tell her."

Dustin's expression falls. Why would Sofía risk all of the secrets coming out? Did she really trust Max that much?

The boy pushes down his thoughts. "Yeah, but I didn't, all right?" Dustin retorts. "We agreed not to tell her and to look for Dart."

"Who you conveniently found." Lucas deadpans.

"Are you suggesting that I'm lying?" Dustin blinks.

"I'm saying you have a creepy little bond with him." Lucas states.

Dustin falters, "Yeah, that was before he turned into a Demogorgon."

"And you haven't heard from Mike?" Lucas asks.

"No."

"Or Will?"

"No."

"Sofía?"

"No."

"Hopper?—"

"No! No one is around." Dustin says. "Why do you think Gus and I are with Steve Harrington?"

"Something's—"

"Wrong. I agree." Lucas finishes. "Which is why we need as much help as we can get."

Lucas and Dustin look through the car. Their eyes land on Gus and Max placing metal sheets inside the bus.

"She didn't believe me anyway," Lucas says.

Dustin smiles softly, "Probably didn't tell it right."

"That must be it," Lucas smirks. He turns to Dustin and holds his hand out to him. "So, we good?"

Dustin chuckles, before he could shake Lucas' hand, Steve hits a chair against the car; causing the two kids to jump.

"Hey, dickheads! How much the only one helping us out is this random girl?"

"She's not random, she's MadMax!" Gus calls out from afar.

Steve waves a hand, acknowledging what Gus said. "We lose light in 40 minutes. Let's go." He starts to walk away and the kids follow behind him, but they were too slow for his liking.

"Let's go, I said!"

"All right, asshole! God!"

"Okay! Stupid."

Gus looks at Max and bites the inside of her cheek. "So...I hear, you like Dig Dug."

Max looks at Gus, "One of my favorite games."

Gus grabs some end of the metal sheet and Max grabs the other. They slide the metal sheet into the bus and place it against the wall of the bus.

"What about you, what's your game?" Max asks.

Gus sighs, "I'm more of a DND kind of girl." She arches a brow. "Sofia's more into the arcade stuff."

Max softly smiles, "You know, I've only had like a few interactions with you and I've gotta say...what are you doing hanging out with them?"

Gus looks over at the three boys that were shouting at each other. Max and Gus starts to laugh. Gus keeps her eyes on Steve as he instructs the kids. Steve's demeanor quickly changed when he started to tell the kids where to put things. He was a lot more approachable. Gus knits her brows together. "I guess, we just have...a lot in common." She looks at Max. The young girl already had her eyes on Gus, noticing she was staring at Steve for far too long. Gus' face heats up. She clears her throat and shakes her head. "We should...keep—you know." The teenager quickly leaves the bus, which causes Max to laugh.

...

Sofía and Mike had already explained to Fallon everything they knew about what was going on. Sadly, the girl could barely wrap her mind around any of it. So, she just stood there nervously biting her nails; while Will looked at pictures of the drawings from his wall.

"Sam, this is ludicrous." One of the scientists speaks.

"Just give him a moment, okay?" Owens replies.

"We don't have time—"

"Hey, jackass, why don't you do us all a favor and shut up, okay?" Hopper cuts the man off.

Will stands up from his seat and walks around the table, his eyes glued to the Polaroids. He points at a specific photo, "That's it."

"That's what? What...what's there, Will?" Owens asks.

"I don't know." Will answers. "I just know he doesn't want me to see there."

Fallon inhales a small breath an eery feeling practically crawls across her body.

"I think it's important."

Almost, like they all had the same thought; the scientists all leave the room. Fallon holds her hands up, "What the fuck?"

...

Steve was flicking his lighter on and off, to past the time. Gus was sitting next to Steve. Every now and then, her thigh would ever so lightly touch his. And during those moments, Steve would stop flicking the lighter from his shaky hands.

Gus' stomach rumbles and everyone turns to the girl. She looks at each person and bashfully chuckles. "My bad. Hungry."

Steve frowns, he grabs his backpack and opens it. He digs through his bag and pulls out a bag of Twizzlers. Gus' mouth opens and she gasps, "Dude, what? When did you—"

"I kind of thought you might get hungry later. So, I bought them when we were at the store earlier." Steve shrugs a shoulder.

Gus raises her brows, "Oh, wow. Really?"

"Yeah, it's no big deal." Steve tries to brush it off like it's nothing. Gus softly smiles, "Thanks, Steve."

Steve chuckles and looks off to the side, his face getting hot. Gus opens up the bag and takes a Twizzlers. She passes the bag around and everyone grabs one. After waiting and snacking on Twizzlers, Lucas decided to be look out. So, he climbed up the ladder with his binoculars to be on watch.

"So, you really fought one of these things before?" Max looks at Steve.

Steve nods his head.

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

"Shit. Don't be an idiot. Okay? It wasn't a bear." Dustin snaps.

Gus' mouth slightly opens, "Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

"Why are you even here if you don't believe us?" Dustin scoffs. "Just go home."

"No, don't go home. You kind of might get torn to shreds." Gus advises Max.

"Yeesh. Someone's cranky. Past your bedtime?" Max then climbs up the ladder and sits with Lucas.

Gus shakes her head and looks over at Dustin. "What the hell is wrong with you?" She seethes. "If that's your way of trying to get Max to like you, you're not doing a good job."

"Steve said—"

"Nuh-uh. That was before." Steve emphasizes. "Now, you should do whatever Gus says."

Gus looks at Steve with a pointed look, which causes Steve to shift uncomfortably. The girl pulls her leg away from Steve's and fully turns to him. "I can't believe you shared that crap with him." She scoffs. "Pretending that you don't care, makes the person you're trying win over think you don't care about them." Gus then looks at Dustin. "How about you try just being yourself? And if she doesn't like you for you, then maybe just maybe. She's not the girl for you." Her eyes soften. "There could be someone else out there for you."

"Yeah, like who?" Dustin scoffs.

Gus slightly opens her mouth. She then closes her mouth, not giving anything up. As much as she would love to see Sofía and Dustin together. She knew that Sofía had to do this herself. She needed to tell Dustin how she feels without any help.

Gus bunches her shoulders, "I don't know. You're still young, I'm sure you'll find someone someday."

Dustin looks at Steve and sees him winking. "Why are you winking, Steve? Stop."

Gus turns to the Harrington boy. "Yeah, stop." She snorts. "That's so weird."

Steve looks at Gus, "I dunno, seems like you're enjoying it." He winks again.

Gus laughs, "Oh My God—stop!" She nudges her leg into Steve's.

Dustin rolls his eyes, "Jesus, can you two just kiss already?!"

Steve and Gus snap their eyes over to the kid.

"What?" The teen's chorus.

"We're not going to—"

"We don't...we are not..." Gus' face gets hot and she starts to get defensive. She points her finger at Dustin. "You shut your mouth, Henderson!"

"All I'm saying is—"

A bone-chilling screech rings through Gus' ears and her body freezes. Her skin starts to crawl and her throat tightens. Steve turns and looks out the window. Dustin runs over to them and he looks out the window as well.

"You see him?"

Gus swallows and she inhales a deep breath. She forced herself to turn around and looks out the window as well. Her eyes travel around the junkyard. Dustin walks over to the ladder, "Lucas, what's going on?"

"Hold on!"

They all wait for Lucas' call.

"I've got eyes! Ten o'clock! Ten o'clock!"

Steve raises his brows, "There." He points.

Gus and Dustin follow his finger to the mini Demogorgon. She squints her eyes as the creature as it stays in the fog.

"What's he doing?"

"I don't know..." Steve shakes his head.

The mini-Demogorgon doesn't walk toward the meat, which causes Gus to grow worried.

"He's not taking the bait. Why is he just taking the bait?" Steve asks.

"Maybe he's not hungry?" Dustin suggests.

"Maybe he's sick of cow." Steve steps away from the window. He thinks for a moment. Gus pulls her brows together from the silence. Then she hears quick footsteps, which causes her ears to perk. She turns to see Steve walking towards the door of the bus.

"Steve? Steve, what are you doing?" Gus walks over to him. Steve presses the button and opens the bus door. But Gus slams her hand over the button and the door closes right back. She looks up at him.

"Gus—"

"You're not going out there." Her tone was firm. Steve keeps his eyes on Gus' shaky ones. She was afraid for him.

"Look, we really don't have time to argue," Steve says. "We have to do this."

"Then I'll go—"

"That's out of the question." Steve shakes his head. "You've got the powers, so you need to be here with the kids." He searches her hazel green eyes. Without breaking eye contact, he wraps his fingers around Gus's wrist. He places the lighter in her hand.

"You're their Guardian. So, Guard them." He closes her hand around the lighter.

Gus shakes her head, "I am getting so sick of people saying that..." she inhales a deep breath and tightens her grip around the lighter. A lump forms in her throat, but she quickly swallows it. "You have five minutes." She exhales. "Okay? And if anything goes wrong out there I'll—"

"You'll be there to save my Damsel ass." Steve quips. Gus lets out a shaky chuckle. "Yeah, that's right."

Steve gives her a small smile, "Just get ready. I'll be back."

Gus nods her head and she presses the button, causing the door to open again. Steve picks his hat up and cautiously walks outside. Gus closes the door and curses. She and Dustin run over to the window and watch Steve closely. Steve makes his way over to the Mini-Demogorgon.

Max climbs down the ladder. "What's he doing?"

"Expanding the menu," Dustin states.

Max shakes her head, "He's insane."

"He's awesome." Dustin chuckles.

Gus softly scoffs, "He's an idiot." She then frowns. A brave idiot. She thinks.

As the fog clears, Gus' eyes widen from how much Dart has grown.

"Steve, watch out!" Lucas screams.

"A little busy here!"

"Three o'clock! Three o'clock!"

Gus' heart drops into her stomach and her eyes shoot over to Steve's side, three other Demogorgons creeping over to him. Her heartbeat starts to ram against her chest and she felt like she couldn't breathe.

Dustin opens the bus door, "Steve! Abort! Abort!"

Gus wanted to think about this accordingly. But the girl has always been impulsive, especially when someone she cares about was in danger. Gus didn't want anyone getting hurt. And if that meant, she had to be the one in danger...

Then so be it.

Gus hands Dustin the lighter and sprints out of the bus toward the boy. Dustin and Max's eyes blow wide.

"Gus, come back!" Dustin shouts.

Gus' hands were shaking violently and her vision was spotty, but she ran despite it all. "Shit! Shit! Shit!" The Demogorgons begin to chase after Steve as he runs toward the bus. But as soon as Gus came into the four creature's view, it was like all eyes were on her. She was the only thing that mattered to them. Just like last year at the school. That larger Demogorgon only wanted her.

The Harrington boy spots Gus running toward him. Steve thought that Gus would start running with him, but she ran past him. And that causes Steve's heart to practically stop. "August!"

"Keep going!" Gus shouts back at him.

August looks at the four Mini-Demogorgons and she could've sworn that fear started to creep through her body. Gus inhales a deep breath, a low ringing begins to shake her brain. When Gus was back at Dustin's house, her powers didn't work. So, when she thought about using them at this moment she hesitated. Then she thought back to what she learned when training with Eleven.

"Think about protecting people. The people you love."

Gus' vans dig into the dirt and she skids to a stop. She holds both her hands out and visible power waves shoot from Gus' hands. The waves slam into the creatures and send them flying back. Gus' eyes widen and she lets out a triumphant laugh. Her smile drops when she realizes she has to get back to the bus. Gus turns on her heel and runs after Steve.

"Steve! Gus! Hurry!"

"Come on!"

Steve jumps forward and gets into the bus. Relief runs through Gus. Everyone else on the bus yells at Gus and urges her to run faster. As Gus gets closer to the bus, she thinks about how those creatures were eyeing her. If she got on that bus, not only would she be in danger, but so would everyone else.

Gus lets out a harsh breath, "Shit." she quickly stops before getting on the bus. Steve's eyes widen, "August Castillo-Hopper, get on this bus right now!"

Gus turns and is greeted by one of the Demogorgons lunging toward her. She holds up her arm and the Demogorgon's claws cut her arm. Deep. Gus screams, but she holds out her other hand and sends the creature flying back.

"Gus get in!" Lucas shouts.

Gus ignores the hot searing pain from her arm. Black dots form in her vision and she shakes her head. Gus watches as the four Demogorgons run toward her. The screams from her friends start to ring through her ears.

"August! Get inside, now!"

"Don't do anything stupid!"

Gus manages a weak chuckle, "Too late..." she inhales a deep breath and anxiously waits for the creatures to get closer. She had to pick the right time, or all of this would be for nothing. All of them would die. Gus wasn't going to let that happen.

12 feet.

Gus rubs her hands against her jeans.

10 feet.

She digs her heels into the dirt.

8 feet.

"August, don't do this!"

6 feet.

"Cover your ears!" she orders.

Everyone's shouts fall silent. Just from the way, Gus' tone morphed into a dictatorial one, they knew something big was gonna happen. Steve swallows nervously, "Cover your ears--cover your ears!"

Steve and the kids all duck and cover their ears. Gus inhales a deep breath and the ground beneath her begins to quake. The bus starts to shake violently.

"Oh, shit. Oh, shit--Oh Shit!" Dustin cries.

A shrill scream comes from Gus' mouth. Three of the Demogorgons farthest from Gus flew far back, while the one that lunged towards her was caught in Gus' crossfire. The Demogorgon exploded, leaving Gus covered in blood and guts. Gus keeps her eyes and mouth closed. She dry heaves from the rancid smell on her body. Gus places her hands on her knees and tries to catch her breath. A hand latches onto the back of her sweater and pulls her into the bus. The door slams shut and Gus falls onto her back.

"Holy shit!--She just destroyed that Demogorgon!" Lucas exclaims.

"With her voice..." Max says with her brows pulled together. She starts to shake her head. "That was...with her voice!"

Steve crouches beside Gus and cups her face, despite the Demogorgon blood on her face. "Are you okay?"

Gus inhales a breath and exhales one. "I, uh...I think so..." the girl was so busy trying to remember to breathe, she didn't even notice the tears in Steve's eyes. Even if she did notice, she probably wouldn't have known that those tears were for her.

But, Steve lets out a breath of relief and pulls her onto her feet.

"Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?!" Max screams. "Gus has powers?!"

"We'll explain everything later!" Gus shouts. She grabs one of the metal sheets off the ground and presses it against the door. The three other creatures start to claw at the door. Gus grunts as she keeps her feet planted against the metal sheet.

"Are they rabid or something?!" Max shouts.

Gus sighs, "Did you guys explain anything to her?!" she looks at Lucas then Dustin.

"She didn't believe me!" Lucas replies.

Steve runs over to the short-haired brunette. He sits behind her and presses his feet against the metal as well.

"They can't get in! They can't!"

The entire bus shakes. Suddenly, one of the Demogorgon's hands slams through the metal door. The Demogorgon scratches at Gus' right leg and she screams.

"Motherfucker!" Gus screams out in pain. She holds her hand out and the Demogorgon is thrown back by her abilities. Steve looks at the three kids, "Get back!"

The three kids run to the back of the bus as Gus and Steve try to fight the rest of the Demogorgons off. Steve grabs hit bat and hits at the door, scaring the creatures off. The bus suddenly stops shaking and the screeching falls silent. Max's eyes snap up to the top of the bus, hearing slow but loud stomps. She slowly shifts her eyes to the top of the ladder and Max finally gets a clear view of the creatures that Lucas tried to warn her about. Her eyes widen and all the color drains from her face. A horrified scream comes from her mouth, triggering Gus and Steve's protective gene. The teenagers stand up and run to the back of the bus.

"Out of the way! Out of the way!" Steve ushers the kids into the corner of the bus. Gus holds her arms out in front of the kids. Steve holds his bat up, "You want some?! Come get this!"

The Demogorgon's face opens and it screeches at Steve, ready to lunge. Before it could attack, the Demogorgon's attention focuses on something else that was far away. Gus scrunches her brows together and an uneasy feeling is left in her stomach. The creature jumps off the bus and the other Demogorgons follow. The group all stays silent for a few minutes, making sure nothing else was out there. Steve opens the bus door and steps out with his bat in hand. Gus follows suit, and her hands were raised. They all look around at the empty junkyard.

"What. Happened?"

"I don't know." Max shakes her head.

All the kids get off the bus. "Did Steve and Gus scare them off?"

"No. No way." Steve voices.

Gus slowly shakes her head, "They're going somewhere."

☆

Fallon was sitting next to Sofia in Will's room. The whole room was silent, waiting for any information on what the scientists found based on Will's intel. Suddenly a small cry comes from Will.

"I'm sorry."

Everyone looks at the crying boy.

"What? What do you mean, sweetie?" Joyce asks.

Will's voice starts to shake, he looks at his mom. "He made me do it."

Fallon pulls her brows together. She looks at Sofia, "What's going on?"

Sofia shakes her head, "I don't know..."

"Who? Who made you do what?" Joyce asks.

"I told you." Will's eyes were wide. "They upset him. They shouldn't have done that."

Simultaneously, Mike and Sofia both understand.

"They shouldn't have upset him."

Sofia's eyes widen and she snaps her eyes over to Mike's, he had the same look of realization across his face.

"The spy," Mike speaks. "The spy!" he shoots out of his seat and runs out of the room.

Fallon's mouth opens, "Mike, wait!" she runs after the boy.

"Oh, My God..." Sofia whispers, tears in her eyes.

Fallon and Mike run down the hall. Two soldiers were guarding the room where Dr. Owens and Hopper were.

"I need to get through! It's a trap!" Mike shouts. "It's a trap! I need to warn them. It's a trap!"

"Will, sweets, talk to me." Joyce whimpers. "You got to help me understand."

"It's too late." Will cries.

"H-He's not a spy for us anymore, Ms. Joyce."

Joyce looks at the teary-eyed girl. Sofia's eyes were on Will, but she looks at Joyce. The young girl swallows the lump in her throat.

"I...I don't think he ever was."

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author's note.

Gus and Steve protecting the children 🫡

I have officially finished writing season two. So, I will be trying to get the chapters out!

words : 3868