𝘼𝙪𝙜𝙪𝙨𝙩 [𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙤𝙣]

[The lab]

In the car, Steve drove cautiously through the backroads of town. His eyes glued on the road, Cherry fidgeted nervously beside him. Her fingers traced the zipper of Steve's jacket, his coat still placed comfortably around her shoulders. In the back seat, Lucas turned to Dustin, Max sitting between the two boys. "You're positive that was Dart?" He questioned, his tone laced with skepticism. Dustin nodded annoyed. "Yes, Lucas. He had the same exact yellow pattern on his butt." "He was tiny two days ago," Lucas remarked, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Well, he's molted three times already." Dustin explained. "Mal-ted?" Max questioned, her confusion evident in her raised eyebrows. "Molted," Dustin clarified. "When something sheds skin to make room for growth, like hornworms." Her curiosity piqued, Max went on, "When's he gonna molt again?" Dustin shrugged. "It's gotta be soon... And when he does, he'll be fully grown, or at-least close to it." Lucas groaned, "And so will his friends." Steve interjected, snorting as he spoke, "Yeah, and he's gonna eat a lot more than just a cat,"

"Dart ate a cat?" Lucas asked incredulously. Cherry frowned, her unease growing with each passing moment. She'd been relatively quiet until now, "No, not the cat," she interjected, her voice tense. Hearing her sister's voice, Max chortled, her tone sarcastic, "Really? You speak up when it's about a cat?" "No, what? No, he didn't eat a cat," Dustin quickly corrected, nervously itching at his curls. Taken back by Dustin's lies, Steve furrowed his eyebrows, "What are you talking about, man? He ate Mews," "Mews? Who's Mews?" Max questioned, confusion evident in her voice.

"It's Dustin's cat," Steve explained, earning an indignant look from Dustin. "Steve!" He protested, sighing as he looked back out the window. Cherry shrank at the image, not wanting to end up like Dustin's poor cat. "I knew it! You kept him!" Lucas exclaimed. "No! No, I... He missed me. He wanted to come home," Dustin defended, stuttering as he looked back over. "Bullshit!" Lucas retorted, his frustration evident.
"I didn't know he was a Demogorgon, okay?" Dustin tried, Max's gaze shifting from one to the other as they spoke.

"Oh, so now you admit it?" Lucas shot back, his anger rising. "Guys, who cares?" Max interjected, attempting to diffuse the tension between the two boys. However, Lucas clearly wasn't ready to let it go. "I care! You put the party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law!" he accused, his voice filling Steve's car. Dustin threw his head back against his seat, "So did you!" He groaned defiantly. Lucas narrowed his eyes, looking at Max then back at Dustin. "What?" "You told a stranger the truth!" Dustin pointed.

Lucas scoffed, nudging Max, "A stranger?! You wanted to tell her, too!" Dustin argued, "But I didn't, Lucas, okay? I didn't tell her! We both broke the rule of law, so we're even," "We're even?" Lucas repeated, his tone cold as he questioned his friends words. Dustin insisted, "Okay?" "No, no! We're not even. Don't even try that! Your stupid pet could've eaten us for dinner!" Lucas replied. Cherry nodded from her spot in the front seat. "That was not my fault!" Dustin shot back, clearly insulted by his words.

Trying to block out what sounded like constant bickering from Lucas and Dustin in the back seats, Cherry and Steve focused on the view outside. Steve's grip on the steering wheel tightened as he glanced at the creatures reappear in his rearview mirror. "Detour," he muttered under his breath, his voice tinged with urgency as he followed the group of demogorgons retreating into the darkness. Cherry's heart raced as she watched the monsters disappear into the night. A wave of relief washed over her, grateful to be safe within the confines of Steve's car.

She leaned closer to Steve, her voice barely above a whisper. "Where do you think they're going?" she asked, her eyes reflecting the fear lingering within her body. Steve's jaw clenched as he navigated the car down a side road, following the path the creatures had taken. "I don't know," he admitted with a sigh, his focus divided between the road ahead and the rearview mirror. Cherry nodded, her fingers tightly gripping the edge of her seat as she tried to calm her racing heart. Steve forced a smile, eyeing her from his spot.
"Just try to relax," he spoke softly, his voice calm despite the tension growing in the air.

"They won't hurt us." But even Steve's words couldn't shake the feeling of dread that lingered in the back of Cherry's mind. God, how could it not after what she'd seen? Meanwhile, in the back seat, the bickering between Lucas, Max, and Dustin continued, their voices rising and falling as they debated the events of the night. "He wasn't gonna eat us." Dustin pouted. Lucas pursed his lips, almost struggling to keep his comments at a minimum. "Yeah? Was he just crawling to come say hello?"

"Guys!" Max exclaimed, her voice breaking through the tension in the car as she looked out the window to distract herself. "No, no, no. Hey, guys, why are you following them? Hello?" Dustin joined in, peering out the window in search of Dart among the group of Demogorgons. "I don't see him." As they scanned the woods for any sign of the creatures, Steve's car suddenly stopped in front of a big building. "It's the you lab," Lucas concluded grimly, his tone heavy with resignation. "They were going back home."

Cherry gulped, her eyes wide with fear. "This is the lab?" she whispered, her voice nothing but a hushed tone. Lucas nodded. "Yep," he confirmed, his expression mirroring Cherry's. "Why is it in the middle of nowhere?" Cherry questioned, her voice trembling as she observed her surroundings. To busy in their own thoughts, no one replied. Steve unbuckled his seatbelt, his movements deliberate as he turned to address the group. "You guys wait here," he instructed firmly, his tone brooking no argument.

As Steve approached the gate control box, Cherry's eyes stayed fixed on the scene unfolding before her. A boy and girl who seemed to be about her age emerged from the shadows, their presence adding to the tense atmosphere. Steve grimaced at the sight of them. Cherry quickly turned back to Dustin, "Who are they?" Dustin leaned in, "That's Jonathan, Will's brother, and Nancy, Mike's older sister," he explained quietly, his voice distracted. "And Steve's ex-girlfriend."

Cherry's heart sank as she watched the interaction between the three of them, especially Steve and Nancy. Interrupting her thoughts, the power suddenly came back on, illuminating the building in a harsh fluorescent glow. Dustin sprang out of the car, determined to take action. "Let me try," he said, his voice determined as he approached the gate control box. Cherry reached out to stop him, but he was already gone. She watched anxiously as Steve and Jonathan joined in, their efforts focused on getting the gate open.

Finally, with a buzz, the gate swung open, revealing a path to enter. Max raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Oh shit, he actually did it," she muttered. Just as Steve and Dustin began to make their way back to the car, Cherry's eyes widened at the sight of people started to pour out of the building. Some in scrubs, others in an obvious state of distress, one thing they shared in common was their running. They were running away from something. Cherry honked, the other's outside finally picking up on what was going on. As people began to pile into the car, Steve urged them to hurry.

"Come on! Get in!" he shouted, watching as the Demogorgons closed in with a screech. Mike squeezed into the back of the car, his heart pounding in his chest as he joined the frantic efforts to escape. "Let's go!" Steve yelled, Lucas slamming the door shut as he stepped on the gas. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as they sped off into the night, leaving the lab and its horrors behind them. As they raced away, the echoes of the Demogorgons' screeches faded into the distance, replaced by the hum of the car engine and the sighs of relief from the group. Steve turned back to Mike, "Okay, what the fuck?"