Jailbird || Stranger Things

twenty-six ➵ friendly neighborhood barbarian

"What's he doing?"

"Expanding the menu," Dustin replied.

Steve continued on towards the pile of meat in the centre of the clearing. They could hear him still talking, his voice raised as he held the bat up, ready to swing. "Come on. Dinner time. Human tastes better than cat, I promise."

"He's insane," Max realised.

"He's awesome," Dustin disagreed

Up top, however, Lucas was sitting up, binoculars pinned to his face. He noticed more shadows than they'd first seen, one on top of a ar, the other just below creeping up on Steve in the cover of the fog. "Steve watch out!"

"Little busy here!" Steve called back, eyes still only on the one creature, while another two, then three approached him from out of his view.

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

Steve finally took his eyes off the one creature, and turned, noticing another hopping silently on top of a car, then the third in the fog.

"Steve!" Dustin opened the door of the bus, "Steve! Abort! Abort!" Dustin called, revealing their hiding spot, and encouraging the creatures to open up their mouths and launch themselves at Steve.

As Steve swung the bat, Lucas suddenly sat up, eyebrows furrowing as he noticed more movement in the fog. This creature was taller, and moving incredibly unlike a Demodog.

"Duck!"

Steve did as commanded, the reflex at the familiar voice making him move before he even thought it through.

An axe swung through the air, cutting through the fog with a metallic ring before it embedded itself with a sickening crunch into one of the creatures. The dog that launched itself at Steve crashed onto of the scrap car's trunk with a chittering screech, before a body landed beside it on boot covered feet.

"You planned out a scrapyard showdown and didn't think to invite your friendly neighbourhood barbarian, Harrington?" she asked with a small smile, yanking the axe from the head of the body with a small groan.

"What—"

"Come on, get up!" Teresa pulled at his jacket, landing on the ground and swinging at another creature. The two followed Lucas' yells of directions, before the pair put their backs against each other's.

"Where the hell did you come from?!" Steve asked, hitting another one of the dogs that had jumped at them from the top of another car.

"Is that really important right now?!" she yelled back, frustrated, while nudging him back towards the bus. "There's way too many of them!"

"Well what's your plan?!"

Ignoring the kids' shouts for them to run and hurry, Teresa turned, hitting another creature. "To the bus!" she yelled at Steve, and she continued to cover him while he ran. "Hurry up, I thought you were a jock!" she yelled, cutting off the leg of one of the creatures.

"Reese! Hurry!" Dustin called again, Steve only just making it into the bus. The boys held the door open, watching Teresa hack at another creature that got its claws into her uncovered knee. Just on time, Teresa launched herself behind Steve, the two teens colliding on the floor of the bus as the door slammed shut behind them.

"Shit, are you okay?" he asked, holding onto her, dropping the bat to check up on her, his hands going down her arm. He gently lifted her face from his chest, eyes roving over the scrubs and the injuries and marks he hadn't seen before, then caught onto her scratched up neck.

"Yeah," she breathed, giving a gentle nod as his eyes searched hers. "You?"

She watched as Steve swallowed his words, nodding instead.

"Are they rabid or something?" Max asked, the bus shaking from the attack of the remaining Demodogs as Steve and Teresa were shaken out of their brief moment.

"They can't get in, they can't!" Lucas panicked, Steve pulling a sheet against the door, and pushing his feet against it.

The whole bus started to shake from the push of the dogs against the tin that held their dinner, and all Teresa could think about was that she'd almost died twice in like twenty-four hours, and maybe— just maybe, she would die here.

She couldn't let the kids die.

One of the legs of one of the creatures was forced through a gap, Teresa letting out a surprised high pitched yelp as Steve reached over and hit at the limb with the bat before it could touch Teresa again.

"Patch yourself up!" he told her, managing to keep the door closed as Teresa reached into her boot to cut off a strip of cloth from the scrub top,rolling up the pant leg to tie it around her knee. Meanwhile, Dustin kept talking into his headset, hoping to reach anyone who could help.

"They're busy!" Teresa yelled over the screams as the bus continued to rock side to side, the banging never ceasing.

"God! Anyone!"

The next thing penetrating the metal was a claw. Patched up, Teresa swung the axe, managing to cut off the limb, and earning a pained screech.

"Shit! We're at the old junkyard, and we are going to die!"

"You're not gonna die!" she replied immediately, determination firmly laced through her voice as she pushed herself away from the door. Steve let out a grunt as the push against the door ceased, a figure instead landing on the roof. There was a series of horrible loud bangs as Max and Teresa looked up at the hole by the ladder, the creature's face opening up like a venus flytrap. Except the kids in the bus were the flies, and this creature had a much shorter reaction time.

As the creature let out a growl, Max screamed, and Teresa immediately pulled the girl behind her. Steve rushed to her side, both of them shielding the kids.

"You want some?!" Steve called.

"Come get us!"

Its screech cut off and the creature looked up and into the distance. It jumped off soon enough. There was more clatter and banging, but it was retreating this time. Finally the scrapyard fell silent, though the echoes of growling in the distance remained.

Teresa and Steve shared a look, before she gave him a nod. Steve opened the door of the bus, while Teresa wedged the axe under her arm as she climbed up to the top. With the kids clambering out of the bus, Teresa with the added height, they watched the dogs retreat back towards a familiar place.

"Coast is clear," Teresa told them, watching as the dogs gathered in the distance to run as a pack, barely visible through the fog.

"What happened?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know."

"Steve and Reese scared 'em off?" Dustin guessed, but Steve wasn't so sure. Turning his head, he watched Teresa climb down from the top of the bus, landing right beside them, not even limping.

"No, no way," he disagreed. "They're going somewhere."

He glanced at Teresa, who gave a nod in agreement. "I know where."