𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧: 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

❝ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ɢᴇʀᴍᴀɴs.❞

𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐎 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐀𝐗'𝐒 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 strawberry blonde having her arms tucked under arlo's thighs to keep her in place. arlo had her arms wrapped loosely around max's neck, not wanting to choke her. arlo's head was on max's shoulder, her eyes drooping as the feeling of exhaustion got stronger and stronger. the two girls were making their way through the woods, along with, lucas, dustin, steve, percy, and apollo. they decided that it was a good idea to follow after the baby demogorgans, which caused a few complaints from apollo since he didn't want to leave his van at the junkyard. arlo was going in and out of sleep, weirdly feeling calm and content with the feeling of max touching her. there was trails of dried blood coming from arlo's nose, trailing all the way down to her chin. max would make look over her shoulder at arlo to make sure that she was still breathing, knowing that the girl could use some rest. but all max could think about was how arlo had disappeared into the shadows. what arlo had told her was real.

"you're positive that was dart?" lucas questioned, looking over at dustin with raised eyebrows.

"yes. he had the same exact yellow pattern on his butt." dustin answered, annoyed that lucas had asked the same question for the hundredth time.

"he was tiny two days ago." max pointed out, keeping her voice quiet so that arlo wouldn't wake up.

"well, he's molted three times already." dustin reasoned.

"malted?" steve asked, confused on what that word means, even though dustin and arlo had been saying it since the night before.

"molted." dustin corrected. "shed his skin to make room for growth like hornworms.

"well, when's he gonna molt again?" percy asked.

"it's gotta be soon. when he does, he'll be fully grown, or close to it. so will his friends." dustin replied.

"yeah, and he's gonna eat a lot more than cats." steve added.

"that's great." apollo mumbled sarcastically, pulling out his box of cigarettes from his jacket before he slipped one out and put it between his lips. he pulled out his zippo lighter, flicking it open and making a small flame appear before he lit his cigarette.

"wait, a cat?" lucas asked, stopping dustin from going any further. "dart ate a cat?"

"no, what? no." the henderson boy answered, shaking his head frantically.

"stupid bastard ate mews." arlo mumbled into max's neck, sending chills down the taller girl's spine.

"mews? who's mews?" max quizzed.

"dustin's cat." steve replied.

"guys!" dustin shouted, glaring at the two harrington siblings, causing arlo to flinch in max's hold. her head shot up and looked over at the curly haired boy, immediately thinking that something was wrong. max squeezed arlo's thigh in comfort, silently telling her that it was okay.

"i knew it! you kept him!" lucas exclaimed.

"no! no. no, i. . . no, i. . ." dustin tried to denied, but he was having trouble coming up with a lie. "he missed me. he wanted to come home."

"bullshit!" lucas spat.

"i didn't know he was a demogorgan, okay?"

"oh, so now you admit it?"

"guys, who cares? we have to go!" max tried, wanting the two boys to stop bickering so arlo could go back to sleep.

"i care! you put the party in jeopardy! you broke the role of law!" lucas shouted.

"so did arlo!" dustin defended.

"what?" lucas and arlo asked in unison, the tired girl looking at dustin with furrowed eyebrows.

the henderson boy turned to look at the exhausted girl, pointing his flashlight at her and max. "you told a stranger the truth!"

"a stranger?" max scoffed.

"you wanted to tell her, too!" arlo reasoned, hopping off of max's back and walking over to the taller boy. "and do i need to remind you that we just did the same shit to apollo and percy, huh? we both broke the rule of law, okay?! we're both in the fucking wrong! now can we shut the hell up and continue walking because i'm starting to get a headache!"

"guys!" steve shouted, stopping his sister from scolding dustin and lucas like they were her children. this made everyone turn to him, seeing that he had walked off the trail and was looking into the woods. the sound of screeching is what caught their attention. arlo, dustin, lucas, and percy all shared a look before they followed steve into the woods, lucas helping arlo since she was still trying to gain her strength back.

"no, no, no, no. hey, guys, why are you headed towards the sound?" max yelled after them.

"yeah, i agree with red here! we shouldn't be moving towards it!" apollo added, blowing out a cloud of smoke. he then looked down at max before he groaned, starting to follow the group. max did the same, immediately making her way to arlo and lucas. they all walked through the woods for a bit before they came out to a field.

"i don't see them." dustin said, looking out into the hundreds of trees that were being covered by a thick blanket of fog. arlo thought that it added onto the whole situation, making it a lot creepier.

lucas gently handed arlo over to max, the mayfield girl gladly taking her with a small smile. he grabbed his binoculars and brought them up to his face, looking around. "it's the lab." he announced, pulling the binoculars away from his face. "they were going back home."

"and you guys want to go towards that?" apollo asked, turning to look at everyone.

"look, apollo, you're apart of this, now. so that means you gotta man the fuck up and help us stop this. you got it?" steve told him, his eyebrows raised as he turned to look at the junior boy. all apollo could do was nod, not used to steve talking to him like that. "good. now let's go."

with that, the two high schoolers and five middle schoolers all started to make their way towards the lab. max kept a firm grip on arlo's waist as they went down the hill, not wanting the latina to go tumbling down it. apollo was at the back of the group, cursing up a storm as he tried his best not to fall. as they got closer and closer to the bottom of they heard a voice calling out for them. arlo furrowed her eyebrows, the voice sounding familiar the closer they got.

"is that jonathan?" apollo mumbled, pushing ahead of the group so that he could get out of the woods quicker. everyone followed behind him, stepping out from out of the trees to see nancy and jonathan together. arlo winced slightly, her eyes immediately going over to her brother.

"apollo? steve?" nancy and jonathan called in unison, confused to see the two together, especially right outside the lab.

"nancy?" steve asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"jonathan." dustin said, the group making their way towards the duo.

"what are you doing here?" nancy questioned as apollo pulled jonathan into a hug. the byers boy chuckled, wrapping his arms around the shorter boy.

"what are you doing here?" steve repeated.

"we're looking for mike and will." nancy answered.

"they're not in there, are they?" dustin asked, pointing to the lab. lucas was watching arlo closely, seeing how she was looking at the building. the place that she's been coming to every week for the last year. everyone in the party knew how much she hated it.

"we're not sure." nancy replied.

"why?" jonathan asked. instead of getting an answer from dustin, a loud screech echoed through the air, making everyone turn to face the lab. that then led to the group talking over each other, trying to see when the last time everyone had seen will was.

"the power's back!" nancy announced, making everyone turn to the lab to see that the lights were on inside. the group then ran over to the security booth, jonathan being the one to go inside to push the button to open the gate. nothing happened.

"let me try." dustin told jonathan, running into the booth. the older boy denied him, but dustin simply pushed him away before he started to push the button frantically. "son of a bitch! you know what -" dustin cursed, continuing to push the button.

"you wouldn't happen to have any electrical powers?" apollo asked arlo, looking over at the girl with raised eyebrows. she simply shook her head, no, making the williams boy nod his head. the gate then started to open, making the two look over at it.

"hey! i got it!" dustin cheered, an excited smile on his face. everyone agreed that nancy and jonathan should be the ones to go in since everyone wouldn't be able to fit in their car. the group waited around ten minutes before two cars came screeching to a stop in front of them. arlo perked up when she had seen hopper's truck right behind jonathan's car.

"let's go." hopper told the two teens and preteens. they all climbed into the truck, arlo ending up in the passenger seat before they pulled off. the chief turned to look at the harrington girl, seeing the dried blood on her face and the exhaustion in her eyes. "the hell happened to you?"

"powers." she mumbled simply, turning to look up at the older man. hopper shook his head slightly, bringing his hand up to ruffle the girl's hair.

◂ ❀ ✘ ❀ ▸

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐔𝐏 𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 byers house, mostly everyone being in the kitchen. hopper had been on the phone, trying to get someone to go and help them. jonathan and nancy were in the living room, jonathan talking to an unconscious will byers. the junkyard group had found out that will had became a spy for the mind flayer, which made lucas and dustin worry that arlo would become one. but she hasn't been affected like will has. joyce had been in her room, crying over the death of her boyfriend, bob newby. arlo was inside the bathroom, slowly wiping the dried blood off her face. she was looking in the mirror, using a rag to do it. she sighed as she looked at her reflection, seeing the dark circle under her eyes and how pale her skin had gotten.

"hey." max greeted softly, not wanting to startle the harrington girl. arlo turned to look at her, a smile pulling at her lips when she saw the strawberry blonde. "just wanted to come and check on you." she admitted, entering the bathroom. "how you holding up? still tired?"

"not as much." arlo muttered, throwing the rag in the sink before she sat down on the tub. "how are you? i know that all of this is a lot to take in."

"yeah." max chuckled, joining arlo on the tub. she puffed out her cheeks as she let out a sigh. "i'm sorry i didn't believe you. but you gotta admit that what you told me was crazy."

"yeah, it was." arlo agreed, nodding her head.

"what are your powers exactly? if you don't mind me asking." max asked, looking at arlo closely.

"um, one of the doctors called my powers. . . umbrakinesis. the ability to maniple shadows or darkness. i can travel through the shadows, as you saw on the bus. i can throw shadow balls. i can create creatures out of the shadows, which is extremely hard, but i'm gonna get it one day. i can make some live out their worse nightmare if i wanted to. i was also told that my abilities will continue to grow, so i'll give you another list in a few months." arlo explained, remembering everything that dr.owens had told her. her mind briefly went back to the file on her biological mother, dr.owens telling her how powerful the woman was.

"is that why you're always tired?" max questioned,

"yeah. i don't know why, but my abilities stop me from sleeping. either that or i have these horrible nightmares." arlo mumbled, bringing her hand up to rub at her eyes.

"maybe there's something out there to help you sleep and you just don't know it yet." max tried, a small smile on her lips. arlo turned her head to look at her, mirroring the girl's smile. "do you know that your eyes turn black - or at least become darker when you use your powers? i - i saw it earlier, on top of the bus."

"oh, really? i didn't know that." arlo replied honestly, her eyebrows raising slightly. "does that. . . does that scare you? did i scare you?"

max immediately shook her head, the space between her eyebrows furrowing. she slipped her hand into arlo's, sending electric shocks up both of their arms. "no, you didn't scare me, cherry. i don't think there's anything you can do to make me scared. you're actually the only person that makes me feel safe." the freckled girl admitted, feeling her cheeks heat up at the confession.

"really?" arlo asked, feeling her heart leap at that.

"yeah." max nodded.

"you make me feel safe, too." arlo told her, her voice soft as she examined max closely. the two girls stared at one another, completely forgetting about the situation that they were in. forgetting about the demogorgan dogs that were after them. arlo's eyes flicked down to max's lips. the girl had never kissed anyone in her life, but she was willing to give her first kiss to maxine mayfield.

the sound of a knock is what made the two girls jump apart, the both of them facing the door with flustered cheeks to see that apollo was standing in the doorway. "are you two lovebirds done? i gotta take a leak."

"uh, yeah." arlo breathed out, noticing the fact the max was still holding her hand. she got up, dragging max along with her as she left the bathroom. "sorry, pollo." the two girls went into the kitchen, hands still interlocked as they sat down at the dining table. lucas, dustin, and steve all saw their hands, lucas and steve smiling while dustin frowned.

"they didn't believe you, did they?" dustin questioned once hopper had put the phone back on the receiver. this made arlo and max turn to the chief of police, forgetting that he was even on the phone.

"we'll see." the older man mumbled.

"we'll see?" mike repeated. "we can't just sit here while those things are loose!

"we stay here, and we wait for help." hopper told everyone, his voice stern. he spared one last glance at arlo, noticing how exhausted she looked before he turned and walked away.

silence fell over the group. steve was leaning on the kitchen counter with apollo right next to him, sitting besides him. all of the kids were at the dining table, wandering in their own thoughts. arlo's head was now on the edge of the table, the girl looking down at her lab as her fingers played with max's. the strawberry blonde had a small smile playing at her lips as she felt arlo play with her hand, butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. percy was sat between arlo and mike, a yellow notepad in front of him as he doodled whatever came to mind. lucas, dustin, and mike sat in silence, looking around the house to take in all of the tunnels that will had drawn. the somewhat peaceful moment was broken when mike stood up from his seat, everyone in the kitchen looking at him except for arlo.

"did you guys know that bob was the original founder of hawkins av?" the wheeler boy question. that made arlo lift her head up from the table, turning around to look at him. she made sure to still hold onto max's hand.

"really?" lucas asked.

mike turned around, having a brainteaser in his hand. "he petitioned the school to start it and everything. then he had a fund-raiser for equipment. mr.clarke learned everything from him. pretty awesome, right?" he explained as he made his way back towards the table.

"yeah." the party members who were in av agreed, percy and max being the ones that stayed silent.

"we can't let him die in vain." mike told his friends.

"well, what do you want to do, mike? the chief's right on this." dustin asked him, his voice snappy as he looked up at the freckled boy. "we can't stop those demo-dogs on our own."

"demo-dogs?" max repeated, looking at the curly haired boy with furrowed eyebrows.

"demogorgan. dogs." dustin holding his hands out with each word. he then clasped his hands together. "demo-dogs. it's like a compound. it's like a play on words -"

"okay." max interrupted.

"i mean, when it was just dart, maybe. . ." dustin continued, going back to the situation at hand.

"but there's an army now." lucas finished.

"precisely." dustin nodded.

"his army." mike mumbled, making the group look at him with furrowed eyebrows.

"what do you mean?" steve asked.

"his army." mike repeated. "maybe if we stop him, we can stop his army, too." he then walked out of the kitchen and into will's room, the party members following him. he showed will's drawing of the shadow monster to everyone, arlo sucking in a breath as she thought back to that day on the field.

"the shadow monster." dustin pointed out.

"it got will that day on the field. the doctor said it was like a virus, it infected him." mike started.

"and so this virus, it's connecting him to the tunnels?" max questioned.

"to the tunnels, to the monsters, the upside down, everything." mike replied, his eyes quickly shifting over to arlo. his chest ached when he saw how tired the girl look, her eyes trained on the drawing. "arlo's connected to him, too."

"wait, what? you're connected to what? why didn't you tell me?" steve appeared, his eyes focused on his sister before he took the drawing away from mike. the harrington girl shrugged her shoulders, not sure how to answer. apollo appeared to the right of steve, looking down at the drawing with furrowed eyebrows.

"okay, so, the shadow monster's inside everything. and if the vines feel something like pain, then so does will and arlo." mike elaborated, making steve look at arlo with a knowing look. he was thinking back to the previous night in dustin's bunker.

"and so does dart." lucas added.

"yeah. like what mr.clarke taught us. the hive mind." mike said.

"hive mind?" apollo repeated, looking down at his brother for help.

"a collective consciousness. it's a super-organism." dustin explained.

"and this is the thing that controls everything. it's the brain." mike finished, pointing to the drawing.

"like the mind flayer." dustin compared. percy, arlo, mike, and lucas all looked up at the henderson boy, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

"what?" max,