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STEVE CONTINUED TO STRUGGLE, FEELING THE RESTRAINT AROUND HIS NECK LOOSEN. "Kill it!" Robin yelled, Nancy hitting the bat repeatedly with the oar that Steve dropped. Eddie was armed himself, terrified as Seb held his hand out to one bat on Steve's stomach. Eddie flinched once he heard a screech of pain, the bat ripping in half from head down. "Holy-" "Nancy! Watch out!" Robin called, Nancy screaming once one bat landed on her back, clawing at her neck. Robin grabbed the creature by it's tail, slamming it onto the ground as Nancy hit it's neck. "Go to Hell!" She screamed at it, Steve being able to grip the one around his neck.

Eddie screamed once he saw another bat fly towards the group, ducking out of the way and hitting it's head once it flew back. The bat lay knocked out on the ground, Eddie letting out terrified yells with each hit to it's head. Seb scanned around the place, seeing multiple bats fly around them. He hadn't even had time to catch his breath from swimming for probably the second time in his life, the whole group silent. The three elder teens watched as Steve repeatedly slammed a bat to the floor by it's tail, gruesomely ripped it in half, breathless. "Guys." Robin spoke, the group looking around as five bats flew at them at all directions. "Jesus H. Christ!" Eddie yelled, Seb panting as he felt blood pour down his nose. Nancy and Eddie got ready, oars in hand before all the bats halted, letting out short noises of stress.

Steve's eyebrows knotted, his breath hitching as he turned around, watching as Seb stood still, hands out as they glowed bright red. Eddie flinched back once a red orb flew to one bat, the two colliding in a bloody explosion. "Shit." Robin spoke, Eddie and Nancy following her sight to Seb, the boy thrusting his hand to another bat, killing it in the same way. Eddie was entranced, obviously grossed out, but entranced none-the-less. The boy killed the rest of the bats in the same way, the group in silence as Seb wiped his nose, turning back to them as Eddie nodded blankly. "Thanks." He spoke, Seb nodding before Steve stumbled, the bats quite literally eating him alive. "Steve!" Nancy spoke, rushing to the boy as Eddie walked over to Seb, holding his shoulders. "You are brilliant." He spoke dreamily, Seb nodding him off and looking past him to Steve.

"Well, they took about a pound of flesh. But other than that, yeah, never better." Steve spoke, Nancy observing him quickly. "Uh, do you guys think these bats have, like, rabies?" Robin spoke, examining the one Seb ripped in half. "What?" Steve asked, Robin gulping. "It's just that rabies are, like, my number one greatest fear. And I think we should get you to a doctor like really soon," Seb stared at the girl blankly, confused. Rabies? He read that only dogs had that- "because once the symptoms set in, it's too late. You're already dead-" Creatures chittered, Seb moving forward quickly to see more bats fly towards them. Eddie was quick to scurry behind Seb, the rest of the group mindlessly doing the same. The bats all flew towards the gate, surrounding it and awaiting another 'Steve', probably.

"That's not a lot." Steve commented, Seb at the front as he felt someone pat his shoulder. "You can blow them up, again, huh?" Eddie spoke, Robin shrugging. "I mean, I know we went over that whole like 'we don't wanna get you hurt' thing but like, please explode them." She spoke, Seb and the group looking up as thunder rumbled. The sky turned red, showing that there were a lot more bats. Hundreds. "You're powerful, right?" Eddie spoke, Seb shuffling back a little. Nancy looked behind them, spotting a somewhat dense woods. "Come on, guys. The woods." Nancy spoke, the group looking back to see her running into the woods, everyone being forced to follow.

"Great, more running."

––––––☆––––––

"WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME HERE, MARTIN. HAWKINS IS RUNNING OUT OF TIME." OWENS SPOKE, THE TWO MEN WATCHING EL STRUGGLE TO CRUSH A COCA COLA CAN. "I understand the stakes quite well." Brenner shrugged him off, Owens glancing to him. "Sometimes I wonder if you really do. Or maybe you've just done all this 'cause you missed your 'Daddy-daughter' time. It must be a shame how one of the subjects is dead and can't join the playdate." Owens spat back, Brenner squeezing his lips shut. Of course he was an evil man who raised multiple children just to use them as weapons and machines, but he cared for them. As hard as it may be to believe, Brenner saw each of these children as his own. Biological or not. El was his last hope. She was the one...

The only one left.

"I've given you everything you asked for. I've compromised my principles. I've risked my life, my family's life." Owens continued to rant, keeping eye contact with Brenner. "All because you assured me this would work, that this was the only way. But I don't see any progress out there, Martin." The two looked to El, Brenner sighing as he rubbed his forehead. "You know what I see? I see a frightened, traumatized little girl. In which we are doing nothing but making it worse by showing her flashes of her dead twin brother. Good for us." Owens finished, Brenner not responding as Owens stormed out of the room. He hated sitting around and traumatising this girl more than ever. Having to sit in a seat, knowing full-well he was making this girl's already traumatic mindset worse.

It was torture.

––––––☆––––––

"AND WHAT EXACTLY WERE YOU ALL DOING AT THE LAKE?" POWELL ASKED MAX, DUSTIN AND LUCAS. The group were at the Wheelers, families and officers surrounding them. Erica sat unimpressed, watching Lucas stutter for an answer. "Uh..." Dustin trailed off, looking between his two friends that sat either side of him. He just hoped Seb and Eddie were okay. "It's complicated-" "We were... just going for a walk." Max interrupted Lucas, Callahan leaning forward. "A walk? At nine pm?" He asked tauntingly, Dustin shaking his head. "To the lake." He squeaked out, Lucas nodding way too aggressively. "We were gonna-" He stopped himself, staring down as he considered whether his lie was good enough. "Go for a swim. Little night swim." He shrugged, Lucas and Max nodding. "Dusty," His mother called, Powell squinting at the boy.

"Someone was just murdered there." She continued, watching her son shrug. "Yeah, we... we didn't realise that until we got there." Dustin hummed, Lucas seeming to realise how good he could lie at the moment. "That's why we didn't swim." He added, Karen ignoring their tone. "And Nancy, was she with you at this night swim?" She asked, worrying greatly for her daughter. She hadn't seen the girl in days, and given Mike was in California, all of her focus was on Nancy. "No." "Yes." Max and Dustin glanced at one another, giving two completely different answers. "We're not sure." Lucas shook his head slowly, Erica rolling her eyes. "She was there. Then she left." Dustin reached for literally anything, Karen shrugging tiredly. She just wanted to see her child- "It's all a little confusing." Dustin redirected his attention to Powell, seeming to be telling the truth as Lucas nodded.

"And that's when you guys came." Lucas spoke, Max repeating his action. "Right. And then they dared me to say what I said." Max smiled convincingly to the officers. "Oh, yeah." Lucas laughed not-so-convincingly towards the men. "About the killers!" Dustin added, the two boys fake laughing together as Max nodded. "You're lucky you didn't get shot." Ted called over their 'laughter', Karen glancing at him. The 'laughing' stopped, Dustin nodding and hugging the pillow on his lap. "Have you had any contact with Eddie? Any..." Powell shrugged for words. "That psycho... freak killer? God, no." Dustin huffed, Callahan crossing his arms in disbelief. "Absolutely not-" "Nope. We haven't heard from him." Max confirmed, Powell nodding lightly. "Anything about a... boy he's carrying around? A brother he might have mentioned?" Powell hummed, thinking Eddie may have tricked the group into thinking Seb was his brother.

"Brother?" Lucas asked, Callahan nodding. "Like, 'Hey guys, I'm just going to take my brother to his friends house.'" The teens glanced to one another at the officer's impression, genuinely having no clue what he's talking about. "What?" Dustin asked, Ted sighing. "Apparently, this Eddie guy is carrying around a little demon kid with powers who kills people." He set it straight, wincing once Karen hit his shoulder. "What-" "No." Lucas answered, the three hiding their realisation for who they were talking about...

Sebastian.

"Definetley not." He added, Dustin nodding slowly. "We hardly know Eddie-" "Oh, that's a bunch of bull." Erica finally stepped forward, everyone looking to her. "Erica!" She heard her parents chorus, looking to them. "I mean, you do realize they're lying. The whole couch is on fire." Erica let out, the three looking towards the officers. "Erica-" "Just the facts." She interrupted her parents again, Dustin's mother in pure distress. "Are you lying to these policemen, Dusty?" She asked gently, receiving a quick shake of his head. "No!" He squeaked out, very bad at lying. "Lying to the cops is a crime, son." Lucas' father advised, him looking to the man. "I'm not lying." He objected, Erica looking around. "The fire is consuming us." She mocked, Dustin glaring at her. "Threaten them with a little jail time." Karen glanced at her husband again.

He always had to speak.

"That'll loosen their lips." Ted readjusted himself on his seat, looking to Dustin. The boy was already giving him a glare, shrugging. "Okay-" "You wanna send our kids to jail?" Lucas' mother challenged, Ted shrugging. "We need to take this seriously-" "He didn't mean it like that." Karen tried to soothe everyone, Powell huffing as everyone started to argue. Dustin focused on Ted, sending him glares as Max sighed, quiet as Lucas tried to reason with his father. "Shut up!" Powell let out, no one hearing him as Max huffed. "Oh my God." She leant her head back, not wanting to be in this room at all. "Shut up!" Powell yelled, standing up as he finally caught everyone's attention, them staring at him. "Jesus." Karen let out, Callahan 'shh'ing her.

"We're gonna try a more civilised approach. One at a time." Powell told the three, them staring at him. "You first." He pointed to Max, the girl scoffing. "Wait, what? Why me?" She asked, Powell ignoring her protests. "Follow me." He ordered, walking to another room. "I'm not even in the Hellfire club." Max reasoned, Callahan stepping forward. "Do I need to cuff you?" He asked, the girl staring at him silently before huffing, following Powell.

☆

"THAT WAS CLOSE." ROBIN LET OUT, THE FIVE HIDING UNDERNEATH SKULL ROCK AWAY FROM THE BATS. "Too close." Eddie glanced at Sebastian. Sure, he cared for the young boy, but he could probably kill all of the bats like in an instant. "Oh, shit." Steve stumbled once they started to walk away, Nancy turning around quickly. "Jesus." She let out, Steve leaning against the rock. "I'm fine. I'm fine." The group watched Nancy fumble over the boy, Seb looking around. He hated it in here. He did live here for maybe a month, but that doesn't mean he has to like it. "You're losing blood. Sit down." Nancy ordered, Steve doing as told as he winced. Robin leaned forward, seeing the bites the bat's had took and gagging. Nancy took no time in ripping her top a little, Robin sitting in front of Steve. "Okay. So the good news is I'm pretty sure wooziness is not a symptom of rabies."

Seb sighed, Robin still panicking about rabies. "But if you start having hallucinations or muscle spasms or you start feeling aggressive like you wanna punch me, let me know." Robin advised, Nancy using her shirt as a bandage. "Robin." Steve spoke softly, the girl quickly looking up at him. "Yeah?" She asked, Steve sighing shakily. "I kinda wanna punch you." He spoke, Eddie huffing from his spot as Seb sighed. He wanted them to move as quickly as possible. As soon as Steve's ready, they should go. "Sense of humour's still intact. That's a good sign." Robin laughed nervously, Steve nodding mindlessly. He wasn't trying to be funny... Robin nodded, moving back to her spot next to Sebastian as Nancy tightened the bandage. Steve stared down at her, Nancy avoiding eye contact with the boy. "Thanks." Steve managed to get out, Nancy nodding. "Yeah." She spoke, smiling a little as Seb stepped forward.

"Steve." He spoke simply, unintentionally breaking a moment as the two looked to him. "Here." he took Eddie's overcoat off, giving it to Steve. "Thanks." He smiled, glancing between the jacket and Seb. "Do you want this?" He asked, Steve watching him motion to the jacket Steve had lent him. The boy needed clothes, a simple dark blue jacket over his again borrowed green tshirt. "No, no. You keep that." Nancy looked between the two, smiling. This interaction was beyond wholesome to her. "Oh, okay." He smiled, sighing. "If you need it, though, tell me. Because I'll give it back." Seb nodded, Steve squeezing his lips shut in a smile. "Sure." Steve spoke, Eddie climbing up to see the sky. Thunder continued to rumble, the boy shivering. "So you said this place is like Hawkins, but with monsters and nasty shit?" He asked, watching Seb and Nancy help Steve up.

"Pretty much." Nancy shrugged, Eddie nodding as he began to climb down- "Wait, watch out for the vines. It's all a hive mind." Nancy advised, Eddie confused. "It's all a what?" He asked, Seb nodding. "The monsters are all connected." Seb informed, Eddie's eyes widening. "Yeah, so if you step on a vine, you step on a bat, you step on Vecna." Steve continued, Eddie wincing as he watched his step. "Shit." He let out, watching his step on his way down as Robin perked up. "But everything from our world is still here, right? Except people?" She asked, Seb nodding. "Yeah." He shrugged, Robin pointing to him. "So, theoretically, we could go to the police station and steal guns and grenades and whatever we need to blow up these bat things that are guarding the gate." Robin hummed, tilting her head. "Including you." She spoke towards Seb, Steve sighing.

"I highly doubt that the Hawkins PD has grenades, Robin. But guns, yeah, sure." Steve shrugged, Nancy staring at the floor as Steve and Robin shared a nod. "Well, we don't have to go all the way downtown for guns." Nancy spoke, everyone looking to her. "I have guns in my bedroom." She shrugged, Eddie making his way down. "You, Nancy Wheeler, have guns, plural, in your bedroom?" He asked, Seb nodding mindlessly. "So she can shoot monsters." He answered, Eddie looking to him. "Full of surprises, isn't she?" Robin added, Eddie observing Nancy. "A Russian Makarov and a revolver." Nancy shrugged, Steve huffing. "Yeah, you almost shot me with that one." Steve let out, Nancy smiling up at him. "You almost deserved it." She spoke, Eddie nodding to his overcoat on Steve. "Good idea of modesty." Eddie hummed, Steve nodding before the ground shook suddenly.

"Oh my God!" Robin spoke, Steve quickly grabbing Nancy and stabilizing them both. Eddie quickly gripped Seb, the two falling over as Robin fell towards them. A creature roared, the ground halting as everyone panted. Seb grunted, being sandwiched between Robin and Eddie, the latter exhaling quickly.

"Guns seem like a pretty good idea to me."

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SURPRISE, have these two really cool chapters so i can tell you i'm gonna be updating maybe 2-3x a week now!!

this is because like each episode is going to have like twenty chapters each and i just want to quickly update and get it all out because i'm so excited for you to read it lol

Anywaysss,

[2708 words!!]

Hope you enjoyed!!

Byeee!