Eddie

I'm not brave. I can stand up for myself when I'm pushed to it, mostly because of my old man, but that's just threat response, you know? I'm good at deflecting and running because those are easier, like the default.

In this case though, my first thought was Lib!

Then right behind her, Wayne and Just and Misty. Didn't hesitate. I grabbed the nearest farm tool I could reach, which was the hay rake. I swung it, and hit the thing as it went past me, whomping it on the ass, which maybe wasn't the killing blow I was hoping for. It gave a weird hiss, and the face kind of . . . flapped at me as it dodged into the trees behind the barn.

Wayne was quick too; he had the pruning saw in his hands and looked my way. "Sounds like it's heading for the low side, near the creek," he called to me.

Everyone else was jabbering, trying to say something while Lib hauled out a few flashlights.

"The smart thing would be for everyone to get inside!" she yelled over the party. "Eddie? Wayne?"

"Do what she says," Wayne told the group, and he came up to me, looking grim. "I'll get the shotgun."

The thing that got to me was that while some of the group looked scared, none of them looked surprised. In fact, both Will and El were looking downright angry, and on someone like Will, that was alarming. He's such a quiet kid.

"You have to shoot it in the head, the mouth if you can," he called to us. "When it tries to attack. Oh! And it hates heat and fire."

Wayne nodded. "Just, go get the fireworks—all the Roman candles. Misty, get them kids inside. You two—" that was to Steve and Jonathan, "Any good with firearms?"

"I am," Nancy stepped forward.

Wayne nodded, "All right then. Got a .32 if you can handle it. You fellahs will have the fireworks. God's sake, don't use 'em in the woods, just the clearing if you can. We wanna drive it off, not set Hawkins on fire."

Steve nodded and already had a lighter out. Just came down with a wooden box. I took a flashlight from Lib and waited for Wayne. He came out with the shotgun and loaded it before coming over to me.

"I haven't tracked anything in decades, much less in the damn dark," he groused lightly, but I saw the tension along his shoulders.

"Maybe, but you know the lay of the land almost as well as Just does," I pointed out. "What do we do?"

He pointed with his chin. "Track it down to the creek; that's the property line for us. I'll go left, and the gal with the gun can go right, with you. We'll circle back and make sure it's gone."

"I don't want you going alone," I protested, but Jonathan shook his head.

"I'll go with him. Steve, you and Robin take the yard, okay?"

They all nodded, and I couldn't shake the feeling they'd done this before. Maybe more than once, even, and that gave me a little more confidence. Robin took the box from Just and handed Jonathan a handful of firecrackers and about three roman candles.

Wayne nodded. "Got a lighter," he assured Jonathan, handing it to him. "Come on."

We—Wayne and Jonathan, Me and Nancy- headed down the path between the house and the barn, listening carefully. There was the usual stuff out there with wind, some bird calls, some splashing from the creek.

"Not how I thought I'd spend the evening," Nancy murmured to me. I nodded, keeping the flashlight beam in front of us.

"Nope, me either," I responded. "Although you're not surprised."

Nancy gave me a quick smile and nodded. "Let's just say we've been through some things. Do you hear something?

I did. It was a long low howl that didn't scare me as much as piss me off.

I may not be any sort of farmer or hunter, but I can tell the difference between an animal and a human, and this was definitely human.

"Okay Asshole, you can drop the act!" I called out, feeling angry now. "We've got a gun."

Silence. Nancy had the thirty-two up, but she wasn't tense, which impressed me. She looked from right to left, and then we both heard something rattle branches about ten feet in front of us.

Lib

I was mad. Not scared or worried, just flat-out MAD. My first thought was that Jason and a few of his followers were out there trying to screw up our celebration because that's exactly the sort of shit he'd pull. Jason's antisemitism was no surprise, but he also had a vindictive streak. Like a lot of bullies, his idea of a good time was to ruin someone else's good time. I'd seen him mess up shelves in the library or tip a soda on someone's car just because he found it funny.

Wasn't in a laughing mood.

"We should be out there," Mike was protesting. "Helping."

"As what? Bait?" Mom scowled at him. "If it's someone being a jerk, Wayne and your sister will have them wetting their pants, and if it's something else . . . ." she looked grim. "I purely do HATE that lab."

El nodded slowly. She cocked her head as she stared at Misty. "You . . . know about it."

Mom stared at her. "I know what's been said on the quiet for years. About how people bring kids there and they don't come out again. How anybody coming within ten feet of that fence gets arrested and hauled away on federal charges. It's a place of bad karma and bad intentions, and I will believe that to my dying day."

"You're not wrong," Erica muttered.

I had Just pass out some of the taffy apples while I went out to the porch and checked on the clearing in front of the house. Robin and Steve were there, standing back to back, chatting but alert. I called to them.

"You guys okay?"

"Peachy keen," Robin replied, flashing me a wry grin. "Ah, any chance you could maybe spell me a moment?"

"She needs to pee," Steve announced, only to be shoulder thumped a second later. "Ow, okay stop. It's not like it's weird or anything."

"It didn't need to be announced, dingus," Robin glared. I came out and took the fireworks from her, grinning.

"Go, I know how tension works on the bladder."

Steve resumed looking around. "So . . . you and Munson . . ."

"Yes," I told him. "It's a work in progress."

"Nice," came his reply and I was touched because he meant it. "Still weird to see him in overalls, though."

Something rustled in the underbrush near the turnoff; Steve and I shifted to look along the gravel road and caught headlights as the Crown Victoria pulled up, bouncing on the ruts before Chief Hopper parked and got out.

Steve took a big breath. "Cavalry's here."

He looked at us holding fireworks and I saw one eyebrow go up as he climbed out of the car.

"Something or someone is out there trying to scare us," I told him. "The Munsons and a few others are trying to find out who."

Chief Hopper nodded at that and pulled out his flashlight. "There's a Camaro about half a mile down the road that looks damned familiar too."

From our front window, El waved, along with Will and Mike. Chief Hopper nodded to them and began to walk between the house and the barn. "This leads to the creek, right?"

"Yeah, about a quarter mile," I told him. "Four of them went down and they'll split up at the creek, going in opposite directions to circle back here."

"Smart plan."

A loud scream cut through the air, and I flinched. Hopper lumbered down the path and I would have followed but Steve stopped me right as something big and dark crashed out of the underbrush and hit the chicken hut, rocking it. All the chickens began clucking, spilling out of the tipping hut. I stared, watching it snap and devour one of the hens.

"Shit!" I yelped, but Charity was faster.

And madder.

She launched herself at the monster in a flurry of wings, claws and beak.