16- Claudia Henderson Finds the Truth
Summary: The Party is fighting the Upside-Down yet again, when they have to crash at Dustin's house.
Requested by: WhumpyBliss
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters. If I did, Erica would have more scenes in S4.
TW: Blood
Why did this always happen?
At least it was only demogorgons this time.
They were in the woods, using sticks as weapons.
The only one who actually was doing productive things with the sticks was Max. She threw and stabbed them into the demogorgons. The others were just jabbing them in the air, praying it was doing something.
El of course was making the most process, pushing back demogorgons, killing them.
They had just wanted to have a good time, to be kids.
Steve had taken them out to a meadow by the edge of the woods, and they played games like tag and capture the flag.
But when it came to cops and robbers, Lucas had stumbled upon something that looked like a swamp of vines and goo.
It was a gate.
Luckily, there were people around him because he was the last robber.
He called out to them, pausing the game.
El was there first, a serious look on her face.
There was a low growling.
Suddenly, a demogorgon jumped out, coming at Lucas and El.
El pushed Lucas back, using her powers to throw the demogorgon into a nearby tree.
The others had got to them by then, grabbing big sticks that were around them.
They couldn't grab a Steve's bat or radio for help, they were both in the car.
So, when more demogorgons started to crawl out of the gate, they started to fight.
Eventually, they got it down to a couple of demogorgons.
El was starting to push them all back into the gate, when it happened.
Right before El shoved them all back into the Upside-Down, a demogorgon charged forward toward Steve clawing Steve in the side.
Steve shouted in pain at the same moment El screamed and closed the gate.
"STEVE!" Dustin yelled, racing over.
Steve was on the ground, hand holding his ribs. When he pulled it off, it was covered in blood.
Steve's blood.
Since Mike was worrying over an exhausted El, and the other boys were shocked in place, Max took charge.
"Ok, we need to get him out of here." she stated, crouching down to examine the older boy. "Where is the closest place where we can get help?"
This seemed to snap the boys out of there trance.
"My house." Dustin said. "My mom's a nurse."
Max looked at him reluctantly.
"Are you sure?" she asked. "What are we going to tell her?"
"We can just tell her that he got attacked by a dog or something. Now come on, we're wasting time!"
Will and Max guided the group, with Steve being supported by Dustin and Lucas and El being supported by Mike.
When they got to the car, they propped Steve up against the window, which involved a lot of hissing and sorrys, and they helped El into the trunk area.
Max grabbed the keys from Steve and climbed into the driver's seat, just like 5 months ago.
Turning in her seat, she looked at Dustin.
"Which way?"
Claudia Henderson was a nice lady, always waiting with cookies and a smile.
She took care of others before she took care of herself.
So, when a car screeched up and Dustin and his friends climbed out with worried and concerned faces, she knew something was wrong.
"Mom, we need help!" Dustin yelled. They were helping Steve out of the car. Blood was running down his side.
Claudia dropped the basket of laundry she was holding, running over to the group.
"What happened?" she asked.
"He- he was attacked by a dog." the red head said. Max, Claudia remembered.
"Sorry to intrude, Mrs. Henderson." Steve mumbled out.
Oh, Steve. He'd always been polite whenever he picked up Dustin. He was a great big brother to Dustin.
"You're not intruding at all, Steve." Claudia said. "Now, let's get you fixed up."
They entered the house, Claudia directing the kids to grab a bowl with water, soap, towels, her first aid kit, and to lay Steve on the couch.
She carefully lifted Steve's shirt after she got the ok from him.
It was a nasty wound. Claudia started to clean it gently with the water and soap.
While Claudia doctored Steve up, the kids waited in the kitchen, which was Claudia's last direction before turning her attention to Steve.
Dustin was pacing.
"Hey," Lucas said stopping him. "He'll be ok. Your mom is the best nurse in town."
Dustin just nodded, a dazed look in his eyes.
Max gave him a side hug.
"He survived Billy, he'll survive this," she said.
Everyone nodded.
Claudia came in about 20 minutes later.
They all jumped up, even El who had gotten her strength back.
"He'll be ok," Claudia said. "He'll have to go easy for a while since he had to get a few stitches. He's sleeping now, but you can go visit him if you're quiet."
The kids headed to the living room.
"Wait." Claudia stopped them. "I know those aren't dog claws, so you are going to tell me who or what attacked Steve."
The kids looked at each other nervously.
"Let me make a few calls." Dustin told his mom.
And that's how Claudia Henderson found out about the Upside-Down.
AN: I hope you liked it WhumpyBliss! Requests are open!