A/N: Content Warnings: Fear, Language, Disturbing Content, Death.

Hopper and Joyce drove down a long, gravel driveway and pulled to a stop in front of the less than impressive house of Terry Ives. Stepping out of his truck, Hopper approached the woman's front door and knocked as a nervous Joyce followed behind him. After a brief moment of waiting, the curtain covering the door's window was pulled aside and a woman examined them through the glass. Hopper and Joyce both waved at their new observer before she opened the door and revealed herself.

"Can I help you?" She asked, eyes narrowing.

"Hi," Hopper nodded. "We're looking for Terry Ives. Does she live here?"

"Who's asking?" The woman's voice conveyed the same mistrust as her gaze.

"The Hawkins chief of police," Hopper replied, grabbing his badge and holding it up for her to see.

The woman glanced at the badge for a short moment before returning her focus to the man. "And you want to talk to my sister?"

"Well, if your sister's Terry Ives, then, yeah, we do."

The woman lowered her head, a pained expression washing over her. "Okay, well, you can come in but if you want Terry to tell you anything, you're about five years too late."

Hopper and Joyce followed Terry Ive's sister into the house, stepping into a room off the entryway. In a rocking chair, facing a television set, was a woman with a distant and emotionless expression dressed in only a nightgown and a robe.

"Terry, you have some visitors," the woman they had followed announced. Terry slowly turned her gaze toward the pair as they entered the room.

"Hello," Joyce said, carefully approaching Terry. "My name's Joyce Byers. Uh, this is Hopper. We drove over from Hawkins." The woman remained unphased as she started to speak more emotionally. "Um, you see, uh, my son...he's been missing for almost a week now, and, um, we were wondering if we could talk to you about your daughter, Jane?

Terry closed her eyes briefly, no longer looking at Joyce when she opened them.

"If there's anything that you could tell us about when she was taken…" Joyce added, expression nervous and hopeful. But Terry did not answer. She only continued to stare into space.

"What was your relationship with Dr. Brenner?" Hopper tried his hand at getting answers from the woman from his spot in the doorway. "You guys keep in touch?"

As soon as the name of the doctor left Hopper's lips, Terry returned to watching the pair. But again, she remained silent. Joyce fumbled with a folder up paper in her hands and moved closer to her, holding out one of the missing posters of Will that Jonathan had printed. Terry shifted her gaze down to the paper.

"This is, uh...this is him." Joyce pointed at the picture of her son. "This is Will. Uh, you may have seen him on...on the news. Uh…" For a third time, Terry did not answer. Instead she turned her head back to the television and resumed what she had been doing before Hopper and Joyce had arrived.

"What's wrong with her?" Hopper quietly asked Terry's sister.

"I told you, you're wasting your time," the woman answered bitterly.

Mike had been biking with Dustin in silence for quite a while before his curly-haired friend decided to speak. "This is weird without Lucas," Dustin exhaled.

They had ridden past all the streets near both of their homes, checked near the school, scoured downtown, and were now approaching the opposite side of Hawkins through a neighborhood Mike wasn't very familiar with. The ride had made one thing abundantly clear to him, though.

"He should've shaken my hand," Mike responded, nonplussed. It sure wasn't his fault that Lucas had decided to abandon them.

"He's just jealous," Dustin replied, causing him to frown.

Jealous of what? What did Lucas have to be jealous of? Eleven's super powers? His natural leadership abilities? "What are you talking about?" Mike asked.

Dustin looked over at him before sighing and shaking his head. "Sometimes, your total obliviousness just blows my mind." A glance back at Mike's face must have revealed his confusion, Dustin adding, "He's your best friend, right?"

"Yeah…" Mike reluctantly answered. It was hard to say. Will was his best friend, really. But the other two were also his best friends in their own right. "I mean, I don't know."

"It's fine." Dustin ignored him and kept talking. "I get it. I didn't get here until the fourth grade. He had the advantage of living next door. But none of that matters. What matters is that he is your best friend. And then this girl shows up and starts living in your basement, and all you ever want to do is pay attention to her."

"That's not true." Mike was just trying to save Will. If anything, all Lucas wanted was for Mike to pay attention to him.

"Yes, it is," Dustin replied with a roll of his eyes. "And you know it. And he knows it. But no one ever says anything until you both start punching and yelling at each other like goblins with intelligence scores of zero. Now everything's weird."

Mike sighed heavily, realizing Dustin had misunderstood him. It wasn't the diverted attention he was denying, and he felt somehow that it was critical he set the record straight. "He's not my best friend."

Dustin chuckled sarcastically. "Yeah, right."

Mike twitched his head as he tried to explain himself. "I mean, he is, but so are you. And so is Will."

"Can't have more than one best friend."

Well, if that was the case then Will was Mike's best friend. But that was a really stupid rule in his opinion, something he decided to voice. "Says who?"

"Says logic."

"Well, I call bull on your logic, because you're my best friend, too," Mike said firmly. They were a Party. They were all best friends. Even Lucas... as much as he was mad at him at the moment. Dustin would just have to accept that they were all a package deal of equal value.

Dustin turned to look at him and smiled as if he suddenly felt much happier. "Okay."

The conversation died as the pair continued to pedal, no further sound being made except for Mike's panting. Glancing off to the left, he noticed several people milling about in front of Bradley's Big Buy. He signaled Dustin, who looked over to see what he had seen before the two skidded to a stop.

"Whoa," Mike muttered, eyes going wide.

He watched closely as Officer Powell and Officer Callahan interviewed two of the store employees and Dustin glanced around at the shards that lay scattered all over the pavement. It was clear that something, or someone, had shattered the glass of the automatic doors at the store's entrance. And considering the extremely low crime rate in town, that could only mean one thing.

"You don't think…" Dustin started before pausing and flashing Mike a look.

"Uh...definitely," Mike nodded, still panting. He and Dustin turned onto the road that led in front of the store, deciding to search for Eleven in that direction. As they glided down the street, he noticed a familiar sight. The strange guy from Will's funeral was carrying a bag and walking in the same direction they were pedalling.

Mike did a double take at the grocery bag in the boy's hand and promptly skidded to a stop again, narrowly avoiding a pileup with Dustin. "Hey!" He called out to the oddly dressed older boy on the sidewalk. The teen with blond and black hair turned to face them, locking his eyes with Mike.

"Mike, what are you-" Dustin tried to say before Mike interrupted him.

"You were at Will's funeral…" Mike pointed out. For some reason, his voice sounded like he was trying to convince himself of that fact despite having seen the guy there first-hand.

Dustin's eyebrows shot up when he heard that. "You were?" The stranger's empty eyes flickered at Dustin then returned to Mike as he nodded. "Woah. I can't believe Jonathan has a frie-

"Did you happen to see a girl in a pink dress come by here?" Mike interrupted once more. The strange teen holding the groceries tilted his head, almost as if he was studying them. Mike looked at Dustin, seeing his friend mouth 'Woah' for a second time and rolling his eyes. The atmosphere grew more awkward with each second that the older teen did not respond.

"Indeed, I did," a surprisingly high pitched voice eventually answered.

"Woah," Dustin supputered out for a third time. And as usual he also added, with zero tact, "You kind of sound like a girl."

Mike nearly choked as the words left his friend's mouth. Insulting the only lead they had wasn't exactly the approach he would have taken. Hopefully Dustin didn't just ruin their chances to find Eleven. It was hard to tell, as the oddly dressed stranger's face remained expressionless.

"Noted." Even the boy's response gave no insight into how he felt.

"Um, well, sorry about him." Mike apologized, just in case the guy was upset. "Can you tell us where she went?"

As Dustin had just correctly assessed, the admittedly feminine teenager turned his piercing gaze on him. He slowly lifted his arm and pointed a black tipped finger away further down the road where it disappeared into the tree line. Mike wasted no time in speeding off toward the woods, Dustin hot on his tail.

"Good luck finding your friend," the soft voice muttered as Mike passed.

He looked back over his shoulder and yelled out aquick, "Thanks!"

They had made it quite a bit away before Dustin whistled loudly and proclaimed, "That guy was kind of weird, right?"

Hopper and Joyce had moved into the kitchen after Terry's sister - Becky, they had learned - insisted that they explain why they were there. Becky pulled out a cigarette and listened to Joyce's heavily edited story. Once she was finished, Joyce and Hopper asked for more information about Terry in return. Applause erupted from the TV in the living room as Becky began to explain, "She was a part of some study in college."

"MK Ultra?" Hopper asked.

"Yeah, that's the one," Becky nodded, gesturing at him with the hand holding her cigarette. "Was, uh, started in the '50s. By the time Terry got involved, it was supposed to be ramping down, but the drugs just got crazier. Messed her up good."

"This was the CIA that ran this?".

Becky smirked at Hopper, clearly amused. "You and Terry would've gotten along. "The Man'' with a big capital "M". They'd pay...you know, a couple hundred bucks to people like my sister, give 'em drugs, psychedelics." Joyce and Hopper exchanged a serious look. "LSD, mostly. And then they'd strip her naked and put her in these isolation tanks."

Joyce's face scrunched up in confusion. "Isolation tanks?"

"Yeah. These big bathtubs, basically, filled with salt water, so you can float around in there. You lose any sense of, uh...sense and feel nothing, see nothing." Becky rolled her eyes as if she found the whole idea ridiculous. "They wanted to expand the boundaries of the mind. Real hippie crap." Joyce's expression turned to one of alarm, prompting Becky to elaborate, "I...I mean, it's not like they were forcing her to do any of this stuff. The thing is, though, is that she didn't know she was pregnant at the time."

"Jane," Joyce recalled. Becky nodded, tapping her cigarette on the ashtray in front of her as Hopper and Joyce sighed. When the woman didn't offer anything else, Joyce asked, "Do you have any pictures of her?"

Becky looked between Hopper and Joyce repeatedly, slack jawed. "I don't think you guys understand," she replied. "Terry miscarried in the third trimester."

Joyce slowly turned to Hopper, seeing him clenching his teeth. After a few more minutes of silence, Becky offered to show them something. It was a small room down the hall from the kitchen. A nursery, with soft pink walls and a cozy aesthetic that didn't reflect the haunted truth it conveyed.

"She keeps all of this up. Been doing it for twelve years. Terry, uh, pretends like Jane is real," Becky sighed. Hopper entered the room behind her, letting go of his hat with one hand to spin a mobile hanging over the crib. A quiet lullaby started to emit from the device. "Like she's gonna come home someday. Says she's special. Born with abilities."

Joyce turned from where she now stood next to the crib and watched Becky wave her hand as if performing magic. "Abilities?" she echoed.

Becky nodded and took a drag, glancing between the pair. "You read any Stephen King?"

Hopper and Joyce shared a look of realization and fear, minds jumping back to their exchange in Joyce's kitchen about what Hopper had seen in the lower levels of Hawkins Laboratory.

"You guys look scared, actually," Becky chuckled. "I mean, it's all make-believe."

Joyce cleared her throat. "What - what kind of abilities?"

Becky turned her focus toward the ceiling, looking at nothing in particular. "Telepathy, telekinesis...You know shit you can do with your mind. That's why the big, bad Man stole Jane away. Her baby's a weapon, off fighting the commies. You know, the doctor's all say." She took another hit from her cigarette and finished, "It's a coping mechanism. You know, to deal with the guilt."

"Do you think there is any chance she could be telling the truth?" Joyce asked. Becky looked offended and she quickly backpedaled. "A-about having had the kid?"

"There is no birth certificate, nothing from the hospital. Doctors and nurses all confirmed that she miscarried."

"Yeah, but that could've been covered up," Hopper replied, face serious. "Right?"

Becky grinned and shook her head, bringing the cigarette back up to her lips as she stared at the man. "Like I said, you and Terry would've gotten along."

In the town's local hunting shop, Jonathan roamed the aisles with Nancy in search of supplies. It had been his idea to stop by there, thinking back to the few lessons his father had given him on dangerous animals. He picked up a gas canister as Nancy filled a shopping basket one aisle over from him with random bits of items such as a hammer, chains, and large nails. They weren't quite sure what the thing was weak against, but he had a good bet that like everything else it was hurt by fire.

Nancy came to the end of her aisle, soon joined by Jonathan and they both set eyes on the contraption in front of them. A bear trap. That would be a great tool to keep the monster held down long enough to kill. Nancy looked at him with raised eyebrows and he gave a nod. She added the bear trap to their growing inventory of weapons.

Once they had gathered what they could they placed each item on the clerk's counter. The owner watched them, baffled. Jonathan looked away awkwardly, kicking himself for not thinking about how they would appear buying so many strange items.

Just two teens buying enough weapons and tools to take down a Grizzly bear. Nothing to see here.

"And I'll have four boxes of, uh, thirty-eights," Jonathan nodded over the counter. If they were going to look insane they might as well commit.

The middle- aged man reached back and retrieved the ammunition. "What you kids doin' with all this?"

He had really been hoping the man wouldn't ask any questions. "Um…" Jonathan fumbled, at a complete loss as he looked at Nancy.

She stared back at him briefly before shrugging and innocently answering, "Monster hunting."

"Huh." The man scoffed, seemingly appeased, and rang them up.

"Monster hunting?" Jonathan repeated to Nancy once they had reached his car in the parking lot. He couldn't believe that had worked. Nancy grinned as he opened the trunk and started to load the items into the back.

"You know, last week..." Nancy stared at him while he placed the items one by one into the compartment. "I was shopping for a new top I thought Steve might like. It took me and Barb all weekend. It seemed like life or death, you know? And...and now-"

"You're shopping for bear traps with Jonathan Byers," Jonathan finished for her, smiling wistfully.

"Yeah," Nancy nodded as he shut the trunk with a slam.

He looked up at nothing as he grabbed his keys out of his pocket. "What's the weirdest part? Me or the bear trap?" He had a feeling he already knew what the answer would be.

Nancy met his eyes and smirked. "You. It's definitely you."

Jonathan chuckled and opened his mouth, but before he could respond a car drove by, the driver honking their horn at the pair. Turning, he and Nancy saw a fellow classmate waving at them in the passenger seat.

"Hey Nance!" The passenger taunted as they skirted past, "Can't wait to see your movie." Laughter filled the air as the car continued down the road and out of sight.

Jonathan frowned and looked between Nancy and the retreating vehicle in confusion. "What the hell was that?" Last he had checked, Nancy hadn't been in any movies. Her face showed that he was correct, the girl staring after the car with a troubled expression.

"I don't know," Nancy said quietly. Without warning she spun, a new look of dread replacing her troubled one. Like she had seen a ghost.

"What?" Had she figured out what they had meant? Nancy ignored him and walked past his car, scanning the street. She suddenly ran off with increasing speed, causing him to cry out in alarm, "What? Hey! Where're you going?' He chased after her, running along the bricked sidewalk and passing the multiple storefronts of Downtown Hawkins.

"Nancy, wait!" Jonathan struggled to keep up. "Nancy!"

The girl took a hard turn and ran into the street. She crossed a four way intersection, paying no mind to the traffic, before coming to a stop outside of the local movie theater. Jonathan trailed her as closely as he could, eventually reaching her frozen body. He followed her gaze, landing on what had drawn her focus, and his eyes widened.

"I can't believe it!" The theater manager and his assistant were yelling loudly about the spectacle in front of them. "These kids!"

A lump lodged in Jonathan's throat as he scanned over the Hawk's ticket box, which displayed the movies that were currently playing. The particular movie attracting attention was All the Right Moves, except someone had added in bright, red spray paint the words 'Starring Nancy 'The Slut' Wheeler'.

"Jesus," Jonathan whispered, face pinched in disgust. People could be so cruel. He noticed Nancy looking around and realized people were beginning to stare at her.

One passing woman actually exclaimed, "Wow."

What was wrong with everyone? Why couldn't people just leave them alone? Jonathan watched as Nancy suddenly stomped off toward the alley next to the movie theater. "Wait!" He called after her. But she had already gained quite a distance on him. He sighed heavily and began his chase for the second time.

Steve was standing in the alley near the Hawk watching his best friend graffiti a sectioned off wall. If he was being honest, Tommy's penmanship was almost as bad as his own.

"Tommy, you write like a three-year-old," Carol said, mocking her freckled boyfriend.

"Shut up!" Tommy snapped back at her as he finished his work.

Their classmate Nicole joined in on the mockery. "I didn't know you could spell."

"I didn't know you could read," Tommy replied, pausing for a moment as if thinking hard about what to write next.

"You're thinking of Steve," Carol said playfully, eliciting a cackle from her boyfriend.

Steve rolled his eyes and shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. After Tommy had defaced the ticket box, Nicole had suddenly appeared to join them. He wasn't sure exactly how she knew they would be there, but he suspected Tommy and Carol had something to do with it.

Not that it mattered, he had no interest in the red-head. She was far too shallow and judgemental for him. Not like Nancy. His stomach churned as he thought about what they had done to her. For a brief moment, when his eyes first landed on the sign, he had felt vindicated. But now…

Now, he just kind of felt like an asshole.

Steve shook his head and returned to watching Tommy spray paint the side of the building. 'Byers is a perv' looked back at them in big, bright, red lettering.

Carol's attention suddenly diverted from the group and down the alley. She turned and called out in a taunting voice, "Aw, hey there, princess!" Steve looked to the left with his friends to see Nancy herself storming up to them, a dark expression on her face.

"Uh oh! She looks upset!" Tommy said once she was a few feet away, freckled face still holding his stupid grin as he rotated away from his artwork.

Suddenly, that awful feeling in Steve's stomach disappeared and again all he could think about was the anger and betrayal he had felt when he saw her with Byers. He watched her approach him with a stony gaze and, when Nancy came to a halt, felt pain shoot through his left check. His head recoiled slightly from the impact as she slapped him hard across his face.

"Oh!" Carol groaned loudly.

"Damn!" Tommy simultaneously shouted and flinched, bringing his free hand up to his mouth to hide his grin. Steve did not react at all. He had been hit by better.

"What is wrong with you?" Nancy asked, apparently deciding to play innocent.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? I was worried about you," Steve scoffed, gazing down at Nancy with bitter eyes. The disappointment he felt in himself was evident in his voice as he added, "I can't believe that I was actually worried about you."

"What are you talking about?" Nancy looked and sounded confused. Hurt even. Not that she had any reason to be feeling either.

He was the one who was confused and hurt. How could she stand there and continue to lie to his face?

"I wouldn't lie if I were you." Carol decided to jump to Steve's defense, sneering at Nancy. "You don't want to be known as the lying slut now, do you?"

Steve clenched his jaw when he noticed Byers come running up behind Nancy. Tommy took that as his cue to hop down from his perch on the crate next to them. "Speak of the devil," Tommy said as he stepped forward threateningly and lifted a cigarette to his mouth. "Hi."

Nancy spun around to see who Tommy was talking to. After a brief second she whipped her head back to face Steve, realization dawning on her face. "You came by last night."

Any small bit of guilt that Steve had vanished with Byers arrival. He leveled the most hateful glare he could at the guy before turning his gaze down to the girl that had crushed his heart.

"Ding ding ding!" Carol replied, a smoking Tommy wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Does she get a prize?"

Steve knew that Carol was being especially mean, mostly because she would beat Nancy's ass if she dared to step to her. But he couldn't bring himself to care. He couldn't bring himself to do anything but watch.

Nancy stepped closer to him. "Look, I don't know what you think you saw, but it wasn't like that."

What he thought he saw? He didn't think anything. He clearly saw her and Byers on her bed, cuddling each other while she wore his coat. Seemed pretty cut and dry.

"What, you just let him into your room to..." Steve stared hard at Jonathan as he spoke before turning to Nancy and finishing, "Study?" She always acted like he was stupid. Like he never knew what was going on. And maybe that was true. But he wasn't wrong about this.

"Or for another pervy photo session?" Tommy asked, laughing loudly.

"We were just-" Nancy began.

Steve didn't let her finish. He wasn't going to let her keep lying to him. "You were just what? Finish that sentence," he ordered as he stepped closer to her and stared menacingly into her eyes.

Nancy began to breath heavily. He could see tears gathering and she fought desperately to hold them back. Normally they would have moved him, but he could only shake his head, disgusted. He should have known better. She had never been worth his time.

"Go to hell, Nancy," Steve spat. He started to turn away with every intention of letting her leave, but Byers decided to involve himself.

"Come on, Nancy, let's just leave." Jonathan moved forward to take her arm. Steve stopped abruptly, turning on the other teen in anger.

Of course, she would rather be with the perverted freak who took photos of her when she wasn't looking. The anger inside of him continued to build. He needed to let out a bit of steam, and Byers had just volunteered.

"You know what, Byers? I'm actually kind of impressed." Steve brushed a had through his hair before giving the other teen's shoulder a push. "I always took you for a queer, but I guess you're just a little screw-up like your father."

He didn't know why he said it. He didn't have anything against those kind of people, and he knew about rumors about little Byers being that way, and the rumors about their father being abusive. But he wanted Jonathan to hurt. Hurt like he hurt. In his mind, anything was fair game.

Again he shoved Byers, willing him to fight back. The older teen tried to walk away, refusing to give him what he wanted, but that just pissed him off some more, and he could be relentless when he was angry.

"Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that house is full of screw-ups." Steve shoved Jonathan again. "You know, I guess I shouldn't really be surprised. A bunch of screw-ups in your family."

Nancy turned to Jonathan, reacting to something Steve couldn't see. "Jonathan, leave it!" Of course she was defending the freak. She had just opened her legs for him, after all.

Fine, he would just have to go even lower. Really twist the knife. "I mean, your mom...I'm not even surprised what happened to your brother," he said. "I'm sorry I have to be the one to tell you-"

"Steve, shut up!" Nancy shouted as he shoved Jonathan again.

A sudden thought invaded Steve's mind. Why was he acting this way? He pushed the thought down and continued to lash out, hitting the other boy's back once more. "But the Byers, their family, it's a disgrace to the entire-" Before he could react, Byers spun on the spot and decked him. He caught himself on the side railing of the building, left hand wiping his mouth.

Just what he wanted.

Steve recovered and tackled Jonathan around the waist, sending the two falling against the hood of Steve's car, making Tommy holler out an impressed, "Oh!"

"Steve!" Nancy yelled. But not the concerned kind of alarm, the kind that you use when you want someone to stop. Yeah, he was about to beat up her boy toy. He hoped she enjoyed it too. He grunted as he threw Byers to the ground and began grappling with him wildly on the pavement. "Stop! Steve! Knock it off, you guys!"

Steve was furious, but that didn't seem to be enough as Jonathan suddenly flipped them over so that he was on his back. He kneed the other boy in the ribs, trying to flip back over.

"Get off of him, seriously!" Carol interjected. Steve didn't let that get to his head.

"Kick his ass man!" Tommy tried to rally in support, and that did it. Tommy had been in just as many fights as he had, so his reactions told him that he wasn't wrong about the shift that had just happened. Byers was starting to gain the upper hand.

"Get off! Stop!" Carol yelled again.

He refused to lose to this creep. He kneed Byers in his ribs a second time and shoved the boy off of him before climbing to his feet. The other teen managed to jump up too and took another swing at him, smashing his face again. Steve fell back and caught himself on the concrete.

"Get in there, he's going to hurt himself!" He heard Carol demand of Tommy.

As he regained his composure his best friend stepped forward between them and attempted to hold Byers back. "Easy, easy!" But he pushed Tommy away.

He could defend himself. Byers was a nobody! A fucking loser! "Hey! Hey! Get out of here!" Steve shoved Tommy to the side, intent on continuing the fight. "Get out of here! Get out of here!"

Tommy moved out of the way and Steve turned his attention back to his opponent. Jonathan took another swing at him, but this time he was prepared. He ducked quickly to avoid the hit and popped back up, managing to land a solid punch across the other teen's jaw.

It wasn't enough. The other teen recoiled for a second, but with a furious yell Byers hit him again so hard that he almost blacked out. The thing about rage, Steve would later learn… it gave a person inhuman strength. He was angry, yeah, but his anger paled in comparison to the fury he had unleashed in the other boy. He was swiftly regretting saying so many cruel things about his family.

Jonathan smashed his fist into his face yet again. Steve felt himself losing consciousness as he staggered backward, struggling to stay on his feet.

"Jonathan, stop! Stop, you're going to hurt him!" Nancy screamed when he crumbled to the ground. "Jonathan, stop!" She almost sounded like she cared.

Steve faintly registered sirens in the distance, but Byers was clearly too far gone. The other teen took no notice of the sound or of Nancy's screams, instead leaning down and dragging him up by his shirt to land another punch to his aching face.

A foreign thought invaded his mind. Did he deserve this?

"Cops!" Tommy shouted.

"Guys! Jonathan, get off of him! Nancy kept begging, sounding more frightened. "Stop it!"

Another punch landed on Steve's cheek, splitting it this time. What kind of man was he? He couldn't even win against the town freak. His father would be so disappointed. He was so disappointed. King Steve... What a joke.

"Cops! Come on!" Tommy's voice indicated that the police were getting closer.

Hit after hit kept landing on Steve's face, each impact breaking his spirit and his body. He fought to stay awake, unable to see what was really happening around him.

"Just go, Carol!" He faintly registered Tommy attempting to pry Byers off of him. "Hey, he's had enough, man! I said he's had enough!"

"Kid! All right!" A new voice rang in the air.

Steve heard the sound of a sickening crunch followed by another man wailing, "Oh my nose!"

"Calm down!" The first new voice called again.

He couldn't feel Byers on top of him anymore. Familiar hands grabbed his shoulders and he clutched back onto them desperately. Tommy hoisted him to his feet and started to drag him down the alleyway. "Go, go, go, go, go, go!" He heard Tommy say into his ear as he regained a bit of clarity. Steve listened to his friend and began to sprint away from the scene with him.

"Hey! He, uh-uh. Uh-uh!" One of the officers yelled out after them. "Come here, little guys! Come here!"

He could come back for his car later, after the adrenaline wore off. Steve and Tommy rounded the corner, him gaining the lead on his friend, and the pair escaped into the streets of Hawkins.

A/N: I have been in a few fights myself, but I have never been beaten up. I assume it's an eye opening experience.

I forgot to say, the outfit that the mystery character is wearing is a callback to a famous celebrity from the 80's. Any guesses?

Until next our stars align.