Hawkins

Evening

Mike, Lucas, Will, Dustin, Eleven, and Max were all spread out around the basement of Mike's home. They were all sitting in silence, shocked and surprised by everything Will had just told them. He had told them everything about his visions, the ones he had during the blackout at the movies and at Dustin's home, he hadn't described the visions in detail except for the one where . The rest of the party was still trying to entirely process what Will had told them. Lucas was the first one to speak after the long silence.

"Wait, so you had visions during the blackout and at Dustin's house?" Lucas checked.

Will nodded. "Yeah, that's what happened."

"That's how you were able to stop Dustin from spraying Lucas, isn't it?" Max questioned. "Cause you saw it happen."

"So you saw the future?" Dustin asked.

"I don't know," Will said, shrugging his shoulders. "It felt like whenever I had my now-memories but it was stronger and the things I saw, none of it had happened before."

"So what exactly did you see?" Mike asked. "In your visions, what did you see?"

"I'm not sure," Will said. "It all just comes in flashes, clips, pieces. I saw the Demogorgon killing all these…soldiers in a hallway."

"Do you know where that's gonna happen?" El asked.

"I don't know, it was just a hallway," Will explained. "It didn't look familiar, not at all."

"What else did you see?" Dustin asked.

Will sighed. "Uh…I saw Nancy, it looked like she was dying."

"Dying?" Mike said, concern clear in his raising voice. "What do you mean dying? What happened to her?"

"I couldn't tell," Will said. "She was bleeding…badly. I could see Steve and Jonathan with her and I could hear a baby crying."

"A baby?" Max asked. "Nancy's baby?"

"I think so, yeah," Will shrugged. "And I saw El trying to lift something, some sort of creature…it was a Demogorgon."

"Alright, listen," Dustin said. "If these visions Will has are the future, then we know this: we do end up finding the Demogorgon and El ends up fighting it."

"What about Nancy?" Mike demanded. "Will said he saw her dying, we can't let that happen to her."

"Maybe it won't," Lucas said.

"'Maybe it won't'," Dustin said, quoting Lucas' words. "These visions are the future and you can't change the future."

"We already have," Lucas pointed out as he turned to Will. "You said that in your first vision, you saw Dustin spraying me in the eyes with that hair spray during the surprise we planned for him, right?"

"Yeah." Will replied.

"But you didn't see you, future you that is, stop that from happening, did you?"

"No."

"And yet you did," Lucas pointed out. "You were able to stop Dustin from spraying me and you didn't see that in your vision."

"So you changed the future." Max realized.

"And if we can change one vision-" El began.

"We can change the rest of them." Will finished.

"So we can save Nancy?" Mike asked.

"We'll worry about that later," Dustin responded. "We have a Demogorgon to deal with."

"She'll be fine, Mike," El assured. "I promise."

Mike sighed. "But-"

"No buts," Dustin interrupted. "Look, all we have to do is stop this one Demogorgon and we can focus on changing the future."

Mike sucked in a deep breath. "Fine."

Dustin then turned to El. "Alright, El, do your thing."

Elsewhere in Hawkins

In an abandoned warehouse, the same warehouse where a flesh-like, half-alive creature had kidnapped and tortured Mike Wheeler, the Demogorgon walked down the stairs. Slowly, quietly growling as it reached the lowest floor of the warehouse. The 10-foot-tall creature then kneeled on its left leg as it laid its right hand onto the ground. Then, a large pile of a flesh-like substance, the same thing that had tortured Mike, crawled and slithered across the floor towards the Demogorgon. It eventually reached the Demogorgon's hand, resting on it. The Demogorgon then let three spikes of its own flesh slither down its arm and into the substance. The substance suddenly grew and grew as it formed the shape of a 12-foot-tall muscular creature. The Demogorgon continued kneeling as it looked up in awe at what appeared before him: the physical form of the Mind Flayer. The Flayer held its hands in front of itself as it looked over his body.

"Yes…" the Flayer whispered, its cold, dark voice echoing through the warehouse. "Yes…I've achieved a physical body…to exist in this world." The Flayer then looked down at the kneeling Demogorgon, who immediately bowed its head down in respect. "All thanks to you, my loyal, humble servant."

The Flayer then turned its head to the left as it stared at the several unconscious human bodies. Over the course of one day, the Demogorgon had kidnapped well over two hundred people, few of them having been with it and the Flayer as of this moment. The rest were stored elsewhere in the warehouse. Among one of the unconscious people was Billy Hargrove, Maxine Mayfield's older foster brother. He would lead the Flayer to El, who would lead her to Mike. However, the Flayer knew to be careful, to play the long and stick to the plan. The plan that it had created, worked on, and perfected for over a year. He'd have to take it slow and proceed cautiously just as he planned.

"You brought me subjects," the Flayer spoke. "They will be flayed and I will make use of them. I will bring Hawkins to its knees. Eleven will fail before me and the one I seek will know my true power, his power."

Meanwhile, in the black darkness of the Upside Down, El watched the Mind Flayer making its speech in its physical form as she also saw the Demogorgon kneeling before it. On top of that, El could also see the several unconscious human bodies that the Demogorgon had taken. She stared in shock upon seeing the Mind Flayer, her greatest enemy, the one behind it all, behind everything. From the start, it was the Mind Flayer. Will's kidnapping, the Demodogs, the Upside Down, everything. El continued watching as she could hear the voices of her friends.

"El, talk to us, what's going on?" Mike's voice echoed through the darkness.

"The Mind Flayer's here," El said. "It's different, it has another form."

"Another form?" Lucas questioned.

"Must be like another avatar or something." Dustin suggested.

"Do you see the Demogorgon?" Will asked.

"It's here," El confirmed. "It's kidnapped a lot of people. Even Billy."

"Billy?" Max questioned. "Billy's there?"

El took a shaky deep breath. "He's not awake. The Mind Flayer wants to control him, to control all of them. He wants me."

Suddenly, the Mind Flayer tilted and turned its head as it looked at Eleven's direction. El shuddered as she gulped, trying to remain calm. Her breathing was speeding up, her heartbeat accelerating as sweat built up in her. He can't see you. El reminded herself. He can't see you.

"Hello Eleven," the Flayer whispered. "I've been wanting to reach you."

"Oh no," El shuddered as she panicked, her heartbeat spiraling out of control.

"El, what's wrong?" Mike's voice echoed in Eleven's mind.

"He can see me," El panicked. "He can see me! He can see me."

"Get out of there!" Max yelled. "El c'mon!"

The last thing El saw was the Flayer raising its hand at her as she closed her eyes, focusing on herself. She restrained her panic and her fear as she focused herself on getting out. El regained feeling of her physical body as she ripped the blindfold off, opening her eyes. She found herself in Mike's basement, however, it was empty. There was no one inside. The basement was clean as the entire house was silent. Mike was gone, so was the rest of the party. No one, except for El, was inside the house at all. El rose to her feet, looking around the basement in panic.

"Mike?" El called.

No response. She tried again.

"Mike?

Nothing. Not even a single sound in the endless silence. El could almost feel herself going insane as tears of fear began to cloud her eyes.

"MIKE!" El cried, looking and looking desperately, hoping to find him. "MIKE! MIKE!"

"He can't hear you." a familiar voice echoed. "None of them can."

Tears poured from El's eyes as she turned around and heard footsteps nearing the door. She then saw Mike walk through the door, dressed in his usual clothes. He kept walking straight, not bothering to look at El for a few moments. Then, he tilted his head as he eyed El before stopping right in one stop. El shuddered. Whoever she was looking at, he looked like Mike but it couldn't have been him. She didn't know what was happening, she was confused and frightened.

"Mike?" El breathed.

The look-alike Mike tilted its head slightly to the right as it grinned evilly before speaking. "No. He's not here, I'm just…borrowing his form for a while."

El shivered as the realization dawned upon her. "You're the Mind Flayer."

The Mind Flayer chuckled as it brought it began clapping. "You're a clever one."

"Where am I?" El demanded. "Where's Mike?"

"Oh Mike, yes…" the Mind Flayer said. "Well, he's safe back in the real world. You, on the other hand, you're with me, here…in the Upside Down."

"What do you want from me?"

The Mind Flayer chuckled. "What do I want from you? Eleven, I don't want anything from you. I don't expect anything from you. All I need is for you to know."

"Know what?"

"What I'm going to do, of course," The Mind Flayer then bent its head down before walking closer to El. El slowly backed away, taking two steps back. Seeing the Mind Flayer wearing the body and the face of the boy she loved pained her. The Mind Flayer then spoke. "You see, El, you and your friends think you can stop me. But you can't, you won't. You will fail. Hawkins will fall and you will suffer, Eleven."

"No." El breathed, shaking her head in fear as her eyes were filled with tears.

"I will kill the ones you love and care about," the Mind Flayer. "I will tear this world piece by piece and kill every last man, woman, and child. And you…you, Eleven,...can watch as I do so. And when I am done, I will kill you and I will create a new species on this planet. A superior species that knows not war, loss, or pain but only what it can gain. You see, humans can no longer be allowed to exist in this world. They create war, conflict and suffering while bringing destruction upon themselves and this beautiful planet. Why let them waste this world and I can take it?"

"No," El sobbed "Oh god."

"No," The Mind Flayer growled as it smiled evilly. "No God. No humans, no animals. When I am done, the only thing in the sky will be me, my shadow form. My strongest form. And mark my words, Eleven, what I am about to do will haunt you for the rest of your life. Or rather, how much of it I allow you to have."

"NO!" El cried. "Get away!"

She raised her hand as she sent the Mind Flayer flying and crashing through the house with her powers. El closed her eyes as she found herself back in Mike's basement, removing the blindfold from her face. She panicked as she saw Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Max, and Will. Blood was streaming down her nose as it covered due to the excessive use of her powers. El looked around the basement in fear and panic as Mike immediately went to her.

"El," Mike called to her. "El, El, hey, it's me. It's us. You're alright. It's okay."

A tear-eyed El locked eyes with him as she saw everything around her, her friends, the basement, everything inside it. Mike helped El onto her feet, keeping his hands on her shoulders as El looked back at him. She was safe, she was no longer trapped with the Mind Flayer. El breathed as she calmed herself down, it was then when she realized how dizzy and unsteady she felt. She felt herself going numb, her eyes closing as the world around began to go dark. El lost consciousness, her legs turning to jelly as she fell only for Mike to catch her in his arms. He wrapped his arms around her body as carried her towards the couch, lying her down on it.

"El?" Mike stroked El's hair as he tried to wake her. "El? El? El, wake up. El!"

"She's still breathing," Max said in a worried voice. "Why isn't she waking up?"

"I-it must be her powers," Will said. "She's too tired from using them, she needs to recover."

Then, a loud but muffled conversation could be heard coming from upstairs as everyone turned to face the door to the living room. Mike sighed as he had a feeling what was happening.

"What's happening?" Lucas asked.

"Mom and Dad," Mike replied. "They're probably arguing again."

"You should probably go." Dustin said.

Mike sighed. "I can't, not with-"

"Don't worry about El," Max assured. "We'll look after her. You go and try to get your parents to stop yelling at each other."

Mike nodded as he got up from his knees and headed on his way up the stairs of the basement. Max immediately went over to the unconscious El as she wiped the blood from her nose away with a few tissues. Mike opened the door to the basement as he entered the living room. The first thing he saw was his mother standing by the door, which was open. He could see that someone was outside, someone that Karen was talking with. Or rather, arguing in a whisper-tone with. Mike quickly walked to the door, laying a hand on Karen's shoulder as he spoke.

"Mom?" Mike called.

Karen then turned to face her son, fully revealing the man that was standing outside the door to Mike's eyes. Mike stared in surprise as his eyes grew large, his heartbeat racing with familiarity as he instantly recognized who standing outside the door. It was the man from before, the one who had been watching Mike. He knew. The man was still dressed in his business style suit and black trench coat. Mike paused drastically as he was able to get a good look at the man's face. He had some black hair on the top of his head, however, the sides of his head were clear of any hair whatsoever. The man seemed slightly surprised upon meeting Mike, but clearly he was trying to control himself. Karen opened her mouth to speak to her son when the man spoke to him first.

"Hello there," the man's accent was thick but pure British. He was clearly from England or somewhere around the area.

"Mike," Karen said calmly. "This is-"

"James," the man interrupted, holding out his hand to Mike. "You must be Michael."

"It's just Mike actually," Mike replied, shaking the man's hand.

"My mistake," the two dropped hands. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Mom, do you know him?" Mike asked, maintaining eye contact with James as he did so.

"Y-y-yeah, honey," Karen faltered. "H-he's a friend from college."

"Just stopping by around here in Hawkins," James said. "Thought I'd come and pay your Mum a visit."

Karen then turned to Mike as she rested a hand on his shoulder. "Mike, honey, why don't you go back down with your friends? I just have to talk about some stuff with James."

"I agree," James said, his British accent thickening. "Your Mum and I have a bit of catching up to do."

Mike nodded his head in agreement as he eyed James. "It was nice to meet you."

James smiled back.

Mike turned away as he headed towards the door to his basement. He could then overhear Karen, his mother, and James speaking…in more aggressive and argument-like tones. Mike got onto the first step of the stairs by the door as he pulled it back, leaving a small gap of space. From there, Mike could see Karen was clearly arguing with James, who was arguing back. He began to doubt that they were 'friends from college' as friends clearly didn't argue this much.

"He deserves to know the truth," James pointed out. "Sooner or later, you have to tell him."

"I am not going to do that to him," Karen gritted. "He is my child. My boy."

"Your boy?" James exclaimed. "How exactly do you think he's gonna react when he finds out his mother is a dirty liar?"

Karen scoffed. "How dare you-"

"How dare I? How dare you?" James interrupted as he pointed a finger into Karen's home. "One way or another, that boy is going to learn the truth and I am going to make sure of it."

"Stay away from my family." Karen threatened, anger and violence were visible in her tone.

James scoffed as he sneered. "What family?"

He turned around and left as Karen angrily slammed the door. Mike quickly rushed downstairs as he entered the basement. He had no idea what he had just heard or seen. His mother had been lying to him? James wanted her to tell 'the truth' to him? A truth they both knew about? Were they even college friends or had they just made that up? And what was Mike's mother lying to him about? Mike tried to shake the thought from his head. Whatever was going on, it had to wait. With the Demogorgon in Hawkins, this was the least of his worries. He needed to help El and the rest of his friends take down the creature. As Mike entered the basement, he looked at the couch to see Eleven sitting formally. Max, Lucas, Dustin, and Will were standing a few feet away from

"El?" Mike called. "You're awake?"

"Mike, that's not El," Max said, shaking her head in fear.

Mike frowned in confusion. "What-"

"Hello Michael," El spoke in a distorted, deep voice. "I would be most delighted if you would join us."

Mike's frown of confusion turned into a look of anger as he clenched his fists. He was no longer looking at or speaking to the girl he knew and loved. He was looking at someone else, something else.

"The Mind Flayer." Mike gritted as "El" smiled mischievously.

Elsewhere In Hawkins

Hopper parked his car beside the cabin where he and El had been living for about two years. He took the car keys and popped the door as he stepped out, closing and locking the car behind him. He walked up to the door of the cabin via the stairs. Hopper suddenly stopped in his tracks as he saw the door was slightly open. In a fraction of a second, he pulled out his pistol, holding it with both hands as he aimed it at the door. He slowly made his way inside, pushing the door open as it creaked with a sound. Hopper immediately spotted a package on the dining table. He looked around the cabin, looking for anyone who could've been inside. Then, he went over to the package and observed it, looking for any details that could've been on it. There was nothing. The box was just a beige-colored box with nothing on it, no stickers, no note, nothing. Hopper put his pistol aside as he held the box close to his ear as he shook it, trying to get an idea of what was inside. All he heard was some thumping, he couldn't quite make out what it could be.

Suddenly, the phone began ringing nearby as Hopper quickly turned to it, holding the package in his hands. The phone continued ringing as Hopper set the package down on the table as he went over to the telephone, slowly picking it up with his right hand. He held the telephone to his right ear as he spoke.

"Hello?"

A Russian-accented voice responded through slight static. "Jim Hopper?"

Hopper frowned. "Who is this?"

"Do you have the package?"

Hopper remained silent as he turned his head to the package that was on his table. "Y-yes. I have it. Sorry, who is this? Who are you? What do you want?"

"Open the package," the Russian man said. "Look in the file. Translate it. We will contact you shortly."

"We?" Hopper questioned.

"There are things you do not know. Things that threaten this town…I must go."

Suddenly, the phone cut off as the call ended. Hopper set the phone down as he took a moment to process what just happened. Whatever was in the box, Hopper needed to know as it seemingly had to do with a threat that endangered all of Hawkins.

Meanwhile

"What've you done to El?" Mike demanded as he stood with his friends, all of whom stood back as the El, or rather, the Mind Flayer grinned.

"Oh don't worry about dear El," the Mind Flayer said, standing up as she placed her hands behind herself in a formal way. "She's fine. Just sleeping somewhere in her subconscious."

"If you hurt her," Max gritted. "If you even lay a hand on her-"

"Dear me," the mind-controlled El sighed. "What part of 'don't worry' do you not understand? Humans. So emotional. Besides, I only want to speak with all of you."

Then, the Mind Flayer suddenly spotted Will as it maintained eye contact with him. "William! So good to see you, my old friend!"

Will backed away in fear as the Mind Flayer stepped forward, only for Lucas, Dustin, and Mike to stand in front of it.

"Don't even think about it." Dustin sneered.

"Aw, Will has some nice friends," the Mind Flayer said, pretending to mimic a childish tone. "Isn't that adorable?"

"You know if you weren't controlling our friend," Lucas spat. "We would've beaten the shit out of you."

The Mind Flayer rolled its eyes. "Gentlemen please. You do realize I have El's powers now that I'm in her body. If I wanted it, everyone in this house would be dead ten times over and over by the time we started this conversation. That includes your family, Michael. Your mother, father, and little sister upstairs. I could kill them, you know. Right now."

"No," Mike gritted as he stepped closer to the Flayer. "You won't. You've done more than enough to this town, to the people I love and care about. You killed my sister's closest friend. You kidnapped my best friend for a week and you tried to kill him. Then, you controlled him like a pet. You're the reason I lost El for a year. Then, you tried to destroy this town and kill my friends. You're not gonna hurt or kill anyone else. Not anymore."

The Mind Flayer chuckled. "For a fourteen-year-old child, you're brave."

The Flayer then took a few steps backwards as it stood a few feet away from Mike and the rest of the party.

"I have to ask," the Mind Flayer said. "How is Steve Harrington doing at the Starcourt Mall?"

Everyone stared in shock as they all traded horrified glances. Dustin, out of everyone, was shocked the most.

"How did you-" Dustin tried to say.

"The Starcourt Mall has quite the tourists and visitors," the Flayer continued. "It would be quite a shame if it were…say, attacked."

Lucas stared at the Flayer grimly as he spoke. "What've you-"

"Hey Mike," the Flayer said in a mix of its distorted voice and El's sweet, kind voice. "How's Nancy holding up with Jonathan? I've heard that they're living together, yes?"

Mike's eyes grew large in horror as the Flayer chuckled.

"What's wrong?" the Flayer asked, its distorted voice growing deeper. "Scared?"

"What've you done?" Mike asked.

"You see, Mike," the Flayer taunted. "You have to choose: will you save your pregnant, dear sister? Or will you save your friend, Steve, and the tens of people at the Starcourt Mall?"

"What…have…you…done?" Mike gritted.

Suddenly, Mike clenched his right fist with an increasingly strong grip. A grip stronger than any human grip. His eyes slowly began glowing with red energy. The Mind Flayer smiled as it saw the energy building up in Mike's eyes. The rest of the party, Max, Lucas, Dustin, and Will, couldn't see what was going on with Mike as they were behind him.

"There it is," the Flayer chuckled. "Mike Wheeler. The real Mike Wheeler. Do you really think you'll be able to save your sister and all those people?"

And then, he snapped. Mike clenched his fist as tight as he possibly could, his palm turning red as a result. Mike angrily slammed the table in front of him. The table instantly broke into two pieces under the force of Mike's fist. Max, Lucas, Dustin, and Will reeled back in shock as they stared at Mike horrifyingly. Now, they didn't know who they were more afraid of, the Mind Flayer in El's body or Mike himself. Mike stood a mere few inches from the Flayer, his eyes fully glowing with red energy as anger coursed through his body.

"WHAT'VE YOU DONE!" Mike roared.

The Mind Flayer cackled upon Mike's rage as it looked and saw the destroyed and decimated table. The Flayer stepped back as it spoke.

"It's simple," the Flayer said. "You have to choose: your sister or the innocents at Starcourt Mall."

Mike forced himself to calm down, reminding himself that he couldn't attack his own girlfriend. The energy in Mike's eyes dissipated as he let go of his fist.

"And remember," the Flayer continued. "The best-case scenario is that you'll only be able to save one of them. So decide quickly or else you'll lose both."

Then, the Flayer lifted its head up as it groaned before it suddenly disappeared from El's body. Mike watched as El sat on the couch, wiping the blood from her nose with her hand. She looked up at Mike and everyone else with a scared look.

"Mike?" El asked. "Guys?"

"Dude," Dustin said, looking between the destroyed table and Mike. "How did you do that?"

"You have super strength?" Max questioned.

Mike suddenly remembered something: the night that he had been kidnapped by the pile of flesh that had tortured him. It was the Mind Flayer. It had kidnapped and tortured him and…given him powers? But why? How? It didn't make sense. Nothing about any of this did. Mike would have to explain all of this later. Right now, he had to save Nancy. Then, he and everyone else had to save the Starcourt Mall.

"I-I don't know," Mike responded. "I don't know…I…look, we have to save Nancy. She's in danger, so is Jonathan. And Mrs. Byers."

"What's going on?" El asked.

"Long story short: the Mind Flayer's attacking Nancy, Jonathan, Mrs. Byers, and the Starcourt Mall all at the same time." Dustin explained.

"That's it," Max said. "That's what he needs Billy, the Demogorgon, and the rest of his army for.

"He's not just gonna use it for that," Lucas said. "He's not gonna go as far as to kidnap all these people and bring a Demogorgon just to do one attack on the mall and on Nancy."

"Guys, we don't have time to argue," Mike said angrily. "We have to save Nancy and the Byers' first."

"Mike's right," Will said, sounding clearly concerned for his brother and mother. "Besides, they're closer to us. We save them. Then they take us to the Starcourt and we-"

"Do what, Will?" Max deadpanned. "Somehow fight an army of Flayed soldiers. Oh sure, it'll only take a while, we'll be back in time for dinner."

"We have to try." Will urged.

"Look guys," Lucas said. "Let's focus on saving Nancy and Jonathan. And Mrs. Byers. But if we're gonna do this, we gotta do it now."

"He's right," Dustin said. "C'mon, let's go."

Everyone began running up the stairs as Mike went over to El and held her hand. El held Mike's hand tightly as the two of them ran up the stairs with Dustin, Will, Lucas, and Max, heading to their bikes.

Starcourt Mall

"Two scoops of chocolate chip cookie dough in a cone," Steve said as he handed the ice cream cone to the girl in front of him. "That'll be $2.89."

The girl slapped a five-dollar-bill on the counter. "Keep the change."

Steve then tried to open his mouth to speak but the girl had already turned around and left with her other friends. She and her two friends left the Scoops Ahoy store as Steve hopelessly sighed. For the past year, he had tried to resort to his old jock ways (without being the same arrogant jerk he once was). He had been doing it since he wanted someone special in his life, someone like Nancy. Steve rolled his eyes.

"Have a good day," he muttered as he turned around, finding Robin mark another tally on her poster.

"And another bites the dust," Robin said, turning around to face Steve.

"Did you just-"

"Reference the song by Queen and Status Quo? Yeah, dingus, I did."

"You're way too obsessed with that song."

Robin looked offended. "More like you're not obsessed enough."

Steve pulled his hair back with both his hands as he sighed. "Robs, I've told you, it's my fifth favorite song but at the rate you're going, I'm going to end up hating it."

"Don't you dare." Robin warned.

Steve chuckled as he leaned against the wall and smiled. "You're a good friend."

"It's only cause you haven't had a lot of friends."

"Ouch."

"And cause I'm the reason you've survived this job and made it this far."

Steve made a sarcastic pain look. "Ow! Salt on the wound."

Robin laughed.

"But, no, really," Steve said, bringing his smile down. "I mean it. You…you're the greatest friend I've ever had."

Robin gave a light smile. "You might be one of the better friends I've had."

"Might?"

"Just might."

"Okay," Steve said, shaking his head. "I'll take it."

"You know," Robin began. "Before the outage, you were going to ask me something."

Steve frowned. "Oh that," he waved his hand. "Nothing, I just wanted to talk."

"We can talk now."

Steve paused.

"What were you going to ask me?" Robin asked.

"Look," Steve began as he sighed. "I know there's something you-"

Suddenly, a loud crash sound echoed through the entire mall as Steve and Robin jumped at the sound of it. They saw one of the model cars flipped upside down on the floor. Screams and cries of fear could be heard from tens, if not hundreds, of people. Steve and Robin exchanged confused glances as they wondered what was going on. All of a sudden, a certain ten-year-old girl ran into the store as she spotted Steve and Robin, both of whom maintained eye contact with her for a moment.

"Erica?" Steve asked as he and Robin went over to her.

"Th-there's…something…" Erica shivered in shock as she stammered barely being able to get words out of her mouth.

"What?" Robin asked, holding the ten-year-old's shoulders. "What's going on? What happened?"

"Stay with her," Steve ordered.

He then went over to the door as he looked outside the Mall. What Steve saw next either horrified, shocked, or scared him. Most likely all three. Steve saw several people who looked like they were infected with some sort of disease, it was as if they were all part-zombie. Among those people, Steve could even see Billy. Not only that but he could see the Demogorgon and some other creature that looked stronger and taller. One thing was for certain: the Starcourt Mall was attacked and everyone inside was doomed.

A/N: Well, this isn't good. Clearly you must be curious as to what's going to happen to Steve and Nancy. Find out in the next chapter. I'll try and see if I can make the next chapters more action-packed. The next one will include quite a bit of action.