Disclaimer: I don't own Stranger Things or any of the characters in this story.


Chapter 12: Before the Night is Over

A piercing scream broke through the air as what felt like a shock wave ripped through them all. The boys cowered on the ground as the four others were picked up and flung in opposite directions, hitting the ground with a thud. They lay motionless.

There was only one person who could be responsible for this.

Mike glanced frantically around until he locked eyes with his own personal superhero, walking from one end of the street. Her ears and nose were dripping with blood, and she was trailed cautiously by Max.

His El.

The silence was deafening as the boys took in the scene before them. The only sounds were El and Max's shoes as they made contact with the pavement.

When the girls were about ten feet away, Mike snapped out of his stupor and jumped up, wrapping El in a tight hug. She collapsed in his arms, crying quietly in exhaustion.

"Oh thank god," he murmured. "Thank god for you. Are you okay?"

She nodded tiredly. "I was worried, Mike. You weren't coming back."

"Yeah, what the fuck, Wheeler," Max interrupted. "You said you weren't going to be gone long. We were both really fucking worried about you."

Mike shot a glare in Max's direction, before promptly turning back to El. "I am so sorry to have worried you. And I'm sorry, too, Max," he said with a pointed glance, raising his voice slightly. "Once I met up with Will, I knew we had to get Dustin and Lucas. We couldn't leave them alone."

Max turned to the other boys, her steely gaze softening slightly when she made eye contact with Lucas. He waved sheepishly at her, causing a light pink color to rise into her face. She promptly tried to hide it with another glare at Mike.

"What," he asked, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "There were party members that were in need of assistance. One of our rules is that if there is a party member-"

"Or members," Dustin interjected.

"Or members," Mike continued with an eye roll, "In need of assistance, it is our duty to provide that."

"Okay, but you could have at least used your walkie talkie and let us know," Max argued.

"I…I…um-" Mike stuttered. He didn't really have a good answer for that. He let out a huff in frustration. "Look, it was a stupid oversight on my part. What more do you want? I said I was sorry."

El reached down to take his hand and smiled at him. "Mike, it's okay. We forgive you. I would have helped my friends, too."

Max was annoyed. She hated losing arguments, but had to admit the validity of El's statement.

"Yeah okay," she said with a long sigh. "Let's just forget about it. You guys ready to head over to El's place?"

They all nodded.

"Good." Max glanced over at the four bodies lying on the ground. "We'd better go before they get up."

"I'll lead the way," Mike volunteered. "El, do you want to hop on?"

El would take any excuse she could get to be close to her boyfriend. Smiling happily, she hopped on the back of his bike and wrapped her arms around his waist. This was a great position for her – it gave her easy access to nuzzle Mike's fluffy hair and give him a kiss on the cheek…something that did not go unnoticed by their friends, as evidenced by the chorus of "Oooooo's" around them.

Mike promptly gave them all the finger and sped off, making El squeal and giggle. "Last one there's a loser," he called.

"Shit, don't be like that, Mike," Dustin called as he hustled onto his bike.

"Yeah, we were just messing around," Lucas added as he and Will followed quickly.

The last person to mount her bike was Max, who took one more look at Billy lying on the ground. She was done crying for now. Now, she was just feeling angry and disgusted. She didn't know what to believe about him anymore.

"Fuck you, Billy," she muttered, pedaling off aggressively.

No matter what else happened, she was going to get to the bottom of this.


Back at the Hopper cabin, the group was sitting spellbound around El as she demonstrated her powers. El and Max had spent a considerable amount of time telling their story about how they met, what had happened with Billy, and what El could do with her abilities (which included finding the boys in the void). Of course, the three other boys had been sworn to not say a word about it.

But everyone was quiet now as they watched her levitate the heavy dictionary.

Lucas eventually broke the silence when he noticed El's nose bleeding. "Are you okay," he asked. "Does it hurt at all?"

"No, it doesn't hurt," she replied, still concentrating on the dictionary. "This…with my nose…it always happens when I do this."

"That means you guys can't just go around asking El to lift this and throw that," Mike said protectively. "We don't want to drain her energy."

"I understand," Will said with a kind smile. "It's like you're a battery, El, and you don't want to completely lose battery life."

She laughed softly. "Yes, I suppose that's right. I always try to rest after I use them."

Dustin let out a loud exhale. "This is seriously crazy. You're awesome, El." Of course, being Dustin, he tentatively reached his hand into the air under the dictionary. He didn't mean harm, but it made El lose her concentration and the book fell down with a thud.

"Heh…" he laughed nervously. "Shit. I'm sorry, El."

El cocked an eyebrow at him. "Well, Dustin, you know what they say."

Mike was the only one of the group that noticed the almost imperceptible flick of El's head. He looked behind where they were sitting towards the kitchen, and his eyes widened at the sight of a very wet sponge floating towards Dustin.

"What does who say," Dustin asked.

"Don't mess with a telekinetic teenager." With that, the dripping sponge wrung itself out over Dustin's head.

"SHIIIIIIIIIITTT," he squealed as everyone roared with laughter.

Max high-fived El. "That was priceless," she choked out.

"Yeah, remind me never to get on your bad side, El," said Lucas.

For just a moment, they were silly teenagers. There were no disappearances or weirdness with Billy. For a moment, they almost forgot about everything going on.

Almost.

Will was the first to stop laughing as he remembered his run-in with the mystery man and woman. The others quickly followed suit.

"So, do you know why they're doing it," he asked. "Why they're trying to kidnap people?"

"They're not just trying, they're succeeding," Lucas said. "You saw Mr. Harris. One minute they were carrying him outside, the next minute he was one of them. Like a zombie."

Max scoffed. "Well that would explain Billy suddenly not being dead."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been trying to wrack my brain all day, trying to figure out how Billy could somehow be alive," she replied. "When I saw him this morning across the street from me, I thought I was hallucinating. But then El went into the void to check on you guys, and that's when we heard him try to come after Will."

"So you think Billy and those guys are zombies," Mike asked, wide-eyed.

"I don't know," Max said.

"Is that even scientifically possible," asked Dustin. "Because I always thought zombies were sort of a myth."

Lucas barked out a laugh. "Are you kidding? YOU were the one who practically pissed yourself when we saw Day of the Dead last year."

"We both agreed to never speak of that again, Lucas…"

"Guys, shut up," Will said in exasperation. "Look, if they're not zombies, maybe they're similar to them. Those guys looked super pale and weird."

"I don't know. I mean, is there some way to find out for sure if they're zombies," Mike asked.

"We could follow Billy," Lucas suggested. "We could see what kind of patterns he and the others get up to."

Will's eyes widened. "No way. That's way too dangerous. I don't want them to try and get us again."

"Yeah, once was enough for me," Dustin agreed.

"Well what do you suggest, then," Lucas asked sarcastically. "We go to the cemetery and check out Billy's grave? See if he's actually buried there?"

"Yeah." Max suddenly spoke loudly and confidently. "Let's do it."

"Uhhhh…" Lucas stuttered, "I was being sarcastic."

"Well, I'm totally serious," she said. "I'm so sick of Billy's shit. I'm sick of acting like a victim. He was a fuckwad in life, and he's still a fuckwad now. I am not going to have some half-dead piece of shit and his sheep scare me."

The others stared at her silently until El moved forward and looped her arm through Max's. "Max, are you sure," she asked quietly.

"Yeah, I really am. I have to know."

El nodded. "I understand." Looking at the guys, she asked, "Are you going to come with us?"

Unsurprisingly, Mike immediately stepped forward. "Absolutely."

"I will, too," Lucas said, eliciting a small smile from Max.

Will shuffled forward. "I'm a little nervous, but I'll come, too."

"So will I," Dustin said enthusiastically.

"You're not going to piss yourself, are you," Lucas asked with a smirk.

"Lucas, stop," he replied. "One of our party members is in need of assistance. You remember what Mike said? It is our duty to provide that."

"Wait, what," Max asked. "You want me to be a member of the party?"

"After what we've all been through together, hell yeah," Dustin said, sharing a nod with the boys.

"To elaborate on Dustin's enthusiasm," Mike spoke up, "You and El saved our asses big time today. It would be an honor for you BOTH to join."

El beamed at him. "I'd love to. Do I have to do anything?"

Mike walked the few steps over to her and cupped her face in his hands. "Just be you. That's more than enough." With that, he leaned down and kissed her. The whistling and catcalling of their friends was hardly heard over the buzzing in their ears

Dustin, of course, could always be counted upon to ruin a moment. He picked up a pillow from the sofa and gently swung it at the kissing couple. They broke apart, cheeks flaming pink.

"Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Paladin sir," he said cheekily, "But I believe you have to be the one to put it to a vote."

Mike laughed sheepishly. "Alright, alright. All those in favor of El and Max joining the party say 'aye.'"

The boys all spoke 'aye' loudly and clearly.

"Then I hereby declare El Hopper and Max Mayfield to be members of the Maple Street party, with all rights and privileges thereof."

They all cheered, and Mike excitedly picked El up and spun her around in a circle. She squealed and laughed, stumbling a bit as he put her down. She and Max were promptly grabbed by the other guys for a hug, too.

"So now that that's done," Will began, "What should their characters be?"

"I think it's pretty obvious that El is our Mage," Mike said with a smile and wink at her.

She frowned in confusion. "What's a Mage?"

"The Mage is a wizard," he explained, "But not just any wizard. Mages are sort of all-purpose, meaning they can cast ANY wizardly spell. It's super cool."

"Oh wow," El replied. She had no experience with Dungeons and Dragons, but felt extremely flattered. "What are your characters?"

"Well, Dustin is our Bard, which is kind of a jack-of-all-trades. But he's also a storyteller and a poet-"

"What, someone who talks way too much," Max interrupted, making the others laugh. "Yeah, that doesn't sound anything like Dustin."

"Hey, I resent that," he retorted back. "Sounds like somebody's just jealous."

"Anyway," Mike cut in, "Lucas is our Ranger. A Ranger is a hunter or adventurer. They're great defenders, very resourceful."

"Oh shucks, Mike," Lucas said, teasingly. He continued, "Will is our Cleric. That's kind of similar to a knight. They combine military and religious training with a code of protection and service. And Mike…well, you've probably heard that Mike is our Paladin. The Paladin is a brave warrior like the legendary Sirs Lancelot and Galahad."

El couldn't help but internally swoon at the thought of Mike as brave Sir Lancelot. She'd heard of the Knights of the Round Table, and began to picture Mike on horseback…Mike slaying a dragon… It was perfect.

"So what character should I be," Max asked, interrupting El's fantasies.

"I think that one is also easy," Lucas spoke up. "You're a Fighter. A Fighter in Dungeons and Dragons is sophisticated and skilled in combat, capable of anything. They've stared death in the face, and defeated it."

Max cast her eyes downward, trying to keep her emotions in check.

"Uh…yeah," Dustin said, clearly stunned. "Looks like I'm not the only one who has a way with words."

Will smiled. "Well done, Lucas."

Lucas looked a tad sheepish. "I hope it was okay that I just went ahead and chose a character without talking to you guys."

Mike shrugged lightly. "No worries. I mean, I went ahead and gave El her character name without asking."

"Well, you're our Paladin," Will reasoned. "And it totally fits her," he added, smiling at El.

"And anyway, El's his girlfriend. What's your excuse, Lucas," Dustin asked playfully.

Lucas' eyes widened. "Oh. I, um…I didn't mean…"

Dustin's snorts interrupted Lucas' stuttering. "Oh my god, your face! I'm kidding. I think Max is a perfect Fighter."

"Well then, it's settled," Mike said. "Now, before we get off track, I think we should come up with a game plan for going to the cemetery. Now Max, one last time, are you sure you want to do this?"

If Max wasn't totally sure before, the sight of her friends – the Party – smiling in encouragement was more than enough to convince her.

"Absolutely."


Several hours later, Lucas' street was quiet. Unlike the excitement of earlier, it was also empty – the four bodies that were on the ground before, long gone. But despite the quietness, something was there that hadn't been before. It was a heaviness, an anger, a negative energy.

This energy had been building – first released when the girl opened the gate last year. The Lab had unsuccessfully tried to shut it away, but it could not be contained. Now it was back, and through its minions, meant to take over the earth.

But now it had a new goal.

It was clear that this girl was not a help, but a hindrance. Who was she to hurt the ones trying to help it? If they didn't find her soon, this could mean the end of them.

The girl had to die.


Uh oh! Things are really picking up now. Our party is all together again! For that reason, this is a favorite chapter of mine. I love writing Dustin. I can totally hear Gaten in my head speaking the lines as I write. I should tell you that for the record, I am not a wealth of knowledge on Dungeons and Dragons. If anything I wrote is incorrect, I am so sorry. I'm doing my best.

Hopefully you're all staying safe and healthy. Please leave me a review. I'd love to hear what you think.