Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

As the tech room fell silent, Terry and Jim looked through the glass separating the room from the outside to see if the things the red dots represented were going to appear. Low growling could vaguely be heard, heightening the fear that was building up in not just them, but everyone else. They had to be ready to get the hell out, just in case.

As Dr. Owens joined them, they all suddenly saw a hand pop out of the hole and grab the edge of it. As it was getting up, it turned out to be a creature with the head of a Demogorgon. It seemed to notice everyone in the tech room, Terry and Jim especially, so it roamed closer to them. Both had backed away from the window a little, the dirty-blonde-haired woman holding the police chief's arm.

"Mother of God..." the old doctor muttered. It then placed its hands on the window, looking like a dog on its two hind legs. The two adults got a closer look, seeing its breath fog up the glass a little. And then, it suddenly screeched, making them all shoot back in shock and Terry gasp, and began charging itself to the glass to break it. After a few attempts, it stopped.

To alleviate their fear as well as his own, Dr. Owens told the two, "It's polycarbonate, so i-it can't get through." It only alleviated their fear partially as the creature roared. Its roar led to several more like it to crawl out of the hole like bugs. Everyone's fear heightened again, the lead scientist muttering, "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph..."

The adults that were close to the windows backed away the instant they saw more of those creatures coming, the first one roaring and staining the glass with its saliva. Soon, they all began charging at the glass at once, roaring and actually cracking it. Dr. Owens wasn't the only one surprised to see it cracking, as the scientists and Terry were surprised as well.

"It takes a lot of strength to break that thing..." the woman muttered in horror.

Scared, the old doctor got next to one of the machines in the room and pressed a bright red button to turn on the alarm.

In the emergency room Will, Joyce, Bob, and Jane were in, they heard the alarm going off. Bob looked both confused and worried, saying, "What the hell...?"

This only made Jane more distressed as she put her hands on her temples. "No, no, no...we're under attack."

Joyce and Bob gave her shocked looks, the woman asking, "What?"

Everyone in the tech room ran out of it, Jim holding the door before closing it. He, Terry, and Dr. Owens were in the middle of the hallway as the scientists departed from them. The doctor looked behind him and pointed at a door. "This way!" he told the two other adults. They followed him into the staircase and ran up them to get to the rest and get the hell out before it's late.

Jane realized that this attack meant that the shadow monster could know where they are, especially since he was taking over Will. She managed to get out of Bob's hug and run to a tray, picking up a needle and facing everyone else. "We need to make Will go to sleep," she said.

"What?!" Joyce repeated, now exclaiming it. "Why?!"

"He's a spy!" Saying that made the boy's eyes widen. "If he knows where we are, then the shadow monster will find us!"

As if she wasn't telling the truth, Will yelled, "She's lying!"

Though it broke her heart to hear him yell that, if he even meant it, she continued, "He killed those soldiers, so he'll kill us too!" She hoped that her mom will be alright, but still...

"SHE'S LYING!" he yelled, rising out of the bed with Joyce and Bob holding him back. "SHE'S LYING! SHE'S LYING!" He kept yelling that, making them all extremely scared and worried for him.

Suddenly, they all heard gunshots not too far from the hallway, Bob exclaiming, "Are those gunshots?!" That spoke the worst to everyone, especially Jane, her eyes getting watery again.

"SHE'S LYING! SHE'S LYING!" Will continued to yell out. "SHE'S LYING!"

To make sure Jane wasn't making an out-of-left-field suggestion, Joyce grabbed his shoulders tightly and shouted, "Will, WILL, listen to me!" He stopped and looked at her with his widened eyes. "D-do you know who I am?" He didn't answer that straight away, so she shook him a little. "Do you know WHO I am?"

He was shaking a little, his eyes darting around her a little. "Y-you're...you're-you're Mom!" he answered. He could still remember her, but the way he answered that...

She drew her lips to a thin line and looked at Bob, saying, "Bob, hold him down." She then walked to Jane, much to the boy's dismay.

"No, NO!" he shouted before the man did what his girlfriend told him to. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO!" The brunette grabbed the needle from Jane and a bottle of liquid to knock him out with. While he kept screaming to let him go, she sucked the liquid into the needle and put the bottle back, walking to him and putting his arm down to expose it. "NO, LET ME GO!" Jane covered her ears, looking more distressed at this happening.

"I'm so sorry, baby," Joyce said in a sad voice. "I'm sorry!" She finally stuck the needle into him and injected the liquid.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GOOO...let me go...lemme go..." His yelling became faltered before he finally got knocked out. Everyone took a deep breath, being safe for now-

The door suddenly shot open, making the three look at Hopper, Terry, and Dr. Owens panting. The tomboy was beyond relieved that her mother was fine, making her tackle-hug her and cry out, "MAMA!" Terry returned it, kissing the top of her head. "I'm so glad you're okay..." Meanwhile, she was glad that she was able to reach her daughter in time.

Hopper noticed the needle in Joyce's hand, but before he could think about why the hell she has that and why Will was asleep, everyone heard monsters roaring in the hallway. The mother and daughter released their hug before looking at the wooden doors breaking with everyone else. "We gotta go, now," he demanded everyone before going to Will and unhooking anything that was attached to him. Joyce grabbed the bottle of the knock-out liquid before all of them ran out.

...

As they were running through one hallway, they heard a woman screaming, then one of the creatures pouncing on one soldier and eating him. He screamed as the entire group stopped. They heard more gunshots, turning to see another soldier shoot a creature. They had nowhere else to go but in an open room near them.

"Come on!" Terry said, leading everyone inside. Hopper laid Will on a table as she shut the door and locked it.

Bob looked at the computers in horror and muttered, "Oh my God..." Everyone looked the same when they saw the computers showing the Demogorgon-like creatures all over, eating the corpses of the workers and roaming around the hallways. Suddenly, the lights flickered rapidly before everything just shut off, the room becoming completely dark.

"Oh my God..." Joyce muttered, covering her mouth in shock. Terry held Jane close as everyone looked fearful about this. A whole lot of small Demogorgons invaded this entire facility and the power was completely wiped out. This only meant one thing to all of them:

They were trapped...but they needed to get out of it.

...

With a flashlight found, Hopper shined it on the printed layouts of the Lab Dr. Owens had. He used a red marker to mark the places he was talking about. "See, this is us and this is the nearest exit." He pointed at the spot he circled. "But even if we can somehow make it there, there's no way out."

"Whaddaya mean?" Hopper asked.

He looked up at him. "We use fail-secure locks."

Joyce looked puzzled. "Fail-secure?"

"It means that if there's a power outage, the building goes on lockdown," Terry stated.

"Can it be unlocked remotely?" Bob asked.

While Terry shrugged, the doctor answered, "Yes, but with a computer. But even so, someone has to reset the breakers."

"And where are the breakers?" Hopper asked him.

"In the basement..." He got the layout of the basement. "...about three floors down." That's when he snatched it and was about to leave.

"Hey, wait!" Bob whisper-shouted, making him stop as he approached him. "Where are you going?"

He turned to him and answered. "I'm gonna reset the breakers."

He scoffed. "Okay, you reset the breakers, and then what?"

"We get outta here."

He shook his head. "No, the power gets back on. If you wanna unlock the doors, you'll have to reboot the computer system and then override the security codes with a manual input."

Hopper was silent for a second, processing the tech stuff spewed out to him. "Okay...then how do I do that?"

"You CAN'T if you don't know BASIC."

He looked puzzled, realizing it wasn't the word, but an acronym. "BASIC? What the hell is that?"

Jane sighed and answered, "It's a computer programming language."

He looked at Bob again. "Then teach it to me."

Bob scoffed again. "Should I teach you French while I'm at it, Jim?" That was definite no then. He then looked at the doctor and asked, "Do you know BASIC, doc?" He only shook his head, the man then looking at Jane. "Jane? You know a little?" She shook her head as well. He lastly looked at her mom. "Terry?"

"I'm not a technician," she answered. He sighed, realizing what this meant.

"Alright, I got this." He looked at Hopper, nodding. "Believe me, I know what to do."

Joyce looked worried and sad though, making her walk to him with a frown. "No, Bob, no..."

He gave her a reassuring look and gave her a hug. "Hey, it's okay. It's gonna be okay." He released the hug and continued with a smile, "Remember, Bob Newby, superhero." Feeling a bit reassured, she nodded and smiled back at him. Terry, along with her, had hoped that he'll be alright because he was a good man. Jane hoped that too.

Outside of the lab, Jonathan and Kali arrived at the gate, stopping near the booth. Both looked surprised as they got out and saw that the entire building was dark: no lights, no people...nothing but the occasional blinking from some windows. "Why're the lights off...?" Jonathan asked.

"Is it closed?" Kali also asked, just as puzzled as he was.

"There's no way the security called it a night." The Indian girl agreed to that as they both closed the doors and got into the booth. Jonathan pushed the open button, but didn't see the gate open at all. He pressed it multiple times, him and Kali looking completely baffled.

"Why the hell isn't it working?"

The auburn-haired guy then opened the power box and flicked some switches to make it open. Nothing was opening. "The power must be off..."

She sighed before spotting something from the distance, making touch her friend's shoulder. "Jonathan...?"

"What?" he asked before looking where she was looking. They both could have sworn they saw light in the woods.

"Something's in the woods." With that, they both exited out of the booth, getting closer to the lights that became more apparent. They stopped, Kali yelling, "Hello?!" Whoever was controlling the lights didn't answer, though the lights stopped moving for a second. "Who's there?!" Whoever had the lights still wasn't moving.

"Come out!" Jonathan also yelled. That prompted one of the people in the woods to get out quickly before everyone else there did.

They were shocked to see the first person that stepped out, making them both exclaim, "Steve?!"

The jock's eyes widened at the sight of his girlfriend, seeing her after some time. "K-Kali...?" he said in a voice of both relief and confusion.

"Jonathan?" Dustin asked, the teens seeing him, Lucas, and some girl they've never seen before with the jock.

The two friends walked towards the group, the group doing the same towards them. "What are doing here with these kids?" Kali asked him.

Steve had no idea if he should hug her or not, considering her confusion. "What are you doing with him?" he asked her.

They stopped when they were close to each other. "We're looking our families. Mine wasn't at home."

"Mine neither," Jonathan added.

Dustin, looking worried that Jane still wasn't back home, tilted his head to the Lab. "They're not in there, are they...?"

The two teens shrugged. "Not sure..."

"Why aren't they-" His question was halted the second they all head a loud roar echo throughout the Lab. They all looked there with worried and scared faces. What was that...? If the Ives and the Byers were in there...

Bob was prepped to defend himself, communicate with everyone else, and see where he's going, thanks to Jim looting what he needed from a dead agent. Him, armed with an assault rifle, and everyone else remained in the room, anxiously waiting for Bob to either say something or get the power back on. After a bit though, they saw the light flicker on, looking up at it with hope. The computers that showed every room got on as well. They got close and looked at the screen where Bob was flipping on the power switches.

"He made it..." Jane said with a slight smile on her face.

Outside, everyone was talking over each other about where the Ives, the Byers, and everyone else in the group went. However, Kali spotted the lights of the windows coming back on. She broke out of the conversation for a closer look to make sure she was seeing that right. "Power's back on," she told everyone. They went silent and saw that the lights were back on too.

Everyone ran back to the gate, Jonathan getting into the booth and pressing the open button again. The gate still wouldn't open, much to everyone's dismay. Dustin tried to press the button too, but it was no use, him cursing. Why wouldn't the damn thing open...?

Dr. Owens had plugged in a microphone and turned it on, sitting at the table it was at and speaking into it, "Alright, Bob, can you hear us?"

Without another second to pass by, he answered, "Loud and clear, doc. Can you hear me back?"

He nodded. "Yeah, we can hear you."

"Alright, then give me a minute." Everyone saw him put down the walkie-talkie and type into the computer. He paused for a bit, then pressed one key a couple of times. He brought his walkie-talkie back to his face and said, "Open sesame." He then pressed one key.

The doctor looked back at the group and told them, "It's open." Everyone was relieved, the Ives sighing in relief. Everyone saw him type more...

The gate had suddenly opened, much to everyone's relief. Dustin smiled and said, "Haha! I did it! I actually did it!" He and Jonathan got out of the booth to join everyone else in the group. Since they doubted the Ives and Byers got a ride there, they needed to provide one for them...

Hopper grinned and said, "That son of a bitch did it."

"We can escape," Terry added, smiling a little.

They saw the tech man stand up with his walkie-talkie and gun and said, "I'll meet you guys outside."

As everyone was rejoicing a little, Dr. Owens spotted a small Demogorgon from a stairwell. "Wait a second, chief."

Everyone's happy faces dropped as the man in question asked, "What is it?"

He pointed at the screen where he saw the small Demogorgon. "The east stairwell's not clear anymore." Now everyone was worried about Bob again.

"Is something wrong?" Bob could probably hear what the two men said.

"Well, uh, we've got some company," he answered him.

"Where?"

"The west stairwell."

Bob looked still for a second, then went back to the computer. "Hold on, I got an idea." They all saw him type on the keyboard again, wondering what the hell he was doing now. And then, they saw some sprinklers go off on the east corridor, then the west stairwell. The Demogorgon screeched in disgust and began running up and away from the water. Everyone was surprised that scared it off.

"Oh, okay..." He looked at everyone else. "That seemed to work." He then told Bob, "Now, get outta there! Go, go, go!" Everyone then saw him leave again. That was cue for everyone to get the hell out of the room now.

As Hopper carried Will up on his shoulder again, he stopped when Dr. Owens said, "Hold on a second, chief."

He turned to him and asked, "What?"

He then handed him a walkie-talkie. "Take this." He did so, looking a little puzzled.

"Why?"

"I'll let you know if there's any more surprises. Now, go." He didn't move when he said that. "GO!" He was really going to leave this old son of a bitch behind. Old and tough, apparently.

...

He was the first to come out, using his flashlight to find any surprises while pointing his assault rifle in the same direction. The Ives came out second, then Joyce. They all then quietly followed the police chief to the nearest exit.

...

After a bit, they got into the lobby. Jane, Terry, and Hopper with Will got outside, the door buzzing when Jane opened it. When they stopped, they looked around, noticing Joyce wasn't with them. Terry and Hopper spotted her still inside, possibly waiting for Bob to come out...even though it was too damn dangerous inside.

Before he could offer her to carry Will, the dirty-blonde-haired woman ran back inside. As much as Hopper wanted to shout out her name, it wasn't a good idea in this situation, so he let her get in.

...

"Joyce!" Terry whisper-shouted to her friend. "Come on!"

She ignored that and muttered, "Come on, baby. You can make it..." She knew that she was waiting for Bob, but it was still too dangerous to wait inside.

...

Hopper sighed deeply and asked Jane, "You mind holding Will?" She shook her head as she held her arms out and he handed the unconscious boy to her. He wasn't that hard to carry for her, so she held him as Hopper went inside to meet up with the girls.

...

"Joyce, he'll meet us outside," Terry told her, moving her shoulder a little.

She shook her head, not looking at her. "I'm not going until I know he's here."

Hopper got in, walking right next to them. "We need to go," he told them.

Terry looked up at him and sighed. "She's not leaving until she sees Bob." He sighed as well. "Protect her until then, okay?" He nodded and readied his assault rifle, in case any of the Demogorgons pop up.

However, Bob appeared and slammed the door on the Demogorgon that was chasing him. He turned back to see the three adults, specifically Joyce. Both of them smiled at each other...before the monster burst out and pounced on Bob. All of them were aghast to see that, Joyce screaming, "NOOO!" He tried to get it off, but it was no use as it dug its claws on the helpless man's sides, making him scream in pain. "NOOOOOO!" Terry and Hopper was just as horrified as she was seeing that.

The police chief began shooting at the Demogorgon as it began to devour Bob, blood leaking from his stomach and throat now. "NOOOOOOO!" Now Joyce was crying as she witnessed this. It roared as more Demogorgons came out, making the situation a lot more dire. They all knew they needed to get the hell out of there, even though Joyce was still crying and screaming about her boyfriend getting murdered.

Hopper began shooting at them too and began backing away, the dirty-blonde-haired woman shouting, "We need to go!" She then grabbed Joyce and pulled her back outside, reaching her hand out and yelling from the top of her lungs, "BOB!" Terry saw that Hopper was following her too. She opened the door, her friend crying out her boyfriend's name once again as he screamed for the last time.

...

They got out, Joyce sobbing and crying out, "NO!"

Jane looked aghast, asking, "Wh-what happened?!" Hopper got Will up onto his shoulder again before everyone saw the Demogorgons run and charge at the door to break it.

"NO! NO! NOOOO!" She tried to break free from Terry's grip, but she held her tight.

"I'M SORRY, JOYCE, BUT HE'S GONE!" she told her. "BOB'S GONE, JOYCE!" To hear that made Jane's heart drop. He was such a good man and...to have him be gone, it...

"There's no way we can save him now!" Hopper told the brunette. "That's why we need to GO!"

Just then, they heard a car moving in and honking. Everyone turned to see Jonathan and Kali pull in, the auburn-haired teen shouting, "COME ON, GET IN!" Everyone got there in quite the hurry since the Demogorgons could break out at any second.

...

Jonathan's car and Hopper's car drove right back to the entrance, seeing the rest of the Party and Steve waiting there. Jonathan honked the horn, everyone scrambling out of the way. Jonathan's car drove away, but Hopper's stopped. Terry, who was sitting on the passenger's seat, told everyone, "Get in!"

"The trunk's open!" Hopper added.

They went to the back, Steve opening the trunk and letting the kids come in right before he did, shutting it and yelling, "Alright, let's go!" Finally, the car had driven away. Most of them had survived...

And one needed to be left behind because it was too late for him.

Everyone was now in the Byers's home for shelter. It was a little quiet. Jonathan was near Will, who was laid onto a couch, petting his hair and whispering, "I'm sorry, bud..." Kali got next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder for support, looking solemn. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there...I should have been there, like a good brother..." Steve had also placed a hand on his shoulder for support, feeling absolutely bad for him, despite his conflicting feelings about him and Kali running away together.

Hopper was talking to the higher authorities on the phone, being really angry and irritated at who was on the phone with him. The kids sat at the dinner table, Terry being in front of the sink and looking out the window in fear of more Demogorgons coming. When he hung up, everyone in the dining room looked at him. "They thought you were lying, did they?" Dustin asked him.

He deeply sighed and answered, "We'll see."

That wasn't the answer Jane wanted. "'We'll see?'" she repeated, sounding disbelieved. "We can't just stay here while those monsters are loose!"

Terry approached her daughter, grabbed her shoulder, and said, "Jane-"

She looked up at her. "I'm serious, Mama! We can't stay here and...and expect those THINGS to not find us!"

"We stay here and wait for help, kid," Hopper told her sternly. "That's our only option right now." He then left to go be with Joyce, who was in her room by herself, still mourning over Bob's death. The tomboy drew her lips to a line and huffed, Terry holding her close to calm her down. Hopefully, Hopper could make Joyce calm down as well, even though her boyfriend got mauled right before her very eyes...

The fact that she used to work there now felt like a stab to her chest. Plus...there was Michael. She hoped to God that he'll be alright, that those Demogorgons won't find him.

...

Everyone remained silent for what felt like a while, all being completely solemn. Jane looked at the phone, hoping the authorities believed Hopper and were on their way. She then looked at the bunch of puzzles Bob brought for Will before he, her, Joyce, and Will left to find Hopper and her mom. Seeing that made her think of something.

She got out of her mom's hold and walked to the puzzles, holding one of them and asking, "Did you guys know that...Bob was the original founder of Hawkins A.V.?"

They looked at her, Lucas asking, "Really?"

Her solemn look softened as she turned to them. "Yeah. He petitioned the school to start it, then started a fundraiser to buy the equipment." She walked back to the table. "Mr. Clarke learned a lot from him."

Terry actually smiled a little and stated, "I donated to that fundraiser because it seemed like a good club and...he was good kid."

Jane smiled back at her and asked her friends, "That's pretty awesome, isn't it?"

They all nodded, even Max, the two boys saying, "Yeah."

She placed the blue block on the table, her smile disappearing. "That's why we can't let him die in vain."

"Well, what can we do, Jane?" the curly-haired boy asked her. "The chief's right, we got no other choice but to wait for help. We can't stop those Demo-dogs on our own."

Max gave him a weird look. "'Demo-dogs'?"

He looked at her. "You know..." He used his hands to symbolize the words. "Demogorgon. Dogs." He placed his hands together. "Demo-dogs. It's like a compound." Jane sighed at this, but then thought of something. "You know, like-"

The red-haired girl nodded. "Okay, okay, I get it."

He nodded a little meekly and looked at the curly-haired tomboy. "I mean, if it was just Dart, then MAYBE we have a chance."

"But there's a whole army now," Lucas added. This made Jane's idea expand, her eyes widening a little.

"Exactly."

"The army..." she muttered. "His army."

Everyone gave her a puzzled look. "'His' army, sweetie?" Terry questioned.

She nodded. "Yeah, his army. If we can stop the shadow monster, then we can stop his army." The kids' eyes widened as well as Terry before she went to Will's room. They followed her.

"You mean, like what he saw on the field?" Dustin asked her.

"Yes," she answered as she entered into his room and grabbed her drawing of the monster in question. He handed it to him, everyone looking at it.

"That's what he saw?" her mom asked her. She just nodded as an answer, the woman realizing where her daughter was getting at. "Wait." The rest of the kids looked up at her as she looked at them. "Dr. Owens said that it was like a virus."

"That is a virus?" Max asked her.

"He infected him like one, so it's the only logical conclusion."

"And this virus connects him to the tunnels?"

"The tunnels, the monsters, the Upside Down, everything," Jane answered her. "If the vines feel pain, Will does too."

"And so does Dart," Lucas stated.

She nodded at him. "Just like what Mr. Clarke taught us, the hive-mind."

Max looked confused again. "Hive-mind?"

"A collective consciousness," Dustin explained to her. "It's practically a super-organism."

Jane pointed at the shadow monster. "And that's what's controlling everything. It's the brain."

Dustin's eyes widened in shock. "Like the Mind Flayer." Jane also looked shocked while Lucas snapped his fingers and pointed at him, knowing what the hell he was talking about.

Now Terry was just as confused as Max, both of them asking, "The what?" The woman assumed it must be from the game they loved to play.

Stopping right here. What do you guys think of this chapter? Any typos or mistakes I might've missed?

Why was it so painful for me to write Bob's death, even though I've seen it before...? :'( Yeah, sorry that he's still gotta die here...but at least he won't die in vain.

Follow, favorite, review, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!