"I'm going back in," Eleven declared. "Mike is still a danger to everyone."

The door was kicked down. A spider-like monster entered the house. "What the crap is that?" Lucas screamed. The monster let out an almost human screech.

"It's the spider monster," Will explained. He was holding the Dungeons and Dragons manual. "It's all of the Mind Flayer's victims melded all together."

"You're saying," Nancy stuttered, "that Mike is in that thing?"

"No," Eleven answered. Before she could elaborate, the monster attacked her. Max tried to hit the monster with a baseball bat, but the creature didn't flinch. It cut Eleven's leg deeply with one of its claws.

Will had a thought. He rushed to the backyard. Will froze for a moment in front of the shed. He hadn't come out to the shed since the night he was taken. He was trembling like it was the dead of winter, and he was only in his underwear. You have to do this to save Eleven. You have to do this to save Mike. To save everyone.

Reluctantly, Will opened the shed door. He grabbed his father's old gun. Will ran back into the house. Will cocked his gun before pointing it at the creature. He fired a bullet into it. The monster let out another almost human noise.

Will cocked his gun again. The monster, with its tail between its legs, left the house. "Good call," Lucas said.

"We need to help El," Max said. Eleven was sitting on the floor, clutching her leg. "Do you have a first aid kit?"

"No," Will responded. "We can run to Bradley Big's Buy. It's not too far of a walk from here. I know all of the secret entrances."

Lucas and Max helped Eleven up. "Someone grab some weapons," Max ordered. "That thing is still out there."

The group soon arrived at Bradley's Big Buy. Max and Lucas sat Eleven down in the cereal aisle. The group went to look for first aid items and other supplies.

Nancy found the bandages. She went to where Eleven was sitting. She rolled up Eleven's pants. Eleven grabbed Max's arms, wincing in pain. "We need to find out where they're home base is," Will explained. "Attack them where they feel most safe."

Something climbed out of Eleven's leg. A little slug began to crawl around. "Kill it," Nancy screamed. Max grabbed her baseball bat and chased after the slug. She swung it, making contact with the creature. It was killed on impact.

Max took several deep breaths. Nancy, having finally calmed down, wrapped Eleven's leg. Eleven was panting heavily. "We need to get back to tracking Mike," Will said.

"Did someone bring my blindfold?" Eleven asked.

They were distracted by the sound of a radio turning on. "Lucas, do you copy?" Dustin asked. "It's Henderson. Over."

Lucas retrieved his walkie-talkie from his pocket. "Dustin?" Lucas asked. "This is Sinclair. Where are you? No one has been able to get a hold of you."

"Things are crazy over here," Dustin explained.

"Same over here," Will said.

"I think we have you beat in the crazy department," Dustin said.

"Dustin almost got me killed by Russians," Erica shouted. Lucas's face contorted one of confusion and anger.

"Why is Erica with you?" Lucas asked.

"Long story," Dustin responded. "We're with Steve and Robin. The four of us are in the movie theater at the Starcourt Mall. We need some backup. We'll explain everything when you get here."

"We'll meet you there," Will promised.

"What about tracking Mike?" Lucas asked.

"Tracking Mike?" Dustin asked.

"We also have a lot to fill you in on when we meet up," Will explained. He looked towards Lucas. "Strength in numbers."

"The traffic is going to be crazy," Lucas said. "Everyone's trying to get to the fair."

"Go through the woods," Steve suggested. "It'll be quicker."

"Get here as fast as possible," Dustin ordered. "This is Henderson signing off."

They lost their signal. "Did Erica say something about Russians?" Nancy asked.

The group started to walk through the woods. "Once we have the flayed monster knocked out, what's our plan to separate them from the Mind Flayer?" Will asked. "We're going to need to do it quickly. The fused ones are going to cause the most issue."

There were a few moments of silence. "It might be too late for the flayed people," Lucas said.

"We can't give up on them," Will said.

"We'll try, but I don't know how realistic that is," Lucas responded. The group arrived at the mall. The parking lot didn't have a single car parked in it. Once they entered, they noticed the mall was just as barren.

"Hello?" Will called.

"Over here," Dustin called. He was standing outside of Scoops Ahoy. Will rushed over and hugged Dustin. Dustin, surprised, hugged his friend back. "It's good to see you, too."

Robin, Steve, and Erica were in the ice cream shop. Lucas, to her surprise, hugged Erica. Erica just patted his back.

Dustin and Will pulled apart. "We have a lot to catch up on," Will said.

"We do," Dustin responded. "For starters, what is up with Mike?"