The demogorgon popped out of the hole and approached the glass. It barked and started banging.

"It's polycarbonate, it can't get through," Owens assured Hopper.

He shouldn't have said that.

More demogorgons climbed out of the hole and all banged on the glass together. One demogorgon might not have been able to break it, but multiple at once? That was another story.

"Are you sure about that glass?" asked Hopper.

Seeing no other choice, Owens sounded the alarm. After that, he, Hopper, and the scientists all made a run for it.


"We're too late," said Mike. "We're too late!" Mike ran back to the room and explained to Joyce, "We're under attack." He then grabbed a syringe. "We need to make Will sleep. He's a spy. If he knows where we are, so does the shadow monster. He killed the soldiers, he'll kill us too."

"He's lying!" Will shouted, uncharacteristically defensive. "He's lying, he's lying, he's lying, he's lying!"

They heard gunshots, signifying the demogorgons were getting closer.

"Will, do you know who I am?" Joyce asked, trying to calm her son down.

"You're Mom," Will replied.

Joyce almost fell for it, but she stopped herself. "Hold him down."

Bob held Will down as Joyce used the syringe and injected him with a sleeping drug.

Hopper and Owens arrived, but they knew they couldn't stay in this room for long. The demogorgons got past the guards and were tearing down the door.

"We gotta go, we gotta go," said Hopper.

Joyce picked up Will and the group ran out of the room. They headed for the nearest exit, but they saw a demogorgon eating a guard in front of them. They knew that once it was done eating the guard, it'll come after them. They tried running back, but they saw another guard firing a gun, signifying that another demogorgon was coming from that direction. They found a door right next to them and ran through it.

They were in the security camera room. The cameras showed the demogorgons everywhere. In other words, they were all trapped in the lab.

Right when it seemed that things couldn't possibly get any worse, the lights flickered, and the power went out.


Stranger Things 2

Chapter 8

The Mind Flayer

Neil and Susan Hargrove, parents of Billy and Max respectively, arrived home from work. Susan went into Max's room to see that she wasn't there.

Billy was in his room getting ready for a date. He heard a knock on the door.

"Billy, where's Max?" Susan asked.

"I'm busy, Susan," Billy replied.

After a few seconds, Billy heard a harder bang on the door, with his dad demanding, "Open the door, now!"

Billy sighed and opened the door.

"What's wrong?" he asked, annoyed.

"Why don't you tell us?" Neil demanded.

"Because I don't know," Billy replied.

"We can't find Maxine," Susan explained. "And her window's open."

"I don't know where she is," Billy scoffed. "I'm sure she went to the arcade or something. I'm sure she's fine."

"You were supposed to watch her," Neil scolded.

"I know, Dad, I was. It's just you both were three hours late and I have a date. I'm sorry, okay?"

"So that's why you haven't been looking after your sister?"

"I have been looking after her all week, Dad. Okay? If she wants to run away, then that's her problem. She's thirteen. She shouldn't need a full-time babysitter. And she's not my sister."

That was the last straw for Neil. He grabbed Billy by the throat and threw him against the wall hard, causing him to fall to the ground, his nose bleeding.

"What did we talk about?" Neil scolded, as he gave his son a kick to the face before he could get up. "What, did, we, talk about?"

"Respect and responsibility," Billy replied.

"That is right. Now, apologize to Susan."

Billy turned to Susan. "I'm sorry, Susan."

"It's okay, Neil," said Susan.

"No, it's not okay!" Neil raised his voice. "Nothing about your behavior is okay!" He lowered his voice. "But he's gonna make up for it. He's gonna call whatever whore he's seeing tonight and cancel the date, then he'll find his sister, like the good, kind, respecting brother that he is. Right Billy." Billy didn't reply because he was too busy trying to stand. Neil was having none of it, though. He raised his voice once more. "Isn't that right?"

"Yes sir," Billy whispered.

"I couldn't hear you."

"Yes sir."

"Find Max."

Neil finally left the room. Billy cried as he left to find his sister.


Meanwhile, Barb, Max, Lucas, and Dustin were walking away from the junkyard.

"Are you sure that was Dart?" Lucas asked Dustin.

"Yes," Dustin replied. "He had the exact same yellow pattern on his ass."

"He was tiny two days ago," Max mentioned.

"He's molted three times already," Dustin replied.

"When's he gonna molt again?"

"It's gotta be soon. When he does, he'll be fully grown or close to it."

"Yeah, he's gonna eat more than just cats," Barb remarked.

"Wait, he ate a cat?" asked Lucas.

"No," Dustin lied.

"You're lying, he ate Mews," Barb retorted.

"Who's Mews?" asked Max.

"His cat," Barb replied.

"I knew it," Lucas laughed. "I knew you found him."

"No!" Dustin yelled. "He missed me. He wanted to come home."

"Bullshit."

"I didn't know he was a demogorgon, okay?"

"So now you admit it?"

Barb was getting tired and got in between the boys. "Guys, who cares? We have to go."

"I care!" Lucas shouted. "You put the party in jeopardy, Dustin! You broke the rule of law!"

"So did you!" Dustin shot back. "You told a stranger the truth!"

"A stranger?" Max scoffed, offended.

Dustin ignored Max. "So we both broke the rule of law, okay? So we're even! Even!"

"No, we're not even!" Lucas argued. "Your pet could have eaten us for dinner!"

"That wasn't my fault!"

As the boys continued arguing, Barb heard a strange sound. "Guys?" The boys were still arguing, so Barb raised her voice. "Guys!" That got their attention.

The boys heard the sound too, and followed it with Barb.

"So we're heading towards the sound?" Max scoffed. "Towards the danger? Guys, hello? Shit."

Max ran after the others.

Once Max caught up with Barb and the boys, they were all looking down a cliff. They heard the demogorgons growls, but couldn't see them. Lucas looked into his binoculars and saw the lab stand out from everything else.

"It's the lab," he said. "They were going back home."


In the lab, everyone was hiding in the security office. Owens had a map of the lab.

"So, this is the nearest exit," he explained, pointing at the spot on the map. "But even if we make it there, we can't get out. The locks are failsafe. If there's a power outage, the building goes on full lockdown."

"Can it be unlocked remotely?" asked Bob.

"With a computer, sure, but someone has to reset the breakers," Owens replied.

"Where are the breakers?" asked Hopper.

"They're in the basement, three floors down," Owens replied.

Hopper was about to go down to the breaker room, but Bob stopped him.

"Where are you going?" asked Bob.

"To reset the breakers," Hopper replied.

"Then what?"

"We get out of here."

"No, then the power comes back on. If you wanna unlock the doors, you'll need to reboot the computer system, then override the security codes with a manual input."

"Fine, how do I do that?"

"You can't unless you know BASIC."

"What?"

"It's a computer programming language."

"Teach it to me."

"Shall I teach you French while I'm at it? How about German?" Bob turned to Owens. "What about you, Doc? Do you speak BASIC?"

"No," Owens replied.

"Okay, I got this," Bob muttered.

"No," said Joyce. She didn't wanna lose Bob.

Bob hugged his girlfriend and assured, "It's gonna be okay. Remember, Bob Newby, superhero."


Hopper and Bob left the room and took the walkie and gun of a dead guard.

Hopper quickly taught Bob how to use a gun. Afterwards, he said, "If anything happens down there, come right back here."

"Don't wait for me," said Bob. "Once those doors open…"

"I'll get them out, I promise," Hopper assured.

"Okay, I'll be in touch."


Jonathan, Nancy, and Steve drove over to the lab. They noticed the lights were off.

"Why are the lights off?" asked Jonathan.

"Maybe it's closed," Nancy suggested.

"I doubt it," said Steve. "Maybe security took the night off"

"No, I don't think so." Jonathan said.

Jonathan went into the security booth and tried to open the gate, but nothing happened.

"Dammit, the power's out," he sighed.

That's when Nancy heard a noise coming from the nearby woods.

"I think there's something in the woods," she told her boyfriends.

The triouple followed the sound.

"Hello, who's there?" Steve called out.

A light flashed, causing the teens to cover their eyes.

When the light dimmed, the three opened their eyes to see someone they didn't expect.

"Barb?" they all said in unison.

"Hey," Barb waved nervously.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Nancy ran towards her best friend and gave her the tightest hug she could.

"Where have you been?" she said, tears streaming down her face. "What are you doing here? I missed you so much."

Barb gladly returned the hug and said, "I missed you too."

Barb turned to Steve, who waved nervously. Their last interaction wasn't a happy one. Barb was still upset at Steve for the dick moves he pulled the year before, but she knew she shouldn't hold a grudge. She simply shook Steve's hand.

"Back to business," said Jonathan, as he turned to the kids. "What are you doing here?"

"I'd ask you the same thing," Lucas remarked.

"We're looking for Mike and Will," Nancy explained.

"They're not in there, are they?" Dustin asked, referring to the lab.

"We're not sure," Steve replied. "Why?"

That's when they heard growls coming from the lab.


In the lab, Bob made it down to the basement. He had nothing but a flashlight to guide him in the dark room. He was traumatized by what he was seeing, but he kept it together.

After a while of searching, he found the right levers. He pulled them, and the lights went back on.


Outside, everyone noticed the power return. Jonathan ran to the communication device, but it didn't work. Dustin tried, but it still didn't work. He kept pushing the button, hoping it would work.


Inside, Bob got to the computer and got into the system. He opened all the doors.


Outside, Dustin believed he succeeded as the gate opened.


Bob was about to leave, when he heard a growl. He knew a demogorgon was coming, but he had a trick up his sleeve. He got back to the computer and activated the sprinklers, distracting the demogorgon. He left the basement but forgot the gun.

Hopper grabbed Will as he, Mike, and Joyce left the security room. They made it to the exit. Owens stayed behind to help guide Bob out without getting caught by any demogorgons.

When a demogorgon was coming near, Bob hid in a closet until it was gone. Sadly, when Bob left, he accidentally knocked down a broom. This alerted the demogorgon to him, so Bob made a run for it. Thankfully, he made it to the exit in time. He approached Joyce, ready to embrace her…

But then the demogorgon bursted out the door. It tackled Bob to the ground and started biting him.

Hopper stepped in and started shooting the demogorgon, but it could take the bullets. To make matters worse, more demogorgons were coming out. Seeing no other choice, Hopper grabbed Joyce and made a run for it, leaving Bob to be devoured by the monsters.

Joyce didn't wanna leave Bob behind. She screamed for Hopper to let her go so she could save Bob, but he wouldn't let go.

"He's gone! He's gone!" Hopper yelled at Joyce.

That's when Jonathan, Nancy, and Steve pulled up in Jonathan's car.

"Get in!" Jonathan shouted.

Mike got in the car and carried Will with him. Hopper and Joyce got into Hopper's car. They drove away from the lab.


At the front gate, Barb, Max, Lucas, and Dustin were waiting for the others to arrive. After a bit of waiting, the others showed up.

"Let's go,"

Hopper told the kids.

With that, Barb, Lucas, Max, and Dustin got into Hopper's car, and they all drove away.


They all made it to the Byers'.

They laid Will down on the couch. Jonathan comforted him.

"Sorry I wasn't there," he whispered. "I should have."

Hopper was on the phone with someone. "Sam Owens. Doctor Sam Owens."

"How many people at the lab?" asked the woman on the phone.

"I don't know how many people. I don't know if anyone is alive."

"Have you called the police?"

"I am the police. Chief Jim Hopper!"

"Is there a number I can reach you at?"

"Yes, the number I gave you. I will be here."

Hopper hung up.

"They didn't believe you, did they?" asked Dustin.

"We'll see," Hopper replied.

"'We'll see'?" Mike yelled. "We can't just sit here while those things are on the loose."

Hopper got stern. "We stay here and wait for help!"

Hopper walked into Will's room to check on Joyce. Joyce was still depressed like she was when they left the lab.


The kids waited in the dining room. Mike noticed the mind games Bob set on the table. He picked up a rubix cube and got sad.

"Did you know Bob was the original member of Hawkins AV?" he asked the others. "He petitioned the school to start it and everything. Then he had a fund-raiser for equipment. Mr. Clarke learned everything from him. Awesome, right?"

"Yeah," Lucas and Dustin said in unison.

"We can't let his death be in vain."

"What can we do Mike?" asked Dustin. "The chief's right. We can't stop the demo-dogs on our own."

"Demo-dogs?" asked Max.

"Demogorgon dogs," Dustin explained. "Demo-dogs. It's a compound, like play on words."

"Okay," Max stopped him.

Dustin got back on topic. "I mean, when it was just Dart, maybe, but there's an army now."

"His army," Mike realized. "If we stop him, we may stop the army too." He showed them Will's drawing of the monster and explained his theory. "It got Will that day on the field. The doctor said it was like a virus, it infected him."

"So it's connecting him to the tunnels?" asked Max.

"Not just the tunnels," Mike replied. "But the monsters, the Upside-Down, everything. The shadow monster is inside everything, and if the vines feel something like pain, then so does Will, and Dart. It's like Mr. Clarke taught us. The hive mind. A collective consciousness. A super-organism. This thing that controls everything, it's the brain."

"Like the Mind Flayer," Dustin commented.

Lucas snapped his fingers.

"The what?" Steve, Barb, and Max asked in unison.


Dustin got out his handbook on DnD and explained everything to everyone. "The Mind Flayer. It's a monster from an unknown dimension. It's so ancient that it doesn't know its true home. It enslaved races of other dimensions by taking over their brains using its highly-developed psionic power."

"This isn't real, this is a kids' game," Hopper sighed.

"No, this is a handbook," Dustin corrected. "And it's not for kids, and unless you can come up with something better, this is the best metaphor…"

"Analogy," Lucas corrected.

"'Analogy'?" Dustin scoffed, annoyed. "That's what you're worried about? Fine. An analogy for understanding whatever the hell this is."

"So this Mind Flamer…" Nancy was about to get straight.

"Flayer," Dustin corrected.

"Okay, Mind Flayer, what does it want, exactly?"

"To conquer us, basically. It believes it's the master race."

"Like the Germans?" Steve asked.

Jonathan couldn't hold it in. Steve's joke was too hilarious. He broke down laughing, causing everyone in the room to glare at him. After a few seconds, Jon took deep breaths and allowed Dustin to continue his explanation.

"If the Nazis were from another dimension, totally," Dustin answered Steve's question. "It views other races, like us, as inferior to itself. It wants to spread and take over other dimensions. We are talking about the destruction of the world as we know it."

"That's great, really great," Steve sarcastically remarked.

"Okay, so if this thing is like a brain that controls everything," said Nancy. "Then if we kill it, then we kill everything it controls?"

"Yes, theoretically," Dustin replied.

"So how do we kill this thing?" asked Hopper. "Fire or something?"

"No," Dustin replied. "You summon an army of zombies, because they don't have brains, and the Mind Flayer, it likes brains." He laughed at himself in embarrassment as he realized how stupid that sounded. "Sorry, it's just a game. You were right."

"What the hell are we doing here?" Hopper asked himself in frustration.

"I thought we were waiting for your backup."

"We are!"

"Even if they come, how are they gonna stop this? You can't just shoot this with guns."

"We don't know that! We don't know anything!"

"We know it's already killed everybody in the lab!" Mike shouted. "And we know the monsters will molt again. And we know it's only a matter of time before those tunnels reach this town."

"They're right," said Joyce. "We have to kill it. I have to kill it."

"But how do we do that?" asked Hopper. "We don't know what we're even up against."

"No, but he does," said Mike, referring to Will. "If anyone knows how to destroy this thing, it's Will. He's connected to it. He'll know its weakness."

"I thought we can't trust him anymore," said Nancy. "That he's a spy for the Mind Flayer now."

"Yeah, but he can't spy if he doesn't know where he is."


The group went to the shed and looked around.

"Yeah, this will work," said Hopper.

The group started emptying the shed and covering it up that way Will won't recognize anything.


While Nancy and Barb were adding fabrics to cover up the shed, Nancy turned to Barb.

"Hey," she said. "That was really cool, what you did back there, helping those kids."

"Yeah," Barb agreed. "Those little kids are trouble, but I can't help but feel a connection to them. It's like, Will was my only source of company in the Upside-Down, but even then, neither of us felt protected. Seeing Dustin in trouble must've sparked something in me, a desire to protect him, so what happened to me doesn't happen to him."

"Believe me, I understand."


Outside, Lucas and Dustin were emptying the trash cans to see what they could find.

"Hey Lucas?" said Dustin. "I'm sorry about Dart and all. I guess I just thought he was my friend. I was wrong. I broke the rule of law, so if you want your girlfriend to take over my spot in the party, then I understand."

"She's not my girlfriend," Lucas retorted.

"I saw you two holding hands in the bus."

"She was scared."

"Maybe, but I could feel the spark."

Dustin found some useful stuff and grabbed it.


Inside, Mike and Max were also looking for stuff to cover up the shed.

"I get why Elle and Elvis were your mage and warlock," Max remarked.

"What?" asked Mike.

"Lucas. He told me about them."

"He shouldn't have. Just because you know the truth, doesn't mean you're in our party, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I know. I mean, why would you want a stupid zoomer in your party anyway? I mean, Elle and Elvis? They sound really awesome."

"Yeah, they were. Especially Elle. Until that thing took her like it took Bob, and Elvis ran away."


Outside, Joyce and Jonathan were removing clothes from a hanger.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" asked Jonathan.

"He knew who I was," Joyce replied. "He's still in there. It's gonna work. It has to."

Once they had enough fabrics to cover up the shed, they set up a bunch of lights and held Will in the shed.


Once they were ready, Hopper put an alcohol on a rag and put it to Will's nose. The smell quickly woke him up.


Dustin, Nancy, Steve, Lucas, Max, and Barb were in the house minding their own business.

Dustin was pacing.

Nancy was standing in a corner.

Steve and Barb were in the Living Room swinging their respective bats. Steve had a nailed bat while Barb had a normal one.

Lucas and Max sat in the hallway across from each other.

"If he finds out where we are," said Max. "Will he send those dogs after us?"

"He won't find out," Lucas assured.

"But if he does?"

"Judgement Day."


In the shed, Hopper, Joyce, Jonathan, and Mike surrounded Will.

"What is this?" Will asked. "Why am I tied up?"

"Will, I just want to talk to you," Joyce assured. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Where am I?"

Hopper showed Will the drawing of the Mind Flayer and asked, "Do you recognize this?"

Will shook his head.

"Hey, we wanna help you," said Joyce. "But we need to understand how to kill this thing."

Will shouted as if he wasn't even listening. "Why am I tied up? WHY AM I TIED UP? Let me go! Let me go! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!"

The lights started to flicker. Will started to calm down and stop screaming. He panted.

"Do you know what March 22 is?" asked Joyce. "It's a birthday. Your birthday. When you turned eight, I gave you that huge box of crayons. Do you remember that? 120 colors. All your friends, they got you Star Wars toys, but all you wanted to do was draw with all those colors, and you drew this big spaceship, but it wasn't from a movie. It was your spaceship. A rainbow ship, you called it. You must have used every color in that box. I took that with me to Melvad's and I put it up, told everyone who came in, 'My son drew this', and you were so embarrassed, but I was so proud. I was so, so proud."

"Do you remember the tape Dad left?" asked Jonathan, getting down on his knees. "We stayed up all night building Castle Byers, just like you drew it. And it took so long because you were so bad at hammering. You missed the nail every time, then it started raining, but we stayed out anyway. We were both sick for like a week after that. We just had to finish it, didn't we? We just had to."

Jonathan broke down crying after finishing that story.

"Do you remember the first day we met?" Mike added, already crying. "It was the first day of Kindergarten. I knew nobody. I had no friends and I felt so alone, so scared, but I saw you on the swings, you were alone too. You were just swinging by yourself. I just walked up to you and I asked. I asked if you wanted to be my friend, and you said yes. You said yes. It was the best thing I ever did." Mike started bawling. "Will, if you're in there, please, talk to us. Talk to me."

It seemed like Will was about to cry, but he stopped and started demanding, "Let me go."

Will's hand was moving in certain ways. Hopper recognized the movements.


Everyone ran back into the house.

"What happened?" asked Steve.

"I think he's talking," Hopper explained. "But he wasn't using words."

Hopper started writing down the hand motions as a bunch of lines.

"What's that?"

"Morse code."

Hopper translated the message to "HERE."

"Will's still in there," said Hopper. "He's talking to us."

Jonathan knew what he had to do.


Play "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by the Clash

"Do you remember the first time I played you this song?" Jonathan asked his brother. "Mom and Dad were both arguing in the next room, so I played you the mixtape I made you. And it was the first time you got into music. Real music."

Hopper paid attention to Will's motions and sent the messages to everyone in the house with a device. They started translating the message.

Darling, you gotta let me know

Should I stay or should I go?

"And then the party escaped into the sewers," said Mike. "And there were those big insect things, and you guys were still on level one. Then you cast Fog Cloud and you saved us. You saved the whole party."

If you say that you are mine

I'll be here til the end of time

So you gotta let me know

Should I stay or should I go?

"You saw that little boy and she was in the sandbox, crying" said Joyce. "You gave him your tonka truck. I told you we couldn't afford another one, but you said he should have it because he's sad. 'He's sad, Mommy.' I love you so much."

Should I stay or should I go now?

Should I stay or should I go now?

If I go there will be trouble

If I stay it will be double

So you gotta let me know

Should I stay or should I go?

End "Should I Stay or Should I Go"


The group finished translating Will's message. It read, "CLOSEGATE."

That's when the phone started ringing.

"SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!" Steve shouted.

He ran to the phone and whacked it with his nail-bat, completely destroying it.

"Do you think he heard that?" asked Max.

"It's just a phone," Barb replied. "It could be anywhere. Right?"


But Barb was wrong. Will heard the phone from the shed and was able to pinpoint the exact phone. Joyce had to put Will to sleep.

Everyone heard the sounds of growling, signifying the demo-dogs were coming. Mike, Jonathan, Hopper, and Joyce untied Will and carried him with them inside the house.

Hopper loaded a shotgun and told the kids to keep their distance from the window. He then turned to Jonathan and asked, "Can you use this?"

"I can," Nancy replied as she took the shotgun.

Hopper brought out a different gun for himself.

Lucas brought out his wrist rocket.

Steve and Barb readied their bats.

Mike grabbed a nearby bell. It was no weapon, but it was the best he could think of.

Everyone heard the sounds of screeching coming from outside. They turned in all directions, expecting a demo-dog to attack from anywhere.

After a while, the screeching stopped.

Suddenly, a demo-dog leaped out of the window, frightening everyone. However, it fell to the floor, dead.

Everyone stared at the dead monster, just in case it was still alive. Hopper got closer, and saw the monster was missing its head.

That's when the front door unlocked itself and slowly opened up. Two figures entered the house, blood dripping out of their noses.

One was a girl with straightened hair, eye shadow, and a dark outfit.

The second was a boy wearing similar emo attire, but with greased, Elvis Presley-style hair. He was floating a few inches off the ground while holding the severed head of the demo-dog.

Elle and Elvis had returned to Hawkins.

Everyone stood in shock to see them. Mike especially. He smiled and cried. Elle and Elvis did the same.


A.N.

So, we got to what might be the second most heart-wrenching moment of the entire series. Bob's death. Bob was an amazing character that was done dirty by the show, only this time, I wasn't nice enough to save him.

Here, we got some extra heart-wrenching moments, like Nancy's true reunion with Barb. Their interaction in the shed was a bit difficult to write, but it was fun nonetheless.

The scene with Jonathan laughing to Steve's "Like the Germans" comment was a very recent idea. I read through the Stranger Things TV Trope page, like fans do, and I learned that they had to write Jonathan out of the scene where Dustin explains the Mind Flayer because Jon's actor couldn't stop laughing at Steve's "Like the Germans" comment. I don't know why they just kept that in as an off-script, improvised moment left in the final cut. Those scenes are almost always the best.

The best part was easily the "Should I Stay or Should I Go" scene. Will's family and best friend doing everything they could to save Will from the Mind Flayer. Easily one of Mike's best moments in the series. I'm specifying Mike because, well, if you've seen the show, you know what happens between Mike and Will in Seasons 3 and 4. I'm planning on fixing that, just you wait.

Anyway, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We still got one chapter left of Season 2, and I'm going all in. It should be posted tomorrow.