ℕ𝕆𝕀𝕊𝔼

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• 𝚄𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝙿𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 - 𝚀𝚞𝚎𝚎𝚗, 𝙳𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚍 𝙱𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚎 •

The group ran into Will's room. Mike grabbed a drawing that Beatrice knew all too well. Since it was like hers, only she didn't draw it.

"The shadow monster." Dustin knew from the picture.

"It got Will that day on the field." Mike explains, "The doctor said it was like a virus, it infected him."

"So this virus, it's connecting him to the tunnels?" Max questions.

"To the tunnels, to the monsters, to the Upside Down, everything," Mike lists off.

"Whoa." Steve intervenes, "Slow down. Slow down."

"Okay, so, the shadow monster is inside everything." Mike explains slowly, "And if the vines feel something like pain..."

"Then so does Will," Bea finishes.

"And so does Dart," Lucas adds.

"Yeah. Like what Mr. Clarke taught us. The hive mind."

"Hive mind?"

"A collective consciousness. It's a super-organism." Dustin tells Steve.

"And this is the thing that controls everything. It's the brain." Mike says, pointing at the head of Will's drawing.

"Like the mind flayer." Dustin comes to the realization.

"The what?" Max and Steve ask as Lucas snaps and points his finger to Dustin.

The kids rush back into the kitchen and grab everyone else to explain in more detail about what's going on. Dustin slams his D&D book onto the table as everyone crowds around him.

"The mind flayer," Dustin begins.

"What the hell is that?" Chief Hopper questions.

"It's a monster from an unknown dimension." Beatrice explains, standing in between Dustin and Steve, "It's so ancient that it doesn't even know it's true home."

"Yeah." Dustin agrees, "Okay, it enslaves races of other dimensions by taking over their brain using its highly-developed psionic powers."

"Oh, my God, none of this is real. This is a kids' game." Hopper groans in annoyance. He needs something real and he feels like this isn't it.

"Actually, it's a manual. Not made for kids, by the way. And you know what else is in this 'kids game'? Banshees. Which, guess what? I am one. So, would you please just listen to us?" Bea rants and everyone stares at her for a moment before turning to Hopper to see his reaction.

But before they can, Dustin continues, "And unless you know something that we don't, this is the best metaphor—"

"Analogy," Lucas corrects.

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

"Okay, so the mind flamer thing—"

"Flayer. Mind flayer." Both Beatrice and Dustin correct Nancy.

She sighs before turning to them, "What does it want?"

"To conquer us, basically. It believes it's the master race." Dustin dumbs it down for everyone.

"Like the Germans?" Steve suggests with a sure nod.