0 0 2 ━ [ 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯 ]

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟾: 𝙳𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝙹𝚛.

"Why is it always my house?" Joyce sighed to herself as she stared down at the unconscious demodog lying in the trunk of Quinn's car. Hopper, Sarah, Steve, Will, and Eleven all stood huddled around her.

"Is it dead?" Hopper asked before poking the demodog's back leg with his hand. He grimaced when his fingers made contact with the slimy skin.

"No, just unconscious," Sarah answered. "But we need somewhere to keep it."

"Keep it?" Joyce asked, her nose scrunching up in disgust. "Why?"

"To study it. It's like the demogorgon Steve and I came across. It's...different," Sarah replied.

"And where do you intend to keep it?" Hopper asked with a raised brow. He had a sense of what the answer might be but he wanted to hear it for himself.

"I was wondering...if maybe...we could keep it here...in your shed..." Sarah said slowly. She highlighted the end of her sentence with a forced smile.

Hopper and Joyce just stared at Sarah in bewilderment.

"I don't think it's dangerous," Sarah quickly added. "It had the chance to attack us and it didn't. I think it's just...scared."

"What if it gets out of the shed?" Hopper asked. "We've been able to keep the residents of Hawkins in the dark before but it's getting more and more difficult to explain these things away."

"If it escapes, I'll find it and kill it," Sarah said with a straight face and a serious tone. "I promise."

"And we'll help," Eleven added. Steve and Will nodded in agreement.

"I just need some time to figure out what's wrong with it. I think it's the key to finding Malcolm and defeating him before he can recreate the Upside Down."

Hopper looked to Joyce for her answer.

"Why is it always my house?" Joyce muttered to herself again. She took a deep breath and looked Steve, Eleven, Will, and then Sarah in the eyes. "Fine. But I'm not feeding it!"

While Sarah, Hopper, and Joyce worked out the details, Steve caught sight of Quinn at the end of the driveway, sitting on a large rock and staring down at her hands. He strayed from the car to join her, not even having realized that she had left the group.