0 0 2 ━ [ 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯 ]

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟿: 𝙼𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚛 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛

The front and back doors simultaneously slammed shut as Hopper and Sarah both entered the Byers' home at the same time.

"Something wrong, kid?" Hopper asked Sarah as she came rushing into the living room, her head swinging madly about in search of someone to share her revelation with.

"I figured it out!" Sarah shouted with wide eyes and an even wider smile.

"Okay..." Hopper said in confusion as he slowly removed his jacket and hung it on the coat rack. "What?"

"The demodog isn't a demodog!"

"What?" a new voice called from behind Sarah and she whirled around to find Eleven sitting at the kitchen table eating a sandwich. In her excitement, she had somehow missed her on her way in.

Eleven finished off the last bite of her food and dumped the dirty plate into the sink before joining Sarah and Hopper in the living room.

"The demodog isn't a demodog," Sarah repeated a little more calmly. "And I don't think the demogorgon was a demogorgon either."

"What are you talking about?" Hopper asked as he took a seat on the edge of the couch and stared up at her in confusion. Eleven sat down next to him with a similar look on her face.

"It's the neighbor's dog, the missing one, Ralphie!" Sarah exclaimed. "He was turned into a demodog!"

"But how?" Hopper asked. "And why?"

Sarah shook her head. "I don't know but I suspect it's got something to do with Malcolm."

"But I thought Malcolm could create things out of thin air," Eleven spoke up. "Why would he need to change something into something else? Is that something he can even do?"

Sarah bit her lip and began to pace the room as she contemplated this thought. She rubbed her hand against her face as her mind tried to sort through all the possibilities and said, "There's something I'm missing..."

"We'll figure it out, kid," Hopper said with a comforting smile. "Don't worry."

Sarah couldn't think of anything else to say so she just crossed her arms over her chest and nodded her head. The excitement about discovering the truth behind Dart Jr. had drained from her and was replaced with more confusion and frustration. But the confusion and frustration didn't last long when a new distraction appeared in the form of a glowing, golden rift that sliced through the living room wall.