Shadows of the Night •a Stranger Things story•

I'm the Monster

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Dustin and Mike push their bikes through the woods. The air is frosty as they breathe in and out deeply. They've been walking and biking for hours after their search near the grocery store came up empty. The two of them call El's name until they hear something.

"Hey, stop. Do you hear that?"

Dustin stares at his friend, his mouth open wide as he tries to catch his breath. "What?"

"El! El?" Mike turns, watching Troy and James come over the hill. They narrow their eyes at Dustin and Mike.

"Hey, there, Frogface." Troy brandishes a switch-blade. "Toothless."

Dustin drops his bike, pulling on Mike's arm. "Shit! Run, Mike!" Dustin turns tail and sprints back the way they came.

"What?" questions Mike, panicked. He catches up to Dustin.

"Run! Come on!"

"You're dead, Wheeler," sneers Troy. He and James take off after the two of them.

"Move, Mike! Mike, come on, run!"

Ronda leans forward in the backseat of Joyce's car. She waves the picture of Dr. Brenner in front of Hopper. He peeks back at her as he drives. "Ronda, I'm driving. You can't—"

"What did my dad say about my mom?"

Hopper shakes his head. "Not much, kid."

Ronda narrows her eyes, expecting more from him. After the long talk Hopper had with Ron Jones in the living room that she wasn't allowed to hear, she doubts that it was "not much".

"That's it? Not much? Are you lying to me?"

Joyce looks to Hopper at her left. She understands enough to not get involved with a conversation like this. She doesn't know Ronda well enough to suggest something.

Ronda stands her ground. "It's my mother, Chief. Possibly my little brother, too. I deserve to know if he told you something."

Hopper exhales loudly. He stares at the road for a long minute. He doesn't give any emotions away, except for one that shows he doesn't like being called a liar by a teenage girl. "I don't know if I should be the one to tell you this, Ronnie."

"Tell me what? Look, whatever it is, I want to know." Ronda leans further forward. "Please."

"Your mother and the baby didn't die during childbirth," he replies. Hopper doesn't bother to make sure Ronda can process it. He continues, "Your mother had the baby and the doctors diagnosed her with postpartum depression. She killed your brother and then herself."

Ronda opens her mouth, ready to reply, but she doesn't know what to say. What is the correct response? To believe Hopper or continue to accept the story that everyone, including her father, had told her all her life? How can Hopper so willingly say all of this like it doesn't hurt. There's a long minute of silence.

"She loved kids," mumbles Ronda. Her eyes fall toward an old picture of her mother. Her curly hair is just like Robbie's and her smile is exactly like Ronda's.