𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐄! ✽ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻

24

❝𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓, 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓'𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄?!❞ steve cried out. he gripped onto sheridan's shoulders tightly, spinning the girl around the face him. "sherrie, what is he talking about? what's here?!" the red-headed girl shook free from his grip, and nabbed her nail bat from against the couch.

"stick with me and you'll be fine-"

"woah, what the hell is that thing?!" steve inquired with wide bloodshot eyes.

"what, you don't like my nail bat?" dani questioned, her brows dipped as she examined her creation in all of its hideous glory.

"not the time, guys!" jonathan yelled. him and nancy were back to back, scouting out the living room, unable to find the demogorgon. soon enough, a part of the ceiling crumbled to pieces. beneath it was a sheet of a flesh-looking substance, the infamous creature tearing through. the christmas lights gleamed at a speed faster than dani had ever seen before.

"god, i'm gonna hurl," sherrie sighed. nancy began shooting at the demogorgon, the monster letting out shrieks of pain. the wheeler girl continued her aim but to no avail. "let's go!" sheridan shouted. she hastily nabbed steve's hand and began dragging him towards will's bedroom. "watch the bear trap!" she exclaimed as she glanced back at steve, the pair jumping over the contraption.

jonathan picked nancy up by her waist, and also began leading her towards his brother's bedroom. "oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" steve sputtered out, following closely behind sherrie. once they entered the room, he instantly wrapped his arms around her neck. her eyes went wide feeling his chest heave up and down against hers. it was mystifying, in a way. something she had been craving for years, so close yet so far. he pulled away, holding her shoulders. she could see the worry in his eyes as his eyes roamed her figure. "are you okay?"

"are you okay?" she quizzed with cocked brows.

"what the hell was that?!" steve turned around and asked jonathan and nancy.

"shut up!" the pair yelled in response. nancy pointed her gun towards the door and jonathan held up the lighter. sheridan moved in front of steve, waving the bat in front of her. the awful chittering sound crept its way beneath the door, but the home filled with silence after a moment. "what's it doing?" nancy asked.

"good question," dani retorted. the four teens glared at the yo-yo attentively, only for nothing at all to happen. sherrie jumped once the lights stopped flickering; steve would've laughed if he weren't scared out of his mind.

"do you hear anything?" nancy inquired.

"no, and i don't think that's a good thing," sheridan replied. the girl stepped in front of the three, opening the door and glancing down the hallway. her frame stepped fully out of the bedroom once she realized that their entire setup had gone unscathed. jonathan, nancy, and steve peeked their heads out and eventually joined dani. all of their faces read confused. sherrie continued to move forward, heading for the living room with the three forming a train behind her.

the house was completely and totally empty. after an inspection, they came up with nothing. "this is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy!" steve hollered, building up with each phrase. before he could reach for the phone, sheridan leapt over to him and grabbed his wrist.

"trust me, i get it," the girl muttered. "but i want you safe. so either you man up and help us fight," sheridan offered, "or you get the hell out." steve's eyes bored into hers, deep in reflection. what the hell was he gonna do?

"i'm not leaving you, dani."

"good, then grab a knife or something and let's get this going," sherrie declared to interrupt steve's heartfelt moment, motioning towards the dish rack in the kitchen. as she finished her sentence, the lights began to glimmer overhead. the girl's mouth fell open. she spun around to notice every single light being lit and glinting. "it's back," sheridan confirmed.

"come on, you son of a bitch," jonathan taunted, regaining his position with nancy's back against his. suddenly, the lights went dim.

"holy fuck," sherrie whispered. from behind her, she could hear that familiar, haunting sound.

"dani!" steve screamed from the kitchen as the girl gawked up at the figure. it was oozing and leaking from every crevice, getting some of the substance on her shoes and mixing with her blood from earlier. chills flew up the fiery-headed girl's spine. she gulped, and quickly swung her nail bat, landing in the crook of the creature's neck; but not before being struck herself.

nancy shot at the demogorgon repeatedly as it hit the floor. soon enough, though, and much to the kids' dismay, the gun gave away silent clicks after a few bullets. it was empty.

running in from the kitchen was steve, butcher knife in hand. he plunged the metal into the creature repeatedly, failing to notice that practically all color had begun to drain from sherrie's body. and despite this, the girl lifted the bat up once more and struck down on the monster.

she moved out of the way, dropping her bat to the floor with a thud. her back fell into the hallway wall. the noise drew steve's attention; he instantly noticed sherrie's frail condition. he nabbed her nail bat to better fend off the demogorgon, promising to be back for her as soon as he could be. "jonathan, nancy, help dani!" the boy exclaimed as he coaxed the monster into the opposite side of the hallway.

nancy rushed over the sherrie, kneeling at her side. she noticed the blood that seeped through three large gashes in her mötley crüe t-shirt. her hands grew covered in the substance. "nance, d-don't worry about me," the girl groggily stated. "help steve, make sure he's okay."

"dani, i'm gonna help y-" sheridan gripped onto nancy's hand so tightly that her knuckles grew white, her eyes glaring up into nancy's.

"for me." with a moment of silence, nancy nodded. she turned her back to help steve in any way she could, realizing the demogorgon had fallen into their bear trap.

"he's in the trap!" steve yelled, him, jonathan, and nancy huddling into a group. "he's stuck!" despite the fact that he was pointing out the obvious, there was no time to correct or critique him.

"jonathan, now!" nancy screamed. the boy flicked open the lighter, and tossed it in the beast's direction. immediately, it was engulfed in flames. it screeched and groaned, jonathan pushing the group away from it. he started up the fire extinguisher to hopefully save at least a little bit of his home.

the house clouded with smog from the extinguisher, dani using all her might to cough, expelling more blood from her abdomen. the smell of burning flesh wafted through the house. once the fog had lifted, the demogorgon was nowhere to be found. "it has to be dead," jonathan reasoned. "it has to be."

one by one, along the ceiling of the hallway, singular christmas lights lit up. everyone glared up at the bulbs in fear that the monster had come back for more, but the usual signs weren't present. they followed the glowing lights into the living room and towards the front door, jonathan calling out to joyce, assuming she'd have something to do with this. the three stepped out onto the front porch, leaving sheridan abandoned.

the ginger used all of the might that was left in her body, and she pushed herself to her feet. as she began taking her first step, both of her knees simultaneously caved in; they felt like jello. sheridan plummeted to the floor. her knees, and the rest of her body along with it, fell with a loud boom. she let out a hiss of pain, her arms wrapped themselves around her stomach. a slick, red coating of blood brushed onto her forearms. dani doubled over, groaning in agony. a tear slipped from her eye onto the carpet.

the deafening sound caught the other three's attention. steve's face dropped in terror upon seeing the girl in the center of the hallway, her eyes squinted and her bloody body folding in on itself. "sherrie!"

✽