Hellfire's Angel | Stranger Things

Demogorgon

           "Tell it to me again, I'm not sure I understand the part about the Demoman," Frankie said.

"Demogorgon!" cried Dustin. "It's a Demogorgon!"

"Demogorgon, got it."

They were sat in his living room, her cross-legged on the couch, him sitting on the floor in front of her, bowls of pasta beside them. He was explaining Will's ordeal in the Upside Down to her, but she wasn't believing a word of it. She assumed it was their childish brain's way of dealing with it, as it sounded just like one of their D&D campaigns.

"You must promise not to tell anyone! No one can know. And you can't say anything to the people who already know. I'm breaking party rules by telling you, if they found out..."

She swore she wouldn't tell anyone. Like they'd believe her anyway. "So Will wasn't lost in the woods then?" she asked.

"No, he was taken by a monster from another dimension. We call it the Upside Down."

"Mhmm, and this monster, it got Barb too?"

"Yup!"

"So where is she now?"

Dustin hesitated. "She's gone."

"Gone?"

"Gone."

She knew what had happened to Barb. Her car had been found near a bus station. For whatever reason, the sensible young girl had ran away. It hadn't made much sense when she first heard it, but now hearing Dustin's version of events, it actually felt plausible compared to his alternative.

"He's a busy man this Demogorgon," she said, eating a forkful of pasta.

"He's not a man, he's a monster."

"Oh, right, sorry."

The more he spoke the more intrigued by his story she was. He would make a wonderful storyteller, she thought. But if this was his way of coping with what had happened, she wasn't about to tell him it all sounded impossible.

"-And that's when Eleven defeated the Demogorgon with her mind."

"Because she has powers?"

"Exactly! Now you're getting it."

She nodded along. "And where is she now? Eleven?"

"She's gone too."

"And now the government want you to keep everything quiet?"

"Yes."

"So you've told me."

"Yup."

"Ok." She shoved another forkful into her mouth.

"You don't believe me, do you?" he asked.

"Not for a second," she teased.

He groaned, holding a cushion to his face. "What do I have to do to prove to you?"

He seemed really worked up over it. It made her feel a little bit guilty. "Ok, ok. I believe you. And I promise not to tell a soul."

He smiled at that, holding up his bowl. "This is good."

"Mom's got a new Italian cookbook, figured I'd try something out from it." She moved the fork around, thinking about everything he had said. "So how's school been? Have people been kind to Will?"