Bad Intentions (Book One)

Chapter 57

The five of us were walking through the woods trying to get somewhere safe. I was having a hard time walking. I was barely able to put any weight onto my left ankle. Steve was practically holding me up. I had my right arm thrown over his shoulder and his arm was wrapped around my waist holding me up. All of my weight was leaning into him while I hopped along with him. Max stood at my other side holding onto me to make sure I did not fall over. The pain in my face had spread through my entire skull and my head felt like it was going to explode. My right eye was slightly swollen shut and I could feel the blood that was now dry on my face letting me know I had cracked my face open somewhere near my eye.

"How are you holding up?" Steve asked me.

"I'll be fine. I just need to get out of these woods so I can clean up before the bite before it gets infected." I told him.

"You're positive that was Dart?" Lucas asked Dustin.

"Yes. He had the same exact yellow pattern on his butt." He answered.

"He was tiny two days ago." Max told Dustin.

"Well, he's molted three times already." He told her.

"Malted?" Steve asked.

"Molted." Dustin corrected. "Shed his skin to make room for growth like hornworms."

"When's he goona molt again?" Max asked him.

"It's gotta be soon." Dustin answered her. "When he does, he'll be fully grown, or close to it. And so will his friends."

"Yeah, and he'g gonna eat a lot more than just cats." Steve said as he adjusted his grip on me.

"Wait a cat?" Lucas asked as he grabbed onto Dustin so they were looking at him. "Dart ate a cat?" He asked.

"No, what? No." Dustin lied.

"What are you talking about? He ate Mews." Steve asked Dustin.

"Mews? Who's Mews?" Max asked.

"It's Dustin's cat." Steve answered.

"Steve!" Dustin yelled at him.

"What?" Steve asked.

"He obviously didn't want him to know that Steve." I told him.

"I knew it! You kept him!" Lucas yelled at Dustin.

"No!" Dustin yelled back, lying again. "No. No, I...No, I...He missed me. He wanted to come home."

"Bullshit!" Lucas yelled again.

"I didn't know he was a Demogorgon, okay?" Dustin snapped back.

"Oh, so now you admit it?" Lucas continued to yell.

"Guys, who cares? We have to go." Max told them.

"I care! You put the party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law!" Lucas yelled and I rolled my eyes.

"What the fuck are you guys talking about?" I asked but my soft voice was not hurd over there yelling.

"SO did you!" Dustin yelled over me.

"What?" Lucas asked him.

"You told a stranger the truth!" Dustin yelled as he shined the flashlight in her eyes, almost blinding her.

"A stranger?" My sister yelled back at him. "We go to school together. You told my sister! She's a stranger to you! Not me!"

"We didn't have a choice, we found her sleepwalking barefoot in the middle of the road!" He yelled at her.

"What?" Max said as she turned back to look at me giving the boys a chance to yell at eachother again.

"You wanted to tell her, too!" Lucas yelled at Dustin.

"Yeah but I didn't, Lucas, okay?" Dustin yelled again.

"I'm tired." I told Steve.

He looked like he was going to say something but a loud screeching noise rang out in the distance. The two of us looked in that direction while Dustin continued to yell at Lucas.

"I didn't tell her!" He yelled again.

"We both broke the rule of law, okay? So we're even. We're even." Dustin told Lucas as Steve turned us so he could shine his flash light in the direction of the noise.

"No, no! We're not even. Don't even try that." Lucas yelled back as Steve and I moved a few steps away from the group. "Your stupid pet could have ate us for dinner! It nearly killed Leslie!"

"That was not my fault!" Dustin yelled back at him.

"We should go." I told Steve.

"Guys?" He called out to them.

"He wasn't gonna eat us!" Dustin yelled.

"Tell that to my sister!" Max yelled.

"He was crawling to come say hello?" Lucas asked in a very loud voice.

"Guys!" Steve yelled, finally getting their attention.

The screeching continued and now the others seemed to notice. Steve started walking fast towards the sound dragging me with him. I looked behind me to see the other two boys had run to catch up to us. Max was still standing in the same spot on the train tracks.

"No, no, no. Hey, guys, why are you headed towards the sound?" Max yelled after them. "Hello?"

"Max, come on!" I told her, not wanting to leave her behind but I truly didn't have a choice.

Thankfully a few seconds later she caught up to us and I was able to calm down a little. We ended up at the top of a hill that seemed to look over the town.

"I don't see him." Dustin said.

Lucas pulled out his binoculars and looked towards the noise.

"It's the lab." He told us. "They were going back home."

"What's the lab?" I asked.

"It's a long story." Dustin answered.

"Good thing we have a long walk." Max responded as she turned to Lucas. "So what's the lab?" She asked him.