Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
chapter fifteen , the mind flayer
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Max Mayfield hated her family.
Well, she hated her stepdad and Billy, and she almost hated her mom for taking all that shit from Neil Hargrove. It just made Max so angry. Why didn't her mom ever stand up for herself? For Billy? For Max? But Max never stood up for herself either, so maybe she was just a giant hypocrite. Maybe she just hated herself too.
She did. She did hate herself. She was a kid, and here she was, already acting like her mom! Was that all she was good for? Taking beatings from shit men like Neil and Billy? Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I guess.
But then there's Kennedy, she thought as she looked at the other red headed girl a few feet ahead. Kennedy wasn't like Susan Hargrove. Kennedy was strong. She didn't take shit from anyone! Ever! She fought Billy! Why couldn't Max be like that? She wanted to fight back too.
"You're positive that was Dart?" Lucas Sinclair asked his friend Dustin as the group of five walked through the woods. Kennedy was a few feet ahead of everyone, her matted red hair pulled back into a ponytail.
"Yes. He had the same exact yellow pattern on his butt."
Max was walking along side Lucas, behind Steve Harrington and Dustin. "He was tiny two days ago." She recalled, holding Dart herself in her hands.
"Well, he's molted three times already."
Steve frowned. "Malted?"
"Molted." Dustin repeated. "Shed his skin to make room for growth like hornworms."
Kennedy waved her flashlight around. "When's he gonna molt again?" Max asked.
"It's gotta be soon. When he does, he'll be fully grown, or close to it. And so will his friends."
"Yeah, and he's gonna eat a lot more than just cats." Commented Steve as Kennedy turned around to face the group.
Lucas gawked, "Wait, a cat?" He stood in front of Dustin, "Dart ate a cat?"
"No, what? No."
Kennedy frowned, "Dude, what are you talking about? He ate Mews." She bitterly said, frowning again at the memory of the now dead cat.
"Mews? Who's Mews?" Asked Max.
"It's Dustin's cat." Steve deadpanned.
Dustin whipped around. "Steve!" He scolded.
"I knew it! You kept him!" Lucas shouted as he shoved his friends shoulder.
"No!" Dustin shouted as everyone stared at him. He stuttered. He was caught in a lie and he was totally screwed. "He missed me. He wanted to come home."
