At first, Shannon Bishop was just the babysitter. It was convenient, living in the same neighborhood as the Hendersons, but it wasn't too much of a stretch to move to the Wheelers' house or even out where the Byers family lived to watch all the boys...
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Preparing to kill a monster took more time and effort than people probably realized.
If this plan was going to work, Shannon, Nancy, and Jonathan needed to be as well stocked and ready as possible. Jonathan had yet to really see it in person, but Nancy and Shannon had, and they knew what it was capable of. They had seen how fast it moved, how big it was, and how dangerous it could be. If they were going to be successful, they didn't just need to start with the upper hand– they needed to keep it.
Shannon remembered the way the lights outside the Harrington house had flickered when the monster had grabbed Barb, and Nancy claimed her flashlight had flickered, too, when she was in the Upside Down with the demogorgon, so they figured they needed a solid light system to help detect when it was coming. Joyce's Christmas lights all over the house were the perfect indicator.
They screwed enough colored bulbs into the string light cords to light up the entire living room, plus also the hallway. Once the light system was finished, Jonathan took the bear trap and, using nails, sank it deep into the carpet in the hall so that it wouldn't budge. Nancy made sure they had plenty of bullets at their disposal while Jonathan drove more nails through Nancy's wooden bat, turning it into an ultra-weapon, and Shannon grabbed the gasoline cans and poured it around the house. The final touches came with setting up the yo-yo system to alert them of the demogorgon in the hallway once it tripped the bear trap.
Eventually, with their weapons prepped and their traps set and ready to go, all that was left was for them to set up the bait– them.
Jonathan was the one who grabbed the sharp knives from the kitchen drawer. He brought them to the living room where Shannon and Nancy stood facing each other, sliding into place between them so they made almost a triangular shape.
"Remember," he told them, breathing hard.
"Straight into Will's room," Nancy repeated, seeming more at ease than he was.
"And don't step on the trap," he added, passing Shannon the lighter he'd grabbed from the kitchen as well.
She took it, clenching it tight in her hand. "Wait for the yo-yo to move-"
"- then light it up," Jonathan finished. As a reflex, Shannon flicked the lighter open, earning the others' approval. "Okay. Ready?"
Nancy took a deep breath, then nodded. "Ready."
"Ready," Shannon echoed, but already she felt like she was about to step out of her own body. Who were they to kill a supernatural creature? How did they expect to pull this off? If they did, she'd feel invincible, but she would hope she'd never have to do it again.
"Okay," Jonathan said again. All three of them lifted the knives they held in one of their hands and brought the sharp blades to rest against the skin of their other. "On three. One, two-"
Nancy flinched, which made Shannon suck in a sharp breath.
Jonathan shook his head at her. "You don't have to do this."
