ZERO

CHAPTER ELEVEN - SISTER

After the shed was properly covered, all there was to do was wait. Iris had no idea what time it was now, but the sky was dark, and her body was starting to hurt. The adrenaline was still pumping through her veins, but now it just made her feel anxious.

Joyce, Hopper, Mike, John and Johnathan were the only people with Will in the shed. In the meantime, there was nothing anyone else could do. Regardless, everyone was on edge.

Iris was by Steve's side, swinging his bat around aimlessly. There was so much stress throughout the entire house, but Iris tried to keep it light. She joked with Steve, trying her best to get him and the kids to laugh.

Until the lights started flickering. Will's screams could be heard from inside the house, causing everyone to run to the windows to see if everything was going alright, even though no one could see.

It definitely didn't sound it.

It was quiet again, and the lights stopped flickering. Iris let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, the bat no longer in her hands.

Suddenly, they ran into the house, Hopper grabbing a pen and starting to write something down.

"What happened?" Dustin asked, everyone surrounding Hopper as he hurriedly sat down.

"He's using morse code." John said. "Here. He said here."

Hopper showed his paper, proving what John was saying was correct. "Will's still here, he's talking to us."

✩✩✩

In the next few minutes, Hopper and John created a system, relaying what Will was spelling out to him and the rest of the group in the house.

"Close gate." the group read in unison.

Before anyone could speak about what it meant, the phone rang. And it was definitely loud enough for Will to have heard it.

"Shit!" Dustin cursed, picking up the phone and hanging it up immediately, but it was no use. The phone rang again, but Iris used her mind to explode it.

"Sorry, I panicked." She said bashfully, her face going red.

"Do you think he heard that?" Max asked.

"It's just a phone, it could be anywhere. Right?" Steve said, sounding like not even he believed what he was saying.

But by the chills going up Iris' spines, she knew he did. "It knows where we are. They're coming." She said, determination brimming in her eyes.

"Hey! Hey, get away from the windows!" Hopper shouted, entering the living room with two guns. Will was knocked out again, but the screeches of the demo-dogs were getting louder. Iris' skin was crawling as she took off her jacket, stretching her arms and getting ready for a fight.

"Can you use this?" Hopper held out the rifle to Johnathon, who was standing frozen in place.

"I can." Nancy spoke up, grabbing Iris' attention.

"Badass." She nodded at her. It was about time someone else learned something that could be used to defend themselves and the kids.

Steve held up his bat, Nancy cocked her rifle, John reloaded his shotgun, Iris held up her hands, and stepped in front of the kids. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mike pick up a candlestick, which almost made her break her stance and laugh.

The screeching was heard again, this time much louder. Iris' expression twisted into something much more serious, fully intending to die fighting for the people behind her.

"Where are they?" Max shakily asked from behind Lucas, who held up his slingshot protectively.

There was another loud croaking sound, followed by a thud. And suddenly, the building feeling of danger diminished from the back of Iris' neck.

"Wait a minute," Iris whispered. "something's not right."

"Obviously." Steve muttered from next to her, making her roll her eyes.

Another loud sound echoed, this time from the other side of the room. Everyone gasped, turning their attention and weapons to the door. The noise was louder, more frequent. Then suddenly, it stopped.

Then, something came flying through the window. People screamed, but Iris was the loudest of them all.

"Wait!" She yelled. It was a demo-dog, but it wasn't moving. "It's dead."

The group went over to investigate, John kicking it with the barrel of his gun before confirming Iris' words.

Then, the lock of the door clicked. The small sound drew everyone's attention, and Steve stepped in front of Iris.

The second lock slid undone, seemingly on its own, but Iris knew better.

"Put down your guns." Iris whispered, sensing no danger from the other side of the door. However, no one listened.

The door opened, and in stepped a young girl with slicked-back brown hair and doe eyes smeared with black makeup. Her features were delicate, but her expression hung low with seriousness. Blood trickled from her nose, but she didn't notice, or didn't care.

Her eyes fell from one person in the room to the next, and when her eyes met Iris', she recognized her right away.

This was Eleven. This was her sister.

However, Eleven's gaze fell onto someone else's, and it stayed there. Mike walked forward, an awestruck look Iris had never seen the boy wear struck on his face.