²𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃, 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧✔

012-reunited again

"YOU'RE POSITIVE THAT WAS DART?"

Carla listened in on the conversation that was starting up around her, eyes ahead as the group of five walked back down the railroad track, just as she had earlier that day.  It was pitch black, and the only light source was the small flashlights each of them held.  Carla could barely see five feet ahead of her.

"Yes. He had the same exact yellow pattern on his butt." Dustin replied to the Sinclair boy, walking a little ahead of everybody. Knowing he'd broken the party's number one rule, the Henderson wanted to keep the fact that he'd lied out of the conversation.  He wanted Lucas to believe Dart had really just stumbled back to Dustin.

"He was tiny two days ago." Max stated, recalling the previous chase for Dart.  Even though she'd clearly seen the creatures with her own two eyes, Lucas' words were still hard to believe.  How could there have been so much she didn't know about her supposed 'friends'?  She didn't really understand all this supernatural stuff, not yet.

Dustin didn't look back, "Well, he's molted three times already."

Steve's eyes narrowed, "Malted?"

Dustin gave an eye roll, "Molted. Shed his skin to make room for more growth like horn-worms."

"Do you have an idea of when he'll molt again?" Carla spoke up quietly, eyes quickly darting over to Dustin.  Personally, the Wheeler didn't really want to know when Dart would molt again.  With what Carla knew on shedding skin, and with the creature's fast rate,  Dart would probably be full grown within the night, which is something she could do without.  She was just doing it for the rest of the group.

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

Carla felt her skin crawl at the mention of the mini-demogorgans, but tried to keep a clear mind. She couldn't think back to moments before, to where she thought she was going to die again.  Carla needed to keep her mind full of hope that they'd be able to stop the demogorgans.

"Yeah, and he's going to eat a lot more than just cats." Steve remarked without a second thought, continuing to walk along the track, Carla's hand in his.  After they escaped the junkyard, the Harrington felt as if he couldn't let his girlfriend out of sight.   But, Carla didn't mind at all.  She kept her hand tight in his—she didn't want to let go of him again.

Lucas stopped in his tracks at the brunette's words, "Wait, a cat? Dart ate a cat?"

The curly haired boy—who'd been stopped by his friend for an answer—shook his head, trying to deny as hard as he could. "No, what? No."

Steve, who didn't seem to realize that Dustin did not want the truth to be spilled, continued speaking on what the boy had told me in the car, "What are you talking about? He ate Mews."

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

"Mews is—was—Dustin's cat." Carla looked at the younger girl, eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out how this would end.  Honestly, Carla didn't know that Lucas hadn't known about the Dart eating Dustin's cat.  The boys rarely—correction: never—lied to one another.

"Carla!" Dustin yelled out, giving her a look.

"I knew it! You kept him!" Lucas called the curly haired boy out, a pissed off look plastered on his face.

"No! No. No, I....No, I...." Dustin trailed off, the Sinclair giving him a knowing look.  He let out a sigh before admitting the truth, already feeling awful for lying to his friend. "He missed me. He wanted to come home."