Everybody walked to the Hawkins lab, Dustin and Lucas arguing on the way there. The power was out, and Jonathan and Nancy were there, trying to get in. After some bickering, the power came back on. "Dustin, power," you announced. Everyone looked at the building. The lights were now on. Jonathan rushed to the control booth to see if he could open the door. It still didn't work. You and Dustin ran over, after him. Jonathan kept pressing the button. "Let me try," Dustin said, going into the booth. Dustin repeatedly kept pressing it. "Son of a bitch!" he said, getting frustrated, "Piece o' shit!" You pushed them both out of the booth and pressed the button. The gate opened. "Press harder, jackass," you told Dustin, stepping out.
Jonathan and Nancy drove up to the lab. On perfect timing, Hopper, who was carrying Will, Joyce, and Mike, came rushing out of the building. Joyce and Mike rushed into Jonathan's car, and Hopper put Will inside. Jonathan drove back, Hopper's truck following. Hopper stopped and told you all to get in. Dustin, Luke, and Max were stuck in the back, while you and Steve were crammed in the front, with Hopper. Hopper drove to Joyce's house.
Once inside the Byers's residence, you gave Hopper a giant hug. Hopper made a phone call. The person he was talking to was a complete jackass. Once he hung up, he came over to the table where Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Max were sitting. "They don't believe us?" Mike asked, hopelessly. "We'll see," Hopper answered. "'We'll see'?" Mike exclaimed. "Yes, we will see," Hopper raised his voice, "For now, we just sit back and wait." Hopper walked away to comfort Joyce.
"How do you put up with him?" Dustin asked, out of the blue. "You get used to it," you cackled.
In the moment of silence, you pulled Jonathan into his room and shut the door. "Okay, what's up with you?" you whispered. "Nothing," he replied. You had a moment of realization. "You fucked wheeler?" you whisper-yelled. "I mean, yeah," he admitted. "So, are you guys a thing?" you asked. "I dunno...?" he asked. "For the love of- you like her," you told him. "Yeah, I feel that was pretty obvious," he said, sarcastically, raising his eyebrows. "You're a thing," you stated, "You're definitely a thing." "Is this conversation over yet?" he asked. "For now, Byers," you laughed maniacally. You both walked out of the room. Nobody even noticed you left. You both walked back over to the group. You leaned against the chair Dustin was sitting in, and Jonathan went over to Nancy.
Mike spoke up, "Did you know Bob was the original founder of Hawkins AV?" "Really?" Lucas asked. "Yeah," Mike answered, "He petitioned the school to start it and everything. Then he had a fundraiser for equipment. Mr. Clarke learned everything from him. Pretty awesome, right?" "Yeah," Dustin and Lucas agreed. "We can't let him die in vain," Mike demanded.
"Well, what do you wanna do?!" Dustin yelled, "The Chief's right on this. We can't stop those Demo-dogs on our own." "Demo-dogs?" Max asked. "Demogorgon dogs," Dustin explained. "Demo-dogs," you finished his sentence in a 'duh' tone. "I mean, when it was just Dart, Blade could kick his ass, but-" Dustin started. "Now there's an army," Lucas interrupted. "His army," Mike said. Everyone looked at him. "What do you mean?" Steve asked. "His army," Mike announced, "Maybe if we stop him, we can stop his army, too." Your eyes widened, in a moment of realization. Mike picked up a piece of paper with a drawing of the shadow monster. "It got Will that day in the field," Dustin said. "The doctor said it was like a virus, it infected him," Mike stated. "So this virus is connecting him to the tunnels?" Max asked. "To the tunnels, the monsters, the Upside Down, everything," Mike explained. "Woah, woah, slow down, slow down," Steve said. "What are you not understanding here?" you asked him, "The shadow monster's inside everything. And if the vines feel something, like pain, so does Will." "And so does Dart," Lucas added. "Like what Mr. Clarke taught us," Mike said, "The Hive Mind." "The Hive Mind?" Steve asked, still taking everything in. "A collective consciousness," you explained, "It's a super-organism. And the Shadow Monster is the thing that controls everything. It's the brain...Like the Mind Flayer." Everyone looked at you.
