Just friends?

Chapter 21 : Mind Flayer

Once we walked out into the living room I looked around. Jonathan was still petting Will's head on the couch and Nancy was with him. All the kids were sitting at the table and watching Hopper as he angrily yelled over the phone. I saw Steve in the kitchen and walked over. 

I opened a cupboard and pulled out a cup. I served myself some water and drank it slowly. I had seen death before, but not in the way I had with Bob. The house felt cold and dark. Like there was no life. 

I jumped at the feeling of Steve's hand on my shoulder. 

"You okay?" He asked softly. 

I nodded once and continued to stare into the abyss. 

"I don't know how many people are in there! I don't know how many people there are left alive!" Hopper shouted over the phone. "I am the police! Chief Jim Hopper! Yes, call me back at this number. I will be here."

He slammed the phone back down on the receiver and turned to look at us. 

"They didn't believe you did they?" Dustin asked quietly. 

Hopper sighed, trying to control his anger and annoyance. 

"We'll see." Was all he said.

"We'll see? We can't just sit here while those things are loose!" Mike exploded. 

"We stay here, and we wait for help." Hopper said lowly and walked away. 

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. So many things were going wrong, and I don't think things are going to turn out right. 

Mike huffed in annoyance and leaned back in his chair. The entire room fell silent. No one made a sound. I looked over to the living room and saw a box. It was the box Bob had brought for Will. It was full of games. A sad smile broke out on my face. 

Bob gave so much effort to be here for us, and we took it for granted. He was gone now. A few traitor tears fell down my cheeks. 

I watched Mike stand from his chair at the table and walk in the direction of the box. He picked up a game. 

"Did you guys know that Bob was the original founder of Hawkins AV?" Mike asked quietly. 

"Really?"

"He petitioned the school to start it and everything. Then he had a fund-raiser for equipment. Mr. Clarke learned everything from him. Pretty awesome right?" Mike finished. 

"Yeah." The kids replied quietly. 

"We can't let him die in vain." Mike continued. 

"What do you want to do, Mike? The Chief's right on this. We can't stop those Demo-dogs on our own." Dustin burst out sounding frustrated. 

"Demo-dogs?" Max and I asked at the same time. 

Dustin looked between both of us. 

"Demogorgon dogs. Demo-dogs. It's like a compound. It's like a play on words-"

"We get it." I rushed. 

"I mean, when it was just Dart, maybe..." Dustin trailed off. 

"But there's an army now." Lucas added. 

"Precisely." 

"His army." Mike whispered. 

"What do you mean?" Steve asked from beside me. 

It started to click in my head too. "His army." I repeated. 

"Maybe if we stop him-" Mike started.

"We can stop his army, too." I finished.