Byler- The Unwanted Return of Everything (And How It Finally Ends)

Out of the Woods

Notes- TW for blood and violence

It looked like the same demogorgon that had killed Brad, big with a sickly color of thin, slimy skin. Its teeth were unclean, stained with the blood of past victims. That old man, probably. Maybe Brad too. It made Will sweat.

It circled the two boys, studying its potential next meal. If demogorgons were as smart as Jonathan insisted they were, then it recognized Will. It hadn't noticed him, but it remembered something about his presence. How he gave off a slight hint of Mind Flayer. It might have confused the demogorgon. Whatever the reason, it didn't want to attack Will.

Mike, on the other hand, must have smelled delicious because the demogorgon took a special interest . The creature snapped at him every now and then, making the boy's nerves work up. He was shaking, color draining from his face.

"I told you he wanted to kill me," Mike whispered to Will. "Do you see this? He's got me pin-pointed. I'm gonna fucking die, Will. I'm gonna die."

Will shook his head, trying to keep his calm. He wouldn't let the demogorgon kill anyone else around him. "You won't die, Mike. We have weapons. We'll kill it." They had to kill it. They had no other choice.

"Easier said than done," Mike grumbled.

The demogorgon continued to circle, making it unclear if it would ever attack. Will started to get antsy about it, waiting for something to happen. He wanted to kill the hideous creature. He wanted to burn it to a crisp.

"Well?" Will asked the demogorgon. "Are you just gonna stand there?"

"Please do," Mike added. The demogorgon took that chance to attack. It lunged forward and both boys dodged in opposite directions. Will jumped to his right and readied his lighter fluid for anything. The demogorgon wasn't interested in him, though. It was walked towards Mike, backing him further into the woods.

"This would be a good time to use that lighter fluid!" Mike called. He held a lighter to defend himself but seemed to have dropped his fuel while dodging the first attack.

Will unscrewed the cap on his own bottle of liquid and quietly crept forward. He got far enough to dump the entire thing on the creature when it lunged again at Mike. Mike held out the flame and it confused the creature, so it didn't have the chance to bite him. It settled for knocking him away with its unopened head. Mike flew back with a yelp and hit a tree. He groaned as he slunk to the ground. The demogorgon approached again.

Will wanted to scream at the creature to stop, but he took a deep breath. He just had to kill it. He walked forward again, his hands shaking as he readied the lighter fluid and lighter.

Mike was obviously dazed, trying to find his own lighter on the ground beside him. He frantically dug through sticks and glanced quickly at his approaching attacker. "Holy shit," he said quietly. "Don't you dare kill me. I'm not dying in the woods." He shook a finger at it.

The demogorgon readied itself for another pounce. Probably the killing hit.

" Now," Mike yelled to Will. "Get it!"

Will ran up behind the creature and poured the liquid over its back. It turned to him and Will splashed more of it into its open mouth. It roared as Will emptied the bottle. He felt the lighter in his hand, realizing he wouldn't have time to use it before the monster attacked him. He stood there in a panic, waiting for the end.

The demogorgon howled, turning once again back to Mike. Mike had poked it with a long stick. The demogorgon took the stick and threw it aside, shrieking at Mike.

Will shook the panic out of himself and flicked the lighter on. He ran up behind the monster and lit it ablaze. It let out a horrible scream and stumbled from its position. Will took its moment of anguish to take out a pocket knife and flip it open. He approached the flaming creature and stabbed into its mouth, producing another blood-curdling sound that hurt his ears. He stabbed it again, getting his hand full of rancid, stinging blood the color of the dark sky above them. Will retracted his hand and shook it because it felt like it was burning just like the demogorgon itself.