𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐖𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐒

eight

hopper's car pulled into the byers residence, and sam immediately followed everyone inside, being the last one to enter the house. will, who was apparently possessed, lay on the sofa, completely passed out. sam leaned on the kitchen counter. "do you believe us now?" steve asked her as she looked up at him.

"yeah, i believe you." she replied, shivering again, remembering the sight she experienced a little while earlier.

hopper slamming down the phone in defeat as the people he kept bickering with, refused to listen to him. everyone sitting in silence.

mike got angry. "we can't just sit here while those things are loose!" he insisted, all of the kids nodding.

"we stay here." hopper ordered. "and we wait for help."

sam sighed, running her fingers over the fabric of her jacket and moving to sit on the floor of the hallway. she pulled her hair into a loose braid. "hey." steve said, sitting next to her. she didn't reply, she was too lost in thought. "hey." he repeated, nudging her arm. "we're gonna stop those things, okay? i'll be here for you too."

she nodded, looking up at him finally. "i know." she mumbled. "it's just...my sister is here, steve. i don't know what i'd do if she gets hurt."

steve smiled sadly. "come here." he said, opening his arms. sam moving into his side, resting her head on his shoulder and his arms around her waist.

she hadn't felt this exhausted or helpless in the little time she moved to hawkins. everything seemed almost hopeless. she just wanted to be home tangled in her bed sheets.

sam then remembered that her dad was always preaching when things are hard, not to focus on the negative. almost cursing as the first happy thought that came to mind was steve harrington and his confession earlier. she thought about how she was currently sitting with her arms around him, his head leaning on top of hers. she thought about the way she was feeling safe in a very unsafe situation.

if she made it out of this alive, she figured she'd probably have to face the mutual feelings steve and her both shared. sam hadn't dated anyone yet in her life, she honestly thought it was a waste of time, but something about steve made her feel like, it would all work out.

the two sat there for a while, wrapped in each others arms, listening as mike began to talk about bob. the group didn't intend to let him die in vain. "what do you want to do, mike?" dustin asked. "the chief's right, we can't stop these demodogs on our own."

"demodogs?" max questioned.

"demogorgon. dogs. demodogs." dustin explained. "it's like a compound. it's a play on words."

"there's no way we can fight him, he has an army now." lucas said, referring to dart. sam sighed as she pulled away from steve.

a lightbulb went off in mike's head as steve and sam walked into the room. "his army." mike said. "his army! maybe if we stop him, we can stop his army, too."

sam nodded, leaning against the table. paying close attention to everything that was going to be said, good or bad. mike pulled out a drawing, placing it there.

"it got will the other day in the field." mike confirmed. "the doctor said it was like a virus. it infected him."

sam's brow furrowed, as she spoke. "so, this virus connects him to the tunnels?"

mike nodded. "to the tunnels, the monster, the upside down, everything."

steve was confused. "woah, slow down." he said, looking to mike and sam. he hadn't really understood the information mike was announcing.

"okay, so," mike began, "the shadow monster's inside everything. and if the vines feel something, like pain, so does will."

lucas nodded. "and so does dart."

"remember what mr clark taught us? the hive mind." mike said, looking to his friends.

steve shook his head, still not following. "hive mind?"

"wouldn't that be.. a super organism?" max asked, dustin and the other boys all nodding.

"it controls everything." mike said. "it's the brain."

dustin gasped. "like the mind flayer."

while steve was standing confused, sam just shook her head, internally laughing at the boy.

dustin pulled out will's dungeons and dragons book, explaining what the mind flayer was. "this is our current analogy for whatever this thing is." dustin explained, noticing that hopper was on the fence about this and steve was still visibly confused.

"we are talking about the destruction of our world as we know it!" lucas added, looking over at steve, who was rolling his eyes.

"that's great, that's really great." he said, walking away. sam pulling him back over to the table.

"theoretically, if we kill the brain, we kill everything it controls. the tunnels, the," mike gestured to dustin, "demodogs, the upside down."

"how do we kill this thing?" hopper asked.

dustin started talking about undead armies and zombies, annoying hopper. "we know it's only a matter of time before the tunnels reach this town!" mike insisted, wanting to remind everyone of the severity of the situation.

"if anyone knows how to destroy this thing, it's will." mike added, walking to him.

max shook her head. "i thought you said we couldn't trust him anymore."

mike nodded, a new idea forming. "he can't spy if he doesn't know where he is."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

hopper threw old belongings out of the byers' shed, and the group began to cover the inside. the goal was for will not to know where he was, so they had decided to take newspapers and tarps to cover the walls.

steve worked with a tarp, nancy on the ground beside him. "we're.. we're done, right?" he asked, looking to the confused girl. "i mean, we can date other people, right?"

nancy just smiled. "steve. i've seen the way you look at her. the new girl."

"you have?" steve feigned confusion.

the girl laughed, shaking her head. "yes, we can date other people, steve. she seems nice, by the way."

steve smiled then, chuckling a little. "she is."

nancy and steve were still talking when sam walked into the shed. she coughed awkwardly, getting their attention. "sorry, i didn't want to walk in on a...private conversation." she explained, moving to the other side of the shed to start stapling a tarp to the top of the shed.

steve looked over his shoulder at her, smiling at her concentrated features. nancy just shook her head fondly, glad to see him happy.

1095 words