Over the years nightmares have been a frequent friend in the Hopper house. Chills and a scream lodged in the back of her throat is the only way that Christine Hopper knows how to wake up. Her father tries hard to believe his daughter has a handle on...
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Jonathan, still crouching next to Chris in the shed, hears her whimper softly. She's in a tense dream. Something bad is happening. He grips her shoulder tighter, hoping she can sense his support. He furrows his eyebrows for a second, then throws a look to the others.
"She's cooling down."
Chris dodges some branches as she picks up speed, heading back toward Castle Byers. She whirls back in the direction she was running from, her eyes darting around, listening for the rumbling in the sky. It is horribly silent. She can see her own breath in front of her.
"Shadow Walker," it whispers through the trees, surrounding her. It sounds curious, intrigued by her. Chris spins around, trying to catch sight of what is speaking to her.
"Will!" she shouts, wondering if this is where he is. "Will!" Chris pauses, listening in the silence. Her body is tense from adrenaline and the cold. She inhales slowly, preparing for this voice to call to her again.
A demogorgon leaps out from a stalk of burnt bushes and branches, barring its layers of teeth at Chris. It roars at her, ready to pounce again. Chris screams, ducking inside Castle Byers, hoping to find a weapon. She trips, clasping against the cot as the demogorgon smashes the front of the fortress apart. It snaps at her legs, clawing at her. Chris cries out in pain, blocking her face and chest with her arms. She's trapped in the corner. Tears spill from her eyes, and the sound of a phone ringing in her ears snaps her back to reality.
"Chris. Chris, wake up!" Jonathan shakes her shoulders.
Chris cries in pain, grabbing at her leg as she wakes. She stifles a moan, pulling back her jeans to reveal the deep slashes that demogorgon left behind. The echo of the monster's howling across Hawkins fills their ears.
"They're coming!" shouts Jonathan, as he helps Chris to her feet.
"What?" Joyce panics. She reaches for the syringe, sedating Will. Jonathan and Mike start to untie Will from the chair. Hopper holds his daughter, who limps forward. Joyce picks up Will, carrying back toward the house.
"Come on. We gotta go," Hopper demands.
Joyce, Jonathan, and Mike hurry to the back door of the house. Hopper and Chris follow them. Hopper stops, letting go of his daughter to reach for the shotgun on the ground that was stored in the shed prior. He puts his arm around Chris again, helping her inside.
They make their way to the living room, where everyone has gathered. Chris shivers, grunting in pain as she pulls away from her father, who is collecting the weapons that they have.
"Christine," Steve calls, his mouth falling open at the sight of her bloodied leg and shivering frame.
"Hey, get away from the windows!" Hopper shouts to the kids.
They turn their attention to the group, scurrying back. Mike and Dustin support Chris, who presses her lips together in pain. Max hides behind her. Joyce and Jonathan protect an unconscious Will on the couch.
Hopper turns to Jonathan, holding the shotgun. "Do you know how to use this?"
"What?" Jonathan pants, frazzled.
"Can you use this?"
"I can," Nancy pipes up next to Ronda, who has medical supplies in her hand, ready to patch up Chris's leg.
Nancy, Hopper, Steve, and Lucas, wielding their weapons, face the front wall of the house. The howling and nightmarish sounds of the monsters gets closer, louder. Each one of them waits in anticipation, holding their breath for the first attack.
"Where are they?" asks Ronda, gritting her teeth.
The group spins toward the left as a demo-dog growls from the side of the house. "What are they doing?" wonders Nancy, training her gun on the sound. Another one snarls on the right, causing half the group to turn toward that sound. A demo-dog grunts in pain just in front of the house. It screeches, the bushes shake. The dog dies painfully outside. And another howls, screeching in pain until it stops abruptly. The dead creature comes sailing through the window of the house, thudding against the wall. People startle back, gasping.
Hopper approaches the beast. Dustin's eyes widen. "Holy shit."
"Is it dead?" wonders Max.
Hopper places his foot on the creature's throat. It doesn't move. He kicks it. Nothing. The front door of the Byers' house shifts slightly. The locks on the door slide and click on their own. All of them watch, frozen, waiting for something else to appear behind the door, which slowly opens.
Stepping over the threshold, Eleven appears, looking exactly as Chris saw her in the Void. Hair smoothed back, dark make-up around her eyes, black blazer, and white shoes. Everyone stares at her in shock. Mike steps forward from behind Hopper, as they lower their weapons. El sniffles, they have tears in their eyes. He stares at El in disbelief before giving her a gentle smile, which she returns.
