𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 | stranger things

fourteen

Dustin spent the car ride to his house explaining to Steve all about Dart, who turned out to be a monster from the Upside Down. Wren couldn't say she was surprised; she had a feeling when she saw it that it wasn't just some innocent creature scientists had yet to identify.

"I swear to God, man, it's just some little lizard, okay?" Steve grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"It's not a lizard," Dustin insisted.

"How do you know?"

"Because his face opened up, and he ate my cat!"

Wren's stomach twisted. The rest of the drive was silent. When they made it to Dustin's house, Steve took a nail-spiked baseball bat and a flashlight out of the trunk. They went over to the storm cellar, where Dustin had trapped Dart.

They held their breaths and listened. All was quiet. Steve banged on the cellar door.

"Alright, listen, kid." He shined his flashlight in Dustin's face. "I swear, if this is some sort of Halloween prank . . . you're dead. Alright?"

"It's not a prank." Dustin squinted to try and block the light. "Get it out of my face."

"You got a key for this thing?"

Once unlocking the storm cellar, Steve shone the light inside. There was no sign of Dart.

"He must be further down," Dustin suggested. "Wren and I will stay up here in case he tries to escape."

"Better you than us," Wren said when Steve glared at them. He sighed in annoyance before venturing down into the cellar. After a moment of silence, Wren leaned forward to try and peer inside, only to flinch back when Steve suddenly appeared again, shining his flashlight at them.

"Get down here."

Wren whined a little. What if he was trying to set them up? She wouldn't put it past him to do something douchey like that.

"Come on, Wren." Dustin gently took her hand and led the way down the steps. Wren clung to his arm, using him as a human shield as they met Steve at the bottom. The older boy lifted up his bat, which had a slimy, shed skin hooked on the nails.

Wren gulped. "That's not good."

"This is even worse." Steve led them over to a hole in the wall. They knelt down as he shone his light into it.

It wasn't a hole. Dart had chewed a tunnel straight into Hawkins.

****

The entirety of the following day was dedicated to luring Dart out into the open. Wren, Steve, and Dustin laid out a path of raw meat along the train tracks. She wasn't listening to the conversation that the two boys were having; she was more worried about the fact that there was some monster from the Upside Down roaming free somewhere.

The first thought that came to mind was something terrible happening to her 4 year old baby sister, Holly. She was so innocent; if she were to see Dart running around outside, she'd most likely mistake it for a dog, try to pet it, and end up getting her face eaten.

Lauren, no, Wren silently scolded herself. You're overthinking again. Robin said not to do that. Holly is inside where it's safe. I'm sure she's coloring right now and snacking on goldfish. Deep breaths . . . Deep breaths.

They reached the old junkyard. Wren spotted the bus where she, her brother, and his friends had hidden from the bad guys that were chasing after them last year. They would've died if Chief Hopper hadn't shown up to rescue them.

"Oh, yeah," Steve said, looking around the junkyard with a nod. "Yeah, this will do. This will do just fine. Good call, dude."

Dustin smiled, crinkles appearing by his eyes. He turned to Wren. "He called me 'dude'. No mean nickname."