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Chapter Eight: The Upside Down

Phina waited by the car for Nancy and Jonathan, leaning against the trunk with Jonathan's key ready to open it whenever they came out. They were sneaking into the police station to steal back all of their supplies that were confiscated. Phina stared up at the sky, worried about her kids. She thought back to before they left the middle school, when she had gone to tell them they were leaving.
   Phina walked back into the gym, the kids jumping as the door slammed. They were all on edge, and any movement that they weren't ready for, scared the crap out of them.
"Just me," Phina smiles comfortingly.
The kids relax a little and look over at Phina's smiling face as she walks towards them.
The smile she wears is forced, and Mike notices instantly, "you guys are leaving aren't you?"
Phina sighs, "yes."
El eyes widen, panic rising in them, Phina sees this and tries to soothe her, "it's ok El, you'll be ok. You're all safe here."
She kneels down in front of the girl, El gives her a worried look, "what, about, you?"
Phina smiles at El, "remember, like you."
El nods, "like me, but different."
The other three glance between them, confused, Dustin asking, "what the hell does that mean."
"Nothing," Phina smiles secretly with El, "Mike, can I talk to you."
She stands up, Mike following her lead. They walk over to the other side of the gym. Phina glances at the three kids and then back at Mike.
"Mike, if anything happens," she whispers lowly, "you're in charge."
"What do you mean," he asks.
"If something happens, you need to get them out of here, don't let El put herself in danger for you guys, she's done enough, been through enough," Phina explains, "you don't play the hero either, take her and run."
Phina had a bad feeling, she couldn't tell if it was because of what she was about to do, or if it was just because she was leaving the kids behind. Maybe both, but if by any chance it was something else, that something would happen to her or the kids, she wanted to make sure they would be safe.
Mike nods at her, "okay."
She pulls her little brother into her, hugging him tightly.
"Mike, if anything happens to me tonight,
I want you to know that I love you," she whispers in his ear.
He pulls away from her quickly, "what? No, nothings going to happen to you."
"You don't know that," she whispers, "you know me, I'm not going to let anything happen to Nancy and Jon, or you for that matter."
"Nothing can happen to you," he whispers back, "please."
"I gotta go Mike," Phina sighs, "promise me you'll be ok."
"Promise me you'll be ok," he fires back.
"Promise," she laughs hollowly, holding out her pinky.
"Promise," he smiles back, wrapping his pinky around hers.
Phina felt wrong, complete and utterly wrong. What if something bad happened, and she couldn't save her kids. She should have stayed with them, but, then she would have been worried about Nancy and Jonathan. Phina had to keep on whispering to herself that they would be ok, that they were safe, but it felt like a lie. She prayed that she was wrong, that for once, her bad feeling won't come true.
No matter how hard she tries, it pushes its way into her mind, every bad scenario that could happen flashing before her eyes. One of those scenarios sat just out her reach, yet it was the most detailed one. She picked out a few things, they almost seemed like memories, as if she had already experienced them. That was impossible, unless, unless it was a dream.
Phina jumps when she hears footsteps coming towards the car, her heart pounding, her palms warming. She looks towards the source and sighs. Nancy and Jonathan rush towards her with their supplies in hand, Nancy caring a fire extinguisher that they definitely didn't have before. Phina doesn't question it, just openes the trunk of the car for them and waited for them to finish.
Jonathan slams the trunk shut, and nods to the girls. They nod back and jump into the car, Phina tosses the keys to Jonathan, and he jumps in the drivers side. Jonathan reverses out of the parking spot, at a dizzying pace, and then they're off.

The three teens pulled up to the Byers' house, instantly going to the trunk to grab all of their supplies. They didn't talk, all of them steely eyed, like they were about to go into war.
They were, really, they were about to fight a battle with a monster that was worth an army, what made them think they could do this? Phina didn't know. They were no match for this thing, not even close. Something could go wrong, and, like Phina said to Mike, she wouldn't let anything happen to Jonathan and Nancy. Even if it meant she would die, she would make sure they were safe first, because they all came before her, she was expendable, they were needed in this world.
Phina leads the way inside and they instantly got to work. They started by screwing all the lights back into the Christmas lights, Phina didn't know why they had all been unscrewed in the first place, but she didn't have time to care. The lights would act as an alarm whenever the Demogorgan got close. Nancy and Jonathan started in the living room while Phina started in the hall leading to Will's room. It felt like forever had passed by once they were done. Screwing each bulb in, one at a time, with how many lights were in this house, Phina's fingers started to cramp only five minutes in.
Phina started to poor the gas in a line, starting from Will's room, leading to where the bear trap would be. Nancy loads Lonnie's gun, which had become her weapon throughout all of this. Jonathan was putting nails through Nancy and Phina's baseball bats.
It took them almost an hour and a half to finish preparing everything, the lights taking the longest. When it was all done however, the met in the living room, Jonathan grabbing two knives for him and Nancy, knowing that Phina always had a pocket knife with her, no matter where she was at or what she was doing.
They stood in a circle, going over the plan, Jonathan starting off, "remember."
"Straight into Will's room," Nancy says.
Phina continues, "don't step on the bear trap."
"Wait for the yo-yo to move," Nancy nods.
"Then," Jonathan holds up the lighter, "ok, ready?"
Nancy swallows, "ready."
"Ready," Phina breathes.
Was she really? Were any of them, no. No preparation could prepare them for what they were about to do.
They hold their hands out in front of them, holding their knives to their palms.
"On three," Phina says, "One. Two."
Jonathan interrupts her, "you two don't have to do this."
"Jonathan stop talking," Nancy whispers.
"I'm just saying," he says.
"Three!" Phina shouts, all of them collectively cut their palms at the same time.
The blood from the wounds pool, falling to the ground. Phina looks at her hand and then up at the other too, letting out a short, sorta hysterical, laugh.
"No going back now," she chuckles, squeezing her hand and making more blood fall from the wound.
She watches a single drop fall from her hand, her eyes following it as it falls to the ground, as it hits the ground, adding to the ongoing stain in the carpet, Phina swears she hears it, faintly, almost as if she imagined it. A roar, it's coming.

-1294 words-
Chapter 8 is going to be split up into 5 parts, this is were the real action is, and I hope y'all are ready for it. Remember Phina's dream earlier on in the story, well, get ready for it, because it will come into play in the future.
-Morgan