✓ | 2. young blood [STEVE HARRINGTON]

twelve.

CHAPTER TWELVE:
THE MIND-FLAYER AND HIS ARMY

[ THE MIND-FLAYER PART I ]

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              "There's a monster beyond the Gate. And the Gate is leaking, and it's only a matter of time before that monster comes out too," Thomas finished off their story. Nancy was shaking her head — not in denial of fact, because she knew Thomas wouldn't state something with such certainty unless he was fully and wholly certain, but in frightened disbelief. "The demo-dogs must be coming from there, too."

          Jonathan ran a hand up his face and then pushed it through his hair, as if to fold it back from his forehead, though it just fell forward again. "So those things, they're in there?" He gestured toward the lab. "With Will?"

"And Mike?"

          "We don't know if they are in there!" Steve said, ever so hopefully.

          From where they stood side by side on Steve's right, Jonathan and Thomas, in an odd symmetry, looked over at him with identical expressions of boredom and disbelief. Like brother like brother.

             Their expressions were torn away by Nancy, who had been facing the gate, when she whirled around and began to yell, "Are you blind? Their cars are in there!" As the boys' eyes widened, she threw her hands up to her head, chest heaving with a sudden, overwhelming burst of panic. "And — and when we went home, they weren't there, but — Jonathan, what are you — Jonathan!"

          Sprinting across the narrow road leading up to the gate, Jonathan had raced across to the white-walled control booth that sat on the other side, quickly throwing open the glass door with a harsh BANG. He bent over the equipment there for a moment, before his fingers hastily jabbed at buttons Thomas couldn't see from where he was moving after the boy, accompanied by all the others.

          But nothing happened.

          Dustin reached the booth first out of all the others and shoved his way inside the tiny building, arguing childishly for a try.

          Meanwhile, Thomas had dashed across to the lock, bending down and feeling his way in the darkness along the edge of the sliding gate until he'd found the great electric lock that kept the metal closed. Steve was close behind him, crying out, "What are you doing? What the hell are you doing? Trying to electrocute yourself!" As he emphasised the word, he grabbed Thomas' shoulder, yanking him back and causing him to fall back onto his backside.

          Scrambling back up, Thomas jerked his head to the right, utter panic causing him to use his abilities; Steve was pushed away by an invisible blast of energy (it was minuscule, though still hard enough to make him stumble). "I can break through," he let out shakily, panic induced adrenaline making his hands and body and voice tremble. "I — I did when I escaped."