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"Mike, would you just stop already?" Lucas snapped at a pacing Mike. Beth's head snapped up from her spot on the floor by the couch, helping brush more of the broken glass from the window into the pile.
"You we're in there, okay, Lucas? That lab is swarming with hundreds of those dog." Mike retaliated.
"Demo dogs!" Dustin called out from the kitchen.
Mike looked at him in annoyance and then back to Lucas. "Hopper will take care of her." Beth nodded.
"Like she needs protection." Max said.
"Listen," Steve said, entering the room looking like a mother with a dish towel hanging over his shoulder. "A coach calls a play in a game, bottomline, you execute it. All right?"
"Okay, first of all, this isn't some stupid sports game." Mike was worried, but that was now switching to angry with how nonchalant everyone was being about this. "And second, we're not even in the game. We're on the bench."
"Right, so my point is," Steve stuttered, pausing momentarily. "Right, yeah, we're on the bench so-uh-there's nothing we can do."
"That's not entirely true." Dustin interjected. "I mean, those demo dogs, they have a hive mind. When they ran away from the bus, they were called away."
"So if we get their attention..." Lucas added.
"Maybe we can draw them away from the lab." Max said.
"And clear a path to the gate." Beth nodded, realizing their plan.
"Yeah, and then we al die." Steve pressed.
"Well, that's one point of view." Dustin shrugged.
"No, man, that's not a point of view, that's s fact." Steve told him.
Mike gasped, running to the kitchen and pointed to a place on Will's map. Beth limped after them, her leg pain dialing down after she took the last of the four painkillers Joyce had left. "I got it!" he called out.
He pointed to the place where Hopper got in as they circled him. "This is where the chief dug his hole. This is our way into the tunnel. So..." he trailed off, running into the living room and standing on a hub like spot where all the tunnels met into one. "Here, right here. This is like a hub. See how all the tunnels feed into here? Maybe if we set this on fire-"
"Oh yeah? That's a no." Steve interrupted, his motherly comment going unnoticed immediately.
"The mind flayer would call away his army." Dustin added.
"They'd all come to stop us." Beth huffed, looking at all of the kids and then at a highly stressed Steve.
"Then we circle back to the exit." Mike said. "By the time we're gone-"
"El would be at the gate." Max finished.
"Hey. Hey! Hey!" Steve clapped, grasping their attention and pulling Beth behind him so she would stop agreeing with them and helping formulate their plan, much to her dismay. She huffed and crossed her arms around her chest, annoyed.
"This is not happening." Steve said.
"But-" Mike tried.
"No, no, no, no, no. No buts. I promised I would keep you shitheads safe, and that's exactly what I plan on doing. We're staying here. On the bench. And we're waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everybody understand that?" Steve asked.
"This isn't a stupid sports game!" Mike griped.
"I said does everybody understand that? I need a yes." He repeated, sassily removing the towel from his shoulder.
Before anyone could respond, a very very familiar engine rev came prowling up the driveway. Beth recognized it from the second it purred. It was Billy. (oh sheeee it.)
Max and Lucas ran to the window, peering out of it. "It's my brother." Max said. "He can't know we're here." she said, looking back to Beth who had her hands on her head, serious worry flaring up her stomach. "He'll kill me. He'll hill us."
Steve walked outside, slamming the door as soon as his feet were on the other side so Billy wouldn't see any of them. Beth avoided the window, unlike all of the kids, and paced, as best as she could with a limp, ignoring the slight pain it brought her.
"Oh my god." she repeated. "How can you fix this? How can you explain this? Think, Beth." she told herself, probably sounding like a nut job to anyone but herself. She had to figure out a way to solve this, and fast.
"Crap." Beth muttered as all of the kids jerked away from the window.
"Shit! Did he see us?" Dustin cursed, Beth going to the door and resting her hand over the knob, debating whether or not she should go out there.
"Beth, no." Dustin growled as she grabbed the doorknob, turning it slowly as her heart pounded through her chest, feeling as though if it sped up any more, it would fly out of her ribcage.
"I have to. He's my boyfriend, I can-" she was interrupted by the door slamming against her body, knocking her down completely and causing her injured leg to break her fall.
Billy stormed into the house. And he was angry.
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this had my heart RACING while i was writing it, how did you feel? 😬😬 trust me, next update is already on its way so i'm sorry for this mini sorta cliff hanger :) also, i'm just not gonna say unedited anymore since you guys are awesome and love the chapters anyways thank you for your support lovelies! 💙
