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HAWKINS, INDIANA — 1983.
STEVE'S CONFUSED SHOUTS WERE drowned out by something crashing through the ceiling.
Tess yelped, her mouth falling open in horror.
"WHAT IS GOING ON!" Steve shouted once more, tugging on Theresa's sleeve.
"Shut up Steve!" she yelled back, smacking his hand away.
Theresa already had a revolver in her hands, with little to no idea how to use it but enough to know how to point and shoot.
After firing multiple times it clearly had no effect on the gray, slimy figure shrieking madly as it came out of the ceiling. Tess finally turned, pushing Steve and Jonathan blindly toward the hall.
"Run run run, go go go," she rushed past them, taking off in a sprint down the hallway. She ushered the two boys into Will's bedroom, slamming the door shut and leaning against it for a moment, trying to catch her breath.
Steve ran his hands through his hair. "Oh my God oh my God oh my god! What was that!"
Theresa pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Steve, I really don't have time to explain right now."
His eyes widened even more than they already were, which seemed humanly impossible. "That was t-the– the dragon! The dragon that you said was coming out of my ceiling–"
"What?" Jonathan interrupted with confusion, Tess rolling her eyes.
There was no noise outside of the door now. She listened for a moment longer, yet heard nothing. It was too quiet.
She pushed off of the door at once, stepping closer to Steve and grabbing him firmly by the shoulders. He had no choice but to meet her eyes, which were filled with fire.
"Look," she spat through gritted teeth, "you've got three options here. You can either come out here and help us kill this son of a bitch, you can stay in here and do nothing, or you can leave. Alright? It's up to you."
Releasing him, Theresa turned and pulled a lighter out of her pocket, flicking it a few times before it ignited. She looked over at Jonathan.
"We've gotta go back out there."
He nodded, tightening his grip on the bat in his hands. Steve stood behind them, mumbling things to himself as he tried to reckon whether or not he was going crazy.
