FAMILIAR ↳ STEVE HARRINGTON

nineteen.

"He must be further down there."  Dustin said, Steve shining the light into the cellar and then looking up at the boy. Christine shook her head, not entirely sure what was going on  and if the vague explanation she had gotten was enough.

"I'm sorry...Dustin honestly what is this thing? And why do you keep calling it a he?"  Christine asked. Dustin let out a sigh, both him and Steve looking at the girl.

"I told you already that it's some sort of variant of the demogorgen and  that I call it he because he was my pet. Until he ate my pet." Dustin said, as if any of what he had said made any sense. Christine just furrowed her eyebrows,  look to Steve who was giving her a sorry look.

"Okay yeah that made sense." She said, everyone's attention going back to  the cellar.

"I'll stay up here in case he tries to escape." Dustin said, looking to Steve. The older boy shook his head, letting out a sigh before both him and Dustin looked  to Christine, the girl seemingly deep in thought.

"Fine yeah I'll go. Shit." She said, pushing Dustin slightly and grabbing the flashlight out of Steve's hand. She led the way down the stairs, going as slow as possible as she shone the light in front of them. Steve was gripping the bat with two hands, ready to swing if anything came out at them. Christine realized she had left the hammer at the top of the stairs, her eyes widening as she looked back up and  noticed Dustin holding it.

Steve passed Christine,  leading the way now as they reached the bottom. He turned the light on,  both of them looking down at the ground and noticing the disgustingly slimy mound of shed skin on the ground. Christine had gotten her first piece of evidence and a certain amount of fear struck her as she considered that everything Dustin had said was  real.  Steve used the bat to pick up the skin, Christine wanting to vomit from the  sight and smell of it. He looked around, noticing something else and pointing it out to Christine.

Steve headed back to the cellar door, telling Dustin to get down there and Christine  holding the flashlight up to the giant hole in the cellar. Whatever was down here was not down here anymore.

"Oh shit." Dustin said, his eyes on the skin as he came down the stairs. Steve then gestures towards the hole, Dustin eyes widening as he spoke again. "Oh shit."

They all walked towards the hole, leaning down together and looking into it, Christine shining the flashlight into it as  she shook her head.

"It's definitely not down here anymore." She said, giving Dustin a  look as they all looked into the hole.

"No way." Dustin said in disbelief, his eyes glued to the hole as he tried to think of what to do. 

"Alright I'm sorry but that shit stinks." Christine said, standing from where they were all crouching and running away up the stairs.  The other two joined her moments later, Steve shaking his head as he realized there was quite a problem here.

"So now what?" He asked, looking to Dustin.

"Well we have to find him."

"Well duh. But how?"Christine said, the girl not camisole with Demogorgon catching.  Dustin once again started thinking, Steve putting his hands on his hips as he started to feel the stress build in him.

"Okay here's the plan. We're gonna get mad much raw meat as we can, I'm saying like completely raid the grocery store. We're gonna get some gasoline. Fire is a big weakness. Next thing we're gonna do is lay the meat down, like a trail. Yeah that should work. We're gonna lead Dart to somewhere remote where we can catch him and then once we catch him—boom! Problem solved." Christine looked at Dustin in the tiniest bit of awe, wondering how he could come up with a plan so quickly, and one that seemed like it could possibly work.

"Alright sure. You're the brains. Let's go get some meat." Steve agreed, turning his back on the two of them and walking towards his car. Dustin and Christine followed after him, the both of them sharing a look as they did so.

"So what does that make you Steve?  The brawn?" Christine said, a laugh bubbling in her throat as they all filed into the car. He let out a frustrated sigh as he started the car, turning his body to look at her in the backseat before speaking.

"Yes I'm the brawn. Is that so hard to believe?"

"A little."  Christine let out a laugh at the irritated look on his face, Steve ignoring her comment and pulling out of Dustins driveway. The entire ride ti the store was them talking about where exactly they were going to lead Dart, more details to the plan, and also the inclusion of a few more key players if Dustin could get ahold of them.

When they got to the store Christine was the first out,  the girl practically running out of the car as Steve and Dustin started to bicker about what kind of meat they should buy.  She walked inside the market, heading straight to the meat section and looking at the selection. Beef was the best way to go, she wasn't sure why it was even a question because an evil carnivorous otherworldly demon animal would definitely prefer red meat.

Dustin was the first to meet her back there, the boy pushing a cart so they could carry the food. She started to pick up the meat, dropping it into the basket and looking at Dustin every few seconds to confirm that they still needed more. Steve met them at the back with a can of gasoline, his eyes widening as he looked at all the meat.

"Jesus is that enough?" He asked, looking between the two. Dustin gave Christine a nod, the girl putting the last few things of beef back on the shelf and then giving Steve a sheepish smile.

"We have come up with a small predicament." Christine started, looking at Steve as he let out a sigh. This night was already shaping up to be way too much work for him.

"What now?" Christine stepped forwards, giving him a guilty look as she spoke.

"I forgot my wallet." She said, Steve's mouth dropping open as he looked down at the cart and then up at Christine and Dustin. They stood like this for only a moment before he let out a defeated sigh, his eyes closing as he grabbed his wallets from his pocket.

"Fine I'll pay."