Apocalypse, Steve Harrington

Chapter Twenty-Eight. Dustin's Mini-Face-Eating Monster

TWENTY-EIGHT
— dustin's mini-face-eating monster

TOO MUCH HAD happened in the past twenty-four hours, and now, he had a headache. First, he got a phone call from Dustin. The kid was panicked— his voice was pitched, he repeated the same words over a thousand times, and he was practically screaming into the receiver. Daniel diffused the situation, and found out one thing; Dustin had an intergalactic slug, it had grown, and it was loose in Hawkins. Then, his sister found those boxes. They found themselves at the Byers, where Will was sick (he didn't want to call the kid creepy, because it wasn't his fault, but the "Shadow Monster" gave him the eebie-geebies).

When he thought about it, less than twenty-four hours. Now, he had a migraine.

    Somehow, Steve had been added into the mix. Danny didn't want to ask why, and he wasn't complaining— but, they made an odd trio. Insults were flying between them, all while Dustin was still in search for Dart. Sat on the younger boys bed, he watched as he frantically screamed into his walkie-talkie. "Jesus, he's obviously not home!" Daniel shouted, scoffing.

    "Lucas, code red!" he continued, stressing.

    Then, a girls voice cracked through the walkie. "What?" she said, breaking up. "Erica says to shut up!"

    Dustin's face contorted in confusion. "Who's this?" he asked. "Where is Lucas?"

    "Who's asking?" she questioned.

    Her voice was clearer, and Danny's brow twitched. Shooting up from Dustin's bed, he moved to be besides the boy. "Give me that— just hold on!" he pried it from his hands, eyes wide. The girl, the one speaking over Lucas' walkie; it was Riley, and he recognized her voice. "Riley? Riley, it's Daniel."

    There was a momentary silence. "Hopper?" she said. "Why are you— what's happening, what's a code red?"

    He ran a hand over his brow. Hesitating, Daniel opened his mouth— but she spoke again. "Oh, shit— is this that, what's it called, is it the Upside Down stuff you told me about?"

Through his peripheral, Daniel could see Dustin's eyes widen. Holding the walkie-talkie closer to his lips, he spoke. "Um... please hold."

    He met Riley in Physics class. They were partnered for a project, and, he had two other classes with her. They spoke at Tina's Halloween party, became acquaintances, and eventually friends (he'd be lying straight through his teeth if he said she didn't make him a nervous wreck).

The day Will had his episode, Danny cracked. Broke under pressure, spilled all the pent up secrets. One question had unraveled from Riley's lips: "Could you just tell me what you're hiding about this town?" Maybe, it was her tone. Maybe, it was the knot in his stomach. Maybe (most likely), he had been dying to tell someone what had happened in Hawkins last year. With a pinkie-promise and some whispers, he revealed their secrets. The Demogorgan, the girl with powers, the Upside Down. She knew it all, and he had told her. Now, it was coming back to bite him.

"I cracked, dude, she broke me!" Danny whisper-shouted, pressing his hand over the walkie's receiver. "She— she's really persuasive, Dustin, you gotta believe me."