the view between villages // a stranger things choose-your-own-adventure

PAGE 7

Introductions are made, tiny demons are expelled from disgusting leg wounds, and parents are reunited with children. Dustin's friends have spent the past few days fighting something called the Mind Flayer, a disgusting creature from another dimension. You don't fully understand what's happening, but you try to keep up when a plan is formed to end the shitshow in Hawkins once and for all.

It's too dangerous for any of the kids, teens, or young adults to go back into the Russian base. You and the others that spent the past few days in that shithole are driving to Dustin's Cerebro radio to communicate with Murray, Joyce, and Hopper when they go to the bunker underground.

Chief Jim Hopper tosses Steve the keys to a Cadillac convertible he "borrowed," and you swiftly snatch the keys out of his hands.

"You might have a concussion," you remind him. "I'm driving."

When you see the car in question, you grin, having made the right choice. The car is awesome. Way nicer than anything you could afford for yourself. You're going to enjoy this.

"'Todd-father'?" Robin says with a snort, reading the license plate.

"Oh, screw Todd," you say, hopping into the driver's seat and patting the steering wheel lovingly. "I'm her daddy now."

"Did you just call yourself 'daddy'?" Erica scoffs.

You ignore her, asking Dustin for directions to a place called Weathertop.

"Suzie must be pretty special, huh?" Robin asks, referring to the girlfriend Dustin built his radio for. "I mean, if you built this thing and lugged it all the way to the middle of nowhere just to talk to her?"

"Nobody's scientifically perfect," Dustin says, "but Suzie's about as close to being perfect as any human could possibly be."

"She sounds made-up to me," Erica says. She leans forward to where Steve sits next to you, in the passenger seat. "She sound made-up to you?"

"Why are you hesitating, Steve?!" Dustin snaps, after about 0.5 seconds.

"I'm not!" Steve protests. "I'm not! I think she sounds real. You know, totally, absolutely real."

"Left!" Dustin shouts. You don't realize he's talking to you at first. "Turn left."

"There's no road here!" you say.

"TURN LEFT NOW!"

You gun it and make a hard left, smashing through a fence and scratching the beautiful Cadillac's paint. You struggle to drive up the heel due to the incline, but you follow Dustin's instructions. The car stops short of the top of the hill, wheels spinning in the dirt.

"Looks like we're walking the rest of the way," you say, cutting the engine.

When you make it to the top of the hill, Dustin communicates with Murray on Cerebro, giving him instructions on how to navigate (and annoying the man to no end).

At the edge of the hill, Steve notices the mall lights flickering in the distance.

"Flickering lights is bad," he explains to you, fear in his eyes. "Really, really bad."

Dustin changes radio frequencies, and you all discover that the Mind Flayer monster is at the mall right now. You hear his shrieking, and you can't get a response from your friends.

Steve begins sprinting down toward the Todfthr.

"Where are you going?!" Erica asks.

"To get them the hell out of there!" Steve says. "Waldenbooks! You driving me or what?"