𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐲 ⟿ s. harrington

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞

COME ON,
YOU SON OF A BITCH !

☀︎

THE FOUR HAD RETURNED TO THE LIVING ROOM, KEEPING AN EYE OUT FOR THE RETURN OF THE MONSTER. The electricity had never failed in the slightest and the peaceful hum of the room had meant there was no monster near. Still, they held tight to their weapons in case of a surprise.

Steve had not managed to understand the situation he had brought himself into. Watching as Alex had went to inspect the newest hole in the Byers' house, he had begun to talk to himself. He could not express clear enough how crazy the whole thing had been. The panic had taken over as he raced towards the phone to call anyone for help. Nancy had been quick on her feet as she headed towards him and ripped the phone from his hands.

"It's going to come back so you need to leave. Right now," Nancy warned. Her demands were clear, meaning that there was no need to pull the gun on him once again. He had seen the monster and knew what trouble it would bring once it had returned and he was not prepared to stick around to see it once more.

His feet had carried him right out the front door and straight for his car. For a moment, he had hesitated with his keys in his hand. The three people that Tommy and Carol had made fun of were the ones standing up to kill a monster that could easily kill them, and he had been the one to run.

Looking up towards the house he was set on abandoning, the lights began to flicker once again. Inside, the three would either find a way back to Will's room, trapping the monster, or they would die the moment the monster had dropped in. Steve was not sure if he was prepared to be the only one who knew of what would happen if they did die and he had done nothing but run.

Inside, the three had their backs to one another once again, watching through the pulsing of the lights for any sign of the monster. This wave had felt stronger than before as if the monster was clueing them in that it was beyond furious.

Still, Alex felt like taunting it. "Come on, you son of a bitch!" Her words were loud enough to fill the house. The monster had taken a part of her she knew was impossible to get back. Never will she feel normal after what it had done. Now, all she knew was that she had to kill it. There truly was no other option. She couldn't sit in her room and cry, or hide away from the world. The only way to get back was to kill the thing that killed a part of her. However, the moment those words had escaped her mouth, the lights had gone completely out.

The sound of their breathing had soon been replaced by a low growl lost in the darkness. Following the noise, Alex swung her bat hard against the monster. In return it had screeched out in pain, letting them know that it had been hurt for the moment. However, it had taken the pain and formed it into an anger. It swung its arm out, smacking her down to the ground before climbing on top of her.

Opening her eyes, she watched as the monster had opened it's face before her, the low growl coming out as it had inched closer. Goosebumps had rose on her arm as it had laid it's hand on her chest. She was certain it could feel her heart beating loudly. Her arm had been outstretched, her fingers desperately stretched out in search of the bat that had managed to slip away. But it had been too far.

A wave of adrenaline had rushed through Jonathan as he gripped onto his bat. Using all of his strength, he swung down hard on its back, hoping to at least distract it before attacking Alex. Pulling it's flower-like mouth away from Alex's face, it sat taller, swatting back at Jonathan. The strength that it had held was undeniable. Jonathan had flung back, losing his bat along the way as he hit the wall.

The monster had seen no issue with Nancy as she had stood there frozen in fear. It had instead turned back towards Alex, it's mouth opening back up again and putting pressure back on her chest. Alex's hands had tugged on the monster's hand, trying to pry it off her chest for some relief, but the closer it had gotten, the more pressure he had placed on her.

Finding her courage once again, Nancy raised the gun up towards the monster. Her hands were steady as she let out a huff of air to calm the last bit of nerves. "Go to hell, you son of a bitch!" Several shots had rang out, each one hitting the monster in the back. This time, it could no longer ignore Nancy. It's weight had been removed off of Alex as it stood up, allowing her to hold her chest as she gasped for air.

Soon, Nancy had run out of bullets as the monster had slowly advanced towards her. It's low growl had been threatening as it approached, and its mouth began to open up.

Before it could take another step, the front door had been flung open with Steve Harrington back and ready to fight. Scooping up the bat that laid out in the open after Jonathan had lost it, he swung hard. All the years playing baseball, he had never thought that the hard crack of the bat would be used in this situation. But it was just what the three had needed.

With every swing, he had managed to knock it back. Taking his shot, he had begun to lead it towards the trap while the others had gathered themselves up for what was to come. Jonathan had helped Alex back onto her feet as Nancy watched for the moment the monster had placed its foot into their trap.

"He's in the trap!" Steve screamed to the three as soon as he heard the trap set off and close around the demogorgons foot. Ready to end this once and for all, Alex reached into Jonathan's pocket, pulling out the lighter. Flicking it on, she tossed it down towards the trap, knowing the gasoline would take over and kill the monster standing before them.

Steve reached his arm out, pulling Alex away from the giant flames that engulfed the hallway, holding her in his arms away from the fire. All four of them watched as the demogorgon screeched out in pain, trying to fight off the fire surrounding it.

"Get back!" Jonathan yelled, stepping in front of the group with a fire extinguisher, He had hurried to put out the flames before it could take over the whole house. All of them coughed from the smoke as the lights slowly began to turn on once more and the fire completely out. Where the monster had once stood was now empty. Dead or alive, it had managed to find its way back home.

"Where'd it go?" Nancy asked.

"No. It has to be dead..." Jonathan said quietly, creeping towards the bear trap that sizzled loudly from the demogorgon flesh. Both Alex and Steve had gripped tightly onto their bats in preparation for anything to come next, but nothing seemed to come. This had felt like the end.

Nancy was the first to tear her eyes off the trap. She looked over to Alex, gently pulling her away from Steve to look her over. "Are you okay?" Nancy whispered. All Alex could do was wrap her arms around Nancy, joyful that the thing that had attacked her had been gone. Even if it wasn't dead, it had been damaged enough to know not to return.

"I still can't believe you were gonna shoot Steve," she laughed lightly, making Nancy laugh as well. It was a strange time to laugh, but after what they went through, something like laughing could make them feel a little better.

"Look," Jonathan said, lightly tapping Nancy on the back and then pointing up to the Christmas lights that surrounded them. they had slowly began to flick on down the hall as if trailing something. Whatever it was had not been threatening like the monsters call had been.

As it made it's way out the front door, Jonathan had a thought come to him. "Mom, is that you?" he whispered to himself. The four had followed the light out the door, all standing on the front porch as they watched the street light flicker. Eventually, it had turned off and what had walked the Upside Down had reached beyond the lights.