Alice the Amazing ⇒ STRANGER THINGS

[29] His Face All Red

{The Mind Flayer, Part I}

A/N Fair warning: the end of this chapter is very odd. It's that way on purpose, but keep an open mind while reading it. Thanks!

When Alice came to, the first thing she noticed was how cold she was.

She opened her eyes and realized she was still on the bus. She started, afraid to see a demogorgon at any second, but relaxed when her brother's face came into her periphery.

"Oh, thank God," Dustin said. "We can get moving."

He reached a hand out and pulled Alice up.

"Hey! Watch it!" she said. "You're yanking on my bad arm!"

"Sorry, Al, but we don't have time to waste," Dustin said. "Steve patched you up as best as he could, but the demogorgon got you pretty good."

Alice glanced at the haphazard bandage job on her left shoulder. The bandages were stained red, and the wound felt icy.

"He did, didn't he," Alice mumbled. "Doesn't look like nursing is Steve's calling."

Dustin took in his big sister's state: the frenzied look in her eyes, the dried blood on her lip, and the messy, bandaged arm. His heart twinged, and he had to look away.

"You'll be fine," Dustin said, also trying to convince himself. "You're a trooper. Come on. Let's meet the others."

Steve, Max, and Lucas spoke in hushed tones by the car in the junkyard. When they noticed Alice and Dustin approaching, they quickly stopped talking.

"Hey, champ!" Steve said with the fakest smile Alice had ever seen. "You...good?"

"I'm cold," Alice said, pulling her jacket tighter around her. "It's freezing."

"Here," Lucas said, pulling a red scarf out of his backpack. "This might help."

"Thanks, man," she said, wrapping it around her neck. "Now I'm an easy target for the demogorgons, but I'm warm at least."

"Okay, team," Dustin said. "Let's get moving. We need to follow the demogorgons—"

"What?!" Max exclaimed. "Can't we just leave?"

"No!" Dustin said. "They'll run wild through town if we don't stop them!"

"We'll follow them wherever they went," Steve said, "and give 'em hell."

He held up his lighter.

"What are we waiting for?" Alice said. "Let's go."

She charged ahead, ignoring her sore shoulder and the icy chill on her back.

As they walked, Dustin told them how he knew they'd seen Dart.

"He had the same yellow pattern on his butt," he explained, almost sounding nostalgic.

"He was tiny two days ago," Lucas pointed out.

"Well, he's molted three times already," Dustin said.

"Malted?" Max asked.