Say Anything | Steve Harrington |

Ch. 28 Intertwined Paths

November 4th, 1983
Hawkins, Indiana

Walking down the same train tracks we had taken just a few hours ago to get to the junkyard felt so wrong.

None of us expected to find what we did, but it was still a bummer to leave knowing that we didn't change a thing or help anyone.

"You're sure one of those things was Dart?" Lucas asked Dustin from his place behind him. "Yes. He had the same exact yellow pattern on his butt." Dustin confirmed, keeping his eyes glued to the train tracks.

"But he was tiny two days ago?" Max asked confused, how could something go from the size of a slug to the size of a large dog in just a few days?

"Well, he's molted three times already." Dustin answered her, though the statement instantly confused Steve. "Malted?" He asked with his brows furrowed. "He doesn't mean the drink, Steve."

"Molted, as in shed his skin to make room for growth. Like hornworms." Dustin explained, but by the look on Steve's face, it didn't help much.

"So, when is he going to molt again?" Max asked.

"Well, it's gotta be soon, at this rate." I guessed, shining my flashlight away from the tracks in front of us and into the trees next to us.

"And by that time he'll be fully grown, or close to it." Dustin confirmed causing a slight chuckle to skip from Steve. "Yeah, and he's gonna eat a lot more than just cats." He mumbled.

"Wait! A cat?" Lucas exclaimed, grabbing Dustin by his coat, turning the boy to face him. "Dart ate a cat?" "No, what? No." Dustin tried as Max, Steve, and I watched as Lucas stared down at the boy in front of him.

"What are you talking about? He ate Mews." Steve stated, causing me to jab him in the side with my elbow. "Ouch! What?" He exclaimed, grabbing his side.

"Mews? Who's Mews?" Max asked anyways, "Dustin's cat." He answered her plainly. "Steve!" Dustin groaned, throwing his hands in the air.

"I knew it! I knew you kept him!" Lucas continued to yell at Dustin while the boy tried to awkwardly come up with an excuse. "Nice one, Steve." I mumbled looking around at the woods around us.

"No! Okay, no. I just... I- okay, he missed me. He wanted to come home." Dustin finally answered, earning an eye roll from Lucas. "Oh, so now you admit it?" "Well, I didn't realize he was a baby Demogorgon!"

"Guys, who cares? We have to go." Max tried to stop the two from fighting but Lucas cut her off instantly. "I care! You put the party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law!" "Well, so did you!" Dustin cut Lucas off.

"How?" Lucas rolled his eyes while Dustin shined his flashlight in Max's face. "You told a stranger the truth!" "A stranger?" Max asked annoyed, stepping up to Dustin.

"You wanted to tell her too!" "Yeah, but I didn't, Lucas, okay?" Rolling my eyes at the three kids, I shined my light back down at the path we had been following when a screech in the distance caught my attention.

"Did you hear that?" I whispered to Steve, who kept his eyes trained on the kids. "Hear what?" He asked turning to face me when another screech broke through the air.