CAROLINE COULD HEAR HER MOTHER  yelling just outside the door, and the monster was not happy about it.

The roaring in her ears was so loud that she had her hands clamped over her ears, rocking back and forth. Her hair was in her eyes, but she didn't bother to move it. The monster had complete control over her body anyway, so what was the point of even trying?

The only comforting thing in the entire situation was Will and Lucas' soft snoring, rivaling her rapid breathing. Lucas' head lay on the end of her bed, slumped forward from the chair he was sleeping in. He looked so relaxed while he was asleep; soft and calm, his shoulders rising and dropping steadily.

"Spread, spread, spread," Caroline squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her finger around her head when the monster gave a particularly loud roar. She tried to lower her voice, at least, to let the boys sleep.

Will wasn't asleep anymore, though. He gasped and sat bolt upright, clutching his chest. He and Caroline exchanged a look and the blood drained from her face as her Twintuition let her know exactly what he was thinking.

"What happened?" Lucas was up too now, blinking groggily. His voice was hoarse from the few hours of sleep he had gotten. He grabbed Caroline's hand. "Are you hurting again?"

Will's eyes were wide. He stared at his sister. "I saw something," he stammered.

"In your now-memories?" Lucas's big brown eyes darkened. "What was it?"

"The shadow monster," Caroline whispered. One look at Lucas and she knew the plan was working.

"I think we know how to stop him," Will finished.

The hope in Lucas's eyes made the real Caroline want to scream, wishing she could protect him from what was about to happen.

A recreation of what was taped to the walls in the Byers house lay out on the table in front of the twins, pictures  of their psychotic episode out for the whole room to see.

Caroline's eyes darted all over the photographs, looking for the one spot the monster was telling her to find. It was very important, vital for her to get this right.

"Sam, this is ludicrous." One of the doctors had leaned over to Owens, muttering in his ear.

"Just give him a moment, okay?" Owens held up a hand, studying the twins intently.

"We don't have time to-"

Hopper stood tall, his voice booming across the table. "Hey, jackass, why don't you do us all a favor and shut up, okay?"

Will exchanged a glance with Caroline, too small for anyone else in the room to even notice. He got up and pointed to one particular photo, the hub of the drawing. "That's it."

"That's what?" Owens leaned forward, looking back and forth between the twins. "What... what's there, Will?"

"I don't know," Will lied easily, his dark brown eyes giving nothing away. A far stretch from the boy everyone in the room thought they knew. "I just know he doesn't want me to see there. I think it's important."

The roaring in Caroline's ears quieted and she stiffened. It was like the monster was holding its breath, waiting for what came next.

When Owens nodded at the soldier in the corner, Caroline gave a tiny smirk, knowing what awaited them.

"Let's see if these kids are wizards or schizo's, Doc." The soldier in the mic across the laboratory rang in Caroline's ears. The shadow monster could hear them from the entrance of the Upside Down as He loomed there, waiting to pounce. 

"Almost there, ladies." One of the soldiers was so very smug as they tread through the tunnels, gun pointing in every direction. Ever time they stepped on a vine or angered Him, Caroline let out a small cry when she got punished for it.

"Can they be even a little bit more careful?" Lucas glared at the doctor standing in the corner of their room. 

The guy just shrugged as more information came in through his earpiece. "Roger." 

One of the soldiers stepped on a bone, making it cracking so loudly that the doctor in the corner of the Byers twins room moved the earpiece away, wincing.

"Wait," Hopper leaned towards the live footage coming from the camera's on the soldier's body cams. "That's where I was."

"What?" Owen's eyes widened.

"It's that damn graveyard," Hopper sounded like he was going to be sick.

"Sir, there's nothing here," the Loud and Obnoxious soldier said.

"Looks like your kids are full of shit, Doc." One of the lab technicians shrugged smugly, making Hopper give him the bird.

Low growling filled the room through the speakers and Hopper and Owens jumped at the sudden ominous noise.

From the Byers room, Will started to cry.

Caroline's eyes widened in horror as her twin stammered. "I'm sorry."

"What?" Joyce and Lucas both turned their attention away from the doctor in the corner and looked at Will. Joyce ran a hand over her son's forehead. "What do you mean, sweetie?"

"He made me do it," Will whispered, a tear sliding down his cheek.

Pain erupted in Caroline's head, making her help and clamp her hands over her ears for the millionth time that day. Lucas darted out of his chair and ran over to her.

"Who?" Joyce pulled Will's hands away from his face. "Who made you do what?"

"I told you." Will's eyes suddenly flashed. "They upset him. They shouldn't have done that. They shouldn't have upset him."

Lucas was staring into Caroline's eyes in horror, realizing what was off about her. "They're not blue..."

Joyce was just looking between her twins in bewilderment. "What..."

Lucas cursed and let go of Caroline's hand as a dark looked crossed his girlfriend's face. he watched as her eyes darkened from their baby blue to the same brown color currently holding her brother hostage. 

"The spy."

Will's crying filled the room, and Caroline...

She started laughing.

"The spy!" Lucas shouted, the entire thing dawning on him at once. He sprinted out of the room.

The boy ran into the hallway and tried to shove past the soldier's blocking him in. They grabbed him and held him back, chaos erupting outside the twin's room.

"I need to get through!" Lucas shouted, pushing the soldiers back and trying  to get past. "It's a trap! IT'S A TRAP! I need to warn them. IT'S A TRAP!"

Bob grabbed lucas and held him, back. "What? What's wrong?"

From the surveillance room where Hopper and Owens sat, voices overlapped on the speakers. An eerie white fog had filled the screen and Hopper had gone silent in horror.

"I can't see shit!" One of the soldiers yelled. "Where are they? Where are they?"

"They're right on you!" The lab technician shouted into the mike. "Get out of there!"

"Wait, what?"

"What was that?"

A creature screeched loudly in the speakers before something leapt out and attacked the small group of soldiers. Hopper and Owens stared in horror as the sound of automatic gunfire and rapid beeping of heart monitors flatlining filled the earpieces of the men standing through the entire building.

Through it all, Caroline Byers laughed wickedly, the glee of the shadow monster shining through.

"Will, sweetie," Joyce pleaded, "talk to me. You got to help me understand."

"It's too late," Will moaned.

From the surveillance room, the chaotic noises of banging and screaming went silent like someone had turned off a switch.

At the same time, Caroline stopped laughing, the ghost of a smile resting eerily on her face.

Will had stopped any signs of remorse or crying now, back to the shell of a boy he had turned into. "You should go now," he told Joyce lowly.

"They're almost here." Caroline finished, still gleeful. Joyce turned to her,  a tear dripping of her lips.

A demonic screeching filled the room, and Hawkins laboratory exploded into a horror show.

Across the laboratory, Chief Hopper and Dr. Owens were bracing themselves for the worst. Ominous, low growling was coming from the other side of the polycarbonate wall separated them and the gate to the Upside Down.

Then a demodog crept out of the hole, growling.

"Mother of God," Owens whispered.

Another came through the entrance, slamming itself against the wall, trying to get in. 

"It's... it's polycarbonate," Owens said weakly. "It can't get through."

Hopper wished he could believe the doctor, but the Chief was far too smart. 

The demodogs began snarling towards the entrance, calling their nasty little friends to join them. 

Hopper's hand began to shake, just slightly. He thought of the little girl he had left back in the cabin, waiting for him to come back home. He couldn't die here, not after their fight.

"Mother Mary and Joseph," The lab technician breathed, not helping things.

One by one, the monsters hurled themselves towards the glass, cracking it.

"You sure about that glass?" Hopper muttered, backing up before waiting for an answer.

Across the lab, Bob Newby stopped trying to restrain Lucas as alarms began blaring through the building. "What the hell?"

"We're too late," Lucas moaned.

"What?" Bob leaned down, praying he had heard incorrectly.

"We're too late!" Lucas shouted. 

"What's going on?" Joyce poked her head into the hall, resting a hand on Lucas's shoulder. "What is it?"

"We're under attack," Lucas gesture wildly at the red alarms whining. 

An officer standing next to them leaned into his shoulder com, speaking into it. "What's going on down there? Does anybody copy?"

Lucas ignored the adults demanding answers, and ran back into the room where the Byers twins sat, with dark eyes and sweaty skin.

Joyce watched as Lucas grabbed a bottle of sedative sitting on the counter between Will and Caroline's bed, picking up the syringe next to it.

"We need to make Will and Callie sleep," Lucas told Joyce desperately.

"What?" Joyce looked at the boy like he had grown a third eye.

"They're spies! If he knows where we are, so does the shadow monster." Lucas looked at Caroline, whose expression darkened into a snarl.

"He's lying!" She snapped wildly. Lucas jumped back as she sat up, shaking with rage. "He's- agghhh!" 

Caroline doubled over, crying out as the monster inside her roared so loudly she thought her eardrums would explode.

Then, for the first time since the whole possession nightmare began, Lucas realized that Caroline's ears were bleeding. He reached out and gently touched her temple as a steady trail of red made its way down her face.

Joyce noticed too, and let out a strangled gasp. "It's killing her."

Lucas swiped angrily at a tear that had escaped. "He's killing her. He killed those soldiers. He'll kill us, too!"

Will lost it.

"He's lying!" he roared, lunging at Lucas as doctors ran to his side, pinning him down. "He's lying! He's lying! HE'S LYING!"

Caroline had started crying, feeling the blood coming out of her ears. "No, no, no, no..."

The sound of rapid fire exploded from down the hallway, making Bob Newby yelp. "Those are gunshots!" 

"HE'S LYING!" WIll bellowed. "HE'S LYING!"

Joyce leaned forward, shoving past one of the doctors pinning down her son. "Okay, Will. Will, listen, listen. Do you know who I am? Do you know who I am?"

Will stopped fighting the doctors, instead focusing on his mother. His eyes searched her face as he struggled for an answer. "You're... You're... You're Mom?"

Joyce stood up straight, her expression hardening. "Hold them down."

"No! No! Let go! No!" WIll screamed as Joyce grabbed the syringe, heading for Caroline first. "No! Let me go! Let go! No, let me go!"

"Mommy," Caroline pleaded as Joyce brushed her dark hair off of her neck, exposing the sweaty white skin underneath. Her eyes were still dark brown, but rimmed with red now. "Mommy, please..."

Joyce cupped her hands over her daughter's face as her lip trembled. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry."

Then, refusing to let her daughter suffer another moment, she stabbed the syringe into Caroline's neck, feeling her go limp a moment later. Lucas reached forward, taking his girlfriend into his arms and easing her back down onto the bed.

Will screamed once he watched his sister slump back onto her pillow. "Let me go! Let go! Let me go! No! Let go! Let me go! LET ME GO!"

The blaring alarms fueled Joyce's adrenaline, and she didn't hesitate to inject him too. She waited until the little boy collapsed back onto his bed, lips slightly parted.

Just then, Hopper burst into the room, panting. Joyce raised her eyebrows as if looking for an explanation before she heard a growling from just outside the door.

"We gotta go," Hopper said, waving her back. "We gotta go!"

He picked up Will and put him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, then leaned over, grunting,  and picked up Caroline in the same fashion, so each of the twins were on one of his shoulders.

The group ran into the hall, Lucas bring up the rear with Joyce. They stopped cold when they watched a demodog leap out of a neighboring hallway, tackling one of the doctors.

Rapid gunfire erupted from the same direction, and Hopper turned back around and nudged his chin in the opposite direction. 

"Go!" He grunted, waiting until Joyce had taken off before following closely behind.

Owens led everyone into the surveillance room, bolting the door shut once the group had squeezed in. Hopper set the twins down on the floor against the wall, so their heads rested on top of one another.

Lucas reached for Joyce, pulling the woman into a hug as she whimpered. "It's gonna be okay," he told her weakly, looking up at her.

Bob brushed past them and let out a small noise as he looked at the surveillance televisions, which showed live footage from all over the lab.

"Holy shit," Lucas breathed, letting go of Joyce. Joyce let out a cry of horror as she watched what what happening.

All over the lab, demodogs had taken over. Blood trailed through the hallways littered with mangled bodies of the people who had worked there. The nightmarish creatures were making their way down each of the hallways, spreading out, already on the second floor.

"Oh, my God," Bob said. "Oh, my God."

Lucas looked back at the twins, who lay unconscious against the wall. He knelt down next to Caroline, whose ears were still bleeding.

He pulled his sleeve over his thumb and did his best to clean the blood off her pale skin. He shuddered when the saw the red, a cruel reminder of what had happened last winter. 

Blood, all over him and his hands and his clothes, the metallic smell making him gag. 

Watching as the red soaked through his clothes, not caring about his desperate attempts to staunch the gunshot. 

Watching Caroline Byers die, her final breath leaving her lips.

"You can't die on me, alright?" Lucas whispered through his tears. "Not again."

Caroline didn't respond, too far under the sedative.

So Lucas just sat next to her as the adults started formulating a plan, letting her head fall on his shoulder instead of Will's. He shut his eyes briefly, trying to imagine they were on their first date somewhere, far far away from Hawkins.

And then the power went out, plunging the group into pitch black darkness.

Hello beautiful people! It's been a little while, I'm sorry. I hit such bad writers block. 

I updated  Pulses, though, and it's getting really good! If you haven't already read it, GO READ IT!! It'll catch you up on everything that's happening outside, too, and without it, you'll be confused what's happening in this book.

if you love me at all, PLEASE COMMENT AND VOTE!!!! You know who you are,  please please just show me the love so more people can see the book!