"Do you see him?" Dustin asked, his voice trembling as the four of them struggled to make out any sort of movement in the dark, but the air had once again fallen still, except for the slow movement of the fog spreading through the junkyard.

"No," Steve said, shaking his head.

"Lucas!" Dustin yelled, looking up at the emergency exit on the roof. "What's going on?"

"Hold on!" Lucas shouted back. "I've got eyes! Ten o'clock! T-ten o'clock!"

"There!" Steve whisper-yelled, pointing into the darkness, where Anna could just make out the edges of the Demogorgon's silhouette moving through the shadows, and a low growl began to sound from across the junkyard.

Although it had been a mere thirty hours since she'd last seen the young Demogorgon before locking him in their storm cellar, d'Artagnan had grown even larger, now resembling the size of a large dog, or even that of a small bear. However, instead of following the pile of meat they'd left in an attempt to get him to the trap, he remained at the edge of the field, as if he were slowly prowling the area.

"What's he doing?" Dustin asked.

"I don't know," Anna said, squinting her eyes in an attempt to see him better.

"He's not taking the bait." Steve said. "Why is he not taking the bait?"

"Maybe he's not hungry?" Becca suggested.

"Maybe he's sick of cow," Steve said, Anna's blood turning to ice in her veins as she processed his words.

"Steve, what are you doing?" she asked as she watched him stand back up, looking over at the others again before turning around without a word, an expression on his face that she couldn't quite discern.

"Steve?" Dustin echoed, but Steve simply picked up the baseball bat from where it lay on the ground, not answering either of them.

"Steve, come on," Becca pressed. "What are you doing?"

Steve turned back slowly to look at them, the lighter in his hands. "Just get ready," he said, tossing it to where Becca still sat in the driver's seat.

Steve pulled the door open with a sharp creak of its rusted hinges, and he stepped out slowly into the night, bat held tightly in his hands. Becca pulled the door shut again behind him, and Anna watched warily from the window as he stepped towards the meat pile, careful to avoid the trap and the trail of gasoline that led back to the bus.

Steve emitted a low whistle, trying to get the Demogorgon's attention. "Come on, buddy," he called out, continuing the sound as he walked closer to the trap.

The sound of footsteps on the ladder pulled Anna's attention to see Max climbing back down. "What's he doing?" she asked.

"Expanding the menu," Dustin explained as Max stepped next to him, trying to watch Steve out the window.

"Come on, buddy," Steve called again, the low chittering of the Demogorgon the only sign of a response, though slowly Dart finally turned to look straight at Steve, the teenage boy now directly in his line of sight. "Come on, dinnertime. Human tastes better than cat, I promise."

"He's insane," Max muttered.

"He's awesome," Dustin whispered, an awestruck look on the boy's face.

Slowly the Demogorgon began to step closer to Steve, and he held the bat up a little higher, bracing himself as he tried to keep up his brave front for both the creature and the younger kids on the bus. However, he, along with the rest of them in the middle of the bus, were so captivated by the sight of the Demogorgon in front of them that they hadn't noticed another one sneaking up on Steve's right.

"Steve!" Lucas shouted from his lookout post. "Watch out!"

"A little busy here!" Steve yelled back.

"Three o'clock!" Lucas exclaimed desperately. "Three o'clock!"

Anna turned, catching sight of the other Demogorgon beginning to prowl towards Steve, stalking its prey, and when she looked back on the other side, she could finally start to see the others breaking through the cover of the foggy night.

"It's an ambush," Landon said, looking around frantically until his gaze landed on Anna's backpack lying on the ground, her old hatchet hanging out of the top.

"Steve!" Dustin shouted, pulling the door to the bus back open. "Abort! Abort!"

Landon quickly leaned down, pulling the hatchet out of the backpack and holding onto it tightly as he raced out into the field after Steve. As the first Demogorgon broke into a run towards Steve, Landon swung out with the hatchet, catching it in the back and giving Steve an out as he jumped over the hood of a car, landing out of its way. Another one jumped after Steve, but he swung the bat, knocking it aside, though neither of the two creatures had seemed particularly fazed by the hits as they continued to pursue Steve and Landon.

"There's too many of them," Anna said, pushing past Dustin and jumping off the bus steps, landing in the grass. "Guys, let's go! Come on!"

At Anna's voice, Steve and Landon both turned, racing back for the bus as the kids continued to yell for them to hurry, including Lucas who had abandoned his post on the roof. Landon was the first one back on the bus, but as Anna tried to jump on after him, her foot slipped, sending her back towards the ground. However, from his spot behind her, Steve caught her, his free hand grabbing her around the waist and sending them both tumbling to the ground on the bus steps, the snarling sounds of the Demogorgons hot on their heels.

Becca slammed the door shut behind them, trapping the monsters outside, and Anna looked down at Steve below her, her eyes meeting his for a moment from where he'd cushioned her fall, both of them trying desperately to catch their breath. She quickly scrambled off of him as one of the Demogorgons hit the door from outside, and the kids began to scream as Steve reached up to grab one of the sheets of metal blocking the windshield, kicking it in place to keep the door from opening.

"Are they rabid or something?" Max asked.

"They can't get in!" Lucas shouted. "They can't!"

The kids and teenagers continued to scream as the bus began to rock, the Demogorgons attacking from all sides, and as Steve jumped away from the door, one of them seized the narrow opening, a large gray arm shooting inside through the small crack in the door. Becca screamed as Landon brought the hatchet down hard on the Demogorgon, hitting it over and over until it was forced to retreat, though another one soon took its place.

"Is anyone there?" Dustin shouted frantically into the walkie talkie. "Mike? Will? God? Anyone?" A loud crash sounded from the roof directly above Anna, and a scream broke loose from her throat as one of the monsters descended on the roof of the bus, nearly knocking them all off of their feet as the bus continued to shake. "We're at the old junkyard, and we are going to die!"

An eerie silence settled over the bus as the last of the monsters finally retreated from where Steve and Landon were still guarding the door, though it was soon interrupted by the heavy thudding of footsteps on the roof of the bus. Cautiously, Max stepped closer to the opening, trying to get a glimpse of the creature waiting above them. However, as it neared the opening, looking down at them, the young girl got her first real glimpse of the monsters she'd been so insistent weren't real, and she began to scream as Becca pulled her back from the emergency exit.

"Get out of the way!" Steve yelled, jumping in front of the kids, "Out of the way!" He trained the bat on the Demogorgon next, aiming it up towards the opening in the ceiling. "You want some? Come get this!"

The Demogorgon began to screech, its head opening up to reveal row after row of teeth, a sight Anna hadn't been privy to since the night at the Byers' house last November, and her breath caught in her throat as it lowered its head inside the bus, growing closer to them. She could almost feel its hot breath on her face from that night in the living room, the feeling of it brushing her aside as if she were nothing, sending her tumbling across the other side of the room. It was all she could do to make sure Dustin was behind her before its attention was suddenly pulled elsewhere, and it rose from the bus, emitting a roar from deep within its throat that echoed throughout the dilapidated vehicle before it jumped off the roof, leaving them in stunned silence.

Suddenly, the growling of the monsters outside the bus was no longer nearby, but began to fade away as if they were moving further and further away from their prey. Anna could just make out the tails of the Demogorgons as they faded away into the fog, and it was only once that they were out of sight that Steve slowly opened the bus door, bat still held tightly in his hands.

The door opened with a loud banging noise, causing Steve to jump slightly. "Jeez," he muttered, shaking his head as he looked ahead at the empty field.

"What happened?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know," Max said.

"Steve and Landon scared them off?" Dustin suggested.

"Not likely," Landon said, shaking his head. "They were about ready to be the ones eating us for dinner."

"Thanks for that, by the way," Steve said, nodding back in Landon's direction.

"Don't mention it," Landon said. "Let's never do that again, though."

"But they're going somewhere," Steve mused, looking back in the direction of the train tracks briefly before whirling back around to look at the others still gathered around the bus. "Come on,"

"Steve, where are you going?" Becca asked.

"I don't really want to stay here and wait until they come back, do you, Rebecca?" Steve asked, gesturing back in the direction of the train tracks. "Let's go home and regroup. Figure out where the rest of your friends are, and then we decide a plan for these things. There's too many of them, we don't stand a chance like this."

"Steve's right," Anna agreed. "Once we find Mike and Will, maybe we'll find Michelle and Mrs. Byers too. Nancy, Jonathan, Chief Hopper too. We're going to need everybody on this, or we don't stand a chance."

"We don't stand a chance without Eleven here." Lucas said.

"Well El's gone, so we don't have much of a choice." Dustin said, stalking off in the direction of the railroad tracks, the others following close behind to stay together as they moved through the dark.

One by one, each of them turned on their flashlights, the beams breaking through the darkness as they followed the tracks back in the direction of Steve's car. The growling sounds of the monsters were long gone, the only sounds that of their footsteps crunching over twigs and fallen leaves as they began their trek across town, the trail of meat they'd left behind on the way there now long gone.

"So, Dart seems to have made friends," Dustin spoke up after a while.

"You're positive that was Dart?" Lucas asked.

"Yes," Dustin explained. "He had the same exact yellow pattern on his butt."

"But he was tiny two days ago," Max protested.

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

"Malted?" Steve asked, confused.

"Molted," Dustin corrected. "Shed his skin to make room for more growth, like hornworms."

"When's he gonna molt again?" Max asked.

"It's gotta be soon," Dustin estimated. "When he does, he'll be fully grown, or close to it. And so will his friends."

"Yeah, and he's gonna eat a lot more than just cats," Steve said, causing Anna to shudder in response.

"Wait," Lucas said, stopping and putting a hand on Dustin's shoulder. "A cat? Dart ate a cat?"

"No, what?" Dustin feigned surprise. "No,"

"What are you talking about?" Steve asked, looking back at Dustin in confusion. "He ate Mews."

"Mews?" Max asked. "Who's Mews?"

"It's their cat," Steve said, gesturing back to Dustin and Anna.

"Steve!" Dustin shouted, and Anna elbowed Steve in the ribs, effectively shutting him up.

"I knew it!" Lucas exclaimed. "You kept him!"

"No!" Dustin protested, "No. No, I..." he trailed off, his eyes meeting Anna's, whose narrowed back in his direction. "He missed me. He wanted to come home."

"Bullshit," Lucas retorted.

"I didn't know he was a Demogorgon, okay?" Dustin exclaimed.

"Oh, so now you admit it?" Lucas insisted.

"Guys, who cares?" Max interjected. "We have to go."

"I care!" Lucas yelled, looking back at Dustin. "You put the party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law!"

"So did you!" Dustin shouted back.

"What?"

"You told a stranger the truth!" Dustin insisted, aiming the flashlight in Max's direction and causing the girl to step back from the blinding light."

"A stranger?" Max scoffed in surprise.

"You wanted to tell her, too!" Lucas pointed out.

"Yeah, but I didn't, Lucas, okay?" Dustin retorted. "I didn't tell her!"

As the boys continued to argue, a roar sounded in the distance, causing Steve and Anna to exchange a look before Steve stepped in the direction of the sound, searching for any glimpse of the monsters. Anna aimed her flashlight around, watching for any sort of movement, but the trees remained still, with no sign of them nearby.

"Hey, guys?" Steve called, looking back to see the two younger boys still caught up in their heated argument, with Max trying to intervene but finding herself unsuccessful. "Guys!" he finally shouted, both of them stunned into silence as they looked back at Steve.

Steve stepped off the track, moving in the direction of the sound, and Anna followed him, Becca and Landon both hot on their heels. Lucas and Dustin weren't far behind, but Max stayed still, looking back at them in awe.

"No, no no, guys, why are you headed towards the sound?" Max called after them, but it was to no avail as she was met with silence. "Hello? Hello?"

As a sigh broke out from behind them, Max brought up the rear of their group, still moving towards the source of the noise in the distance. However, eventually they reached the end of a hill, the town of Hawkins spreading out in the distance before them. The night seemed almost peaceful from their point of view, the town blissfully unaware of the monsters wreaking havoc among them, but the group still couldn't see the source of the noise from their spot.

"I don't see them," Dustin said.

Lucas picked up the binoculars that still hung around his neck, looking around for a moment before he stopped, squinting as something caught his gaze. "It's the lab," Lucas said finally. "They were going back home."

"Come on," Dustin said.

"Hell no," Becca said. "Do you guys remember what happened the last time we got mixed up with people from the lab?"

"Yeah, and El and the Demogorgon both killed them all." Dustin reminded her. "If Dr. Owens is there, he might know what's going on."

"I think you're all out of your mind, but let's go." Anna said, following after Dustin as they began to move downhill.

They all walked quietly down the hill, careful to listen for any change in the direction of the sound coming from the creatures. The miles stretched on, seemingly endless as they moved through the flora and fauna, careful not to get caught by any low hanging branches on the way. As the land finally evened out at the bottom of the steep hill, they neared the tree line, but stopped short as a shout broke through the night, near the front gate of the laboratory.

"Hello?" the voice called, causing Anna's eyebrows to pinch together at the familiarity of the voice, and she looked back at Becca, who wore a similar expression. "Who's there?"

Steve broke through the tree line first, with Anna and the others not far behind. As she stepped through, she saw Nancy and Jonathan waiting on the other side, their eyes widening as they took in the group standing before them, looking like deer caught in the headlights.

"Steve?" they chorused.

"Nancy," Steve breathed.

"Jonathan!" Anna exclaimed, both parties walking forward to meet one another.

"What are you doing here?" Nancy asked, her eyes still fixed on Steve standing across from her.

"What are you doing here?" he retorted.

"We're looking for Mike and Will." Nancy explained.

"They're not in there, are they?" Dustin asked, looking back towards the lab.

"We're not sure." Nancy admitted.

"Why?" Jonathan asked.

As if to answer his question, a sharp shriek came from within the lab, pulling their attention to the facility, which was pitch black on the inside. Jonathan's face paled as he studied the building before them before turning back to the group, looking over each of them.

"Michelle," Jonathan said suddenly, panic lacing his tone. "Where's Michelle?"

"We figured she was with you guys, or with your mom." Anna explained. "When's the last time you saw her?"

"Yesterday morning," Jonathan said, "We just got back into town, and figured she was with you. When's the last time you guys talked to any of them?"

"Not since that day on the field," Dustin said, their answers all chorusing together as Nancy suddenly stepped forward, her eyes on the lab as, one by one, the lights inside all began to glow.

"The power's back," she said, already moving back towards the security gate, where Jonathan's car sat idly in front of the enclosed fence.

The group broke into a run, hurrying back for the gate as Jonathan dove inside, reaching down for the button to unlock the fence. He continued to hit it, but it was to no avail as the gate remained closed, keeping them outside.

"Let me try," Dustin said finally, climbing inside after Jonathan.

"No," Jonathan said, "Hang on,"

"Let me try, Jonathan," Dustin exclaimed, pushing the older boy out of the way as he attempted to press the button to unlock the gate, but soon found that he was having the same luck as it remained closed.

"Yeah," Jonathan sighed in agreement, looking down at Dustin.

"Son of a bitch!" Dustin shouted. "You know what..." Dustin trailed off as he continued to hit the button, although after a while, it came to life with a buzz, the gate slowly sliding open to reveal the path to the laboratory beyond it. "Hey! I got it!" Dustin chuckled, but Jonathan ran from the gate, hopping back into his car and turning the key in the ignition, with Nancy following suit in the passenger seat.

"Wait here!" she called to the others as they sped off, rounding the corner and disappearing from sight, leaving the rest of them waiting at the now-open gate.

The group waited restlessly, Dustin and Lucas pacing around on the pavement while Steve leaned against the security enclosure, fidgeting with his flashlight. Anna stood near Becca, Max, and Landon, staring at the building and waiting for any sign of either the monster or their friends, preferably the latter.

"Do you think they're all in there?" Becca asked. "Michelle, Mike, Will, and the others?"

"With those things in there?" Landon sighed. "I hope not."

As another shriek broke through the night, the sound of squealing tires sounded on the pavement in the distance, causing Max to take a couple steps towards the source of the sound. "Guys?" she asked.

Headlights blazed in the distance as Jonathan's car once again rounded the corner, speeding towards them with another vehicle not far behind. Jonathan laid on the horn as the car drew closer, signaling for them to get out of his way as they all jumped back, speeding past them as he drove off into the night.

"What the hell?" Landon murmured, though as the car behind them came to a stop, Anna noticed the Hawkins Police Dept. emblazoned on the side, and came face to face with Chief Hopper in the driver's seat.

"Let's go," he said, waving them in.

"Come on, get in, get in!" Steve exclaimed, gesturing for the others to climb in first as his gaze stayed firm on the lab, making sure nothing was coming after them as they all piled into the open trunk space in the backseat.

Once everybody was in, Steve climbed into the passenger seat, and before he could shut the door, Hopper had already placed his foot on the gas, the tires squealing as they left Hawkins Laboratory behind them, the howls of the Demogorgons still piercing through the night.