"What shall we drink to, Mr. Bond?"

The creature staggered into the kitchen, it's talons scratching the checkered tile with each step. It grabbed one of the empty metal cans off the table and began to sniff inside. A low roar gurgled in its throat when it found the can empty of its contents.

"Well, how about an earthquake?"

Its attention turned to something else; the trail of light spilling onto the kitchen floor. Sounds emanated from the source of the light and the creature decided to follow. It came to the living room and found two sleeping masses huddled against each other on the couch.

One's foot stirred in her sleep as she was engrossed in a dream. In her dream, she was eating dinner with her family in the kitchen of the brown house, but this kitchen was clean and colorful. Cans of olives and soup were displayed elegantly on the table, and there was popcorn popping over the stove. Everyone was laughing and smiling, even though they had no faces. Instead, their heads were just smooth canvases of skin.

Noises came from her mother's mouthless face, but they sounded strange. More like grunting and sniffing than words...A warmth followed by a rancid smell overtook One's senses and brought her out of her slumber.

One lifted her head and was surprised to find that it had been resting on James' shoulder. Her cheeks shined red even in the dark. It didn't last long, however, when she shifted her eyes before her and found an uninvited guest illuminated by the soft glow of the television.

Its silhouette looked almost like a man, but it had gaunt skin stretched tight around its bony body and large claws hanging on either side. Her eyes worked their way up to its head where she found, like her family in her dream, that it had no face.

One let out a piercing scream that awoke James and angered the monster. The first thing James saw when he opened his eyes was the monster opening its head to reveal infinite rows of jagged teeth. It roared and emitted a smell so retched that it almost put James back to sleep.

The creature was about to lunge at James when One threw her hands out and struck it with volts of electricity. Its screams of pain were so powerful that they tore through the house and echoed outside. Or were those other monsters?

The sound and smell of singing flesh also encapsulated the room as the monster writhed in blue agony. She hit it with as much power as she could before the electricity slowly sizzled to a stop. One and James held their breath, awaiting the monster's next move after it was released from its electric prison.

The creature turned its head towards them and stood still for a moment before it whimpered and scampered off back through the kitchen door. The two released their breaths in unison, followed by a chorus of nervous laughs. They had survived...for now.

"What the fuck was that thing?" James turned to ask One.

"I don't know," One replied. Her eyes were still glued to the kitchen door and the dark realm that loomed beyond it. "But I don't think that's the last time we're going to see it."

"Mr. Donegall, how's it going?" Hopper asked as he slammed his truck door closed. A secondary slam informed him that One had also exited the vehicle.

"Not so great, Chief," Mr. Donegall answered from the gravel driveway that Hopper's truck was parked on. "I lost three of my good heifers. Two of them were pregnant."

"Sorry to hear that." Hopper took his hat off and held it at his side. "Do you know what did it?"

"Nothing like I've ever seen," Mr. Donegall sighed and wiped his brow. "It's a pretty nasty sight."

"Why don't you show us?" Hopper asked, looking over to One who was now standing at his side. One gave him a small nod and followed after as Mr. Donegall led them around the back of his barn to the pasture and out to the field.

They trekked through the snow-covered crops, the sound of dead hay breaking beneath their feet. Mr. Donegall led them to the edge of the field by the treeline, where three large mounds began to loom into view. A light dusting of snow covered the mounds, but the bright red underneath was still visible even from several feet away.

The smell arising from the bloody mounds was so pungent that the three had to cover their noses and mouths with their hands. Hopper took a deep breath before kneeling down to investigate closer.

The aforementioned cows laid before them, but they were barely recognizable. Their throats were torn apart and a glossy look of fear was immortalized in their cold, dead eyes. Long, bloody scratches decorated what was left of their bodies. Their entrails were everywhere but where they were supposed to be, and Hopper had to hold back vomit when he realized that he had kneeled on an intestine. 

"Told you it was bad," Mr. Donegall said.

"Yeah, no kidding," Hopper mumbled.

"What can you make of those bite marks?" Mr. Donegall asked. Hopper brushed aside the snow to get a closer look and was surprised to find a confusing array of teeth marks. Scattered groupings of punctures adorned the carcasses. "They can't be from any animal that lives in Indiana."

Something within One's chest tightened as she leaned beside Hopper to see for herself. She hesitantly reached out to trace the bite marks, igniting a series of flashbacks from the Upside Down.

The human-like silhouette.

The gaunt skin stretched tight around its bony body.

The wicked claws hanging limply at its sides.

The faceless head that opened up to reveal infinite rows of jagged teeth.

Hopper had to pull One back from the corpse when she began gasping for breath, her eyes looking every which way as she tried to discern what was real and what was in her head. Her frantic eyes met his and instantly he knew exactly what had killed the cows.

"You're right, Mr. Donegall," Hopper answered as he slowly rose to his feet, guiding One along the way. "Whatever killed those cows isn't from Indiana."

☆ ★ ☆

After inspecting Mr. Donegall's farm for any other supernatural signs, Hopper decided that it was best to cut the ride-along short and take One back to the Byers'. Knowing that there was a Demogorgon, or demodogs, or demo-whatever running around also made him anxious to check on Eleven. She was always a magnet for those kinds of things.

"I promise I'll take you back out after we get this whole mess sorted," Hopper turned to say to One as he put the truck in park and turned off the engine. "But for now I think it's safer if you stay inside."

One looked like she wanted to say something but ultimately decided not to. She glanced up at Hopper briefly before giving him a small nod and hopping out of the truck.

"Take care of yourself and the Byers'! I'll be back soon!" Hopper rolled down his window and called after One as she jogged up to the front door where Joyce was waiting. One turned and gave a two-finger salute in recognition before disappearing inside. After waving to Joyce, Hopper was on his way home.

Once his log cabin was in sight a sense of warmth spread through his body. But there was also another sense that he could't identify. Something felt off...strange...

After parking his truck and crunching through the snow to the front door of the cabin, Hopper was stopped before entering by a contrasting shape sitting in the white snow. A rectangular package wrapped in brown wrapping paper sat at his feet. Sketched in black ink was a date: 06-05-1971.

He recognized it immediately.

It was the day Sarah died.

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★