There was a bright light that just about blinded Jenna as she opened her eyes too fast, squinting as soon as she lifted her head, rubbing the side of it. Sitting up from the floor, she realized that she was no longer at Hawkins Middle School. She looked around at the white empty room with a table and two chairs in the middle, taking a closer glance at the mirror by the door. Confused, it took her a moment to register where she was at. Then, it hit her, to which she widened her eyes at the realization.

I'm inside Hawkins Lab.

With no memory of being here as a child, it still looked like how Jenna pictured it. There were times where she didn't want to think about the place once she found out about it, but her curiosity was always there to gnaw at her brain. She spotted the camera in the corner, knowing that she was being watched, which only made her anger and nervousness grow, along with getting uneasy.

All of a sudden, she could hear the door unlocking, followed by it slowly opening. Standing there was a tall man with white hair and in a suit, holding a folder under his arm. He had a small smile on his face, where it was almost evil to see.

"Hello, Five," he said.

Jenna let out a small gasp, as she figured out who he had to be. "Dr. Brenner."

He raised his eyebrows. "I must say, I didn't think you'd remember me."

"I don't," she admitted. "But I figured that's who you were."

"Well, you are correct," he replied, moving closer towards the table and sitting down, motioning her to do the same. "No need to be scared. I just want to talk, that's all."

Jenna didn't move from where she was sitting. "How do I know that you won't hurt me?"

"Because I let you stay uncuffed," he pointed out. "I can assure you that neither one of us are threats to each other in this room."

Jenna eyed him suspiciously, taking another moment before finally making her way towards the table and sitting down across from him. She could feel her hands getting sweaty as she placed them in front of her on the table.

"It's been a long time since I last saw you," he stated. "You've grown so much, Five."

"That's not my name," she snapped.

"It was your name while you were here," he pointed out. "And you didn't call me Dr. Brenner."

"Things are different now, as you can see," she replied. "How did you even find me after all these years?"

"We've had our suspicions that you never left Hawkins," he explained. "It wasn't until recent events--"

"You mean, when Will Byers disappeared?"

Dr. Brenner pressed his lips together. "Yes, when the boy disappeared, we got some intel of you being close by, maybe even with the other girl that disappeared from the lab recently."

She tried to not let it show on her face that she knew he was referring to Eleven. The last thing he needed to know was that she and Jenna had met only hours ago. The little girl was already in so much danger already with the many targets on her back, something that made Jenna feel bad for her, especially since she was so young and Hawkins Lab seemed to be the only life she had ever known.

Jenna huffed a sigh and leaned back in the chair, folding her arms. "Okay, well, as much as I enjoyed this nice introduction of ours, can we talk about why I'm here now?" she asked in annoyance.

"Well, I would think that would be obvious to you," he answered, opening up the folder from before. "When you were here with us at the lab, you were a strong child. I knew that the moment I started working with you and your abilities. With each test, each simulation, you were learning so fast and growing more powerful than the others."

She glanced at what was inside the folder, seeing all of the charts and notes hand-written by Dr. Brenner himself about her. Every word he jotted down was nothing but praising Jenna for her progress, to which it revealed that he had plenty of faith in what she could do with these powers.

"You had so much potential, Five," he said. "But then your parents betrayed me. You betrayed me."

"Because they realized putting me in the program was a mistake," she snapped. "I know it was a lot more than just a series of tests and games. You pushed me to my limits. And when I didn't do enough for you, I was punished for it. My parents wanted a better life for me, one that was away from all of this."

"Your parents held you back from what I was teaching you, from what great things you would have achieved. They wanted to take you away from here and look at what happened." Dr. Brenner flipped his notes over, revealing the articles in regards to the explosion from when she escaped.

Jenna closed my eyes for a moment, taking in a shaky breath as she looked over the articles again. "That was an accident," she mumbled.

"Is that how you remember it?" he asked. But when she stayed quiet, he raised his eyebrows. "What do you remember from that night?"

Opening her mouth, Jenna thought about lying to him. She wondered if he would even believe anything that she could come up with. Either way, she didn't think the outcome would be in her favor.

He narrowed his eyes. "You don't recall what happened that night," he stated. "In fact, it looks like you don't recall anything from your time here with us."

"So what if I don't? At least I know what kind of monsters you and everyone else in here are."

Dr. Brenner chuckled. "While you may not remember it, we took good care of you here. We made you stronger than ever before." He paused, sighing. "Which is why we want you to come back and stay here with us."

She widened her eyes. "What?"

He stared at her, letting out another sigh. "Whenever you used your abilities, how did it make you feel when all that power rushed through your body? What was going through your mind afterwards?"

Her hands began to shake at his questions, where she resisted the urge to look down at them. During the times Jenna used her powers, she was always scared and confused. Of course, this was all new to her, and it seemed like Dr. Brenner just saw her as a dog, wanting to relearn old tricks so that he could teach new ones.

"Why did you even do all of this in the first place?" she asked.

"Because America needs people like you."

"But I'm just a teenager!" she protested. "I've got other things to worry about, like school and boys! Not becoming some kind of superhero or weapon or whatever the hell you want to call it!"

"This program is so much bigger than you even realize," he explained. "Believe me when I say that you're helping us in ways that can change the world."

Jenna shook her head in disbelief. "You're lying," she spat. "You're doing nothing but hurting kids like me and tearing families apart. There's nothing good about your project or this entire place." She could feel her blood boiling already, along with her hands getting hot as she clenched her fists.

He took a moment to respond as he stared at her, then cleared his throat. "What if I told you that your adoptive mother would be safe from harm should you join us again?"

"Adoptive or not, she's still my mom," she pointed out harshly. "And how can I be so sure that you'll promise to leave her out of this?"

"You have my word," he said. "We don't want to make the same mistake twice now, do we?"

As Jenna kept her eyes on him, she slowly released her fists, laying her hands flat on the table. She didn't want to put her mom in any more danger. Hell, she should've left Hawkins with her when she had the chance all those years ago.

Maybe they could've had normal lives away from all of this. Maybe Jenna's powers would've never resurfaced. Maybe Dr. Brenner and the rest of Hawkins Lab wouldn't have found them. Maybe she wouldn't be sitting here right now with a difficult choice to make.

But Jenna had to save my mom, especially since they only had each other in regards to family. They couldn't lose each other. Still, Jenna wanted Hawkins Lab to not hurt her in any way. She had to be safe and away from all of this once and for all.

"If I agree to stay, do I at least get to say goodbye to her?" Jenna asked.

"I can make that arrangement," he said, standing up.

"Is she here?" Of course, this would be the first place she would look when she realized that Jenna was missing back at the school.

"Come on. The faster we do this, the easier it will be for everyone." The way he dodged her question caused a weird feeling to sink at the bottom of her stomach.

He led Jenna out of the room and in the hallway, closing the door behind him. She looked to my right and saw a lady in a suit and white coat approach them, her heels clicking along the hard floor that echoed throughout the hall.

"Dr. Brenner," she greeted him with a small smile.

"Dr. Simmons," he replied, smiling back. "I'd appreciate it if you could escort Five here to see her mother one final time before we send her to get started on some tests."

Jenna was getting more annoyed every time he referred to her as Five. But she figured that she was going to need to get used to it if she was going to be here again.

The woman nodded her head. "Of course." She then shifted her attention Jenna's way. "Follow me please."

Jenna looked over to see Dr. Brenner motioned her to go with Dr. Simmons as he turned in the opposite direction and started strolling down the hall. While she was reluctant, she managed to move her feet and follow the woman.

As they made their way down the hall, Jenna was trying to figure out what she was going to say to her mom. She didn't want to leave her like this, but it was the right thing to do. It had to be.

"Where's my mom?" she spoke up. She was beginning to get even more suspicious of this arrangement.

"Try and keep up. We're almost there."

Still feeling nervous about it, Jenna kept going, anyway. She was really hoping her mom was here, and if Chief Hopper and Joyce Byers were with her by chance, then it had something to do with Will Byers. Was he here inside Hawkins Lab? Was Barbara here, too? If so, where the hell were these people keeping the two of them? She wondered if either one of them were even still alive at this point. The thought of them being dead made her almost nauseated.

When they reached the end of the hall, Dr. Simmons stopped in front of a door, then began to reach into her coat pockets. Jenna stood there and glanced her way, the knot in her stomach only getting worse the longer she didn't move.

"Here we go," the woman mumbled, pulling out what looked like a syringe needle.

"What's that for?" Jenna questioned, taking a step back.

"Don't worry. It'll be quick."

Shit. This was a trap.

"Jenna!"

She turned her head and widened her eyes at the sight of Dorothy in the distance, looking as if she was out of breath. "Mom!" Jenna shouted.

"Jenna, behind you!"

She quickly spun back around to find Dr. Simmons with a raised arm, pointing the needle down at her as she started to bring it down to jab Jenna with it. Jenna took her hands and managed to grab her wrist, keeping a firm grip on her as she attempted to push her back. That was when she could feel her hand starting to get hot the longer she held onto her. As the power made its way up her arm and into her hand, the look of pain came over her face, letting out a scream in the process. With her free hand, Jenna managed to shove the woman away, to which she stumbled backwards and fell on the floor, clutching her hand. She took a glance at the red mark wrapped around the woman's wrist where her skin had been burned off.

"Jenna!" her mom shouted again as she came running towards her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied.

She nodded her head. "Okay, good. Let's get the hell out of this place."

"Are you here alone?" Jenna asked.

Dorothy shook her head. "They took Hopper and Joyce in separate rooms, but I got away to find you," she said, panting. "Come on."

So they hurried down the hall, cutting every corner that would lead them towards an exit. Jenna's heart was beating so fast, along with her legs burning that she thought she was about to collapse on the floor. But she really had a feeling that they were in the clear of getting out of Hawkins Lab in one piece.

However, as soon as they turned another corner, that was when the alarms began to go off.

"Shit," she muttered.

Dorothy let out a sigh, turning to face Jenna. "Okay, listen, you need to get out of here."

"What? No, I'm not leaving without you!" she protested.

"Jenna, now is not the time to argue with me!"

"Well, now is not the time to just bail on me!"

"I'm not bailing on you!"

"Then why aren't you coming with me?"

She sighed. "They have Will Byers here and he's alive."

"What?" So her suspicions were right. Still, she didn't mention Barbara, which worried her. "Are you sure?"

Dorothy nodded her head. "Yes. Eleven saw him. But the other girl...Barbara..." She trailed off, giving Jenna a sad look.

"She's dead," she stated. The guilt she felt as she remembered seeing her hanging on for dear life at the edge of Steve's pool in the Upside Down was something she wasn't sure she'd be able to get over. As for Nancy, Jenna couldn't imagine how she was feeling now that she knew her best friend was gone.

"And I don't want you dead, either. I just want you safe and away from this place."

"You think I don't want that for you, too?"

Dorothy gave her a sad look, placing her hands on each side of Jenna's face. "I know you do, sweetie. But you've gotten out of here once and I know that you can do it again."

Jenna shook her head, a lump forming in her throat. "No, I...I already lost my parents one time because of these people. I can't lose you, too." She could feel the tears falling down her face as she continued to stare at her mom with a desperate expression for her to not leave.

"You won't lose me," she said with assurance, almost whispering. "I promise." She gave her a sad smile and then took a deep breath. "Now go. I'll hold them off."

With one last nod, Jenna wiped her eyes and backed away from her mom as they parted ways. As much as she wanted to look back, she knew that she had to keep her focus on getting out of here for her mom's sake. Jenna just hoped that she would be okay and make it out of here alive.

The alarms continued to blaring all throughout the building as Jenna kept running, the ringing in her ears starting to irritate her. When it seemed like they were only getting louder, she finally stopped and leaned against the wall, covering her ears to block out the noise. Panting, she looked up at the lights that were now flickering, followed by the same pounding headache she had gotten used to feeling at this point.

All of a sudden, she heard yelling coming from down the hall, the fear rushing inside of her. When the shouting got closer, she turned her head to see guards with guns slowly approaching her. Uncovering her ears, she shot them a glare.

"Don't move!" one of them yelled.

Jenna pushed herself off the wall, holding her ground in front of the guards that were now only a few feet away from her. Taking a deep breath, she stretched out her fingers and slowly raised her hands in front. She let the surge of power run through her body and at the edge of her fingertips, feeling her hands and head get hot as the guns the guards had started to smoke, the men screaming in pain as they dropped the guns onto the floor, their skin red from the burns. Once Jenna felt the blood run out of my nose, she wiped it off and quickly made a run for it. This time, she made sure to run faster.

She didn't realize how fast she was actually running until she was approaching the entrance to the building, dodging every guard and door that was about to close on her before she managed to squeeze through and escape in the nick of time. When Jenna stepped outside, the lights from above almost blinded her as she continued running towards the gate that would lead her back into the woods.

"There she is!" someone shouted from behind.

Jenna didn't stop for a moment to use her powers. She didn't even look back with her being so close to freedom from this place. When she finally reached the gate, she noticed that it was beginning to close. With every fiber of her being, she picked up the pace and jumped through what was left of the opening before it was shut, disappearing into the dark woods and heading towards the main road. She wished there was some comfort now that she was out and away from Dr. Brenner. But with her mom still inside Hawkins Lab, Jenna was going to be worried about her, along with Chief Hopper, Joyce Byers, and her son, until she knew they got out safely.

She was starting to get out of breath, but she didn't stop, knowing that those people would be after her. Fortunately, all she heard was the sound of crickets echoing around the night air. By the time Jenna could see the road in the distance, there was a car heading her way. She rushed to get out of the woods so that she could catch the car in time.

"Hey!" Jenna shouted, waving her arms once she was in the car's view.

The car stopped, much to her relief. But when she saw whose car it was, she narrowed her eyes and headed to the driver's side.

"Jenna?!" Steve said with wide eyes, his lip and left eye being all bloody and swollen from his fight with Jonathan earlier. "What are you--"

"It's one hell of a story," she replied, opening the door and getting in the back seat. "Just drive."

Still confused, Steve rolled up his window and obliged, stomping his foot on the gas hard and skidding on the road.

"You look like shit, dudette," Janet commented as she turned around from the passenger's side.

"Yeah, well, I feel it, too," Jenna muttered. "Where's Craig, Tommy, and Carol?"

"We ditched them," Steve spoke up. "They were being assholes."

"Even Craig?"

He was reluctant, but he nodded his head, anyway. "Yeah, him, too."

Jenna felt her heart ache a bit at this. "But you're an asshole, too, you know," she pointed out. "Especially after humiliating Nancy like that."

"The whole spray painting thing about Nancy at the movie theater was Tommy's doing, not mine," he protested.

Janet scoffed. "Well, at least you redeemed yourself and had the balls to defend Jenna and Nancy after what those assholes were saying about them."

Jenna raised her eyebrows, looking towards him. "You defended me, Steve? What did they say?"

Steve sighed. "They were just running their mouths, that's all. It was nothing but bullshit."

Jenna nodded her head, not feeling any better about it. She was curious as to what they said about her, but she didn't want to ask, wanting to forget about the incident in the alley altogether that led them to saying whatever bullshit about her and Nancy.

"So then Steve went to clean up the mess at the theater. After that, we were heading this way until we saw you running out of the woods." Janet paused, looking at Jenna in her exhausted state. "Anyway, mind telling us where you ran off to after Byers just about beat Steve to death?"

"Okay, that's a bit dramatic, Jan," Steve said.

Janet glanced at Steve. "You know I'm right. We were all there."

"I mean, she's not wrong," Jenna added.

Steve rolled his eyes. "It doesn't matter, since I'm heading to Byers' house to apologize--"

"Wait, what?" she cut him off. "You can't."

"Why not? Not sure he'd be anywhere else on a Saturday night."

She wanted to tell him that he was at the middle school, but how would she explain everything to him and Janet? Maybe Janet would believe her with what she was aware of, but Steve? He had no idea what the hell was going on with Jenna, and she knew he would think that she was crazy. He'd probably tell Craig that she was, which would lead Craig to dumping Jenna and telling the entire school how messed up she was. Although, he wouldn't be wrong, seeing as how terrible her past was as Valerie Murphy and Five before she became Jenna Howard. But he couldn't know. He would never have to know about any of that.

Jenna leaned back in the seat, not responding to Steve. Neither he or Janet said another word until they pulled into the driveway of Jonathan's house. To Jenna's surprise, there was his car parked by the house.

"What the hell?" she mumbled. She wondered if the kids were here, too. Why did they leave the school?

"See? I told you he'd be here," Steve stated, getting out of the car, followed by Janet.

Rolling her eyes, Jenna got out of the car and rushed to get to the front door first. "Look, are you sure you wanna do this right now? It's been a long day for all of us and--"

"Jenna, I can't focus on coming up with what to say with you talking!" Steve interrupted her, getting to the door first and banging on it. "Jonathan! Are you there, man? It's...it's Steve!"

"Oh my God," she said, letting out a groan.

"Listen, I just wanna talk!" Steve shouted as he continued to bang on the door.

Jenna huffed a sigh. "Well, clearly, he doesn't want to talk to you, so let's just--"

Before she could finish her sentence, the sound of the locks rattling occurred, followed by Nancy cracking the door enough to see the three outside.

"Steve, listen to me--"

"Hey, Nancy, what--"

"You need to leave," she said firmly.

"No, I'm not trying to start anything, okay?" Steve protested.

"I don't care about that. You need to leave."

"No, no, no. Listen, I...I...I messed up, okay? I messed up...I messed up." The expression of guilt and desperation was all over his face. "Okay? Really. Please. I just want to make things right. Okay? Please...please..." He then saw the bandage wrapped around her hand. "Hey, what happened to your hand? Is that blood?"

Nancy snatched it away before he could see any more of it. "Nothing. It was an accident."

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing," Nancy replied.

"Nancy," Jenna finally intervened.

She turned her head towards me, her eyes going a bit wide. "Jenna."

"Wait a sec, did he do that to your hand?" Steve cut back in, pushing to get inside.

"No. No! No, Steve!" She attempted to keep him out by pressing against the door in order to keep it closed.

Steve managed to get through, with Jenna and Janet following him inside. He looked all around at the lights hung everywhere, the black letters painted on the wall, and the mess with papers and books and furniture out of place. Jonathan was standing by the coffee table, along with Carter and Dana.

"Here we go," Jenna muttered, getting a whiff at the smell of gasoline.

"What the hell is all this?" Janet questioned, furrowing her brows.

"I told you it was one hell of a story," Jenna reminded her.

Dana stepped in, looking at Jenna. "Where did you go? We looked all over the school for you."

Before she could answer, a confused Steve spoke up as he looked around at the mess. "What is...what the--"

Jonathan stepped forward as he attempted to usher Steve out of the house. "You need to get out of here."

"Whoa. What is all--"

"Listen to me! I'm not asking you, I'm telling you, get the hell out of here!"

"What is that smell? Is that gasoline?"

"Steve, I think you and Janet should go," Jenna suggested.

Nancy then took out a gun and pointed it at her boyfriend, in which Jonathan backed away. "Steve, get out!"

"Okay, Nancy, chill with the gun," Dana spoke up, taking a step towards her.

Steve and Janet had bewildered looks on their faces.

"What?! What is going on?!" Steve shouted.

"You have five seconds to get out of here!"

"Okay, is this a joke?" Steve asked.

"This is some sick joke if it is one!" Janet added.

"Stop. Put the gun down, Nancy," Steve said

"I'm doing this for you," she told him.

All of a sudden, all of the lights started to flicker. Jenna was scared of what was to come next.

"Nancy," Jonathan said.

"Hold on, can we talk about this?!" Steve yelled.

"Three..."

"No, no, no! No!"

"...two..."

"Nancy, put the fucking gun down!" Carter shouted.

"Nancy! The lights!" Jonathan finally got her attention. "It's here," he added, grabbing the spiked bat behind him.

"Wait, what's here?!" Steve inquired.

"Alright, let's kill this fucker," Carter added as he and Dana got their guns ready.

"Where is it?" Nancy asked.

"Where is what?" Janet questioned. "You guys are crazy!"

Jenna rushed towards Carter. "You wanna explain why you all ditched the kids back at the school and came here?"

"Yeah, just as soon as you explain where you were at this entire time," he retorted.

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, seriously, what's going on here?"

Carter looked at her. "What does it look like? We're catching a fucking monster."

Her eyes went wide at his answer. "What?!"

"Hello?!" Steve's voice chimed back in. "Will someone please explain what the hell is going--"

Suddenly, the ceiling was falling apart as some kind of slimy creature was breaking through to get inside.

"Oh, shit!" Jenna shouted.

Nancy began to shoot at it, but Jonathan grabbed her and Steve, heading towards the back of the house, followed by Carter and Dana.

"Go! Run!" Jonathan shouted at the rest of us.

"What the actual fuck!" Janet added.

"Come on!" Jenna took her hand and pulled her along the hall, just about stepping on the bear trap that was placed in the middle of the floor. They followed everyone else into a bedroom, where she slammed the door behind her.

"Jesus! Jesus!" Steve paced around the room, breathing heavily. "What the hell was that?!"

"Shut up!" Jonathan and Nancy snapped in unison.

The adrenaline inside Jenna was pumping as she panted to catch my breath. As the monster screeched outside the door, it only made her want to panic. But she had to stay calm. She was sure this thing could smell fear.

"What's it doing?" Nancy broke the silence with a shaky voice, her gun pointed at the door.

"I don't know," Jonathan said beside her, holding a lighter in one hand and the bat in the other.

The lights kept on blinking in and out as the rest backed themselves into the corner of the bedroom. After a moment of waiting for something to happen, the electricity jolted, resulting in the lights going back to normal. Then, there was silence, which was when Jenna started to freak out a little.

"Do you hear anything?" Nancy muttered to Jonathan.

He flipped the lighter off. "No," he mumbled back, slowly making his way towards the door with the bat.

"Don't go out there!" Dana hissed.

Ignoring her, Jonathan opened the door and peeked his head out first before stepping into the dark hallway. Nancy was next to follow, then Steve, and the others followed suit. He led them back out to the living room, where there appeared to be no sign of the monster. Jenna wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

"This is crazy," Steve muttered beside her, letting out a nervous chuckle. "This is crazy. This is crazy. This is crazy! This is crazy!" He rushed to the phone nearby, only to be met with Nancy snatching it out of his hand and throwing it across the room. "What are you do-- What are you doing?! Are you insane?!"

"It's going to come back!" Nancy retorted, her face filled with anger. "So you and Janet need to leave. Right now."

"Why just us two?" Janet asked. "If this has anything to do with Jenna and that other dimension shit--"

"Wait, what?" Steve cut in, then looked at me. "What's she talking about?"

Jenna groaned, wishing Janet hadn't mentioned that. "Look, I don't really have time to explain all of it," she told him. "But Nancy's right. You and Janet need to leave now."

Looking confused, he motioned her to go with them. "Are you...are you staying with them? With that thing?"

"If I have to say 'it's complicated' one more time--"

"We're going," Janet finally said, taking Steve by the arm. "Come on."

With one last glance, Steve followed Janet out the door, closing it behind him.

"Okay, glad we got that out of the way," Carter stated. "About damn time Harrington left."

"Now what? We wait for the monster to come back?" Dana spoke up.

As if on cue, the lights went on and off like before.

"Here we go again," Carter stated.

"Where is it?" Nancy asked in a scared tone.

"Come on," Jonathan said. "Come on, you son of a bitch."

"Anyone see it?" Dana questioned.

"No," Jenna replied.

"Where are you? Come on!" Jonathan shouted this time.

All of a sudden, as the anticipation grew, the lights went out.

"What the--" Jenna started to say.

"Jonathan!" Nancy screamed, pointing behind him.

Looking behind him, everyone all widened their eyes in horror at the monster standing on two feet. It took Jonathan to the ground, hovering over him as slime dripped down from his deformed face. Nancy, Carter, and Dana began to shoot the monster with their guns, though it didn't seem to do any damage to the thing.

"Go to hell, you son of a bitch!" Nancy shouted.

The monster stood up and faced them right at the moment everyone ran out of bullets. It started to head towards them, and without thinking, Jenna stood in front of the three just as the monster came hurling their way. That was when she lunged for it and placed her hands in between its head, the heat rising in her and onto the monster. With the lights flickering again, she had a hard time seeing where she was going in the room. All she could hear was screaming from everyone else, which wasn't helping her case. As Jenna kept her hands on the monster, she could feel her head hurting and her nose bleeding as her hands were getting hotter by the second.

But then, she heard Nancy shout, "Steve!"

"Take that!" Steve yelled, hitting the monster with the spiked bat Jonathan had earlier.

"Kill it, Steve!" Janet screamed.

"Jenna, let go!" Steve shouted her way.

She did what Steve told her to do and dropped her hands, then fell to the ground. With the help of Janet, she dragged herself to the wall and leaned against it, watching as Steve lured the monster into the bear trap, followed by Jonathan throwing his lighter at it, the flames engulfing it as it screeched in agony. After a moment of letting it burn, Jonathan took a fire extinguisher and used it to put out the fire. Once the fire was gone and everyone stopped coughing, they looked to see what was left of the monster.

"Is it dead?" Nancy asked.

"It should be," Jonathan said.

Janet scoffed. "It better be."

But when it was clear enough to see the bear trap, there seemed to be no sign of the monster anywhere.

"What the hell?" Dana mumbled.

"Where did it go?" Jenna asked.

"I don't think that was the monster," Jonathan stated.

She started to pant. "Oh, great."

Steve was the only one to run to her side when he saw the state she was in. "Shit, Jenna," he whispered. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she told him, despite not feeling fine whatsoever.

"Well, you sure as hell don't look fine,'' he retorted. "Your nose is bleeding..." He glanced down at her hands, to which she did the same and saw the slime from the monster on them, along with burn marks and a red tint along her skin. "Jesus, your hands look bad, too."

She couldn't help but let out a laugh. "I'm glad you're so observant, Steve." Her hands began to shake as the burning sensation lingered.

Steve rolled his eyes. "So, uh...you wanna fill Janet and I in on..." He motioned at the mess of a room around us. "Well, all of this shit?"

She continued to pant, nodding her head. "Tomorrow. I will tomorrow."

Next thing Jenna knew, everything around her faded, feeling like she was being swallowed whole.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Wow, this was a long chapter, too. LOL, my bad.

Anyway, we're near the end of part one! I think one more chapter can wrap things up before we head into part two!

Comment, vote, and thank you for 4K reads!

-A