chapter seven
junkyard invasion

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THEY ARRIVE AT WHAT appears to be a junkyard shortly after, and whilst Lily really does try and picture how exactly they're going to use this to their advantage when re-capturing a 'baby demogorgon?' — she simply cannot see it.

"What a shithole," she says.

Steve, however, is visibly impressed with Dustin's suggestion.

"Oh, yeah," he says. "Yeah. This will do. This will do just fine,"

He removes his sunglasses (again — those are Lily's thing) and starts to walk towards the scrapped vehicles.

"Good call, dude," Steve says to Dustin, who smiles in return.

Lily feels bad for immediately dissing the place. She forgets she's not just with Steve — and it's not Dustin's fault he's landed himself a lousy companion. He's like, what? Thirteen? How could he know?

She glances at him and gives him a warm smile before they both start to follow Steve, throwing down the last of the cow meat — when a voice calls out from the opposite side of the junkyard.

"I said medium-well!"

Lily looks up to see a dark-skinned boy with a bandana and assumes this is Dustin's friend she heard earlier on his walkie. At his side is a girl with ginger hair and a green jacket. Lily recognises her as Billy Hargrove's younger sister.

"Who's that?" Steve asks, as they both make their way towards them.

Dustin doesn't reply, but it doesn't take a genius to understand the look on his face at seeing her alongside his best friend. Lily and Steve exchange glances — this is the girl Dustin told them about earlier.

"Another girl!" Lily says with a smile. "Thank God,"

It seems as though the feeling is mutual when an appreciative look flashes over the red-head's face.

"This is Max," Lucas introduces, glancing between Dustin and Steve — before turning to Lily.

He frowns, but before he can question anything, Steve cuts him off.

"This is Lily," he quickly adds. "She's, uh— caught up in this, it's kinda hard to explain..."

"Yeah," Lucas nods his head towards the red-head. "Same here,"

"It's like we're not even here, right?" Lily says to Max, as the boys continue to murmur their awkward conversation.

Max looks surprised at the fact that Lily is talking to her at first — but she then breaks into a grin and Lily is bursting with relief at the fact that there is finally another girl around (even if she is still in middle school).

"Honestly, I don't know why I'm here..." Max begins. Lily shrugs.

"Yeah, me neither. I guess this is different from what you're used to, huh?"

"I think this is different from what anyone's used to,"

The boys finish their short conversation, both Steve and Lucas finishing whatever explanation either of them can muster for bringing the girls into whatever mess this is, and soon plans are put into place.

"Lily, grab as much as you can that you think will cover the windows of that bus over there," Steve says, shifting through a garbage pile of his own.

Lily stares at him and folds her arms, not moving a muscle.

"What does this even have to do with my farm?" she says.

He looks up.

"It has everything to do with it!"

"How?"

"You'll see — just," Steve pauses. "Please help?"

The girl huffs and rolls her eyes, before moving away and joining Max in shifting through the metal.

The group prepare the junkyard for the invasion of Dustin's so-called pet, assembling a barricade of old cars, barrels, and other debris to create a physical barrier between themselves and the approaching creature.

Lily can't help but continuously glance over her shoulder as she helps prepare — the feeling that it could arrive any second what with the trail of meat keeping her purely on edge.

How do they know how much time they have?

And yet part of her still wants to believe this is all some kind of a joke. She feels entirely out of place — almost everyone here knowing exactly what to expect and how to deal with it.

She can only feel for Max, who seems to have been dragged here under similar circumstances.

The sun is beginning to set when the group decide to take refuge inside the old bus, waiting for the creature's arrival. Lucas soon volunteers as a lookout, and sits himself on the roof, binoculars in hand. Max sits at the end of the bus as Dustin paces back and forth. Steve and Lily reluctantly sit next to each other, an obvious tension filling the distance between them.

Lily feels a slight chill as fog starts to settle outside, and a shiver runs through her body.

Steve looks as though he might say something, but she avoids eye contact, looking away, her arms still folded across her chest.

He looks back down, flicking the lighter in his hand.

Max breaks the uneasy silence.

"So... you really fought one of these things before?"

Steve looks up at her and gives her a nod.

"And you're, like, totally one-hundred percent sure it wasn't a bear?"

Lily looks up at this question, thankful she's not the only one doubting the truth of this bizarre story that she's been continuously fed over the last day.

"Shit. Don't be an idiot, okay? It wasn't a bear." Dustin says with a bitter tone.

Max raises her eyebrows, and Lily looks up, surprised at his sudden annoyance.

"Why are you even here if you don't believe us?" he continues. "Just go home,"

Max and Lily exchange glances.

"Geesh, someone's cranky," Max says, standing up. "Past your bed time?"

She heads towards the ladder and begins climbing, deserting the inside of the bus and instead joining Lucas on the roof.

"That's good. Just show her you don't care," Steve speaks up, as Dustin continues pacing.

"I don't," Dustin replies.

And for a moment, it appears to Lily that he doesn't.

Steve doesn't catch onto this, however. He gives Dustin a wink.

"Why are you winking, Steve?" Dustin says. "Stop,"

Lily sighs.

"You know, you're really not the ladies' man you think you are, Steve," she says.

The boy turns his head to look back at her, visibly annoyed at her comment.

"Yeah, well you would say that, wouldn't you?" he responds.

Lily can feel her anger, once again, and looks away from him, her nails digging into her palms. She hates him with every bone in her body.

Time passes, and a sort of roar sounds in the distance that signifies the creatures arrival, making Lily's heart jump out of her chest.

All three of them edge towards the tiny bus window, looking for any sign of Dustin's pet. But the fog is so thick, it's difficult to see anything.

"You see him?" Dustin asks.

"No," Steve responds.

"Lucas!" Dustin calls up the ladder. "What's going on?"

"Hold on!"

There's a slight pause, and Lily's eyes continue to scan the junkyard through the window, lingering on several shadows of which she'd thought could have been it.

"I've got eyes!" Lucas soon yells. "Ten o'clock! T-ten o'clock!"

Lily's breath hitches in her throat.

"There," Steve mutters, pointing towards something.

She can see movement in the distance of some sort of creature she can't identify. This can't be real. No way.

"You sure?" she whispers. Steve nods.

"What's he doing?" Dustin asks.

"I don't know. He's not taking the bait. Why's he not taking the bait?"

"Maybe he's not hungry?"

"Maybe he's sick of cow," Steve says, moving away from the window.

Lily leans forward in an attempt to get a better look, but with the thickness of the fog, it's impossible to see.

"Steve?" Dustin says. "Steve, what are you doing?"

This catches the girl's attention and she quick steers her head away from the window. Steve moves down towards the bus door, her and Dustin both quickly following him.

"You're not going out there..?" Lily says, her voice starting to shake.

Steve holds up his lighter, and tosses it to Dustin, picking up his bat.

"Just get ready,"

"Steve—" Lily lets out through a whisper, shaking her head, but she's too late, as the boy slowly steps out from the bus into the cold.

Lily moves forward, but the bus door closes in her face.

Steve shifts slowly across the grass, swinging his bat and whistling in an attempt to lure the monster in.

"Come on, buddy," Lily can hear him murmur as she steps back over to the window, watching him from behind. He continues to whistle.

Max climbs down from the bus roof and joins Dustin and Lily, looking through the window.

"What's he doing?" she asks.

"Expanding the menu," Dustin says.

Lily can feel her heart thumping in her chest, and hear it in her ears. Her hands are trembling as she watches, feeling entirely helpless.

"Come on, buddy," Steve says. "Come on, buddy. Come on. Dinner time. Human tastes better than cat, I promise,"

His words cause Lily's heart to drop to the bottom of her stomach, and she looks over at her machete resting by the bus door.

Max shakes her head.

"He's insane," she says.

"He's awesome," Dustin grins.

Lily can see the creature clearly, now. And it's exactly as the boys described it. A disturbing blend of some kind of dog and a monster, a sleek, slender body with elongated limbs, ending with sharp, claw-like paws. Its face almost seems like the shape of a flower — and although it is closed at this moment, Lily's brain jumps back to Steve's description of a demogorgon that mentioned its face opening like a flower to reveal rows of menacing teeth.

This cannot be real.

"Steve, watch out!" Lily hears Lucas yell urgently.

"A little busy, here!"

"Three o'clock! Three o'clock!"

Steve's head turns to the side, and an identical creature comes into view.

"There's more?" Lily chokes out.

A third one appears.

She storms over and grabs her machete, yanking the bus door open.

"Lily — no!" the two kids call out, and she feels several hands grabbing her arm, stopping her.

"Steve!" Dustin yells. "Steve! Abort! Abort!"

Lily looks back at Steve, standing alone in the mist. She doesn't see the insufferable teenage boy who broke her heart. She sees her childhood best friend, her first love, and he's standing there, alone — with nobody to help him.

The first creature growls and begins to charge forward, and Lily doesn't have to think twice.

"Fuck," she musters, grasping her machete and sprinting out of the bus, ignoring the calls from Dustin and Max and heading towards Steve.

He dodges the first creature and dives over a nearby car, whacking it away with his bat just as it leaps towards him.

Lily makes it just as the second monster attacks, jumping at Steve's back. She defends him with her weapon, swinging it towards the creature and slicing it all the way down the side.

The two teenagers stand back to back as they clutch onto their weapons, their eyes darting between each monster as the faint yells from the kids ring in their ears.

"Lils—" Steve grunts, seizing her with his free hand and pushing her away behind him towards the bus as the animals attack, chasing after them. There are too many to count.

"Run!" Lily can hear the kids yelling. "Hurry!"

The two sprint back to the bus, Steve shoving Lily through the gap before following closely behind, slamming the door shut.

He pushes his leg against it in an attempt to keep it closed. The monsters bang against it, leaving harsh dents on impact.

"Oh, shit!" Dustin shouts.

"Are they rabid, or something?!" Max yells.

Lily grabs a scrap of metal and passes it to Steve, who presses it against the door as a desperate attempt of added protection.

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

The monsters continue to growl from outside, until the entire bus rocks, tilting them all towards one side. The group let out terrified screams.

The bus door is forced open and one of the creatures climb through. The kids scatter. Lily's knuckles grow white from clutching her weapon so tightly.

She raises it, but Steve is closest to the creature and aggressively beats it with his bat, the animal letting out squeals of pain.

Dustin reaches for his hand radio.

"Is anyone there? Mike? Will? God? Anyone?!"

A loud crash sounds from the other end of the bus and Lily rushes forward to see another dent in the wall.

"We are at the old junkyard and we are going to die!"

Several bangs sound and she quickly scans the bus for anymore intruders.

Max lets out a scream, and Lily whips her head around to see one of the monsters on the roof of the bus peering down at the young girl.

The blonde rushes forward, pushing Max out of the way, and thrusting her machete upwards as it snarls back down at her.

"Come on!" she yells, swiping at it. "Come on!"

"Out of the way!" Steve yells. "Out of the way!"

He pushes Lily back and stands between her and the creature.

"You want some?!" he threats, as it lets out a menacing growl. "Come get this!" he points his bat upwards.

It leans in, screeching, and Lily continues pointing her weapon towards it however she can, what with Steve in the way.

But it stops, suddenly, and looks towards something else outside of the bus.

It lets out another screech before moving out of sight. The bus rocks, and Lily quickly rushes back towards the door, expecting another attack.

However, the sound of the monsters growling in the distance signify their movement away from the junkyard.

She finally catches her breath, an uneasy silence filling the area.

Lucas and Max clutch onto each others hands — until the red-head awkwardly lets go.

Steve lowers his bat, and looks towards Lily, who stares back with a horrified expression.

They edge the door open and the group creep out slowly, scanning the area for a sign of anymore monsters. But the only one in sight is seen running away from them.

"What happened?" Lucas asks.

"I don't know," says Max.

"Steve scared them off?" Dustin suggests.

"No," Lily says, shaking her head.

"No, no way," Steve agrees.

He turns around to face them.

"They're going somewhere."

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"You're positive that was Dart?"

Following the attack at the junkyard, the group decide to try and figure out where it is the monsters are going, and so retrace their steps. Flashlights in hand, they walk back over the train tracks, looking out for anything suspicious.

Lily has barely spoken a word since they left. All she can think is, this is crazy. This is crazy — all she wanted to do was figure out what's wrong with her dad's pumpkins. Now she doesn't even know the mess she's caught up in — only that she literally could have just died. And still could.

"Yes! He had that exact same pattern on his butt,"

"He was tiny two days ago?" Max says.

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

"Malted?" Steve frowns.

"Molted. Shed his skin to make room for growth like hornworms."

A branch nearby snaps, and Lily jumps, directing her flashlight towards it but seeing nothing. Every little noise or shadow has her paranoid, now. She's not quite sure how everybody else appears to be so easy-going.

"When's he gonna molt again?" she asks.

"It's gotta be soon. 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,"

Lucas brings the group to a halt.

"Wait — cat?" He says. "Dart ate a cat?!"

Dustin's eyes widen.

"No. What? No," he says, unconvincingly.

"What are you talking about? He ate Mews," Steve says.

Lily glances at him from the side.

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

"It's Dustin's cat,"

"Steve!"

"I knew it!" Lucas yells, shoving Dustin slightly. "You kept him!"

"No!" Dustin responds. "No..."

Lucas raises his eyebrows.

"No, I... No, I..."

Dustin pauses.

"He missed me, he wanted to come home!"

"Bullshit,"

"I didn't know it was a Demogorgon, okay?!"

"Oh, so now you admit it!"

"Guys, who cares! We have to go," Max says.

"I care!" Lucas retorts. "You put the party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law!"

"So did you!"

Lily sighs and decides to take a look around, avoiding the argument in front of her. But there's no sign of anything, anywhere. All the cow meat was gone.

"What?"

"You told a stranger the truth!"

"Wha — a stranger?" Max joins in.

And then Lily sees it.

She kneels down towards the ground. Just off the railway track, on a tiny pile of leaves, is a small smear of what seems to be blood. Her mind jumps back to the creature of which she caught with her blade.

They've definitely been here.

"Steve," she says, alerting the boy and distracting him from the kids' argument.

He walks over, and kneels down, and she shines her flashlight over her discovery.

She doesn't need to tell him for him to figure it out, and he looks up at the set of buildings just outside the woods.

"Hey, guys," Steve calls out to the group behind them.

They don't hear, and continue bickering.

"Guys!" Steve shouts more firmly.

A faint screech sounds, the familiar sound of the monsters that attacked at the junkyard — and Lily and Steve exchange glances before dashing off of the railway. The kids follow closely behind.

"I don't see him," Dustin says, the group staring in the distance at the buildings and trees engulfed by the fog.

Lily scans the floor for anymore signs of blood.

Lucas uses his binoculars to get a better look — just as another screech sounds, slightly closer than before.

"It's the lab," he then says.

Lily looks up at him, frowning.

"They were going back home,"

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AUTHORS NOTE

💗 I had this chapter half finished and then we were fed all of the first st5 bts content on insta and that put me in the mood to write sooo... here's chapter 7!!

💗 crazy how we're already at the end of season 2 — I know at the moment it kind of feels like Lily's just tagging along but don't worry I have big plans for her own story!! this is just a lead up

💗 thank you for reading!! next chapter coming soon, let me know what you thought <333