↣ 𝘌𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺

Bailey entered the rear seat of Nancy's station waggon, followed by Eleven and Max, who promptly closed the door.

Nancy and Jonathan occupied the front seats, while Max, Bailey, and Eleven filled the three middle seats, leaving Lucas, Mike, and Will to sit in the rear of the car, their knees drawn to their chests to accommodate the space.

Nancy drove the car into the Holloway's driveway, abruptly applying the brakes and turning off the engine. Nancy, Jonathan, and Bailey exited the vehicle swiftly. The substantial cohort of adolescents emerged from the rear, struggling to keep pace with the three older teenagers.

Nancy and Jonathan glanced at Eleven, who shifted her gaze between them before concentrating and causing the door to open. The group entered the home gently, with the three older teenagers at the forefront and the others closely trailing behind.

"Tom?" Nancy called out as they traversed the home, but Bailey continued to get that unsettling sensation from earlier. "Heather?"

Bailey folded his arms as he sensed the chill against his skin. "Jesus, it's freezing." Max remarked while simultaneously crossing her arms.

"Do you guys smell that?" Nancy inquired, prompting everyone in the group to begin sniffing. Bailey grimaced in revulsion upon entering the kitchen and observing many cans of chemicals scattered across the counter. "More chemicals."

Jonathan retrieved a bottle and scrutinised it. "You think they're guzzling this shit?"

"No individual could endure the consumption of such a quantity of chemicals." Bailey muttered.

"Or they just went on a hell of a cleaning spree." Nancy responded, looking at the bottle in Jonathan's grasp.

"But, last year." Max inclined forward to peer at Will. "Will didn't eat chemicals. Did you?

"No. This is something new." In response to the redhead, Will shook his head.

"Mr. Clarke, fifth grade. Posit. What happens when you mix chemicals together?" As he looked between Will and Lucas, Mike inquired.

"You create a new substance." In response, Will and Lucas both said in unison.

"What if they're making something?"

"Drinking all of these chemicals will kill someone, as Bailey mentioned." Max said while she pointed towards the chemicals.

"Yeah, if you're human." Lucas responded.

They entered the dining room, they came upon dishes loaded with still-eatable food on the table. Nancy moved forward, looking down on the living room floor an empty wine bottle. Nancy kneelt down and gently brushed her fingertips over a red spot on the carpet. " Blood."

"Yesterday, Tom had a bandage on his forehead." Nancy picked up the wine bottle by the neck, turning it over where a splatter of blood could be seen. "He was attacked."

Nancy glanced towards the hallway, observing a stain of blood on the carpet. The group trailed behind her as she proceeded to the garage. Jonathan knelt and retrieved a bundle of rope from the garage floor.

"They must have tied them....They must have taken them somewhere." Jonathan stated as he ascended from the ground.

"Mrs. Dricoll." Nancy blurted out, Jonathan turning his attention back to her. "She kept saying...'I have to go back'. What if the flaying, it's taking place somewhere else? There must be a place where all this started, right? A source."

"Somewhere he didn't want me to see." Eleven continued.

"If we can find the source, then maybe we can stop him. Or at least stop it from spreading or doing whatever the hell he's doing with those chemicals."

"How do we find it?" Eleven inquired.

"Mrs. Driscoll." Will interrupted.

They all turned to him. "If she wants to go back so badly, why don't we let her?"

𐬽𐬼𐬽

They had all finally arrived at the hospital.  Bailey trailed followed the gang as they attempted to stealthily bypass the receptionist, but she immediately apprehended them. "See, you're the only one who gon' tell...Whoa, whoa, whoa! Excuse me."

Nancy pivoted to confront her and donned her most radiant smile. "Oh, um...I was just going to visit my grandma again And... And this...this is my family."

Bailey regarded her with scepticism, while the nurse at the front desk also observed her with disbelief and directed a glance towards Lucas. "Extended." Bailey bit down a smile at his words.

"I don't care who they are. You know the rules.
Two visitors at a time." The nurse spoke as she shook her head.

"Yeah, but.."

"Two!"

Nancy and Jonathan ascended to locate Mrs. Driscoll, leaving the adolescents to remain in the hospital's waiting area.  Bailey sat on an uncomfortable chair, his knees crossed. Lucas and Max stood in the centre of the waiting area, alternating in tossing Skittles into one another's mouths to determine who could catch the most.  Mike, El, and Will were seated together uncomfortably.

"Want some."  Bailey observed Will presenting him with some M&M's.  He merely smiled and accepted a few of them.

"I never comprehended the entirety of the situation regarding girls."  Will remarked as he observed the two lovers intertwining once more.  Bailey recognised that tone and understood his thoughts.

"It took me a while, but I finally figured it out. I'm sure you will, too."  Will glanced up at him with a scared-looking expression that betrayed his uncertainty.  "With time, everything will become easier, and you will be alright, I assure you."

Will went to say something, but everyone looked up when the lights flicked.  Will got straight out of his seat. Everyone began to slightly get anxious.

"He's here." Will expressed uneasily while rubbing the back of his neck, prompting Bailey to immediately rise and position himself beside the children.

"Let go."  He shouted as they approached the steps, certain that the elevator would be unsafe, so he chose to ascend the stairs, and they all hurried up.  Bailey proceeded first to ascertain its safety.

They sprinted down the corridor to observe Jonathan striking the glass window in an attempt to get entry. "Jonathan!"  Bailey shouted as they hurried over.  He faced them, perspiring and injured.  Bailey observed that the door was closed and then understood Nancy was behind it.

The monster howled at the teenagers as Eleven flung the door wide, revealing the colossal monstrosity towering over Nancy.  Bailey gazed at it and very instantaneously felt nauseated.

The creature charged towards them, but Eleven shouted, propelling it against the walls, ceiling, and floor.  The beast, undeterred, growled at her as it advanced closer. Eleven shouted, propelling the creature out of the window and onto the street.

"Go!" Eleven declared, pursuing the adolescents as they fled the room, while Bailey and Jonathan hurried to ensure Nancy's well-being. 

They exited through the doors, causing each of the teenagers to halt as the Mind Flayer revitalised before them.  The mass of entrails wriggled towards the grate, slipping through and disappearing from the group's view.

────────────────────────

𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿'𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀

- this episode was genuinely terrifying especially this part

To all the people that have supported me closely
Tags: @norasnetflix @wrensofvizla @KleeAlise11 @kiesluverr