IT'S HERE !

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JONATHAN, NANCY, AND ALEX HAD STOLEN THEIR STUFF BACK FROM THE POLICE STATION BEFORE THEY HAD ARRIVED AT THE BYERS. There was a silence between them all as they had prepared the house and themselves for what was going to come tonight.

Nancy had passed over a baseball bat towards Alex with a grin. The bat that she had passed over and her very own were prepped and ready with nails forced through them. Alex looked hers over as she held her breath for a brief moment, taking it all in. Tonight, this was her weapon of choice to put an end to the monster.

With a small sigh, she rested it against the coffee table as she grabbed the gasoline tank to finish off the rest of their trap. Pouring a majority around the beartrap that Jonathan had set up, she then trailed it off right up until Will's bedroom where they'd drop the match down below. Looking up as the last drop fell, she watched as Nancy had filled the only gun they had with bullets before looking up to her. "Ready?"

Alex gave no verbal response as she had made her way down the hall and stepped over the bear trap. Nancy had understood her denial to answer, even she wasn't so sure she was ready for something like this. Heading out from the kitchen had been Jonathan as he held out a knife to each of the girls. "Remember," he began quietly as they had each taken their knives.

"Straight into Will's room," Nancy whispered.

"And don't step on the trap," Alex reminded them. It was right in the path that they had laid out. If the monster had followed them as they predicted, then it would fall right in and everything would work out perfectly.

"Then wait for the yo-yo to move," Nancy added in. Both girls looked to Jonathan next as he held up a lighter. Flicking it on, he let the flame dance around for a little bit before closing it up. They would set the monster on fire the moment it had fallen into the trap. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was what they had to work with.

"You ready?" he asked the two. Tucking away the lighter, he held up his knife. They would cut themselves until they bled, calling the monster to them. Afterwards, there would be no backing out so now was the time to run.

Standing huddled together, the three held out their palms upwards with the knife laying on top. On the count of three, they had all squeezed their eyes shut as the blades dug into their palms. Instantly, blood had poured from their cuts, officially calling the monster to them.

"It would've been easier if Alex just fell again," Jonathan whispered after hearing all of them let out a small wince in pain.

"Shut the hell up, Byers," Alex laughed, setting her knife down on the coffee table. Nancy hid her smile as she passed around bandages for them. Nancy and Jonathan chose to wrap each others up while Alex paced in front of them, bandaging herself up. As of now, it was a waiting game. At any moment, the lights should begin to flicker, announcing the arrival of the monster.

It was quiet except for the occasional whistle of the wind and the hushed whispers between Jonathan and Nancy but still there was no sign of it. The waiting had become unbearable, knowing that they had called it. With every small whisper of noise had Alex pause in her tracks for a moment, awaiting the monster with a tight grip on her bat. She had begun to squeeze tight enough that the blood from her bandage had started to ooze through in response.

In a moments notice, banging had came from the front door. It was an urgent knock, nothing at all what a monster would behave like.

"That's too polite to be a demogorgon," Alex whispered, holding her bat even tighter in her hands.

"Jonathan? Are you there, man? It's... It's Steve! Listen, I just wanna talk!" Steve's muffled yells came from the other side of the door, the pounding on the door continuing. Whatever he had needed had sounded urgent, when all he had wanted to do was apologize. He had experienced a change of heart after the fight and Jonathan was the first person he knew he had to make it right with.

"He can't be here," Alex whispered to the two on the couch. "It can come at any second."

"I got it," Nancy whispered, heading towards the door. She had barely cracked the door open, ready to force Steve far away from the Byers house. However, his surprise to see her here had been more of a concern to him.

"I messed up! I messed up, okay? Is Alex here too? Let me just talk to you guys, okay?" Steve fought back. Even a quick word with the three would make him feel much better to head on home, but Nancy was not one to be pushed. As her wrapped hand had rested on the door to prevent him from pushing himself in, he had his whole attention placed on it. "Hey, what happened to your hand? Is that blood?"

Steve began to reach his hand out towards it for inspection, only for her to pull it out from his. "Nothing. It was an accident."

"Wait a sec. Did he do this to you? Let me in!" Steve yelled. His concern for Nancy had brought him to move her out of his way no matter how much she had fought to keep him out. Not even a few steps into the house had he been brought to a complete stop. His eyes had traveled around in confusion, and a whole other mix of emotions that he wasn't quite sure how to process.

"What is.. what the..." Steve couldn't even put together a question, let alone wrap his head around what he walked into. Jonathan and Alex stood in the middle of the chaos of the house. His eyes had darted over to the two, both with wrapped hands and Alex with a baseball bat with nails lowering to her side.

"You need to get out of here," she warned. Using a free hand, she had shoved back his chest, attempting to get him back out the door.

"Alex, wait, he's bleeding," Jonathan called out, motioning to Steve's face. The fight had left him bleeding and bruised-- a perfect call to the monster lingering around Hawkins.

"More the reason to get the hell out of here," she stated, giving another shove to him. "Steve, go home! You can't be here."

"No! Wh- What is that smell? Is that gasoline?" Steve cried out, pushing Alex's hand right off of him.

"Yeah! Now leave!" she yelled. Rushing to her side, Jonathan had begun to push Steve towards the door in hopes he would leave before anything had came. At least in his car, he would be able to out run the monster before it could follow him. When no progress had been made, Nancy took the situation to new measures. Lifting up the gun, she rested her finger on the trigger with the tip pointed right at Steve.

"Holy shit," Alex whispered, pulling Jonathan away to avoid her aim. It was a tough move to make, but it would allow for Steve to find a reason to leave before the bad had gone worse.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Steve stuttered out in fear. His head had whipped around the room, unsure if he had been processing the situation correctly. "What? What is going on?" Steve screamed, holding his hands out defensively.

"You have five seconds to get out of here!" Nancy warned.

"Okay, is this a joke? Stop! Put the gun down!" Steve yelled, looking to Alex and Jonathan for help. Alex knew that Nancy was right. They needed Steve out of here as soon as possible before the demogorgon came. If not, he was set up to be prime bait. No weapon and no clue of what had been going on. It was a perfect set up to get killed.

Alex raised the bat up in the air, now threatening Steve with that too. "You heard Nance! You need to leave now!"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! What is this? You too?" Steve yelled, backing away from both girls. Their glares were set on him, daring him to even begin to try and stay another second. This was never about their anger towards him, even if he had believed so, but it was for his own protection. They had wanted him out badly enough that their vision had been tunneled on him. Neither had realized the flickering lights that had flooded the Byers house.

Jonathan's eyes had darted around the room as realization had hit him. Now had been time, and it had been the worst time of all. "Alex! Nancy! The lights!" Jonathan screamed, placing both hands on Alex's shoulders to get her to turn away from Steve.

"It's here!" Alex yelled, rushing over to Nancy's side with Jonathan. As Steve had been questioning the situation once more, now without the threat of the girls, he had been left in the dark. The three had circled up, backs to one another's as they looked around for any sign of the monster.

"Where is it?" Nancy called out, looking at every inch of the wall she could see. It could come from anywhere at any moment. Steve still had been clueless. "Where is what?"

"Shut the hell up, Harrington!" Alex screamed. Reaching out, she guided him closer to the group to keep him out of the open. The closer he had been to those with the weapons, the better chance he had at not dying from the monster.

"Tell me what's going on!" he yelled back in frustration. However, his question was not answered in the way that he had hoped. From the corner of the Byer's ceiling had begun to crack open and the growl of the monster could be heard. In an instant, Alex's heart had stopped to see it once more. Still, she raised the bat up, ready to strike when the time had came.

As it had begun to climb out from the ceiling, Nancy had given a few shots, hitting it with each one. Still, it had not slowed down for a moment, only growing angrier in response. Its roars had filled the Byers' house to prove how angry it had truly been. Soon enough, its opening had been made wide enough as it fell down to the floor in a loud crash.

"Go! Go! Run! Go!" Jonathan screamed, grabbing Nancy by the waist. It had been time to run towards Will's room in order for the plan to proceed. Alex had stumbled for a moment as the monster had begun to regain it's balance on the ground before she got control of herself. Grabbing Steve, she had pushed him in front of him. As they rounded the hall, she yelled an instruction that would save his life. "Jump!"

"Oh my god! Oh my god!" Steve screamed. He had leaped straight in the air, wide eyed at the bear trap that he had been moments away from stepping into. His hand had scrambled to find Alex's, scared that she could fall behind and leave his side.

The two had been a step behind Nancy and Jonathan as they charged into Will's room, slamming the door right behind them. Steve was out of breath and terrified of what he had just witnessed. All he had wanted to do was give a simple apology and make things right, and now he found himself running for his life. Standing tall, he had noticed that the other three had remained slightly calm in such a situation.

"Jesus! What the hell was that?" Steve screamed. Alex had dropped his hand down from hers as the three had turned to him in what he saw as annoyance. As if he had been the one that was ruining the evening.

"Shut up!" They all had yelled this simultaneously at him in response. It was the only thing that had shut him up all this entire time he had been here. Beyond the door, the monster had given a screech that had filled the Byers' house. Fear had crept back towards Steve as he had shuffled his way back over to Alex. His fingers had lightly grazed hers, finding the comfort of having her close to him. Silence had hung over the group as they listened attentively for the monster and then Alex slipped her hand in his, unknowingly finding his touch reassuring in this situation.

The lights had continued to flicker as the growling had begun to grow quieter. The yo-yo set on the chair had not moved as they all had watched it carefully, ready to attack at any moment. But nothing came. Soon the growling had disappeared and the electricity had jolted back to full power. The silence had all of them creep out from the room, finding nothing but the bear trap still open in the middle of the hall. The monster had managed to escape before they had their chance to finally kill it.