MARIELLA AND MIKE SAT AT AN EMPTY CAFETERIA TABLE, Eleven had wandered off to the side, observing and memorizing all aspects of the unfamiliar room. It was her first time in a school. She wanted to remember it. She wanted to be normal.

"Guys! I found the chocolate pudding!" Dustin's yell echoes through the cafeteria. Mariella letting out a breathy laugh as she makes eye contact with Mike.

"The pudding here isn't even good," Mariella comments. "Pudding isn't even good," She corrects, her eyebrow arching and a snort escaping her nose.

Mike shakes his head. "I know you don't like it! What do you have against it?" He asks, a playful smile coming up in his mouth.

"It's literal goo. Literal chocolate flavoured goo! Imagine it without the flavour you're just eating goo!" Mariella rants, her hands moving around erratically as she shudders at the thought of unflavoured pudding.

"You think you much about stupid stuff," Mike says, staring at Mariella who just sat there in front of him, looking so perfect in her messy-haired glory. Oh Christ, he loved her. He'd just never bring himself to admit it. Yet.

"You think too much about—" Mariella starts before her eyes go wide as she looks to the windows which are being illuminated by headlights driving by.

"Nancy!" Mike smiles to her, getting up.

"Wait! Michael," Mariella says, grabbing his hand before he can run off. "What if it's the bad men," She whispers to him, getting up and looking at the window nervously.

"I don't think—" Mike starts, shaking his head.

"But what if?" She mumbles, dragging him to the exit so they can see for sure.

Exiting the school quietly, they stood to the side as they stared at dozens of trucks and cars enter the parking lot. Men with guns exiting the cars. Their eyes go wide.

"Mars, come on," Mike whispers to her, gripping her hand tighter as her now drags her wide-eyed and frozen body into the school.

"They've got guns!" Mariella says as they run through the hallway and back to the cafeteria.

"You do too! Please tell me you're a good shot," Mike says as they turn the corner, sprinting even faster.

"I mean, I know how to aim, yeah," Mariella responds, entering the room and seeing their friends crowded around a table full of chocolate pudding

"Guys! Guys!" Mike yells, running towards them in a panicked frenzy as Mariella quickly grabs her backpack and unzips it. Pulling out the silver gun, nervously.

"What is it?" Lucas asks, all of them turning towards Mike confused.

"They found us," Mike pants, Mariella carefully taking the safety off the gun and walking towards him.

"We gotta go hide," She says, nodding.

♧

They sprint out of the cafeteria and down a set of stairs. "How did they find us?" Lucas asks, looking back at Mariella and Mike.

"We don't know, but they knew we were in the gym," Mike responds.

"They have a whole bunch of people with guns. We gotta be real careful," Mariella adds, holding the handle of the pistol nervously.

"Lando," Dustin says.

"No! Just... Shut up," Mariella snaps, looking him angrily. Her face taking in the classic pointed look and her eyebrows furrowing. Her anxiety was over the roofs. Her heart rate was already racing.

"Got 'em!" The doors at the end of the hall get thrown open and men with flashlight stare down at them.

Then screaming and shouting at they turn around and begin running away, "Go, go, go, go, go!" Mike yells.

They run back up the steps and turn another corner, only to be met with another group of men. "There they are! Freeze!".

"Oh gosh!" Mariella screeches, Mike pulling her shirt back and yelling at them.

"Back! Go back!" He yells as they rush back out the hall and run farther, being trapped by another group of people. This time it including a woman. Eleven stares her down as the woman points a gun at her.

The others staring at the other end of the hall as Mariella fumbles with the pistol which she now hid behind her back. The woman freezes. So does the two other men behind her. Blood beginning to seep from their eyes, the party looking at the scene in fright as the two men and woman begin to choke before all of the people surrounding them fall to the ground. Eleven falling after them in exhaustion, passing out

The party fall to their knees after her, shaking her and asking if she's okay. Voices panicked as their hearts raced.

"Something wrong," Mike says, looking at them worriedly.

"She's just drained," Dustin says.

"She's never this drained! She's passed out completely!" Mariella breathes out as she shakes her.

"She won't wake up!" Mike adds.

They sit in the hall, Mariella checking her pulse after passing the gun to Lucas, Mike leaning down to check her breathing. "It's thready, barely there, Michael?" She finalizes,

"She's barely breathing," Mike nods.

"We gotta go," Lucas says, urgently.

"Leave her," A man approaches them with others following behind. The party backing up in fear at his booming voice. Lucas quickly shoving the gun into Mariella's trembling hands.

"Step away from the child," He says to them, Mariella nervously cocking the gun and loading it from inside her corduroy coat. Praying to dear God for it to be quiet enough that he doesn't hear.

"No!" Mike yells. "You want her, you have to kill us first!".

"That's right!" Dustin nods.

"Eat shit!" Lucas shouts at them.

Men coming from behind them and grabbing hold of them and pinning them against their bodies. Mariella squirming, twisting her arms attempting to break free, holding onto the pistols handle tightly.

"Get off!"

"You idiot!"

"No!"

"Let go!"

They watch as the man leans down and picks up Eleven, screaming and yelling swears.

"Eleven? Eleven, can you hear me?" He says, holding her face in his hands and shaking. "Eleven?".

"Papa?" She questions, weakly.

"Yes, yes, it's your papa," He smiles.

Mariella screams, her arms twisting as she tries to and angle the gun towards the man who held her. "Get off of me! You... You... You piece of mother fucking shit! Just fucking wait! Just you fucking wait, you bastards! I'll fucking kill you! I will!" She swears, kicking at him harshly as she stares down at Eleven with tears in her eyes.

"Let her go! Let her go!" Mike screams at the man as they all fight against the men who held them.

"I'm here now," The man whispers to Eleven, ignoring their screams as she begins to whimper, looking around and pushing him away.

"Shh, shh, you're sick," The man shushes. "You're sick but I'm going to make you better. I'm going to take you back home, where I can make you well again. Or we can make all of this better, so no one else gets hurt," He goes on.

"Bad. Bad. Mars. Mike," Eleven whimpers, looking to her friends and reaching out. "Lucas... Dustin," She whimpers again.

The electricity crackles and flickers. "Blood! Blood," Mike whispers to them.

Mariella kicking up when the man who held her was distracted by the flickering lights and managed to angle the gun towards his side. She knew, at best, she'd only injure him and she was thankful for that. She didn't want to kill him. Closing her eyes tightly before pulling the trigger with shaking hands. It goes off and the man who held onto her groans. Falling away from her and onto the ground clutching the wound. Leaving her wide-eyed with the pistol in hand. "Guys..." She whispers.

Yet, no one even seemed to notice, everyone was staring at the wall which thudded and fell apart. Something was breaking it from the other side and quickly some sort of creature was pushing its head through growling.

"Demogorgen," Dustin says as they all stared at it in fear, managing to pull away from their captors who ran and other men who shot at the thing as the party all begin to yell and pick up Eleven. Dustin quickly carrying her in his arms as they run down the familiar halls and into a nearby class room, screaming in fear.

"Come on, come on," Dustin mutters as they run to the back of the class and places her onto a large lab table.

Eleven groans, turning to her side as they all crowd her and attempt to comfort her weak body.

"It's okay, El. Just hold on," Mariella cries, rubbing her back.

"Just for a little longer. He's gone, the bad man's gone," Mike sniffles, holding one of her hands.

They blink rapidly at the flickering lights, their hearts beating rapidly. A growl echoes through the school followed by gunfire causing them to jump.

"Is... Is it dead?" Dustin stutters out.

"There's no killing that thing," Mariella whispers as she drops the pistol to the ground. All energy and adrenaline draining from her body.

They door slams onto the floor and they're faced by the terrifying monster which they once believed to be fictitious. Their breathes hitching as Mike and Dustin yell and scream at Mariella and Lucas.

"Pick it up, Mars!" Mike screams at Mariella who stared down at the pistol, tiredly.

"Get the Wrist Rocket!" Dustin shouts at Lucas who instantly kept into action and grabbed it from his bag and began shooting rocks at the thing.

"Mars!" Mike screams, picking up the pistol for her and handing it to her. She takes it apprehensively and raises it, shaking.

Closing one eye and pulling the trigger, shooting it and emitting a loud boom through the classroom.

"Kill it!" Dustin screams as Lucas pulls back the wrist rocket and fires at the Demogorgen.

Mariella shoots again, hitting the body of the monster. Though, it did nothing.

"Hit him again!" Mike shouts.

"It's not working!" Lucas yells at them as he shoots again.

Again. Again. Again. It goes on, they repeat over and over, shooting and they both land each hit on the monster. The Demogorgen getting closer and closer asMike and Dustin yelled at them to kill it continuously.

It ultimately took two. Two shots at the exact same time. Lucas pulling back the Wrist Rocket and shooting, Mariella firing at the exact same time before the Demogorgen goes flying to the front of the room and crashing into the wall.

Lucas grabs Mariella and pulls her back, all of them panting and staring down at the monster. It was seconds after when Eleven walked between them and began to inch closer to it.

Mariella leaned into Lucas and panting, eyes fluttering as she stared with tears in her eyes, croaking out for Eleven before she slides down onto the floor and cries.

"Eleven, stop!" Mike yells, running after her in hopes to grab her and pull her back. But she puts out a mere hand and he goes flying back and into the wall, next to Mariella who stared with wide eyes.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as they watched Eleven get closer and closer. She stops right in front of the Demogorgen, the squealing horrific wreck against the wall, before turning back to her newfound friends who stared at her in with worried faces and tearful eyes.

"Goodbye, Friends," She whispers out to them, taking one last look at them — the faces of her friends. The faces of the people who took her in before turning away. "No more." She says to it, raising her hand and using the last of her energy.  It screaming a loud pitched noise, the party covering their ears and groaning.

Eleven screams, her hand raised, she watches the Demogorgen begin to become fragments. High pitched screeches emitting through the room before they both just disappear completely. And, all goes silent.