Chapter Text
In the dead of night, Mike saw it clear as day. Will’s eyes turned white, blood dripped from his nose. The Demogorgon was a crumpled mess at Mike’s feet.
He never saw one dead before.
He stepped around it and made his way across the metal ground, around the… charred bodies of soldiers that were once human. He paused briefly at an abandoned G.I. Joe lunchbox and picked it up.
Will’s eyes rolled back into his head and he looked as he did a moment ago, eyes white. But then he collapsed forward, unconscious.
“Will!” Mike screamed, picking up his pace. He dropped to his knees by Will’s side and shook his shoulder, no response. He turned Will over, relieved to see his chest rising and falling.
Mike’s eyes darted around the battlefield that once was a compound. She was still there, right? She was still… Vecna hadn’t… He spotted her laying amongst the rubble and feared the worst.
But Joyce slowly started stirring and Mike sighed deeply. He wasn’t alone here.
Mike struggled to his feet, Will’s arm now slung over his shoulders, lunchbox in hand, and staggered over to Joyce. She looked dazed, but immediately became alert as soon as she saw them.
“What happened? Was it Vecna?” She asked, moving to stand on Will’s other side.
“Not entirely. He was gone already, but Will…” Mike said, not certain on how he could explain it. “Will can control parts of the hivemind. He did that to a Demo when it tried to ki— attack me.”
Joyce followed Mike’s eyes to the dead Demogorgon and her eyes widened.
“Yeah,” Mike said, “After that he fell unconscious, like when El overexerted her powers.”
To Joyce’s credit she remained calm, as though she wasn’t just told her youngest son psychically folded an interdimensional beast like a paper bag. Her gaze drifted to the lunchbox in Mike’s hand.
“Derek?” Joyce asked, but she knew the answer. Mike shook his head, blinking away a tear.
“Vecna got them all.” His voice cracked.
Joyce reached her free hand out to rest on his shoulder. “We don’t know that yet, Robin and Lucas could have gotten the others out.”
Mike looked around the compound again, his voice shaky as he spoke. “Originally three Demos were sent here to take three kids. Three kids went with Robin and two with Lucas. That’s five Demos if they managed to all get out.” Mike was doing the math in his head, how long it took to get from the bathroom to Murray’s truck. “If.”
Lucas might be in the tunnels alone.
“We need to contact them.” Mike said. He helped Joyce settle Will’s arm around her shoulders. He opened Derek’s lunchbox, took out the radio inside, and straightened out the antenna.
“Does anybody copy?” Mike asked. The silence in response was deafening. “Does anybody copy? Please.”
“Here.” Robin’s voice crackled. “We were attacked by Demos. They… they got the kids.”
Mike closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath. “Same here. Did Lucas make it to you?”
Robin paused for so long, he thought the signal cut out. But then she spoke. “No. The Demos showed up before he did. The strangest thing happened after they took the kids. One came back to attack me and it… it got Vecna’d?”
“Same here, but we can talk about that later.” Mike said, glancing at Will. “Lucas, do you copy? Erica, are you still in the crow’s nest?”
“Definitely not.” Erica’s voice was clear. “I climbed down the moment gunfire started. I know those military guys are shit shots.” That was as close to good news as Mike was going to get. Erica didn’t need to see any of… this.
“Lucas, do you copy?” Mike asked again. He paused for as long as he could stand. He took a deep breath, about to ask again—
“Mike.” Lucas’s voice came through the radio. “Demos got the kids. I failed.”
Mike felt bad all he could feel at the moment was relief that Lucas was still alive. Robin and Murray couldn’t save their group of kids and they were in a truck. Lucas was on foot and in the tunnels, that was prime Demogorgon bait.
“Everyone did.” Erica said, her tone uncharacteristic. “Are you okay?”
“One of the Demos got me pretty good, it’s hard to walk.” Lucas said. A chill fell over Mike.
“Where are you? What tunnel entrance are you closest to, we’ll come get you.” Mike and Joyce didn’t have any sort of car, but that didn’t matter at the moment. There were plenty of… unused vehicles around them.
Lucas was closest to the school. Joyce shifted Will onto Mike’s shoulders, and she picked up one of the dead soldier’s weapons. Mike looked at the weapon with a bit of apprehension, clearly that type of gun wasn’t very useful against what’s coming.
“In case anyone tries to stop us when we leave.” She explained. Mike hadn’t considered the weapon wasn’t for a Demogorgon.