[ Location: The Junkyard - School Bus ][ Date: November 3rd, 1984 - Saturday Night (6:45 PM) ]
The roof groaned. It sounded like a dying whale.
I stood in the center of the bus, my hands raised, sweat stinging my eyes. My head felt like it was in a vice.
'Hold it. Just hold it.'
[ Ability Active: Telekinesis. ]
Above us, claws tore at the metal. Not one set. Six. Seven.
"They're coming in!" Max screamed, backing away from the windows.
"Stay back!" Steve yelled, gripping his nail-bat so hard his knuckles were white. He looked at me. "Frostwell! Can you keep that roof up?"
"I'm trying!" I gritted my teeth. "But they're heavy! It's like bench-pressing a Toyota!"
SCREEECH.
A claw punched through the sheet metal ceiling right above Dustin.
"Ahhh!" Dustin scrambled back, tripping over a seat.
"Out of the way!" Steve swung.
WHAM.
He smashed the claw with the bat. The monster snarled from above.
'This is bad. We're fish in a barrel. A very rusty, smelly barrel and we have do something fast, very fast.'
Suddenly, the rear emergency door rattled.
"The back!" Lucas yelled.
I whipped my head around. The door I had slammed shut was buckling. A snout was forcing its way through the rubber seal.
'Multi-tasking. Do it now.'
I didn't drop the roof. I split my focus.
'Left hand: Hold roof. Right hand: Blast the door.'
[ Ability Active: Telekinesis (Split Focus). ]
I thrust my right hand at the back door.
BOOM.
An invisible cannonball hit the door, slamming it shut and knocking the Demodog backward into the fog.
"Nice shot!" Lucas cheered.
"Thanks," I wheezed, blood dripping from my nose onto the floor. "But I can't do this all day, I am not Captian America. My battery is draining."
[ System Notice: Telekinesis Proficiency Increased. ][ Current Mastery: Level 5 (96%) ]
'Great. I'm leveling up while I die. Very gamer of me.'
Suddenly, the roof went silent.
The scratching stopped. The weight lifted.
We all froze.
"Did they leave?" Max whispered.
"No," Steve said, raising his bat higher. "They're plotting. Smart dogs."
I lowered my hands, gasping for air. My arms shook.
"They're not plotting," I whispered, wiping the blood from my face. "They're listening."
We waited. Ten seconds. Twenty.
Then, a howl. It wasn't angry. It was a summons.
We heard the sound of heavy paws thudding against the ground, running away from the bus.
Steve climbed onto a seat and peered out the reinforced window.
"They're running," Steve said, confused. "They're actually leaving."
"Why?" Dustin asked. "Maybe they're full?"
"No," I said, a cold dread settling in my stomach. "They're not full. They're being recalled."
"Recalled?" Max asked.
"It's a Hive Mind," Lucas realized, his eyes widening. "Like the Mind Flayer in D&D. If the brain commands it, the soldiers obey."
"So where are they going?" Steve asked.
I looked at the direction they ran. North-West.
'They are going to The Lab.'
'Mike. Will. Hopper. Joyce. Bob...they are in danger'
"The Lab," I said, grabbing my wand from my pocket. "They're going to the Lab."
I closed my eyes.
'Remote Viewing. Target is Mike Wheeler.'
[ Ability Active: Remote Viewing. ]
The static rushed in.
Fluorescent lights. Alarms blaring. Gunfire.
I was in the Lab.
Mike was screaming. "IT'S A TRAP!"
Soldiers were firing assault rifles into the darkness. But the Demodogs were fast. Too fast. They were swarming through the vents, dropping from the ceiling.
It was a slaughter.
I saw Bob Newby running. He was sweating, terrified, rebooting the breakers.
'Bob. Oh god, Bob. I nearly forgot about him'
I snapped back to my body.
"We have to go," I said, my voice trembling. "Now. Everyone in the car."
"What about the dogs?" Dustin asked.
"They're busy eating soldiers," I said, jumping out of the bus. "Steve, drive!"
[ Location: Steve's BMW ]
Steve drove like a maniac. He drifted around corners, tires screeching.
I sat shotgun, clutching the dashboard.
"Can't this thing go any faster?" Max yelled from the back seat.
"It's a BMW, not a spaceship!" Steve yelled back.
I looked out the window. The woods were blurring past.
'Will is there. He's the spy. He led the soldiers into a trap. And now the dogs are finishing the job.'
I gripped my wand.
'If Bob dies... if I can't save someone like him... what is the point of me having powers and all?'
"Steve," I said quietly. "Don't stop at the gate. Ram it."
"What?" Steve glanced at me.
"The power is out at the Lab," I said (knowing this from the Remote Viewing). "The electric gate won't open. Ram it."
Steve looked at me. He looked at his precious car. He swallowed hard.
"Hold on," Steve gritted his teeth.
[ Location: Hawkins National Laboratory - Main Gate ][ Time: 7:30 PM ]
The gate loomed ahead. Closed. Dark.
"Hang on!" Steve shouted.
CRASH.
The BMW smashed through the chain-link gate. Metal screamed. The windshield cracked. We fish-tailed on the wet pavement but kept going.
"My car," Steve whimpered. "My dad is going to kill me."
"I'll buy you a new one," I promised (1532 Points could probably buy gold, right? well , if not my family is crazy rich too).
We skidded to a halt in front of the main entrance.
It was a war zone.
The glass doors were shattered. Inside, the emergency lights strobed red. Distant screams echoed from the depths.
We piled out of the car.
"Stay close," Steve ordered, raising his bat.
"No," I said, stepping past him. "You guys stay here. Keep the engine running."
"Where are you going?" Dustin grabbed my arm.
"To clear the path," I said.
I raised my wand.
'Lumos.'
A bright light flared at the tip of the wand, cutting through the gloom.
"Magic?" Max whispered, staring at the wand.
"Quantum Science, Its complex" I winked.
I ran inside.
The lobby was empty. Dead bodies lay scattered across the floor. Soldiers. Scientists.
It smelled of copper and ozone.
'Remote Viewing. Find them.'
I didn't stop running. I projected my mind while moving (dangerous, headache-inducing, but necessary).
I saw them.
Joyce, Hopper, Mike, and Will were locked in the security office.
Bob... Bob was in the lobby. He had reset the power. He was sneaking past a Demodog.
He was smiling. He thought he was safe.
But he wasn't.
Behind him, a broom closet door was creaking open. A Demodog was crouching, ready to pounce.
'NO!'
I snapped back to reality. I was in the hallway leading to the lobby.
I was too far. I couldn't run there in time.
'Apparition.'
[ System Warning: Destination out of Line of Sight. High risk of Splinching. ]
'I don't care.'
"Bob!" I screamed into the empty air.
I focused on the lobby. I focused on the broom closet.
CRACK.
The world twisted. My stomach did a somersault.
I reappeared in the lobby, stumbling, nausea hitting me like a punch.
Bob turned around, startled. "Vivan?"
Behind him, the Demodog lunged.
'Telekinesis: PUSH!'
[ Ability Active: Telekinesis (Max Output). ]
I threw my hand out.
I didn't hit the dog. I hit Bob.
I blasted Bob Newby backward. He flew ten feet, sliding across the polished floor just as the Demodog's jaws snapped shut on the empty air where his jugular used to be.
"Run, Bob!" I screamed, blood gushing from my nose.
The Demodog roared, turning its eyeless face toward me.
'Hello, ugly.'
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Patreon Updates:
(New Membership Option)
Content: Read 20+ chapters ahead. + Access to All my fanfictions.
Link: https://www.patreon.com/c/kapa69
Support Goal:
200 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter.
Please drop a Stone to support the story!