Chapter 25: Successive Rescues
"Bang—!"
The first impact was like a sledgehammer striking a drum, muffled yet full of menace, shaking dust loose from the corridor walls.
The kids instinctively backed away, huddled together, their eyes fixed on the warping wall.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The impacts continued, each one heavier and more violent than the last. The school mascot painted on the wall surface began to crack and tear.
"Back up..." Andy whispered, his voice trembling from weakness and fear.
He tried to shield the others with his body, but his legs were shaking, and he could barely stand.
Eleven was being held by Dustin, and the three kids retreated step by step.
Mike, Lucas, and Dustin huddled behind, the three boys' faces as white as paper.
They had never seen the monster, but now, it was breaking through the wall of the real world, coming directly toward them.
Slowly, a claw extended from the breach. The "claw" grabbed the edge of the opening and pulled hard, ripping it wider.
The wall was torn open like tissue paper, and a large head, like a Demogorgon, violently thrust out.
The lights in the corridor flickered wildly, casting dancing shadows on the monster, making it look even more bizarre, more... unreal.
At both ends of the corridor lay the soldiers from the Lab, knocked down by Andy and Eleven. Some were motionless, others were weakly groaning and struggling.
Blood flowed from their wounds, pooling on the floor in various puddles.
Andy shielded the kids while retreating, his gaze fixed intently on the Demogorgon.
For some reason, he had a strange intuition: the monster didn't seem to be looking for prey; its attention seemed focused on a specific target.
Just as Andy was thinking this, its "face" turned toward the kids—no, more precisely, toward Eleven.
Was it specifically coming for Eleven?
This thought sent a bone-chilling coldness through Andy. Why? Because of Eleven's abilities? Or because of... something else?
Henry had said that Eleven sent Henry to the Upside Down, and that Eleven opened the first "Gate."
Maybe there was some connection between this monster and Eleven? Maybe they could sense her?
But the monster wouldn't wait for Andy to think. With a roar, it immediately accelerated and charged toward the kids.
"Watch out!" Andy yelled. Driven almost purely by instinct, he did the only thing he still could.
He squeezed out the last bit of mental power from the depths of his consciousness, like drawing water from a dry well, condensing it, compressing it, and then... releasing it.
"Ah—!"
Andy roared. His eyes were bloodshot from the exertion, warm blood simultaneously gushed from his nose and ears, and his brain felt like it had been violently struck by a hammer.
An invisible force slammed into the charging monster like a wall.
"Bang!"
The monster's momentum came to an abrupt halt. Its body tilted backward, flailing wildly in the air, before it stumbled back a few steps and crashed into the wall, shaking loose more dust and debris.
Andy succeeded; he repelled the monster, but that was all he could manage.
After releasing that force, Andy felt all his strength recede like a tide.
His vision rapidly darkened, and blinking black spots began appearing at the edges.
His legs lost all support, and he pitched forward, collapsing heavily onto the floor, his face pressed against the cold, dusty ground.
He could still breathe and think, but his body was completely unresponsive, like his soul was trapped inside an immobile shell.
He had completely lost the ability to resist.
"Andy!" The kids' voices were filled with panic and worry.
Dustin was holding Eleven, so Mike quickly ran to Andy's side, trying to help him up, but he wasn't strong enough and could only manage to support Andy weakly.
"Roar—!"
The monster made a sound.
It wasn't the metallic scraping sound from before, but a genuine roar, filled with anger and menace.
It stood up again. Andy's strike hadn't caused it substantial damage; perhaps it felt pain, but it wasn't fatally wounded.
The Demogorgon lowered its head, "looking" at Andy sprawled on the ground, and then turned toward Eleven.
The huge five-petaled mouth opened again. Lucas continuously shot stones with his wrist rocket, but the small efforts were useless.
This time, no one could stop it.
Mike had no choice; his final act of bravery was to shield Eleven and Andy with his body.
He spread his arms wide, like a hen protecting her chicks, even though he himself was terrified, his face pale and his legs shaking.
"Bang—!"
A gunshot suddenly rang out in the corridor. The monster paused, its head struck by a bullet, spraying dark red viscous fluid. It immediately turned toward the source of the sound.
Andy struggled to turn his head and looked toward where the shot came from.
Then, he saw an unbelievable sight.
Dr. Martin Brenner, the man he had just blasted away with mental power, who should have been unconscious or at least severely dazed, was currently leaning against the wall, holding a black handgun.
His white coat was covered in dust and bloodstains, his glasses were crooked, he had fresh scrapes on his face, and a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth.
But he sat up straight, his gun hand was steady, and his eyes were unusually calm.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Brenner continuously pulled the trigger, each shot accurately aimed at the monster's body.
The monster let out painful roars, its body twisting violently, its arms flailing wildly in the air.
After being knocked away by Andy, perhaps because Andy had unintentionally held back, the members of this squad had only temporarily lost their mobility.
Therefore, upon seeing Andy and the others in danger, he didn't even hesitate. He picked up a handgun from a nearby soldier and immediately began shooting at the monster.
Brenner emptied the magazine, and the handgun made the "click" sound of an empty chamber.
Without hesitation, he quickly drew another handgun from the holster of a nearby fallen soldier and chambered a round. His movements were fluid, less like a scientist and more like a strictly trained agent.
Then, he stood up.
Although he was slightly unsteady—Andy's strike still affected him—he stood firm.
He continued shooting at the monster while walking toward the kids.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
A new handgun, a new magazine, new bullets.
The monster was suppressed by the continuous gunfire and kept backing away.
"Eleven, Twelve, how are you?" Brenner called out. His voice was slightly hoarse but clear and strong.
He didn't look at the kids; his eyes remained fixed on the monster, his finger steadily pulling the trigger.
Andy lay on the ground, watching the scene, his brain almost ceasing to function.
Dr. Brenner... was protecting them?
Why?
The Lab made the kids call him "Papa"—Dad.
But Andy had always thought it was just a means of control, designed to make the kids more compliant and the experimentation process seem less cruel.
A false title used to conceal the cold truth, to conceal the fact that they were numbers, they were test subjects.
But now, watching Brenner stand in front of them, watching him fight for them, Andy began to doubt.
Maybe... it wasn't all fake?
Perhaps behind the experiments, training, and records, Brenner did hold some kind of... feeling for the kids?
He wouldn't allow others to harm them, because they were his.
But then, Andy's thoughts were interrupted by Mike's shout.
"Stay away from them!"
Even with the monster present, Mike still stood between Brenner and the kids, arms spread, his face showing a mixture of fear and hostility.
He didn't know Brenner, but he knew this man was from the Lab, knew that the people from the Lab were chasing Eleven and Andy, and knew they were "bad guys."
Lucas and Dustin also stood next to Mike, forming a fragile human wall.
"Yeah!" Lucas said, though his voice was trembling slightly.
Brenner's brow had just furrowed, and before he could explain or give an order, the situation changed again.
Although the Demogorgon was suppressed by the continuous gunfire, it clearly hadn't been truly critically wounded.
The dark red veins on its surface began pulsing more rapidly, as if accumulating power or releasing some kind of signal.
In the wounds pierced by bullets, new fleshy tissue was rapidly growing, healing at a visible rate.
Worse still, it seemed to be thoroughly enraged.
"Roar—!"
This roar was even more violent. The next moment, a sharp claw struck Brenner, sending him flying sideways.
He groaned, three bloody gashes appearing on his body. He flew backward violently, crashed into the corridor wall, and then slid to the floor.
The handgun flew out of his grasp, sliding several feet across the floor, and he lost consciousness.
This time, truly no one could stop it.
"Ah!"
The three boys were now utterly terrified and helpless. They could only huddle together, holding Andy and Eleven, shouting in distress.
Andy lay on the ground, conscious but unable to move, forced to watch helplessly as the monster drew nearer.
Death was descending with the monster's footsteps, and then—
"Bang—!"
A gunshot. This time, it was a shotgun.
The monster let out a painful shriek, its body abruptly turning toward the source of the gunfire.
The five people had escaped death once more, but this time, the shot came from in front of them.
The three boys looked up. At the other end of the corridor, around the corner, stood three people.
Nancy Wheeler, Mike's older sister, held a shotgun with both hands, the barrel still smoking.
Her face was covered in sweat and grime, her hair was messy, but her eyes were exceptionally determined.
She maintained her shooting stance, her finger already on the trigger, ready for a second shot.
Beside her, Jonathan and Steve, holding a homemade nail bat, stood ready.
It turned out they had lured the monster at home and successfully wounded it before rushing to the school. They didn't know if the monster was dead or not.
But in case the monster had escaped, the kids might be in danger. So, after quickly bandaging themselves, they drove over in two cars, one following the other.
Of course, Nancy chose to ride in Jonathan's car.
Unexpectedly, upon arriving, they saw a bunch of vehicles surrounding the middle school, so they quickly grabbed their weapons and cautiously entered.
However, they didn't find anyone along the way until they reached a corner and saw the fallen squad members on the ground.
Sensing trouble, they immediately ran toward the soldiers, and then, around the next corner, the scene they just witnessed unfolded.
"Roar—" Disturbed repeatedly, the monster saw people holding guns again, and it roared furiously at the group.
The monster was forced back a step by the shot, but it didn't suffer any real damage.
But the good news was that it gave up on Eleven and turned toward the new, more threatening target—Nancy, who was holding a weapon and had just hurt it.
"Watch out!" Steve shouted, raising the nail bat forward.
But the next moment, "Bang—!"
Another gunshot, but this time it came from behind the monster.
Chief Hopper.
He appeared from the other end of the corridor, holding his service revolver, the muzzle pointed at the monster.
His clothes were torn, his face had fresh scrapes and bloodstains, and his breathing was heavy; he had clearly been through a hell of a fight.
Behind him, Barbara was barely standing, one hand clutching a wound on her abdomen, the other leaning against the wall for support.
"Barb!" Nancy saw Barbara leaning against the wall, clutching her abdomen. Her eyes instantly widened, her voice mixing shock, joy, and relief.
Barbara looked up, saw Nancy, and tears welled up again: "Nancy..."
"Bang bang bang—"
Gunshots continuously rang out from both sides, forcing the monster to defend left and right.
Nancy's group of three and Hopper all approached the monster while shooting.
When they were close enough, Steve swung the homemade nail bat with all his might, while Hopper hacked with his fire axe.
The two coordinated perfectly, front and back, beating the monster back and forth like a pinball until Hopper brought his axe down and cleaved off the monster's head.
Seeing the monster die, Nancy rushed forward and hugged Barbara.
"I'm so sorry," Nancy said, her voice choked. "I shouldn't have let you leave alone. I—"
"Where is Will?" Jonathan immediately asked upon seeing Hopper, his voice filled with unconcealed anxiety.
Jonathan hurried forward to ask Hopper, and Hopper looked toward the kids.
"At the hospital," Dustin replied, recovering his senses.
Lucas added: "Will passed out. Joyce took him to the hospital."
"Andy met up with us," Mike said, struggling to sit up while supporting Eleven. "But we don't know why the people from the Lab found us here."
Hearing the kids' brief report, Hopper surveyed the scene of scattered bodies, stared at Dr. Brenner lying on the ground for a few seconds, then finally looked away, interrupting Nancy and Barbara's tearful reunion.
"We need to get to the hospital quickly. The situation here looks bad, and others will find this place soon."
Hopper looked down, his gaze falling on Andy and Eleven. Both psychokinetic kids were clearly at their limit.
Andy was paralyzed on the ground, conscious but unable to move. Eleven was barely standing, nose bleeding profusely, her eyes unfocused.
"I'll take him."
Seeing this, Jonathan put down his fire axe, quickly walked over to Andy, squatted down, and carefully picked him up.
Andy's body was very light, too light for a twelve-year-old boy.
His eyes were half-closed, his breathing shallow, but he was still conscious.
Hopper walked over to Eleven, patted Mike's shoulder to signal him, then bent down and lifted Eleven as gently as possible.
Eleven's body was also very light, and she was so weak she was almost unconscious.
Looking at her, Hopper couldn't help but think of his own daughter who had died from cancer.
"Mike."
Eleven, suddenly lifted, instinctively called out the name of the person most familiar to her now.
Mike quickly stood up and took her hand. "Don't worry, we're safe now."
Nancy supported Barbara, Steve cautiously brought up the rear with the nail bat raised, Hopper carried Eleven, and Jonathan carried Andy. The group began retreating down the corridor.
As they passed Dr. Brenner, Andy, in Jonathan's arms, saw Brenner lying on the ground through his blurred vision.
Jonathan's embrace reminded him of the first time his powers went out of control; Dr. Brenner had held him just like this then.
Later, during training, whenever he collapsed, Henry would always be the first to show concern.
And Dr. Brenner would also come to the infirmary immediately after all the kids' training sessions to check on him gently and comfort him.
He had felt his embrace was so warm back then, but now, he was simply lying on the ground.
"Papa..."
Andy's lips moved, uttering an almost inaudible syllable.
It wasn't hatred, nor anger, nor even fear.
But a strange... nostalgia?
He didn't miss the time he was controlled, nor did he miss the Lab, cold as it was.
He just missed the beauty of his illusions, missed that false warmth.
Jonathan heard Andy's whisper, glanced down at him, but said nothing.
He simply held the boy who had saved his brother tighter and hurried to catch up with the group.
They passed the fallen soldiers in the corridor; some were dead, others still weakly groaning.
Blood pooled on the floor, forming slippery trails.
The air was filled with the smell of blood, gunpowder, and that sickly sweet, decaying odor.
They passed the massive breach in the wall, the passage through which the monster entered the real world.
Dark red viscous fluid was still dripping from the edge of the breach. Inside was a deeper darkness, occasionally punctuated by faint flashes of light, like the eyes of another world peering out.
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