𝐖𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐍. ˢᵗᵉᵛᵉ ʰᵃʳʳⁱⁿᵍᵗᵒⁿ ¹ - 014

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014. 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 !

𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐈 𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐑 𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐒𝐇𝐄’𝐃 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐓.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!” she belted, her voice bouncing off the walls. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god—”

“Lori— stop! I need you to calm down!” Dustin shouted from the other end of the hall, his voice frantic.

Lori was still in front of the door, her eyes struck wide and her mouth agape. She felt like she couldn’t move for a second, as if someone had bolted her feet to the carpet floor, right in front of the room. Her chest was suddenly rising and falling at a rapid pace, faster than she’d ever noticed her body doing before. Her eyes darted in a straight line across the bottom of the door, trying to process what she’d just seen— what she’d just seen, was some sort of mutant animal, hunched over in the corner, eating away at something. She didn’t even have time to see what it was devouring, she didn’t even take a second to see what the it was, because she’d closed the door so fucking fast, with only a single glance at the thing’s face.

But she’d had enough time to see the gaping hole that was its mouth, and its head turning in her direction to flare its bloody teeth at her— a gut wrenching shriek coming from within its slimy body. She’d had enough time to see that, which was enough for her heart to fall into her ass.

And that sent her body into a panic she’d never known before.

Lori didn’t even think to rule out the possibility that she was seeing things, that maybe she was hallucinating, maybe it wasn’t a creature at all— maybe it was a street animal that had hopped through the window. Because all she could think about was the slimy mouth and bearing teeth, and her sudden urge to race for the telephone.

“Holy shit!” She yelled, her throat aching from the volume of her voice. A picture frame jiggled on the wall from the loudness. She turned away from the door at once, not even cutting an eye to Dustin as she raced on her feet. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my GOD!“

“What are you doing!” Dustin yelled after her, but she was already around the corner. “NO! STOP!”

Lori didn’t move anything out of her way, all she did was run a clean line towards the phone on the cabinet, bolting for it as fast as her feet could take her despite the objects guarding her trajectory. She let out sharp breaths, her heart beating so fast against her ribcage that it made her hands shake, so much that when she grabbed the phone, it nearly fell right out of her grasp. She stood in front of the phone, her shaky finger reaching for the dial.

Dustin was trying to follow her as fast as he could, waddling down the hallway. He had hockey guards on his legs that slowed him down a considerable amount, and the hockey helmet obscured his vision. He dropped the hockey stick at the door and hopped on his feet, side to side, towards the threshold of the living room with great panic.

“Lori! Wait!” he called, urgently, his voice alarming. “What are you doing! Look — I can explain!” he shouted, through pants.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” Lori couldn’t stop repeating. Her shaky finger pressed on the 9, and then less than half a second later, she double on the 1’s.

Her hand was clutching so hard on the phone’s speaking handle that her knuckles turned white. She listened to the first ring, her foot tapping on the ground rapidly.

“Hurry up!” she slammed her hand on the cabinet, referring to the Sheriff’s Department. A vase and some coasters on the cabinet clinked together from the impact. “Holy shit this can’t be happening.”

“Lori! Stop! I’m serious!” Dustin was yelling. His voice soared when he made it to the corner of the hallway, facing Lori who was at the end of the living room. “LORI!” he yelled, when he realized she was holding the telephone.

And as he hopped on his feet, waddling as fast as he possibly could down the living room, the ringing stopped on the other line. Lori’s breathing hitched.

“Hawkin’s Sheriff’s Department, what is your emergency?” A lady on the other phone spoke, her voice dreary.

Lori swallowed fast. “I— I— there is something in my house!” she yelled into the phone, “It’s— it’s like a, like a, like a, I don’t know! You have to come now!”

“There is something in your house,” the lady repeated, sounding already fed up. “Is it a person? A man?—”

“It’s a— or, I don’t know! Just hurry! Oh my god,” Lori clutched the phone with both of her hands. “Okay? I’m in danger! My address is—”

Before she could yell the street name, the phone was pulled from her hand.

“What the hell are you doing!” Lori screamed, her eyes boggled at Dustin’s face under the hockey helmet. “Are you crazy?!”

He slammed the phone down onto the holder, hanging up. “You’re out of your damn mind!” he yelled.

Lori reached for the phone with aggression, but Dustin caught her hands. They fought for a moment, Lori trying to grab the phone and Dustin guarding— her hands fighting against his relentlessly. She was no match for the amount of body gear he was wearing. She bickered, grappling for the phone and muttering curse words, until he swung an arm and hit the phone off the cabinet, sending it flying to the ground.

It was broken, certainly. The handle was cracked, and the cord attaching it to the wall had fallen out, along with the bottom piece snapping in half to reveal the inner wires of it. It was toast. And Lori was fuming.

“What is wrong with you!” Lori howled, immediately stopping her actions and running right towards the phone on the floor. “Do you know what’s in your room! — Oh my god, what the hell was that!” she stood up and burned her eyes into his, behind the metal caging of the helmet. She gestured for emphasis, “We have to call the cops, you shitwad!”

Before she could do anything else, possibly run right out the door, he grabbed her shoulders with his oven mitt hands. “Stop! Okay— listen to me!” Dustin yelled, his hands shaking her shoulders to knock some sense into her. She squirmed, and he grabbed tighter. “Lorraine Philbin— listen to me!”

He let out a fast huff, her arms pressed hard to the sides of her body as Dustin held her in place. Her chest rose and fell repeatedly.

“Here’s what’s gonna happen.” he said, trying to calm his voice. He looked right into her eyes. “We’re gonna get our shit together, and you’re gonna put on the extra hockey gear that I have in the shed and you’re gonna help me.”

“Help you with what!” she yelled, her face twisted. “What was that thing, Dustin!”

“I’ll explain everything once it’s over, I promise.” He shut his eyes hard, as if he regretted even saying those words, but it was evident that he now thought he had to.

She’d seen it. He had no choice now but to explain. Explain how much? He didn’t know that yet. But he was going to have to explain why the hell there was a baby demogorgon eating his cat in his bedroom. He knew that wouldn’t sit well with Lori.

She swallowed. Usually, she would bicker back and demand answers. But there was something crawling up her chest and settling in her throat, causing her to stop. Was it fear?

“Where is your mom.” She said, breathing out through her nose. Her lips were stiff, and her chest wouldn’t stop heaving.

Dustin loosened his grip on her arms just a little bit. “She’s out looking for Mews.” he said slowly, enunciating every word. He didn’t break eye contact.

“Holy shit,” Lori’s voice quivered. “That was your cat,” she said with a painful realization, her voice rising in pitch. “Mews was in there, that thing was eating your cat!” she pointed to the hallway.

“Yes — okay!” Dustin shouted. “And our moms are out looking for him. Alri— I’ll explain it all in a matter of minutes, but for now we have to hurry!”

“I can’t do this,” Lori shook her head aggressively. “No! Absolutely not. I can’t do this.”

“Do you want me to die!” Dustin shook her shoulders. “I need your help! This is crazy shit, Lor, we are dealing with extremely heavy matter— you can’t leave now! You hear me?”

“This isn’t happening,” Lori shut her eyes and spoke to herself.

“Listen to me, Lori,” Dustin said sternly. “This could quite possibly lead to unexplainable disasters in the near future if my plan doesn’t follow through. I need your help, now.”

She swallowed again and took a deep, long breath. No, she didn’t want Dustin to die. And for a second, she was trying to decide if that was reason enough to help him. “I’m not going near it.” she said, as her only constraint to agreeing, with a coarse voice. It was hard to get the words out, hard to agree to such a thing.

Dustin loosened his grip on her shoulders, “Okay,” he said, calmly now, and then his oven mitt hands let go of her completely. “You can wait by the shed, alright?”

She didn’t say anything, just shot daggers into his eyes with her own. There was a harsh glare in her eyes that told him she wasn’t going to take any more shit than the bare minimum. She crossed her arms hard over her chest. She could’ve just ran out the door right then, but somehow she couldn’t do it.

“You go get your armor, kay? I’ll get the baloney in the fridge.” he said, sternly.

“What are you doing with the fuckin’ baloney!” Lori exclaimed with an outraged expression.

He put his hand out, as if laying down the plan. “Making a trail. When you’re ready, wait by the shed until I give the signal.”

She scoffed, as he turned away. He began to waddle towards the kitchen, and she was left there, wondering what the hell his plan was, why she was going along with it, and what the hell was in his room. She closed her eyes tight, but as soon as the darkness enveloped her sight, all she could see was the damn creature, its big mouth and hunched scaly body in the corner of Dustin’s room. She felt a shiver trickle up her arms and down her spine, sending her stomach into swirls and making her mind boggle with spiraling thoughts.

“Fuck me,” she spat, under her breath. But very much still making it audible for Dustin to hear her grave discontent.

He was still waddling away, towards the kitchen, going as fast as he could. With a strong sigh, Lori started for the hallway, trying to calm her shaking hands by crossing her arms and putting them under her armpits. She walked all the way to the hall, and at the threshold, she turned her head to look at the closed bedroom door. She didn’t hear a sound. But she paused for just a moment, looking at the door and replaying the image in her mind. This wasn’t normal, that wasn’t normal— none of this was ordinary.

She was scared to think about Hawkins as a whole. She’d known something was off with this place. Was this it?

She had no choice but to dwell on that thought all the way to the shed in the backyard. With every step towards it, she felt her stomach drop even more, like she knew something worse was coming. But it was already bad enough. As she approached the wooden shed, she cut a glance towards the storm cellar she didn’t know they had, and noticed how the doors were wide open.

“Oh my fucking god,” she said to herself, her words slower than before when she was panicked.

She pulled open the doors to the shed with her shaking hands — which were shaking just a little bit less now — and stepped inside the dimly lit area. There was another chest protector lying in the corner, and scattered around the shed there was random equipment — hockey knee guards like Dustin had on, big hockey gloves, and a baseball bat. She didn’t have time, energy, or space in her head to think about where the equipment came from, all she did was grab the items and begin to throw them on.

She was also so focused on her thoughts and her nervousness that she didn’t even notice Dustin making the trail of baloney outside. He placed the slices all the way to the cellar doors, quickly, and went back inside without her even noticing.

“Listen,” she said, out loud, and looked up to the sky as she tied the chest protector to her body. She put in her best efforts towards, well, the man upstairs. “I know I don’t pray, or anything, and I’ve been using your name in vain, like, for the past ten minutes— but if you’re up there,” she paused, and took a deep, shaky breath. “Please help.”

She tied the knee guards to her legs, and slid the gloves on her hands. She turned on her foot slowly and scanned her eyes around the shed for a helmet. There was nothing in sight, so she let out a huff and pushed open the rickety shed door, stepping out into the light.

She was leaning on the side of the shed, trying not to think about her possible imminent death, while swirling the baseball bat in her hand. She was staring at the open cellar doors, when Dustin’s voice sounded from far, after what seemed like an hour of horrible waiting.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit,” he was saying, with every step.

Lori stood up straight, her eyes panicked and searching for him. She caught sight of his hockey helmet, as he was waddling out the back door, the hockey stick in hand and his gear still on.

“Lori— in the shed!” he called to her.

Without thinking twice, Lori turned on her heel and pushed open the shed door, stepping inside. She held the door open, watching cautiously for Dustin to hurry up.

“Shit, shit, shit,” he spat. “Shit, shit, shit, shit,” he made it to the door, and stepped up inside with his hockey stick.

He turned around and shut the door, panting.

Lori didn’t say anything, just took in a large breath and gripped the bat tighter in her hand. She moved to stand against the wall, her back to it. There was a standstill moment where nothing happened and all that could be heard was their breathing.

After a long moment, Dustin approached the wall, staring in between the cracks of the wooden boards.

“Come on,” he groaned, his voice low, “Come on, I know you’re hungry.”

Then he gasped.

“What, what,” Lori urged, her voice panicked.

“Yes,” Dustin whispered. “Yes, yes, yes,”

Then there was a growl and a chewing noise, and Lori swallowed, hard. The squelching didn’t stop, and within a second it was accompanied by little steps on the leaves.

Dustin moved to the other side of the door, looking out a different crack. “Whatever you do,” he whispered, lowly, to Lori. “Don’t. Scream.”

She pressed her lips together, trying not to listen to the growling.

“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,” Dustin was saying, sounding like the anticipation for victory. He was still watching closely.

Lori leant her head against the wall of the shed, her stomach twisting.

Then, there was a pause. No growling, no stepping, and no whispering.

But that pause ended when Dustin bounded away from the wall. “Shit!” he spat, shocked.

“What’s happening!” Lori whispered, taking notice of his fear.

Dustin was breathing heavily, and after a moment, he began to step forward again. This time, painfully slow. The kind of slow that makes everything seem more painful to watch.

And when he got close enough to see outside, he bounded back faster than before, hitting his back against the wall with a thud. Lori’s eyes widened, and she took in a small gasp.

Dustin’s chest heaved heavily, and there was a chittering sound from right outside the door, the leaves crunching and the creature growling.

Dustin mouthed the words “right there,” to Lori, with undeniable fear, and he shifted his eyes to the door.

Lori shut her eyes hard, and leant her head against the wall, trying not to breathe. She stood there, for was seemed like minutes but was really only a few seconds, listening to the steps that were getting closer and closer, and the growling that became increasingly menacing. Her chest was aching with fear, her mind was paralyzed, and her hand was shaking the baseball bat.

She was scared. And Lori Philbin never got scared. But Lori Philbin did get mad. Really mad. Mad enough to make her do the unexpected sometimes. And one of the main things that got Lori angry — was being scared.

She shot her eyes open. She looked at Dustin, who stood there breathing heavily, clutching his hockey stick. He seemed almost ready to burst open the door. But he wasn’t doing it.

Lori Philbin did not like being scared.

“Fuck this shit.” she spat.

She clutched the bat tighter in her hand and pushed herself off the shed wall. She faced the door. And without thinking twice, she rose her leg, and kicked it open with a strong push. She tried not to think about what she was doing as she laid eyes on the creature, hunched over right at her feet. All she could do was let out a yell, an earsplitting yell that scratched the back of her throat, and charge towards whatever it was, the baseball bat ready to go.

It bounded back from her, letting out a screech, tumbling over a few times. But Lori didn’t stop.

And, with some unknown force of fucking nature, she swung the bat at the creature — and the animal went flying right into the cellar.

Dustin was running out after her, his face struck with disbelief. He nearly fell right on his face as he lunged for the cellar doors, grabbing them with an unprecedented speed and shutting them faster than the little creature could run. He laid sprawled out on top of the doors, and a growl and a thud emitted from below them.

“Holy shit, Lori!” Dustin breathed, without looking to her. “I didn’t even know you had that in you! Shit, thanks.” he exclaimed.

Lori dropped the bat to the ground.

Dustin grunted. “I’m sorry,” he said, now to the cellar doors. “You ate my cat.”

The creature shrieked in the cellar.

“Maybe you do have a heart in you after all, Lor,” Dustin joked, as he slowly got the strength to push himself up. “That was one hell of a swing,” he stood up, letting out a refreshed breath.

But Lori didn’t answer. She was staring at the ground, her vision obscuring.

And then all of a sudden, the ground no longer seemed so far away— as it neared rapidly, and her head hit the dirt.

𝙅𝙐𝙇𝙄
all hail lori right?

my favorite chaotic duo <3

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