????? ?, 1986

???????, ???????

????????????????????

“AUSTIN?? COME ON, DUDE, THIS SHIT ISN’T FUNNY.” Standing at the front door of her California home, Demona crossed her arms, sighing as she stared down the street. It was empty, as it typically had been this late at night, and while she could hear the water behind their subdivision crashing against the shoreline, she heard almost nothing else. Back in Hawkins, the briefest mention of California had her answering questions on what Hollywood was like, but little did they know that she had never even seen the lights of Broadway. She had made up all kinds of stories to the bullies and morons, only having told Eddie the truth of her locked-door subdivision nestled between the ocean and a forest, and her brother had barely even associated with her to tell the truth of her fairytales.

 

Right now, though, she found herself wishing the two were a little closer. He hadn’t played pranks on her in a long time, but she knew that the sound coming from the end of the street had to be exactly that. Their parents were out of town, so why not take the opportunity to cause a little chaos?? Still, she wasn’t sure how he had known what the demodogs sounded like, and hearing them at the end of her road was far from something she expected. His pranks had always been more along the lines of hiding her skateboard or putting a dead rat in the driver’s seat of her van, not making far too realistic sounds at the end of the road.

 

“We’re getting too old for this shit . . .” Mumbling under her breath, Demona stepped back inside the home to grab her skateboard, the blonde tossing it on the ground before jumping on. She typically didn’t wear her combat boots when skating, given the extreme ankle support and lack of ability to move the board around, but she wasn’t going far. As she got halfway down the street, though, the streetlights began to flicker in a far too familiar way. Her eyes twisted up to them, head slowly moving side to side as she glided down the road on her board. The sound of the dogs had stopped, leaving only the wheels grinding against the concrete, and for a moment, it was peaceful. It was like she was 14 again, and had she not been looking around for her brother, she would’ve smiled.

 

She was looking for her brother, though, and as she reached the culdesac, a sigh escaped her lips. Austin was nowhere to be seen, but she had reached where the sounds had been coming from. She was silent for a moment, too, blue eyes moving back and forth as she looked for him. Sure, the siblings didn’t exactly get along, but she wasn’t about to leave him in the dark. The lights were flickering again, after all, and while she assumed he was safe from The Upside Down, she wasn’t about to risk it.

 

Just as she let out a sharp whistle, though, three figures emerged from behind three different houses – only these figures weren’t human. It was three of Kas’ dogs, and their eyeless faces were locked on her, heads low as they growled at her. Even before they entered the glow of the flickering lights she could see the saliva practically dripping from their mouths, and her eyes widened. She could feel the panic starting to build in her chest. How they had gotten all the way to California, she wasn't sure, but she wasn’t sticking around to find out.

 

Turning around, Demona pushed off on her skateboard, flying down the street. One of the dogs howled, and the lights on the street started flickering faster as she heard paws pounding on the pavement. Her skateboard gave her an advantage over her previous encounter with them, but she knew it was still only a matter of time before they caught up to her on the open road. Pushing as fast as she could, she crouched down slightly to move faster. It didn’t help, though, and one glance back was all it took to show her just how close they were getting.

 

Another flurry of swears fell from the rebel, eyes turning back forward just in time to see the end of her street lead directly to a dirt path into the woods. How she had never noticed it before, she wasn’t sure, but at the moment, she wasn’t asking any questions about it. All she wanted was a way to lose the creatures chasing her, and as the wheels hit the dirt, she was half-thrown forward. Demona was barely able to catch herself before rolling on the ground, a hard cough following as dirt flew into her mouth. A dull ache spread over her back, too, but she knew she didn’t have much time to think about it. As soon as she was able, Demona scrambled back to her feet, pushing off into the woods and leaving her skateboard behind.

 

The woods, however, were far more familiar than she had expected. After all, she had spent four years traversing those woods with Eddie, and as she ran past the tree that had “D+E” etched in it, a part in the back of her mind wondered how she had gotten from California to Hawkins so quickly. She didn’t have much time to think about it, though, as she approached the end of the woods. It led out to what should have been Lover’s Lake, but rather than see more water, the red sky overhead revealed nothing more than a dried up dead area filled with vines. Logs rested throughout the area, along with at least three destroyed boats that she assumed had sunk to the bottom of the lake years ago. She could even see her family’s cabin across the open area, and as the forest grass melted into the dirt where the edge should have been, she slowed to a stop, eyes flashing around as the lightning mimicked the action overhead.

 

Taking just a moment to breathe at the edge of the dried lake, Demona bent over, hands falling to her knees. She had never been one to get out of breath easily, but the pain in her chest from lack of air was quickly pulling across her body. Her legs ached, and as she lifted her head to look behind her, a hand moving her hair out of her face, she once again swore under her breath.

 

Kas’ creatures were gaining on her, and they were weaving in and out of the trees with more ease than she had ever seen any monster move.

 

Her eyes widened, and panic began to tighten in her chest where air should have been. She knew, though, that if she stayed there, they would rip her to shreds in seconds. She could see the saliva dripping from their flower-like mouths, their eyeless heads locked directly on her as they snarled in their run. Another beat passed, then combat boots took off. Demona knew if she stopped, she was dead, and that was not something she was willing to do here.

 

Another flash of lightning, and she swore she could see a figure moving off to the side. She ignored it in favor of continuing to run, though. Her lungs were burning, and as she reached the center of the dried lake, a root was lifted just enough to catch the front of her shoe. She wasn’t sure how she had missed it, but as she tumbled into the ground, her hands slamming into the dirt, she didn’t care. Pain shot through her palms, and after the briefest of moments, she turned to glance behind her. The dogs were closing in, and as she tried to push herself off the ground, the root she had tripped over lifted once again. She reached her knees before it yanked her back down, and a scream erupted from her lips, the blonde crashing back to the ground.

 

All she could do was twist around with her ankle to the side, eyes wide and breathing heavy as the dogs approached her . . .