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“Monster Hunters Incorporated!” Dustin said with a wide smile. Nancy cocked an eyebrow at him, then crossed her arms.
“What?”
“Monster’s Hunters Incorporated…” Mike explained, “It’s a secret organization. When monster problems arise anywhere in the Midwest…we’ll be there…”
“Like the Ghostbusters?” Nancy asked incredulously. She was standing to one side of the table and she looked down at the “signatory papers” (written carefully in multi-colored crayon, likely by Will) the younger ones had pushed to her. After reading the title again, she glanced up at Steve to her right. He was leaning back in his chair, in a leather jacket, blue jeans, and a tight black shirt underneath. He turned slightly, meeting Nancy’s eyes. She thought of the lavender perfume she was wearing, and hoped he liked it. In fact, he hoped it was just the way he and Jonathan liked it. Nancy felt her annoyance with the kids melt into desire for him and had to resist the urge to reach out and grab his hand.
“Yes!” Mike said, pointing at her, “Just like them!”
“Except cooler! With more tools and plans and stuff…” Lucas added. Nancy looked at the boys, then glanced at the younger girls behind them. Max looked like she couldn’t believe they were trying to do this. Eleven, who had been through so much, wore a blank expression. Nancy worried about the poor girl, but she could also see Steve giving her a hard glare; Nancy knew he didn’t really trust her.
“Ok, this is…sudden…” Jonathan started, sitting forward. He was to Nancy’s left, and leaned past her to pull the rainbow colored document to himself. His hand and arm brushed hers, and their eyes meet briefly before he pulled the papers back to him. Nancy fought the temptation to grab Jonathan’s rear, instead looking back at the younger boys.
“So, if we’re going to be the Ghostbusters,” Steve started, “Are you going to be driving the Herse, Dustin? Or is someone else in the funeral business?” The younger boys simply stared at him in shock.
“You watched Ghostbusters?” Will asked. Steve rolled his eyes, but Nancy spoke.
“He watched enough so that he could make that comment. Look, guys, I just don’t know if this is a good idea. We’ve just survived dealing with a bunch of monsters. Maybe we shouldn’t…go out looking for more…” Nancy suggested.
“Other than throw El at your problems, do you have any plans for dealing with any monsters you face?” Jonathan asked. The group of younger boys looked at each other, then back at the three older.
“That’s why we’re adding you all to our company…” Dustin said, “You all can deal with anything that might overwhelm us…”
“Jonathan, you come up with such great ideas and plans, we were hoping you would help us with…defeating the monsters,” Will said.
“And Nancy is a great shooter and leader and Steve’s so strong with his bat…” Lucas suggested.
“Ok…maybe,” Jonathan muttered, “But guys, if we’re a monster hunting company, do we have some monsters to hunt? I mean, since the gate is closed…”
“Maybe the gate to the upside down is closed and we don’t have to deal with the Mind Flayer…” Mike started, glancing at Will, who seem to shudder at hearing the dominant and evil creature which had possessed him.
“But strange things are still happening around here…” Lucas continued, “Farmer Eugene has reported that something evil is stealing his vegetables…”
“Rabbits?” Jonathan said. Mike shook his head.
“No, something’s off about it. They aren’t like normal rabbits. They’re monsters, and we’re investigating. This is our first contract and we’re already a business, with or without you. So we’re going to Eugene’s later…you can come or stay home. Your choice…” Mike said defiantly. Steve sighed, then looked at Nancy, who shrugged.
“Fine…” Nancy said, grabbing the crayon box on Will’s side and pulling out a yellow. She liked yellow, it might not be very easy to read, but it would be hers. She signed the document quickly, then pushed it to Steve who took a nice blue from the box and drew his overly dramatic cursive name on the document. Finally, Jonathan wrote his name on the paper in a violet color, and Dustin snatched it up and rushed out of the room, followed by the five other younger kids. Nancy watched them go, then turned to Steve.
“Welp…I guess we’re in business…”
“Was that a good idea?” Steve asked. Nancy shrugged, then put a hand on the older boy’s shoulder.
“I don’t know…but I’d rather us be there than them alone…”
“Yeah…” Steve said, then reached out past Nancy and stroked Jonathan’s arm, “What about you? Thoughts?”
“Well…The papers aren’t binding…” Jonathan said, moving closer to Steve and letting him stroke along his shoulder and down to his chest.
“Thanks Lawyer Byers. I got that…”
“Nonetheless…we just agreed to hunt monsters with the boys and girls. I’ll get the gun from Jonathan’s…” Nancy said.
“I’ll get my bat…” Steve offered. The two turned to Jonathan, who shrugged.
“I’ll get some stuff from the hunting store. Bear traps and…explosives…”
“Good…” Nancy said, then placed a hand on Jonathan’s back and kissed him gently on his cheek. He turned to her, then Steve slid his arms around Jonathan’s waist and kissed the nap of his neck, “I guess we’ll see each other this evening then…”
“I hope so…” Jonathan said, leaning forward and kissing Nancy on the forehead.
Nancy turned to see Steve’s car fly up onto the farm road and stop suddenly in front of the group. He got out quickly, dusting himself off, then went to his trunk and snatched up his nail bat. Nancy leaned over, prodded Jonathan, and pointed to Steve trying to walk casually toward them. They were in front of where Mike, Lucas and Dustin, as the “primary contractors” were meeting with the client. Eleven, Max and Will were nearby, looking over some of the torn up parts of the farm.
“You’re a little late…” Nancy said. Steve flashed her a smile, then ran a hand through his hair. It was clear he had done it up. And it made him look really handsome. In fact, he seemed to have got it just the way both Nancy and Jonathan liked it. Especially when they were having sex. Nancy bit her lip and felt her legs clench as Steve moved over toward her sensually.
“Sorry about that…I hope I can…make it up to you and Jonathan…”
“Make it up to me, Steve!” Dustin shouted, ruining the moment, “I trusted you! I made sure you were on the team! And the first god-damned day on the job…you’re late!” Steve rolled his eyes, then glanced at Jonathan.
“Well, your hair looks nice at least…”
“Thanks, Byers…” Steve said, running a hand through it, “It’s not my best work…but…”
“It explains why you’re late…” Mike yelled. Steve flipped him off, then the young boy turned back to Eugene, who was looking over the six younger kids and three older ones.
“This is really the team who got the poison and those weird foxes out of our farms?”
“Weird foxes? Wait like…” Nancy started, then looked at Jonathan, who put a finger over his lips. She looked back at Mike, Dustin, and Lucas.
“Yes. We’re Monster Hunters Inc. And we specialize in taking out things other pest control groups would deny are problems…” Mike said.
“Or run away screaming from…” Lucas added. Eugene scratched his beard, looking over the group again, then sighed and shrugged.
“Well…I got a situation I can’t really understand. See, I got vegetable patches in pieces…bad as I’ve ever seen. And the worse part…” Eugene leaned in, and all of the “company” moved in too, “I’ve found blood on a few patches. I thought it might be a fox or something like that, but they tend to leave some trace. Ripped body parts, a trail of blood, something. But there isn’t any hint an animal was here. Other than ripped up dirt…”
“Well…that does sound like a mystery…” Dustin said, then turned around and looked over the group, “Let’s check it out. Team one, Nancy, Mike and El, you look over there, at that side of the farm.”
“You mean the east?”
“Yeah, that. Jonathan, Will, and Lucas, you look at the west part. Max, Steve and I…”
“Max is going with you?” Lucas interrupted, “How come? I want Max to come with me!”
“But I want a commander with each team. And you know I got to go with Steve…”
“You know what?” Nancy said, stepping in and putting a hand on Mike’s head, which she knew annoyed him as all get out, “We’re a company. All of us. Why don’t we shake up the groups a bit…”
“What do you mean?” the boy asked, squirming away from Nancy’s hand.
“We’ll pick out the teams…” Steve said, catching Nancy’s drift, “Lucas, Dustin, you’re with me…”
“Yeah!” Dustin started, then looked back at Steve, “Wait, what?”
“I’ll take Mike and Will. Jonathan, you watch the girls…”
“But…Jonathan…are you sure you can handle…” Dustin started.
“Hey! Both of you, come on! Jonathan can handle himself!” Steve yelled, grabbing Lucas and Dustin’s collars, “We’ll explore the center of the farm. Mr. Eugene, would you point us to the nearest destroyed patch?” Eugene raised a finger, then the three boys turned in that direction. Nancy glanced at Jonathan and gave him a small smile.
“Are you okay with this?”
“Yeah…it’s fine. Watch Will, okay?”
“Don’t worry…” Nancy said. She nodded to Eleven, who followed Jonathan and Max, then grabbed Mike’s collar and pushed him forward, with Will in tow.
“Mr. Eugene. Is there a destroyed patch around this part?” Nancy called back.
“Yeah, right over there, by that tree, though, I think it’ll be getting dark soon, if you all need to wait till tomorrow…”
“No need. We have it under control!” Mike yelled, then slipped out of Nancy’s grip and held out his hands to her, “Please, take the lead…”
“Ugh…” Nancy groaned, then reached behind her and drew her pistol, then started walking. She, like the two boys behind her, was in what the kids called “full adventure gear.” She had a bandana tied around her neck, a tight sweater, old jeans and two pistols, each with a full magazine. She really didn’t expect to use the weapons, but she was going to be ready anyway. Eugene’s problems were strange, and not easily explained by some animal.
“So…uh…Mike…why exactly did we decide to do this tonight?” Will asked.
“Don’t you remember? We have a DnD game planned at the game store at 9:30, Will. It was the only time we could get…” Mike answered.
“…but Mike…when it gets dark, we won’t be able to see anything…”
“Then maybe Nancy should hurry up!” Mike yelled, pushing Nancy forward and pointing to a cabbage patch that seemed to have been dug up and torn apart. The girl swallowed back the desire to retaliate, and held up her pistol as she moved to the what she could see was a mess of dirt and vegetable. Nancy leaned down and picked up a handful of the substance, which had ripped cabbage leaves, caked muddy soil and something else that caked the mush together and smelled terrible. Then, Nancy turned as he heard sounds coming out of the patch, almost like a thrashing. She put a hand out to keep the kids back, then raised her pistol. Suddenly, the dirt near her started to move slightly, like something was digging underneath it.
“Nancy! Watch out!” Mike yelled.
“I see it, Mike!” Nancy growled. She lined up a shot as the dirt started to rumble and shift more next to her. Then, the white ears and red eyes of a rabbit popped out of the earth. Nancy sighed and lowered her gun. The creature crawled the rest of the way out of the dirt and took a few hops away from their group, its nose working furiously.
“It’s a rabbit. Eugene has rabbits guys…” Nancy muttered, turning back to Mike and Will and shaking her head. Mike moved to stand beside her, looking at the rodent, but Will went to the patch and started sifting through the dirt.
“That’s it? Our first job and all we found was a stupid rabbit?”
“Yeah, well, that’s how it goes sometimes. Probably dozens of them, digging up the farm and tearing apart his crops…”
“But…why would Eugene think there was something weird going on? I mean, this can’t be his first time dealing with rabbits…” Mike said
“Guys…” Will started. Nancy turned with Mike and saw the boy holding up a handful of dirt.
“What?”
“This…its…blood…”
“Blood? Blood from what? The rabbits…” Suddenly Nancy heard the sound of some more dirt thrashing, then something careened over Will and raced across the muddy farmland. It crashed into the rabbit and wrestled with it for a short time before dirt was suddenly flying all around them. Then, all at once, it was over. There was a upturned and torn up patch of earth and both the rabbit and its pursuer had vanished. Nancy only barely caught of glimpse of what the thing was, and by the time she had drawn the pistol, it was long gone.
“Uh…oh boy…” Nancy looked to where she could just make out the outlines of Eleven, Max and Jonathan in the fading light. They seemed to be analyzing what was probably an equally torn up patch. She waved a hand and called to them.
“Jonathan! We got a problem! Some kind of…” she could not finish before three rabbits burst from their patch and started racing out onto the farm. Then, the creature burst from the ground again, and swiftly ran down one rabbit and flung it onto its side, then pursued another…right into Max. Nancy took off toward the girl with all her might. The image of Max drawing back from the thing fighting with and biting at the rabbits neck was slowly becoming clearer as she hurried. As she came within range, the creature threw the dead rabbit aside, and turned its head toward Max. Then, Nancy knew what it was.
“Demidog! It’s a demidog!” Nancy called. Mike, who was apparently close behind and panting loudly, called out.
“I thought…(huff)…they were all dead after…(huff)…the gate closed!”
“I guess not!” Nancy yelled, then looked back just in time to see Jonathan swing the container of a bait trap and knock the demidog away from the girl. The creature growled at the two, opened its five part mouth, then Eleven raised a hand and sent it flying back. It slammed into the ground, flopping and bouncing, then then it jumped to its feet and jamed its mouth to the ground near it. A moment later it was tunneling, and Nancy couldn’t get a clear shot before it was gone again.
“Jonathan, are you all okay?” Nancy asked. Jonathan patted down Max, then stood up and looked at the older girl.
“We’re fine. But…that was…”
“A demidog, I know. Where did it go?” Nancy asked. She turned back and saw the two younger boys had caught up. Will, almost in tears, threw his arms around Jonathan, while Mike, breathing heavily, moved to the girls. He almost looked excited as he started helping Max dust Eleven off.
“I think it went underground …” Jonathan said. He glanced back toward the torn patch then his eyes grew wide. Nancy turned and saw the thrashing dirt around the dead rabbit next to them, then, the rabbit was pulled under and the dirt stopped moving.
“I guess that explains the torn up cabbage patches and blood on them…” Jonathan muttered, then ran a hand over his brother’s hair, “Don’t worry Will. I don’t care what this is, I won’t let anyone come for you again…”
“Yeah, don’t worry Will…we’ll keep you safe…” Mike added, then turned back to Eleven, “You sure you girls are okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good…” Max said, nodding, “It just…jumped out at me…and threw a lot of dirt around. It didn’t hurt us…”
“But why is it alive at all?” Will asked into Jonathan’s shirt. The others looked at him a moment, none able to answer the question, then Nancy turned from the others to see the rabbit further away dragged underground by the demidog. After a moment, the creature burst from the ground and started running toward the her, letting out an eerie cry. Nancy drew her gun, then heard Jonathan shoved Will back and raise his bait container.
“Here it comes!” Nancy yelled. The creature suddenly curved from the older two, however, and charged for Mike and Max instead. Nancy fired twice, making on shot and sending the creature careening. She rushed toward it, with Jonathan behind her, raising her gun again. The creature jumped to its feet, shook itself off, then dodged another shot from Nancy as she approached. It took to the air, five part mouth roaring, and a nail bat came down on its back. The older girl turned to see Steve smiling at her, then he twirled the bat as the demidog shifted to him with a growl. As it jumped again, Steve gave it another hard whack, which landed several nails and sent the thing soaring. The creature landed roughly back on a torn up patch, struggling from its wounds. Nancy smiled back at Steve, then saw the rest of the older boy’s team race up behind him. Lucas had his slingshot armed and Dustin was muttering to himself, clearly trying to stay calm. Now, the full force of the monster hunters was there, Nancy, Jonathan and Steve in front, and the younger ones behind them. The creature pulled itself up, then turned to the group and let out a much weaker growl. Before it could move again though, the creature was lifted into the air, and it started to squirm wildly as it levitated above their heads. Nancy turned to see Eleven, now with her hand up and a small line of blood dripping from her nose, was concentrating on holding the thing in place. Nancy nodded to her, then moved with Jonathan and Steve toward the monster.
“That…that is a demidog…” Steve said, pointing with his bat. Jonathan looked at him, then at Nancy.
“Yeah…it is…”
“How has it survived?” Nancy asked.
“On rabbit…I’d guess,” Steve said.
“I bet it created a whole system of tunnels around Eugene’s farm,” Jonathan gestured to the messy dirt piles, then back at the creature, “It’s probably been catching all sorts of things in the vegetables. Rabbits, squirrels, mice…”
“Well…now that we’ve caught it…what should we do with it?” Nancy asked, turning back to the wider group.
“Kill it probably…survivor or not, it’s still dangerous…” Steve suggested.
“We are a “monster hunting” organization…” Jonathan said with a small grin. Nancy smiled at him, then felt smaller hands push between her and Steve.
“Wait a minute…” Dustin said, stepping toward the creature thrashing in Eleven’s telepathic grip.
“What, Dustin?”
“That’s…it has to be…” Dustin reached into his pocket and pulled out a candy bar. The creature turned its head and flapped its five part mouth in something that might have been licking its lips.
“Son of a bitch! It’s Dart!” Dustin said, a smile spreading across his face.
“Dart!” Will said, his eyes growing wide, “As in…”
“Yeah, the Demidog I raised. The one…”
“That ate your cat and tunneled through solid rock out of your basement, Dustin!” Steve interrupted, shoving him back, “We’ve really got to kill that thing now…”
“What? No!” Dustin said.
“Guys…I…it…” Eleven tried to say, but soon the group was arguing and Nancy couldn’t really hear her.
“Dustin, we don’t have a choice,” Jonathan said.
“We’ve got to get rid of it. Only bad things will come if we leave it alive…” Nancy said, trying to put it much more kindly than Steve.
“Dustin, that is not a good pet. It’s a…well, frankly, it’s an evil monster,” Steve instructed.
“Guys, the demi…demidog is…” Eleven tried again, but Dustin was now yelling and gesturing at the writhing creature floating above them.
“No, now you listen. Dart hasn’t bothered us at all since the gate was closed. We haven’t heard from him and he hasn’t hurt anything but wild animals for food. And maybe it means something that he survived when all the others didn’t. Maybe…”
“Maybe it’s connected to me…maybe it’s living off of me because it grew in me…” Will offered as an idea, “I think maybe since I’m still alive, it draws some energy from me…so if I were to die, like some of the others who were taken were, this demidog would not be able to survive here…”
“Wow Will. That’s dark…” Nancy said, trying not to think too much about the boy’s surmising, “But, that doesn’t change the fact that we can’t leave it…”
“Guys!” Eleven yelled, then she groaned and cried out as the demidog thrashed out of her grip and flung itself into the ground. As soon as it landed on the soft dirt, it immediately started burrowing and, in a moment, was gone.
“Oh shit…” Steve muttered.
“Circle up!” Nancy yelled, drawing both pistols. Jonathan moved behind her, then pointed.
“I think I can make a plan to catch it, but I’ll need this…” Jonathan grabbed the nugget bar from Dustin, “And to get back to my car…”
“Alright!” Nancy said, “Let’s run for it! Steve, watch the kids!” Nancy focused on the younger boys and girls, “Guys, stay close to him and don’t hesitate to call for help!” Steve nodded to her, then she and Jonathan started running. Sure enough, the dirt around the bigger group started to thrash, but Steve started striking it with his bat, probably not hitting anything but keeping the creature underground. Eventually, Nancy and Jonathan reached the old Ford LTD. Nancy threw herself against the car and raised her guns, preparing for another attack. Jonathan rushed back to the trunk and opened it quickly, then pulled out a bear trap and what appeared to be a firework.
“What the…?”
“I’ll explain later…” Jonathan said. He rushed over to a patch of torn up dirt and started digging.
“What are you doing, Jonathan? Are you trying to die?” Nancy asked, running over to him.
“No…because…” Jonathan dug up another handful, then reached down into the ground. He went all the way down to his shoulder, revealing that he’d found a demidog/rabbit tunnel, “I’ve found what I need…” Jonathan pushed Nancy back, then lit a firework and dropped it down the hole he made, then took off running. Nancy followed him, then watched in confusion as the dirt exploded into the air. Eventually, the girl heard pattering, then she could see a mass of rabbits that burst up from the nearby ground and started to rush around in all directions. Soon, the demidog burst from the ground as well, chasing down two rabbits with ease. One rabbit rushed near Jonathan and Nancy, and the boy dropped to his knees and started to set up the bear trap.
“Quick, get his attention…”
“Okay…Hey, asshole!” Nancy yelled, shooting in its direction. Dart jumped out of the way of the bullets then turned to her and made a low growl, curling its mouth flaps, “Come on! Over here!” Nancy fired again, intentionally missing and Dart growled louder, then started toward Jonathan. After a few more moments, Jonathan stood up suddenly, and held out the candy bar.
“Hey! You want this?” The creature stopped short, and looking suspiciously at Jonathan, but was now more purring than growling, “Well, it’s right here…” Jonathan said, putting a piece of the candy bar on the center of the trap. Dart looked up at Jonathan, then moved slowly over the metal and very gently picked up the candy and chewed on it slowly. Then, it turned to Jonathan, as if looking for more.
“Uh…that didn’t work…” Jonathan muttered. Dart turned its head and made another purring noise. Jonathan glanced at Nancy, then tossed Dart the rest of the candy. Dart ate it happily, then looked up at the boy again.
“Wow…it’s almost like he’s at your command…” Nancy surmised.
“Well…maybe he’s not that bad…” Jonathan said. Dart turned its head, and made a noise, as if getting impatient. Jonathan held out his empty hands, and then the demidog growled loudly and tackled Jonathan, jumping onto his chest and roaring angrily.
“Aah! Nancy!”
“Son of a bitch!” Nancy kicked the creature as hard as she could, sending Dart back into the trap and causing it to trigger. It clamped down on the demidog’s back and it cried in pain.
“Alright…there…now it’s caught again…and…”
“And, now, we’ve got to kill it…” Nancy said, then turned to see Steve approaching him, a grin on his face.
“Not bad…” he said, admiring the captured and struggling creature.
“Dart!” Dustin called, running past him and going to the demidog, however, it snapped at him as he got close.
“Dustin, it has to die…”
“Yeah, that nearly killed me!” Max said.
“And him!” Lucas said, pointing at Will.
“This thing could have killed all of us…” Mike agreed, “Dustin, let it go!”
“A…alright…” Dustin said, tears welling in his eyes. Dart turned toward him, making a rather sad, pleading sound, then it dropped its head and heaved weakly.
“Dustin…” Eleven spoke up, moving toward the boy and putting a hand on his back, “I can do it…quickly. Without much pain…”
“Okay…fine…goodbye Dart…” Dustin said, touching its head, then stepping back. Eleven held up a hand, then closed her eyes. There was the sound of a loud crunch, then the creature became still. Dustin moved toward it and put a hand on it, starting to cry softly. After a moment, Eugene came over, his eyes wide, and he glanced at the dead creature before turning to Mike.
“Well…I suppose that was the cause of my trouble…”
“Yes sir. We’ll even take and dispose of the body. But your crops should only be threatened by rabbits from now on…” Eugene eyed him then reached in his pocket and drew a handful of coins.
“Alright. Let’s see, a quarter each, and two for the Monster’s Incorporated Captain…” Eugene started flipping quarters out, then put two into Mike’s hand. He shifted and held out three to Steve, Nancy and Jonathan.
“A quarter…” Nancy muttered, taking her share “That’s it…”
“Well, it was the contract your captain signed. Though, I thought it best you all knew I called both Sheriff Hopper and Ms. Byers once that thing came up out of the ground…”
“You what?” Jonathan asked, his eyes wide as he took his quarter, “Oh god, I put Will in danger…I am going to be in so much trouble…”
“Well, anyway,” Eugene said, flipping the last one to Steve, “Thanks for your good work. And I know who to call if there is anything else…strange…in this neighborhood…”
“Right…” Steve said, looking at his tiny commission, then he turned and started back to his BMW. Nancy glanced at Jonathan, then started to follow him, sloshing through the mud.
“Fair pay or not,” Nancy started holding up her quarter to the two boys, “I think this calls for a celebration. Completion of our first contract…” Steve smiled at her, then glanced back to make sure that they weren’t being followed by the younger boys and girls gathered around Eugene and Dart’s body. Then, Steve slipped one arm around Nancy’s waist and slapped Jonathan’s rear with his other.
“Hmm…celebration as in…”
“How about a sleepover…the fun kind…” Nancy suggested. Steve smiled, then nudged Jonathan.
“You need to take Will home?”
“Honestly, I think I’m already going to be killed by my mom, so…” Jonathan said, shrugging.
“Awh…” Steve said, moving in to slip his hands around the boy, “Looks like you might need some place to lie low for a while…”
“Being on the run from the law…that comes with being a professional Monster Hunter I’d say…” Nancy agreed.
“Yep. Besides…I like when you have that little crinkle in your forehead…” Steve said, rubbing the boy’s hair and touching his forehead.
“Yeah…that frown…” Nancy agreed, moving in and touching Jonathan’s lips to hers, “Is just the way we like it…”