Steve slammed on the brakes, the car coming to a screeching halt, just as THE Demogorgan appeared. It had jumped off the roof of a nearby barn, making its not-so-timely entrance. Nancy and Jonathan, who scoffed (because of course, he did), both grabbed the backs of your seats. You all watched on in subdued, silent horror as it trudged along. Its claws dug into the metal of the silo next to the barn, tearing and shredding the sheets. A gate formed. The abomination ran through it, careening around its unlit corner.

After a few moments of shocked silence and Steve shifting gears, Jonathan spoke. "What-- What are you doing, man? We gotta turn around."

"Just wait." Steve implored, shaking his head as he firmly placed both hands back on the steering wheel. "Gates are kinda like peanut butter Boppers, right?" That was enough to make you all look at him like he was actually fucking bonkers. Boppers? Seriously? Now of all times? Had all those hits to the head finally caught up to him, or--

"The outside is, like, crunchy and tough." He continued, brows furrowing almost imperceptibly. "But then, you bite down on it, it gives way to a gooey, creamy core."

That was when you snapped back in, blinking a few times at the sheer absurdity of the comparison. "Steve, what are you--"

Before you could finish asking him to speak in terms that anyone else could fucking understand, he cut you off. "If I drive fast enough, I think the Beamer can punch a hole into the gate, and then we can track the Demo on its home turf in the Upside Down." He paused, glancing at the rearview mirror where he caught a glimpse of Jonathan's scowl.

You looked down at the stupid frequency thing Dustin had unceremoniously dropped on you. Your eyes widened as the decibels began to drop rapidly. Shit, shit, shit. "We're-" You looked up at Steve. "We're losing signal."

Jonathan barked, his annoyance directed toward Steve again, the second those words finished leaving your lips. "We're not gonna be able to follow anything if we crash!"

"We won't crash if it's like a Bopper!" Steve shot back immediately, leaving no time for any further snark or insults to his grand plan. And honestly, maybe it was grand. Maybe that stupid comparison wasn't so stupid after all.

The numbers continued to swiftly plummet. If you didn't go now, you'd lose the Demo. In losing that fucking abhorrent creature, you could also lose Hopper. And Eleven. And Holly. And-- Christ, you really didn't have a choice.

When you again looked up, Steve's gaze was locked on you. He was waiting for the go-ahead as the gate began to stitch itself shut once more.