The gravel crunched beneath your shoes, the chill of mid-fall biting lightly at your nose and ears. The Indiana sky overhead was stained orange and purple, and the trees were starting to go bare, their branches clawing toward the sky like crooked fingers.

You and Dustin walked side by side, balancing on the rails as best you could without falling into the rocks. His backpack bounced with every step—he hadn’t let it out of his sight since Dart disappeared.

“Still no answer?” you asked, pulling your jacket tighter. You had tried Mike, Lucas, even Steve. Nothing but static or endless ringing.

Dustin groaned, pulling the walkie from his belt and thumbing the button again. “Mike? Lucas? This is Dustin, over. Come on, you guys—say something.”

Only the buzz of dead air responded.

You watched his face sink, his bottom lip tucking between his teeth in that way he did when he was trying not to panic. “Still nothing,” he muttered, stuffing the walkie back. “It’s like everyone just disappeared.”

You bumped his shoulder lightly. “Hey. We’ll find them. We always do.”

Dustin tried to smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yeah. I just—I don’t know, okay? Things are starting to feel off again.”

You gave him a look. “Starting?”

He hesitated, then dropped his voice. “I think Dart’s… one of them.”

You stopped walking.

“Wait—them as in Demogorgon them?”

Dustin didn’t say anything, which said enough.

You exhaled slowly. “Dustin, we talked about this. Keeping him? Hiding him? That’s the kind of decision that gets people eaten.”

“I didn’t know he was gonna grow so fast! He was cute and slimy and—okay, fine, maybe the ‘eating the cat’ thing should’ve been a bigger clue.”