Chapter 23: Crisis Reappears
The streets outside Hawkins Middle School were dark as pitch.
The streetlights swayed slightly in the night breeze, casting unstable patches of light.
An inconspicuous gray van was parked on the side of the road, its windows tinted dark, like a beetle lurking in the shadows.
Inside the car, a man in an ordinary dark jacket wore a wireless earpiece and held a military-grade walkie-talkie in his hand.
His eyes were fixed on the entrance of the middle school through the one-way glass.
A few minutes ago, a car had stopped there; a boy got out and walked deep into the campus.
The man pressed the talk button on the walkie-talkie, his voice steady and professional, devoid of any emotional fluctuation:
"Target vehicle confirmed. Joyce Byers drove away from the Hawkins Library and brought a comatose male child into the emergency room; it should be her missing son."
"The vehicle made a brief stop at the entrance of Hawkins Middle School. A male child, estimated age 10-12, blonde hair, wearing worn-out clothes with stains and suspected blood on his face, got out and entered the campus alone."
There was silence on the other end of the walkie-talkie for a few seconds, then a calm, rational, and emotionless voice came through:
"Copy that. Continue monitoring the hospital. I will send reinforcements to the middle school."
"Understood."
The man ended the call, readjusted the focus of his binoculars, and continued to observe the school entrance.
His expression didn't change at all, as if he were performing an ordinary surveillance mission rather than tracking a disappearance case that potentially involved supernatural phenomena and national secrets.
Hawkins Laboratory, Underground Command Center.
Dr. Brenner stood before a massive wall of monitoring screens, a hint of doubt in his mind.
The screen in front of him was divided into dozens of small frames; after receiving the report, the monitored footage changed to the traffic cameras of the main streets in Hawkins, the hospital entrance, and the direction of the library.
The one who got out was a boy? He didn't think his subordinates would fail to recognize Eleven.
Brenner's brow furrowed slightly, but then he thought of it—he thought of that special child who had escaped.
Three years ago, quite a few children died during Henry Creel's 'incident,' but several children took advantage of the chaos to escape.
And among them was the most special child—012.
After Twelve escaped, because that moment almost permeated all of Hawkins, everyone felt an inexplicable sense of sadness.
The Lab conducted a large-scale search, but Number 012 had vanished like he'd evaporated.
Even though they found traces of him in the forest, they later failed to collect any information regarding a strange bald boy anywhere.
Later, their analysis suggested he might have died in the wild or been taken by an unknown force. The file was also marked as 'Presumed Dead/Missing.'
Now it seemed that 'presumption' might have been wrong.
Number 012 was still alive.
And perhaps he was at Hawkins Middle School right now.
But why Hawkins Middle School? A coincidence? That was almost impossible.
If that child appeared there, it could only mean there was something very important to him there; otherwise, it would have been impossible not to find a single trace in three years.
For 012, what else could make him appear there now?
Thinking of this, Brenner pressed the internal communication button, his voice as calm as ever:
"Assemble the squad, equip non-lethal weapons and neural suppressors, and head to Hawkins Middle School. The mission is to recover Subjects 011 and 012. Do not harm them under any circumstances; they must be captured alive, but the use of force is permitted if resistance is excessive."
"Understood, Doctor," came the mechanical response from the other end.
A few minutes later, six black SUVs quietly drove out of the laboratory's underground parking lot. With no sirens or flashing lights, they sped toward Hawkins Middle School like a pack of silent hounds.
In the night, a hunt was about to begin.
Meanwhile, on the other side in the Upside Down's Hawkins, it was forever shrouded in dark red sky-light and a deathly silence.
Barbara Holland leaned against the wall of a dilapidated convenience store, panting heavily, every breath triggering sharp pain from the wound in her abdomen.
She used a strip of cloth torn from her clothes to bind the wound tightly, but red blood continued to seep out, blooming into a larger and larger dark stain on the light-colored fabric.
Her eyes were fixed on the monster approaching inside the building. That featureless 'face' was currently turned toward Barbara, and her heart was practically in her throat.
Barbara held her breath, her fingers only able to tightly grip the baseball bat in her hand.
This was her only weapon, though it seemed so pathetic when facing the monster.
A few minutes ago, she was still looking for Will.
Ever since she went out to find Will, she had followed the monster's tracks to a cemetery.
But by the time she arrived, both the monster and Will were gone.
Although the entire town of Hawkins wasn't large, there were too many places to hide and routes to escape.
But after calming down, Barbara thought that Will was just a kid; the place he would escape to would definitely be the place he was most familiar with.
Although she didn't know Will's most familiar location, a kid his age would only go to a friend's house, the school, or a store that sold candy.
She and Nancy were friends, so she naturally knew that Nancy's brother Mike and Will were best friends.
The store and the school were both downtown, so she decided to first check the Wheeler house to see what the situation was, then head downtown to search slowly.
If she still couldn't find him, she would go back to Will's house and see if that special kid Andy could do something.
Thus, Barbara, warily watching out for the monster the whole way, headed toward the Wheeler house.
But when she arrived, although she found some traces of someone having been there, she couldn't find Will even after searching the upstairs and the basement.
Furthermore, at the Wheeler house, she once again experienced that eerie phenomenon: she heard sounds from the real world.
It wasn't a hallucination, but real sounds that seemed to come from the walls—the sound of Nancy and Mike arguing, the sound of a TV program, and even the sound of a dripping faucet.
Between this Upside Down and the real world, there existed some kind of 'weak point' where sound and light seemed to be able to penetrate from anywhere.
At that moment, Barbara almost tried to respond.
She wanted to shout, "Nancy! I'm here!" to let her friend know she was still alive.
But in the end, she didn't.
Because she thought of Will—he might still be being chased by the monster somewhere, and he could lose his life at any second.
And Andy, the boy with superpowers, was still waiting for her to return at Will's house.
If she risked trying to make contact and failed, what then? What if she wasted time?
She wasn't sure if that method would be effective, and after considering it might delay the time to rescue Will, her sense of responsibility and practical judgment overrode her emotional impulse.
Barbara left the Wheeler house and headed toward the center of Hawkins.
But just as she was walking along Main Street, carefully observing her surroundings and occasionally calling out softly, "Will? Will, are you there?", she felt a vibration.
It wasn't an earthquake, but a more localized, directional tremor, like it was coming from a few blocks away.
In this deathly silent world, any abnormal movement could be a clue.
It could be Will escaping, it could be someone like them who fell into this world fighting, or it could be... other monsters.
Barbara moved toward the source of the vibration, trying to stay hidden, using the shadows of buildings and ruins as cover.
But what she didn't know was that behind her, the Demogorgon monster was also heading in this direction.
It wasn't until the monster also drew near this location, close enough, that Barbara finally noticed it.
Seeing the monster getting closer and closer, Barbara could no longer worry about finding the source of the tremors.
Regardless of whether those noises were made by other monsters or some person, it wasn't safe for her to run toward them with a monster in tow.
Barbara turned and ran, running desperately, her shoes making a disgusting squelching sound as they stepped on the slime and debris-covered ground.
She could hear the sound of her own heart racing and her own heavy breathing, which had become labored due to fear.
But she really wasn't good at sports; after all, she was more the bookworm type at school. Her endurance was limited, and her speed wasn't fast.
She could only try her best to use her familiarity with the Hawkins terrain to hide and attempt to shake off the monster.
The monster got closer and closer.
Barbara ducked into an alley, hoping to use the complex terrain to lose it.
She hid in the back storage room of a clothing store, holding her breath and listening to the movements outside.
The sound of running footsteps stopped outside the store. A few seconds of silence felt as long as a century.
Then, the door was pushed open.
Barbara had no choice; she raised the baseball bat and swung it at the monster with all her might.
"Bang!"
The bat hit the monster's shoulder, making a dull thud, like hitting soaked leather.
But the monster didn't even flinch; it just turned its head and "looked" at her.
Then it swung its sharp claws.
Barbara barely dodged the first strike, but the second one caught her in the abdomen.
Agony, like being hit by a red-hot poker; skin was torn, and muscle was sliced.
She fell backward, crashing into a shelf, and rotting clothes fell over her like rain.
The monster approached, looking down at her. That featureless face was only inches away from her own.
She could smell the sickly sweet scent of decay on it and feel the coldness of its "gaze."
She was going to die.
Just like those stupid characters in horror movies, going off alone in the dark and eventually being killed by a monster.
No one knew she was here; no one would come to save her. Nancy would think she was missing, her parents would think she was dead, her friends would gradually forget her... and then, a voice rang out.
It came from the street, through the broken window, clearly reaching her ears:
"Barbara Holland? Barbara, are you there?"
A man's voice. Mature, gruff, with obvious tension, but it had a "human" quality that she had never been so grateful for.
Was it someone coming to save her? A cop? A firefighter? Or someone else?
Hope, like a faint flame, ignited in the darkness of despair.
But hope also brought danger. The monster heard that voice.
It stopped its "gaze" on Barbara and slowly turned toward the source of the sound.
Though it had no features, Barbara could feel its "attention" shift.
Barbara's heart sank; she didn't know who was outside, but she knew how terrifying this monster was.
She had seen it tear through walls with her own eyes. Although it had once been repelled by Andy, she understood that an ordinary person, even a cop, would be in grave danger facing this monster.
She couldn't let him come over, or at least, she couldn't let him die because of saving her.
Barbara took a deep breath, suppressing the sharp pain in her abdomen, and used the last of her strength to shout toward the broken window:
"Run! There's a monster!"
Her voice echoed on the silent street, carrying obvious fear and urgency.
But the monster seemed to sense—it seemed to sense that she was no longer a threat, or perhaps the monster was already satisfied; it didn't bother with Barbara anymore.
It turned and left, crawling on all fours like a predator, running out the door toward the direction of the sound on the street.
Seeing the monster leave, Barbara could no longer hold her breath; she panted heavily, tears mixing with sweat as they flowed down.
Gunshots.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The sharp cracks of a shotgun were exceptionally clear in the silence of the Upside Down.
There was also the sound of metal clashing, like a sharp blade hacking into something.
Then, a brief silence.
Barbara's heart nearly stopped.
Was he dead? Was the person who came to save her killed by the monster?
Footsteps rang out, stepping on broken glass and rubble, making a "crunching" sound.
Barbara felt a sense of dread, but now even the movement of sitting up was painful. Listening to the footsteps slowly approach from outside the store, she could only pray.
The footsteps drew closer, stopping at the front door of the convenience store.
The door was slowly pushed open, the hinges letting out a piercing "creak."
A figure appeared at the door, backlit, tall in silhouette, holding a shotgun and panting heavily.
It was Chief Hopper.
"Barbara, can you still move?"
The Chief of Hawkins Police, the man who always seemed impatient and spoke bluntly, but was exceptionally serious when handling cases.
Now he stood here, in another dimension, holding a shotgun, having just fought off a monster, looking for her.
Barbara's tears welled up again, but this time they were pure tears mixed with relief, gratitude, and disbelief.
"Oh, my God!" she cried out, her voice trembling with emotion. "Chief Hopper... you came..."
Hopper quickly walked to her side, knelt down, and rapidly checked her wound. His expression was serious, but his movements were professional and swift.
"The wound is deep; it needs stitches," he judged, taking a simple first-aid kit from his belt pouch.
"But I can only do a temporary bandage now. Can you stand up? We have to leave here; that thing might come back."
Barbara nodded, though every movement brought a tearing pain to her abdomen.
She stood up with Hopper's support, leaning against a shelf.
"Will..." she suddenly remembered, "someone else also entered this world, Will, and Andy, that boy..."
"Will is at the hospital; he was rescued back to the real world by Andy," Hopper answered tersely. "The most important thing now is to get you out. Let's go."
He propped up one of Barbara's arms, half-dragging and half-supporting her toward the door.
Barbara's legs were as weak as jelly, but with Hopper's strength, she could barely move.
Walking out of the convenience store, that Demogorgon lay on the street not far away.
There were several obvious bullet holes in its body, and a deep gash at its neck; dark red liquid gushed from the wound, pooling on the ground.
It was still twitching slightly, but showed no signs of standing up again.
Hopper took a glance and didn't linger, leading Barbara away quickly.
"Where are we going?" Barbara asked weakly.
"The middle school," Hopper said, his eyes alertly scanning the surroundings. "Hawkins Middle School. Andy and I agreed that a gate would be opened there to let us return to the real world."
"Andy... he can do that?"
"He did it at the library," Hopper said. "Now he needs to rest and recover his strength, then open the gate again at the middle school. We must get there before he's ready."
Barbara nodded; although she didn't fully understand what was happening, she trusted Hopper.
In this desperate world, trust was the only lifeline.
The two of them trudged along the street, Hopper looking back from time to time, wary of any possible pursuit.
Barbara bit her lip, forcing herself to take every step.
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