"Alright, listen carefully now. What we're about to find in the town that will appear in a few minutes are people who, like us, became trapped here. But they no longer have any hope of leaving this place. All they have is fear, and they hide, living in terror as they wait for the day it's their turn to die at the hands of those monsters," Liam said through telepathy as he drove down the road at maximum speed, his hands firm on the steering wheel and his eyes fixed straight ahead, hoping the town would appear soon. The sky was growing darker by the second, and he preferred to fight those things without having to constantly protect others.
Everyone fell silent for a few seconds, the sound of the engine and the tires brushing against the asphalt the only things breaking the tension.
"That sounds horrible. That's just surviving—they're not really living their lives," Nancy said, frowning as she pressed her fingers tightly against her knees.
"Nancy, I don't think that's very different from what we're going through—having no choice but to leave our homes just for a chance to live," Max said, crossing her arms and staring out the window with a serious expression.
"What Max says is true, but we chose the option of doing something more than just waiting for Hydra to come after us," Dustin said, nodding slightly as he tried to encourage himself.
"But what kind of evil monsters are we going to face now?" Mike asked curiously, leaning forward a bit in his seat.
"The monsters we'll be facing look like normal humans, but they have a constant smile on their faces—one that inspires fear rather than trust because of how unnatural it is. They seem capable of influencing people's actions if they talk to them for too long. They're immune to damage from weapons or physical attacks, and they possess strength capable of tearing through metal with ease." Liam fell silent for a moment, letting the weight of his words sink in as the atmosphere inside the cars grew heavier.
"Now, what you need to do is this: first, when we arrive, I'll open the door to a house. Everyone will go inside while Carrie and I keep the monsters away. Inside that house, the monsters can't enter because of a talisman—unless someone opens a door or a window, which you must never do. All of you will stay inside while Carrie and I try to see if we can kill those monsters. Depending on how things go, we may or may not come inside afterward. That's all you need to do—just stay in the house. Don't try to help with any ideas you might have. You'll only get in the way if you do," Liam said firmly, his tone making it clear he wouldn't accept any arguments.
"But we can help. We fought demogorgons and other creatures back in our town," Mike said naïvely, clenching his fists with determination.
"Mike, you won't do anything. You'll stay somewhere safe with your whole family," Mike's father said sharply, turning to glare at his brave but still naïve son.
"All of you are normal people. You may have been lucky to survive what you went through in Hawkins, but that won't happen here. Follow my orders, and I promise everyone will be safe," Liam said firmly, never taking his eyes off the road.
"I'll make sure the kids don't do anything stupid. They won't get past me," Billy said with a warning edge to his voice, rolling his shoulders as if already preparing for trouble.
"I'll watch them with you. I still don't completely trust you," Steve said, exchanging a tense look with Billy.
"Do whatever you want. I don't care what you think of me," Billy replied, looking away dismissively.
"Fine, I'll leave them to you. Now that everyone's informed, just be ready to get out of the cars at the house I point out and go inside calmly while I keep you safe," Liam said, relaxing his tone slightly, though not his seriousness.
By then, the sky was completely dark, and everyone could feel something watching them from the forest—an invisible pressure digging into their backs.
"I've got chills. I feel like something is watching us from everywhere," Joyce said, instinctively hugging Will.
"They already know we're here. They're hunting us," Carrie said seriously, her eyes constantly scanning her surroundings.
A few minutes later, people began appearing along the sides of the road, smiling as they watched them as if there were no escape, walking with unnatural calm between the trees.
"They're here. Stay alert," Liam said, his jaw tightening.
At that point, they could already see the town in the distance, faint lights from the houses weakly piercing the darkness.
"I see the town," Dustin said, pointing ahead.
"One of those monsters is getting close to our car," Dustin's mother said fearfully, clutching her chest.
"I'll handle it," Carrie said confidently.
In the next moment, the monster—who had looked like a normal human except for its wide smile—began to change, twisting into a horrifying shape as its arm stretched unnaturally, forming claws aimed at the car door where Dustin was sitting.
That was all the monster managed to do before a powerful force lifted it and slammed it violently into the ground, causing it to revert to its normal form with that unsettling smile, though confusion now flickered in its eyes.
The monster on the ground could no longer block the cars' path. It slowly stood up, watching as the vehicles drove away and left it behind.
"Thanks… that was terrifying," Dustin said, breathing heavily.
"Seeing them up close—and how that thing changed so suddenly—there's no denying they're monsters," Hopper said seriously, clenching his jaw.
Liam nodded as he pulled up to the first house within reach.
"Get ready to stop. We're going into the first house we reach," Liam warned, letting them know they'd soon have to get out of the cars.
"I'll make sure everyone gets inside safely," Hopper said as he got out of the car.
"Then I'll leave that to you," Liam replied with a brief nod.
"Alright. Stop."
In the town, the residents could be seen watching the newcomers with curiosity. They had noticed the sound of cars on the road, and upon seeing how many there were, they couldn't help but mentally mourn the dead who would be there tomorrow.
All the cars stopped, and everyone began getting out in an orderly fashion, supervised by Hopper and Eleven, while Carrie stood ready to stop any monster that came too close.
Liam quickly approached the house, and knowing they likely wouldn't want to open the door, he simply broke the lock with brute force.
"Crack."
"What did you do?! Now the monsters will be able to enter my house and kill me and my family!" Liam heard a shout from inside. When he opened the door, he saw a tall man with long, messy hair and an unkempt beard—realizing with surprise that it was the father of the main family.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of that in a moment," Liam said quickly as he stepped inside without hesitation.
"Alright, the door's open. Everyone get in." As he said that, he moved closer to Carrie.
"Carrie, I need you to weld the door lock back together," Liam said calmly.
"Right away." Without even approaching, Carrie focused for a moment. From a distance, the broken lock changed temperature, glowing red and welding itself back together in just a few seconds.
"Done," Carrie said proudly, relaxing her shoulders.
At the entrance, Jim Matthews stood in shock at what he had just witnessed.
"You get used to it," Hopper said as he made sure everyone got inside.
"It seems you're not normal people," Jim replied after snapping out of it, swallowing hard.
"We've been through similar things," Hopper said.
Out on the street, a large number of monsters were already gathering around Liam and Carrie.
"Well, looks like it's our turn to try killing them," Liam said as he prepared to fight, adopting a firm stance.
"I don't think they'll be much of a problem. They look weaker than Vecna," Carrie said calmly, slightly flexing her fingers, ready to act.