Chapter Text
Mike could barely breathe, but he didn’t dare to stop.
When Mike heard Nancy's desperate voice yell over the supercom, all thoughts of calm had been expelled from his body.
He had to hurry. He had to get to Holly and his parents.
He felt so stupid. He should have warned his family ages ago of the threats that lurked beneath Hawkins' surface. Maybe if he had, they could have been better prepared. Then again Mike never imagined Henry would go after his unsuspecting family.
Now, that would be a potentially fatal mistake.
Mike's legs burned. He hadn't biked this fast since his attempt to escape the lab goons with Jane.
What if he was too late? What if he arrived and his family was gone, bloody and eyes glazed over?
No, he couldn't think like that right now. All that mattered was getting to them.
Lucas pedaled just as hard next to him. Mike was grateful for his presence. It grounded him, made him focus on the now instead of the horrors that potentially awaited him.
Mike huffed, the autumn chill causing his chest to hurt, he could see his house in the distance. The closer he got the more anxiety rose in his chest clawing its way up his throat threatening to choke him. Before his bike tires even touched the lawn, he was discarding it and running to the door, Lucas in tow. He took no time to steady himself as he swung open the door,
“ MOM?!” he yelled running up the stairs. “HOLLY?!” He was met with no answer.
“DA-”
“What is it Michael? Why all the yelling?” his dad asked entering through the back door, golf club in hand.
Relief flooded his system. Mike had never in his life been so happy to see his father.
Could Nancy have been wrong about the attack? He thought.
Mike looked to Lucas whose confused expression mirrored his own.
Nothing was out of the ordinary.
And then Mike heard Holly Scream.
He wasted no time running to her room. He swung the door open so hard he could have sworn it broke off its hinges. The sight he was met with would haunt him for the rest of his life. Holly was holding on to her bed frame for dear life as a Demogorgon firmly grasped her leg attempting to pull her into a glowing red gate in the ceiling.
“What is that?!” his father yelled
Mike paid him no mind and sprung into action, he grabbed the nearest heavy object he could find which happened to be a lamp, and started hitting the clawed hand that was trying so desperately to drag his sister to someplace worse than hell.
The monster screeched but did not let up. Mike's assault didn't either, even as he heard Holly scream and cry. He didn't even register that Lucas was beside him, kitchen knife in hand stabbing wildly at the demogorgon until black blood sprayed both of their faces. Without warning Holly's shoe flew off causing her to drop from the monster's grasp with a loud thud.
Mike grabbed her hand and ran, Lucas and his father not far behind, the Demogorgon roared but Mike didn't spare a glance behind him.
Until he heard his father yell and the loud crash that followed suit.
Mike wanted to run to his father but he knew that if he did it would spell his death and he still needed to find his Mother.
“Lucas take Holly and run!”
Mike gently yet hastily pushed a crying and shaking Holly toward the other boy.
“Mike no!” she cried out.
“Holly I need to get to mom!”
Before she or Lucas could protest he was running to his moms room. He could hear the distant roar of the demogorgon and could only hope that Lucas had followed his instructions and booked it.
“MOM!” Mike called out as he ran to his parents bathroom. He tried the knob and found it was locked.
He pounded on the door as hard as he could knowing his mother was probably blasting her music as she usually did during her baths. Frankly, he was stunned she couldn't hear the fiasco going on in her own house.
Panic seized his lungs as he could hear the Demogorgon stomp towards him.
“Michael what is it?” his mother asked, opening the door as she tied her robe, annoyance dripping from her wine veiled mouth.
Mike didn't answer her, instead he grabbed her hand and started to run. He didn't know where the demogorgon was and he didn't want to stay and find out.
“Michael what is going o-”
“Mom PLEASE just RUN!” he interrupted her, he didn't have time to argue.
She began to protest until she caught sight of the horrid creature. Her eyes went wide and she squeezed Mike's hand. They were almost to the backdoor when the demogorgon slashed wildly catching Mike in the back
He howled in pain as he fell to the floor.
“MICHAEL!” his mother cried out
“MOM RUN!!” he yelled, flipping over and attempting to hoist himself up.
The demogorgon reared its clawed hand once again and Mike braced himself for the final blow.
It never came.
He opened his eyes and saw his mother wielding a broken wine bottle against the demogorgon. She stabbed wildly and repeatedly.
“Don't touch my son!” she cried out, not once letting up her onslaught.
Mike couldn't move, his vision blurred and he couldn't think. His heartbeat was too loud in his ears and his back burned with a pain he had never experienced. Mike covered his ears as the Demogorgon screeched and roared in what he assumed was pain. It raised its lethal claws once again and brought them down on his mothers chest.
Mike couldn't even scream, he sat there frozen in terror as her blood splattered across his face. The monster slashed out again, this time hitting her in the neck. She went down hard, head hitting the ground with a sound Mike didn't think he'd ever forget. Her body went slack, the broken wine bottle still clutched loosely in her hand.
He knew for sure at that moment that he was about to die. He hoped Lucas was far away with Holly and that help would arrive in time to save him but rationally he understood that this was it.
The Demogorgon stalked toward him and Mike closed his eyes, readily accepting his fate.
Though instead of a final blow he felt a large inhuman hand latch onto his leg and felt himself being dragged. His eyes shot open and through the haze of blurred vision and pain Mike saw the gaping maw of a gate. It glowed ominously and as the red light neared, Mike realized this might be a fate worse than death.