their paladin

        IT   WAS   AN   ASSUMPTION,   one   that   he   figured   was   common   sense.   ❝   It   just   sounds   different,   that’s   all…   ❞   To   no   surprise,   Mike   was   quick   to   defend   the   entirety   of   it.   Will   hadn’t   planned   to   dwell   on   it,   but   his   mangled   emotions   as   of   late   had   been   difficult   to   manage.   A   club   and   a   party,   they   were   quite   similar   weren’t   they?   It   didn’t   matter   what   he   called   it,   it   was   the   fact   that   Mike   was   playing   their   childhood   game   with   other   people…   Perhaps   it   was   a   bit   immature,   so   he   couldn’t   care   to   dwell   on   it   any   further.   After   years   of   being   good   friends   with   Mike,   he   had   learned   that   most   times   it   was   best   to   accept   his   word   for   what   it   was.

        BESIDES,   it   was   Mike’s   response   to   his   first   question   that   had   caught   his   attention.   He   had   called   his   emotions   surrounding   El—weird?   Or   was   he   calling   her   weird?   Crazy?   The   brother   instinct   within   him   urged   to   jump   into   his   sisters   defense,   but   the   curiosity   of   finding   out   what   exactly   Mike   had   meant   beat   that   instinct.   ❝   Crazy?   That’s   bad,   isn’t   it?   ❞   Surely   he   could   have   chosen   a   better   descriptive   word.   Will   was   sure   that   would   have   upset   El   if   she   heard   it.   The   irony   behind   the   statement,   in   a   way   it   could   have   even   been—insulting?   It   was   moments   in   this   where   Mike   seemed   a   bit   insensitive.

        ❝   You   know   she’d   probably   be   really   upset   if   she   heard   you   say   that,   right?   ❞   Will   had   to   make   sure   that   Mike   fully   understood   that   wherever   he   was   going   with   this,   he   needed   to   clear   up   exactly   what   he   meant.   ❝   What   exactly   do   you   mean   crazy?   ❞   Turning   fully   on   his   bed   to   face   his   best   friend,   his   attention   was   fully   going   his   way.   Awaiting   what   he   hoped   would   be   an   explanation   to   ease   the   concern   that   was   more   than   visible   in   his   face.

          There wasn’t much more that Mike could say on the subject of D&D, and whether Will wanted to accept it or not was completely up to him. At first, Mike had been hesitant to join the club, but it felt nice to have some sort of normalcy after Will left. In a way, it made him still feel connected to him when he’d began to feel so disconnected. Of course, Mike didn’t tell him about just how deeply affected he’d been by his move to California, but they’d at least been able to vent some of their frustrations to each other.

-ˋˏ [ ◉¯] ┈┈┈┈ AS THE SIGHT OF WOUNDS enters his eyes , Jonathan suppresses a sharp breath in, not wanting to alarm Mike when he noted the lacerations that glistened in this deranged moonlit part of the forest. These weren’t serious enough that he’d need stitches, but they certainly were concerning enough to consider infection or scarring or the pain levels that would slow him down if they needed to run in the near future. It makes the elder’s lips thin as he attempted to come up with a plan to mend this ordeal. ❝ If you do start foaming at the mouth, I’m changing your name to Cujo. ❞ A serious concern between the boys yet he sprinkled the effect alongside Mike to keep the humor present despite the gravity of it all ; he could find some gratitude that Mike had initiated the joke, feeling that sometimes it just…felt like a heavy burden on his shoulders to attempt it himself during these times.

    When the top breached his own health, Jonathan’s mouth twisted downward, though not without the wince of recognition that he was in pain. Still, his head would shake, waving the arm before him in a successive set of motions to avoid a clear cut image of it being implanted into Mike’s mind before he’d help the teen pull his shirt back down to cover the wounds with the same hand. ❝ This? It’s nothing, ❞ dismissive tone would utter, camera from his left hand popping into his right – as if his dominant hand holding it would mitigate the extent of his injuries. ❝ Don’t worry about me, alright? ❞ Right at this moment, they had two scenarios to consider: bandaging up their wounds (mostly Mike’s) and finding safety for the two of them to hold out in until a proper plan of escape could be set in motion.

   ❝ It’s just my arm – one of them ; your whole back is pretty messed up right now and the longer it stays like that, the harder it’ll be for you to move around. ❞ He doubted they’d have to pull themselves up anything high in Hawkins when hiking back toward civilization (the mockery that it was), but the movement would rub Mike’s back hard and eventually the wounds would take their toll on him. Bending and twisting would become a hassle and, god, if they had to run, his shoulder blades would probably cause him unceremonious amounts of pain.

    Left arm now taking over the position of dominant arm for a while, it’d gesture for him to start walking with him ; they had no option but to attempt to gather their senses, find a place in town, sneak around like outsiders – ugh nothing new for Jonathan. Feet pulled themselves forward, trudging slightly, hesitantly, over the disgusting ground, watching his step as, like a new born deer, he tiptoed over the vines that protruded all around them. ❝ We need medical supplies – do you think…do you think this place has any that are…usable…? ❞

I honestly don't think it has anything to do with Mike being a bad friend, and I don't think Mike was completely oblivious to him crying either. Will was tearing up through that entire speech.

I think it's just because Mike didn't want to make Will feel uncomfortable or put him on the spot? Like, being confronted in front of everyone about crying would be a bit awkward, and it's entirely possible that he'd check on him afterwards (after giving him a bit to recover) to make sure he's okay. Will also doesn't like being fussed over too much.

@suchbllshit​ sent: "Can we call it even?"​

          Like most siblings, Mike and Nancy occasionally got under each other’s skin. It was usually him being the one to pull the pranks, finding his older sisters reactions to be rather comical and memorable, but there were times that Nancy would get him back too. It was an ongoing war between them, and while they had their moments where they’d get genuinely pissed off at one another, neither of them had any ill intent.

          A glass of spilled juice at the breakfast table, all thanks to Nancy accidentally knocking over the glass when she reached for something, it had soaked completely soaked Mike’s jeans and part of his Hellfire Club shirt. They had a while left before they had to leave for school, but he definitely wouldn’t have time to wash and dry it before that time. Annoyance on his face as he stared down at the sticky liquid dripping off the edge of the table, his gaze then shifted over to Nancy, who seemed all too amused at his misfortune.

-ˋˏ [ ◉¯] ┈┈┈┈ SCREECHES AND HOWLS IN THE far distance pulled him from the seconds of peace they’d managed to obtain. Though brief, it was something they both could agree on that they’d needed…but it lacked in its entirety to grant them much time to recover as the sight of thousands more of whatever the hell had attacked them were barreling toward their location. It’s a hivemind, he recalled hearing from them once and his gaze flickered toward the vines on the ground, the writhing masses of tendrils that had once yanked them inside the upside down now acting as if they were mere plants, overgrown and forgotten.

    Before Mike could pull him a foot, Jonathan yanked back, his body slouching over to snatch up the Ziplock bag with his camera inside, the evidence still obtainable despite the state his poor device now lay in. ❝ Go go go go! ❞ Voice shouted, item clenched to his chest as their legs carried them away from their only known exit from this abominable location. Unfortunately, their exit would also become their grand reentrance if this place had ANY say in the matter, knowing they’d want to reuse the same door they’d opened prior, which would only create them more difficulty in the long run if they were dragged back, bats descending on them like flies on a corpse.

   ❝ This place has bats now?! ❞ Unbelievable how the more they come into contact with this whole area, the more it seems to create new identities for the monsters that lurked. What’s next – a dragon?! At this point, he couldn’t tell what was the most unbelievable: the lotus-headed monster, the demodogs, the Mind Flayer, the Freddy Kreuger ripoff, or the bats that were flapping their disgusting writhing selves toward the last spot they felt the teenagers. The last time a Byers stepped foot in this place, he recalled, it was just Hawkins – just Hawkins – but stranger…like a version of it that only existed in the dark universe of their world.

    As trees became their salvation, he’d duck his head down, avoiding a branch to the cheek, but after a while, he finally yanked back on his arm, wincing but attempting to force the other to stop in his tracks with him. A couple minutes of running was far more exercise than he’d ever want to experience again, gym class having been the only time he wanted to commit to something akin to that sort of exercise. ❝ Okay, stop – stop! I think that’s far enough, Mike! ❞ Another tug, this one lighter in case he didn’t hear him or didn’t let go of him. Breathing heavily, the older but shorter of the two leaned back against a tree, eyes shooting down to ensure he didn’t manage to press himself against any vines growing. ❝ God damn it… ❞

    Okay, plan…plan…they needed a plan…

   ❝ How’s your…bites? ❞ But first, assessment of their injuries…and then they needed a way better spot to hide out in than the woods – like they were some horror movie cliches.

          Before Mike could even get a chance to ask Jonathan what he was doing, he was urging him to start making a run for the forest and away from the Demobats that were flying menacingly towards them. The younger obliged after only a moments hesitance, seeing that Jonathan was just taking a second to collect his broken camera, and took off at a sprint towards the trees. He wasn’t the most physically active person, but he was at least pretty fast thanks to his height, and maybe running for his life urged him to go a little faster. He had to wonder if the bats had been here the entire time, or if they were a new addition to the Upside Down. Whatever the answer was, he just hoped they didn’t come across more of them.

          By the time Jonathan had tugged on his arm to get him to stop, Mike was struggling to catch his breath and desperate for a break, the second tug more than enough to get him to come to a complete halt. ❝ Okay, yeah, I think... ❞ he began to say, leaning forward to rest his hands against his knees and allow oxygen back into his lungs first. It was too hard to talk when he was so out of breath. Gym had never been his favourite nor his best subject, but he would push himself to his limits when it came to running from danger. ❝ I think they’re gone. ❞ After taking a few more seconds, he straightened himself back up and attempted to look over his shoulder at the bites. It was hard to get a good look at them, even through the torn fabric of his shirt, so he couldn’t give Jonathan a solid answer.

          Slowly stepping forwards, he tilted the bucket of paint forwards, his large grin hadn’t dwindled even a little bit. This was far too joyous to live down.   ❝ I have nothing to prove? ❞   A quiet chuckle left his parted lips as he continued closing the distance between them. Having the taller boy coward in fear was hilarious — Will hadn’t seen it often, since he was the smaller one. Typically, he was on the other end of the stick during playful situations such as this one.   ❝ But I do, I’m proving you can be cuter. ❞   Flinching forwards, he acted as if he were about to toss paint all over Mike.

          Lunge paused midway, he then set the bucket of paint down with a laugh. Paint was far too expensive to waste so blatantly, he could recognize that even while tipsy.   ❝ Okay — we should probably get this finished with. You paint, I’ll gather up some of the character sheets I made. ❞   Acting as if he cared to continue their planning at this point served as a ploy for the next stage of his master plan that was screwing with Mike tonight.

          Reaching down, he grasped onto his binder which contained the several character sheets & the paint brush which still had wet bristles. Once situated on the couch, he waited for Mike to focus on the figurine once more before Will pulled his hand back and lunged the brush forth once more. Hitting Mike right in the side of the face, laughter erupted once more.   ❝ Strike two! I’m on a roll tonight. Consider it a declaration of war, Paladin. ❞   Perhaps he may come to regret it, but not without putting up a fight.

          Mike’s posture was stiff and rigid, hands ready to raise to prevent paint from getting in his eyes if Will were to go through with his threat. He wished he had a bigger bucket of paint, or something he could use to outdo Will with, but unfortunately he didn’t have the upper hand this time. ❝ Wait! You don’t have to prove it. I know I can be cuter, okay? I believe you! I know I can, ❞ Mike attempted to reason with him as he took a small step back. Much to his dismay, he was forced to succumb, and again the motion of throwing the paint on had caused him to flinch and turn away. Fortunately, it was just a repeat of what happened moments earlier, because no paint had been splattered onto him.

          ❝ Jesus. I seriously thought you were about to go through with that, ❞ Mike laughed, breathing a sigh of relief as he grabbed the figure he’d been working on painting before they’d gotten distracted. Using the technique that Will had shown to him to the best of his abilities, his concentration returned to the figure. Maybe it would turn out a little neater this time; a little less smudged and messy. Being that he was in the zone, he didn’t even have time to react to his best friend lunging forward to swipe a wet paint brush across his face. Brown eyes widened and blinked a few times, jaw dropping slightly open. Looking towards Will, the shocked expression on his face had quickly morphed back into something much more devious, a crooked grin on his lips. If it was war Will wanted, then it was war he’d get. Mike was the competitive type though, which meant giving up was hardly an option for him.

-ˋˏ [ ◉¯] ┈┈┈┈ DESPERATE FOR A TRICKLE OF oxygen in his lungs , Jonathan’s mouth sucked in every chance it had as fingers clawed viciously at tail and skin, which had likely caused own blood to drip out in small doses. Just to save Mike from his own destruction, teen had sacrificed his own but, truthfully, he wouldn’t exchange it if it meant the younger had a chance to flee or help him later. Features had already turned a bright red as the blood flow slowed and congealed in his head, rotting and dying from lack of release. Windpipe SCREAMED in agony until darkening vision caught sight of younger’s rescue, rock in hand as creature screeched in pain, flailed about, before it finally fell limp.

    A wheeze leaves his lips as he collapsed back on to the ground, shaking limbs reaching up to unravel tail, only to pause when the realization it’d done him ONE service by unwrapping it from his throat as it perished. ❝ Fucker – ❞ he managed to cough out, his fingers now pressed to throat to rub at it before he noticed teen’s offer toward him – then snatched away instantly. Arms fell back to balance him, eyes shooting open so wide that he might have lost them both in a cartoon if not for the laws of reality. Shit! Out of the frying pan and into the fire, he’d been given only a few seconds to react before Mike’s body was thrashing about to try and get that thing off him, the ravenous creature biting and sinking its jagged claws into his flesh.

    …how would they explain this to Mrs. Wheeler?

    Managing to push himself to his feet, wobbly still from how little time he’d had to recover, Jonathan lunged toward the two. Creature’s attention only barely glanced his way, teeth biting hand once as warning, before its pursuit of Mike continued, hauling ass on him like it could manage to bite through his neck flesh for a juicy kill. In his attempts to grab hold of it, he barely registered Mike’s plea for him to take the creature down via the same thing that had nearly taken Jonathan out from its brethren. Teeth clenched, grasp released Mike to reach for the whipping tail, arm receiving several deep lashes before he finally snatched it into his palm, tightening his grip around it.

    Within seconds, Jonathan’s mind went from defense to offense, the tail now lacking circulation as his digits creased into its scaley form. With one firm tug, he knew that his strength alone wouldn’t suffice so, in his moment of necessity, he placed his foot on to Mike’s body and shoved him while his arms yanked harshly back, sending the creature ripping from other down to the ground. Without missing a beat did he send his foot stomping down on to its head whilst he simultaneously yanked its tail upward, hoping to cease its functions. A harsh crack would echo between them, soft pants of exhaustion the only remaining noise for a few seconds.

    One final breath, Jonathan plunged himself back into the moment, rushing to Mike, arms grabbing hold of him by the shoulders, hoping he hadn’t done anymore harm than necessary to get that thing off him. ❝ Mike! Mike, you okay?! ❞

          After everything Mike had been through with the Byers, there was a certain level of trust left between them. Even as the Demobat continued to bite and tear at his flesh, relentless in its goal to devour, he knew that Jonathan would have his back. Mike could count on him not to abandon him, but to work with him as a team and even risk his life for him if it came down to it. It was just the type of person that Jonathan was—that the entire Byers family was. Joyce, Will, Jonathan. They were all great people. Together, Mike was confident that they’d be able to fend off these creatures and figure out a plan for safety.

          A foot pressing against his body only to then be used to roughly shove him had caused the teen to unexpectedly lose his balance, leading to knees scraping uncomfortably against the stone below while his palms slammed against the ground to brace himself and prevent further injury. The feeling of claws being ripped from where they’d been firmly dug into his back had inarguably been what hurt the most, leaving a prominent stinging sensation behind and eliciting an initial yelp from Mike. It had at least done the trick in getting the Demobat off of him, though. That was one less problem to deal with.           Gaze lifting upon hearing approaching footsteps, Mike looked up at Jonathan shortly after feeling hands firmly gripping his shoulders. Through the torn fabric of the other males sleeves, he could see that he’d taken quite a bit of damage to one of his arms in the process of trying to grab the Demobat by the tail. Though they were both soaking wet thanks to the lake, he could still see the glistening of fresh blood trickling down to his hand. He wasn’t sure just how bad the lacerations were just yet, but again, they could look each other over once they were somewhere safe. ❝ Yeah, I’m—I’m okay. Thanks, ❞ Mike assured him, relief easily heard in his tone. He looked to the sky, spotting more Demobats in the distance. They were making their way towards them, getting closer and closer with each passing second. They weren’t as deadly as a Demogorgon, but he had no doubt that they could be when there was a lot of them attacking at once.

You’re never around.

     There’s more to Mike’s statement, but this is the fragment sticking to her. It’s true they used to be close; after all, it’s Nancy who’d taught him how to play D&D, Nancy who’d dressed up for campaigns, Nancy who’d made sure their father’s absence didn’t make Mike feel too badly about himself.

                 It wasn’t his fault.

     They’d gotten older, though – campaigns to dance recitals to study sessions locked up in libraries thinking about boys she and Barb had thought were cute. Somewhere along the way, the relationship between Mike and herself got lost.

                                           It’s not too late to fix it, right?

❝ Eddie was a good person. ❞ The words are thick in her throat, but her eyes remain on the younger while she speaks. ❝ He basically took care of you guys when you got to high school, which – yeah, that was a relief. I didn’t have to worry about you so much. And — it definitely fucking sucks to see him as a wanted man when he’s actually a hero. ❞ Eddie is the reason they’d had enough time in that damned attic — though she still wishes there’d been a different way.

❝ There’s still hope for Max. ❞ While she’s comatose, she isn’t dead — this is something Nancy finds herself clinging to, carrying her forward as the fire in her gut only spreads and gets hotter.

❝ You know it’s okay to talk to me, right? ❞ The reminder may be necessary, given all they’d been through. And still, she’s somewhat avoiding answering his own question to her. 

                  Are you okay?

❝ Sometimes I like to think so. ❞ It’s only as these words are breathed out that Nancy looks away, eyes back to her lap; and thoughts of her figurine have long since dissipated. ❝ But I don’t know. I don’t know if I have been, since Barb. You know, it all happens so fast, doesn’t it? And I’ve been trying to help, and trying to expose that damned lab — but I feel like none of it has mattered sometimes; like I’m just hitting walls. ❞ 

A silly little girl who tries and only fails. ❝ I’m going to be around more, okay? You’re not alone, Mike – and you shouldn’t have to feel like you are. Even if you’re an absolute gremlin, sometimes. ❞ 

          Change had been a recurring theme in the Wheeler siblings lives. Since they discovered the Upside Down, everything had changed. They were fighting for their lives in ways Mike thought would only ever happen in D&D campaigns, ways that sounded like they belonged in works of fiction. People were getting hurt and killed, and then of course Eleven and Will both had to move away to California, which had resulted in Mike shutting himself away in the basement every day. It felt like everyone he cared about was just slipping through his fingers, and he couldn’t hold onto them no matter how hard he tried.

          Mike could only nod at Nancy’s statement about Eddie and Max, both which were subjects that were hard to talk about without getting all choked up. He just kept thinking about the what if. What if he hadn’t been stuck in California? What if he’d actually been able to go into the Upside Down with everyone else, or help Max and Lucas in the Creel house? There was no definite answer, no way of knowing for sure, but maybe things would’ve been different. Maybe a life would’ve been spared, or Max wouldn’t be comatose in a hospital bed.

          ❝ Talk to you? Oh, uh—yeah. I mean, I guess I do now, ❞ Mike answered with a casual shrug of his shoulders, his gaze moving to find his sister’s face. ❝ We’ve just been busy. You, me, all of us. ❞ Their schedules were so different these days, and he wasn’t foolish enough to think that things would ever go back to the way they used to be. Nancy could be fun, but she wasn’t as interested in participating in D&D when she had such a hectic schedule, filled with work and journaling and Jonathan. She had so much already, so he didn’t want to just dump all of his own problems on her, but he’d never been the type of person to do that in the first place.

-ˋˏ [ ◉¯] ┈┈┈┈ COUNTLESS STUDIES SHOWED HIM HOW to effectively hold his breath , his trial runs in his bathtub for this purpose earlier had been enough for him to determine his best suited effect against the deep currents – at least they weren’t frigid like twice prior that he’d been subjected to this damned place erupting through his life. Even bringing Will here felt like such a deep plunge of trust for him. Just knowing that there was a chance the younger Byers might come sprinting into action if something went wrong had been a reason he’d hesitated to even bring him along, but, god, he knew better than anyone that this would create more problems if he’d refused.

    As vision adjusted to the darkness that surrounded him and slowly crept through his immediate vicinity, the teen began the descent downward, slow yet steady pace meant to keep his airflow from burning up too rapidly before he even snapped a singular picture. If not for ethereal dull glow of crimson gaining attendance to the lake, perhaps Jonathan would have slapped himself internally for a simplistic theory from a simple murder scene he’d snuck inside of to poke around in ; no way, in his mind, could any single man accomplish something so confounding, but he could easily understand how a town could be so narrow-minded – he’d lived in Hawkins for so long…

    Easy enough…a small smile leaving his neutral expression as camera in hands was lifted – SNAP! – one picture down – SNAP! – two – SNAP! – three… With flash, he was certain that, even if they were blurred or harder to make out, there would still be reasonable complacency to agree that this was proof that something lurked below ; it was just like his sophomore year, just like when he came upon that party and, inadvertently, captured the creature lurking behind poor Barbara without even realizing his action would save his mom, save his brother, save Nancy from years of mental torment over where her friend had vanished to.

    Now he strove to act before he allowed anything to happen…

    As his fingertip met the button for another snap, there was a sudden tug at his ankle, body going rigid at first against the sensation, thinking he must have just brushed against plant life. It was the second tug that garnered concern, attention shifting from target to leg. One…two…three seconds pass without activity and then – YANK! Camera is gripped with tightened resolve, not desiring to lose precious evidence and, before he even could rationalize his situation, his body plummeted downward, one hand relinquishing its hold on camera to grab hold of the muddy surface at the bottom of the lake, only to feel his grasp sift through soil.

    Even as he slammed into solid ground on the other side, goggles flinging from his features, his initial response time was embarrassingly low. Camera clattered away from his side and skidded to a halt against squelching vine – one of many that surrounded his body. They didn’t embrace him in a sinister cocoon yet…they didn’t grant him any hope for his outcome. A singular gasp to take in air produced, his sluggish movements would earn him a strike to the back of the head, screeching howls of something unknown barreling passed him into near distance, only turning around at breakneck speed to come careening back at him.

   ❝ Shit! ❞ In those precious seconds, Jonathan managed to lunge for his camera and duck beneath the disgusting apparition, though his slight victory is halted as another would descend to wrap its disgustingly slimy tail around his wrist, yanking him forward and on to the pavement. A scream echoing from lips as stomach would slam atop his own device, side of hand scraping the surface of ground, ripping flesh against its uneven surface. Two played at the game of victory denial as the winged monster would recoil in pain from teeth that bit harshly into revolting flesh in an attempt to relieve himself of the monstrosity’s hold. 

    It worked but not without a voice catching his attention and pulling him from his battle to notice the appearance of Mike, his body pulled from the very same portal that had forcibly removed Jonathan from his own realm – it must be a Byers thing. Gaze shot behind head of teen to notice something zipping downward, gnawing bat flinging itself at the younger boy in its thirst for cruelty. ❝ Mike, look out! ❞ Call it instinct of an older brother but the name called would be accompanied by camera flung from hand to come crashing into its head, loud grunt of exertion interrupted in the process by the same bat he’d managed to remove from himself careening back to wrap its tail around his neck this time, clearly learning its lesson from the wrist scenario to cause Byers to lose his balance and fall backward to the ground. Fingers, now freed of device, would clamber to dig at thick skin for some air to meet his lungs.

    Pentax camera had connected but now lay with large chunks of it now scattered inside the plastic bag. Another prized possession lost in a manner like this, but Jonathan’s own mind didn’t even comprehend the extent of its injuries nor its distance from him as he desperately reached for it with one hand as the other clung desperately for air.

          It was only moments after arriving in the Upside Down that Jonathan had called out to Mike, warning him of incoming danger from behind. The teen swiftly ducked his head, arms lifting to shield himself from whatever was going to attack him. Luckily for him, Jonathan had reacted quickly by smashing the bat-like creature over its head. It had done the trick for now, but there was still no time to waste or time to stop to think of a plan. This was a moment-by-moment situation, and they just had to use whatever they could get their hands on to survive. Right now, he was wishing he’d brought a paddle or something with him to use as a weapon. He’d just been so worried about Jonathan, he hadn’t even stopped to think about preparations.

          ❝ Hold on! ❞ Long legs briskly carried Mike over to where Jonathan was laying on the ground, a Demobat keeping its tail wrapped securely around his throat to prevent him from breathing, unrelenting even as fingers tugged and pried. Gaze darting across various parts of the ground, Mike spotted a nearby rock that he wasted no time in running to grab. It was decent sized, taking up the entire palm of his hand, and it would easily do more damage than his fists would. He was back to the older male in seconds, foot coming down on part of the creatures tail to lower it and begin the process of pinning it. After ensuring he had a good grip on the rock, he took a hard swing at the Demobat, which let out an obnoxiously loud screech upon impact. To no surprise, considering they were monsters from the Upside Down, they could take a bit of a beating and didn’t go down so easily.

          ❝ Let go of him, you piece of shit! Let go, ❞ Mike angrily muttered, another smash over its head visibly weakening it. It was even lower to the ground now, making aiming at it easier this time. After another few hits, one strike after the other without any hesitation or pauses in between, it was laying on the ground, and one final blow over the head had finally killed it. It lay motionless on the ground, and no longer was its tail wrapped tightly around Jonathan’s throat, allowing much needed air back into his lungs. ❝ Are you okay? ❞ He was still conscious, at least, which was really all that mattered right now. Any wounds could be tended to later, once they found shelter and were no longer under attack. ❝ —Come on, we have to get out of here. ❞ Just as he’d reached his hand out to offer him assistance in getting back up to his feet, another Demobat had dove down onto him, claws digging into his back while it began biting at the flesh of his shoulder.