Chapter 47 – The Attack
Hawkins National Laboratory – Fourth Floor
Dr. Martin Brenner stood watching a child toy with a Rubik's Cube when a security officer knocked and entered.
"We've lost all contact?"
Brenner's voice rose sharply after hearing the report.
The boy paused, glancing up at him. Brenner caught the look, stood, and motioned the guard into the hall.
"Any survivors?"
"Some… but—" The guard's face tightened.
According to him, the first three sublevels were already overrun. All electronic systems had gone dead. The final surveillance feeds showed something forcing its way out of the rift, tearing into the research staff.
When the security team arrived, they spotted what looked like "survivors." But just as they moved to extract them, the survivors turned—and attacked.
"They moved unnaturally fast, with inhuman strength. We suffered heavy losses."
The guard's tone was grim.
"We'll need reinforcements."
Brenner's brow furrowed. After a moment, he said,
"Seal off the compromised sectors immediately. I'll pass your request up the chain."
Once the man left, Brenner returned to his office and reviewed the recovered footage.
The sublevels were swallowed in shadow. Veins of vine-like growth clung to every wall. Shapes flickered in the darkness, prowling the corridors.
Brenner shut down the lab's external comms at once.
From this moment, no one would contact the outside world.
---
The Byers House
After the failed attempt to reach Will, Gideon knew his next step:
he had to find Jane Ives—the girl known only as Eleven.
She had been part of the Hawkins experiments. A child weapon.
Her psychic power was immense—
and it was she who had first torn open the passage to the Upside Down.
But before that—
"Dustin, Mike, Lucas. You should all go home."
The boys resisted, but night had already fallen. Gideon insisted, and Joyce volunteered to drive.
For her, he was now the only hope of seeing her son again.
---
Ten Minutes Later – A Quiet Roadside
The car idled at the curb.
Dustin and Lucas had been dropped off. Only Mike remained.
The boy climbed reluctantly out, his face shadowed with worry.
Gideon followed, wanting to see him safely inside.
"Mike?"
A girl's voice cut through the night.
Gideon turned and recognized the face: Nancy Wheeler.
"What are you doing here? And who's this?" she asked, puzzled to find her younger brother with a young priest.
Then her eyes found Joyce, and understanding softened her features.
"You're looking for Will…" She exhaled, her tone heavy.
"I'm so sorry." Everyone in Hawkins knew by now.
She stepped closer to Gideon.
"Thank you—for bringing Mike back."
Her voice dipped. She brushed her hair behind her ear, her eyes lingering on him.
The priest was young, calm, and steady.
There was something about his presence that drew her in.
Mike only shook his head.
Gideon, meanwhile, sighed inwardly: No. Not this path.
The three of them headed toward the Wheeler house.
Gideon considered leaving then and there. But a thought stopped him—
In horror stories, the worst always struck just steps from safety.
So he decided to walk them all the way to the door.
As they walked, Nancy tried to draw Gideon into conversation—asking subtle questions about him, letting her elbow "accidentally" brush against his arm more than once.
But when he barely reacted, her heart sank with disappointment.
Soon, the three of them reached the Wheeler house.
Mike darted up the steps first.
Nancy lingered, clutching a book to her chest as she turned to Gideon.
"Well, then…"
"Nancy?"
A voice called from the side.
Gideon turned and saw a young man with a mop of curls.
"Steve!" Nancy's face lit up in surprise—she hadn't expected him to be waiting here.
Gideon recognized him instantly. In the original story, one of the rare humans who could be relied on.
Steve stepped forward, took Nancy's hand with practiced ease, and placed himself squarely between her and Gideon, glaring with suspicion.
"I thought you were looking for Barb. Who's this?"
The question carried weight—after all, just last night, he and Nancy had spent the night together at his house.
Gideon narrowed his eyes. He could feel the hostility in Steve's stance.
He opened his mouth to answer—then froze. His expression hardened.
In one swift motion, he yanked Steve and Nancy out of the way.
"Hey! Hands off—" Steve started, angry—
But then a blur of darkness swept past the very spot he had been standing.
His anger died.
The priest had just saved his life.
And when Steve saw what had tried to kill him, his eyes went wide.
A beast stood in the road—shaped vaguely like a dog, but wrong. It had no head. Instead, a blossom of petal-like flesh split open where the skull should be, lined with jagged, glistening teeth.
And there were two more behind it.
Nancy and Steve's hearts hammered in terror. They had never seen anything like this.
But Gideon knew at once.
These were Demodogs—an immature form of the Demogorgon, creatures of the Upside Down.
Yet what were they doing here?
He had no time to wonder.
The beasts snarled, their guttural cries echoing in the night, and leapt.
Two lunged for Steve and Nancy. The third circled Gideon warily, pacing, unwilling to attack. Something in him radiated danger, and the creature sensed it.
Gideon sighed inwardly, slipping the vial of holy water back into his coat.
Shame. I won't be able to save it for later.
Unprepared, and unsure how many more might be lurking, he decided to finish the fight quickly.
"If you won't come to me—then I'll come to you."
In an instant, he moved. His speed was inhuman.
---
Steve, meanwhile, proved why some called him Hawkins' unlikely champion. Panic had gripped him at first, but he recovered fast, seizing a fallen branch as a weapon.
The beast slammed into him with brute force, hurling him several meters back.
"Damn—it's strong," he hissed, clutching his chest, pain radiating through his ribs.
The hound came again.
This time Steve hurled a rock, striking it square in the face.
The monster barely flinched, its petal-maw twisting back toward him.
Steve swallowed hard.
Nancy fared no better. Dodging one lunge, she stumbled, twisting her ankle and collapsing onto the pavement.
The Demodog pounced.
Nancy trembled, tears streaking her cheeks. She squeezed her eyes shut.
"Nancy!" Steve's voice broke with desperation—but he couldn't get to her.
At the last instant, the beast's head was smashed to the ground—pinned under Gideon's boot.
He drew his flask of holy water and poured it over the writhing creature.
Its skin sizzled, dissolving into raw, exposed muscle. The liquid seeped deeper, burning away flesh until nothing remained but a steaming skeleton.
Nancy gasped, staring at Gideon as if seeing something no longer human.
Relief washed over Steve, though shock quickly followed. He had felt the monster's power firsthand—it was unstoppable. Yet beneath this priest's foot, it had been reduced to nothing.
And that water… what was it? Rocks couldn't scratch the beast, but that liquid devoured it instantly.
His thoughts shattered when the last Demodog lunged.
He stumbled back, taking cover behind the forked trunk of a tree. The beast's jaws clamped down, splintering the wood. It would break through in moments.
---
Gideon swept the area with Ethereal Sight, confirming no other creatures nearby. Then he moved to Steve's side, keeping just beyond the monster's reach.
Steve glanced at him, desperation flashing in his eyes.
"Help me!"
"Of course," Gideon said calmly, drawing another vial of holy water.
"But first, something important you should know."
Steve's expression froze.
"I'm not interested in your girlfriend," Gideon said, voice utterly serious. "I prefer them… older."
He made a suggestive hand gesture.
Steve blinked.
"…Huh?"