047 Eleven's Tantrum
When Mike and the others found Richard, Richard picked up the terrarium they had brought, examined the little thing inside for a moment, and then waved his hand: "It's a larval Demogorgon. Go find some gasoline and burn this little 'beauty.'"
Hearing Richard's cold-blooded decision to kill it without hesitation, Mike and the other members of the Party all gaped in shock.
Richard was reliable, but his methods were truly ruthless and decisive.
"Aren't you going to consider keeping it for research?" Dustin couldn't quite bear it. After all, from his perspective, this creature that looked like a tadpole was pretty cute.
Richard yawned, his gaze calm: "Research? For dissection, or for science class?"
"This thing isn't a biology project."
"It's not a pet either." Richard stared sharply at the larval Demogorgon in the terrarium, which was taking an aggressive stance and repeatedly ramming into the walls in an attempt to escape. "This thing grows really fast. Even if it likes eating nougat now, it won't eat nougat once it's bigger. First it'll eat mice, then cats, then dogs. What else could its final target be but humans?
It's like a tiger; a cub is cute, but as it grows, its primal instincts amplify, making it increasingly bloodthirsty and violent. The inherent nature of a Demogorgon is even worse than a wild animal; they enjoy cruel hunting and torture. Dustin, I know you're someone who loves exploring and has genuine respect for all life, and you want to try to tame it and be its friend. But to them, humans are never companions, only prey."
Dustin silently lowered his head, completely abandoning his idea.
Then, they watched helplessly as the young Demogorgon died in a pile of flames, reduced to ashes.
Mike and the others gathered around him, patting his shoulder to comfort their friend.
After burning away the little problem, Richard went over to Troy and asked, "Have you felt sick lately?"
Troy knew that the guy before him was the real hero who, along with Will's brother, had rescued him from The Upside Down that day. Furthermore, Richard's style of handling things had left him with a unique sense of respect and fear. He obediently answered Richard: "According to the checkup reports, there's nothing wrong with my body. However, I've been having constant nightmares about The Upside Down lately."
"Nightmares?" Richard nodded. "Can you describe them?"
Troy nodded reluctantly. Memories of The Upside Down were a forbidden zone he didn't want to touch. Whenever he saw something that triggered a memory or thought of anything related to The Upside Down, he couldn't help but recall his painful experience of over ten days there. These memories were like demonic whispers, disturbing his mind constantly. But since Richard wanted to know, he endured his numb and shivering body to describe his nightmares from the past few days.
Mike and the others also listened, feeling deep sympathy for Troy's suffering.
Troy's description was a bit messy, but fortunately, it was specific enough that one could piece together a general picture.
After listening, Richard didn't immediately give a definitive answer, but instead asked a seemingly unrelated question: "How's your memory usually?"
"His memory is terrible. Even if he pays attention for a whole class, he can't remember two or three complete sentences from the notes the teacher emphasizes," Mike jumped in, chuckling.
"Hey! Wheeler!" Troy snapped in embarrassment. He instinctively wanted to lash out, but seeing Richard nearby, he sullenly held back.
Richard didn't pay much attention to their minor conflict and said: "This doesn't sound like a nightmare at all. Even though a certain amount of fear can help cement memories to an extent, dream content itself is pieced together from the human brain's random information. It's almost impossible for a person to clearly remember what kind of dream they had after waking up. But according to what you just described, you can recall almost every detail in the dream with precision; even your actions in the dream followed logic. You have to understand that dreaming itself is illogical."
"But Dr. Owens said this is PTSD from the experience in The Upside Down, and that it's a normal response." Troy swallowed hard, feeling afraid again. His terrified eyes couldn't hide it. Richard's words gave him a terrifying suspicion: although he had escaped The Upside Down, he still hadn't escaped its control.
Richard nodded. "That is definitely a possibility. But do they know that a young Demogorgon was hidden inside your body?"
This single question immediately shattered all the trust Troy had in the health reports provided by The Lab.
Yes, they said his health was slowly recovering and that there were no problems—they even did a full-body CT scan—yet not a single person discovered a 'tadpole' at least two inches thick incubating inside him. Was the health report from The Lab really reliable?
"So, The Lab can't give you any results that are completely trustworthy," Richard continued. "Face facts. Something like The Upside Down is an existence that's somewhat beyond current scientific understanding. The results current medical technology can get from you aren't necessarily fully accurate. If I'm not mistaken, when you were rescued that day, you were infected by the vine-like creatures of The Upside Down, and they likely took the opportunity to plant some other unknown connection in you.
Your mind has been marked, and things related to The Upside Down have been bound to you... Hmm? The fact that you could be rescued might even be part of the plan of whoever's controlling The Upside Down. If I were the ruler of The Upside Down and I wanted to invade the real world, I would need a spy who could see the other side, and you are..."
The more Richard spoke, the more Troy's scalp prickled. It turned out the problems with his body were far from over.
That Lab is seriously sketchy!
...
"Hopper, when can I go out?" Eleven, wearing hand-me-down overalls, stared at Chief Hopper with a resentful gaze. She looked at the TV dinner in front of her, feeling hopeless.
Chief Hopper said helplessly, "We've been over this countless times; we have to wait until the issues with The Lab are resolved."
"Then when will they be resolved?" Eleven pouted.
Chief Hopper opened his mouth, and after a long pause, said, "We'll do it as quickly as possible."
"How quick is 'as quickly as possible'?"
"I don't know." Chief Hopper was getting a bit frustrated, his tone sharpening slightly as he pointed at Eleven's food. "Hurry up and eat."
Eleven tilted her head up and looked out the window with a dramatic expression.
"...What are you doing?" Chief Hopper's head began to ache.
"Richard said that whenever you want to cry, you should look up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle and let the tears flow. Cry if you want to, don't hold it in; bottling it up too much isn't healthy."
"That damn Richard!" Chief Hopper immediately burst out in frustration. What the hell had that kid been teaching Eleven? A girl who was like a blank canvas, who could have easily been raised to be a strong and independent young woman with a little guidance, but Richard had actually taught her the 'secret weapon' of teenage girls: throwing tantrums. Is that what a decent person does?
Seeing tears threatening to well up in the corners of Eleven's eyes, he immediately threw up his hands in surrender, defeated. He said with resignation, "Alright, alright, my little princess. How about we make a different deal? Besides going out, what other requests do you have? I'll try my best to make it happen."
Eleven immediately broke into a bright smile: "Then I want..."
[500 Power Stones → +1 Bonus Chapter]
[10 Reviews → +1 Bonus Chapter]
Enjoyed the chapter? A review helps a lot.
P1treon: Soulforger (20+ advance chapters)