Mike Wheeler was pacing around his house basement, he was waiting for his friends, Will, Dustin and Lucas, his best friends, still the absence of one single person could still bring his whole excitement down, in fact it had been twenty-nine days, almost an awfully whole month, in which he had not really been excited about anything, the smile he would wear every time he was asked whether he was okay, was anything but genuine. Maybe today was going to be different tough, his friends were coming over to play Dungeons and Dragons for the first time since Will was rescued from the Upside Down, a sense of normality, it could be just what he needs, this campaign took three weeks to plan, he had made his best effort to make it as exciting as his humor could let him, he was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his friends rushing through the stairs, Lucas and Dustin seemed to be racing each other, while Will, whore a very excited smile, in this time feeling nothing but emptiness he had gotten really good at reading people's expressions.

Mike put on a fake smile at his friends and exclaimed joyfully. – "Who's ready for the best campaign ever?"

The three boys yelled a unison 'US' before they sat down and started playing the game they all loved so much, they had been playing for the last ten hours when Mike finally called the ending of said campaign, he thought it was a fairly good campaign he could even say he felt happy for a few moments.

- "That can't be it, that was way too short!" Dustin exclaimed.

- "Yeah Mike, he's right." Will continued.

- "Dude it was ten hours." Mike shot back.

Steps could be heard from the basement stairs, it was Jonathan. – "Jeez, what's that smell, you guys been playing games all night or just farting?" He asked jokingly.

- "No, that's just Dustin." Lucas answered smiling. – "Dustin farted." He stated, making fart sounds with his mouth.

Dustin had a slightly annoyed expression, but Mike could clearly see he was dying to laugh. – "Very mature, Lucas." Dustin stated evenly.

- "Hey Will, let's go." Jonathan directed to Will, who stood up and collected his things.

They bid their farewells to his friend, before Dustin and Lucas left as well, Mike was left alone in the basement, he stared at the fort he had made for El, he hesitated for a minute before slowly walking towards the fort, he had not dared to modify it in any way, nor let his mother take it down, he carefully took a seat inside said fort, grabbed the supercom he kept there, before sighing heavily and pressing the button on the device. – "El, are you there?" He waited for a reply for a few seconds before speaking again. – "It's me, Mike; it's day twenty-nine, eleven P.M, I just… I need to know if you're there, give me a sign." He waited another few seconds, no answer. – "I… I want to say I'm sorry, if you didn't protect us, you'd still be here." His voice cracked a little at the end. – "There's something I want to promise you, you're never going to have to protect me again, so please, if you're there just…" He stopped when he felt the tears running through his cheeks.

Mike woke up in Eleven's fort, he must've fallen asleep there last night, he glanced at the clock on the wall, it was four in the morning, and he didn't feel like sleeping anymore, juts one thing in his promise, a promise he was determined to keep, so he decided he would be getting ready and walk to school instead of biking as he usually did. He decided to stop by the library, to read as much as possible about enhancing once strength, reflexes and agility. Remembering the fact that the Demogorgon was little to no affected by bullets, he decided to aim for cutting weapons, maybe one that is sharp enough and with enough force could damage it, but before learning to use any of those he needed to peak his physical strength, he took five books about fitness and left to school.

Mike got to school fifteen minutes before classes started, he had stayed in the library until seven and had made a descent time walking at a slightly fast pace, cardio was not a problem for him since he biked pretty much every day, but the weight in his back was something else entirely, he was cleared of doubts about needing to work on his physical strength, his friends were waiting for him on the bike rack, they all seemed surprised by the fact that he showed up walking.

- "Dude, did you walk all the way here?" Dustin asked, in a surprised tone.

Mike let out a soft chuckle. – "I went to the library first."

Lucas's eyes shot open. – "That's the other way, you went to the library to come here."

- "I needed to read some stuff." Mike answered plainly. He glanced at Will, he looked off, not completely there, he had come to school last week for the first time since he returned but today he seemed more worried than usual. – "Will." Mike called; Will's eyes shot up to his. – "You okay?"

Will smiled, Mike could tell it was fake. – "Yeah, yeah sorry I was thinking. So, why did you walk?"

Mike let go, but decided he would speak to him later. – "I figured I could use the exercise."

They all looked confused, but he just shrugged and decided to enter the building, they followed a second later. The day went without any highlights, the teachers left their average amount of homework and the took the test of math scheduled for today, Troy was still keeping his distance from them, he wasn't wearing a cast anymore, but it seemed like El had scared him enough for him to leave them alone, after classes ended the for friends were waiting by the bike rack, since Mrs. Byers was supposed to pick Will up after school, Mike could understand her, she had not allowed Will to be completely alone for single second, after what happened, it was completely normal. Mike noticed Will completely off once again he glanced at his other friends who seemed ready to leave.

- "Guys, you can leave, I'll stay with Will." He directed to Dustin and Lucas.

They nodded in agreement, they had plans to play ATARI later today, they still needed to set the whole thing up in Lucas's house. – "Are you guys still coming over later?" Lucas asked.

Mike shook his head lightly. – "I won't I have some stuff to read, remember?"

Dusting groaned loudly. – "Come on Mike, we can help you with it."

Mike chuckled lightly. – "Dude, we played for ten hours' yesterday, let me have a break."

It was Lucas's turn to let out an annoyed groan. – "Will?"

Will's glance went back and forth between his friends. – "Yeah, sure." He answered with another fake smile.

Lucas and Dustin bid their farewells before biking out of the school's parking lot, Mike and Will were left alone, Mrs. Byers was a little late, usually she was here just at three fifteen, Mike turned around to face Will. – "Are you going to tell me what's wrong now?" He asked in a plain yet kind tone.

- "Wh-what do you mean?" Will asked back.

- "Something's bothering you, in fact something's got you scared, what is it?"

- "Nothing's wrong." Will stammered.

Mike sighed. – "Will, you're my best friend, I know you, I can see when your smiles are genuine or not."

Will let out a shaky breath, it was true he wasn't himself since he returned, he kept jumping right back into the Upside Down, it had happened last night, and the night before, at the beginning it was just once a week, until it started happening almost every single day. – "I keep appearing there."

Mike knew exactly what he meant. – "Do you think it's real?" He asked with a slight glimpse of worry in his tone, he knew something was up, and he feared it was this.

- "It sure feels like it." Will answered looking to the floor.

- "Have you seen anyone anything there?"

- "No, it's just the place there's nothing alive."

Mike's logic told him this was some kind of post-traumatic stress, the again, we're talking about another dimension here, logic isn't something that applies here anymore. – "You need to talk about this to them, whoever's treating you in the lab."

- "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." Will answers with another fake smile. Just then his mother pulls up in front of them. – "I have to go." Will states before leaving Mike alone in the parking lot.

Mrs. Byers notices him and smiles brightly at Mike. – "Thank you for staying with him, do you need a ride home?" She asks in a happy voice.

Mike could see Will wasn't thrilled with the idea of having to continue their conversation, so he decided not to push him any further. – "No, thanks Mrs. Byers I'll walk."

Her eyes shot open. – "All the way to your house?"

Mike chuckled lightly. – "Yeah, I could use the time, I… need to think."

- "Okay dear, see you later." She answered.

Mike smiled at them before waving, he was then left alone in the parking lot, he then started to walk back home, he had searched for El in school countless times already, if she was there he would have already found her, he got to his house forty-five minutes later, did his homework and around nine started digging into the books he had borrowed from the library, quickly realizing that body-weight exercises were what suited him more, if he wanted to grow normally, he started doing some workouts pushing himself as far as he could, not letting tiredness break him, he exercised until his entire body was sore, a pain that would only worsen in the morning, but he had a theory of his own, if his body broke it could only mean it would heal, stronger than ever.

The next day was hell, the next one was even worse, and the third day, he genuinely believed his muscles were going to melt at the slightest movement, but by the fourth day, he had started to get a little used to it, it still hurt like hell, but he was getting used to the pain, by the first month his physical strength had improved dramatically, maybe by the fact that he pushed himself further every day, by the second month he had read as much as possible about the human reflexes, improving his by a lot, his perception had improved making him much aware of what happens in his surroundings, he exercised every single day since he made that promise.

Today was day one hundred and twenty-two, four months since Eleven disappeared, he still called her every night he still cried every time he did not get an answer, it was Saturday morning, as usual since he began his routine he woke up at four in the morning and did his share of workouts, by this point he had started using a twenty pound weighted vest, for his pull ups and pushups, he was in the best shape his body would let him, he had also grown almost five inches since he started his training, so his growth wasn't affected, he was standing at five foot three, and had put almost six pounds of pure muscle, since he was burning himself up so much there was barely any fat on his body.

It was nearing nine when Will caught him leaving his house. – "Hey, where are you going, aren't we supposed to prepare everything for D & D?"

Mike still played dungeon and dragons with his friends at least once a month, his friends at some point just stopped talking about El or what happened four months ago, he didn't blame them they were not supposed to talk about it anyway. – "Hey, I was going to run an errand and return in a few minutes, you can go ahead and begin."

Will nodded and stepped inside the house, Mike grabbed his bike and got on his way, a few minutes later he arrived to the police station, he entered the building when an old lady stopped him. – "Excuse me young man, where are you going?"

Mike put on a fake smile. – "Good morning, I'm here to see Chief Hopper."

- "Okay, do you have an appointment?" She asked.

- "Um, no."

Before she could answer, Jim Hopper came out of his office, walking towards the doughnuts box in the table near the window, he spotted Mike and walked towards him. – "What are you doing here, kid? Are you in some kind of trouble?"

Mike eyed the bigger man before answering in a plain tone. – "I need to talk to you."

Hopper felt the anger in the boy's eyes. – "Okay, let's talk in the office."

Mike followed Hopper to his office, he entered first and Hopper closed the door behind him. – "What can I do for you?"

Mike paced slowly. – "Have you maybe, found anything about El?"

Hopper sighed heavily, the kid won't give up, it's been four months and he still come at least once every two weeks to ask about her, the truth is, she had been living with him for the last three months, but for her safety and his, he could not tell him that. – "I haven't. it's been four months, maybe it's time to accept that she- "

- 'Don't you dare." Mike hissed out.

- "Kid- "

- "Look, I really respect you and I don't want to yell at you, she's out there I know it." Hopper nodded and there was silence between the two until Mike spoke again. – "I need you to teach me how to shoot."

Hopper was taken aback for a second. – "I'm sorry, what?"

- "You heard me." Mike snapped, his tone completely sure and serious.

- "How old are you again." Hopper asked not taking him seriously.

Mike chuckled lightly. – "Look, either way I'm going to learn I would prefer it was with someone I can trust, before I end up joining some gang."

Hopper was starting to get tense, if there was something he learned about Mike in this four months is that he is stubborn, he won't let go of Eleven, and she had been asking him to look out for the kid, since he would not let her see him it was the least he could do. He sighed. – "And why is it that you want to learn to use a gun?"

- "Because men doing bad decisions aren't the only danger out there and I made a promise to someone, that I would never be a burden again that I was going to be able to take care of myself." Mike answered.

- "Listen kid, I understand, but right now isn't a good time."

- "Thanks, for nothing."

- "Hey, I didn't say I wasn't going to teach you, just that right now isn't the best time, besides, you'll need to put on a bit of weight before being able to resist the kick of a gun." Hopper stated calmly.

Mike scoffed, confident in how strong he had become, for being mostly week his entire life, he now felt like he could crush a stone in his hands. – "I've put on weight; I've been working out for three months."

Hopper stood up from his seat and eyed him. – "Yeah, you look a little bulkier, hold your hand up." Mike did as told, before Hopper punched his hand with most of his strength, since Mike's reflexes were so sharp now, he could catch the punch in his hand, but he had to admit it was a bit harder than he thought, the Chief could definitely throw a punch. – "Jesus, I wasn't expecting you to stop me so easily, what kind of workouts did you do?"

Mike chuckled lightly. – "It wasn't as easy as I thought, and it did hurt." Mike stated shaking his hand lightly.

Hopper chuckled as well. – "I guess I can't use strength as an excuse."

Mike suddenly turned serious. – "I beat the crap out of me every single day, until I could not move anymore, and the I would beat myself again the next day, strength won't ever be a problem for me anymore."

Hopper could see the anger, determination and sadness that covered his eyes. – "It's good to demand your body, just don't cross the line, you could seriously mess yourself up."

- "I'll heal, stronger than ever." Mike stated calmly, he went for the door and opened it. – "I'll come in a week or so."

And just like that he exited the room, leaving Hopper alone with his thoughts, it seemed like the kid would not give up anytime soon, even though his intention wasn't to keep Eleven hiding for the rest of her life, but right now, the best was for everyone to believe she was dead, gone for good.

January 13th, 1987

It's been three years and two months, exactly one thousand one hundred fifty-eight days, not that he was still counting, time has passed. Mike was turning sixteen today, which meant he was finally old enough to put his driver license in use, he had since a couple of weeks but it was under the condition he had to wait until being sixteen to exert it, it was finally time for him to use that motorcycle he had bought with his own money, even though his mother would freak out at the single thought of it, Nancy had left to college with Jonathan, they had been together for three years now, and it seemed like they would be for even longer, he was happy for her, he would never tell her, but he hoped she knew, Holly was now seven years old, he loved her, she was the only one he would show feelings for, his little sister, she had found him in the basement the day he lost any hope Eleven was still out there, she had comforted him and hugged him while he cried his soul out, she probably didn't understand but it didn't matter, she hugged him and stayed with him even when he tried to push her away.

His friends, it wasn't so certain he could still call them that, the truth is, he had not spoken to them as before, other than the casual "hellos" and "how are you" when he accepted Eleven would not return, he pushed everyone away, even Will. Eleven, he called her every day for one thousand days, before he decided to go into the lab and make sure they weren't keeping her, the head Doctor seemed like an honest man, Dr. Owens, he even left him look around as much as he wanted, he stayed two days looking for her, in every corner, every room of that dreadful building, that was after the lab was shut down, by the government since it was discovered that Barb's dead was their responsibility, as far as he saw, said building seemed completely abandoned.

Mike shook off his thoughts and got to the garage and mounted his black BMW K100, to ride school legally for the first time, he had also missed school for one week, since it started again, he had modified it, taking the windshield off and improving the engine, since he bought it a year ago he had become very skilled in mechanics, knowing what the bike asked for and how to fix it, he had continued to exercise, since doing it for so long with a single objective in mind he had gotten used to it, he is standing at five-foot ten inches, he was very tall for his age, he was also much more muscular now since puberty hit him like a truck, his shoulders were really broad and even though he didn't had insanely big muscles they were of a descent size for his body type, they were extremely defined, something that would bring attention from his peers, as well as something that was very unusual, he had also started dressing in a darker shade of colors mostly black grey and navy, usually paired with black combat boots.

He got to the school in ten minutes since he wasn't racing but enjoying the ride, when he parked his bike, Will, Dustin and Lucas and Max, the last two holding hands, they were a couple, have been for the last year, but it was obvious they had a connection since they met three years ago, even though at the moment Dustin had liked her as well; they were all waiting for him, they had been trying to salvage their friendship, but for Mike, it's not like he didn't care about them anymore, they were some of the most important people in his life, but he just didn't feel like talking as much as before, he didn't feel like being happy at all.

- "Hey, Mike." Will said with a kind smile. – "Happy birthday." He extended his hand for him to shake.

Mike looked back and forth between Will's hand and eyes, before getting down the bike and giving his best friend a hug, he could hear Will let out a relieved breath before he returned the hug. – "Thanks." Mike said pulling away.

Dustin and Lucas seemed to have a surge of confidence when they both hugged him at the same time and screamed at the top of their lungs. – "Happy birthday!" Pushing Will.

Mike laughed lightly. – "Thanks guys."

Finally, it was Max's turn. – "You're such an asshole." She hissed out, things with her were really complicated at the beginning, Mike felt like his friends were trying to replace El somehow, and he channeled all of that anger through her, he was a jerk to her for months until finally she trapped him in a janitor's closet with her and confronted him about it, they talked a lot about everything, she called him on his shit every time after that, and they became really close friends, besides Will, she became his confidant as well. – "You don't return any of my calls, I haven't seen you, nor heard from you in three weeks."

Mike chuckled lightly. – "You know, I thought that you wouldn't scold me since it's my birthday."

Max rolled her eyes at him and pulled him into a tight hug. – "Happy birthday, idiot."

- "Does this mean we have our best friend back?" Dustin whispered Will, but Mike heard him clearly, feeling a punch of guilt in the face. Will placed his hand on Dustin's mouth right after the words left it.

Mike pulled away from Max and looked at the floor, his suffering had made him almost completely quiet the first two weeks after he visited the lab, then he just stopped going to school for two weeks, once he returned he wouldn't sit with them during lunch, since he had also gotten a reputation of being the one you would not want to mess up with he had always a table completely to himself, Max would sit with him every day the first two weeks since then, she would try to talk to him but he would only nod and shrug, until every day became three days a week, and then just once a week, he was also known for having sex, with the senior girls after he accepted Eleven's death. At this point he needed a way to stop thinking of Eleven, stop suffering, it worked for a while, but in the end, it was just sex, without emotion.

Lucas and Dustin at some point got afraid of him, the day all of them watched him break Troy's right leg and left arm just for his pleasure his, even though it was because Troy was bothering them, the truth is Mike, didn't need to hurt him that much, he could have knocked him out with a single punch but he made him suffer, and enjoyed doing so.

Will and Max also had shocked expressions, but they didn't look at him like he was a bomb about to blow up the whole continent, they still looked at him like that sweet and kind kid who loved spending time with his friends, needless the say they were the first to tell him what he did was completely wrong. Mike was even taken to the police station that day, where Hopper had to pull a lot of favors for him not to be sent to juvie, Hopper had become a father figure to him, he did show him how to shoot, and also how to throw punches, even though they didn't speak as much as well, Hopper would occasionally come to school to check on him.

Mike was snapped out of his thought by Will. – "Hey, maybe you could come to my house later, so I can give you your present?" Will asked with a nervous smile.

Mike put on a fake smile. – "I don't know Will."

- "Come on, my mom always asks about you, she's going to faint when she sees how much you've changed." Will tried to convince him.

- "You should go." Max stated grabbing his arm.

- "My mom is making you a cake." Will added.

Mike sighed. – "Okay, fine. But only if you guys go as well."

- "Free cake, you don't have to tell me twice." Dustin exclaimed.

Lucas laughed out. – "When are you not up for free food? It'll be the first time we're all together in a house in a while."

The bell rang a few seconds later, before any of the could speak again, Mike grabbed his bag and headed inside, the other soon following, the day went without any highlights, just a normal high school day, it ended pretty quickly, he had decided to sit with them during lunch today, perhaps it was time to stop pushing them away, they had waited for him this long, he wasn't sure they could keep on like this, and to be honest he didn't want to lose them as well.

The five friends exited the building together since they had agreed to go the Will's place right after school. – "We're right behind you." Max stated grabbing Mike's arm. They all nodded in agreement and left to Will's house.

Mike turned to see his redhead friend. – "What is it?"

Max smiled at him. – "Well first of all, I need a ride, since we both know there's no way Billy is going to – "

- "Is he coming to pick you up?" Mike cut her off.

Max looked down to her wrists. – "Yeah."

Mike noticed her strange behavior and carefully grabbed her hand, rolling up her sleeve to reveal a bruise that looked like a hand, Mike's eyes were filled with anger, he had confronted Billy once about it, when he was fourteen, and he had lost, Billy had mopped the floor with his face, even though Mike was very strong, Billy was bigger and more experienced in physical fights, that was not the case anymore. – "How long has this been happening?" Mike asked in a serious tone.

- "Let's just not do this today, please?" Max asked, she knew that if she told him it was pretty recent, though it was obvious he could tell, an argument would start and it would probably end up in a fight.

Mike sighed heavily. – "I don't know when but we're going to talk about this."

Max nodded slowly, just a second later Billy arrived in his car and got off the vehicle. – "Are you coming or what?"

- "I was going to Will's." Max stated.

Billy frowned at her. – "You're telling me I came here for nothing." He started walking towards her, and stopped when Mike stepped in front of her and looked at him like he was about to kill him, Billy had not seen Mike in a while, he was now the same height as him and looked more muscular. Billy wasn't afraid but he had to admit that this time it would be harder to beat Mike. – "Wheeler, you little shit, get out of my way."

When Mike didn't move at all Billy just sighed heavily. – "You're walking home from now on." He stated before going back to his car and speeding off.

Max flipped Billy of, Mike couldn't help but chuckle a little at her reaction, she was still the badass Max he knew and loved. They walked towards his bike, Mike grabbed his helmet, and put it on her head. – "I don't have another one, so." Max smiled, and they both hopped onto the bike and took off.

Eleven had been watching him this whole time, she had seen him at least once every day for the last three years, she watched him every time he cried for her when he called her, every time he would overwork his muscles and keep going for her, she could just watch him when he lost hope, when he finally let go of her, two days he searched for her without stopping, to eat, sleep or rest. She saw when he kissed other girls, and it broke her heart, then again, she couldn't blame him, he was suffering, he was in excruciating pain and loneliness, and all she did was watch.

It wasn't the first time she saw Mike with another girl, in fact she didn't want to remember with how many girls she had seen him, but this time it was different, she had already seen him with this redhead girl once in person that one time she went to find him, but didn't talk to him because of what she saw, it was the same they were talking smiling at each other before they both took off in a motorcycle, she was hugging him very tightly, and he didn't seem to mind.

When she took off her blindfold, hopper was sitting on the small table they used to eat, he seemed to be waiting for her, since he had not touched his food. – "Hey kid, you were really lost there, I've been here for half hour." Hopper stated.

Eleven walked slowly to the table, she had watched Mike for a long time, it was the first time he would smile a little in one hundred and fifty-six days, it had sure been way too long, she felt slightly weak, considering that her powers have been greatly improved in these past three years. – "Today is Mike's birthday." She stated calmly hoping Hopper would understand what she meant.

Hopper sighed calmly. – "We've been through this."

- "It's been three years." She hissed out.

- "I know kid, soon." Hopper stated in a warm voice.

Eleven scoffed. – "Soon? There's that word again, I'm starting to believe that's a synonym for never."

- "El, you know that we are hiding you for your safety, it's been hard on me too the- "

- "Hard on you?!" Eleven cut him off. – "I saw him break his body every single day, because he wanted to save me, I saw him break every time he did not found me, I saw him cry himself to sleep every day for five months, because he accepted, I wasn't coming back." She paused for a second tears rolling down her cheeks.

Hopper sighed heavily. – "Yes, I saw the kid at least twice a week for two years, he masked it well, but I saw his struggle his suffering, I grew to care about him, that's why we can't put him in danger. Someday, when they get tired of searching for you, you will reunite with him."

Eleven got up from the table and walked towards her room, slamming the door with her powers and locking it, with a single tilt of her head, she got on her bed and fell asleep short after, she was fairly tired by the discussion and the use of her powers.

January 14th, 1987

Eleven woke up the next morning at four, she got lost in her thoughts for a while before heading to the shower and brushing her teeth, it was around five in the morning now, she knew that by this time Mike was already awake, she put on her blindfold and concentrated in Mike, after a second there she was in the void, and Mike seemed to be in the woods were he would usually train with his sword, and that's what he was doing, he was wearing a loose tank top, El could see the scars on his muscular back, scars he gained by being reckless in learning how to handle said weapon, he seemed to be resting since the sword was stuck in the ground beside him, but when she stood in front of him her own eyes welled up, he was silently crying, and she could tell he was crying because of her.

She closed her eyes and focused even more on him, their surroundings became even clearer and she reached with her hand to touch his cheek. – "Mike." She whispered.

It seemed like he heard her, he raised his head and looked around, then his eyes were fixed on her, it was impossible he could see her, yet it seemed like she was standing right in front of him. – "Eleven?" He whispered back.

Mike felt her, somehow he knew she was there, it was the first time he said her name in five months, when she finally placed her hand in his cheek, he didn't disappear like always, he stayed there she could feel him as well, Mike instinctively closed his eyes at her soft touch, even though he still could not see her, he felt her soft hand on his cheek.

There were a lot of men in protective suits, standing next to a machine that looked like some kind of exaggerated gun, there were more men behind a four-inch-thick bulletproof glass, watching as two of them twisted the keys to activate the machine, it spitted a blue laser, opening a red crack on the wall, the angle of the laser changes, making the crack high enough for a full grown man to cross.

The moment the laser stopped, the crack stayed open, not like before, every time they turned said laser off the crack would seal itself, this time it stayed open, it was just a second before it opened even more, revealing a several legged shadow behind the red screen, a second later several Demogorgons and smaller four legged Demogorgons exited the crack, attacking everyone and everything on their way. Some kind of black smoke exited the crack, and attached to several soldiers.

Mike and Eleven were snapped out of their moment when the ground started shaking, Mike disappeared there in front of her. Mike opened his eyes and heard a high-pitched roar, it was a sound he would recognize anywhere, it was a Demogorgon, and not one but several.