: The group splits up—Hopper and Eleven go to close the Gate, while the others deal with the hive mind at the "Hub."
: The group realizes they must heat Will’s body to a point where the Mind Flayer’s "virus" finds the host uninhabitable. Watch Stranger Things S02e08
As soon as his fingers brushed the tape, the lights in the store surged. The hum of the neon sign grew into a deafening roar. Outside, the sky shifted from a deep Indiana purple to a bruised, swirling red. They weren’t in the video store anymore; they were standing in the middle of the Byers’ living room, but the walls were weeping a thick, black ichor. : The group splits up—Hopper and Eleven go
The vacuum of the closing rift sucked the air out of the boys' lungs. They tumbled backward, falling through a tunnel of static and synthesized music. Thump. Outside, the sky shifted from a deep Indiana
Dustin hit the counter with a stack of crumpled notebook sketches. “We need something with a hive mind,” he demanded, his voice cracking with the urgency of a boy who had seen a demogdog in his own storm cellar. “Something where the brain controls the limbs from a distance.”