Have you seen Heather? She’s a lifeguard at the Hawkins pool. She didn’t show up for her shift today. Come to think of it Billy isn’t there either. Perhaps they are “sick” together? Their fate is concerning but it’s far from the strangest thing to happen in this town.

Nancy continues to investigate the rat problem even though her coworkers continue to tease her about it. I mean it is weird. Why would fertilizer, cleaning fluid and diesel fuel go missing from several locations around town? Perhaps it is time to check back in with Mrs. Driscoll.

Meanwhile at Starcourt Mall Dustin and Steve are looking for Evil Russians. If only Steve could stay focused? Thank goodness they have Robin. She has cracked the code. The silver cat feeds is Lynx shipping company. A trip to China sounds nice is the Imperial Panda Chinese Restaurant. If you tread lightly leads to Kaufman shoes. When blue and yellow meet in the west. Perhaps this refers to the colors of the hands on the Starcourt clock. What is happening at 8:45? Who is meeting and for what?

Max and Eleven are having a sleepover. In a unique twist on spin the bottle they use the game to decide who to spy on. The bottle lands on Billy and El dives into the void to see what he is up to. She is immediately shaken when she hears screaming. Max is initially not phased by this revelation but agrees to go to her house to investigate further. The girls find a bloody whistle and a lifeguard pack in the bathroom. The search for Heather switches to high gear.

Mike and Lucas want to solve another type of mystery. The mystery of the female species. Will would love to distract his friends from their girl problems with a break from reality. He has created a new Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Will is soon moved to sadness and anger. It becomes clear that Lucas and Mike lack focus for the game. Dustin is nowhere to be found. Will storms off biking into the pouring rain.

Max and El arrive at the Hawkins pool but they do not have swimming on their mind. The staff at the pool is no help. The girls must take matters into their own hands. They grab a picture of the missing lifeguard. El returns to the void to search for more clues. She sees a mailbox and a red door. The girls set off armed with the new information and find Heather’s house. They are understandably shocked to find the family sitting down to dinner. Billy is there acting like a gentleman. Heather steps out of the kitchen bearing cookies as if nothing is wrong. After an intense glare between Billy and Eleven the girls escape back into the storm. Left to return to dinner Heather and Billy quickly subdue Heather’s parents.

Is this the work of the Mind Flayer? Does it hide in plain sight as harmless humans going about their normal routines. Monsters? No there are no monsters here. Is it a puppet master controlling the citizens of Hawkins? If any of these seemingly normal people start eating fertilizer like poor Mrs. Driscoll perhaps the men at the paper will take Nancy more seriously.

Joyce is correct. There is still something going on in the lab. Someone made it painfully obvious to Hopper. They don’t want the Chief of Police looking into things. Is the lab connected to the Russians?

Lucas and Mike go out in the storm and find Will in front of a destroyed castle Beyers. These boys may be distracted by girls but at the end of the day they will also be there for each other. This is very good news because he is back. I have no doubt who he is and worst of all he knows the girl that closed the gate lives. Can’t wait to see what happens next week. Keep your eyes open for all things strange. The Mind Flayer now has Eleven in his sight!