Me, Myself, and Her

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Seven: It's Time To Go

The kids ran back into the mall, semi-safe for now. Annie paced the floor, wondering if Billy had arrived after the others left.

Mike was also pacing, trying to get in contact with the others- the Scoops Troop. "Scoops Troop, do you copy? We are trapped in the mall and are in need of emergency transportation."

"You're gonna kill him, aren't you?" The question from Max caught Annie totally off guard, and she spun around to see what Max was talking about.

Nancy had grabbed a gun off one of the Russians and was making sure it was loaded. Annie's own gun was still safely hidden under her pink t-shirt.

"This is just a precaution, okay?" Nancy assured.

"And not just against Billy. If he knows we're here, so does the Mind Flayer," Will added.

Annie walked over. "El's way too exhausted right now to do anything huge, so we've got some weapons of our own to help out," she said. "El can... she can be the one to deal with Billy. See if there's anything she can do in his head."

Max gave a weak smile, appreciating the effort her friends were giving to make her feel better. But there was a feeling in her stomach, something telling her things would go wrong.

Nancy looked over at Mike, who was still repeating the same thing over and over, and saw the car that El had flung earlier. "No chance that thing'll drive," she said, a sarcastic smile on her face.

Behind her, Johnathan spoke up. "We don't need it to drive. We just need the ignition cable."

Nancy stood, smiling wide. "Then looks like we've gotta flip it over." She hurried over to the car, the other four following right behind. "Guys! We need to get the car flipped over, come on!" Nancy called over to the others.

Everyone found a spot around the car, Annie being on the counter trying to push it up and off. So much for not sweating through another shirt. This last week almost hasn't been very kind to her wardrobe.

"Push!" Johnathan yelled, even though everyone was already pushing.

After one last burst of energy, the car came crashing back to where it started. "Shit!" Lucas exclaimed, whether it was because more glass smashed or because the car didn't really move, Annie didn't know or care.

"Let me try," El said, hobbling forward.

"El..."

"I can do it." Everyone paused and let her try, moving to stand behind her in case it worked. Her hand was out and everyone could hear the metal of the car creaking under an invisible force. Even so, nothing happened.

Annie sighed, looking around, including by the escalators. "Leverage," she said, and then turned back to everyone who were already looking at her. "We need leverage. It's basic physics."

When everyone continued to look shocked, Annie rolled her eyes. "I might look like a Barbie, but I've got some knowledge up here," she said, tapping her head with her finger. "Now come on!"

She turned back around and hurried over to where the stanchions sat by the escalators. "We can use these to wedge in between the car and counter and- Annie you're a genius!" Will said, getting a smile from the brunette.

Everyone grabbed a stanchion then hurried back over to the car. They all got behind the car again and wedged the metal things in-between the car and counter, just like Will said.

"Push!" With Johnathan's word, they all started to push.

After a moment, the car stood straight up and down on its side. Annie smiled as she stood straight. Johnathan, as out of breath as he was, got right back to instructing the group. "All right, great. Now all the way, ready?" The kids got their stanchions in place, the bottom on the car to push it over. "Three... two... one... push!"