- GIRLS ON FILM -

Chapter Eight: The Mind Flayer

The car belonging to Henry Foster's youngest son sped through the barren roads of Hawkins, Indiana. His hands tightened so feverishly around the wheel that his knuckles had faded ivory. From his healthy tan complexion to alabaster white in seconds flat.

Reid's brown eyes were flickering back and forth from the bleeding girl in his passenger seat to the roads. Turning and winding as they soared up through the trees and towards the entrance of the Hawkins National Laboratory. This whole situation made him feel so ill he wasn't sure what was going to happen when they made it to the lab.

When the doctors and nurses rushed Jane off to an exam room, tearing through her sweatshirt to reveal long lashes in the flesh. Oozing vibrant red blood from each indentation of the beast's claws. No doubt swimming with interdimensional infection or some other worldly disease. Jesus, if he thought about it anymore, bile might crawl back up his throat.

"What do I do? Just drive right in?" Reid stressed, his hand flying up to his hair before wincing as his fingers got caught in the blood covered locks. Gently bringing his shaking extremity back down to the leather wheel.

"Yes, hurry!" Steve snapped right back, looking down at the unconscious girl in his arms. Her eyes rested shut, which was a much more pleasant scene than when she had woken up a few minutes prior. For the short time she was alert she cried. She cried and wailed with her face clenched up in pain. Writhing around the front seat even as Steve held her still, begging her to calm down, to just breathe.

"I can't! I can't breathe! It hurts, it burns!" Jane was hysterical as she looked up at the boy, wide blue eyes and a heaving chest. "Steve, it hurts!" She wailed, clawing up at his arms. Begging for him to do something, to do anything that could help.

"We're going to get help, okay?" Steve promised, holding her tighter to prevent her thrashing from injuring herself further. "Reid! Hurry!"

"Steve, look." Dustin muttered, grabbing the boy's attention as they pulled into the long drive of the laboratory.

"Oh shit," He sighed, gazing up at the building. Pitch black with alarms sounding throughout the area. "Oh shit!" He repeated, frustration laced in his voice before he looked back up at the facility, noticing a different brown vehicle. Stuck in front of the gates as two people argued in the security officer's box.

"That's Jonathan and Nancy." Lucas pointed out, urging Reid to keep driving forward. The Foster boy complied as his Vista Cruiser rolled to a stop next to the Byers' station wagon.

"Security just doesn't take the night off, especially not here!" Jonathan insisted, pressing the button to open the gate vigorously and sighing when nothing happened.

"I know that, but clearly the powers out." Nancy snapped.

"What are we supposed to do? Our family is in there!"

"What's going on? Why isn't it opening?" Steve called, once he had rested Jane on the seat and exited the car. Walking up to the security booth with fervor and worry. They needed this gate to open, now. Jane had bled too much to wait any longer.

"Steve!?" Jonathan and Nancy cried out, surprise written all over their faces. Their jaws hung open as they tried to process why the hell Steve Harrington was jumping out of a random car at the Hawkins National Laboratory.

"What are you doing here?" Nancy gasped, shaking her head slightly. Her brown eyes still practically popping out of her skull.

"Look, we need to get in there. We gotta figure out how to get it open." Steve ignored her question.

"Why are they all here?" Jonathan asked, pointing to the backseat full of eighth graders. Lucas and Max gave him blank expressions once the window had rolled all the way down, while the Henderson boy offered a small wave to the older brother of his friend.