"What is that thing?" Jonny whisper-shouts at me despite what I said about asking questions. I roll my eyes.
"Big scary monster with a lot of teeth," I mutter, because how else can I explain the Mind Flayer? "Steer clear."
"Where did it come from? Why are you involved? How—"
The Mind Flayer lets out a terrifying screech that shakes the car, and Jonny grabs my arm. I look at his hand, then slowly back to him.
"Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop," Dustin's voice sounds over a walkie-talkie, which just clattered towards us, "Please confirm your safety! Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop! Please confirm your safety! Are you en route to Bald Eagle's nest?"
Jonny lets go of my arm, his eyes wide with fear. I sigh; I may resent the guy for not leaving me alone, but he's confused, and scared, and has no idea what's going on. I put away my feelings of annoyance for now.
"It'll be okay," I tell him, "we'll get you out. It'll be fine."
The Mind Flayer roars once more, but Jonny nods, looking at me.
"Dustin—Liz is there—" I can hear Steve's voice over the transmission as well, sounding scared.
"Please confirm your safety!" Dustin shouts in a garbled voice, "Someone, please just answer. Is anyone there?"
Beside me, Will shudders.
"Just answer! Anyone, please..."
The stomping, squishing sounds of the creature pass by, and all of us do our best to cover our heavy breathing.
"Griswold Family, do you copy?"
The Mind Flayer growls, and I realize it's moving away from us. It's hunting for El.
"Griswold Family, do you copy?"
I think maybe I can hear Steve's voice again, but it's wishful thinking. So much for steering clear of the fight.
"Griswold Family, do you copy?"
Jonny closes his eyes, his head resting against the car. I can picture him wondering how he got here.
"Do you copy?!"
Dustin stops yelling after that, and the Mind Flayer begins to scour the floor, its steps quaking the mall and its low chitter chilling our bones.
I look at Will, but he's just plain petrified. I try to think up a plan, but it's difficult with the squelching steps of the monster that hunts us.
I look past Will, hearing faint footsteps and hoping to god it isn't Mike, Max, and El. I hold my breath, hearing a loud crash from inside a faraway store.
"Shit," I mutter as the Mind Flayer suddenly screeches, pounding to the source of the commotion. I gather my legs beneath me, going to stand up when Jonny and Will both pull me down.
"No," Will says, shaking his head with wide eyes.
"We can't just leave them," I argue quietly, hearing a distant roar and thud.
"You'll get yourself killed," Jonny mutters, pale as a can of white paint.
"For once," Will says, "I agree with him."
Jonathan peeks over the edge of the vehicle, his eyes trained on the Mind Flayer across the court. He ducks back down quickly.
"Oh, shit."
I take a chance as well, despite Will's warning, and glance over the top of the car. I can see the back of the Mind Flayer as he scavenges through the Gap, searching for El.
There's a rustling beside me, and I duck to see Lucas grabbing his wrist rocket, panting.
"What are you doing?" Nancy asks in a panicked tone.
"Don't worry," Lucas responds, stretching the elastic of the rocket and peeking around the side of the vehicle. All of a sudden, he stands, readying his weapon. He aims at the Mind Flayer, much to our horror, before thankfully changing his course and shooting across the court at a faraway balloon. It pops loudly, and we all flinch as the creature lets out an ear splitting screech.
Jonathan peers over the car as stomping steps cross the mall and away from the Gap.
"Go!" He instructs, standing and dragging Nancy with him, "Go, go, go, go, go, go!"
I stand up, following Will two steps before glancing behind me and stopping.
"Jonny," I whisper harshly, "come on!"
He's staring straight ahead, frozen. He's got a sickly green tint that's even visible under the combination of neon lights and his own freckles. I swear under my breath, seeing the Mind Flayer across the mall becoming aware of Lucas's trick. Will's gone, not realizing I haven't followed.
"Jonny," I say again, but it's no use. He remains in place, eyes unblinking and mouth slightly agape. I skid to the ground, kneel at his side, and shake his shoulder. At last, he looks my way. He mumbles something incoherent.
"Look," I say breathlessly, hearing another screech behind me, "I get you're scared; so am I. We're all terrified, all right? But if we don't get out now, we are going to die."
My last words seem to ring a bell in his brain, and he nods.
"Okay?"
"I-okay." His eyes dart around mine, searching for an answer I can't give him just yet. I hoist him to his feet, seeing the creature peering around the mall.
"Come on!" I press, dragging him along with me into the same store the others left through. We barge through the back room and into the hallways that connect the mall, "This way!"
He stumbles alongside me, and I can hear the Mind Flayer roaring from back in the court. I just hope it didn't see us.
We run for another couple minutes before heading for a door at the end of the hall.
"Out here," I say, pushing it open and coming into the warm air. I hear a car engine, and as I circle to the front, I watch Nancy's car skid out of the lot. My eyes see two other cars; Billy's and the one that Hopper lent Steve. Both of them are destroyed, and Billy's is on fire. I try to see if he's still inside, but it's dark.
"Shit," I mumble, but whatever train of thought that was about to leave the station is T-boned by the sight of the Mind Flayer leaping off of the top of the mall and barrelling after the car. I grab Jonny and turn, racing around the side of the building. He gapes openly at the sight of the monster, likely only now seeing it to its fullest.
I pull him away, leading him to a sheltered area and sitting him on a ledge. He gazes up at me.
"Stay here," I demand, "don't move until I come and get you, understood?"
"Where are you going?" He asks as I begin to back away.
"My friends are still in there," I say, heading for the front again, "just stay here. Okay? No matter what you think you can do."
I leave him there, circling back around to the lot. Before I find my friends, there's a promise I made that needs tending to.
Billy's car is fully in flames, and I can see his head leaning on the steering wheel. I swear, picturing Max's face in my mind and making an ultimately stupid decision. I rush to the drivers side, working to wrench open the door and get inside.
The flames lick my face, yearning to come closer and touch me. I turn away from them, at last getting into the car and shaking Billy's shoulder.
"Billy!" I call, but he remains unconscious. I lean over and undo his seatbelt, dragging him out of the car as it engulfs in flames. I'm able to take him about ten feet away before an explosion sounds behind us, and I cover my body with his. Glass and metal scatters around me, and the heat brings a layer of shine on my forehead. I look back at the car, then at Billy, who rolls over.
Hesitantly, I stand as he does, coughing and rubbing his eyes.
"Billy?" I ask uncertainly, and he looks at me, "I think you owe me at least fifty bucks for that."
He doesn't laugh. Even if he wasn't Flayed, he wouldn't have. I barely have time to begin to run before he snaps his hand forward and grabs me by the throat, squeezing my airway closed.
"Well," I manage to croak out as he glares at me, "this is a familiar scene."
He doesn't say a word, and my feet begin to leave the ground.
"Seriously," I choke, "if I had a nickel for every time you—"
He throws me to the ground, and I yelp as my head hits the concrete, causing black dots to line my vision. I hear the sound of a buzzer, and I open my eyes, seeing Mike and Max lugging Eleven out from the Mall. They look up, seeing Billy and turning around.
"Shit."
"Go go go go go go!" Mike shouts, and they run back the way they came as I continue to try and gain consciousness. The buzzer sounds again, but Billy is already stalking towards them, and the world sways as I try to get up.
"Wait . . ." I mumble incoherently, feeling sticky blood coat the back of my neck. Black floats in and out of my vision as I watch Billy follow the others inside. My eyes open and close, staring at the spot on my leg where Will's smudged game of hangman is still scrawled. I wonder briefly how I didn't get 'table'.
I hear a distant roar, and think I see the Mind Flayer climbing the side of the mall again. Impossible, I think, but everything is hazy. There's the sound of an engine, yelling, and multiple car doors closing. Surely I'm dreaming.
"Liz!"
It's all a dream.
"Liz! Wake up!"
Someone shakes my shoulder, and I open my eyes to see Steve and Will kneeling next to me with worried expressions. I hear running footsteps heading for the mall, and the two boys help me up.
"What happened?" Will asks, and I rub my head.
"Billy," I say, then realizing, "Billy. We have to help them."
I shake away the cloud of fog lingering between my ears and begin in the direction of the mall, Steve and Will close on my heels.
"Where the hell did you go?" Will asks me as we sprint into the mall and to the second floor, just as the Mind Flayer drops back into the court.
"I had to deal with Jonny!" I shout back.
"Wait, Jonny's here?" Steve questions as we join the others.
"I left him outside," I say as Robin shoves something into my hand. I look down at it and frown.
"Fireworks? What are these for—"
I'm cut off by a loud explosion followed by an earthquaking shriek. I flinch away from it before peering over the railing at the lights that spray from the air.
"Flay this, you ugly piece of shit!" Lucas shouts from across the court, hurling another firecracker at the beast. It flies right into its mouth and explodes, pushing it back. It screams again as Jonathan throws a firework from his station. I nearly laugh.
"Hey, asshole!" Steve shouts, bringing his hand back to throw his own weapon, "Over here!"
Will grunts and throws a firework as well, and the creature wails. I bring my arm back, chucking what Robin put in my hand right into the face of the Mind Flayer and cackling. My joy is short-lived, however, as my eyes see Billy and El, the former of which is writhing in apparent pain, and the latter of which has a terrified expression on her face.
"I have to get El," I say to Will, handing him my next firework. Steve frowns as I race away.
"Where are you going?"
I don't respond, sliding down the immobilized escalator and around the corner. Thirty feet from where I stand, El crawls away from Billy, but he grabs her ankle and pulls her back. I look around, seeing a fallen beam of wood and grabbing it before my eye catches a familiar work of art. A specific work of art that's plastered to the bottom of a skateboard. Jonny's. It must've rolled out during the bustle.
The prospect of riding a skateboard in itself is terrifying to me, adding on the lack of protective padding and the close proximity to a lethal monster, it's nearly heart attack worthy.
But El is in trouble, and I don't have much time. So I snatch up the skateboard, adjust the chunk of wood in my hand, and kick off the ground.
Billy drags El back into place, yelling in pain. She screams in fear, and I ride faster and faster until there's no way I can stop. I don't think of repercussions, but I should've, because I can see, blocking my way, a fallen Russian soldier. He's sprawled in a certain unavoidable way, his arm stretching across my path. My brain works quickly, trying to figure out if there's any way I can stop. But I'm going too fast, and Billy has El, and all I can think back to is my countless skateboarding lessons with Max.
All I can think of is that I've got only one option.
I readjust my stance, the fireworks flashing close by and casting shadows across my face. I still feel a little hazy from banging my head, and yet nothing has ever been so clear to me. Jump, drag, land. Jump, drag, land.
I focus on the arm and where it is as it comes closer and closer. El's screams fill my ears, masked only by the screeches of the Mind Flayer. I count down in my head, but it's uneven and mumbled even in my own brain. It doesn't help much, because there is no preparation at a time like this. There's no thinking, only doing.
So I just do it. I just jump, I just drag, and I just land, clearing the Russian in a perfect, though slightly wobbly, Ollie. I want to celebrate, but this isn't the skatepark, so instead I hold back my chunk of wood and swing, making excellent contact with Billy's head and also riding straight into him. He falls to the ground, yelling out in pain, and I stumble off Jonny's skateboard, watching it fly into the wall.
"You," Billy growls, standing up. I swing again, managing to get him in the gut. He doubles over, and I take the chance to swing one last time, hoping to knock him out. There's the sound of everyone yelling, and more explosions. I think I hear my name, but I can't tell. It doesn't matter anyway, because Billy catches the wood while I swing it, and yanks my weapon right from my grasp. My eyes widen, and though I manage to duck under his first swing, his second hits me right in the shoulder, and I go flying across the tile, skidding through debris before slowing to a stop.
I groan, hearing a screech above me and opening my eyes. The Mind Flayer stands metres away, and, much to my horror, it's looking right at me.
"Liz!" Someone yells. I can't tell if it's Will, or Steve, or even Lucas. It's my name said in just the way you never want it said. It's my name, full of despair and longing and terror. It's my name, synonymous with the word goodbye, because there's no way I'm getting out of this one alive.
I cover my face, because while I'm looking right into the eyes of death, all I can think is that I hope they can recognize my mangled body. All I can think is that I don't want them to see me destroyed and unidentifiable.
I hear the screech, and see a sharp tentacle flying towards me, unprecedented speed and unparalleled power. I say my goodbyes, though only in my head because I haven't got time for anything more. I accept it all, because I had a good run.
And then Jonny is sliding in front of me.
It's quick, and yet somehow it seems to take ages. For a split second, the tiniest of moments, my eyes catch his. His face says it all; terror, despair, longing. Goodbye, it says. With just a look, he says it all.
And in the next second, the tentacle is looking at me once more, dripping with Jonny's blood and piercing through his chest. He doesn't scream, and I know it's an instant death. He didn't even stand a chance.
In the last second, the tentacle retracts, and he falls to the ground. I wish I caught him, but I'm not quick enough. The Mind Flayer is distracted then, more fireworks hitting its back.
Jonny may not have screamed, but I do. Seeing his body fall next to mine, I can't keep any of it inside. Tears stream down my cheeks, and I rush to his side, grabbing his face.
"Jonny," I say, thinking maybe he's just out cold. Maybe he just needs a moment. But it's clear, when his head lolls to face me, that he's gone. His eyes clenched shut as if he too didn't want to look death in the eye, and his mouth slightly open, as if maybe, had he had more time, he would've said something to me. Something to make it all hurt less.
"Jonny?" I try again, sobbing now as I hold his face, "Jonny, you idiot. You were supposed to stay outside. Wake up. Wake up."
"Liz!" Someone shouts. It's Will. He's come to take me away.
I clutch Jonny's body tight, not caring that the Mind Flayer is looming over me still.
"Wake up!" I sob into his unmoving chest, "God damnit! Wake up! Please!"
My begging is pointless, and Will grabs my arms, dragging me away.
"No!" I scream, unable to see through the tears, "No! I can't leave him! Please!"
Will turns me around, his hands holding my cheeks and his dry eyes finding my tearful ones.
"We have to go, or you're gonna get killed," he says, his voice strange and offbeat as he searches my eyes, "I'm sorry."
"P-please," I cry, my gaze trained on the lifeless boy's face as I'm dragged away. I can't take it. I can't even process it at all.
"We're out!" Lucas shouts, and Will and I look up, the fireworks ceasing and the Mind Flayer turning at last to Billy and El. Everyone freezes, unable to do anything but watch as the creature roars and Billy stands up.
"El," Will whispers, and my tears are frozen in place, my grief on pause as the Mind Flayer's mouth opens, and its tentacle extends to El. She covers her face as well, but she doesn't have to. Just like me, someone is there to save her.
Billy grabs the tentacle, holding his ground.
"No!" He shouts, yelling and grunting as he fights the power of the beast.
Then, another tentacle extends, grabbing him at the waist. And another, and another until he's lifted into the air, screaming. I try to run to him, to save him even though there's no way I can, but Will holds me back with both of his arms.
"No!" I shout, but it's drowned out by Billy's anguish. He's lowered to his knees, helpless, as the Mind Flayer opens its mouth and I cover mine.
I can't look, because I've watched it once already, but I hear Billy's scream, and then his silence. And then Max.
"Billy!"
Will hugs me to his side, and I will myself to look, just in time to see Billy fall to the ground.
Then, all of a sudden, the creature reels back, screeching. Snarling, it wildly attacks everything it can reach, flailing its many arms and shrieking once more. I find that it's final roar, as inhumane as the beast is, is strangely alike to what would've been the final calling of my name. It's full of despair, and longing, and terror. It seems that, in the end, none of us are really ready to go.
It falls to the ground, and I know it's over. The gate has closed, and the Mind Flayer is no more. Will let's me go, and slowly, I make my way over to Jonny. This time, there's no question. His bloody body is as dead as it can be. I kneel down and grab his hand, kissing the knuckle of his thumb before placing it across his stomach. I stand and grab his skateboard, which lies a few feet away, before tucking it under his arm. He loved his skateboard, and right now all I can think of is how many people loved him.
More tears fall as I stare at his boyish face. Out of everyone that has died because of this, he's the youngest. He'd talk to me about his stupid basketball dreams that we both knew wouldn't come true. He'd laugh with my brother, and he got along with my friends, and he was a good person. Even though he did me wrong, he was a good person. It all seems so painfully trivial as I stare at his lifeless face.
He didn't deserve this. He just wanted me back, and what he got instead was a terrible end to what would've been a life full of love. He didn't even know what killed him. He didn't even know what was going on.
I look up, seeing Max as she kneels next to her brother. She shakes him, but there's no use, and watching her I wonder if that's how despaired I look. She collapses into El's arms, and I turn away, hating myself for being unable to keep my unsaid promises. To her and to Jonny. In life, he and Billy were the bad guys, and yet they died to save us. Cruel redemption, is what it is. To realize someone is worth it only after they're gone. We won, in the end, but it sure as hell doesn't feel that way.
Word count: 3676