ELI GLANCED AROUND THE BATTERED remains of Starcourt's food court, embarrassment tickling his weakened limbs. His fainting spell had not let him forget the image of his electricity blasting the walls and every corner of the vast space, frying each Russian body with deadly voltage.
"Is that better?" Eve asked next to him in a quiet, strained voice. Her fingers gently pressed a cold Coke can against his black eye, staring at the purpled bruise in agony.
Eli felt his stomach twist into knots at the sight of his twin. "Yeah, thanks," he nodded. He considered grabbing the soda can and holding it against his wound himself, but his arms were incredibly sore and well, Eve was willing. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize, you asshole!"
Eli reeled at the curse so easily spat from her lips, much like poison. There was a new fire brimming in her hazel eyes as she glowered at him. His chest crumbled when he noticed there were tears there too. "Eve..."
"You were tortured," she whimpered, bottom lip sucking into her teeth. "I was so scared for you. But it wasn't your fault, so don't apologize about this ever again. You've been through too much. Okay?"
Eli readjusted the ice pack shoved under his newly acquired T-shirt, a piece stolen from one of the shops. "Okay," he caved instantly, his heart squeezing inside his ribcage at the sight of his sister like this.
"I love you," the young Brooks girl murmured with fresh determination, not removing her gaze from Eli. "I know...I know we've kinda grown apart because of Philadelphia, and then you coming back. But...you're my twin brother. Nothing will change that."
Eli nodded again. Furiously, because if he didn't he might let a sob rattle out of him. "I love you too," he managed with a tight throat, and allowed himself to be delicately embraced by her. "I don't wanna grow apart from you."
"And you never will again," Eve whispered into his shoulder, rubbing his back soothingly. "Not if I can help it."
"Same goes for me, shitheads," a sour voice cut in, and Brandy emerged with both hands planted on her hips. The wet expression gave her facade away, and she let it fall as both her arms clamped fiercely around her younger siblings, Eli's injuries be damned.
"And you," Brandy yanked away from the sibling hug to fire an iron-clad gaze at Eli. Her palms snaked against the rough bone of his shoulders, holding him lightly with sisterly protection. "I swear to God, if that shit ever happens to you again...I'd...I'd die before I'd let them hurt you."
Eli swayed against his sister's words, stunned by her brutal vulnerability. "O-Okay."
"I love you, shithead," she grumbled, pulling him into another hug before he could see the tears doubly running down her cheeks. Her chin pressed into the top of his curls, and he could feel them growing damp from her silent crying.
"I love you too, Brandy," he murmured into her collarbone, overcome by the intense family reunion. He pulled away quickly, however, when Brandy had begun to squeeze his bruised hip too hard.
"Sorry," she sniffled, messily wiping her nose with her sleeve.
Martha Baker shuffled forward, having watched the family moment transpire in silence. "I'm glad your safe," is all she said to him, hugging him softly with an understanding he was probably overwhelmed.
It was when Martha pulled away from him, her dark hair brushing against his cheek, did he notice a figure watching him quietly. Mike Wheeler's golden eyes shot away like a dart, suddenly finding interest in one of the food menus with the shame of being caught.
Eli stared, watching the raven-haired boy's cheeks glimmer maroon that was so deep and so obvious even from here. His lips twitched with difficulty, noting the Wheeler seemed adamant about keeping his distance despite being his savior five minutes ago.
"Are you going to talk to him?" Brandy asked, noticing the boy's sneaky glances.
"Not yet," he decided after a painfully long pause, swallowing against dryness in his throat. "There's someone else I need to talk to first."
Eli gathered himself to his feet with an audible wince, stumbling on his balance that had all three girls shooting out with support until he signaled he was okay. He would be remiss if he didn't admit he noticed Mike's abrupt step towards him when he had nearly fallen, only to retreat back again awkwardly.
El was hobbling across the food court with undisguised pain, her swollen leg slowing her. Eli approached her tepidly, almost chuckling at their physical states. "You okay?"
The brunette tossed him a look over her shoulder, offering him a clipped smile. "Could ask you the same."
"Yeah..." Eli drawled, following her to a nearby bench with the promise of a talk. "Did they come up with a plan yet? For the gate?"
She nodded, a stab of grief flashing in her dark amber eyes. "They're taking me to Illinois to be safe. Brandy will probably take you and your sister too."
"Wait, but what about the gate? Don't you need to close it?" Eli demanded in confusion.
The brunette gulped painfully, blinking hard. "Hop's gonna do it."
"Oh..." Eli's fingers gripped the edge of his seat tensely. Of course the chief would endanger himself before ever letting his daughter get close to that monster again. "Can he do it? Will he be okay?"
She nodded slowly, lips bunched tightly. "I think so. He's smart. And brave. And Dustin made a good plan."
Eli felt himself shaking his head strangely, unsure of what else to say except for why he came to her. "Can I talk to you about something?"
"Is it Mike?"
The brunet let a quick puff of air shoot from his mouth, and he timidly scratched his curls. "Um, no. But, uh, I might need your help with that someday too." The Hopper girl giggled lightly, and even though they barely spoke to one another, it was like he knew her his entire life.
Because they now shared something no one else did.
"It's about my powers," he stuttered, fidgeting with his fingertips in distraction. "You saw earlier. I can't...I can't control them."
El nodded, a look of knowledge swiping her face as distant memories swamped her brain. "I was the same way."
He looked up at her pleadingly. Desperately. "What did you do?"
"I just...practiced," she tried the word out, finding it distasteful against her tongue. "I kept using them, I mean. I didn't have a choice," she continued, and Eli didn't need her to explain that one.
He shuddered at the idea of growing up beneath the drab, gray walls of a lab. A wave of appreciation and admiration passed through him for her. "I can't imagine," he offered her kindly. "Doing what you had to."
"Yeah..."
He shuffled his weight between his feet, rubbing at his jeans. "Eve told me what happened while I was out. With your leg. I can't believe you had to do that. I just...you're so strong. And you help everyone. I just," he stumbled, shocked to realize his throat grew taut with the threat of tears. "I just feel like a monster when I use my powers. Killing those soldiers. Powering the gate."
"That wasn't your fault," El cut in quickly, horrified to hear the boy's voiced insecurities. They reflected, she realized, exactly the kind of fears she used to grip so tightly. Still do, sometimes. "None of it is. You're not a monster, the same way I'm not. I've killed too, you know? And not just what comes from the Upside Down."
He let out a shaky breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, nodding. "Yeah. Thanks."
"The people that matter won't think you're a monster," she persisted, gaze sliding across the illuminated food court. "Like Mike."
"Mike," Eli groaned into his hands, rubbing at his eyes tiredly.
"You really need to talk to him," El pressed, eyeing the boy whose face was now buried in his grimy hands. "I've seen what the last few days has done to him. He was a mess without you."
Eli's only response was a grumble, yet he separated his fingers to steal a hidden glance at the Wheeler waiting on the other side.
"He loves you," El mumbled, and the Brooks sat up stiffly.
"What?" There was a hurricane of emotion swirling within the two honey eyes watching her. "He said that?"
"Even if he hadn't, you can see it. Anyone can," she sighed, watching her best friend pace in wait of Eli. "When he saved you, he didn't hesitate," El spoke
softly. "With me, he always hesitated. But I'm
pretty sure he would've died before he
let anybody hurt Eli Brooks."
Eli let out a broken gasp, the air sucking out of him with great surprise. His chest grew alive with heat powerful enough to scorch, and he followed El's eyes to Mike. Who was looking at him with a fresh slate of desperation and, maybe, if Eli wasn't hallucinating it from several yards away, love.
God, maybe Mike really did love him. And maybe Eli had been a complete idiot. Death running up his heels sure had made him consider that.
"Okay," Eli gathered himself up, ignoring the wave of anxiety pushing at his ribs. "Thanks El. I should probably talk to him."
"You better," she muttered under her breath with faint amusement, and Eli almost missed it as he stumbled away.
Mike met his eyes, shining with realization as both boys quietly transpired with agreement. It was time they fix this. The mess they had created.
"Hi," Mike greeted, squeaking the word out a little too forcefully as his nerves took hold of him. The gangly teen rubbed his hands against his thighs, attempting to discard the new sweat bearing his palms.
"Hi," Eli groaned back, distracted by an abrupt sharp pain in his hip. He managed a plastic smile, praying his posture didn't give away the horrendous agony he was in.
Silence hovered between them for an uncomfortably long moment, the air running thick and hot with uncertainty. Finally, Mike tossed his hand messily in Eli's direction in an odd gesture. "Hurts?"
"Like hell," Eli answered, shocked to find a laugh bubbling out of him despite the hip. "Maybe we can sit?"
Mike laughed gently too, leading them to a plant's enclosure they perched on. He waited for Eli to fully settle, noticing the way the Brooks boy had to fix his ice pack and stretch his muscles before sitting. A slice of sympathy wrought his heart as he watched, a frown making Mike shake his head. "What happened to us?"
"It's my fault," Eli blurted, struggling to meet Mike's eye and seeking distraction in his shirt ends. "I should've just told you what was going on with me."
"So tell me now," Mike begged, actually begged. "Please."
Eli swallowed, bile jabbing roughly against the insides of his throat. "I told you I made some friends in Philadelphia," he began shakily, fanning his hands out against his jeans and noticing they were sweating too. "Gay friends."
Mike nodded, attention fully plastered on the boy in front of him. "Yeah."
"Well, I might not have had everything in common with them," he explained, his eyes not once leaving the ground he trained them on. "But the thing that made me really like them besides the fact that they were gay was the freedom it gave me."
Mike didn't say anything, not only at a loss for words but also just wanting Eli to continue. To finally voice everything and explain away all the paranoid thoughts he'd been nursing this week.
"I didn't have to hide all the time while I was there. I could...be gay, at least with them, and I didn't have to be this shy, awkward idiot I am here," he elaborated with difficulty, hating the way his feelings sounded when spoken aloud. "I felt like I'd finally figured out who I was, and I didn't have to hide that.
"Coming back here? To this town of...awful memories...I just knew I was gonna have to hide again. Especially with the mess we left behind at the Snowball. And I guess I was angry. With myself. With you." And Eli's head finally snapped up, and Mike's heart snapped. Tears streamed down the Brooks's cheeks like water, dripping off his chin and leaving a puddle between them. His voice was weak and strained, reminding him exactly of the kind of boy Mike had met years ago.
"I don't want to hide."
The Wheeler was speechless. Overwhelmed with pain striking at his sternum from Eli's crying. He hated seeing Eli like this just as much as he despised watching Eli almost die to the hands of soldiers earlier.
"I don't want to possess this, this...self-hatred anymore. I don't want to always be ashamed of who I am and feel like I'm some kind of monster...freak," there were many more words surfacing in his mind, and Mike could see it just by the way his nose wrinkled with more tears.
Mike waited a moment, chest collapsing at the sound of Eli's feeble attempts to quell his whimpering. His eyes drifted down to Eli's hands, which were trembling with such magnitude he had to, just had to, reach out and grab them both in his.
"Can I be honest, Eli?" Mike mumbled, eyes not leaving their interconnected hands.
"Please," Eli managed, way past shame of his disheveled crying.
"You've never had to hide with me," Mike lifted his chin, staring boldly into those watery brown eyes that broke his heart in a thousand ways. "Never with our friends either. I know you didn't have to see the aftermath of the Snowball, but, nobody in the party cared. They were just worried about you."
Eli blinked hard, lowering his head in attempt to hide his tears and rapidly growing guilt. Now that Mike was explaining, of course it sounded simple and easy.
"You have your sisters, and me, and the party. And none of us want you to hide when you're with us. None of us hate you or want you to hate yourself," Mike's chest rose sharply as he fought back a shaky breath as his own throat vibrated with a sob. "Why would you ever assume you couldn't be yourself with me?"
"I don't..." Eli murmured, not bothering to finish his thought.
Mike's hands wrenched out of Eli's, both dabbing at his moist eyes to hide more tears. "We're always gonna live in a world where it's hard for us. Where we have to hide sometimes to be safe. But for now, can't we just be enough?"
It was too much to answer, even though there was a word swimming in Eli's mind. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
"And just because that group of guys in Philly gave you freedom, didn't mean they were letting you be yourself. C'mon. Since when did you wear leather jackets and illegally ride motor bikes?"
Despite it all, a smile corked into the side of Eli's lips. And Mike wanted to kiss it so bad.
"The Eli I know, who I never want to hide away from me? He likes reading. But not as much as he likes writing. He reads fantasy and sci-fi, but also romance too. He's a little shy and awkward, but God if that didn't make me—" He froze, both of them all too aware of the unspoken words he almost uttered.
"Mike..." Eli tried, and the Wheeler was furiously rubbing at his eyes again and crying into his knuckles.
"God, Eli," he hated the tinny sound of his heartbroken voice. "I was so scared. I thought I lost you, and I can't lose you again. I just can't. Because..." And Mike didn't want to hide either.
"Because I really do love you, okay?"
Eli sat back, his expression wrenching away from Mike as shock slammed into his torso. The Wheeler examined those surprised eyes carefully, searching for a hint of reciprocation but only discovering more astonishment. "Just..." Mike jumped to his feet disturbingly quick, the urge to run consuming him now. "Just talk to me next time. You should've told me."
The Wheeler tried to discreetly slide away, accepting Eli's silence as rejection and wanting nothing more than to dissolve into the walls. But Eli pounced on his feet before Mike could even take a full step, lashing a hand around his wrist so tightly it might bruise.
And he pulled Mike into his chest, both arms wrapping around his waist and keeping him there. Mike didn't wait, having wanted this kind of touch from him for so long, he hugged him back with a fierceness spawned by his forgetfulness of Eli's wounds.
But Eli didn't care. He liked the pain. He liked all of it, because he was finally holding Mike again. He was holding and being held. His hand grazed up the small of Mike's back, eventually resting at the nape of his neck as he blinked back more tears.
Mike didn't bother to suppress his cries, audibly whining into Eli's shoulder as the slightly taller boy squeezed the Brooks. He cried for Eli's injuries, for Eli's past, for Eli's love. Just for the idea of letting go.
When they finally pulled apart, it was only to let their noses brush against each other. Eli's palm planted itself on the back of Mike's head, the other brushing a thumb against his tear-stained cheek. There had been too much distance between them for so long, and Eli knew Mike was right.
"I love you too."
And he kissed him, bruised lips devotedly pouring themselves against Mike's softer ones. They kissed with intense passion swirling in their bellies, hands rummaging around their connected faces as they explored all the feelings they'd almost forgotten. The rest of the world seemed to crumble away, their kiss glowing pink under neon lights as Eli suddenly felt like Mike was giving him the breath he hadn't taken in months.
Eli Brooks now knew he wanted this love and affection, and Mike Wheeler was finally ready to give it.
Their fingers interlaced with instinct as they separated, exploring one another's irises intensely. Eli couldn't help the smile tugging feverishly at his lips, which had just been freshly kissed by the boy he's in love with.
"Okay so," Brandy's awkward tone butted in as the teen shuffled forward, jean cuffs sliding against the floor. "I hate to be that person who interrupts literally the best reunion ever, but, everyone's getting ready to go."
Mike and Eli exchanged a glance, hands grazing one another's forearms comfortingly. Right. Of course they finally collide again only to have the end of the world wedge them apart immediately.
"I should go help Max with El," Mike mumbled, this time not with awkward unease but rather dread. All the kisses from Eli could not change the very fact this was the most dangerous battle they've ever had to fight. And Mike was certain he was more scared for the boy he was walking away from than himself.
"Mike," Hopper called as El's arms slid around both him and Max. The chief's eyes sagged with grief and misted exhaustion, his mustache furrowing with quiet emotion. "Be careful."
Mike almost smiled. All those times Hopper had glared at him suspiciously when he showed up the cabin, certain him and El were still together and fraternizing. But now he was sure that Hop, along with everyone in the mall, had seen him lock lips with his boy best friend. "Yeah."
El's leg had not gotten any better. Blood was already seeping through the bandaged material around her ankle, and her face could hardly mask the agony wreathing within her.
"El, you're bleeding," Max commented, the redhead's sapphire eyes shining with worry. It might have been the wrong time to think this, but Mike was glad El had her.
"Here," Mike grunted as both teens helped the injured Hopper girl into the station wagon. Nancy whipped around the front of the car as they did so, preparing to start the engine and make a beeline for Illinois.
It was then that Mike also caught a glimpse of Will, hurrying into the backseat with an unreadable expression. He felt guilt and sorrow wash over him again like a sickening tidal wave. Will hadn't been able to talk to Eli properly yet, and Mike still felt the vicious desire to apologize to the Byers for everything.
"Yo, Wheeler," Brandy's arms rested on her car door. "You coming with us?"
Of course he was. Eli was already sat limply in the backseat, and Mike joined him with the visceral urge to hold his hand again. "Hi," he uttered dumbly, grabbing the Brooks's hand.
"Hi," Eli repeated with a perplexed expression, though his lips tugged upwards. Mike wanted to kiss him again. So much so he thought he might become sick.
"You guys are so gross," Eve murmured into the window, though Mike detected her sarcasm.
"What the fuck?" Brandy's sharp tone caught his attention. The eldest Brooks's palm slapped frustratingly against the steering wall as the engine sputtered uselessly. "Now you're breaking down on me?"
"Yeah, I think the whole, crashing into a literal house might've been what done it," Martha offered wistfully, dark eyes locked with the wheel.
"And what the fuck?" Brandy jabbed her thumb past the windshield, where Nancy and Jonathan were both curled under the station wagon's open hood. "No way both of us are having car troubles. Just our luck!"
A distant car engine revving made all five jump, heads snapping towards the parking lot. The air thundered as the noise persisted, two headlights flashing menacingly at the cornered group. Mike narrowed his eyes, his heart dropping into his ass when he caught the face buried behind the wheel. "Holy shit."
"Is that Max's stepbrother?" Eli, utterly oblivious, whispered in befuddlement.
"Something's wrong," Eve's horror-filled voice made Mike's insides turn to liquid.
Brandy jerked to the side as she swerved out of the driver's seat, shouting orders behind her. "Out! Everyone out! They're going back into the mall!"
As stated, Nancy's group retreated back to the hazy glow of Starcourt, El hobbling desperately with Max on one shoulder and Lucas on the other.
Mike's clammy palm clashed with Eli's as both boys raced after them all, the mixture of their feet pounding against pavement and the background roaring making their adrenaline pump. Things were about to get much worse.
"What do we do?" Brandy demanded, Martha joining at her flank as all of the older teens met by the fountain.
"Mike, where's the walkie?" Max approached him urgently, an idea flaring in her eyes. "We should radio to Dustin's group. Ask for transportation."
That's how Mike got stuck endlessly pacing the worn down tile of Starcourt, barking the same phrases into his walkie repeatedly. "Scoops Trop, do you copy? I repeat, Scoops Trop, do you copy? We're stuck in the mall. We need emergency transportation. Billy has disabled our cars and we're trapped in the mall."
Eli offered the raven-haired boy an occasional glance from his seat in one of the dining areas, El standing next to him. "So, Billy's one of the flayed, right? And the Mind Flayer sees what he sees?"
"Yes," El confirmed with a dark gaze.
"God, I missed so much," he grumbled to himself.
"You're gonna kill him, aren't you?" Max questioned Nancy nearby, the eldest Wheeler sibling reloading her gun with practiced expertise.
The brunette offered the younger girl an assuring look, even if it was a facade. "This is just a precaution."
"And not just against Billy," Will reminded the redhead. "The Mind Flayer knows we're here too." A flash of resentment waxed over his face. "I should be with Dustin right now. Finish what I started."
"Mom and I would rather you be safe," Jonathan insisted.
"Maybe I can try something," Eli chirped up bravely, whisking the attention of the entire room except Mike, mindlessly droning his script over and over. "Zap the cars back to life or whatever."
"Absolutely not," Brandy immediately interjected, assuming a strict expression. "You've done enough tonight, E. Hell, enough for eternity if you ask me."
"She's right. We don't want to see you overexert yourself," Martha agreed. "Plus, I'm not really sure it would work since the problem is missing ignition cables."
"No chance that thing'll drive, right?" Nancy nodded in amusement with her chin towards a lopsided car collapsed against one of the food places.
Eli wrinkled his eyebrows. "When did that get there?"
"It happened while you were unconscious," Nancy explained, followed by El speaking up.
"I did it. When I took that thing out of my leg," she mumbled, hand grazing over the opposite arm timidly. Eli simply shuddered in mixed amazement and empathetic pain.
"Wait, but we don't need it to drive," Jonathan answered Nancy's comment in realization. "We just need the ignition cable."
The group clambered over the food counter to the top of the car, now wedged unfortunately against the building. Everyone let out a series of grunts and pushes of effort, save for an injured El and Eli. And Will, too.
"It's not budging," Brandy stated obviously, brushing a sweat-tinged hair off her forehead.
El hobbled forward, wincing at the responding sensation in her injured leg. "Let me try."
"El—" Mike began protectively.
"I can do it," she declared confidently, and Eli felt that familiar swarm of admiration.
Except, after watching countless times as El Hopper saved the group from devastation, this was the one time she couldn't. She could only stand there, palm outstretched with a twisted expression of pain, as nothing spurred.
Eli watched her crumble in defeat, fighting the urge to wrap his arms around her sympathetically. Pity, really, was the last thing she needed. But it didn't escape him that El losing her powers deeply terrified him. He could only get his friends so far. He knew that.
Thankfully, as always, there was Mike Wheeler. Even when the world was torrent with monsters and murderous Russian soldiers, Mike seemed to always be fixing Eli's problems as well as everyone's now.
"Told you. Physics," he panted as the car finally toppled back onto its wheels, right side up.
A smirk danced on Eli's face that he tried to hide under his hand, feeling silly but allowing himself these fleeting butterflies. After all, who knows how much longer Eli may have to gush over his boyfriend.
Boyfriend.
"Wow," he mumbled out loud unknowingly, catching Mike with a grin.
"What?"
Eli adamantly shook his head, hiding an even bigger smile under his knuckles. "Nothing."
"What's she doing?" Max wondered beside the two flushed boys, eyes focused on someone else. El, digging desperately through trash cans and oblivious to the eyes trained on her.
Mike exchanged a glance with Max, then Eli, until the two trudged after her while the Brooks decided to hang back and allow himself a break. He would use this later to reflect how a single choice, a single moment, could become one of your deepest regrets.
The ceiling above heaved with thunderous shakes, the massive pounding of something climbing the glass panels making everyone freeze in horror. Beneath the blue haze of the roof lights, Eli could see a dark figure clambering up the top of the building, and he felt his body slice into coldness. The air was alive with sickening cracks as the skylight glass struggled against such weight.
The Mind Flayer.
"Nancy!" Mike's scream echoed in Eli's ears like a sharp whistle, and he found the Wheeler's brown eyes from across the open space. They were littered with thousands of words, mostly sorrys and one that made his heart splinter.
Goodbye.
The ceiling caved, millions of glass crystals glittering the ground like stars as the ugly monster landed with a demonic snarl. Even though it was his first time seeing this beast, Eli was less inclined to watch the slimy flesh-entangled creature over a retreating Mike, El, and Max.
They were separated, death pulling them further apart with its blackened strings. He lost sight of Mike, and he could already feel his eyes brimming with bright hotness. "Mike!"
"C'mon," Martha gripped his palm tightly, violently beckoning him behind the red car where everyone else had crouched into hiding. Eli slammed his bottom against the cold tile breathlessly, his head throbbing with overwhelming anxiety.
A static voice began to call out alarmingly over the shrewd growls of the Mind Flayer. "Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop. Do you copy?" Dustin barked through an abandoned walkie repeatedly like a mantra.
Eli shrunk back against the car's hard material when he heard Dustin's answer: a loud, bellowing screech from the monster itself. He glanced over his shoulder with stunned silence and saw Will Byers trembling next to him, eyes fleeting upwards with dread. At Eli's movement, the Byers boy also turned, meeting his honey gaze.
Despite whatever awkward entanglements they were snatched in, it didn't matter right now. Not when their lives were dangling over a thin line. The boys wordlessly slipped their hands into each other, gripping one another for stability and an easier way to breathe.
But the relief was short-lived, as a loud clang sounding from the Gap entrance immediately ensnared the creature's attention. Eli squeezed his eyes shut with heartache as he realized it must be Mike and the others trying to escape, bound back by El's leg. Mike was in danger. His friends were all in danger.
The feeling was enough to make his body be swamped with intense heat, and a slight crackling at his fingertips caught his eye. In his curled hand, between fingertips, small blue sparks spewed from his callused flesh. He realized immediately what his strong fear had given him: the itch to fight.
Will saw this to, leaning over to breathe into Eli's ear. "You can't! You're still too weak."
Eli didn't disagree, still feeling a powerful soreness over his bruised and bloodied limbs. His gaze scanned the perimeter desperately, knowing the longer he waited the more time the Mind Flayer had to fight Mike's hiding spot in the Gap. A black, gleaming box inside one of the food booths gave him a solution. A circuit box.
"There might be another way," he whispered back, willing himself to release Will's hand and gather quietly to his feet.
Nancy, Jonathan, and Lucas shot him huge eyes, as if to say are you crazy? Brandy, Martha, and Eve's expressions were painted more with fear-stricken anger, as if they could already sense his idea. Eli ignored them, instead quietly shuffling to the food counter and sliding over it with the intense awareness of his need to be soundless.
Luckily, the circuit box had somehow snapped open with all the chaotic movement, his fingers edging the gap further until he could see the various buttons inside. With a quivering exhale of determination, Eli lay his palm flat on the box and closed his eyes, urging his panic to quell. He could feel the lull of electricity beneath his touch, the supporting wires shooting jolts of it into the box like a hub.
Another shaky breath. The Mind Flayer had just sent a Gap mannequin soaring through the air with a vicious howl. Eli pressed his palm tighter against the box, and imagined himself absorbing the electricity. He remembered what El had said last year about strong feelings, and how practice can make controlling your powers easier. His mind went to her, and to Mike, and Max, all trapped inside the Gap.
And his body flooded with heat, starting from his fingertips until he felt the thrumming of electricity reach every surface of himself. The lights began to flicker, some smaller ones bursting from pressure and spraying orange sparks to the ground. A surprised cry from the Mind Flayer told him his plan had worked, as the monster crawled back towards the center of the room to investigate the light changes.
Please Mike, Eli begged to himself, praying the Wheeler could somehow understand. Run.
They all did. Brandy led the way out of the mall, everyone running with hunched backs as they took advantage of the time Eli had given them. The summer night air was hardly alleviation for their senses as they rushed back to the cars.
"We're all gonna have to use the station wagon," Nancy called over her shoulder, waving the ignition cables in her hands. "Only enough for one vehicle."
"Yeah, fine," Brandy agreed in a huff, too desperate for escape to argue. She shoved Martha and Eve into the trunk with her, waving a hand at a distracted Eli. "E, c'mon!"
Lucas and Will had already climbed into the backseat, and Jonathan was in the driver's trying to start the engine. Billy was still parked in his spot, revving angrily at them.
"Eli!" Eve hollered.
Billy's engine roaring began to sound closer, and Eli realized the Hargrove teen was plummeting towards them with deadly speed. Not only was a supernatural monster trying to kill his friends and family, but so was this asshole of a guy Eli just knew wasn't entirely himself tonight.
His body lit up with the same sensation from before, only this time those jet blue sparks weaved around his forearms like vines. Anger coiled around his stomach like glowing iron, and he felt his hands clench into fists. That circuit box had certainly rejuvenated him a little, supplying him with new energy.
"Eli! No!" Brandy screamed, noticing the plan formulating in her little brother's hardened gaze.
However, he didn't have to do anything. Another car barreled into Billy's, the two violently swerving across the parking lot for a stunned moment. Steve Harrington glanced up from the other steering wheel breathlessly, his swollen eye glowing purple under Starcourt's light.
Oh my God, Eli thought to himself with rotten despair. I would've killed him.
But there was no time for words of gratitude, as the Mind Flayer slithered out of the shattered top of Starcourt and stung its poisonous eyes toward the group. Nancy and Jonathan careened around the station wagon and climbed in while Brandy cast another petrified look at her sibling.
"Eli, get in now!"
Mike was still inside. Eli's nails raked against the white flesh of his palm as a memory flashed in his mind briefly like a camera. Mike Wheeler sprinting toward him, ignoring the army of Russian soldiers and the open fire he was running into.
Mike had risked his life in that moment for him, all because of the love that blossomed between them. He had ran straight into a black hole of possible death only because Eli had been wedged inside of it too. He knew it was his turn now to do the same.
"Eli!" Brandy's voice screeched unpleasantly, but he could scarcely hear it over the sound of his heart thumping in his ears as he turned away and dashed back into the mall.