"He said he was building something," El said while the group could hear the fireworks go off in the distance.
"That it was all for me and El," Gabby said recalling what the mind flayer said to them.
"Building something... Is he talking about the flayed?" Max asks, sitting next to El on the couch.
"He must be," Nancy says.
"So, he's building an army, just like we thought," Lucas concludes.
"Yeah, but he's not building this army to spread," Mike says.
"He's building it to stop Eleven and Gabby," Will realizes.
"Last year, El and Gabby closed the gate on him," Mike explains. "I have a feeling that really pissed him off."
"Like, royally," Lucas adds.
"And the Mind Flayer now knows that they are the only thing that can stop him," Mike continues. "But if they're out of the way..."
"Game over," Lucas finishes.
"He also said he was gonna kill all of you," Gabby told them anxiously.
They all looked nervous, and everyone went silent for a few seconds.
"Yeah, well, that's nice," Max remarked sarcastically.
Gabby heard a faint screeching noise in the distance and something didn't seem right about it she turned her head towards the door and listened closely and it was getting closer and louder.
Nancy heard it as well she walked towards the window to try and see what it was or where it was coming from.
"Something coming," Gabby said while she listened.
"Do you guys hear that?" she asked them.
"It's just the fireworks," Jonathan shrugged. Gabby could see Nancy's eyes widen.
"Billy! When he told you guys this, it was here, in this room?" she questioned, scared. Gabby and El both nodded and then they realized, exchanging terrified looks.
The thudding and fluttering noise was getting closer and closer.
"He knows we're here," Will announces.
The group of eight quickly rush out of the cabin, walking down the porch steps. They stare at the fireworks in the sky.
Gabby looked toward the trees, and she could see the Mind Flayer making its way toward them, knocking down trees as it goes. Nancy gets a shotgun, Jonathan grabs an ax, and the rest of them put furniture and mattresses up against the doors and windows.
"Hey, get away from the windows!" Nancy warned Mike, holding and loading her gun, ready to shoot the Mind Flayer.
They all stood in the middle of the cabin, scanning the room cautiously. The lamps and lights were flickering so it was close and they knew that any second now, the Mind Flayer would break in.
Then they could hear the rumbling and everything in the cabin started rattling and shaking around. Gabby's breathing was heavy as she clutched El's hand and gave her a determined look.
"It's close," Will told them, holding the back of his neck anxiously.
Branches were snapping around the cabin and leaves were rustling! Glasses and plates fell off the shelves and Gabby and El felt ready but then all of a sudden, the rumbling stopped.
"Where'd it go?" Max questioned, worriedly.
After a few seconds, a long gory tentacle-like arm reached in through a window and roared at both Gabby and El, who had jumped against the wall in fear and shock. Jonathan noticed this and used his axe to try and slice the arm of the Mind Flayer off but failed. He started violently slashing and stabbing it while screaming in anger.
But then it knocked him at full force into the corner of the room. It was about to eat him but Nancy started shooting at the tentacle with her gun. Unfortunately, she ran out of bullets and the tentacle roared at her in anger.
Just before the tentacle could charge at Nancy and kill her, Gabby and El threw their arms out, stopping it from moving, it shrieked in pain as they broke the tentacle.
"Holy shit," Max swore in shock. Strangely, the tentacle left through the window it came from but it was far from over.
Another tentacle shot through another window but Gabby threw both of her arms out, using her full power to stop it from getting her and El. But then another one broke through another window, but fortunately, El threw her arms out, stopping it. The two girls stood back to back as they were both using all of their powers.
They threw their arms down at the same time, snapping both tentacles in half. The tentacles went back through the windows with a shriek while the two panted heavily.
Just as they were convinced it was gone, another tentacle broke in through the roof of the cabin and grabbed El's ankle.
Before it could take her up, Mike grabbed her arms and tried pulling her back down. While, Mike, Max, Jonathan, and Will came over to help him out with pulling El down. Gabby used her powers to help as another tentacle came in Gabby split it with her powers before helping them.
All five of them were pulling as hard as they could and Gabby looked up to see a massive mouth full of spiky teeth where the tentacle was coming out of!
"Nancy! Shoot it!" Jonathan shouted. Once Nancy put more bullets in her gun, she repeatedly shot it right in its gory mouth.
"Lucas! Come on!" Gabby yelled as Lucas ran over to the tentacle and started smashing into it with the axe.
Fortunately, after enough pulling, shooting, and slashing, Lucas got the tentacle off the Mind Flayer.
"El! Are you okay!?" Gabby asked, scared but then she noticed that part of the tentacle was still attached to her ankle, "Mike! Pull it off!"
He ripped it from her ankle and she screamed in pain and then Mike threw it out the window at full force. Gabby hugged El tightly before she stood to her feet along with El.
Gabby and El both threw their arms out while screaming, causing the Mind Flayer's head split in half: spilling blood everywhere. Unfortunately, El and Gabby collapsed in Lucas and Max's arms.
Everyone was shouting as they rushed to leave the cabin. Max and Mike ran with their arms supporting El, while Lucas held onto Gabby as they raced to Nancy's car as the Mind Flayer continued roaring furiously at them. As soon as they got in, El whimpered in pain from her leg.
"Drive! Drive!" Mike shouted.
Nancy spins the car wildly as they arrived at a convenience store. They rushed to get out, Gabby threw a rock through the glass doors, and they headed inside, Max and Mike still helping El.
"Okay, get her down," Nancy says, referring to El, after grabbing rubbing alcohol and gauze pads.
Max and Mike set El down, and Gabby collapse next to her finally taking a breather.
"Okay, lemme see," Nancy says as she rolls up El's pant leg. A deep gash and dark blood were pouring out of it.
"Oh, shit," Max breathes.
Nancy was about to put gauze on it, but Max stops her, "What-what-hey, what are you doing?" she asks Nancy.
"I'm cleaning the wound," Nancy says.
"No, first we need to stop the bleeding, then clean, then disinfect, then bandage," Max instructs.
Then, in response to Nancy's confused, slightly-impressed expression, "I skateboard. Trust me. Mike, hold this."
She makes Mike hold a gauze pad down on El's
leg.
"Keep the pressure nice and firm on it, okay?" Max tells him.
"O-okay," Mike stammers, nodding.
"We're gonna need water, and soap," Max says to Nancy and Jonathan.
Nancy and Jonathan went to look for that. Lucas unzipped his backpack, spilling stuff everywhere, making Max and Gabby give him a "what the hell?" look.
"Does any of this help?" he asked them.
"No, go get me a washcloth and a bowl," Max instructed.
"A bowl?" Lucas repeated, furrowing his brows in confusion.
"Lucas," Gabby sighed.
"Let's go," Will told him, taking Lucas by the wrist to go and look for that.
"O-okay," he stammered.
Gabby, Mike, and Max all stayed with El to look after her.
Max and Gabby decided to get up to see if Lucas and Will had found a bowl yet. Gabby told Mike to stay and look after El not that he mind.
"That doesn't look like a bowl Lucas," Gabby said as she and Max saw Lucas and Will looking at the fireworks.
"Nah, it's way better. There is a reason this warning label says "18 or older." This sucker is filled with 150 grains of black powder. AKA gunpowder." He finishes as he tosses the box to Gabby who looked at him impressed.
"Strap two of these together, and it's bigger than an M-80. Five of them, we've got ourselves a stick of dynamite." He says with a smile.
"Not a bad idea," Gabby said proudly to her boyfriend.
"You wanna kill that thing with fireworks," Mac asked him in disbelief.
"Do you have a better idea?" He asked sarcastically.
"Uh, yeah. Gabby and Eleven." She says as she takes the box out of Gabby's hand and tosses it back to Lucas.
"Against that things? They're gonna need some backup." Lucas says as Max rolls her eyes before walking away.
"Oh, my God." She says causing Lucas to scoff.
"I believe in you baby just bring them." She says patting his arms before following Max.
"El you need a break let me do it," Gabby said as she held El's hand before crossing her legs, El nodded her head just as Gabby put on the bandanna that Lucas handed her.
As Gabby looked around the void,l she saw that Dustin seemed to be at the movies. Even though she was trying to focus, she could hear Lucas loudly open a coke can.
"Quiet!" Max hissed at him.
"Oh sorry." Gabby then heard him loudly gulping and slurping it followed by, "How do you even drink that?" Mike asked.
"Because it's delicious," Lucas replied.
"What?" Max and Mike said in disbelief.
"It's like Carpenter's The Thing. The original is a classic, no question about it. But the remake.." He loudly slurped some of it, sighing in satisfaction as Gabby started to get irritated.
"Sweeter, bolder, better," Lucas continued.
"You're insane," Mike groaned.
"So you prefer the original Thing?" he questioned
him.
"What? No!" Mike argued, 'I'm not talking about The Thing. I'm talking about New Coke."
"It's the same concept, dude," Lucas told him.
"Uh, actually, it's not the same concept," Mike hissed.
"It is the same concept," Lucas added.
"No, it's not!" Mike continued.
"Yes, it is!" Lucas yelled.
They started to really annoy her! She was trying to focus but they were loudly arguing about Coke.
"Hey!" Gabby snapped, taking her blindfold off.
"Sorry," they both apologized.
"Sorry Gabby," Lucas apologized again to his girlfriend when he saw the look on her face as blood trickled down her nose.
"Did you... find him?" Mike questioned her scared, she just nodded her head, and Gabby then explained to them where she saw Dustin.
While Lucas was pushing the shopping cart full of supplies outside, as they were discussing it.
"The movies?" Lucas scoffed in disbelief, "Dustin's so freaked out about the gate, he decides to go watch a movie? Yeah, it makes total sense."
"You're positive he said 'gate' and not 'great'?" Max asked.
"Yeah, like, 'This movie I'm watching is great," he suggested.
"Sounded like 'gate,'" El told them.
"Which would explain how the Mind Flayer's still alive," Mike added.
"Yeah, we just have to shut it again," Max agreed.
"Then the monster dies," Mike said.
"But if not, we always have Lucas' fireworks," Max smiled sarcastically.
"Keep mocking my plan, Max, keep mocking it Gabby has faith in my plan," Lucas sighed, "I wanna hear you say it again because you keep doubting me. You keep doubting me!"
"Ridiculous," Max laughed.
As they brought the stuff into the car, they were mostly prepared and made their way to Starcourt Mall to save Dustin. But little did we all know that something had been left behind and Billy was closer to them than they thought.
When they got to the mall, below them was Dustin, Steve, Erica, and Robin were all hiding behind a counter from Russian soldiers armed with guns.
Gabby scanned the room, trying to find something she could use to knock out the Russian men. Then, she spotted a red, display car near the fountain El followed Gabby's line of view and knew what she was thinking.
Hand-in-hand, Gabby and El raised their hands the car started rattling around as the car alarm went off, beeping, honking, and blaring loudly, catching the Russian men's attention.
They looked confused at what was happening to it. Then they slowly looked up and saw Gabby and El looking over at the car, noses bleeding with their arms outstretched.
They threw their arms forward, knocking the car into the men killing them. Dustin, Steve, Erica, and Robin all looked up at them and they saw Dustin grin from ear to ear. When they went downstairs, they ran over to them.
"Dusty! Erica!"
"You guys flung that thing like a Hot Wheel!" Dustin grinned excitedly, before pulling Gabby, El, and Mike into a massive hug they all smiled.
"Lucas?!" Erica exclaimed in shock when she noticed him, Gabby pulled her into a hug.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her.
"Ask them, it's their fault!" she answered, pointing at Dustin, Steve, and Robin.
"True, yeah, totally true, it's absolutely our fault," Steve grumbled sarcastically.
"I don't understand what happened to that car," Robin remarked, confused.
"Gabby and El have superpowers," Dustin explained.
"I'm sorry?"
"Superpowers," Steve repeated, "They threw it with their minds. C'mon, catch up."
"That's El and Gabby has powers too?" Erica asked, pointing to them.
"Who is El? I know Gabby." Robin questioned.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Nancy asked her.
"I'm Robin, I work with Steve," she replied.
"She cracked the top secret code," Dustin told us.
"Yeah, which is how we found out about the Russians," Steve added.
"Russians? Wait, what Russians?" Jonathan asked.
"The Russians!" Steve repeated.
"Those were Russians?" Max questioned.
"Some of them!" Erica answered.
"What are you talking about?" Lucas groaned.
"Didn't you hear our code red?" Dustin asked Mike.
"Yeah, but I couldn't understand half of what you were saying," Mike explained.
"Goddamn low battery!" Dustin exclaimed
"How many times do I have to tell you with the low battery!" Steve groaned.
"Well, everything worked out, didn't it, Steve?" Dustin said.
"Worked out? We almost died!" Erica scoffed.
"Yeah, but we didn't, did we?"
They all continued arguing and discussing things but Gabby noticed El started to slightly sway.
"El, are you okay?"
Gabby watched as she then collapsed to the floor. She quickly rushed over to her sister, and they all crowded around her worriedly.
"El! What's wrong?" Gabby asked anxiously.
"My leg, my leg," El mumbled, in pain.
Jonathan slowly pulled up her left jean leg and Nancy pulled off the bandage they saw that her leg had gotten even worse and they exclaimed in disgust. Then they saw something that seemed to be moving around inside of her leg as El's breathing was becoming faster.
"El! El! El, are you okay? El! E!" Mike called out, scared. El screamed in pain.