-july 4th 1985-
-reader's pov-
the tv's static hissed out yet again, as el repositioned herself in front of the small television. I knelt down to her side before softly speaking out to her, "j-just stay safe in there, okay? I know you've done it before.. but that was with your mum, so she wouldn't have been possessed like billy."
"y/n, he can't hurt me, not in there." el assured as she held my hand. I nodded gently, my worries loosening up a little. el pecked my cheek softly before I gave her a light smile. she picked up the blindfold a retied it around her eyes.
about 2 minutes passed, the group still patiently surrounded eleven, waiting for her commentary on what's going on in the void. she hadn't spoken a word yet, but she suddenly began to whimper and shake.
"el?" I called out whilst leaning closer again, "something's wrong. el, are you okay?.."
"I'm okay.." she trembled softly.
"good.. what's happening in there?" I asked.
"I'm.. on a beach." she informed.
"okay.. I may be dense but the last I checked, there weren't any beaches in hawkins." lucas commented.
"what else do you see?" max inquired from her seat next to lucas.
"a woman." el replied, "she's.. pretty. I- I think she's looking at me... there's- a boy... it's billy."
the group shared a look before max perked up, "it's california, it's a memory."
"I think I see it." el announced, "the source."
another 2 minutes of silence flew by until el spoke up again, "I think I've found it." she began to pant, "the source."
"where, el? where are you?" max questioned.
"brimborn steelworks." el read out. jonathan leapt up to go find the newspaper before scanning through it.
"okay, here. uh, steelworks.." he mumbled whilst flicking through the pages, "here, steel.. found it. 6522 cherry oak drive."
"that's close." nancy said.
"okay now, el. we've found it, get out of there." I told her before kneeling down again, off the chair.
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el's breathing only increased and grew heavier and heavier as I carefully shook her, she wasn't waking up. mumbled words of distress left her lips but I couldn't understand what she was saying. tears began to slip from under the blindfold, staining her cheeks as she quivered even more.
"NO!" she abruptly screamed whilst yanking the blindfold from her head. her arms were unexplainably shaky as she reached out for me, before digging herself into my comforting embrace.
"el, el, it's okay.. you're okay.." I soothed as I gently stroked her silky hair. she sobbed and cried out into my arms and I continued to hold her tight, just like how she held back onto me, as if for dear life.
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the popping and banging of fireworks erupting created a background noise to el recalling the recent events in the void to the group.
"he said he was building something." she spoke, "that it was all for me."
"building something.. is he talking about the flayed?" max inquired.
"he must be." nancy replied.
"so, he's building an army, just like we thought." lucas announced.
"yeah, but he's not building this army to spread-" mike began.
"he's building it to stop eleven." will finished for him.
"-last year, el closed the gate on him, I have a feeling that really pissed him off." mike started, "and the mindflayer now knows that she's the only thing that can stop him, but if she's out of the way-"
"-game over." lucas concluded.
"but what about y/n? surely she could stop the mindflayer too? or at least cause it some harm?" nancy perked up.
"he said that.." el began, her voice still trembling, "y/n would be his.. that she'd belong under his power.. a-and he'd make her watch all of us.. die."
the whole room fell under a disturbed silence at this news. I looked down to my fidgeting hands before swallowing the large lump that had been building up in my throat.
"well, that's lovely, isn't it?" max rhetorically asked, it obviously being sarcastic.
until a faint screeching noise came from the distance, nancy got up and approached the window.
"do you guys here that?" she asked, we all peered to the window.
"it's just the fireworks." jonathan assured.
"billy.." nancy began before swinging around to face eleven, "when he told you this, it was here in this room?" el weakly nodded.
a thudding noise suddenly began to grow louder and louder and will's hand raised up to his neck again.
"he knows we're here." he announced as his scared eyes darted around the room.
all of us exited the house through the front door and onto the muddy driveway to find this ginormous creature rampaging through the woods. crushing and destroying every tree in it's way as it thumped it's way towards us.
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everyone worked together at a fast pace to prepare everything. nancy grabbed a gun from the shed as jonathan found an axe. everyone else was left to board up the windows with whatever they could.
"hey, get away from the windows." nancy warned before we all gathered together in the middle of the living room. we nervously panted and shuddered, the monster could attack at any second now. a million concerns and worries flooded through my head as I held my hands in front of me, ready to use my powers at any needed second.
the lamp eerily squeaked as a low rumbling sound filled the room. jonathan adjusted the axe that he held in his hands before nancy cocked her gun. lucas on the other hand, pulled out his slingshot, ready to fire. leaving everyone else defenceless with empty hands, except from el and I of course.
now the plates that were carefully placed in the racks began to rattle.
"it's close." will announced quietly, just before the leaves began to rustle. followed by the snapping and cracking sound of branches breaking. the footsteps got more heavier and frequent, the closer the monster got.
glasses and mugs clinked before crashing to the floor and creating a large glass-shard mess. but then the rumbling of footsteps strangely stopped.
"where'd it go?" max asked silently.
now scared and shuddery breaths were the only thing to be heard, as we awaited the mindflayer.
until very suddenly, a loud shrieking sound deafened out the shaky breaths and a fleshy tentacle of the mindflayer smashed through the wood and into the room. we all gasped before leaping out of the way.
the raging tentacle roared out as it edged in on eleven. she glared at it with wide, frightened eyes before jonathan slashed his axe into the creature. it squealed in pain as jonathan threw another powerful hit. until the monster chucked jonathan across the room, he collided with a table, crushing it to pieces. the monster was now closing in on defenceless jonathan, but nancy was quick to start firing bullets at the disgusting beast. it wailed out as each bullet hit it, until nancy unfortunately ran out of ammo. the creature slithered up to her with its gaping mouth as she cowered away.
it lunged at her but I threw my arm out just in time, "not my sister, you bitch!" I yelled before pulling the monster away from nancy's petrified face. I made the tentacle twist around until it had twisted too far and the head twisted right off before slumping to the ground with a squelch. the headless tentacle quickly slithered back out through the hole in which it entered.
"holy shit."