Introductions are made, tiny demons are expelled from disgusting leg wounds, and parents are reunited with children. Dustin's friends have spent the past few days fighting something called the Mind Flayer, a disgusting creature from another dimension. You don't fully understand what's happening, but you try to keep up when a plan is formed to end the shitshow in Hawkins once and for all.
It's too dangerous for any of the kids, teens, or young adults to go back into the Russian base. You and the others that spent the past few days in that shithole are driving to Dustin's Cerebro radio to communicate with Murray, Joyce, and Hopper when they go to the bunker underground.
Chief Jim Hopper tosses Steve the keys to a Cadillac convertible he "borrowed," and you swiftly snatch the keys out of his hands.
"You might have a concussion," you remind him. "I'm driving."
When you see the car in question, you grin, having made the right choice. The car is awesome. Way nicer than anything you could afford for yourself. You're going to enjoy this.
"'Todd-father'?" Robin says with a snort, reading the license plate.
"Oh, screw Todd," you say, hopping into the driver's seat and patting the steering wheel lovingly. "I'm her daddy now."
"Did you just call yourself 'daddy'?" Erica scoffs.
You ignore her, asking Dustin for directions to a place called Weathertop.
"Suzie must be pretty special, huh?" Robin asks, referring to the girlfriend Dustin built his radio for. "I mean, if you built this thing and lugged it all the way to the middle of nowhere just to talk to her?"
"Nobody's scientifically perfect," Dustin says, "but Suzie's about as close to being perfect as any human could possibly be."
"She sounds made-up to me," Erica says. She leans forward to where Steve sits next to you, in the passenger seat. "She sound made-up to you?"
"Why are you hesitating, Steve?!" Dustin snaps, after about 0.5 seconds.
"I'm not!" Steve protests. "I'm not! I think she sounds real. You know, totally, absolutely real."
"Left!" Dustin shouts. You don't realize he's talking to you at first. "Turn left."
"There's no road here!" you say.
"TURN LEFT NOW!"
You gun it and make a hard left, smashing through a fence and scratching the beautiful Cadillac's paint. You struggle to drive up the heel due to the incline, but you follow Dustin's instructions. The car stops short of the top of the hill, wheels spinning in the dirt.
"Looks like we're walking the rest of the way," you say, cutting the engine.
When you make it to the top of the hill, Dustin communicates with Murray on Cerebro, giving him instructions on how to navigate (and annoying the man to no end).
At the edge of the hill, Steve notices the mall lights flickering in the distance.
"Flickering lights is bad," he explains to you, fear in his eyes. "Really, really bad."
Dustin changes radio frequencies, and you all discover that the Mind Flayer monster is at the mall right now. You hear his shrieking, and you can't get a response from your friends.
Steve begins sprinting down toward the Todfthr.
"Where are you going?!" Erica asks.
"To get them the hell out of there!" Steve says. "Waldenbooks! You driving me or what?"
You nod and race after him.
Robin follows, and Dustin and Erica stay behind to get a hold of the older adults on the radio.
You reverse the Cadillac back down the hill, cursing the whole way.
"We'll get there in time," Robin says from the backseat, squeezing Steve's shoulder. "We will!"
He doesn't respond, knee bouncing rapidly as you gun it through the quiet streets, engine revving. You really, really hope a cop doesn't pull you over tonight. Not when there are lives to be saved.
When you drive back to the mall's parking lot, Steve curses.
"Billy's going to kill them!" he shouts, pointing to a blue Camaro careening toward Nancy Wheeler.
"How can we stop him?!" Robin asks.
"I have an idea," you say. "But it's terrible. Hold onto something!"
You slam on the gas, racing toward Billy's car.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Robin screams. "Can we do something else?!?!"
You get closer and closer and closer, and then—
Crash! You hit the side of Billy's car, sending it careening to the side.
You slam on the brakes and breathe heavily, watching as the hood of Billy's Camaro erupts into flames.
"You guys okay?" you croak out, turning to Steve in the passenger seat. He looks back at you with wide eyes, equally scared out of his wits and impressed at your quick thinking.
"Ask me tomorrow?" Robin offers.
Roooooooar! You three look up and see the Mind Flayer on the roof of the mall. It snarls down at you, and you wince.
Jonathan Byers parks the station wagon next to you three, and Nancy calls for you to climb in the back. You three squeeze in and slam the door shut.
You glance through the back windshield at the on-fire Camaro and shudder. Billy Hargrove being possessed by an evil force honestly doesn't surprise you.
The Mind Flayer chases you all through the streets. You, Steve, and Robin get knocked around in the far backseat while Jonathan navigates further from the mall.
Dustin serenades his girlfriend Suzie over the walkie-talkie, and your getaway car hears it all. She rattles off Planck's constant so Hopper and Joyce can open a safe in the underground bunker.
"It's turning around!" Steve shouts after a few minutes.
Sure enough, the Mind Flayer has abandoned his hunt and heads back in the direction of the mall. You half expect Jonathan to keep driving away, but he does a U-turn and guns it back in the direction of the mall, to where their other friends are still trapped.
The others have a plan: they want to kill the monster with fireworks while the adults blow up the underground laser.
You drive back to the mall and carry the fireworks in, divvying them into three groups: one stockpile for Nancy and Jonathan, one for Lucas and Will, and one for you, Steve, and Robin.
"Look!" Lucas hisses as you all arrive at the second-floor atrium with your firepower. "He's got El!"
Sure enough, the flayed Billy has dropped El right in front of the fleshy Mind Flayer beast.
"Into positions!" Nancy whispers. "Let's end this!"
The groups split up, and Lucas takes the first shot. A firecracker sails directly into the Mind Flayer, causing it to stumble.
You all take turns throwing fireworks, watching the colorful sparks ricochet off the monster's body and all around the mall.
"Hey, asshole!" Steve shouts. "Over here!"
He tosses another one, causing the Flayer to hit one of the pillars. Billy seems affected by the fireworks as well, stumbling on his feet—but he still drags El closer to the monster.
You rear your arm back, pitching fireworks like fastballs. It's going well, until your stash of explosives thins out significantly.
"Dustin!" Steve yells into his walkie-talkie. "We're out of time!"
You all use up the last of your fireworks. The Mind Flayer rights itself and reaches a tentacle toward El—and Billy stops it.
You gasp as Billy gets hit with a multitude of fleshy, disgusting tentacles. The Mind Flayer tears into him like he's nothing. You screw your eyes shut; the sight is too horrible.
You hear his sister Max scream. The sounds, the smells—it's overwhelming you. You think you might be sick. You think you might pass out.
You sink to your knees and cover your face in your hands. You hear Steve call your name. It sounds like he's a million miles away.
Max's crying is too familiar. It's the same way you cried when the fire chief came by your apartment and told you that your dad was gone. Gone forever. Here one minute, gone the next. Burned to a crisp like the corpse of the Mind Flayer, which slumps on the floor by the pillar nearest you, Steve, and Robin.
You think you're going into shock. You do not remember walking down to the first level of the mall. You do not remember when the ambulances arrived. You do not remember being led to the parking lot, being given a shock blanket, being checked by paramedics.
You do remember them asking you if you have anyone you can call.
"No," you croak. "I'm alone."
Even when you're given the all-clear, they ask you to stick around for a few minutes to make sure you don't faint. You sit and stare at your feet, thinking about nothing. Trying to think about nothing, and not the horrible things you've experienced.
Steve wanders over at some point, wearing his shock blanket like a cape.
"Hey," he says. He gestures to the spot next to you. "Can I sit?"
You nod. You're numb. Everything is numb. You don't think you have the wherewithal to speak. You try not to think, but you can't stop thinking about your father. You can't stop thinking about death.
Steve must sense your anguish. He doesn't try to talk to you. He just sits with you and gingerly holds your hand. You wonder if he's touching you to make sure you're still real.
You lean your head on his shoulder to make sure he's still real. You watch ash swirl into the sky, spinning like flurries of snow.
It's haunting.
It's almost beautiful.
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