Billy downs an entire bottle of water before speaking.
"Stay still," I urge, wiping the blood off of his face.
"The food here tastes like shit," he informs.
I sniffle and cup his cheek. He forces a painful smile.
This still didn't feel real. My guard was still up like Vecna would suddenly drop the curtains of this blissful fantasy.
"We should get out of here," I decide.
I stand up and help Billy to his feet.
"I've been waiting weeks to hear that," he comments.
"Weeks?" I repeat.
"Yeah.." he tilts his head. "I've been here.."
"For almost a year."
"No.." he denies. "I was.."
I shake my head. "We'll figure it out. Right now, we need to go."
"Who else was here?"
I wrap Billy's arm around my shoulder and we make our way out of the building. I make sure to grab my Walkman as we go.
"No a who.. But, what," I clarify.
"That shadow thing? Is it.." Billy looks around, panicked. "Is he still here?"
"No.. No, the Mind Flayer is gone."
"Mind Flayer.." he repeats.
"How did you survive?" I ask. "I.. Starcourt.. What the hell was that?"
He scratches his temple a little. "The shadow.. Mind Flayer.. it attacked me the night we were supposed to leave."
I figured that one out already.
"He.. He showed me.." he pauses, his hand moving to his chest. "Me."
"What, like.. a clone?"
"Yeah. But, the other me.. he was angry. He told me to build and.. and then he was gone."
"And you were here?"
"Sometimes.. it was.. it was like I was in both places at once."
Will. Will had mentioned feeling like that.
"I would have a grasp on myself and then I'd be back here. And when I came back.. it was always days later. Things changed."
"What was the last thing you remember?"
"There was the sauna. I was.. telling the kids to let me out. Then, you were on the floor and I came back here."
So.. he didn't remember going after Max and the kids.
"I was back here.. then.. you were talking to me. Everything hurt so badly. I didn't even know what was going on."
Outside the mall. I finally got the Mind Flayer to let me talk to Billy. He remembered a bit of that, even though it was clouded from his pain.
"Do you remember making the deal?"
"The deal?" he repeats. "You know about that?"
"We got filled in here and there."
Billy gasps out in pain and clutches his chest.
"Hey, whoa!" I call, stopping my movements and keeping him upright. "What's wrong?"
"I don't.. I don't know.. It's been happening for a few days. I keep getting these pictures in my head like.. like I.."
"Was getting stabbed in the chest?" I ask.
Billy looks at me.
My knees go weak. He was really here. Alive.
"Yeah.. how did you.." he trails off.
I look around the area. Eddie's trailer as still a bit out. Billy needed medication and his wounds tended to in full. We needed to take a few minutes to gather ourselves.
I tried shoving away the overwhelming feelings I was having about finding him to begin with. We could catch up and all later, right now, I was still outrunning Vecna and Billy was injured.
"Reefer Rick.." I whisper.
"What?" Billy asks.
I tighten my hold around his waist. "Come on. I'm gonna get you some help."
"How about a way out of here?"
"Second on my list," I assure.
"How did you know about this?" Billy asks.
"Look, last year.." I take a deep breath. "After he took over in full.. things went from bad to worse."
"It got worse?"
"Starcourt is gone. Everyone that he killed.. they attacked as one. And you.."
Billy tugs me closer. I nearly scoff at him trying to comfort me when I was retelling the events of how I thought he died.
"When you and I were talking.. it was because I was trying to get through him to get you to stop him. Do you remember what happened when you got up?"
"The little girl.. Max's friend.."
"El.. you brought her to the monster as a sacrifice."
"I did that?"
"Well.. the shadow did that- using you to do it."
Billy winces at the thought. The memories. The trauma.
"You saved her. By.. letting it take you," I inform.
Another pain hits Billy.
I flinch as if it hurt me. "Come on. We need to hurry."
We continue on through the Upside Down. I held Billy in one arm, a gun in the other hand.
Then, a scream.
"I'm gonna guess you came in here with friends?" Billy asks.
"No.. No, I didn't."
"Well that sure sounded like-"
The person screams again.
My eyes widen. "Steve."
Billy and I pick up pace.
One of those bat things flies past us, nearly knocking us off our feet.
"There," Billy points.
"Stay back," I urge, taking off my backpack.
I take off running.
Bats had Steve on the ground. One had its tail around his neck- others pecking at his stomach.
"Look out!" Billy shouts.
A wooden stick flies near my face. Billy wraps his arm around me from behind, saving me from getting knocked out.
"Hey, there," Nancy greets.
I gasp out in shock. We trade a nod.
Eddie screams wildly, waving a paddle around blindly.
I point the gun at the bat that was choking Steve and fire off five rounds until it loosens it's grip.
"Here!" Robin calls.
Billy jumps over Steve, one arm clutching his side as he swings a fist with his other.
"Yeah! Kill it! Kill it!" Eddie cheers.
"Rocky!" Nancy shouts.
I spin my gun around as it was empty and use it to punch at the bat that tried attacking Nancy from behind.
"Get it off!" she panics.
Eddie's paddle breaks in half when he swings it at a bat. I grab the bat's tail and tug it off Nancy's back. It falls to the ground and Billy stomps his heavy boots on I a few times until it stops moving.
Nancy and I grasp each other's arms and Steve flings a bat down by it's tail, smashing it on the ground. Then, he steps on it and rips it in half.
I stumble forward through the shock. "Steve!"
"Racquel?" Steve calls.
I pull Steve into a hug that he tiredly returns.
"Billy?" Nancy asks.
"Harrington?" Billy asks.
"Hargrove?" Steve asks.
"Rocky?" Robin questions.
"Robin?" I ask, pointing to her. "What-"
"Eddie," Eddie speaks up with a wave. "Hi. I'm Eddie and still here."