𝐀𝐏𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐘𝐏𝐒𝐄
𝟐𝟕. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭
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EXPLOSIONS SOUNDED OUT. They sounded miles away, like the sound of the television playing in another room when someone was trying to sleep and their ears couldn't help but pick up on everything around them.
Eyelashes fluttered against her warm skin, the sensation not feeling entirely real. Her fingers were sprawled by her side, flinching slightly at every rough sound that beat against her eardrums. It was getting louder now - the sound - thrumming against her head like a hammer hitting a stubborn nail repeatedly.
In the far-off background, shouting could also be heard, but it was barely processed over the loud banging. She still felt as though she wasn't fully awake yet - like her mind was, but her body couldn't keep up - almost as though she had just woken up from a dreamless sleep in the middle of the night.
The first rational thing Lorelei could feel was pain. It was all around her body, consuming her and causing a wince to escape from her parted lips. Mostly, she felt pain in her head, feeling as it throbbed to no end.
"Wake up!" she heard faintly. "Lorelei! Wake up!"
She struggled against what her body was asking, which was sleep - endless and peaceful sleep - and finally opened her eyes. In doing so, the first thing she was met with was the sight of the floor, white and shiny if not for the splash of wine-colored blood that was staining it.
Her blood.
Lorelei reached her hand up to her forehead, feeling as sticky and nearly dried blood stained her fingers the same color that now painted the floors. It all came rushing back to her then; running back into the mall, finding her friends, facing Billy, and then... nothing.
"Get up! We have to go!"
She shook her head lightly, wiping her fingers clean on her shorts, they were red anyway, she thought, so it wouldn't matter, and looked up.
Estelle was looking down at her with wide eyes, the concern being the main giveaway that the explosions Lorelei heard weren't just a figment of her imagination. Not a dream. More like a walking nightmare. Her friend did not look much better either, with her shoulder bleeding once more and her chin slightly bruised.
With a hand on Lorelei's arm, Estelle pulled her up from the floor and instantly tugged her down the corridor. She was still staggering behind a bit, but Lorelei slowly felt the adrenaline come back as her legs worked to keep up with the running.
For a moment, she could pretend that the adrenaline was actual energy - that her body wasn't begging her to just lay down and stop if even for just a moment - and she freed her arm from Estelle's grip, finding a way to run herself.
They passed several of the same metal doors they had gone through only minutes before and finally reached the only door they wanted to see. The one that led to the backroom of Scoops Ahoy was still open, and Lorelei dashed past it with Estelle right beside her, both girls gripping the walls as they made their way to the center of the mall.
The sound of explosions was louder now, causing a headache to form in the middle of Lorelei's temple, making the pain from the wound on her forehead a thousand times worse. She winced slightly, almost expecting to be met with a bomb of sorts. Or maybe some military backup finally set fire to the Mind Flayer.
What she saw instead would forever be imprinted in her mind.
Fireworks were exploding all around the mall, bright colors of blue and orange piercing Lorelei's eyes. She reached the entrance of Scoops, catching up with Mike and Max who were both staring straight ahead with the same shocked look that Lorelei guessed she was also sporting.
The fireworks weren't even the craziest part. No - what brought Lorelei to a standstill was the sight of the Mind Flayer, closer than she had ever seen it before, and the two measly figures of Eleven and Billy right in front of it. It seemed as though Eleven was just as helpless as the rest of them, as her body was on the floor, with only her hands holding her up.
As for Billy, he had his back to them, but Lorelei found herself perplexed at what he was doing. It didn't make sense. All he had wanted was Eleven, and now, there she was - right behind him - and he was shielding her.
It became quiet for a moment, with the fireworks coming to a stop. And then a roar came, so fierce and ear-shattering that Lorelei had to hold her hands against the wall to keep her body from tumbling in fright.
It opened its menacing mouth, another fleshy limp coming out of it and heading straight for who Lorelei guessed to be the target of Eleven, who had brought up her arms as useless protection. But the blow the girl had been expecting never came.
Lorelei could barely believe her eyes, but Billy Hargrove was holding onto the limps with all hi might. "No!" tumbled past his lips, almost overwhelming the screams of the Mind Flayer as he desperately tried to keep the creature at bay.
He had almost succeeded, at least at keeping that limp from attacking Eleven, but then another few tendrils came from the sides of the Mind Flayer. Each of them attached to one side of Billy's body, gripping him until his shirt was fully red with blood and his body was lifted, held up into the air.
Her hand flew over her mouth as she watched the scene before her eyes. Out of the corner of her vision, Lorelei could see the look in Max's eyes - desperate, scared, and confused - as she watched her step-brother sacrificing herself.
Lorelei had known deep down that Billy was still there, somewhat in control of his mind. And she knew that he was fighting it - he had been when he tried to run over Nnacy, and when he knocked Lorelei out - but he had only accomplished full control now.
And it was about to cost him his life.
A scream ripped through Billy's throat, echoing against the walls of the mall and bouncing until it reached Lorelei's ears. The Mind Flayer parroted that yell, its mouth - if one could even call it that - opening up with a growl sounding out before a flaying tendril came hurling towards Billy, hitting him straight in the chest.
"Billy!" Max yelled from beside Lorelei.
She had just enough control of her emotions to grab hold of Max, stopping her from trying to rush towards a monster that was still very much alive. Both girls watched, with Max struggling slightly against the grip Lorelei had on her arms, as Billy was dropped back to the floor, body trembling with heaving breaths that he was taking.
Lorelei was nearly prepared to grab Max and run, but the Mind Flayer suddenly started to screech out in pain. Its body shook around the mall, limbs flailing everywhere and hitting the upper floors, where Lorelei was guessing the rest of her friends were.
After another agonizing couple of seconds, the monster finally fell to the floor, a heavy thud sounding across the mall. Fire could be seen around its body, causing a suffocating heat to become trapped within the atmosphere.
Deeming it safe, Lorelei let go of Max's arm, allowing the girl to run towards her step-brother. She followed close behind, kneeling beside Max as they reached Billy. Beside them, Mike and Eleven were hugging each other, still not having realized what was happening around them. As for Estelle, she was leaning against the side of the entrance of Scoops Ahoy, her eyes wide in shock as she took everything in.
"Billy?" asked Max, her knees digging into the floor.
Lorelei felt tears starting to burn into her eyes as she saw Billy lying there. Of course, he had rarely ever been anything but a complete douchebag towards her, but now, as he lay there dying, he did not look like the confident boy that had first hit on her on their first day at Hawkins High. Instead, he looked like a scared child.
His chest was heaving with uncontrolled breaths, whimpers escaping his lips which were stained with a dark substance that Lorelei could not make out to be blood, something else, or a mixture of both.
"Billy, Billy, get up, please," Max begged, her hands grasping his shoulders and shaking them. "Billy, get up, Billy, please."
He looked up at her then, eyes almost lifeless but still trying to hang out. "I'm sorry," he croaked out.
"Billy, no," cried Max.
Then, his eyes turned to Lorelei, who was still silently watching the exchange, her hand placed on Max's shoulder. "I-" he spluttered. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," she whispered as she tried to keep her voice steady - as she tried to make it easier for him to let go.
Billy turned to Max one last time. And then he said his final words, a repetition of the last two things he had said, almost like a mantra. "I'm sorry, Max."
And then his eyes closed.
"Billy! Billy! Billy, wake up!" Max shouted, her hands shaking his body. "Billy, get up, please! Please, Billy!"
Lorelei was about to pull her away from Billy's body, but Eleven beat her to it. Her hands reached over to Max, wrapping her arms around her and bringing her onto her lap. As Max continued crying, and Eleven said things in assurance that would do little to bring comfort to her, Mike and Lorelei only watched.
On the upper floor of the shopping mall, Steve had leaned over the banister. His eyes squinted down at the ground below, searching the bodies for the familiar face he had been anxious to look for ever since she had run into the mall and away from him.
By the time he spotted her, she was kneeling next to Billy's body. He could make out Max crying, but in that moment, what his eyes focused on the most was Lorelei. It was too far to make out her face that well, but he could see that there was blood on it.
That was enough to slightly send him over the edge. His fingers gripped the railing, eyes raking over her body as he saw how she slowly stood up and took a couple of steps away from Billy.
The relief he had felt when he saw that she was alive - that she was okay - had been tremendous. It had stopped the tightness in his chest that he had started to feel the moment that he had seen her running away toward what could only be described as imminent danger.
But now, after having seen everything that happened - after having seen a classmate of his die - simply knowing that she was alive was no longer enough. He needed to be close to her, he needed to talk to her, to hear her voice and make sure that she wasn't going to slip through his fingers once more.
As he squinted his eyes, he was able to make out a single tear slipping down her cheeks. Steve could not recall having ever seen her cry, and that was the last motivation he needed before he sprinted over to the escalator.
Without wanting to waste another second, he slid down the same makeshift slide that they had used earlier to escape the Russians. His back ached as he slid, hot metal scratching the bare skin there as his Scoop's uniform rode up slightly.
He winced a bit, but the pain was barely noticeable at that moment. When comparing to what Billy Hargrove had just endured, and the emotional pain he was sure Max was going through at the moment, a little burn on his back was nothing. Even so, all he wanted was to reach her.
Lorelei felt a tear rolling down her cheek as she stood there in shock. Her eyes had yet to leave Billy's body as it lay there. Sure, she had heard of the deaths that had occurred since she moved to Hawkins - but she had never actually been there to see someone dying. She had never looked into someone's desperate eyes and heard what she was certain would be the last words they would ever utter in their lives.
"Lor!" She heard, and her head snapped up when she felt warm hands being placed on either side of her shoulders.
As she looked up, her face relaxed when her eyes set themselves on the familiar face of Steve Harrington. A sigh of relief escaped her lips. "Steve-"
"You were so stupid!" he reprimanded, palms digging softly into her skin a stark contrast from the words tumbling past his lips. "Why did you do that? You could have died!"
"I'm fine-" Lorelei tried to speak up, her voice coming out weaker than she had wished.
Steve shook his head, his brown eyes glancing up at the cut on her forehead, which was trickling a bit of dark red blood down her temple and dirtying her hair. "Don't ever do that again."
She was about to argue back at him, to tell him that he had done the same thing over and over again. Lorelei had been forced to watch him sacrifice himself and make shitty decisions regarding his life for as long as she remembered. She was about to tell him that he was being unfair-
But then she looked into his eyes and she saw it. The pure agony painted his darkened pupils, which were wide with fear. She could feel the shake of his hands as he still grasped onto her arms, holding on as if she was going to vanish into thin air at any second - like she could end up on the floor just like Billy in the blink of an eye if he ever let her go.
"You could have died," he uttered again, voice just above a whisper and a stray piece of hair falling into his eyes with the slight shake that his head made as he spoke.
How could she fight with him when his eyes held the same desperation that hers had worn only hours back at that dreadful Russian base when the roles had been reversed - when she had been the one watching as he headed straight into danger? For the first time, Lorelei decided to keep the defensive words at bay - just this once.
Her arms encircled his neck without another second to waste, gripping him tightly as she pulled his chest flush against hers. As she felt how his erratic heartbeat matched with her own, Lorelei allowed herself to close her eyes, her head burying itself in the crook of his neck.
This was one of the rare times where she was the first to initiate any sort of physical contact with anyone. And as she comfortable melted into his embrace, hearing the soft "oof" the escaped his lips when their chests collided, Lorelei realized the most of the times she fully let herself go was when she was with Steve.
Steve did not hesitate to hug her back. His hands moved from where they had been holding onto her shoulders and instead gripped her torso as he wrapped his arms around her waist. His eyes pinched themselves shut, hair tickling Lorelei's cheek as he leaned his head on her shoulder.
They had hugged each other before. Back when Lorelei was crying about her mother during her seventeenth birthday, and again when she showed up at his house in the middle of the night filled to the brim with anxieties about the upside-down and Russian invasion. And then again in that elevator, when she had rested her head against his shoulder and allowed herself to fall asleep.
They had hugged each other before.
But never like this.
"You're okay," he mumbled into her hair, more so as a comfort to himself than anything else.
His right hand was rubbing against her back, whilst the left had now migrated to the back of her head, holding it in place so he could hold her for a second longer - so she wouldn't have to stare at Billy Hargrove's dead body, or the Mind Flayers remains - so she could feel safe and he could feel calmer. Lorelei could only nod against him, her eyes still pinched shut as she squeezed him tighter.
"We're okay," she replied.
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