ACE OF HEARTS
CHAPTER FOURTY-SEVEN:
THE BATTLE OF STARCOURT:
PART ONE
WHEN IT CAME TO ATTACKING THE MONSTER, the group never knew what to expect. After all, this wasn't the first time their lives were put at stake. It took a while to sort out what their next move was, and given that they were on a ticking clock, they decided to go with the best and quickest possible plan.
They would split up into three teams: Team Griswold Family, Team Bald Eagle, and Team Scoops Troop. Team Griswold Family would stay here in the mall and distract the monster while Team Scoops Troop will go to Dustin's radio, and while Steve and Robin tried to distract the monster, Dustin and Erica would direct Team Bald Eagle through the underground Russian base.
"Goddamnit, why do we have to split up again?" Cassie groaned just before her brother left with the rest of the Scoops Troop. "I just got you back and now I have to lose you again?"
"You're not going to lose me." Steve spoke to the girl, smiling down at her in reassurance. "Just...don't die."
"Can't make any promises." Cassie joked. "I'll see you soon?"
"Sure, Cass." Steve answered. "I'll see you soon."
As she watched her older brother leave with the rest of his team, Cassie Harrington walked over to meet Eleven and Hopper, who were sitting by the water fountain.
"Are you ready?" Cassie asked the girl.
Eleven softly nodded and leaned in to give Hopper one last hug. As she watched, Cassie could feel her insides twist with sadness. She knew what they were about to do was insanely dangerous. All she could do was hope that everything will turn out alright.
Taking her off guard, Hopper reached his other arm out and pulled Cassie into the hug as well, "Get in here, kid."
For a split second, Cassie felt warm. Loved. A fatherly embrace that she had never known. It was the same feeling she felt a few years ago, the night she found Will's fake dead body floating in the lake. The night she let her anger get the best of her as she punched and punched and punched at Hopper, blaming him for it all. After everything, all he had to do was hug her...like a father would. She will never forget that night.
"Hey, we should probably go." Mike interrupted, causing the group to slowly split apart.
Hopper nodded, then looked back at two girls, "Stay safe."
Those were the last words Cassie heard from the man before the group split apart, hoping it would be for the last time before this was all over. A time where they would all be happy and safe.
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As the Griswold Family roamed the plaza, they waited desperately for an update from their friends.
Cassie Harrington tapped her fingers on the table she was seated at, anxiety filling inside her as she hoped for some sort of sign that their plan was going alright.
With not a word from either of the teams, all she had left was hope.
Standing up, the girl walked over to Max Mayfield and sighed, "Anything?"
"Not yet." The girl replied, her voice slightly shaking from her nerves.
"Hey." Cassie spoke, looking into the girls eyes. "It's going to be okay."
Although her words sounded promising, in truth, Cassie Harrington had no clue what was about to happen tonight.
Max bit her lip, looking down at the tiled floor and nodded once. The red haired girl was worried about her brother, worried that he would never be the same again.
It was in that moment things took a dark turn. Suddenly, everything went quiet. Too quiet. A certain eeriness took over the atmosphere, causing both of their stomachs to drop.
Underneath the buzz of the luminescent store lights there came another sound. At first it was quite indistinct, but as it drew closer to the center plaza where the group sat together, it became louder and louder.
As the sound grew, Cassie Harrington searched all around her for any threat of danger, any clue of the monsters whereabouts. But, she couldn't seem to catch a glimpse of it.
That was, until Max Mayfield tugged on her shirt, "Cassie..."
Motioning to the ceiling, Cassie's gaze moved upwards, and she was absolutely horrified with what she saw. The monster advanced from above, legs dangling like a hungry animal waiting for its prey. From below, Cassie was able to make out the pointed ends of it's horrific face molded together with the victims it previously consumed.
"Nancy!" Mike shouted, grabbing the girls attention as her eyes shot upward.
Grabbing his hand, Cassie pulled Mike over to a small concession stand, Eleven and Max just behind them. The four immediately crouched down and held their breath, being sure to not make any sudden movements.
Just a moment later, the glass ceiling above shattered, sending thousands of tiny shards below, the fifty foot monster falling with it.
The monster had long known that the key to the group's lasting victory was not to hit them one by one, but to destroy their strongest fighter.
"Mike!" Cassie shrieked, pulling him back down by his shirt. "Are you crazy? It'll see us!"
"It's turned away." Mike replied quickly. "If we go up the stairs now we can make it."
"No way, not with El's leg." Max answered.
Mike shook his head, "We have to at least try."
"Theres another way..." Eleven cut in, causing the group to turn to her. "...to get out. Through the Gap."
Looking up once more, Mike hesitantly nodded grabbing onto Cassie's hand as he spoke, "Okay...now."
The group of four stood quickly and raced towards the store with their gaze focused on where they needed to go, nowhere else. Running through the entryway, Mike, Cassie, and Max went through silently, but Eleven seemed to slip, causing her to knock over a large item on the table. As soon as it hit the floor, the sound loudly echoed throughout the atmosphere, causing the monster to turn in their direct location.
Cassie felt her stomach drop, "Oh, shit."
Turning around, the large creature advanced toward them without hesitation. Moving towards the back of the store, the group ducked beneath the shelf and prayed they would make it without being seen.
As the beast grew closer, Cassie felt as though she was unable to breathe. It was close. Close enough that in just a moment, the Mind Flayer would kill every last one of them. At this point, they needed a miracle.
Lucas Sinclair was that miracle.
Standing up from the other side of the plaza, Lucas decided to use his wrist-rocket to distract the monster. Placing a rock inside, the boy carefully aimed towards a balloon sitting a good distance away from both groups. Taking a deep breath, the boy released his grip, sending the rock towards the target with an immaculate force, causing a loud pop to sound throughout the area.
Taking this opportunity, both groups stood and raced outside to safety.
Standing before them was Billy Hargrove, whose appearance was none like they had ever seen. He had dirt and blood all over his clothes. His once white shirt was now tattered and shredded, exposing his skin, to which was covered with dark purple veins tracing over every inch of his body.
Even standing a great distance away, Cassie could see his cruel, sinister smile looming below his sunken black eyes to which stared with mindless menace into hers. The dark gaze almost felt like he was entering into her soul.
"Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!" Mike shouted.
While carrying Elevens arms over her and Mike's shoulders, Cassie's breath came in small pants, quick and nervous. Behind her, she could hear Billy's heavy footsteps gaining on them.
Corner after corner they turned, until the group reached a dead end with only an elevator.
"In here, in here." Mike spoke, frantically pressing the elevator button. "Come on, come on, come on."
"Shit, what are we gonna do?" Cassie asked, her heart racing as she watched Billy advance on them.
It was then Max Mayfield stepped away from the group and stood before Billy with her eyes glued into his.
"Billy." Max began, her voice trembling. "Billy, you don't have to do this. Billy. Your name's Billy Hargrove. You live on 4819 Cherry Lane. Billy, please, I'm Max. I'm your-"
Before Max could finish her sentence, Billy whipped his fist through the air and hit her beside the head, causing her to fall to the floor. Cassie didn't process what she did next, all she felt was anger as she raced up to Billy and did her best to fight back.
But, it was useless. The only thing she heard was Mike's screaming before her vision went blurry, and soon, everything went black.
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oh no here we go