CHAPTER TWELVE - THE BATTLE OF STARCOURT
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ELEVEN'S WAILS OF pain echoed throughout the entire mall, and she clutched Jackie's hand so tightly it had started to turn red, but she didn't think she had room to complain about it hurting considering the situation. She winced, watching the thing slosh around inside her calf.
"Keep her talking!" Jonathan ordered, as he frantically stood up. "Keep her awake!"
"You know, it's actually not that bad!" Robin said. "The goalie for my soccer team, Beth Wildfire, this other girl slid into her leg and the bone came out of her knee. Yeah, like six inches or something."
"Robin," Steve said, a look of disgust flickering over his face. "You're not helping."
"I'm sorry!"
"Hey," Jackie squeezed her hand in order to get El's attention again. She turned her head away from Jonathan's retreating figure. "Do you remember when we snuck you out of the cabin to go see a movie? There's a second one coming out soon. Did you know that? Maybe we could steal you away again and we can go see it."
"Yeah," Eleven managed weakly, nodding. "I liked that movie."
"You did? Well then we definitely have to see the next one. You just gotta stick this out, okay? You got this. You can do it."
"I got this," Eleven repeated, swallowing hard as Jonathan came back with a wooden spoon and a knife.
"Okay," he said gently, crouching down in front of her. "Alright, El? This is gonna hurt like hell, okay?"
"Okay," she mumbled her reply, tears streaming down her face. Her grip on Jackie's hand tightened as Jonathan placed the wooden spoon in her mouth.
"You're gonna want to bite down on that."
"Jesus Christ," Dustin said, meeting Jackie's gaze with wide eyes.
"Clam down, you're not the one whose leg is giving birth."
"I don't wanna see it!"
"Then look away, dumbass!"
Jonathan raised the knife to her leg, and everyone looked at each other in shock. "Do it," Mike instructed, his arms still propped around El's head to keep her awake. Jonathan dug the knife into her shin, and Eleven wallowed in pain. Jackie screwed her eyes shut, not being able to take in the site of what was happening.
"Oh, shit!" Dustin swore, sounding disgusted.
Jonathan reached his hand into her leg, cringing as he did so, and Jackie hurriedly averted her gaze before she threw up for the second time that night.
"No!" Eleven screamed, spitting the spoon out from her mouth. "Stop it! Stop!"
"Stop!" Nancy commanded her boyfriend, and his hand flew out of her leg.
"I can do it," Eleven muttered, her eyes darting to Jackie as she pushed herself up. "I can do it."
Jackie's gaze found the others—who looked equally as shocked as she felt. They watched as Eleven slowly raised her arm to her leg, her eyes narrowing as she focused on the task in front of her. She screamed in pain, the sound making the glass behind them shatter. Jackie ducked her head in response, hands covering her face. She could feel the shards of it whizz by.
Eleven got the demogorgen out of her leg—the ugly thing dangled in the air, squirming as if trying to escape. Eleven flung it across the mall, and she fell back limply against Mike.
They watched as the creature crawled away, just as a giant boot stepped on it. Jackie raised her head to see Hopper, Joyce, and a balding man she didn't recognize.
"Oh thank God," Jackie breathed out, relief flooding through her entire body.
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"The Mind Flayer," Mike started explain once they all gathered around. "Built this monster in Hawkins. To stop El, to kill her, and to pave a way into our world."
"And it almost did," Nancy realized. "That was just one tiny piece of it."
"How big is this thing?" Hopper questioned.
"It's big," Jonathan told him. "At least thirty feet."
"Yeah," Lucas agreed. "It sort destroyed your cabin." Hopper let out an aggravated sigh. "Sorry."
"I think, for once, it did you a favor," Jackie said. "Sorry to break it to you, Hop. But your decorating skills are shit. And that cabin was ugly as hell."
"Thank you, Jackie." The chief replied dryly, giving her a pointed look, that made her grin in response.
"Okay, just to be clear," Steve cut in. "This big fleshy spider thing that hurt El, it's some kind of gigantic weapon?"
"Yes," Nancy confirmed with the nod of her head.
"But instead of like, screws and metal, the Mind Flayer made its weapon...with melted people."
Jackie thought back to what Max had told her a few moments before—their step-brother was being controlled. For some reason, her stomach clenched. Within the past few months, there was a sort of understanding that passed throughout the siblings.
Billy would never truly change, but after the encounter last fall, he hadn't ever really been the same. He was still an asshole, he still gave Lucas a dirty look every time he stepped foot in the house, and he always stood up from the couch, or stopped what he was doing to watch Steve follow Jackie into her bedroom as if to prove he was still better.
That was it—there was no more physical contact, no screaming fits, no sly comments. Nothing.
But that didn't mean Billy was a good person.
She wondered, if they killed it—the Mind Flayer—would it be the same way it was with Will? Would Billy die, too?
"Yes, exactly."
"Yeah, okay," Steve shrugged. "I was just you know, making sure."
"This is crazy," Cynthia murmured. Robin, who was wavering by her, nodded in silent agreement. It was hard to miss how close the girls were standing towards one another.
"Are we sure this thing is still out there?" Joyce asked. "Still alive?"
"El beat the shit out of it, but yeah, it's still alive," Max informed.
"But if we close the gate again..." Will mused, trailing off so the others could follow his train of thought.
"We cut the brain off from the body."
"And kill it!" Lucas finished, sounding excited, then he deflated. "Theoretically."
"Yoo-hoo!" The balding man from before called, and Jackie learned that his name was Murray. Nancy filled her in on how he was the one who let the world know what happened to her best friend—Barbra Holland. That it wasn't just some freak accident. Jackie had some respect for the man, even if she'd never met him beforehand. He waved his hands frantically as he approached, the papers flying around. "Yoo-hoo!"
He dramatically slammed them onto the table, and Jackie realized it was a map. "Alright," Murray started, pointing to a place on the map. "This is what Alexei called the hub."
"Oh Goddammit. It's the tunnels all over again," Jackie complained.
Steve approached her from behind, a moment later she felt his hand grip hers from beneath the table. "I think those tunnels are the best thing that happened to us."
"Now the hub takes us to the vault room," Murray went on just as Jackie rolled her eyes.
"Okay," Hopper mused. "Where's the gate?"
"Right here, I don't know the scale on this, but I think it's fairly close to the vault room. Maybe like fifty feet or so."
"More like five hundred," Erica cut in, and the adults turned to her in surprise. "What? You're just gonna waltz in there like it's commie Disneyland or something?"
Jackie nearly laughed at Hopper's expression, she raised her eyes to the ceiling to keep her giggles in. Maybe the drugs weren't fully out of her system, considering there was nothing remotely funny about the situation. "I'm sorry, who are you?"
"Erica Sinclair," she stated, as if it was obvious, like she were a world superstar. "Who are you?"
"Murray...Bauman."
"Listen Mr. Bunman, I'm not tryna tell you how to do things, but I've been down in that shithole for twenty-four hours. And with all due respect," she turned to the rest of the group. "If you do what this man tells you, you're all gonna die."
"I'm sorry," Murray cut in. "Why is this four year old speaking to me?"
"Um, I'm ten you bald bastard!" she snapped.
"Erica!" Lucas yelled.
"Just the facts!"
"Yeah," Cynthia nodded, shrugging with one shoulder. "Can't believe I'm agreeing with a ten year old child who told me I have a receding hairline, but she's right. The map isn't even close to being up to scale."
"Yes," Dustin agreed. "You're all gonna die, but you don't have to. Excuse me." He pushed through the two of them, towards the table. "Sorry, may I?"
"Please!" Murray replied with a sarcastic smile.
"Okay, see this room here? This is a storage facility. There's a hatch in here that feeds into their underground ventilation system. That will lead you to the base of the weapon. It's a bit of a maze down there, but between me, Erica, and Cynthia, we can show you the way."
"Yeah, no," Cynthia shook her head, stepping back, as if worried they'd all start asking her for help. "I'm shit with directions, I'll let you two take the lead on this one."
"You can show us the way?" Hopper questioned, not sounding like he believed them.
"Don't worry," Dustin waved him off. "You can do all of the fighting and the dangerous hero shit. And we'll just be your...navigators."
Hopper nodded his head, but then said: "no. Nope."
"God, you're such a party pooper," Jackie crossed her arms. "Okay dad."
Hopper turned his hard stare onto the redhead—she found it impossible not to be even a little intimidated by him. "Shut the hell up before I knock you out with my pistol."
Jackie grinned in reply.
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As they prepared for the upcoming battle, Jackie sat on a set of stairs, burying her head in her hands. It had been a long day, maybe at this point it was even two, and she was exhausted. With clothes ripped, dirt and blood dried on her leg, her hair a frizzy mess, she would do anything even just for a shower. She could still taste the metallic in her mouth from the punch one of the Russians threw her way.
"Hey," Nancy's voice greeted, and Jackie looked up to see her holding a bottle of water, breaking Jackie from her trance. She straightened, and moved slightly so Nancy could join her on the steps. "I figured those Russians didn't give you anything to drink so...I bought you this."
Jackie took it with a smile, "thanks Nance."
The girl sat next to her with the new open space. Nancy sighed, looking over the others. Cynthia was patching up something on Erica's leg—a scab, probably. Steve and Robin were knelt together, speaking lowly about something. Nancy glanced back to Jackie. "This is all pretty insane, right?"
"Yeah," she muttered, watching Lucas pull Max to her feet. She snorted, turning to Nancy. "You know, when I moved here, I thought I was going to kill myself from boredom. It's crazy how wrong I was."
"It was never like this," Nancy said. "It always was calm. The biggest thing we'd had happen was when someone set fire to an abandoned house." She sighed again. "I wanted to apologize. For the beach. I realized that Johnathan and I were so wrapped up in each other that was basically left you out."
Jackie rolled her eyes, and nudged her shoulder. "Relax, I'm not mad. I know how easy it is to get caught up with your boyfriend."
"Promise?"
"Yeah, Nance. Promise. We're okay."
They sat together in silence, their knees bumped together before Nancy started to chuckle. "It's so weird to see Steve actually using his brain. You're good for him, you know. He was never that way with me. He thinks with you, as if he has a reason to now."
Jackie watched him from across the room, adjusting his uniform, before catching her gaze and smiling. Her stomach warmed, and she returned it. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," Nancy nodded. "He used to be so different. You really helped shape him into who he is today."
"Hey!" Hopper called, drawing everyone's attention as he stepped down the stairs next to Jackie. He tossed a radio to Dustin. "Heads up! You can navigate, but just from somewhere safe."
"It's not that simple," Dustin said, looking down at the walkie in his hands, and they all began to regroup.
"The signal won't reach," Erica said simply.
"Not with this. You need something with a high frequency band to relay with the Russians' radio tower. But for that to work, you need someone who has both seen their comms room, and has access to a super-powered handcrafted radio tower, one preferably already situated at the highest point in Hawkins. Oh wait, that's me."
"So that was all English, but I didn't understand a thing he said," Jackie mumbled to Steve as he came to stand next to her.
"For real, it makes me feel stupid for not knowing all of that shit when I'm eighteen and he's like fourteen. What the hell?"
"If you want us to navigate, you got us," Dustin added softly. "But we need a head start." He shared a look with Erica. "And a car."
Hopper seemed to be holding back a groan of frustration, and Jackie watched him share a brief look with Joyce. "Fine. I'll get you a car. Here," he tossed Steve a set of keys. "Do not make me regret this, Harrington." Then, he turned to Jackie, holding a pistol.
"You gonna knock me out with that thing? Right now?" she questioned, referring to his threat from earlier. "Figured we could wait a little."
"No, listen," he placed it in her hands, stepping closer so the others couldn't see. "You're the only other person besides Nancy that knows how to use a gun. Take it as a precaution, alright?"
"So you're just giving out guns now?"
"Not just to anyone. To...trustworthy people," Hopper muttered the last word and Jackie froze, stunned. He trusted her—and it felt like one of the biggest honors in the world. "Don't make me regret it. Stay safe."
"Yeah," she nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat, and grabbing the weapon from his grasp. "We will. You too."
Steve pushed open the mall doors with a grin, and they immediately all spotted the yellow convertible sitting in the parking lot. "Oh man, now this, this is what I'm talking about!"
"'Toddfather'?" Robin read the license plate.
"Oh screw Todd!" Steve yelled, hopping into the driver's seat, as Jackie climbed into the passenger, while the others piled into the back. "Steve's her daddy now!"
"Did you just talk about yourself in third person?" Robin asked.
"Don't question it," Jackie told her. "He's weird, incase you haven't noticed."
"Your insults cant reach my heart today, baby! Look at this sexy thing." Jackie rolled her eyes as she put her seatbelt on.
"Yeah, let's not mention that that he called himself daddy," Cynthia said, an amused smirk growing on her face. "I just keep finding things out against my will."
"All right," Steve said, starting the car. "Where we going?"
"Weather-top."
"Weather-what?"
"Just drive!" Dustin shouted.
"Okay! Jesus!" Steve yelled, putting the car in drive as they zoomed out of the parking lot, tires squealing as he sped up. He took a left on the main road, and Jackie's blood pumped with adrenaline.
"Okay everyone," she turned to the four in the back, who were squished together like sardines. "Let's say a quick prayer."
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authors note
(rewritten as of 10/12/21)