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Forty Three

Allison followed Eleven, Mike and Max to the back entrance of the mall, refusing to take her eyes off of Billy, who was limping towards them with no sign of slowing down. As they stepped inside and slammed the door behind them, they were met by a long narrow hallway with a set of elevator doors at the other end.

Allison yelled at the kids to continue on without her as Billy burst through the door and stompt towards her. He was covered head to toe in black veins and his eyes were void of all emotion, yet Allison stood her ground.

"I know you're in there.",she stated calmly, preparing to stop Billy once he had come close enough. "It's me...it's Allison", she whispered, using her powers to bring him to a halt directly in front of her.

Having left Eleven next to the elevator doors, Max and Mike stepped closer to watch the interaction between them. Allison took Billy's hand and placed it on her chest, allowing him to feel her heartbeat. She smiled as a look of recognition came over Billy and tears pooled in his eyes. He reached up to caress the side of her face, running his thumb over her bottom lip.

"Do you remember when we kissed and everything else just faded away?", Allison recalled, earning a small nod out of Billy as his chin began to quiver. "Good. I need you to focus on that feeling. It's just you and me. Nothing else matters-" her words were cut off by a sudden rumbling sound that shook the ground beneath them. "No. Billy, stay with me.", she begged as his pupils began to dilate.

The hand that he had previously been using to caress her face, wandered downward until it came to rest on the side of her neck. He glanced over his shoulder at Eleven and then wrapped his fingers around Allison's throat, cutting off her air supply and lifting her off the ground with ease.

"Let her go!", Max screamed, balling her hands into fists and pounding them against Billy's back. With one swing of his other arm, he threw his sister into the wall and knocked her unconscious.

"Mike...go...save El.", Allison choked out, clawing at Billy's hand to try and break free of his grasp. "I don't want to hurt you...please don't make me.", she pleaded, gasping for air.

Reluctantly, she raised her hand preparing to strike, but before she could use her powers Billy slammed her hard up against the nearest wall. She felt a searing pain in the back of her head as she slid to the floor, Eleven's screams being the last thing she heard as she lost consciousness.

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"Wake up!", Max's voice found its way into Allison's head, slowly drawing her out of the darkness. Her eyes shot open as Max slapped her across the face, trying to rush the process. "Sorry! But we have a problem!"

"Where's, El?", Allison asked, sitting up slowly.

"We don't know, that's the problem.", Mike responded from where he stood behind Max, clutching the side of his face.

"Then let's go!", Allison blurted out, climbing to her feet. It took a moment for the world to stop spinning, but once it did, she led the others to a set of locked doors and busted them wide open.

They ran through the mall, towards what sounded like a warzone. There was a chorus of screaming from their friends, howling from the creature and the sound of crackling fireworks echoing off the walls. As they rounded the corner the smell of smoke and burning flesh invaded their nostrils, and they had to focus to comprehend the scene that was unfolding in front of them.

The Mind Flayer was in the middle of the food court, dodging fireworks that were being thrown at it from the balcony above. Eleven was laying down on the floor in front of it, and Billy was climbing to his feet, putting himself between her and the monster. It roared down at him and opened its mouth, yet he stayed in place, catching the tentacle that shot out towards him and Eleven with both hands.

"No!!", Allison screamed, as two more tentacles rose in the air, preparing to impale him. With a clenched fist, she managed to obliterate all three of its limbs and quickly drew Billy and Eleven away from the threat.

Max and Mike ran over and dragged Eleven to safety, while Billy fell to his knees in front of Allison. As she looked down at his tired face, she realized what had to be done. There wasn't enough time to burn out the piece of the Mind Flayer that was inside him, which meant that she'd have to try and pull it out of him herself.

What is she doing?

We're out of fireworks.

What is she planning to do?

She's gonna get herself killed.

As Allison position herself in front of Billy, she could hear her friends thoughts and she glanced up to the second floor, where they all stood. They were too far away to hear her yell, but she needed to find a way to communicate with them. Focusing, she located the sound of her own voice inside her head and projected it outwards.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?", she asked, waiting for a response.

"Allison? Holy shit! Yes!", Nancy's startled thoughts replied, prompting her to move closer to the banister.

"So can I!", Jonathan interjected.

"I think we all can.", Max cut in, prompting Allison to glance back to where she was standing with Mike and Eleven.

"Good. I don't have much time. I'm gonna get this thing out of Billy but I need you to keep our friend busy for a little longer. Can you guys do that?", Allison inquired, finding herself met with hesitation and thoughts of uncertainty.

"We've gotten this far. I'm sure we can figure something out! ", Robin's enthusiastic thoughts rang out and Allison shot her a look of gratitude.

Allison bridged the gap between her and Billy, placing her hands on either side of his head. She went straight to work, drawing out the piece of the Mind Flayer that had taken hold of him, but was met with resistance. Across the food court, the rest of the group had begun lighting things on fire and throwing them at the monster, causing Billy pain everytime that they made contact.

His connection to the creature went deeper than Allison had originally thought and she realized that she would have to use more power than she ever had before. Billy's eyes widened fearfully as her hands began to shake and blood dripped from both of her nostrils. She could feel the parasite fighting to stay inside Billy, but she refused to let go of it.

The lights in the mall grew brighter until they were almost blinding and Allison could feel a warm liquid running from the corners of her eyes and out both ears, until she couldn't hear anything going on around her. Eleven screamed, begging her to stop, yet she continued.

"Your sister's right...look whats happening to you...", Billy's thoughts echoed off the inside of Allison's head, but she refused to stop.

"I have to do this."

"Why?"

"Because...I love you. ", she admitted, watching Billy's eyes light up, just before they darkened again and the veins under his skin began to pulse. "Nancy! Take care of my sister.", her thoughts screamed their way into Nancy's mind, followed by Eleven's. "El, I love you and tell Hopper that I'm sorry.", as Allison finished saying her goodbyes, the Mind Flayer interrupted.

Give up. The boy belongs to me.

"You can't have him!", Allison screamed aloud, feeling a surge of blood start to rise at the back of her throat.

It felt like her insides were on fire, as she ripped the Mind Flayer out of Billy, who's broken body crumpled into a heap on the floor. With one final push, Allison sent the dark shadow towards the monster, which quickly absorbed it through its fleshy exterior. The creature began to shake violently and everyone ran for cover, while Allison collapsed next to Billy and was swallowed up by the darkness.