dark red- max mayfield

xvi. the mind flayer

☆★☆★→ ←☆★☆★

THE KIDS were still huddled around in Hopper's living room. Mike had tried to stay as close to El as possible, right after rushing into the bathroom to get her a cloth to clean the blood off of her face with. El was sitting on the couch with Max while everyone else stood or paced around it.

"He said he was building something." El informed them slowly. Her hands were still shaking a little, but other than that, she'd been fine. "That it was all for me."

"Building something..." muttered Max, staring at the ground momentarily before looking back up. "Is he talking about the flayed?"

"He must be." confirmed Nancy, once again crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned onto a small bookshelf under Hopper's window. They could hear the faint noises of the fireworks exploding from the fair.

"So, he's building an army, just like we thought." spoke Lucas, who was pacing behind the couch.

"Yeah, but he's not building this army to spread." said Mike, who was sitting on the coffee table.

"He's building it to stop Eleven." sighed Josh, coming to a conclusion.

"Last year, El closed the gate on him." Mike began, recapping their journey against the Upside Down. "I have a feeling that really pissed him off. Like, royally. And the Mind Flayer now knows that she's the only thing that can stop him."

"But if she's out of the way..." Will trailed off as he threw himself over the back of the couch.

"Game over." finished Lucas.

"He also said..." El began, looking straight at Mike, "he was gonna kill all of you."

"Yeah, well, that's nice." scoffed Josh, Max nodding in agreement.

There was a loud shrieking noise, which Josh blamed on the sparklers in the air. However, it seemed to almost be getting closer.

"Do you guys hear that?" Nancy asked as she walked over to the window, turning around to look at the group. They all sat in silence, listening closely.

"It's just the fireworks." Jonathan assured her after a minute.

"Billy..." she sighed, running a nervous hand through her hair. "When he told you this, it was here, in this room?" There was a loud thudding noise, similar to the one that Josh had heard in the hospital. It echoed more and was clearly heavier.

Will reached around to the back of his neck. "He knows we're here."

"Shit." said Nancy, before racing out of the house with everyone else not far behind. They looked down the path leading away from Hopper's cabin. Just above the tree-line, they could see fireworks exploding. It lit up the dark night sky and the teens' faces. Max put a hand on Josh's forearm.