𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙥! 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙤𝙣

SCENE THIRTY SEVEN. gone

"get her."

and she raised from the floor, pale faced as  she kneeled against the floor. ignoring the blood where her head had been as it started turning into some kind of sludge. long bruising fingers reaching out for cold metal. only a few bullets left. finding billy as he walked down some corridors. motioning for her to join him, max heard the click of a gun as mike slammed the bottom for the staff elevator.

"billy. piper." she called looking down the corridor to find the pair. both looking alike, the thick veins and empty eyes. a gun hanging limply in the girl's hand. sick grins plastered on their faces.

"you don't have to do this." she cried, but they didn't stop, they continued to walk closer. one step, two steps, three steps, she felt her heart thudding in her chest. max was crying for them to stop, to listen but it sounded like nothing but blur to the pair. muffled and empty words. only ringing in their ears, it was if the mind flayer was trying to figure out their location. and piper raised the gun, billy diving forward. slamming his fist against his sister's face and she stumbled to the side. mike chareing at them. it was piper's turn to strike, jutting the gun into the boy's shoulder sending him to the floor. followed by the cool metal hitting his temple. knocking him clean out. and they turned to el, who stood quivered, shaking as she lifted her hand. but it didn't work. slamming the girl against the wall before billy threw her over his shoulder, as she was nothing but a sack of spuds. piper walking before him, holding the gun out waiting for the rest of the group to pound. she knew they would be coming. because the mind flayer had been in piper the whole time, it had seen how close that ice cream boy was to the ill girl. so it made them carry el through the ice cream shop, just in case he was there. but the mall remained empty, laying her on the floor in the middle of the mall. and piper motioned for billy to move back.

"don't be scared el, it only wants to help." she mumbled into the girl's ear before standing as she looked back up at the broken windows above the mall. the fleshy creature seeping its way in as el's vision unblurred.

"you welcome.'' piper mumbled as it dropped to the ground before them. el quivering as it opened its mouth. and the sky lit up. the once straining blue lights of the mall now filled with the most beautiful gold's piper had seen.

"flay this you ugly piece of shit!" she heard some cry from above the balcony. the sky continued to lit up as she fell to her knees beside el. her hands covering her ears, eyes fluttering close.

"this is for you piper.'' she heard steve shout and there it was, trying to rip herself back into her own body. the echoing cries of the mind flayer in her head as she shook in pain. watching as billy had stumbled to the ground too. el taking her chance to crawl away, only for a girl's hand to wrap around her bad leg, shrp nails scraping into the wound as el cried. dragging her back to the ground. her hands crawled at the ground as piper pulled her back towards the mind flayer. no, el reminded herself. not piper, that girl wasn't piper anymore. and that's when it struck her. she was able to get into her mind before, maybe she could do it again. the older girl straddled the younger, her fingers tightening around her neck.

kill her.

"dustin, we're almost out of time. she's gone!" steve shouted down the radio as he picked up one of the last fireworks. he hadn't looked down to see if she was okay, he didn't want to know the truth. she had been completely taken by the flayer. she was gone. there was no saving piper parker now. and it was all his fault. el looked up at piper, no longer was she that girl they had talked to in the mall. no longer were her eyes soft and kind, now empty and dark. but she could see the tears beading her eyes, piper was still there. somewhere.

she just had to reach her.