(2) Love You to Hell and Back (Max Mayfield / (Fem) You)

-Chapter 16: Wounds and Preparations-

The car squeals into the parking lot of Bradley's Big Buys and we all rush inside, Max and Mike helping El.

I find a rock, throwing it at the glass door and shattering it, letting us inside. Everyone looks at me and I look back. "What? You expect us to wait for Max to lockpick it?" I ask before walking inside, the others following.

We walk into the first aid aisle, Nancy taking charge and grabbing things as we follow. "Okay, get her down." She says as Mike and Max lower her to sit on the floor. "Okay, lemme see." Nancy says, rolling up El's pants leg. It reveals her wound, swollen, bloody and oozing. I gag at the sight, turning around to look at my girlfriend instead. "Oh shit." Max mutters as she sees it.

Nancy unpacks a box of gauze pads when Max goes to stop her. "Hey, what are you doing?" She asks. "I'm cleaning the wound." Nancy says it's obvious. "No, first we need to stop the bleeding, then clean, then disinfect, then bandage." She says. We all stare at her, shocked.
"I skateboard. Trust me." She mutters before turning to Mike with a cloth. "Mike, hold this." She says. She takes his hand and presses it against the wound. "Keep the pressure on it, nice and firm, okay?" She says as he nods, doing as he's told. She then turns to Nancy and Jonathan. "We're gonna need water, soap." She says. "Yeah, okay." Nancy says, turning with him and leaving our aisle.

Lucas walks up to us, dumping random stuff onto the floor. "Does any of this help?" He asks. Max looks at him, not impressed. "No. Go get me a washcloth and a bowl." She tells him. "A bowl?" Lucas asks. "Lucas!" Max shouts as Lucas nods. "Okay!" He says, leaving. Max sighs, looking at El and holding her hand. "You'll be okay. Just, hold on." She says. El nods and winces as Mike applies pressure.

After a while, Max scoffs. "Where are they?" She questions. She stands, grabbing me. "We're finding the boys. You two good here?" She asks. They nod in response and Max nods too. "Okay, be back in a bit." She says, dragging me with her. We look around, through each aisle for them. "Where the hell are they?" She asks. We round the corner to find Lucas and Will, ogling at fireworks. "That doesn't look like a bowl." Max says, getting their attention.

"Nah, it's way better. There is a reason this warning label says "18 or older". This sucks is filled with 150 grains or black powder." He says. I lean towards Max to whisper. "I'm gonna find Nancy." I say as she looks at me, nodding. I back off from....whatever this is before finding the young adults in another aisle, with a big bottle of water. "Soap, soap, soap..." She mutters before excitedly picking something up. "Soap." She says. She notices me and smiles. "I got it." She says before we run back to Max.

As we round the corner, Mike is in the middle of speaking to the others. "And he said something about spies? I dunno." He says as we hand Max the things. She gets to work on El's wounds as I look at him. "Spies?" I ask. "Yeah, Dustin said-" He starts before I cut him off. "Dustin? He's here?" I ask, looking around. "No! He was on the walkie but we got cut off." He says as Max bandages El's wounds. "Do you know where he is?" I ask Mike as he shakes his head. "No, he didn't say." He says. I sigh, rubbing my head. "Shit. Did he sound worried?" I ask. Mike nods, worry in his eyes. "Yeah, freaked out."

Max finishes El's bandages as I look at the girl. "Better?" I ask. She nods, looking at me. "El...Do you think you can find Dustin?" I ask.

____________

Sitting in front of the freezers, specifically the Eggos freezer, El is blindfolded as we all watch. Only the soft hum of the freezer is audible. Until, a fizz cuts into the silence. I turn to see Lucas with a can of coke in his hands. "Quiet" Max mutters. "Oh, sorry." Lucas says before sipping the drink. "How do you even drink that?" Mike asks. "Because it's delicious." Lucas replies. "What?" Max and Mike both ask. "It's like Carpenter's "The Thing". The original is a classic, no question about it. But the remake..." He says before slurping loudly. "Sweeter, bolder....better."