"I swear, if I'm dying tonight because of you, I'm gonna haunt your ass so hard, Harrington!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah! I'm gonna go full Poltergeist and shit!"
"Then bring it, Graveswood."
"Challenge accepted."
***
In which after years of suppressing their...
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Chapter One-Hundred-And-Twenty-Four: Fighting With Fireworks
(The Battle Of Starcourt Mall, Pt. 6)
***
When they arrived at Starcourt Mall, the Mind Flayer was already making its descent inside it.
"Shit," Rowan whispered, fear for the four kids still inside Starcourt—Mike, Max, El, Alistair—squeezing her heart, constricting her throat.
"Come on! Everyone, get out!" Nancy ordered.
Rowan didn't need to be told twice, throwing open the door. She was about to charge inside when she heard Lucas yell, "Grab the fireworks!"
"Grab the what?!" Valerie exclaimed, but then Rowan saw what was strapped to the top of Nancy's car—a box of fireworks, some ranging from the more kid-friendly ones to the serious fireworks that Rowan was honestly surprised weren't military-grade and banned from public use.
"Everyone, grab some fireworks!" Nancy ordered and they did, grabbing a carton of fireworks each before sprinting into the mall via a back exit. Rowan's heart beat faster and faster with each step as they entered the mall and raced through the now-familiar corridor, until they came out through a store—Rowan didn't bother to check. The first thing she saw was that they were on the second level, and as Rowan sprinted to the balcony with Cami on her heels, she saw the Mind Flayer, Billy...
And El, on the ground.
Protective rage erupted in Rowan. No fucking chance in hell you bastard!
She grabbed her first firework, lighting it up with a spark as the Mind Flayer snarled, jaws opening to unleash a tentacle to kill El as the firework's wick caught.
But before she threw it, a firework not hers had already been thrown at the monster, exploding in a riot of colour. Rowan turned to see Lucas holding another firework, yelling, "Flay this, you ugly piece of shit!"
He threw it and it exploded in the Mind Flayer's mouth, the monster shrieking as fireworks boomed and roared around it, as it backed away from El and the fireworks onslaught, as now Nancy and Jonathan threw their fireworks.
"Hey asshole!"
Rowan whirled to see Steve holding his own lit firework, shouting, "Over here!" right before he lobbed it at the Mind Flayer.
It connected and went off, and before the Mind Flayer could recover, Rowan screamed, "Hey, motherfucker! Remember me?!"
The Mind Flayer turned, and the snarl it gave told her it did.
Rowan threw the firework, shouting, "Eat gunpowder!" and it screeched in pain. Rowan lit up Cami's firework with a spark before she grabbed another firework and teleported behind the Mind Flayer, throwing her firework right as more were thrown, exploding in green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue and red as it shrieked with pain and anger, teleporting to Steve's side as she snatched up another and threw it with all the force her body could give.
