Jailbird || Stranger Things

seventy-two ➵ halo

His steps were even, much like a heartbeat. His own, or Eleven's is up for debate, but they remained even and something a small army would be proud to keep as their own beat. Billy kept marching on, pausing only once he reached the edge of the dipped floor. He laid Eleven onto the floor, her head turning to the side as her eyes fluttered. Not yet aware or conscious, her breathing hitched in mild panic.

    She had no energy to fight. Her friends were gone. Teresa was gone. Jim was gone. Mike and Max were down. There was nothing left. She was about to crash.

    As Billy leaned down, his voice lowered to a whisper, telling her the same thing he'd been telling several people in the summer, most notably Heather. It was a moment Teresa would have recognised.

    "Don't be afraid. It'll be over soon. Just try and stay very still."

    As Eleven turned her head to look towards him, Billy looked up at the creature entering their space. She followed his eye line, struggling to focus on the outline of the dark mass as it descended on the mall.

    She had no energy to fight. No way to, admittedly. With blood dried and flaking under her nose, her eyes were unable to open fully as exhaustion both in the physical and emotional sense fought for control. She had no power. Not any more.

    The creature moved in threes, two outlines, a weak shadow following the creature as it moved closer. With another blink, she realised her eyes were playing tricks on her, the exhaustion making her see outlines of the monster.

    Billy stood up, facing down the creature like a familiar friend, waiting to be activated. El, instead, as her sight returned to her, pushed herself up in an effort to get away. Fear set in completely, making her breath tremble, shuffling away as she was able to with one leg in excruciating pain. The creature's tooth-bracketed mouth opened, allowing the smaller arm-like feature to reach out towards her. Its threatening squeal of a groan got louder as the teeth opened, reaching and reaching towards El.

    Stopped only by a firework that exploded right on what any human would attempt to call its shoulder.

    "Flay this, you ugly piece of shit!" Lucas yelled before he threw another firework right into the creature's roaring mouth.

    The clink of plastic against a wooden bat was heard next as the rest of the party began their assault on the creature. "Welcome to Right-side up Indiana, asshole!"

    "Hey, asshole!"

    "Over here!"

    The mall erupted into explosions of colour and noise. Bright pinks, blues, purples all rained down on Billy Hargrove's face as the distraction allowed him a moment of a breath, a moment of silence in his brain as memories washed over him like a waterfall.

    On the upper floor, Robin grabbed another alcohol soaked tennis ball, throwing to Teresa whose metal bat hit the ball straight at one of the exploding fireworks to catch on fire before it hit the creature which let out a .

    "One more!" Robin let out a joyful laugh, Teresa tapping the barrier on the edge of the lookout onto the food court to prepare for the next ball.

    "Guys! We're almost out!" she yelled behind the girl, confident she wouldn't be heard by the two downstairs over the cacophony of explosions.

    Briefly she noticed the boys relaying this to Dustin to let the real adults underground know.

    Billy's body moved, veins darkening as the grasp of the Mind Flayer held onto him tighter in its pain. His limbs moved and ached in pain, with each explosion on the creature being mirrored on the boy's body. The shaking, the spasm of his limbs continued long after El had managed to push herself away from both Billy and the monster.