Tʜᴇ Fʟᴀʀᴇ ꕥ Lɪᴢᴢɪᴇ Jᴏʜɴsᴏɴ

sᴇʀɪᴇs ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ꕥ 13

Meanwhile, Lizzie had come to in the corridor. "Max!" She shouted, shaking the redhead. She got up in an instant, but Mike took some more persuading.

"Mike! Mike! Mike, can you hear us? Mike! Mike! Mike, get up! Mike!"

Mike whimpered, eyes opening. "Mike, get up, hey, come on," Lizzie and Max comforted, helping him up.

"You okay?" Lizzie asked, surveying their faces. Both Max and Mike had a red graze on their face and, by the feel of things, she had one too.

But that wasn't what they were worried about.

"Come on! We need to go and find El!"

At that moment, El was on the ground, crying as Billy restrained her. Flora was still unconscious beside her. Billy wasn't worried about her. The monster would kill her when he was finished with El.

But then El gasped, saying as she struggled. "Seven... feet."

Billy looked down on her, face beginning to soften.

"You told her... the wave was seven feet," El cried. "And... you ran to her... on the beach."

Billy had tears in his eyes-

"There were seagulls."

He slightly loosened his grip on El-

"She wore- a hat..."

Flora was now beginning to come to-

"... With a blue ribbon..."

And the monster began to roar-

"... A long dress..."

And rear-

"... With a blue and red flower..."

Flora's eyes opened-

"... Ye-ll-yellow sandals..."

And her mouth did too-

"... C-covered in sand..."

And the gang on the balcony had run out of fireworks-

"... Sh-she was pretty," El cried slowly. "R-really pretty."

Billy was now beginning to cry too.

"And you... you were happy," El didn't smile, but she wasn't scared anymore as she reached up and touched Billy's face-

"Y-you were really happy-"

And then Flora screamed. And the monster attacked.

And Mike, Max and Lizzie ran round the corner.

"LIZZIE!"

"FLORA!" Lizzie would never forget how loud her sister screamed for her. And how loud she yelled and cried in return.

But it was no use.

The damage was done.

"You shouldn't've been born! I wish I didn't have a sister! Then I would only have to worry about myself!"

Lizzie had got what she wished for.

But it wasn't over. Flora had just been the decoy, and even as Lizzie fell to the ground and sobbed, El and Billy were still out there.

But then something happened. Something that no one would ever have expected.

The the Mind Flayer's tongue was reaching towards El, nearly there, and the girl was backing away but it would find her eventually-

Then it was as if time stopped.

Lizzie only heard gasps, as her eyes were clouded by tears, but when they focused, what she saw wasn't the second death today of someone she cared about.