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AMARA HATED DRIVING FAST.
Well, she didn't hate it per se, but she avoided it whenever possible. It had taken a lot of convincing from her parents just to learn to drive at all – and not because her grandmother had died in a car crash and she feared doing the same, but because she couldn't trust herself to react fast enough to the abrupt movements of other drivers. That was what she dreaded more than any snowstorm or lack of visibility – not that she wouldn't drive safely but that others wouldn't and she'd be forced to pay the price. Amara had mastered the winding roads on the outskirts of Hawkins long before she'd been able to tackle the main intersections.
It was for this reason that even after she gained confidence behind the wheel Amara preferred not to exceed the speed limit even if others passed her in haste to get to work. She had yet to travel I-69 for any reason and dreaded the day she'd eventually have to for Kevin's graduation. And if she was really being honest, she was easily distractible, including when driving.
Amara hated driving fast... and yet she hated the idea of her friends dying because she couldn't stomach dipping a toe outside her comfort zone even more. And with the roads clear in the absence of other cars, she swore she had never driven faster in her life.
The road signs and closed storefronts bled into an amalgamation of colors as Amara left them in the dust no sooner than she approached them, her knuckles whitening from how fiercely she was gripping the steering wheel. Amid her panic that they wouldn't make it back to their friends in time, a small part of her marveled at how her worry for them put her anxiety when driving on the back burner for the time being; maybe it was the act of overcoming one of her biggest fears even if it was temporary, especially when Mike's insistence that they reach the tunnels in time to aid Eleven hadn't been enough last year. Even so, she was grateful to Steve and Robin for remaining quiet for her sake.
Once they approached the parking lot, Amara had a limited amount of time to process the scene in front of her. Their friends had vacated the mall but were struggling to start up Nancy's station wagon, and the aforementioned girl had a revolver aimed at the occupant of the blue Camaro Amara had driven a year ago. Though none of her experiences with Billy had been pleasant, Amara understood that his possession wouldn't have taken such a toll on Max if she didn't believe he still had some semblance of humanity, even after everything he'd put her through. However, saving their companions remained her priority.
The Mind Flayer and his first-in-command had cornered their friends on both fronts, Billy was poised to switch gears, and Amara still didn't have a strategy to bail them out. But she had a car, and she'd be damned if she didn't put it to good use. Because desperate times called for desperate measures, and Amara's best plans weren't concrete and well-thought-out, but powered by her gut.
As if reading her mind, Robin queried, "Umm, you have a plan, right?"
"Yeah, if you could call it that," Amara responded as she rounded the corner of the entrance, forcing herself not to doubt her decision. "Just... hold on tight, okay? I'm about to do something batshit crazy."
