You take the man out of the city, not the city out the man

chapter 23

  El screams in pain as her leg moves.
"There's something in there." Mike says as I look away.

"Keep her talking. Keep her awake, okay?" Jonathan says as he runs away from us.

"Let's get her on this side." Lucas says as we move her.

"You know, it's not actually that bad. There was a... the goalie on my soccer team, Beth Wildfire, this other girl slide into her leg, and the bone came out of her knee, it was six inches or something, it was insane." Robin says as I close my eyes.

"Robin?" I say.
"Yeah."
"You're not helping."
"I'm sorry." Robin says as Jonathan comes back.

"Okay, El? This is gonna hurt like hell." Jonathan says.
"Okay." El says, her voice strained.
"I need you to stay real still. Here, you're gonna want to bite down on this, okay?" Jonathan says as he hands her a wooden spoon.

"I can't look." I say as Steve hides my face in his shirt, while Mike holds up El.

El screams in pain as Steve covers my ears. The screaming stops as we're all silent.

"I can do it." El says as Steve still holds me.

El screams as the glass behind us breaks. Steve covers my head as El stops screaming.

"It's done now." Steve says as I open my eyes and see Joyce, Hopper, and another guy in glasses standing ahead of us.

"Addy? You okay?" Mike asks me as he helps me stand up.

"Hop. You need to help her, she's burning up." Mike says as I look at Hopper.

Hopper helps me walk to the middle of the mall as Jonathan carries El.

"Shit, kid. What happened to you?" Hopper asks me.

"Russians." I mumble as I close my eyes.

"Okay, so. The Mind Flayer. It built this monster in Hawkins, to stop El, to kill her and pave a way into our world." Mike explains as I lay down by the water fountain.

"We need medicine. Joyce, find something from a store, anything." Hopper instructs as Joyce runs to a store as I groan in pain.

There's no way I just let Russians beat the crap out of me.

"It almost did kill her. That was just one tiny piece of it." Nancy says as Mike sits by me.

"How big is this thing, exactly?" Hopper asks.

"It's big, at least thirty feet." Jonathan says.
"Yeah. It sorta destroyed your cabin. Sorry." Lucas adds as Hopper sighs.

"Okay, so, just to be clear, this... this big fleshy spider thing that hurt El, it's some kind of gigantic... weapon?" Steve asks as Joyce comes back.

"This is all I could find." Joyce says as she hands Hopper pills.

"That'll work. I need you to sit up for me, Addy." Hopper says as I nod my head and sit up.

My ribs protest in pain as I sit up.
"Where does it hurt, honey?" Joyce asks me.
"Everywhere." I say as I hold my ribs.

I literally feel like I'm about to burn to death right now.

"Steve! What happened to her?" Mike asks Steve.
"I don't know! They drugged us and it made me feel fine, but uh, they punched her, that's all I know." Steve says as Hopper sighs.

"How about we just take her somewhere safe, where the Mind Flayer won't find her?" Hopper asks. Okay, no. I'm gonna die if I get put somewhere.

"No. M' fine." I tell Hopper.
"Kid, you're not fine."
"I'm fine. Right, Harrington?" I ask.
"Uh-" Steve says.