Royal Pain || Stranger Things

thirty-six || no time for tears

"Anybody getting a strong urge to make a run for it?"

Lucas' words fell on deaf ears as the group pulled back from the view of Billy's camaro in the parking lot, tensions rising high. Instead of gaining a response from his friends, he was greeted with a distant rumble.

All attention averted upwards, the ground becoming unsteady beneath their feet as the heavy rumble grew closer.

"Showtime," Tate whispered, fists clenching tight before releasing. She grabbed a rifle from one of the food court tables and tossed it to Nancy swiftly. "Everybody ready for phase one?"

Although the genuine answer was no, the group split off in their respective pairings.

The glass ceiling above them began to crackle, heartbeats thrumming high.

Mike and Eleven shared a frantic but lasting kiss before he was dragged off by Will, joining Lucas and Max at the base of the escalators where they would hide before phase two was initiated.

Eleven, Nina, Tatum, Jonathan and Nancy scattered to the exterior of the main floor, all armed respectively as they formed a wide circle, staring up at the skylight ceiling that was threatening to shatter from the weight of the creature above.

Nina retrieved a dual set of glock pistols from the back of her jeans, the imprinted number on her wrist coming to light as the sleeves of her tattered jacket pulled up.

Her heart was the steadiest of them all.

Holding her own rifle at the ready, Tatum sent Eleven an assuring nod as an unsettling snarl greeted them.

"This is insane. We're all going to die."

"Not helping, Mike!" Tate called, flicking the safety off of the M4 and resting it against her shoulder.

"Shit, sorry."

The glass above let out an incohesive scream as the weight became too much, the Mind Flayer curdling in victory as it collapsed beneath him, dropping his massive, spider-like body into the center of the mall.

The illuminated Starcourt sight swung on a cord as the rafting was severed, sending the lights into a panicked flicker as dust from the cracked floor fogged up the ground.

The Mind Flayer, triumphantly larger than before, let out a shriek as it bared a hundred rows of teeth. Its neck craned around, unsettled gargles and chitters emitting from his gaping mouth.

It can't see, El said, voice forcing its way into Tatum's head.

Tatum held a finger up her lips, eyes scanning the floor and making eye contact with those she could as they all remained at their posts.

Towering endlessly, the Mind Flayer slowly moved around, scanning the floor plan and missing those hiding in plain sight. A long, limb like hand stretched out from the base of the body, slinking around the floor and dodging the cracked and shattered concrete benches as it searched for something to eat.

Tatum's finger hovered over the trigger, sweat lining her brow as she raised the barrel of the machine gun toward the beast with its back turned.

It was when the scouring hand got too close to the safety of the escalators that she screamed.

"Open fire!"

A barrage of gunshots rang out, four of five key players shooting the screeching Mind Flayer and drawing it back from the escalators to center stage.