✓ | 3. soldier, soldier, spy [STEVE HARRINGTON]

twenty-one.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:
A NEVER-ENDING STORY

[ THE BATTLE OF STARCOURT ]

❖ ❖ ❖

Time was a blur after what he'd done to Billy, and what must have been minutes were swallowed by nothingness, erased from time.

Thomas was aware of Jonathan helping him from the car, of blinking to stay awake and maybe crying, as his brother, Steve, and Nancy all hurriedly rushed him into the trunk of Nancy's car, Steve clambering in after him. Moments later, the car rumbled to life, and as he blinked himself awake and looked past Steve's concerned face, he saw the Mindflayer, committed to its pursuit, following the squealing car out of the mall parking lot.

"Hey, Tommy, come on, up you come, huh?" muttered Steve, helping him into a sitting position, slapping him gently. When Thomas' eyes opened, and stayed open, Steve grinned breathlessly, but it didn't reach his eyes (well, eye, considering the other was swallowed by bruises). "There you go. I know it's hard, but let's not die, yeah?"

"Don't be dramatic," Thomas breathed, although, if he was being honest, he hasn't felt this bad since last Halloween.

This time, Steve's smile reached his eyes, and even though it was only fleeting, Thomas' heart still managed to fumble out of his chest. "How's your burn?"

"Not the priority," said Thomas, glancing out the back window to the figure of the MindFlayer.

"Don't be ridiculous," whispered Steve, guiding Thomas' face back to look at him with a gentle nudge of his thumb along Thomas' jaw. Their eyes met, and Steve's dug in deep. "You're not expendable, remember?"

Of course Thomas remembered. Remembering, and the look in Steve's eyes, and the unwavering care and concern and loyalty, made his eyes water. He had to swallow back sudden tears.

"He needs a hospital," Will worried from the seat in front, turning to face Nancy and Jonathan.

"That's kinda off the board," Jonathan said, glancing up into his rear view mirror, face twisted with worry. His fingers tightened around the wheel, turning them onto a deserted highway. "He'll have to hold on. Just let him rest."

"I'm fine," reasoned Thomas, pulling himself up. But his head was throbbing, and there was the constant sting of his burn (which Steve had bandaged -- badly -- after their escapades in the KFC). Everything else, the powers of being Flayed had mostly healed. "Plus, let's all remember our priorities."