far too young to die ✰ m.w.

CHAPTER SIX

The others soon noticed what was happening with the lights as well, and they all stopped what they were doing as they watched, knowing they were in trouble. This was only confirmed when Emily and Will touched the back of their necks, feeling the goosebumps that had erupted there. The two of them turned to each other; this was the last thing they needed right now.

"He's here," they both said to alert their friends.

They all knew what they needed to do. If the Mind Flayer was there, they were all in danger, but especially Nancy and Jonathan, because they were separated from the rest of the group and were supposed to be with someone who they knew to be flayed. They had to get to them as soon as possible, to warn them or possibly defend them.

They all began to leave the waiting room at once, and the lady at the front desk, completely oblivious to what was going on, thought they were all going to visit Mrs. Driscoll. She began to yell after them, reminding them of the rule of just two visitors at a time, but they ignored her, going straight to the nearest elevator. Mike repeatedly pressed the button in an attempt to get the elevator to open, but they were all feeling so panicked by then that they only waited about a second for the elevator doors to open, and decided they would take the stairs when they didn't open immediately.

The six of them ran through the halls of the hospital, seeing how destroyed everything was and catching sight of patients and hospital staff lying unconscious on the floor. It was obvious that these people had been attacked, and they were all most likely dead. This only added to the feeling of dread they felt, since it looked like all of this damage had been there for a while, before Emily and Will had sensed the Mind Flayer's presence. What if they were too late in getting to Nancy and Jonathan?

Eventually, they found Jonathan, briefly allowing them to feel a small sense of relief. He was using an oxygen tank he had likely found in the hall to break through a window next to a door, and without having to have any sort of conversation with him, the others knew that Nancy was in the room beyond this door, and judging by Jonathan's desperate state, she was in grave danger. When he saw the kids running towards him, he dropped the oxygen tank and stepped back, allowing Eleven to use her powers to blast the door off of its hinges, revealing a monster standing over Nancy, who was on the floor.

This monster wasn't like anything they had ever seen before. It sort of resembled the Mind Flayer itself, how Will had drawn it, except it fit inside of the room, meaning it was much smaller than the actual Mind Flayer. It wasn't a shadow like the Mind Flayer was, either. This monster was made of what was obviously flesh and tissue, and Emily had a feeling she knew where it had gotten it.

The monster turned and looked at the teenagers and roared at them, revealing thousands of sharp teeth in its mouth.

"Jesus!" Mike said.

"What the f-" Max muttered, but was cut off when the monster started running towards them.

It didn't get very far. Eleven stopped it and then threw against the wall, then the wall opposite, up into the ceiling, and then back down to the floor. As the monster lifted itself back up, Eleven stood protectively in front of her friends, and when the monster roared again, she threw it out of room through the window.

Now that she was free from the monster, Jonathan rushed to Nancy to make sure she was okay and to get her up so that they could join the others as they ran back through the halls and eventually out of the building. Not far outside of the exit, they saw what was left of the monster as it broke down and slipped through the storm drain, leaving behind nothing but a couple of bones.