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CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN FIREWORKS
They're armed with fireworks, buckets of multi-colored arsenals that paint pictures in the skies and leave lasting imprints whenever you close your eyes. Thanks to Lucas, they aren't going into the mall empty-handed. Thanks to Lucas, they may stand a chance against the Mind Flayer.
Abby, Robin, Steve, and Isla gather in a cluster on the Starcourt balcony with a pile of fireworks at their feet. They stare down at the scene that plays out before them. There's El on the ground, a tiny dot of yellow amidst the shadows, all alone in the sea of flickering neon lights. Billy stands beside her, tall and strong, almost inhumane. Even from here, Abby can see the black veins that bulge out of his skin and the layer of sweat that has built up, illuminated by the blinking neon lights that surround him. But there's no sign of Alex, Mike, or Max, and there isn't time to search for them either. Whether or not Steve has noticed the absence of his sister, Abby doesn't know.
The Mind Flayer looms above them, screeching as the yellow figure that is El tries to scramble away. Its mouth opens up, salivating as it stares down at its prey. Its mouth opens up, revealing teeth of rot as a tongue snakes out of its great big mouth. But before it can latch onto El, before it can suck the life out of her, a great big explosion rocks the mall. Fireworks explode in a burst of gold and collide with the Mind Flayer, raining down over the mall. The Mind Flayer lets out a loud, pained screech as it rocks backward away from El.
"Flay this, you ugly piece of shit!" Lucas shouts. The monster turns to face him, but he only stares down the puppet of rotting flesh, no fear, no trembling, only anger, and courage as he hurls another firework directly into the mouth of the Mind Flayer.
The monster lets out a feral scream as it stumbles backward, rocking the foundations of the mall. But there's no escape from the projectiles that they launch at it. It's glorious sight below them, the Mind Flayer is blinded by the light show that they have put on. After all, the way Abby sees it, light cancels out dark. What better way to cut through the darkness that continues to grow and fester while it remains here with a display of light.
"Hey, asshole! Over here!" Steve taunts.
"Yippie ki-yay, motherfucker!" Isla shouts as she launches her own firework at the monster.
It's almost impossible to make out the stumbling, rotting form of the Mind Flayer through the spray of colors, but they persist, fueled by the weakening integrity of the monster. It's cathartic hurling the fireworks at the monster. Abby's able to channel all the anger, all the fear, and all the hope into one throw, one throw that causes the monster to buckle and thrash wildly. Hopper, Joyce, and Murray are going to be closing the gate anytime soon now. All they have to do is hope that they don't run out of their weapons.
