𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐄 || 𝘔𝘈𝘟 𝘔𝘈𝘠𝘍𝘐𝘌𝘓𝘋

29. ich liebe dich

ICH LIEBE DICH

July 4th, 1985
⏰ 9:45 pm, 📍Hawkins, Indiana

༺♥༻ After El calmed down with Mikes help, she sat on the couch as Mike put his arm around her shoulder. "He said he was building something." She looks up at Will. "That it was all for me."

"Is he talking about the flayed?" Max asks Nancy.

"He must be." Nancy responds, combing through her hair with her fingers.

"So, he's building an army, just like we thought." Lucas adds.

"Yeah, but he's not building this army to spread." Mike starts.

A lightbulb basically appears above Will's head. "He's building it to stop Eleven."

"Last year, El closed the gate on him." Mike points a finger onto his palm. "I have a feeling that really pissed him off."

"Like, royally." Lucas comments.

"And the Mind Flayer now knows that she's the only thing that can stop him." Mike says. "But if she's out of the way-" He offers.

"Game over." Lucas finishes.

"He also said he was gonna kill all of you." El adds.

"Yeah, well," Max huffs. "That's nice."

Stephanie instinctually huddles closer to Max after hearing El's comment. She knows she's been through so much and shouldn't be scared about getting hurt or even dying, but something inside her couldn't stop worrying.

The only thing that pulls Stephanie out of her thoughts is the feeling of Max's arm around her shoulders.

Nancy slowly walks to the window, the screeching and thuds pulling her closer. "Do you guys hear that?"

Stephanie let's go of Maxs hand and presses her face against the glass of the window. "I hear it."

"It's just the fireworks." Jonathan shrugs, brushing it off.

"No, it's not." Stephanie says, trying to open the window to get a better view.

"Billy..." Nancy starts as she turns back to the kids. "When he told you this, it was here, in this room?"

The thudding becomes louder and louder until Stephanie finally unsticks the window as Will puts his hand to his neck. "He knows we're here."

Everyone runs outside to find the Mind Flayer. Similar to the one in the hospital but bigger. Ferociously bigger.

The Mind Flayer breaks down trees that were blocking it's path as it makes its way closer to the kids.

"I think we should go inside." Stephanie says, knees weak, eyes glued to the Mind Flayer.

Stephanie's words snap everyone back into reality — or what's left of it, and make them run back into the cabin, retracing their steps. However, Nancy runs away from the cabin to a shed, probably finding any kind of weapon as Jonathan goes to the side of the house.