𝕾𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕾𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 - [𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻]

𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐯𝐢𝐢. 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 - the mind flayer

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 "𝐖𝐄'𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄, okay?" Scarlet muttered as softly as she possibly could. Eleven's arm was slung over her shoulder, another tossed over Mike as they all hastened their departure from the mall.

 The plan was to heave inside Nancy's car with a billion children and three very stressed teenagers and get the hall out of dodge... or, rather, Hawkins. To travel as far and as fast as they possibly could was the only option they had left.

 With Scarlet, Eleven and Will all in one little place, there would be no doubt that the Mind Flayer would sniff them out like a police dog; they had to keep moving until Hopper, Joyce and Murray made Hawkins safe again — if it ever was.

 Max, ever the zoomer of the party, skidded to a halt behind the car while her fingers swiftly popped open the trunk. Eleven needed to rest, to lie down and close her eyes... and to be honest, Scarlet did too. So with Mike and Max's help, Eleven was ever so carefully hoisted into the car.

 Scarlet climbed in after her and the two sisters didn't waste a moment in crushing themselves together, relishing in the comfort they provided for one another.

 Soon enough, each door was slammed shut and the jingle of keys could be heard. Scarlet, quite frankly, couldn't wait to see the borders of Hawkins, to see the trees pass by beneath the stretch of twilight... but the car didn't start.

 The engine spluttered like a pitiful smoker, wheezing rather dreadfully until it gave up entirely.

 Scarlet twisted her head, peering over the sea of children's heads to where Nancy twisted that damned key again and again, yet even still, the car refused to budge and sat as still as a stone.

 It didn't take long for Jonathan to hop out of the car, urging Nancy to follow... it should have filled Scarlet with some sense of relief; she knew Jonathan could handle a stupid old car... god, the number of times he had to fix his own was astounding. The poor thing looked like it'd crack like an egg and leave wheels and doors littered upon the roads.

 But there was something... lurking. Scarlet felt a shiver trail over her spine as though someone had reached out to drag their finger across her cold skin. There was a tug right at the very base of her skull, in the pit of her stomach... then, as she continued to stare over the jostling heads of hair, Will craned his neck and met her eyes.

 Even from the very back of the car, Scarlet could see a smattering of goosebumps smeared over the boy's neck. She could spy the tremble lingering atop his fingers, the fear glossing over his face... They were on the same page.