𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲

xx. the gate.

    

     EL CRIED out in pain, holding onto Mike and James' hands tightly in both of hers. "What is that?" Erica asked when she saw whatever was in there was slithering around in there. "There's something in there." Mike told them. "No!" El cried out and James looked over at her leg wound.

"Jesus Christ." Dustin says and Jonathan looks at James. "Keep her talking. Keep her awake, okay?" He said and then he ran off. "Hey, hey, El? El?" James said as he smiled down at her and she tried to look up at him but groans in pain. "James," she said softly, reaching up to his shoulder. "Stay awake, okay? Stay awake, let-let's get her on this side," He said and they both move her, "be careful!" Steve said and James sets her down gently onto his lap, holding her gently as they moved her legs.

"You know, it's not actually that bad. There was a... the goalie on my soccer team, Beth Wildfire, this other girl slide into her leg, and the whole bone came out of her knee, like six inches or something, it was insane." Robin said and they all stared at her like it was something bad to talk about. "Rob?" James said and she looks at him.

"Not helping," he said as El gripped his arms tightly in her hands. "I'm sorry." She looks away as Jonathan came running. "Okay, alright, El?" He says and glanced at James. "This is gonna hurt like hell, okay?" He explained to her.

"Okay," she sobbed and James rubs her shoulders. "Need you to stay real still, James," he held out a wooden spoon. "You're gonna want to bite down on this, okay?" He explains and she nods as James put the spoon to her mouth and she bites down on it. James watched as Jonathan held up the knife, looking up and seeing all the teenagers looking at him, realizing what he's about to do.

"Go on, Jonathan..." James said and held El closer to him, looking down at her and continuing to her shoulders as comfort. He sliced her skin open, and James kept looking away as El cried out in pain. "Oh, shit." Dustin said, El holding onto his hand now after James moved to sit behind her.

Jonathan reached inside the cut, all of them grimacing and groaning. El kept whimpering and crying through the wooden spoon. "Jonathan!" Nancy said and James finally looked over. "Stop talking!" He said and James glared.

"Goddamn it!" He said as he kept moving his fingers around. "No! Stop it! Stop it!" El screams. "She said to stop!" James shouted at Jonathan who quickly stopped, dead in his tracks as he looks at James then to El. "I can do it." She said, sounding tired and scared. "I can do it." She repeated and James helped her sit up as Mike stayed on the left side of her and Dustin stayed on the right. "Just.. just, don't wear yourself out..." James rubbed her back and crossed his arms as he watched over her shoulder as she raised her hand.

She yells as she tried to get whatever was inside of her out and it was so close, she was screaming so loud and probably using too much of her powers as the glass behind them then shattered into tiny pieces, all of them covering themselves. And then it was finally out, some sort of small creature, she held it up to her eye level, still screaming before she threw it, panting heavily. They watch it crawl away then someone stepped on it. It was his dad, Joyce and Murray. "Dad..." James sighs softly.

They got El patched up, a drink to recharge and she was laying on the bench, being held by James with her hurt leg on Jim's lap. "The Mind Flayer, it built this monster in Hawkins, to stop El, to kill her and pave a way into our world." Mike explained, standing with Nancy, Jonathan and Dustin. Steve was sitting on the bench next to James, as Joyce sat on the other side of Jim, whereas the others were around the water fountain.

"And it almost did. That was just one tiny piece of it." Max explained, talking about the creature El got out of her leg. "How big is this thing?" Jim glanced over at the redhead as he finished bandaging up El. "It's big... Thirty feet, at least." Jonathan said and James glanced over at him. "Yeah... it sorta destroyed your cabin." Lucas then says.

Jim sighs, glancing over at James. "Sorry..." Lucas said and James looks down at El, keeping a cold cloth to her forehead. "Okay, so, just to be clear, this... this big fleshy spider thing that hurt El," Steve gestures to the girl James had leaning against him. "It's some kind of gigantic weapon?" Steve said, sounding confused and unsure.

"Yes."

"But instead of, like, screws and metal, the Mind Flayer made its weapon... with melted people." Steve said and James sighs. "Yes, exactly." Nancy responded right away making James roll his eyes and glance up at her. "Yeah, okay. Just making sure." He said and Joyce looks at Max.

"Are we sure this thing is still out there, still alive?" She says, glancing at the others. "El beat the shit out of it, but, yeah, it's still alive." Max said as she nodded her head. "But if we close the gate again..." Will starts. "We cut the brain off from the body." Max spoke. "And kill it." Lucas says and then he looked to the group. "Theoretically."

"Yoo-hoo!" Murray made his way over, waving his arms around and holding papers. "Yoo-hoo!" He repeated as he continued to wave the papers in the air, walking over to them. He does the waving with the papers one more time and James sighs, rolling his eyes as he looked away.

  

  

  

  

  

   

  

   

    

authors note holy fuuuck 😳