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chapter fifteen

THE THING ABOUT THE MIND FLAYER was that he was right to be afraid of Eleven. That fact was made even clearer when he arrived on Hopper's doorstep—more than thirty feet tall and made up of the bones and flesh of the flayed— and tore several holes into the cabin. To which Eleven, with a bit of their help, tore right through him. Although it was touch and go for a moment, they were able to escape to a nearby grocery store.

The Mind Flayer had nicked Eleven's leg when he made a nearly successful grab for her. The young girl was bleeding badly, and she'd winced with every step Mike and Max helped her take into the store.

"We can't stay long," Diana murmured before they broke off to find the supplies that Max needed to help Eleven. "He'll be here soon."

And whether she meant Billy or the Mind Flayer at this point was inconsequential.

"You're tired," Lucas stated, stopping in front of her as everyone continued to search the store. "And you look sick. Please just go sit down for a second."

Diana blew out a short breath. As much as he was right, she wouldn't be dictated by her little brother especially when her fatigue was probably the least of her problems. "I'm okay."

"No you're not." She moved past him, and she'd barely taken a step when she heard him say, "I don't want you to be like Eleven."

Diana stopped in her tracks and met his pained gaze with confusion. "What?"

"I don't want you to be a hero. I only want you to be okay. If the Mind Flayer comes for you—" He swallowed, unable to finish. "Eleven was made for this but you weren't. You never had to put yourself in his path."

"But I did," she murmured, unsure if she should be offended or saddened. "And you're all better because of it." Then she just hugged him because she loved him and she could at least give him that. "I swear to you, Lucas, I'm okay, and I will be okay."

After a second, he pulled away. By the look on his face she could tell that he was through with being sentimental. He nodded then nodded again. "I'm gonna go find Will."

Without another word, he was gone.

Something in his expression made her hang back. The thing about Lucas was that he when he started to worry, he could do little else. He'd worried about her from the moment he first realized she had visions but never like this. Never like he was afraid she wouldn't make it to tomorrow.

Perhaps he was right to be.

With that, Diana sighed and went to search for water.

Later when Dustin's voice unexpectedly crackled over Mike's walkie-talkie, Diana found herself coming clean about Steve's theories about Russians and his and Dustin's search for answers in the mall. "I didn't think it would amount to anything, and if it did, I was sure I would see something."

Nancy's eyes widened slightly. "But you didn't."

She repeated what she'd told Lucas, holding her thumb and forefinger close together before them all. "Again, I'm stretched this thin right now. Besides," she said turning to point at her brother—who was leaning against a basket full of fireworks—Mike, and Will, "these guys are supposed to be best friends with Dustin, and it wouldn't kill them to catch up every once in a while."

"Yeah but," Jonathan began with a scratch to his head, "aren't you and Steve dating?"

She murmured a few profanities and shook her head. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Nancy offered her a weak smile and tried, "He just means that maybe the same argument could be made for you two... catching up? Since you don't know the extent of what they've been doing either."

"We aren't seeing each—"

Eleven interrupted them, bringing the conversation back to another thing Dustin had said. "The gate." According to what little Mike had heard from his friend, the gate, which was meant to have been shut by Eleven herself, was shut no longer.

They looked at the younger girl. "Do you think it's open?" Diana asked.

Eleven only leaned into Mike and Max where she stood and asked, "Do you?"

The two girls regarded each other in silence and somehow Diana got her answer, and she was sure Eleven had hers too. Yes.

It would only make sense.

She looked into seven pairs of eyes. "Let's talk more in the car."

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When they finally got to the mall, the last showing of the movie was letting out, and it took them a while to weave through the crowd.

They rushed up the escalator in search of their friends only to hear the faint murmur of voices below speaking none other than Russian. Having heard them too, Jonathan raised his hands gesturing for them to stop a few feet away from the railing. They paused but Eleven kept moving, her hand held out in front of her. A car alarm began blaring— a result of the young girl no doubt— and El began to shake slightly before she threw her hand in an outward motion and the sound of an awful crash resounded through the building.

Diana saw a red car fly into the men and straight into a counter across the food court. She was the first to meet El at the railing, the others following close behind. Below, they could see the wreckage Eleven wrought on the men and the store. They could also see Steve, Dustin, Erica and who Diana assumed was Robin rising from their hiding spot behind another counter.

Although she was hardly surprised to see Erica there, something about the sight made her want to cry. Erica was too young, and if it hadn't been for Eleven, she would've lost her little sister—someone she was meant to protect— to those men and their guns.

Diana could only be relieved that she hadn't. Her exhaustion didn't allow for much else. Getting down the escalators was a blur, but Dustin's excited voice cut through her thoughts.

"You threw that thing like a Hot Wheel," he let out, briefly throwing his arms around Mike and Eleven.

He pulled away and gave Diana a wide smile, but she couldn't return it as she caught Steve's gaze and took in his unusually messy hair and his red, swollen eye. He was wearing his work uniform and he looked awful. The girl next to him, Robin, was dressed the same way but was a lot less beaten up than her friend.

Steve's expression was one of wanting and sorrow.

Whatever spell had casted itself between them had dissipated when Erica called their brother's name, and he answered by beginning to chastise her. "What are you doing here?"

"Ask them," Erica said, pointing to Steve and Robin. "It's their fault."

Steve immediately took responsibility. "True, yeah. Totally true. It's absolutely our fault."

Erica noticed her then. "Diana?" And then to the rest of the group, "Did everyone know but me?"

Ignoring her, Diana shook her head at Steve. "Damn you, Steve Harrington."

"You knew this whole time?" Erica asked loudly trying to get her attention, but Robin began talking too.

"I don't understand what happened to that car."

"El has superpowers," Dustin answered.

Robin tilted her head in confusion. "I'm sorry?"

"Superpowers," Steve added as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "C'mon, catch up."

"That's El?" Her little sister asked, pointing at Eleven with an incredulous look.

More confusion came, and they began to explain more about the Russians, but it was all just too much. Diana was going to be sick again. She backed away from the group, gaining no one's attention but Steve's and then proceeded to heave into a nearby plant.

She could faintly feel a hand on her lower back. "Jeez, Diana, just take a deep breath, okay?" She stood up straight to see Steve at her side. "Is it something you ate?"

She stood up straight to see Steve at her side and shook her head. "Just need to sleep."

It was in that moment that she noticed everyone surrounding a fallen Eleven a few feet away. She allowed Steve to assess her for a moment then she took his hand an moved quickly to where Eleven writhed in pain and Mike shouted over her.

Diana caught a glimpse of the girl's leg, and the wound looked open and infected, which would've been understandable given the way it had been taken care of, but something was moving beneath the skin there.

A piece of the Mind Flayer, Diana was sure, and something the being was using to track them too.

Jonathan moved to help, saying something about finding something to cut it out but Diana let go of Steve's hand and caught Jonathan's wrist. She only shook her head and dropped to her knees beside Eleven and next to Mike.

She grabbed the girl's shoulder and forced her to look at her. "Eleven, you have to take it out yourself."

The girl shook her head in agony, her face scrunched up and the area beneath her nostrils bloody. "I can't."

"You have to. Save yourself the pain, please," Diana begged. She could feel eyes boring into the both of them and just when she thought El had given up, the girl began to sit up. "Give her some room."

Eleven reached a shaky arm out above her bad leg and her face became a mixture of pain and anger. She let out a grunt of exertion and then a scream. There was some visible movement beneath the girl's skin then she let out a prolonged scream and shattered the nearby store's windows. Then the creature, no bigger than a fist, began to rise from her leg and into the air. Still screaming, Eleven sent the thing flying yards away. It immediately began to slither away, but Chief Hopper along with Joyce Byers and some man Diana didn't know made an appearance. Hopper slammed his foot down onto the creature, killing it then and there.

Diana sat back and let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. The adults made their way over and Joyce immediately hugged her son tightly. Then Hopper helped El to her feet and supported her weight.

Diana was still on the ground when Erica approached her. "You better start explaining, and fast."

The older girl rolled her eyes and looked at the boy standing close to her. "Steve, since you're such the expert on everything that's going on, and now so close to my sister, how about you do the honors."

"No, I wanna hear it from you," she shot down immediately.

Diana gritted her teeth. "I'm a psychic. I see the future. I saw their's," she said pointing at the somewhat retreating group. "Shit didn't look so good, so I helped."

Erica's nostrils flared and she turned to their brother who was still near. "She's not serious is she?"

Lucas shot a glance up to the sky as if he was praying and gave Erica a shrug. "Yeah, she is."

"And everyone knew but me," Erica said again, albeit more angrily this time.

"You were too busy sneaking into hidden Russian facilities."

"Bite me," Erica let out, moving a step closer to her. "You didn't become psychic overnight, and, anyway, I'm not sure I even believe you."

"Just hang around for a bit," Steve murmured, helping Diana up. "You'll definitely see it."

This made Di turn on him. "And you. My little sister, Steve?"

"Sorry?" It came out like a question. "Look, I would've never let something happen to her."

Erica's voice was agitated when she spoke now. "It's not like he forced me to do it."

"We'll talk later, Erica," Diana ground out.

"Yeah, we will." The younger girl stomped off, Lucas following close behind.

"Diana, don't be angry with her... or me."

"I'm not angry. I'm afraid," she said exasperatedly, and when she spoke, she finally realized the truth of her words. "I'm afraid for you. For her. For them. For everyone in this godforsaken town. Not to mention that I've spent hours stressing over where you three could be."

This time when he said sorry, it was earnest, and he kept saying it, hugging her to him and kissing the top of her hair, a nightmare in her low ponytail she was certain. She let the embrace warm her chilled bones.

"Diana, I've gotta tell you something—"

"Hey, you guys. Get over here," Dustin called to them from where he stood with the rest of the group in the center of the food court.

They disconnected and Diana blew out a breath. "We'll talk later."

And she said the words despite the future quickly becoming her biggest enemy.

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