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𝗠𝗜𝗗𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧

𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓻𝓽𝓮𝓮𝓷:
"𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚗, 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞?"

╚═════ ∘◦ ミ ☾ ◦∘ ══════╝

TRIGGER WARNING: blood!

MACKENZIE CRASHED INTO Will as Nancy spun the car around at the convenience store. Her mind was still trying to comprehend all of the events that had just happened. If she was this terrified, she couldn't even imagine what Will was going through. And she couldn't believe she was just about to spill her deepest darkest secret to him in that cabin. Everything . . . it was all pressuring against her skull.

They all got out of the car, Will and Mackenzie still holding hands despite being away from the Mind Flayer. It was comfort for the two of them. They didn't mind.

Nancy picked up a rock and threw it at the window, shattering the glass so they could enter the store. She led them down one of the aisles, eventually finding one with all of the medical supplies. Nancy grabbed rubbing alcohol and gauze pads off of the shelf before turning to Max and Mike, who were holding Eleven up.

"Okay, get her down." They lowered her to the floor, and Nancy crouched down next to her. "Okay, let me see."

Nancy reached over and pulled her pant leg up. The group let out noises of disgust. Mackenzie looked over, but instantly regretted it. The wound was deep and spilling out a red liquid.

Blood. If it wasn't obvious, Mackenzie hated blood. She got nauseous even with a little bit, such as when El's nose bleeds when she uses her powers, but she always suppressed it. However, El's leg was gushing blood, so Mackenzie was completely overwhelmed. Her wound dripped it onto the ground, staining the once white floor red. Mackenzie's eyes widened and she felt herself go pale. She staggered backwards, feeling the contents of her stomach rise into her throat.

Will looked over at her grabbed her shoulders. "No. No, no, no, Mack, it's okay."

"What's wrong with her?" Max asked in concern.

Mackenzie shook her head while still staring at the cut. She was afraid to speak, because she knew once she opened her mouth, she would throw up everywhere.

"Blood," Lucas answered. "Kenzie hates blood. It makes her sick."

Will moved her to lean her back against the shelves of the aisle. He maneuvered her gently to slide down the shelves and sit on the ground. Her eyes were still locked on Eleven's wound, almost as if she were in a trance. She couldn't look away no matter how hard she tried.

"Don't look at it," Will told her softly while kneeling in front of her, moving her head to face him. "Look at me. Keep your eyes on me, all right?"

Mackenzie nodded her head and stared ahead blankly into Will's eyes. Her fists were clenched at her sides and she began to take deep breaths, trying to calm herself down and get the image out of her mind.

She could faintly hear Max telling them exactly what to do and giving orders to everyone, but it all sounded underwater to her. Mackenzie only snapped out of her trance when she heard multiple items crash against the floor. She didn't dare move to look and continued staring into the brown eyes she loved so much.

"Does any of this help?" Lucas's voice asked.

Mackenzie could imagine Max's annoyed face. "No. Go get me a washcloth and a bowl."

"A bowl?" Lucas questioned.

"Lucas," she insisted.

Mackenzie heard Lucas walking away, but Max stopped them. "Oh, and take Kenz. She'll look a lot harder than you two."

Will sent her a look to ask if she was okay with that. She nodded, and Will grabbed her hands to pull her up. He led her out of the aisle with his arm around her waist, leaving El, Max, and Mike behind. Mackenzie stopped and leaned against a shelf, letting out a breath while placing a clammy hand to her hot forehead. Will moved his hand from her waist to her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"We need to get you some water," Will said worryingly.

She shook her head. "No. I shouldn't be a main concern right now, El's hurt and we need to find the bowl."

"Hey." Mackenzie glanced up at Will to see a strong look in his eyes. "Mack, you are always my main concern. El is being helped by the others. Please, just let me help you."

Mackenzie swallowed the bile rising up. "Okay," she whispered.

She followed him over to the drink section. He opened the fridge door, grabbed a bottle of water, and held it out to her. Mackenzie's shaky hands somehow managed to unscrew the top. She put it to her lips and took multiple large gulps. Mackenzie felt the cool liquid spread throughout her entire body, calming the redness that painted her face.

"Are you feeling better?" Lucas inquired.

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, yeah, I think so."

They then walked off to find what Max had asked them to get. Will latched on to her hand again. Mackenzie didn't care and allowed him to do so. They had found a washcloth, and Will slung it over his shoulder as they searched for a bowl. Lucas brought them to the cereal aisle.

"Bowl . . . bowl . . ." Lucas repeated, looking at the shelves. "Why wouldn't it be with the cereal?"

"I don't know," Will responded, just as confused.

"What else do you use a bowl for?"

"I don't know."

Lucas suddenly stopped, staring at a fireworks display. "Oh shit."

Will and Lucas shared a look before advancing towards the display in amazement. Mackenzie let go of Will's hand and rolled her eyes, walking down another aisle. This one had plastic utensils and she found a small bowl that would be good enough for water. She grabbed it off the shelf and walked back up, seeing Max and Lucas argue over killing the Mind Flayer with fireworks.

Mackenzie took the washcloth off of Will's shoulder and placed it in the bowl, offering it to Max. "Here's the things you asked for."

"Thank you, Kenz." The redhead then turned to glare at Lucas. "See, even when Kenz isn't feeling her best, she's still better than you. Maybe you should learn from her."

Mackenzie let out a laugh as Max walked away. She turned around, raising an eyebrow at them as she took another sip of water.

"She's right," she said, screwing the top back on.

Lucas scoffed. "Glad to know you're back to your normal self, Kenzie."

Him and Will loaded up on fireworks, ultimately deciding to put all of them in a shopping cart. It was all fun and games until Mike began shouting about how Dustin was in trouble, something about a Gate. Mackenzie had an idea of what that meant, but she didn't want it to be true.

Dustin. Oh God, Mackenzie felt like a terrible friend. She had just left him by himself that day on the hill and didn't even bother catching up with him the next day.

That's where Mackenzie found herself sitting by a cooler with Mike and Will, watching El try and find Dustin. An American flag bandana was tied around her eyes and the freezer door displaying Eggos was open behind her to resemble static. Mackenzie tried to ignore the bloody bandage on her leg and the drop coming from her nose.

Lucas suddenly opened a can of the new Coca-Cola. The pull-tab made an extremely loud noise through the silence of the store.

"Quiet," Max scolded him.

"Oh, sorry," he responded before taking a sip.

Mike stared at him incredulously. "How do you even drink that?"

"Because it's delicious."

"What?" Mike and Max asked at the same time.

"It's like Carpenter's The Thing. The original is a classic, no question about it. But the remake . . ." He paused, taking another sip out of the can and slurping it loudly. "Sweeter, bolder . . . better."

Mackenzie placed her head in her hands. "Why am I friends with you?"

"You're insane," Mike said to him.

"So, you prefer the original Thing?" Lucas questioned.

"What? No, I'm not talking about The Thing, I'm talking about New Coke."

"It's the same concept, dude."

"Uh, actually, it's not the same concept."

"It is the same concept."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is."

Mackenzie groaned. "God, can you two shut up?"

"Hey!" El exclaimed, ripping off her blindfold.

"Sorry," Mike and Lucas apologized together.

Mackenzie tilted her head at her. "Did you find him?"

El nodded. "He's at the mall watching a movie."

The group gathered all of the supplies that they needed. They all began to make their way out of the store.

"The movies," Lucas said incredulously. "Dustin's so freaked out about the Gate, he decides to go watch a movie? Yeah, makes total sense."

"You're positive he said Gate and not great?" Max asked to Mike.

"Yeah, like, this movie I'm watching is great," Will added.

"Sounded like Gate," El replied.

"Which would explain how the Mind Flayer's still alive," Mike continued.

Mackenzie shrugged. "So we have to shut it again, which would kill that son of a bitch."

"But if not, we always have Lucas' fireworks," Max joked.

Lucas helped her lift the cart. "Keep mocking my plan, Max. Keep mocking it. I wanna hear you say it again, because you keep doubting me."

Mackenzie sighed and turned towards Will. "I know this is hard on you, but we'll get through it together, all right?"

He gave her a small smile. "No one gets left behind."

༻✦༺༻✧༺༻✦༺

SNEAKING INTO THE mall was something Mackenzie never thought she would do. Then again, she never thought she would be fighting off an evil monster from a parallel dimension with her friends which included a girl that has superpowers. She guesses there's a first time for everything as they all stood by the Jazzercise store, El standing closer to the balcony railing.

Guards were approaching a food store where Mackenzie could see figures hiding underneath the countertop. El made the car alarm of the one on display go off, making the guards turn around in confusion. She thrust her hand forward, causing the car to fly up and hit all of the guards. They fell to the ground and the car crashed into wall.

The rest of them got closer to El who was staring down at people below. Mackenzie recognized them as Dustin, a very beat up Steve Harrington, his co-worker Robin, and Erica Sinclair. She smiled widely, making her way down to the first level with the rest of the group.

"You flung that thing like a Hot Wheel!" Dustin exclaimed, hugging both Mike and Eleven.

Mackenzie looked up at Steve and immediately frowned at the injuries on his face upon seeing them up close. Mackenzie and Steve always had a brother-sister relationship, much like the one her and Jonathan had, ever since he had made her feel better that night at the Byers' when Will was completely taken over by the Mind Flayer. She let go of Will momentarily and walked up to Steve, placing a hand on his cheek gingerly as she inspected his eye.

"Damn, what happened to you?"

He sighed, subconsciously leaning into her gentle hand. "Long story, Kenz. Long, long story."

"Lucas?" Erica exclaimed as Mackenzie dropped her hand and walked back over to Will, him opting to lace their fingers together again.

"What are you doing here?" Lucas asked.

She jutted her thumb over to Steve and Robin. "Ask them. It's their fault."

"True, yeah," Steve agreed. "Totally true. It's absolutely our fault."

"I don't understand what happened to that car," Robin let out in confusion.

"El has superpowers," Dustin explained.

"I'm sorry?"

"Superpowers. She threw it with her mind. C'mon, catch up," Steve replied.

Erica pointed at her. "That's El?"

"Who's El?" Robin questioned.

Nancy looked to her. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"I'm Robin. I work with Steve."

"She cracked the top secret code," Dustin continued.

"Yeah, which is how we found out about the Russians in the first place."

Jonathan whipped his head towards Steve. "Russians? Wait, what Russians?"

"The Russians!" Steve exclaimed, gesturing over to the fallen guards.

Mackenzie's eyes widened. "Wait a second, those were Russians?"

"Some of them," Erica responded.

"What are you talking about?" Lucas asked in exasperation.

"Didn't you hear our code red?" Dustin inquired.

Mike turned to Dustin. "Yeah, I couldn't understand half of what you were saying."

"Goddamn low battery!"

"How many times do I have to tell you with the low battery?" Steve exclaimed.

"Well, everything worked out, didn't it, Steve?"

Erica looked at him incredulously. "Worked out? We almost died!"

"Yeah, but we didn't, did we?"

"It was pretty damn close," Steve pointed out.

"Okay, Russians?" Lucas began. "As in, they're working for the Russian government?"

Mackenzie looked over at him slowly. "No, Lucas, they're working for the French government. Of course they're working for the Russian government! They're Russians!"

"You know what, Kenzie—"

"Tell me what, Lucas—"

"Hey!" Max exclaimed, making the two stop their bickering. "So this has nothing to do with the Gate?"

"This has everything to do with the Gate," Dustin insisted.

Their conversation was cut short as a body fell to the ground. Mackenzie glanced over in concern to see El on the floor, groaning and whimpering. Mike ran over and rolled her over, repeatedly asking if she was okay.

"My leg," she complained. "My leg."

Jonathan rolled up her pant leg and took the bandage off. Mackenzie tried not to throw up again from the sight of the wound while the rest of them made noises of disgust. It looked the same as they had left it, but there was a problem.

Something was moving inside of it.

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this is my favorite chapter of this book