↣ 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘬𝘪𝘯

"Okay, get her down." Max and Mike grasped Eleven's wrists, her arms draped over their shoulders, as they knelt to assist her in sitting with her back against a shelf.

The group of adolescents had effectively infiltrated a grocery store,, recognizing the necessity of acquiring ample resources to treat Eleven's injury.

Nancy carefully lifted the hem of Eleven's jeans, revealing blood oozing from a substantial laceration on her calf. "Yea..no." Bailey whispered, averting his gaze as his eyes met the blood.

"What... What... Hey, what are you doing?" Max promptly interfered as Nancy began to wipe El's leg. Nancy gazed upward at her inquiry.

"I'm cleaning the wound." Nancy spoke defensively while kneeling, and Max only raised an eyebrow at her.

"No, first, we need to stop the bleeding, then clean, then disinfect, then bandage." Max began enumerating items.  Nancy gazed upward at her confused. "I skateboard. Trust me."

Max applied a towel to the wound, endeavoring to halt the hemorrhage.  El groaned and tightened her grip on Mike's hand as Max exerted pressure on the wound.

"We're going to keep the pressure on it, nice and firm, okay?" Max communicated with Eleven, who nodded as well as she could. "We're gonna need water, soap."

Nancy and Jonathan both nodded and hurried to fetch the supplies while Max attended to Eleven.  Lucas, in his characteristic manner, inverted his rucksack, spilling its contents onto the tiled floor. "Does any of this help?" He asked.

"No." Max responded with a slight eye roll. "Go get me a washcloth and a bowl."

"A bowl?"

"Lucas."

"Okay." He replied, running off as will followed him to find the items.

"I will leave you all alone, to the restroom if that is acceptable to you."  He glanced at Max.  Desiring to ensure their well-being in his absence.

"We will manage well here; take some time for yourself." Max remarked while El inclined her head, resting it against Mike's shoulder.

Bailey rose and proceeded down the aisle, as Steve staggered across the mall floor towards the restroom, covering his mouth with a hand.  Bailey opened the restroom stall door.  Steve collided with it while proceeding to the restroom.

Steve gazed into the toilet, his thoughts gradually clarifying as he observed his own vomit within it.  Bailey gazed into the mirror, feeling rather unclean after the events of the night.  His hair was slightly adhesive due to perspiration.

Bailey contemplated the preceding days, reflecting on the distinction he perceived between Dean and Steve.  Steve slid under the stall while observing Robin as she spoke her genuine thoughts and feelings.  Bailey desired one individual, although that person did not reciprocate his feelings, while the other remained uncertain about their affection for him.  Steve began to giggle while deriding Tammy Thompson.

However, why did he experience such relief at Robin's lack of attraction to him, as his thoughts reverted entirely to Bailey?  They have been since Bailey's initial meeting with him.  Bailey was unable to refrain from contemplating Steve and the significant transformation he had undergone since their initial encounter.

The door struck the bathroom, and Bailey opened it to find Will smiling at him.  "We contacted Dustin; they are fine."  Steve and Robin observed Dustin and Erica gazing at them with irritation.

𐬽𐬼𐬽

The car collided with the man, and Bailey observed in awe, as it was likely the most impressive event he had witnessed all day.  Bailey observed the four figures peering over the counter and recognized Steve.

"You flung that thing like a Hot Wheel!"
Dustin exclaimed as he sprinted towards Mike and El.  He embraced El firmly.

Bailey observed Steve and gasped softly; Steve's face was severely battered.  "Oh, Steve."  He murmured.  Steve disregarded everything and immediately embraced Bailey.

Bailey hesitated, uncertain of how to proceed.  He was confined within Steve's embrace.  However, he ultimately embraced Steve.  Allowing the warmth to envelop them

Steve recoiled as he observed Bailey; the experience of being in the Russian bunker, coupled with the isolation, drugging, and physical abuse, had profoundly affected him.  He required contact with Bailey.  "Are you okay? What happened?"  Bailey remarked while observing his reflection.

"I don't understand what happened to that car." Robin interrupted Steve and Bailey's time.  Bailey released Steve and turned to observe Robin appearing quite concerned.

"El has superpowers." Dustin remarked casually, gesturing at Eleven with his finger.

"I'm sorry?"

"Superpowers. She threw it with her mind."Steve reiterated, gazing at Robin as he advanced slightly towards Bailey. "C'mon, catch up."

"That's El." Erika inquired, gesturing at Eleven while glancing between her brother's companions.

"Who's El." Robin questioned.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Nancy inquired while gazing at Robin.

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

"She cracked the top secret code." Dustin explained to the group.

"Yeah, which is how we found out about the Russians." Steve added on.

Bailey regarded them with further perplexity.
"Russians? Wait, what Russians?" Jonathan questioned.

Bailey observed El seemed perplexed and disoriented.  He observed her as she gradually departed from the gathering.  No one was paying attention since they were simply engaged in a dispute with

She promptly collapsed to the ground, and Bailey swiftly approached the girl, followed by others.  Mike proceeded directly to her side.

"My leg." El whimpered. "My leg."

"Her leg, her leg," Jonathan repeated. "Okay. Get that off." His hands descended to the bloodstained bandages encircling El's leg while she wept and lamented.  He swiftly removed the disordered layers that Max had laid.

El's leg was entirely crimson with blood, exuding pus and blood.  It was larger than a bouncing ball, now comparable to a golf ball in size, and to exacerbate the situation, something was moving inside it, writhing beneath her skin and pressing against it.  Bailey averted his gaze, unable to suppress the impending nausea.

El groaned in agony while the others simultaneously expressed their revulsion, unable to avert their gaze from the repugnant object.  As the beast writhed, El's grunts transformed into wails, her face nearly as crimson as her blood-stained leg.

El continued to lament, her blood deepening in hue, and all they could do was gaze in astonishment at the injury. "Keep her talking."Jonathan exclaimed as he stood up and dashed inside the food court, among El's cries and lamentations. 

El's groans diminished, her eyelids sagging, prompting Mike to engage her in conversation. "Hey, hey, hey. Stay awake, stay awake," he begged. "Let's get her on this side, get her on this side.

"You know, it's not really that bad," Robin says as she tried to be positive. "The goalie on my soccer team, Beth Wildfire - this girl slid into her leg, and the bone came out of her knee, six inches or something, it was insane-"

"Robin."

"Yeah?"

"You're not helping."

Footsteps reverberated around the mall once more. Bailey glanced sideways, saw Jonathan racing towards them wielding a knife, a pair of gloves, and a wooden spoon.

"Alright, El," He stated while kneeling next her leg. "This is gonna hurt like hell, okay?"

"Okay," She replied with a sob.

"I just need you to stay real still. You're probably gonna want to bite down on this,"He informed her while presenting the spoon.  She promptly placed it between her teeth. The small girl whimpered as he drew the knife nearer to her wound.

"Holy shit, holy shit," Dustin intoned in a whisper.

Bailey seized Steve's hand, prompting him to glance downward and promptly interlace their fingers.  He was averse to witnessing this. Jonathan closed his eyes briefly.  He inhaled deeply prior to applying the heated blade to her skin.

Jonathan executed a deliberate, meticulous incision in the wound, causing discomfort for onlookers. The young girl shrieked in agony as he pressed his fingers into the wound he had inflicted.  Jonathan endeavored to expedite his efforts to minimize El's suffering.

El promptly shouted for everyone to halt, and they all ceased their activities to regard her.  She gradually elevated herself while gazing at her leg.  Prepared to undertake the task independently "I can do it." She said looking at them. "I can do it."

The girl cried out in agony, extending her hand while clenching her fingers tightly.  She shouted more intensely, resulting in the shattering of the glass facade of Starcourt, which produced a resounding roar.  Bailey covered his ear and recoiled at the sound.

The monster had ultimately extricated itself from her leg. Bailey gazed at it with wide eyes before discarding it upon the ground.  It began to scuttle away.  They all gazed at it with revulsion and trepidation.  It was abruptly compressed.  Trampled.  They all gazed upward to find Hopper, Joyce, and another man directly observing them.

────────────────────────

𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿'𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀

- Bailey and Steve finally together again, I'm so excited for the next chapter because things happened and I'm just so excited for you guys to see it.

To all the people that have supported me closely
Tags: @norasnetflix @wrensofvizla @KleeAlise11 @kiesluverr

𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘥𝘢𝘵e