Chapter Text
All Max could feel was horror as she watched her brother pin her best friend to the ground in front of the very thing that was made to kill her. The Mind Flayer inched forward, growling. Max could swear Billy was looking at her for a second before turning back to Eleven with a blank expression on his face. Eleven was yelling something that Max couldn't hear, though it was hard to hear anything at this point. She wanted to run forward, to stop her brother, to save them both from that vile creature's grasp, but she couldn't; her feet wouldn't move. Mike was the same way; tears streamed down his face, he was paralyzed with fear.
As the Mind Flayer was getting closer, Billy paused, his eyes became clear, Eleven had reached something in him, and Max could tell his mind had some clarity. He stood up, his back turned to Max, but she could picture the expression on his face. With a look of pure rage, he stood defiantly in front of the Mind Flayer, ready to face whatever that thing was going to do to him. The Mind Flayer opened its mouth, as a bloody, flesh colored tentacle exited from it. Max could only assume it meant to attack Eleven, but instead, Billy put his arms out and blocked it from reaching her. Enraged by this, The Mind Flayer pulled more tentacles out of its body and launched them towards him. The first one reached him, and he screamed as its spikes stabbed into his right side; then a second came out and stabbed into his left.
''No!'' Eleven shrieked. She jumped up despite the pain in her leg and wrapped her arms around Billy's chest and back, pulling him away. Billy gasped in pain once he and Eleven landed on the floor of Starcourt, with her on top of him. The tentacles exited his side, leaving several gaping wounds. The Mind Flayer roared and tried to grab the two with its tentacles, but Billy raised his arm in fear, and the spider monster attached its limbs to it and began to claw at it.
''El!'' Mike cried as he ran over to them, Max quickly following suit, grabbing a large, sharp piece of wood that used to be a part of a door and stabbing at the creature's tentacles repeatedly.
''Stop hurting my brother!'' She screamed as the monsters turned its attention from her older brother's now mangled arm, to Max, she could only stare in horror as its limbs surrounded her.
''Max, look out!'' It took her a second to process that she was tackled on the ground by her boyfriend and not impaled by the Mind Flayer, ''Are you okay?'' Lucas got up quickly with a terrified expression on his face.
''Lucas,'' she said breathlessly. ''You saved me—''
''Don't thank me yet!'' He said frantically. Together, the couple ran to help the rest of the group, including Will, drag Billy away from the monster as fast as possible.
''J-just leave me here,'' Billy rasped. ''Get outta here, all of you!'' He stared at Max with tears in his eyes; she could tell he was mostly talking to her. The ground shook beneath them. The Mind Flayer stopped and roared once again. It struggled to stand for a moment, then crumpled to the ground.
''They did it,'' Eleven muttered. The rest of the group all understood what that meant. Joyce and Hopper successfully closed the gate, and the world was saved. They still weren't in the clear, however, as there was a wall of fire forming on the other side of the mall.
''Guys!'' Robin called as she and Steve ran to them, ''are you all okay?''
''Oh my god,'' Steve's eyes widened upon seeing the tattered state that his former rival was in.
''Heather,'' Billy's voice cracked in grief, seeing the burning body of the spider monster. ''I-I killed them, I killed them all.'' He said with blood trickling out of his mouth, ''Leave me here ple—'' his voice trailed off as his eyes closed
''Billy!'' Max cried, ''listen to me, it's gonna be okay!'' She was trying hard to reassure him as well as herself that he was going to be fine, but she didn't think that was even true. He had several deep, gaping wounds in his stomach, as well as the lacerations on his right arm. He would need immediate medical attention if he were to survive, and even then, it wouldn't be guaranteed. To everyone's relief, a group of firefighters, military, and police officers trickled into the burning building. They escorted the kids out of the mall and had the paramedics tend to Billy as soon as they saw the state he was in, as Max and the others were taken to the hospital, all she could do was hope her stepbrother would be okay.