28.

"ᵀʰᵉ ᶜʸᶜˡᵉ ʳᵉᵖᵉᵃᵗᵉᵈ"
—ᵇᵘʳⁿ ⁱᵗ ᵈᵒʷⁿ ᵇʸ ˡⁱⁿᵏⁱⁿ ᵖᵃʳᵏ

Amber pushed her foot down on the gas pedal with all her might. The car was going way over the speed limit down the road. Steve gripped onto the door while Robin gripped onto the two front seats from in the back. Amber was too in her head, on a mission to make it back towards the mall. Not a care in the world about if she'd get caught zooming down the street straddling the line that separated the two lanes.

"OH MY GOD!" Steve yelled as Amber swerved around an oncoming car. They had laid down on their car horn and all the girl did was raise her middle finger in response.

"We might die." Robin commented with wide eyes.

"Amber. Baby, maybe we should switch." Steve suggested, the girl pressed on the gas harder in response.

"Dammit, Amber! Be careful, we're trying to make it to them in one piece to help." Steve told her.

"Steve Harrington, if you don't shut your mouth, I will throw you out of this car. Which is probably a better option so you don't get hurt anymore than you already are. So for the love of God, shut up and let me drive. I know what I'm doing." Amber was quick to snap at the boy. His eyes bulged out when he had caught a glimpse of her eyes flickering orange. Knowing that she was riled up, he thought he much rather not fuel the fire more. But all he could think about was part of what she said. How she didn't want him actually with her at the moment because she didn't want him to get more hurt. Steve felt like she was the craziest person alive because she wasn't even thinking about herself. Her not realizing he had come with her in order to make sure wouldn't get hurt just amplified his reason to stay by her side.

"Amber, I have to ask. When we get there, what's our plan of action?" Robin wondered.

"Uh, assess the situation and take action." Amber shrugged her shoulders. Taking a sharp turn around a corner. The mall lights came into view. In the distance they could see Nancy outside the car, shooting at the familiar blue camaro. Amber's eyes turned to daggers, seeing the camaro speeding in Nancy's direction.

"Amber..." Steve trailed off, noticing the look on her face.

"I've assessed the situation. But I don't know what you're doing." Robin panicked.

"Something epic." Amber told them. Shifting the gears in the car, and flooring it. Before the camaro could hit Nancy and crash into the car with Jonathan, Will, and Lucas inside, Amber made a direct impact with the side of the camaro. Throwing it off the intended target. Both cars spun out of control, Amber trying her best to guide the wheel and pressing on the breaks.

"Are you okay?" Amber looked over the two quickly, Steve and Robin were in a little shock, but other than that it seemed like the adrenaline was pumping through their veins.

"Ask me tomorrow." Robin said. Steve grabbed onto Amber's face, quickly scanning over her.

"I'm fine." She informed him. He still did a double-check just to be sure. Amber's eyes fell onto the camaro, where some flames had glowed on the hood of the car. Billy passed out in the driver's seat from the collison. A roar erupted into the air pulling Amber's attention away from the smoking car to the top of the mall. Her, Steve, and Robin stood up in the convertible to get a clear view of just how big the Mind Flayer was. Amber had made a mental note of how it had grown since her last run in with it in the cabin.

"Oh, shit!" Robin let out.

"You were in a tussle with that thing?" Steve questioned, Amber nodded her head in response. Jonathan laid on the horn of the car, catching the three's attention.

"Get in!" Nancy yelled to them. Will threw open the back door as Robin climbed in while Steve and Amber jumped into the way back. Jonathan peeling out of the parking lot before Steve could shut the back door. Then they were on the run with the Mind Flayer following after them.

After they were able to catch their breath for a second, Amber was quick to glance around. Then the question was soon thrown at the group, "Where's El, Max, and Mike?"

"We got separated from them in the mall. We distracted the Mind Flayer to give them time to get out through the other exit." Lucas updated Amber on their situation. But that didn't settle her nerves. Her eyes fell onto the stumbling creature still following them down the road.

"So how long until it realizes she isn't in this car?" Amber wondered, Will shared a brief look with the girl.

"However long Billy stays unconscious." Will finished the girl's thought.

"Maybe I can take it?" Amber tried to weigh her options as she looked at the monster that rattle the ground.

"Ha, no." Steve was quick to settle that debate. She gave him an annoyed look, which he chose to ignore.

"Dusty-bun, you copy?" The walkie talkie Dustin gave Robin had gone off in the car. Amber furrowed her eyebrows at the unfamiliar voice.

"I copy, Suzie-poo. It sounds much better now, thanks." Dustin responded. Steve, Robin, and Amber shared a look.

"Suzie." They let out, a little surprised that Dustin's girlfriend was in fact real.

"Okay, so, listen, do you know Planck's constant?" Dustin asked the girl.

"Do you know the Earth orbits the sun?" She replied back.

"Man, that's so nerdy." Amber commented, causing Steve to snicker. The both of them knew that it was definitely a match made in heaven for Dustin. At least Steve and Amber seemed to like the girl more for giving Dustin a little shit for their lack of communication. But they all weren't ready for the treat they were about to receive.

"I want to hear it." Suzie told Dustin.

"Not right now." Dustin tried to sway her but the girl wasn't budging as she put up a fight. So when Dustin finally gave in and began to sing the beginning of Never Ending Story, the whole group in the car were at a loss for words.

"That was something else." Robin commented.

"Yeah, but we just wasted a few minutes, a few precious minutes that could have helped us end this quicker." Amber pointed out. Steve grabbed the girl's hand, giving it a squeeze as he saw the worry flush over her face.

Amber felt the slight unbalanced feeling inside her. She looked over to Will, who gave her a look. Her head snapping back towards the creature as it came to a halt in the road.

"No. No. No. Jonathan, turn around!" Amber yelled, watching the Mind Flayer retreating back towards the mall.

"What? Why?" He asked.

"It's turning around!" Steve yelled.

"He knows El is at the mall." Amber told them. The car was quick to spin around, heading back in the direction towards the mall. Amber looked at the different fireworks scattered across the back of the car and on the floor.

"Lucas, looks like you get to see the bad boys go off tonight." Amber informed, gathering them and handing them off to everyone in the back while Jonathan sped down the road.

+

Billy walked with El passed out, dangling over his shoulder. Walking through the mall to bring her out into the open. The lights flickered uncontrollably a variety of colors, illuminating the entire food court. Billy placed El onto the ground. Leaning down to whisper into her ear as she began to stir awake.

"Don't be afraid." He told her, just like he had been doing to any other person who had been fed to the Mind Flayer. "Just try to stay very still."

And while Billy had set the girl in the place for the Mind Flayer to have easy access, the group had piled out of the car. Each of them holding a bunch of fireworks in their hands that Amber distributed. Steve looked at his girlfriend confused when he saw she didn't have anything. Nancy, Jonathan, Lucas and Will had already run into the mall.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked her, Robin waiting by the door for Steve, her brows furrowed wondering what was going on.

"I'm going to go in through the other entrance. We don't know where Mike, Max, and El are. So it's better to split up." Amber told him.

"I don't like that plan." Steve tried to protest, but the girl was quick to kiss him in order to shut him up.
"Trust me, Steve." Her eyes begged him to understand. He was quick to fold under her stare. Steve let out a sigh before nodding. Amber sent him a small smile before he went to go with Robin through the main door.

"Hey, Harrington." Amber called out to the boy. He turned to look back at her. "I love you."

A smile broke out across his face while she grinned at him before jogging away. He felt so content. Like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. She had finally said it back. It made Amber's heart flutter a bit when the words left her lips. But it felt so right saying it to the boy she had loved for what felt like ages.

Eleven's eyesight was a little blurry before it cleared enough to see the Mind Flayer coming into frame. Slipping through the huge hole in the glass ceiling, the creature let out a screech. As it got closer to her, Eleven had finally come to the realization of what was happening. Whimpering as she tried to back away from it. As the monster went to latch itself at Eleven, fireworks were set off. It let out a wail at the fire and light.

"Flay this, you ugly piece of shit!" Lucas called out before launching another firework at the upside down monster. All of them launched one after the other in order to distract it from Eleven.

Each hit that the Mind Flayer took was taking a toll on Billy. He yelled in pain as he fell to his knees. The connection he had to the monster was tearing him apart. El saw how he was distracted and tried her best to crawl away. But the boy was quick to grab onto her ankle and pull her back. She tried to kick away from him but he leaned on his weight on her to keep her down on the ground.

Amber ran through the back hallways. The dim lights flickering above her. She peered through each doorway and around every corner, but she knew she was getting closer. It was like her body was leading her to where it needed to go. Taking another turn, her eyes landed on Max lying on the ground at the end of the hall. Amber picked up her speed in order to reach the girl. And the closer she got to the girl on the floor, the easier it was for her to see not just Max, but also Mike with no sign of El. So she only hoped the others had gotten to her.

"Max. Come on, wake up." Amber gently shook the girl. A groan emitted from her as her eyes fluttered open.

"Welcome back to the land of the living. Are you alright?" Amber asked her before going over to Mike. Shaking the boy awake.

"My head just hurts." Max told her.

"Well, you both will be in the same boat. He got you good." Amber commented. Slapping Mike's cheek a little in order to get him up. He groaned in pain before Max and Amber helped him up.
"Where's El?" Mike questioned.

"She has to be in the main part of the mall. The others had to have found her. It's like I can feel her. We have to go." Amber yelled at the two before they all began to run through the halls. Trying to make out of the back rooms of the mall and to where their friends would be.

Eleven looked between the Mind Flayer getting hit with the fireworks from above and the battle Billy was facing. Grunting at the pain he felt each time the Mind Flayer was hit. Seeing him try his best to fight the pain. That's when she knew he was still somewhere inside because if he was truly gone, he wouldn't be feeling all that pain. She saw the conflict as his eyes seemed to flicker back and forth. Her mind instantly got thrown back to the moment she went through his head. Walking through his memories. His happiest memory that rooted him to his humanity.

"Strawberry." Eleven had choked out. Catching the boy off-guard, tilting his head slightly at her in confusion.

"It was strawberry ice cream she had in her hand." Eleven recalled. Trying her best to distract the boy from sacrificing her to the monster. She tried her best to bring Billy back because he was still in there deep down.

"You ran to her... on the beach." El said, thinking of the memory that she had seen. The scene of the beach where the two had been. "There were seagulls... She wore a hat with a blue ribbon, a long dress, yellow–yellow sandals... covered in sand." El painted the picture nicely in his head, his eyebrows scrunching slightly, seeing it all so clearly.

"She was pretty." Billy had closed his eyes, a small smile barely visible as he tried his best to capture the image in his mind again. Seeing her on that beach waiting for him.

"She was really pretty." Eleven cried out. Remembering just how nice her sister had looked in the memory. Billy had opened his eyes and nodded. He agreed with her. Amber had looked like she was out of a movie. She always looked that way to him.

"And you... you were happy." El told him. Knowing it was a day that the two had seemed so happy. It was a whole different Billy from the rest of his memories. When he had her, he was whole. He was happy. And she was the reason why he had made that deal with the devil. He would do it all over if that meant she was safe. Billy was a tormented soul and to all there was no hope of redemption for him. But the Billy that Amber had known was still there deep down inside of him. And that was the Billy that was needed.

Eleven lifted her hand to Billy's face. He closed his eyes as he saw his purpose. Flashes of Amber came to his mind. Seeing her laughing, crying, her protecting each one of those kids. He saw moments when they were happy, when there was no worry in the world. That's when he knew what he had to do. He turned towards the creature that was still screeching from the fireworks.

Amber had run around the corner with Mike and Max. Her eyes fell onto the large creature that roared once the fireworks died out. Looking across the way she saw Eleven laying on the ground with Billy rising to his feet, facing the Mind Flayer. Eleven backing up as the Mind Flayer stomped to come face to face with Billy who was challenging it.

"No." Amber let out a small breath. It all seemed to happen so fast. The Mind Flayer went for Eleven but Billy was quick to block it. Using all his strength to hold it off. He yelled out, exerting all his energy. Mike went to grab onto Amber who took a step forward, but the girl shrugged him off. Trying her best to make it over towards El and Billy but it had been too late as the tentacles latched onto the boy's sides. She let out a small cry, covering her mouth at the scene, but she didn't let her stop her from moving. And in one last yell Billy let out, the creature pierced its tentacle through his chest. Amber stumbled in her steps. Seeing the boy that had once meant so much to her, be stabbed through the chest by a monster. Her eyes had turned a fiery orange while tears filled her vision. The Mind Flayer dropped the boy to the floor. With a painful yell, Amber let out a wave of power directed at the monster, scorching it from the inside out. It screeched out in pain while it boiled. Her anger and sadness flooded through her body.

Muffled, Amber could hear Max cry out for Billy, Amber let out one last yell of pain causing the Mindflayer to begin to collapse. And everyone looked at the creature that had fallen dead from the power Amber had used and the gate closing, the chaos had ended.

The girl turned to see Max, knelt down by Billy. Instantly rushing over to see the boy. He was choking on his own blood, trying to apologize to Max. When his eyes landed on Amber they seemed to soften.

"Am–Amb...I'm sorry." He apologized, tears fell from her eyes. Her hand laid gently on the side of his face.

"I–I... Still." He coughed, she shook her head.

"I know. I know." She nodded her head. Knowing what he wanted to say. A tear fell down from his eye before the boy took his last breath.

Billy Hargrove had been a lot of things. An asshole was at the top of this list. But he had also been someone she had loved at one point in time. And now he was the boy who sacrificed himself in order to save everyone including the girl he had always loved. He would've done anything for her and he made that clear.

Max had been crying over her stepbrother before Eleven and Mike had pulled her away into their arms. Amber had stood up, her eyes looking to Eleven, relieved she was okay. But Eleven saw the pain in her eyes. Amber had felt something deeper happen as everything had ended. A piece of her had ignited yet also burnt out. Amber stumbled slightly, all of her energy felt drained, but before she could fall, arms wrapped around her.

"I got you. I got you." Steve's voice soothed from behind her. She let out a cry before all the waterworks began to pour out of her. Amber Hayes was exhausted. And she broke down in the arms she felt the safest in. The arms that were home to her.

+

A little too late, like always in times like these. The US cavalry had made its way to the scene. All of the kids were checked out by paramedics. Bodies being pulled from the mall that was still smoking from the fire. Billy Hargrove being rolled away in a body bag. Amber sat on the edge of the ambulance getting bandaged up. Steve had gone to do a double-check to make sure everyone was alright. Making sure Nancy and Jonathan were good, Steve's eyes had fallen onto Amber across the way who had been staring at the ground. Lost in her own head.

She had been pulled from her thoughts when she heard Will call out to his mom. Seeing the mother and son reunite. The girl looked around and in the crowd, there was a particular face she was missing. Eleven had looked to Joyce for any sort of an answer. And without any words, it was enough for her to know. Amber gasped with tears in her eyes, pushing herself up from her spot. She rushed over to El and was fast to wrap her arms around the girl who cried out in sadness.

"I know. I'm here, El. I'm here." Amber sniffled, El clutched onto her arm, sobbing. They had lost a lot. But most importantly, they had lost their dad. Amber had this feeling deep down like it couldn't be true. But others would say she had been in denial. They had all gone through too much in the past few days. Hopper was gone. Or so all of them thought.