CARLA HAD NEVER BEEN IN SO MUCH PAIN.

The minute the ceiling exploded into an array of colors—fireworks—her body was filled with immense pain.  It felt like every nerve in her body was on fire, every muscle was being torn, and every bone broke.  She couldn't even explain how much she fucking hurt.

A whimper of pain left her lips as she hunched over, pain bursting within her chest.  From the side of her vision line, she could see Billy doing the same, grappling over at the sudden feeling. 

"Flay this you ugly piece of shit!"

Carla recognizes the voice but she can't put a name on it—she really knows the voice, why can't she name who it belongs to? Hell, Carla doesn't really remember anything before twenty minutes or so ago—and she doesn't even have time to try as another round of color bursts into the air, pain rolling through the Wheeler girl. 

Yet through the pain,  through the brightly colored lights exploding in her vision, the voice in hear head continued to pound.

Get Eleven, it was the only thought in her mind. Sure, her body hurt like hell with every hit, but she could only focus on the voice as it embedded the instruction into her head, Get Eleven and  take her out of the picture.

And just like that, the Wheeler girl was pushing down her winces and pacing over to Eleven as the firework debris fell above her.

  The Hopper girl was now in an upright position, and was starting to back away from the scene—away from Billy (who was on his knees, also grunting in pain at every hit to the Mind Flayer) and Carla, away from the monster—but of course, her leg with stopping her from going to far, the girl barely moved.

 Carla, with intentions in mind, slams the young girl back down, causing a frail cry to leave the Hopper's lips.  Then without a second thought in mind—other than the chanting of him in her head—the Wheeler brought her hands to El's neck, just as Billy had done back at the sauna test.  He wanted El out of the picture, and Carla was going to be the one to do it.

El let out a choked gasp, eyes widening. "No—please! Stop!" Her hands clawed at Carla's hold, trying to break it, to pry her grip away before she lacked of oxygen for good. 

"I have to do this." Carla grits, face wincing as another round of colors burst into the sky, reflecting on to the two teens. She had to do this, she had to get rid of Eleven for the sake of him. She couldn't fail.

"No, you don't." El manages to get out, trying her best to try and get through to Carla.  Her frail hands ran over the Wheeler's tight grasp, trying to get her off—trying to get her to realize who she was.  "Carla—stop."

Carla wasn't sure what overcame her, but suddenly her hold on El's neck became looser.  Her body froze, and she looked at the Hopper.  Able to fully breathe again, Eleven slightly gasped and held on to the Wheeler girl's hands. This was her chance.

"2530." El stated, voice full of tears. She didn't know how to bring her sister back, but she was going to do it. "You—you live on 2530 Maple Street. Your name is Carla Michelle Wheeler." She started spewing facts about the Wheeler, praying she'd remember herself. "You go to Hawkins High, and you work at the library because you love helping people—you really love helping people."

"Hey, asshole! Over here!"

Another explosion, but the pain isn't as bad as Carla stares at Eleven. The girl's words implant in her mind, and her head is suddenly throbbing again—it feels like her brain is being broken apart once more, as if it were a puzzle. Like certain pieces were being taken out and reconstructed.

"You—you love chocolate ice cream and having photos of yourself taken. You love dancing in the most random moments and special occasions, because you get an excuse to put makeup on and you feel really pretty." the Hopper chokes out, searching through her mind for the smallest bits of Carla Wheeler that made her Carla Wheeler. Small details that could bring her back from him.  "You love watching over us kids, and you get really sappy over us because we're growing up and you always put us first in whatever you're doing because you're selfless. You're really selfless."

Images flashed through the Wheeler's mind just as the fireworks did above. 

Shopping with Max and Eleven.  Getting ice cream at Scoops Ahoy.  Dancing in the rain. 

Carla felt a light smile graze her face for a minute. 

"You—you like sweaters and fall and riding your bike among the fallen leaves." Eleven continues, and Carla sees images of herself pedaling down a brown and orange leaf covered road in a turtleneck. "You always write in cursive, and you like hot chocolate in the cold weather. You hate being by yourself and you're a listener. You always listen to people."

Carla nods. She knows this.

"You always bottle up your emotions because you don't think they're important, even though you know we care about you. We really care about you, Carla—I really care about you." Eleven continues with a few tears, fireworks proceeding to burst above them. The monster shrieks but all Carla can hear is the Hopper's words. "And Steve. You really love Steve. And—and he really needs you because he loves you too. So, please come back, Carla. Please remember and come back to us."

Steve.

The name almost awakens something in Carla.

She suddenly takes her hands off of Eleven because this is not what she wanted. 

No this is what he wanted. He wanted Eleven dead and out of the picture, he wanted to hurt everyone, to rule the world.

But Carla? Carla didn't want this. Carla Wheeler wanted to go see Back to the Future with El, and carpool the kids around. She wanted to help people out at the library, and go shopping with her sister. She wanted to kiss her boyfriend and go to Enzo's with him on Saturday and tell him that she loved him.

Carla Wheeler just wanted to be a normal fucking teenager.

"I—I'm sorry." Carla whispers. She hears Billy's groans and shudders from beside her, but she feels no pain. The Mind Flayer has been turned off for the moment, and Carla can feel herself in more control than him—for how long though, she's unsure. He was strong enough to steal her memories before. "I don't want to hurt you, El. I-I don't know what's happening to me, I just hurt and I want it to stop—"

"We're gonna get you back, Carla." Eleven repeats over and over again. She knows that she has the real Carla, but for how long, she wasn't sure. All she was sure off was that she was going to get Carla Wheeler away from the Mind Flayer and his tortures. "I promise."

"You need to get out of here right now, El." Carla doesn't know how much time she has, so she's rushing. "Get out and back to the Party before I loose myself again."

Eleven nods and starts to crawl away, trying to go as quick as she could with a limp leg. 

The Wheeler tries to get on her feet herself rather than the floor, but suddenly feels something tug her leg, pulling her foot out from under her.  With a small yelp, the girl quickly falls against the tiles, teeth seething together as her skin meets the cold linoleum.

Her head darts to the side to see Billy, black veins covering his entire body. He's not looking back at her, more so in the direction of Eleven before he lunges forward and grabs hold of her leg, dragging her body back towards the Mind Flayer as the girl writhes and screams under his grasp. Fireworks continue to illuminate the mall.

Carla's eyes widen at the sight and she tries to get on her feet again but the fall leaves her body aching. Billy takes advantage of the small moment and manages to yank the Wheeler down too, the girl letting out a strained sound at his harsh, sharp grip against her fragile skin. As if she were a rag doll, the possessed boy throws her back to the ground, slamming Eleven down too. Carla feels the wind knocked out of her as her back hits.

"You're supposed to be with us. You're supposed to be getting her." Billy seethes as he holds both girls down, clearly in the control of the Mind Flayer—veins trace the skin of his neck and face, roping around his arms, dominating him. He's clearly in pain too; with every strike of a firework comes a hiss from his lips or a wince.

Carla has a tear falling down her cheek. "I fought him Billy; you can too. Don't let him use you like this." 

"Seven...feet." Eleven suddenly gasps, taking Billy's eyes away from Carla and on to her instead. The Wheeler's words of 'I fought him' recalled the fact that she had gotten her sister back using memories—happy details about her life. Maybe she could do the same for the Hargrove boy too. "You told her.....the wave was seven feet."

Carla has no clue what Eleven is talking about, but she see's a hint of emotion in the Hargrove boy's eyes as she speaks—her words meant something to him, just like what El had to said earlier meant to her. He was being reclaimed.

"You ran to her, on the beach. There were seagulls. She wore a hat.....with a blue ribbon." Eleven recalls the memory she'd seen within his head—his happy memory.  She has tears falling from her eyes too. "A long dress with a blue and red flower. Yel—yellow sandals covered in sand. She was pretty. She was really pretty." Billy has tears in his eyes as he nods. "And you—you were happy."

Billy seems frozen in time. The fireworks cascade behind him but it's as if the sound has stopped. The boy doesn't flinch—the black veins tracing his features are gone, and all that's left is a broken boy. 

El lifts a hand to the boy's face and caresses his cheek to offer solace, Billy leaning into the touch with closed eyes, to savor the memory. 

"Billy." Carla quietly states through her own tears. The boy looks at her, grip loosening on her. She nods her head at him. "You can make things right. You can still be good."

The Hargrove boy just stares. Stares at the girl he'd caused so much pain for, whom he'd hurt time and time again. A girl who was giving him a chance to redeem everything he'd done to her even though he'd almost killed her. 

Billy stands up off of the ground, losing his hold on the two girls. Carla is immediately to her feet, Eleven beginning to crawl backwards, eyes wide as the creature lets out a guttural screech.  Billy's stance is unwavering, and the Wheeler's heart sinks at the thought that Eleven's words meant nothing. That this was really going to be it. 

The creature brings its small arm out—the very arm that marked Eleven mere hours ago, and Carla's eyes dart to the injured girl below, El letting out a sob as she looks forward. Carla can't help but go into protector mode at the sight of the young girl, and steps in between the arm and the girl.

She tightly squeezes her eyes shut, lip trembling as she readies herself for the feeling of pain—of the ragged arm piercing through her chest, killing her off right then and there as it so desperately wanted. At least she went out herself, trying to protect El. 

At this point, the fireworks have stopped, so there's no other sound than the abrupt yell of Billy Hargrove.

Carla opens her eyes and lets out a gasp at the sight. In front of her is Billy, hands outstretched to catch the tendril before it could hit the Wheeler girl. He's sacrificing himself for her. 

The Wheeler looks at the blonde boy blankly. She doesn't know what to do.

Billy yells in strain as he holds the tendril off, protecting the two girls—doing the right thing. Except, no one is protecting him. Multiple arms start to snake out from the Mind Flayer, striking him all over his body, weakening him immensely. His sides and back are pierced by the teeth of the tendrils until he's lifted off the ground. Black blood seeps through his white tank-top. 

Carla is completely frozen as she watches the boy bleed. Her mouth is ajar and her eyes are wide in shock. She's watching him die.

The creature sinks Billy to his knees by the latched tendrils. The monster's face grows near to the Hargrove and it lets out a roar, Billy returning with a guttural scream of his own, black blood pouring from his mouth. 

The boy is still screaming as a final tendril is thrust straight through his chest. 

Carla gasps in horror and stumbles backwards. Billy just sacrificed himself for her.

"Billy!" the Wheeler looks behind to see Max Mayfield standing mere feet away, eyes wide. Carla's heart sinks even further in her chest and she puts a hand to her shaking lips. Billy just sacrificed himself for her and his sister saw it. 

The Mind Flayer unlatches its tendrils from the blonde and Billy Hargrove falls limp against the floor, a mess of black and red blood.

Carla stares down at his body. Below her is a boy who caused her so much pain, a boy who she wanted nothing more than to disappear, yet....she didn't want him dead. She had never wanted to be the person who brought him to his death like she was now.

But, the Wheeler doesn't have much time to cry because suddenly, she doesn't feel too great herself.  

The Mind Flayer starts to stumble around, crashing into the second floor of the mall and knocking down different pillars. Carla too slightly stumbles, head feeling awfully light compared to what it had been mere moments before. Her chest aches and her body feels weak.  Carla places her hands on her temple and tries her best to stay on her feet, feeling her body growing numb.

The Mind Flayer collapses in on himself, falling to the floor in a fleshy pile with a thud.

Carla does too.

She doesn't know what's happening but suddenly her vision flashes in and out and her legs weakly give out on her body. She collapses down onto the tiles just as Billy had moments before, mind quickly succumbing to the blackness without the smallest sound.

Crumbling down just like her world had this past week. 

Steve had started to panic when he saw Carla crumble to the ground. 

The week had been physically and mentally tolling on Carla Wheeler.  Her body had been pushed through limits, being bruised and concussed time and time again; She'd been told she was wanted for dead, wanted to be used as a puppet; Had decided she'd rather sacrifice herself for the sake of her friends rather than watch them all die because of her within mere days. Steve knew this.

Because of this, Steve knows he shouldn't be so worried for his girlfriend—he's surprised the Wheeler hasn't just collapsed in on herself because of the stress and exhaustion she's been through. 

But he is. Because if there's one thing Carla does, it's fight.  She fought the Mind Flayer for as long as she could, she fought Billy Hargrove as hard as she could, and she would certainly fight the urge to just collapse for the sake of making sure the kids were okay. She wouldn't just fall so limply the way he just watched her do.

The mall is eerily quiet but that silence doesn't last long as Steve Harrington starts to rush past the fallen debris and carts of fireworks to go find Carla. He leaves Robin standing in absolute shock and makes his way down the mall stairs—he should be searching for her warm embrace, not her limp body.

"Carla?" the Harrington calls out as she enters the main floor of Starcourt Mall. Billy's body is splayed right in front of the Mind Flayer, Max Mayfield and Eleven crouched in front of it, the redhead girl sobbing into the brunette's chest. 

Mike Wheeler is knelt right in front of his sister's figure. He hears the Harrington and turns to face Steve with a worried expression—he has a streak of blood from across the side of his nose down his cheek. "She's not waking up, Steve."

Steve's heart sinks deep down within his chest at the words.

"What do you mean?" Steve knows what he means. Carla simply wasn't coming out of whatever exhaustion she'd fallen down into—she was unconscious to some degree. But he doesn't want to think of his girlfriend in such a condition. He wants her awake and responsive. 

"I've tried shaking her, she's not waking up. And—and she's cold." Mike stammers, looking up at her sister's boyfriend. 

Cold. Steve doesn't know how to take that in, but he knows it's not good. He's quick to drop down to his own knees beside his girlfriend. His fingers lightly trace the skin of her hand and Mike's right—she's cold. Her skin has little warmth to it, which brings even more concern to the Harrington. Why was she cold. Why was she not waking up—

"Steve!" The Harrington hears his name called and he looks back to see Nancy running up to him, hair a mess of damp curls. Her eyes dart over Carla's still body and she's quick to ask, "What's wrong with her?"

"I-I don't know." Steve replies truthfully. "She collapsed and she won't come out of it."

Nancy crouches down and her eyes are darting all over her sister, trying to find the source of the problem. Carla looks fine—sure, she's bruised all over, and has splotches of blood on her skin but there's no obvious puncture or wound that could have been the source of this collapse. It was something internal. 

"Maybe, uh, it's her concussion? I mean she's been hit in the head multiple times this week and—" Mike tries to offer, but is cut off by the panicked exclaim of his elder sister.

"Fuck."

Steve whips his head around at the panicked tone in her voice, "Nancy, what is it?" He watches as she quickly starts feeling at Carla's neck—two fingers pressed against where her pulse could be heard. "Nance. What's wrong? Is she—"

"Without the brain there's no body." Nancy whispers in a trembling voice. 

The words hang in the air and Steve feels his whole body freeze.

"Carla was obviously connected to that thing and we killed it." the Wheeler states, still feeling around her sister's neck. "Without the brain, there's no body—it's the exact reason we couldn't kill close the Gate until we got it out of Will last year.  We got it out of Will but we didn't get it out Carla."

Steve is utterly silent.

"No, no, no." Eleven's voice echos weakly. She crawls over to the scene, leaving Max in the arms of Lucas, Dustin and Will. "She was flayed but I—I got her back. I got her back. I thought I got her back." the Hopper's voice is merely a whisper towards the end, the thought that she failed on Carla coming to the front of her mind.

"She's not dead." Steve bluntly states. He knows Nancy never said the word 'dead' but it didn't take anyone smart to know what Nancy had meant. Without the brain, there was no body—Carla had been connected to the Mind Flayer when it was killed off. "She—she can't be."

Nancy has a tear trailing down her cheek as she whispers. "I can't find a pulse, Steve."

"So, she's just gone?" Mike asks in a tear filled voice, realization setting in his mind that his sister could very well be gone. 

"No, no, she's not." Steve manages to say, voice almost cracking. His arms latch on to his girlfriend and he pulls her body into his own, her head limply resting in his lap. Carla's sleep deprived eyes are closed and her lips are chapped and slightly parted. Her skin is still cold and the realization is hitting the Harrington hard as he holds on to her.

After doing so much to try and escape the Mind Flayer, it took her down. Carla was gone—his girlfriend, the girl he loved, whom he done so much to call his was simply dead.

"I'm sorry." Eleven whispers through a sob. She'd let Carla down. She'd let the Wheelers down. She'd let Steve down. She hadn't been able to save Carla Wheeler from the Mind Flayer. "I'm sorry—"

Mike shakes his head through a trembling lip, "El, don't blame yourself—"

"I couldn't save her, Mike."

Steve starts to lightly shake his girlfriend, the girls head limply moving from side to side. He doesn't want to comprehend the fact that the girl he loves is dead and he simply can't. She can't just give up like this—she has to try and fight. 

"Carla, wake up. Please come out of it. Please." Steve's hair falls in front of his face as he looks down at his girlfriend, his trembling hands cupping her pale face—it's lost all of its color. He strokes his thumbs across her cheeks.

Carla's still numb to the world, lying in her boyfriends arms. 

"Nancy, what do I do?" Steve turns to his ex-girlfriend with tears in his eyes. She's silently crying to the side, hand on her brother's shoulder—he's holding on to Eleven, who looks distraught. "Nancy what do I do?"

"I-I don't think there's anything we can do." the Wheeler girl quietly states. She doesn't meet Steve's gaze because she doesn't think she can stand to see him cry. "If she was cold when Mike found her she's......she's probably too far to come back."

"Well we need to try!" the Harrington bluntly yells. His yell startles everyone—the moment had been rather quiet—and he quickly apologized for the small outburst; he couldn't help it. "I'm sorry I just.......I can't lose her." His voice breaks, " I can't fucking lose her."

Steve had thought he was going to lose Carla before in his life, but not like he was now.  Now he was holding her limp body in his grasp, and if no one did anything, he was really going to lose her. 

He would never hear her bright laugh, or see her smile. Never get to see her care for the kids, or pick her up from the library. Never feel her comforting embrace or her lips against his own again. Never get to tell her how much he loved her.

His world would just be empty if Carla left him now.

So, Steve moves over to her side, placing his hands in the center of Carla's chest. He learned how to do chest compression as a lifeguard, and while he never had to use it, now seemed a pretty good excuse too.

The Harrington boy starts to pump down, trying his best to keep count while stressing over the situation. Carla's body slightly moves with every compression, but she doesn't wake up, nor show any sign that she will.

"Come on, Carla." Steve seethes through tears, pushing harder against her chest. He leans down and presses his lips against hers, giving two emergency breaths before continuing to pump down on her chest. "Come on, Carla! Don't give up on us—on them. Baby, please—Fuck!"  Steve stops and runs his hands through his hair with a sob.

Eleven pushes away Mike's arms and crawls towards Carla's body again, "Let me see her." Nancy and Mike slightly back away to allow the Hopper girl over to Steve, who was still holding on to his girlfriend, unable to let her go—physically and metaphorically.

"El, what are you doing?" Steve breathes, the girl placing her hand on Carla's chest—where her heart should be beating. 

"I'm bringing her back." Eleven mutters, tightly closing her eyes and trying to level her breathing—she tries to focus her mind on the girl below her. She doesn't know what she exactly doing but she wasn't going to let her sister-figure die like this. 

She knows that Steve needs Carla—hell, she needs Carla. The girl was a babysitter, a protector, and a sister to them all; someone who cared and loved, who would sacrifice herself for the sake of her friends. They all needed Carla in some way. 

So, Eleven was going to try and bring her back—for herself, for Nancy and Mike, for Steve. She knew her powers hadn't been working since the Mind Flayer took part of her flesh, but she had to try. 

Steve looks at the Hopper with tear filled eyes and mustered a broken, "Please."

That's what brought Eleven her final answer. She was bringing Carla Wheeler back no matter what. 

mara's misc!

hey....

i am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry for going radio silent on this book for a solid two months!! i had so much motivation for gone in the summer, but after finishing chapter 20 it just kinda left. i found a ton of motivation for my obx book, summertime sadness, and just sort of put carla to the side while i focused on continuing eden's story instead.

but starting a few days ago i suddenly felt really bad for not updating.....i left on a cliffhanger and ya'll deserved an update! i forced up some motivation and ended up spewing this up???? i hope it's okay?????

i've also been really busy these past three months! with dance and mary poppins jr rehearsals, (rip you will be missed) i had little time to write, especially so off-script bc half of this chapter was my own.

but, i'm back?????

formally apologizing for this chapter btw. it was rough to write but i've had this idea in my head for a hot minute (it was definetly hard to put into words but i think i managed it????) and went with it.....i promise carla will be okay just had to add some more emotion.

i wrote half of this in choir as we've been watching movies for the past week bc our long time sub (our actual teacher is on maternity leave) flat out quit on us without notice and no one else knows how to teach a choir....

also yes yes i know eleven's powers were taken by the mind flayer blah blah blah. i'm changing it so she uses the last of what she can summon up to save carla bc we all know she'd find a way to do it.........also who even said her bringing back the dead powers were taken away too we didn't know about them till s4 so i'm just changing the plot for fun.

anyways......i will try to be quicker with the next update! i think there's only two or so more chapters to go until i start s4.

hope you enjoyed! see you back with chapter 22 <3