Chapter Fifty-One: Hunted

(The Battle Of Starcourt, Pt. 6)

***

Cami was terrified.

Fear hadn't truly left her, not since the start of the night and the Mind Flayer had attacked and hurt El. She had pushed it back, had forgotten it was there, when she reunited with Valerie and felt the overwhelming relief that she wasn't Flayed—though Cami supposed trapped in an underground Russian base and then captured and drugged by said Russians wasn't any better—but it had crept back in when Billy had found them and made sure they couldn't leave Starcourt—that El couldn't leave Starcourt. And now?

Now Cami felt like she was drowning in fear as the Mind Flayer hunted for them.

Her heart was beating quicker than it ever had with fear, a rabbit-quick tempo of terror that Cami felt shuddering throughout her entire body, so loud she wondered how the five others crouched behind the ruined car with her couldn't hear it, even with the guttural snarls of the Mind Flayer. Her palms felt sticky with cold sweat, coating the back of her neck in it, and she was torn between hardly breathing and breathing so much, so quickly, it would hurt. Fear beating in her like a concert, drums and guitar and screaming voice of terror thrumming throughout her entire body, roaring in her brain and alongside her fear-quick heart, growing louder and louder with each quaking step, each snarl, of the Mind Flayer as it searched for them, hunted for them.

And when it eventually found them, it would kill them all.

Cami squeezed her eyes shut, a terrified whimper threatening to slip from her mouth as she trembled with fear, knowing there was no way they could escape—not without the Mind Flayer sighting them before they could, and not when they couldn't escape thanks to Scoops Troop, as they had finally answered but it had been too late and the Mind Flayer had heard the walkie and let out a roar that made Cami quake with fear as she heard it before it destroyed the walkie against this very car. There was no way out of the mall.

It would only be a matter of time before they were all found.

And as Cami felt fear for herself, for Lucas, Rowan, Nancy, Jonathan and Will hiding with her, she felt fear for the group not with them—Max, Mike, El, Alistair. Cami hoped they'd managed to hide—she hoped and prayed that she wouldn't hear them screaming before growing quiet forever in the near-future.

A thump came and for a moment Cami's heart stopped beating, before she heard the Mind Flayer snarl and no screams—it still hadn't found them. The thump must have been a dead Russian being flung across the mall, after it had flung another only minutes earlier.

It did little to calm Cami's fear.

The Mind Flayer kept searching, and Cami wondered how long it would take before it found them, unless they somehow miraculously found a way to escape, and Cami wondered if it did before they could, if she was going to die tonight, it would be quick and painless, and God, she didn't want to die, she wanted to see her sister again and hang out with all her friends and help Alistair prepare for his first date with Will, she didn't want to die—

A loud noise detonated in the tense, fear-soaked silence.

Cami's eyes snapped open and it was all she could do to keep from sprinting out behind the car as she heard the Mind Flayer roar, the shaking steps as it scurried over to the noise with a speed that shouldn't be possible for something that big, and Cami's heart was in her throat because what if that noise was the four trying to escape, what if the Mind Flayer had just found them?

What if her friends—including her best friend, her other half, her platonic soulmate—were about to die just now?

Deciding to risk it, Cami twisted around, getting to her knees as she peered over—and she saw the Mind Flayer in front of The Gap, just as one of its tentacles grabbed something wearing a black and yellow shirt. El's shirt.

For a single, terrified moment, Cami thought the Mind Flayer had found El. But a sliver of relief pierced it when the Mind Flayer let out an angered roar as it was revealed to be a mannequin wearing the shirt. It tossed it back into The Gap with another screech of anger, and didn't move from the store. Cami's heart froze in her chest as she slid back down. If it was not moving...

Did that mean Mike, Max, El and Alistair were in there?

If they were, if the Mind Flayer had begun its search... there was no way they could escape. Not in time.

The ice creeped from her heart and into her bloodstream, freezing her from the inside out with terror as Cami bit back a terrified cry. The Mind Flayer was going to find them. It was going to find them and they would die, and Cami could do nothing, she wanted to do something and distract it, but she felt utterly frozen with fear, and just like in the sauna when Billy choked El she could only sit here in this icy fear and do nothing as her mind screamed at her to get up and do something to distract the monster, to—

That was the moment Cami felt the chill in the air—the chill that shouldn't be there in the summer night.

Confusion had Cami peer back over the car, along with everyone else, to see the cause—only to see a Russian jerkily get to his feet behind the Mind Flayer, grabbing the gun. What was going on? Had the Russian just been knocked out? Why wasn't he panicking at seeing the monster and moving so stiffly, and—

That was when Cami remembered the cold—the cold she now recognised that always came when Alistair used his powers... mostly when he raised the dead.

Cami's eyes widened. Holy shit.

Alistair could raise people from the dead.

In hindsight, Cami should have guessed it—he'd been able to control the Mind Flayer's monster, and that was made out of dead, melted, human flesh. But it still floored her with shock as she saw the dead Russian lift the gun up, a puppet in Alistair's complete control, and began firing bullets into the Mind Flayer. And when Cami looked at everyone else, at seeing the shock on Lucas', Will's, Nancy's, Jonathan's and even Rowan's faces, she knew none of them had known until now just like she had, that Alistair had told no one about this.

But why? And how long had he been able to do this?

But the questions were shoved back as the Mind Flayer shrieked, registering the bullets peppering its rotting flesh, black blood erupting from each bullet striking it. It whirled and a tentacle caught the Russian by the head. The dead Russian kept firing, but the Mind Flayer didn't give Alistair's zombie a chance to finish filling the Mind Flayer full of bullets before it flung the corpse across the mall. And how the cold had disappeared and no more corpses got up, Alistair had exhausted his power to try and buy time for an escape—after already pushing his limits so far by commanding the Mind Flayer to freeze earlier.

And it wasn't enough, as the Mind Flayer turned right back around.

Cami ducked down, swallowing panic down as she heard the Mind Flayer resume its searching for her friends—and this time, they would be found.

Lucas seemed to come to the same realisation, because he grabbed his wrist rocket and something to use as a projectile—something that Rowan and Nancy also noticed as Nancy hissed, "What are you doing?"

"Don't worry," Lucas whispered, before he stood up—right in the line of sight for the Mind Flayer if it turned around.

"Lucas!" Cami and Rowan hissed, but Lucas didn't duck back down as he drew his wrist rocket back, focused, as the Mind Flayer gave what almost sounded like a snarl of triumph and—

POP!

Lucas hurriedly ducked back down as a balloon popped—and from the sound of it, the Mind Flayer had immediately turned around to check out the noise that was both a distraction and a decoy. Not just for Max, El, Mike and Alistair...

But also for them, too.

Nancy and Jonathan realised it too, as Jonathan shouted, "Go! Go, go, go, go, go, go!"

None of them needed to be told twice as they got to their feet and hopped over the counter of the food restaurant in front of the car. Once they were all over, Jonathan slammed the door leading to the delivery corridor open and they bolted inside, running down it and up a flight of stairs to the exit—to freedom.

Cami only hoped Mike, Alistair, Max and El were right behind them, in whatever part of the mall's delivery system they were in.

When the exit appeared, Rowan immediately thrust her hand forward as the door was torn off its hinges a second later. And then they were all sprinting down to the parking lot—to Nancy's car—as Jonathan shouted, "Go, go, go!", the Mind Flayer still in the mall but Cami could still hear its roars in her ears, feel its heavy footsteps on the ground. She didn't dare look back, just in case it was about to give chase to them.

The minute they arrived at Nancy's car, Rowan threw the door open and shouted, "Inside gremlins! Get inside right fucking now!"

They obeyed, getting inside the car and Rowan slammed the car door shut. Cami panted, her body still shaking withe fear and adrenaline. She whipped around, trying to see if Mike, Max, El and Alistair were there, but so far nothing. Panic for them clawed at her as Cami looked back and saw Will and Lucas, panic for the four that could still be inside—but mostly for Alistair and Max, respectively—stark on their faces. Grateful to be in the middle, Cami immediately grabbed their hands, trying to ignore how all three of them were shaking as she tried to provide some comfort for her friends, as she tried to tell herself they were right behind them, they were gonna come out from the mall any second now, the Mind Flayer hadn't caught them, they were all okay.

And yet, Cami couldn't still see them, and the fear of what if they weren't was strangling her.

Revving cut through Cami's fear and panic like a knife through flesh and Cami whirled, and her heart missed a beat when she saw the blue Camaro, lights still piercing the night.

They forgot about Billy.

¡Mierda!

As Cami stared with wide-eyed panic, the driver's door suddenly opened and Jonathan was inside—the ignition cable in and Nancy must have told him to start the car, confirmed when he grabbed for the keys. But why weren't Rowan or Nancy getting in?

A second later, Cami had her answer as she saw Nancy and Rowan stand in the front of the car—right in front of Billy—the gun in Nancy's hands raised as Rowan's fists lit up with hissing electricity, the veins underneath her skin glowing.

But when Jonathan turned the keys, that stalling noise came again and Jonathan muttered, "No, come on!"

He tried again as the car stalled again and Cami's heart picked up the pace, sprinting inside her chest as she turned to where Rowan and Nancy were still standing as the Camaro revved up—

And then it was racing right toward them.

***

Valerie didn't know if she ever felt as terrified as she did right now.

She gripped the seat in a death-grip, her heart beating faster than it should be, her mind a storm of panic and fear, of Cami being hurt, of Cami bleeding out in the mall, of Cami being dead. Valerie needed Steve to drive faster, she needed to get to that damn mall, she had to know her little sister was okay!

In front of her, Robin and Steve weren't faring better—in the central mirror, Valerie could see Robin's face blanched white, fear for Rowan clear in her face. And Steve...

Steve was driving like if he didn't get to that mall as fast as the car could take it, that could be a second too late to save Rowan from the danger she, Nancy, Jonathan, Cami, and the other kids were in.

And even though she knew Steve was driving as fast as possible, Valerie still said, "Drive faster, Steve."

"I'm driving as fast as I can!" Steve snapped back, but he still pressed down even harder on the accelerator and the convertible lurched forward, Hawkins blurring past Valerie as wind stung her face. If any cops were near, Valerie was certain they'd get flagged for speeding.

But Valerie hardly cared. Not when her sister was in danger.

"Hold on, Rowan. We're coming. I'm coming," Steve muttered as he clenched the steering wheel tighter than he already had been, his knuckles going bloodless as he increased the speed even more, so much that Valerie had to press herself against the back, the speed threatening to take her breath away just like the fear was, as they kept driving to Starcourt, the mall coming closer, and Valerie wanted to make Steve go even faster, she had to be there right now, she had to make sure her sister was okay and safe and alive!

A hand reached for hers. Robin's, Valerie realised as she looked at the girl, her hair whipping around her face as she clutched it tightly. Valerie clutched it back.

Finally, finally, the familiar shape of Starcourt appeared, the lights blinking crazily. And as they came closer, Valerie realised she could hear something over the sound of tyres squealing on asphalt.

Gunshots. Accompanied by a loud, ear-splitting crack.

A minute later, Valerie saw the source of the noises.

A car was speeding toward a car Valerie knew was Nancy's car—a car that should have been at the safe-house hours ago. And in front of it was Nancy Wheeler, shooting a goddamn gun—when did Nancy Wheeler shoot guns like that!?—and beside her...

Beside her was Rowan Graveswood, visibly glowing even from where the convertible was, and firing blue-white lightning bolts directly at the car, the impact making that cracking noise again.

"Holy shit," Robin breathed, her eyes wide, and Valerie was the same. She'd seen Rowan burn El's leg—hell, she'd seen her fire a lightning bolt into Dr. Zharkov!—but seeing this, seeing Rowan summon lightning and fire it right into that car without the haze of drugs?

It stunned Valerie as much as it awed—and slightly terrified—her. And given Robin's reaction, it was mutual.

Steve, however, didn't react like that—he'd probably been through that reaction by now. Instead, relief filled his face at seeing she looked okay mixed with determination as he now changed directions. And headed straight to that car.

"Uh, Steve, what are you doing?" Robin asked, her voice quavering.

"That's Billy," Steve muttered, a flash of anger on his face as now Valerie recognised the car belonging to Billy Hargrove—and that the car was not slowing down despite the gun Nancy was firing and the lightning Rowan was blasting point-blank at it.

And that the convertible was driving straight toward Billy's car.

"Steve, why the fuck are you driving right at Billy?!" Valerie demanded as she gripped Robin's seat, a look of confusion and fear on their faces as Steve kept driving toward Billy and not slowing down.

"Steve, slow down!" Robin yelled right as Valerie shouted, "Steve, we're gonna crash into him!"

But Steve didn't slow down, and now there was only metres keeping the distance between the two cars as Nancy and Rowan stopped firing their respective weapons and grabbed onto each other as Steve pressed down on the accelerator and drove right to the Camaro as Robin and Valerie screeched, "STEVE!"

Then they were screaming as the Camaro was now inches from Rowan and Nancy and the car and the convertible was seconds from crashing into it and oh God Valerie was going to die—

And the convertible rammed straight into the Camaro, the crash seeming to ricochet across the parking lot as it shuddered through Valerie's body, the two cars skidding across the parking lot, before coming to a complete stop. Valerie blinked repeatedly, rattled, dazed by what had just happened—that holy shit, they were still alive even though Valerie was wondering if her brain would stop shaking.

Robin seemed to be just as dazed, and Steve turned to them and asked, "Are you two okay?"

"Ask me tomorrow," Robin responded weakly. Valerie just groaned as her answer.

"Steve!"

Valerie lifted her head, seeing Rowan standing next to the driver's side of the car, relief and shock on her face. How did she get here so quickly? Wait—did Rowan have super-speed as well?

Steve, however, only turned to her and Valerie could hear the relief in his voice as he breathed, "You're okay."

He let go of the wheel to touch her face, like he needed to touch her to make certain she was okay.

"I am. Are you okay?" Rowan asked as she held Steve's face.

He nodded. "Yeah. I'm okay."

A smile flickered in Rowan's eyes, and okay, Valerie could admit that this was a sweet moment. She turned to Robin, about to ask if she was okay, too, as Rowan looked at them to ask it too, when a roar rattled the night.

¿Qué carajo? Valerie thought as she looked at the mall.

What she saw almost made her wish she hadn't.

Still, she stood up in the car along with Steve and Robin as Valerie stared at the spider-like monster crawling on top of the mall, and even from a fair distance Valerie knew it was gigantic, along with how she swore she could smell an absolutely rancid smell coming from it. The moonlight shone on its slimy flesh, flesh that also seemed to be melted and rotting—and making Valerie remember with horrified nausea that was probably what it was because of the Flayed—rows of jagged teeth in its maw as the protrusions on the back of its head waved about. Even though it had no eyes, it seemed like it was glaring at them, as it let out another spine-chilling roar.

The Mind Flayer.

Holy shit. This was the monster her hermanita had been fighting against, that had injured and almost killed El, that this entire group of kids, teenagers and adults had been fighting against?

Holy fucking shit.

"Holy shit," Robin breathed.

"Dios mío," Valerie whispered, her eyes as large as they could get.

A horn suddenly honked, making the four of them look at Nancy's car, Jonathan driving it as Nancy yelled, "Get in!"

Valerie was already launching herself out of the car, Robin hot on her heels as Rowan and Steve followed, running to the back of the car. Valerie opened the door and they clambered inside, Rowan slamming the door closed just as the tyres screeched and they were driving away from Starcourt. Valerie tried to take a breath, looking over and seeing to her relief Cami in the back and looking okay, before she heard a screech and she saw with new horror as the Mind Flayer climbed down from the mall—right toward them.

"Go, go, go, go!"  Valerie, Robin, Rowan, Steve, Cami, Lucas and Will screamed and Jonathan increased the speed, the car zooming down the road as the Mind Flayer now gave chase, closing the gap.

Valerie couldn't look away, her heart pounding inside her chest as the monster advanced, the road seeming to shake with its steps as it chased them, roaring.

"Shit!" Lucas yelled as Nancy shouted, "Jonathan, drive faster!"

"I'm driving as fast as I can!" Jonathan shouted back.

"Go faster!" Valerie yelled before Nancy could.

Jonathan did, but the monster was still advancing and Dios it was going to catch them and they were going to die.

That was when Valerie saw Rowan raise her hands, glaring at the Mind Flayer, before she lowered them with a primal scream.

And a storm roared to life above the Mind Flayer.

***

*grins*

This was incredibly fun to write, even if it wasn't for Cami! But yeah, the mall scene is literally one of the most tense things ever in the show, so I hope I conveyed it well!

Yeah, Cami is literally terrified right now, not only for herself but the four in the mall, especially Alistair. Our sunshine girl needs a massive hug :(

And Steve, Robin and Valerie are here to save the day! Valerie really swapped positions here with Cami for worrying about her sister (fortunately, she's okay too) And I loved writing the chaos of the scene before Steve crashed into Billy! (also, did anyone tell Steve Billy was Flayed? Because I don't think he knew he was Flayed, and yet he still purposefully crashed into him...) And yeah, Valerie saw her first monster—and it will definitely stick with her

But now, we're nearing the end of s3! Only a few more chapters to go—and trust me, you're not ready for what I have planned >:)

Spanish translations:

¡Mierda!: Shit

¿Qué carajo?: What the fuck?

Hermanita: Little sister

Dios mío: Oh my God

Dios: God

Please read, comment and vote!

GhostWriterGirl out!