Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Battle At The Cabin

(The Bite, Pt. 3)

***

No one in the Party waited a second before they prepared for battle.

Nancy and Jonathan headed outside for weapons, which left Cami, Alistair, Max, Mike, Lucas and Will to barricade the cabin as best they could against the Mind Flayer—mostly the windows—while Lucas also closed the doors leading to the other rooms, to make sure the Mind Flayer couldn't use them to creep into the living room.

As Cami helped put a shelf against the wall, she heard Alistair say, "Step back."

Cami, Mike, Lucas, Max and Will did so, watching as Alistair's eyes flared white and the temperature dropped, before the ground rumbled outside—Alistair calling up dead animals to fight against the Mind Flayer. Blood dripped down his nose and he wiped it away, before he helped barricade the cabin again, Cami also turning back to that task.

As they barricaded the walls, Mike said, "Yeah. That's good like that," Cami grunting with the exertion of pushing shelves, tables, a bench and any other heavy objects up against the walls. They were just about to push the couch up when Nancy and Jonathan reentered the cabin, Nancy holding a gun—not like Cami expected her to have any other weapon—and Jonathan an axe, the couple putting their weapons down to push the couch up against the door.

Once it was up, Nancy picked up her gun again and commanded, "Hey, get away from the windows."

They obeyed, standing in a circle, waiting for the Mind Flayer and its attack now.

They waited, Cami feeling her heart pound inside her chest, eyeing the walls and the windows, fearing that they hadn't barricaded the cabin well enough, as Alistair's eyes flickered white—the only tell of the control he had over the dead animals he reanimated outside the cabin, waiting for his sign to attack.

They waited, as everything went silent—the world waiting like they were for the monster to attack.

And the silence was broken by things starting to rattle and lights flickering.

Cami's heart migrated to her throat, her eyes wide as Will murmured, "It's close."

That only intensified her fear, Cami eyeing the cabin as she heard her pulse pounding in her ears, as now crashing noises accompanied the flickering lights and rattling, which had only grown louder. Every muscle in Cami's body locked up with both fear and the apprehension of what was to come, just waiting for the attack to come, as they all waited for it in tense silence.

Except... it never came, as now the crashes became distant, faint. Like it was... leaving.

Hope began to bubble up in Cami at that possibility as Max whispered, "Where'd it go?"

"Did it leave?" Cami asked, hope filling her voice. That maybe the Mind Flayer decided scaring them to death was better than full-on killing them.

"No, it can't be that easy," Alistair muttered, and that deflated Cami's hope, because of course it wouldn't have left, it was never that easy—not with the Upside Down.

So Cami held her breath, as a few more tense, heart-stopping seconds passed.

And shattering wood exploded the silence as a fleshy tentacle... thing burst out of the wall, screeching and whipping around.

Hugin croaked as they all backed away as far as they could from it, Cami's eyes wide as she stared in frozen terror at the tentacle as it shrieked before Jonathan slammed the axe into it. Black blood spurted out as it shrieked and Jonathan slammed the axe into it again, before it threw him against the room and Jonathan collided with a shelf. The axe dropped to the ground, far from Jonathan's reach as the tentacle hovered above him, and Cami's heart stopped in fear that she could see the tentacle kill Jonathan, the bone shards or teeth or whatever hungry for blood as it screeched.

And maybe it would have killed Jonathan, if Nancy didn't shoot it.

The tentacle screeched as Nancy kept firing bullets into the tentacle, the boom of gunfire and the tentacle's screeches roaring in Cami's ears as it twisted to Nancy as she kept pelting it full of bullets.

Until the gun ran out of bullets.

As if it sensed that the attack had ended, the tentacle approached Nancy, backing her into a corner as it coiled up like a snake about to strike, snarling as it hesitated for a second before it lunged for Nancy's throat—but it was stopped by El's telekinetic hold.

Cami stared, wide-eyed, as monster and girl fought. It thrashed in El's unforgiving hold, shrieking, until El jerked her hand and the "head" of the tentacle was torn off. The headless tentacle screeched and whipped back through the way it came, leaving them to stare at it.

"Holy shit," Max breathed.

She only had that chance to say it, because two more flesh-tentacles burst into the cabin, screeching as they made to attack. Cami's heart galloped in her chest as she pressed herself further back against the wall as a second later, snarls, roars and howls joined the Mind Flayer's screeches—Alistair's dead animals attacking the Mind Flayer now.

Bit Cami couldn't feel relief that the Mind Flayer would be distracted by Alistair's dead animals—not when a tentacle coiled in front of Alistair and lunged for his throat with a shriek.

Cami started, making to push Alistair aside—but El had already saved Alistair, stopping the tentacle in its tracks as she also caught the second, standing in the middle. Blood dripped from her nose as she panted, before another screech came and a third tentacle punched through, aiming for El, the girl distracted with the two tentacles in her hold and Cami feared her friend was going to die.

But the tentacle was stopped before it could ever reach El, confusion and rage in its screeches as Cami saw with wide eyes Alistair keeping it back, blood pouring from both nostrils and glaring at the tentacle, until it now retreated, the Mind Flayer howling with its rage—the tentacle retreating at Alistair's command.

And Cami knew why—if those tentacles were made of melted, dead flesh... Alistair could control it. Did he know? Or had it been a hunch?

Well, it definitely worked.

Alistair turned, ready to help El, but she'd already wrenched the "heads" off with a yell, the tentacles retreating with twin screeches, heads crawling away—maybe to rejoin the Mind Flayer.

El panted as Alistair winced and Cami stared, trying to get her heartbeat under control as fear still pumped through her.

Shattering sounded from the ceiling and a tentacle grabbed El's ankle, too quick for any of them to react and pull her away.

El screamed as she was lifted up, toward the Mind Flayer. Alistair lunged, grabbing El as Mike grabbed her as well, screaming, "El!" Cami was frozen before she jumped in, not willing to let the hijo de puta take her friend as Max, Will and Jonathan jumped in, grabbing El as she screamed and the Mind Flayer howled, refusing to let El go. Cami glared up and saw through the hole of the ceiling the Mind Flayer—a fleshy, eyeless face with a gaping maw full of teeth and bone shards, two protrusions sticking out from the back of its head. Cami's grip faltered from shock and horror at what she was seeing—at how that monster could be made up of the Flayed, of Valerie—before she resumed her tight grip, refusing to let this monster take El—especially as she could see snakes and rats that were obviously dead crawl over it, attacking it at Alistair's command as her best friend gritted his teeth as his eyes flashed white, keeping the Mind Flayer from taking El as much as Cami was, as much as everyone holding her was.

"Pull!" Mike shouted as Jonathan screamed, "Nancy, shoot it! Al, do something!"

Right after Jonathan had screamed it out, Nancy had begun shooting at the Mind Flayer right in its face, the gun and the monster's roars and El screams deafening in Cami's ears as she kept a death grip on El. In her peripheral vision, she saw Alistair lift a hand—obviously to take control and force the tentacle to let El go—but the Mind Flayer had caught on and it held onto El tighter as she screamed in agony, forcing Alistair to drop whatever control he aimed to do to hold onto El, as Hugin croaked angrily and jumped into the fight, pecking at the tentacle and clawing at it, black blood spouting from each attack the undead raven left, the Mind Flayer roaring as other roars from Alistair's undead animals thundered in Cami's ears as she kept holding onto El, as they pulled El toward them and Nancy kept firing into the monster.

But the bullets would run out again, and Cami knew the undead animals would be destroyed—especially as Hugin now flapped away at whatever mental command Alistair gave him with one last scratch on the tentacles, beak and talons jet-black with the monster's blood, and Max screamed, "Come on! Lucas!"

Lucas, the only one not holding El, snatched up the axe, leapt onto the coffee table and swung it into the tentacle with a yell. Black blood erupted as Lucas swung again, as Nancy shot the Mind Flayer again and Cami, Alistair, Mike, Will, Max and Jonathan pulled El toward them as she screamed and the monster roared  and Max yelled, "Pull!"

Lucas swung a third time, and with that third swing, the tentacle was cut in half.

El dropped to the ground in Mike's arms, the dark-haired boy holding her as he asked, "El! El, are you okay?" 

The Mind Flayer roared as the remaining tentacle was reeled back into its mass in front of Cami's wide, terrified eyes before she looked back to El—and saw the remainder of the tentacle still clamped on her leg.

"Dios mío," she breathed as Mike grabbed it and pulled it off El's leg.

An agonised scream was ripped out of El, blood gushing out from the wound left behind. Horror and nausea churned in a sickening storm in Cami's gut as Mike threw the thing away, as it crawled back to the Mind Flayer, as they all fell back as far from the Mind Flayer as El crawled back, watching as the Mind Flayer refocused on them—Alistair's dead animals falling.

It snarled, tentacles growing from its open maw and Cami's heart lurched at the sight, oh God they were all gonna be killed!

But before her eyes, Alistair got to his feet as El did so, too, dragging her injured leg as she now stood before the Mind Flayer. It roared, tentacles lashing in its open maw and El only raised her hands, blood streaming from her nose as she screamed and the Mind Flayer screamed before it was split in half.

Cami's eyes were wide at seeing that, at seeing the brute force of El's power, as she gasped, "Holy shit."

El fell back into Max's arms, obviously exhausted from it and worry lurched in Cami at that, as Nancy yelled, "Go, go, go!"

That had Cami realise they needed to get the hell out of here before the Mind Flayer could recover, and she ran to the door along with everyone else, Jonathan shouting, "Come on, guys,  go!"

"Go!" Nancy screamed as she gestured at them to run—like Cami had to be told twice.

"Hurry up! Come on!" Jonathan yelled as they sprinted to the front door and he threw the couch back down, Mike and Max helping El as Mike hollered, "Everybody out!"

"Go!" Jonathan yelled as he threw the door open, holding it as they all sprinted out, running into the night—and right toward Nancy's car, toward escape from the monster shrieking behind them, ripped-open head wagging.

¡Puta madre! Cami's panicked mind screamed when she risked a look back at the gargantuan monster that wanted to kill them—that wanted to kill El—as Nancy shouted, "Go, come on!"

"Go, go, go, go!" Jonathan screamed as they sprinted to the car—until Cami noticed Alistair wasn't with them.

She whirled and her heart stopped as she saw Alistair standing there, looking at the Mind Flayer.

"AL!" Will screamed, noticing as well, naked terror on his face as Cami stared at her best friend, her mind screaming at her to grab him, but she couldn't move.

"I'll catch up!" Alistair yelled back, glaring at the Mind Flayer as it roared and charged at them—and Alistair raised his hands, stopping it in its tracks.

Cami's heart stuttered in shock as the Mind Flayer shrieked, at how her best friend had just stopped the Mind Flayer, his entire body trembling as he kept it in place, just because it had made this monster from dead flesh—dead flesh he could control with his powers. She stared at Alistair as his veins burned white, the temperature plummeting down and down until it was so cold Cami could hear her teeth chattering, as Alistair glared up at the monster and roared with a power that made Cami shiver even more than she already was, "FREEZE!"

The Mind Flayer obeyed.

¡SANTA MIERDA!

Alistair had made the Mind Flayer freeze. Alistair had made the Mind Flayer freeze! His power had overcome an inter-dimensional monster's will and made it freeze in place.

Santa mierda.

If Alistair was powerful enough to make the Mind Flayer's monster of dead flesh freeze in place... just how powerful could her best friend truly be?

The implications awed Cami as much as they terrified her.

But right now, she couldn't focus on that. All she could focus on was getting Alistair and getting them to Nancy's car and get the hell out of here—especially with the Mind Flayer screeching in rage.

She sprinted to him, grabbing him as his hands dropped and he collapsed, her grip holding him up. Cami buried down the instinct to let go as she felt how frighteningly cold Alistair was to the touch, and she yelled at the stupid, reckless, brave idiota that was her best friend,  "Come on! We have to go!"

Alistair nodded, and Cami saw the blood gushing from his nose, and she pushed down the worry at how it wasn't stopping as they ran to the car, the Mind Flayer's weapon obeying Alistair's command as the brain howled and screeched in anger, in hate. Ahead, Cami heard Nancy scream, "Come on! Come on! Come on!"

When they had caught up, Mike was getting El into the car, saying, "Get in right here." Cami and Alistair got in next, squashed up with Max, Lucas and Will as Jonathan and Nancy clambered into the front, Mike screaming, "Drive! Drive!"

Nancy did so and they roared away from the cabin and the Mind Flayer, tyres squealing as El breathed laboriously, the metallic smell of blood filling the car, sticking on Cami's tongue as she kept a hold on Alistair, her face stitched up with worry at seeing the blood still pouring from his nose, with no sign of it stopping as he panted, eyelids fluttering over his wholly white eyes.

"Al, your nose," Will said, making Alistair realise what was happening and he wiped it away, before panic and concern dawned on his face when he realised it wasn't stopping.

"Here," Cami said, giving him the bandana she tied around the hair elastics for her ponytail instead of her scrunchie and handed it over to Alistair.

"Thanks," Alistair mumbled as he pressed it against his nose, pinpricks of brown bleeding through the white as slowly, warmth crept back into Alistair's skin.

But Cami didn't let go, her eyes never leaving Alistair as he kept that bandana pressed to his face, seeing how Will looked at Alistair like a hawk, concern and panic still tearing up his face, as behind them El panted heavily—along with the distant roar of the Mind Flayer.

Cami didn't risk a look back, but she knew—it would be coming back once it recovered and finish the job on El. No matter the fair distance, or the amount of damage El and Alistair dealt it, it would be back to come and kill El again.

That was if, they didn't patch up El's leg first.

***

AHHH this was a blast to write!

Yeah, Cami was literally just panicking and scared with that attack, since she doesn't have powers or weapons—but that doesn't stop her from being overcome wit the urge to save Alistair and El until they both saved each other, or help try and pull El free of the Mind Flayer. Because that monster is not getting El if Cami has anything to say about it

And yes, Cami was awed (and slightly scared) of how powerful Alistair has become! I loved writing it, so bet that later on you're getting more powerful!Alistair moments (especially in s5)

But we're back with Scoops Troop next chapter! And trust me, the reunion between the sisters will be coming soon...

Spanish translations:

Hijo de puta: Son of a bitch

Dios mío: Oh my God

¡Puta madre!: Holy fuck!

¡Santa mierda!: Holy shit!

Please read, comment and vote!

GhostWriterGirl out!