The minute the car came to a halt, I did my best to run for the seemingly deserted mall with all the energy I could muster. The pain was forgotten for the moment with the thought of my brother in there in the grips of those Russians.

"Lana! Your leg is pulsating. Slow down!" Nancy's worried face came into view the minute I came to a stop within the food court of the mall, noting how eerily quiet it was. It felt as if something was eating my leg from the inside out. But I managed to push the pain away, my eyes scanning the entire mall for any sign of Dustin.

"Lana.....?" My eyes immediately landed on one of the restaurants, seeing Steve and Dustin's heads poking out over the counter once they heard the commotion. I limped my way over their with my lip stuck between my teeth, suppressing the scream that so badly wanted to escape.

"Dusty! You scared the shit out of me. What happened?" He hopped over the counter and into my arms the minute I reached them, looking to Steve with appreciation in my eyes for looking after him when I couldn't. He's alive. That's all that matters.

"Those damn Russians! We went to investigate after hearing their message over the waves. We got stuck in an elevator that then tumbled its way down to their secret lair where they're experimenting on the gate. They captured Steve and Robin, tried to get information out of them, Erica and I managed to get them out of there. Long story." Somehow, what Dustin relayed to me didn't phase me one bit. This is Hawkins. Why would it at this point?

"Well I'm just glad you four are safe." I hugged him even tighter to me, when the worst imaginable pain shot right through my entire body, sending me crumbling to the floor in a heap. My screams riddled the entire mall with pure pain and agony, wanting so badly to rip whatever was in me out. But I had to let it get me. I didn't want it infecting El. I would never forgive myself for that.

"Lana! What's wrong with your leg?! What happened?!" I gripped tightly to Dustin's hand within mine, seeing Steve and Robin come into view the moment I could actually focus my vision on anything. The rest of the gang ran over to us when the coast was pronounced clear, seeing all the movement from inside the skin of my leg. It was crawling all around, a piece of the Flayer causing as much damage as it could.

"The Flayer! It got ahold of me! I didn't want it to hurt El." I closed my eyes when yet another shockwave of pain coursed throughout my body, loud enough to rattle glass. Eleven eyed me with regret and sadness. But a hint of the determination I knew and loved about her was there.

"We have to get it out of her! Now!" Steve's panicked eyes searched mine with his hand suddenly gripping my free one, letting me use him as a vise to hold back the pain. My vision was blurred from the amount of pain that was consuming me.

"Hold on!" Jonathan leaped into action the moment a lightbulb went off in his head, coming back moments later with a knife in tow. And a wooden spoon for me to bite down on to. I knew this was the only way. But it was going to hurt like hell!

"Bite down on this as hard as you can!" I nodded my head the minute he slipped it between my lips, my hands locking harder onto Dustin and Steve. Max grabbed ahold of my arm, trying her best to soothe me when she knew the pain was unbearable. I closed my eyes and sucked in a breath, before the agonizing pain commenced within my skin, feeling the knife piercing just enough to open the wound further. I screamed and screamed, biting down so incredibly hard on the spoon to suppress them as best as I possibly could, seeing the black ooze pouring from the wound.

"Let me help her...." Eleven sat right in front of me with her eyes focused intently on the moving creature within my leg, igniting her power to pull it out of me. It struggled and fought as hard as it could to stay inside, but it was no match for Eleven. It came barreling out of my leg, landing many feet away from us and seeming to scurry away. I slumped back with my head landing in Steve's lap, the spoon falling from my mouth with a wave of physical relief washing over me like the most comforting feeling imaginable.

"Sis!" Dustin softly patted my face with tears running down his cheeks, a heartbreaking sight for me to see. I gripped to his hand once more, signaling I was okay, earning a sigh of relief in return from everyone, when a sudden squash of the little creature that was thrown from me, got all of our attention. Standing in front of us, was the sight of the heroes we needed. Hopper, Joyce and..... Murray? I knew the guy from Nancy and Jonathan's journey to taking down the lab. He's interesting. That's for sure.

"Thank you El.... you're a life saver. You have the most amazing daughter Hop." I slowly rose up just enough to hug the gifted girl to me with so much love poured into the gesture. I kissed the top of her head, wiping the running blood from her nose and the tears from her tired eyes with a soft smile. I took a deep breath, ripping a piece of my shirt off to wrap around the wound, when my name seemed to echo around me. Or more like within my mind. Billy...... I softly closed my eyes, focusing intently on the sound of his voice and wishing more than anything I could hold him, tell him I was fighting for him. To free him from the horrors he's enduring. I know we didn't have such a great start with one another. We almost loathed each other to be honest. But it grew. This...... feeling. A foreign feeling that we both wanted to push to the side and act as if it was nothing, when it was really something. We denied it for so long. But eventually, we couldn't anymore. I love Billy Hargrove with all my heart. And he doesn't deserve this..... not at all.

"I hear you Billy..... I'm here." My hands tangled together over my racing heart, not understanding what was happening to me, how I was hearing him. But I didn't want to let it go. Let him go.

"He's coming......" My eyes flew open from the warning within his tone, hearing the mere fear and pain behind the words. He fought so hard to get that message to me that we all knew too well. The Flayer was connecting us to one another on a level I didn't think was possible. A sense I've had since escaping the Upside Down, seemed to stay with me. He was so close. It was so close to ending. Wasn't it?