Lucas clenched his jaw as his pocketknife nicked Eleven's neck, but felt his hand come to a sudden halt. His hand was gripping the knife so hard it was almost enough to bend the metal, but still, his hand wouldn't move. In the next second, Billy had lunged at him, throwing Lucas onto his back and shoving the knife out of his hand. Lucas fought against him violently, his hands flailing about as Billy attempted to restrain him. Max let out a sob as she watched her boyfriend fighting like a wild animal, his eyes almost black now with the veins that covered them.

"There's handcuffs in my bag…now, Max!" Billy yelled, grabbing Lucas' shoulders.

Max did as she was told, racing over to Billy's rucksack, and riffling through the contents until she felt something metal. She pulled them out and rushed back over to Billy, who was dragging Lucas over to a nearby radiator. He clicked the handcuffs into place over one of Lucas' wrists and the other around the radiator, hoping it would be enough to keep the teenage boy in place. Billy then crawled away from Lucas who was thrashing around, pulling roughly at his wrist.

"Why do you have pink, frilly handcuffs?" Max questioned, a few moments later.

"…They're comfortable, okay?" Billy scoffed, pushing himself to his feet, as Max grimaced.

"God, is that what the flayed are like?" Nancy gaped, thinking of her own brother.

"They're possessed. It's not them anymore" Billy muttered, as Max bit her lip.

"But we'll…we'll get them back, right? I mean it worked with Will; we'll find a way?" Max questioned; fear laced into her tone.

"No one else is dying because of that motherfucker. I promise" Billy replied, as Max nodded.

"What are you doing?" Eleven's soft voice had them all turning around.

Krystal's forehead was wrinkled in concentration as she held her head in her hands, beginning to lose the connection she had a hold of. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, her mouth going slack when she saw a line of blood running down Eleven's neck.

"Are you okay?" Krystal asked, eyes wide with fear.

Eleven's hand flew to where Krystal was staring, only now beginning to feel a stinging sensation there. Eleven's stomach dropped when she pulled away to find a red substance on her fingertips, beginning to feel dizzy.

"I tried to stop him…Lucas. I could feel him, in here. He was about to attack you" Krystal exclaimed, pressing a finger to her head.

"Lucas…he's been flayed?" Eleven questioned, as Krystal nodded slowly.

"He's connected to me. We all are" Krystal replied.

"Is this Max's house?" Eleven realised, her eyes darting around the room she found herself in.

"I thought…I thought this was real. It's not though, is it?" Krystal mumbled, sadly.

"This is in your head" Eleven clarified, as Krystal took a quick inhale of breath.

"Should have known…I was actually happy for once" Krystal scoffed, clenching her teeth.

"We need your help. We need to know how we can stop him" Eleven stated.

"You can't. He's too strong" Krystal shook her head.

"There has to be a way" Eleven retorted, as Krystal gave her a sad look.

"Run. Just run. Get as far away from here as possible" Krystal told her.

"We can't. You could help us—" Eleven began, but Krystal cut her off.

"I can't even save myself. I never could. But…but you're not the only one the Mindflayer is scared of…" Krystal trailed off, with a frown.

Just as Eleven opened her mouth to reply, a bright light from outside the house suddenly blinded her. The two girls turned to the window in the dining room, a sinking feeling growing in their stomach's as they saw what was outside.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing. Just white. Everything had disappeared. Krystal's eyes flickered to the wall as she watched the wallpaper slowly peal away, leaving only a blank slate behind.

"He's found me" Krystal gulped, fear evident on her face.

"The Mindflayer?" Eleven mumbled.

The whole room seemed to slowly melt away, the furniture, the pictures, everything. Leaving nothing behind. Only white.

"He's taking everything" Krystal cried, holding her head in her hands.

"Krystal, please. We still need you!" Eleven insisted, taking a step forward.

Eleven flinched as whispers started up all around them, haunting voices that seemed to overlap. Eleven couldn't tell what they were saying, but it was enough to send a shiver down her spine.

"Get out of my head!" Krystal exclaimed, dropping to her knees, her head still in her hands.

"Krystal?" Eleven called out, taking another step towards her.

The lights in the room began to flicker a moment later, blacking out completely at one point. Eleven heard Krystal shout out in the darkness, as she reached out with flailing hands to grab her. She felt her hand connect with cold skin a moment later, as the lights flickered back on. Eleven gasped in horror as she saw the floor had seemed to swallow up most of Krystal's legs, pulling her below.

"No…no!" Krystal cried, trying to pull away, but the ground seemed to only pull her deeper.

"Krystal!" Eleven screamed, gripping her arm tighter as Krystal slowly dragged down until half her body had disappeared.

"Run…go, El!" Krystal told her, as she was violently pulled further until everything below her shoulders had vanished.

"No! I can't" Eleven sobbed, shaking her head.

"Go—" Krystal exclaimed, just as she was swallowed whole by the floor, disappearing from sight.

With a gasp, Eleven's own eyes suddenly opened, her breathing erratic as she found herself kneeling on the floor of Hopper's cabin. Max's hands were quickly on her shoulders, her mouth moving, but Eleven couldn't hear her over the sound of her own heart beating. Eleven's eyes flickered over to where Lucas had become still, the handcuffs still attached to his wrist. As her eyes connected with the teenage boys, she saw how his lips curled into a smirk.

"Your time's up, Eleven" Lucas grinned, his voice deeper than usual.

"Guys, we need to go. If Lucas has been flayed this whole time then the Mindflayer will know where we are. We're sitting ducks!" Nancy exclaimed, as she helped Max to haul Eleven upright.

"What about Lucas?" Max frowned, as Nancy shook her head.

"We can't take him with us, Max. You know that" Billy sighed, as Max opened her mouth to argue.

"…He wouldn't leave me" Max mumbled, in a quiet voice.

"That's because he doesn't have a big brother who's prepared to throw him over his shoulder if he doesn't get a move on" Billy explained, raising an eyebrow.

"She saved me. Krystal. She stopped him" Eleven told them, as Max pulled her arm over her shoulder, and Nancy moved towards the front door.

"She's still in there?" Billy asked, a small smile on his lips.

"She was" Eleven replied, making Billy frown.

"C'mon! We need to go before it's—" Nancy began, cutting herself off as she swung the front door open, seeing what was on the other side.

"Too late?" Krystal smirked, leaning against the doorframe, in the flesh.

Before any of them could react, Krystal had lunged forward, pressing her hand over Nancy's mouth. Nancy clawed at Krystal's arms, but it was useless. Krystal shoved the other girl into the wall, as the spores that came from her palm flew into Nancy's mouth, infecting her. She then let the girl's body flop to the floor and turned towards the rest of the group.

"What have you done?" Billy gaped; his eyes wide with horror.

"She was in pain. The guilt and fear were eating away at her…I made her better" Krystal replied, dismissively.

"That's better?" Billy grimaced, as a tremor began to rip through Nancy's body, causing her to shake uncontrollably.

"It doesn't hurt…" Krystal trailed off, taking a step forward, as Billy pushed both Eleven and Max behind him.

"I'll have to take your word for that" Billy spat out.

"Why are you being like this? What's the point, Billy? You've already lost" Krystal explained, tilting her head.

"I'm still breathing, aren't I?" Billy retorted, through gritted teeth.

"I don't want to hurt you…but I will. Give me Eleven" Krystal announced.

"Never gonna' happen" Billy insisted, holding his arms out in front of the two girls.

"I wasn't asking Billy" Krystal sighed.

A sinister creaking sound had Billy's head snapping to the right, a frown growing on his face. A second later, the nearby window smashed, and a man began to crawl inside, the veins covering his arms on full display. Billy stumbled backwards as two women quickly followed him, all flayed. His eyes widened as he recognised one of the women as his English teacher, now barely recognisable from the feral expression on her face. Eleven's hand instantly shot out, stopping the three in their tracks by using her telekinesis.

"You can't stop us all, El" A familiar voice announced, as the group turned to the doorway.

Eleven let out a shaky breath as she saw Mike standing there, a dark smile on his face. Her eyes then flickered down to Nancy who was slowly pushing herself to her feet, a sheen of sweat visible of her skin.

"And why would you want to?" Lucas exclaimed, as Krystal walked towards him.

Billy flinched as she ripped the radiator from the wall, effortlessly, allowing Lucas to pull the other cuff away, freeing himself. They were outnumbered. It had turned into an ambush.

"We're the better versions of ourselves" Nancy agreed, cracking her neck to the side.

"You're barely even human anymore" Billy insisted.

"What's so wrong with that?" Krystal smirked, sauntering towards him.

The rest of the flayed followed this movement, beginning to surround the three. Eleven quickly raised her hands out, scrunching her eyes shut as she let out a yell. The flayed were suddenly sent flying backwards, crashing into the walls of the cabin, knocking some of them unconscious.

"We're going to end you" Krystal announced, slowly pushing herself back to her feet, as Billy pushed the girls forward.

"And when you're gone…" Mike trailed off, from where he was slumped against the wall.

"We are going to end the rest of your friends" Nancy exclaimed, as they reached the front door.

"And then we're going to end…everyone!" Krystal yelled, pushing herself to her feet.

The three slid to a halt when they stepped outside the door, their hearts beating wildly at what they saw. No one made a sound. Too scared to even move. Standing in front of them were over fifty corpses. Walking corpses. Their skin was hanging loosely from their faces if you could call them that anymore. Some were missing limbs, eyes, Billy even spotted one that seemed to have lost half its head. Max's trembling hand shot out to grab his wrist, as the siblings shared a look.

"It turns out you don't need to be alive to be flayed" Krystal's voice called out, breaking the trio out of the trance.

"What do we do?" Max gasped, as the dead stumbled closer towards them.

In response, Eleven took a step forward, a determined look in her eyes as she raised both her hands. They could practically feel the power bleeding out around her as the corpses came to a stop. More than that, they started to shake. Billy grimaced as whatever skin was left on the bodies began to bubble as if Eleven was boiling them. Suddenly, she balled her hands into fists, letting out a scream. The next second, the corpses exploded, sending flesh and bones scattered around the forest. And onto her friends.

"Jesus fucking Christ…" Billy gagged, wiping away a chunk of flesh that had blown onto his cheek.

"Please never do that again" Max grumbled, wiping the blood away from her eyes.

"Sorry" Eleven mumbled, before her eyes rolled into the back of her head, dropping to the floor.

"Get her to the car, Max!" Billy ordered, ushering towards Nancy's car a few metres away.

Max did as she was told, and began dragging her friend away, her eyes flickering to where Krystal was stumbling through the doorway of the cabin. She brushed away a piece of flesh that had been sticking to her arm, her eyes going wide as she watched it begin to slide over the forest floor. Max's mouth hung agape as what was left of the bodies fused together, creating a bubbling sludge on the floor. She didn't stop until she reached the car, her head snapping up as she saw Billy holding out his arm to stop Krystal from getting any further.

"Let them go" Billy told her, as Krystal let out a laugh.

"You think you can stop me?" Krystal goaded.

"You're not taking Max" Billy replied.

"Because suddenly you care so much about her?" Krystal scoffed, harshly.

"She's your sister, Krys! Your little sister! I know that still means something to you" Billy insisted, as Krystal stormed forward, coming to stand right in front of him.

"She's not the one I'm after" Krystal stated, before grabbing Billy by the collar of his shirt and sending him flying through the air, colliding with a nearby tree.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Max cried, as Krystal's head snapped up towards her.

Max quickly ripped the car door open and threw Eleven into the backseat, as she ran to the other side of the car and jumped into the driver's seat. Nancy had luckily left the keys to the car in the drawer underneath the dashboard, as Max's shaky hands retrieved them. She turned on the ignition, seeing how Krystal was rushing towards them in her peripheral vision. The car lights suddenly turned on, illuminating the dark forest in front of Max.

"Oh my God…" Max trailed off, her heart stopping for a moment.

The destroyed bodies of the dead had come together to create a terrifying fleshy monster that was growing by the second. It was already taller than the car and had teeth littered all over its body. Max let out a high pitch scream as a limb from the creature slammed down on the hood of the car, easily denting the metal. Max immediately sent the car into reverse, her head whipping around when she found they didn't get very far. She flinched when she saw her sister pushing her hands against the trunk of the car, keeping it in place with her immense strength. There was nowhere to go.

"Krystal, please—" Max's begging was cut off, as another limb suddenly lunged forward from the creature, as it ripped off one of the backseat doors.

"No!" Max cried, grabbing Eleven's arms as the creature took hold of Eleven's shoe.

All of a sudden, there was a yell and in the next second, the creature's limb was being pulled back. Max gaped as she saw Billy had found a large axe and had slammed it into the fleshy limb, refusing to let go. With two more hacks at the limb, Billy was able to completely sever the bottom half, as it flopped to the ground. In the commotion, neither sibling had noticed how Krystal had let go of the car and had rushed to the now open backseat door. Max's eyes widened as she spotted her sister and the spores seeping out of her hand as she leaned over Eleven. Just as Krystal's hand was hovering over Eleven's face, Billy twisted the axe around in his hands and swung the handle to hit her in the back of the head. Krystal stumbled backwards, scratching Eleven's neck as she did so, as Billy hit her again. He then pushed his way past her and into the backseat, covering Eleven's body with his own as he shouted at Max.

"Go! Now, Max!" Billy screamed, frantically.

Not needing to be told twice, Max reversed the car, only just managing to miss Krystal as she did so. She then twisted the car around and sent them hurtling down the dirt road, her eyes flickering to the creature in the back mirror, as it seemed to only grow bigger.

"We are so fucked" Max muttered.

Billy took over driving as soon as it was safe to do so and kept driving further away from the forest. He didn't plan to stop until they were out of Hawkins. He looked at the backseat, where Max had Eleven resting on her lap, mopping up the blood that covered her neck. He wasn't sure if there was any part of Krystal left anymore—

"Code red! I repeat this is a code red!" A muffled voice announced, as Billy's eyes darted around the car.

"The hell is that?" He frowned.

"Mike's walkie talkie. It must still be in the car, check the glove compartment!" Max exclaimed, as Billy pulled over and began to rifle through the drawer, quickly finding what he wanted.

"Someone please answer!" A voice continued, as Billy brought the walkie talkie up to his lips.

"Dustin?" Billy questioned when he realised he recognised the voice.

"Billy Hargrove? Why do you have Mike's walkie?" A garbled voice replied.

"Where are you?" Billy insisted.

"The Mall! I need you to find Mike. I know I've been M.I.A, but tell him it's not because I was mad…well, actually it was because I was mad, but also because I was trapped in a secret Russian base—" Dustin began, but Billy cut him off.

"It doesn't matter, kid! Look, the Mindflayer is back. God knows, how many people have been flayed. Stay at the Mall, we're coming to get you" Billy announced, as he pulled back into the road, throwing the walkie talkie towards Max.

"It got Mike…Lucas. It's only me, Billy and El left" Max sobbed, biting her lip.

"W-what about Will?" Dustin questioned.

"I don't know. We lost him at the hospital. Is anyone else with you?" Max asked, as Dustin let out a sigh.

"What do you mean it got my brother?" A female voice yelled down the line a moment later, as Max instantly recognised it as Erica's.

"We'll get him back. We'll get them all back" Max stated, her eyes connecting with Billy's.

Krystal audibly gulped as she stared at the pulsating creature in front of her, her eyes being drawn to the razor-sharp teeth all over its body. She found herself wondering if her father's corpse was inside.

"It's beautiful. Isn't it?" Steve's voice called out, as she turned around.

"Eleven got away" Krystal sighed, tensely.

"We will deal with her in due time. There are more pressing matters to attend to at the moment" The Mindflayer informed her, as she tilted her head.

"Like what?" Krystal asked, as the Mindflayer waved to the creature as if dismissing it.

"Are you ready to do what needs to be done? For the good of the Hive?" The Mindflayer asked, as Krystal nodded slowly.

She felt uneasy as he picked up the discarded axe from the floor and passed it to her, just as the fleshy creature was disappearing into the trees. Krystal opened her mouth to question the Mindflayer's intentions when she heard a car's engine. The pair turned around to see a car driving towards them, spotting the driver quickly.

"Hopper?" Krystal exclaimed, as the car stopped in front of them, and the Chief jumped out.

Krystal's eyes flickered over to the passenger seat, surprised to see Joyce Byers riding shotgun. The uneasiness was back as soon as her eyes connected with familiar brown ones. Murray. What the hell was he doing there?

The Russian.

Krystal looked towards the last member of the group, a man with curly hair and large glasses, dressed in a dirty white top. None of them had been infected. Yet.

He has the knowledge to close the gate. We can't allow that to happen.

"Krystal? Jesus, are you okay?!" Murray exclaimed, rushing forward when he spotted the blood that was matted into her hair.

"Pretty far from okay" Krystal shook her head, as Murray placed his hands on her shoulders, inspecting her for further wounds.

"What happened to you?" Hopper questioned.

"The Mindflayer's back. He attacked us. We barely escaped" Krystal muttered, as Murray pulled her into a quick hug.

"I should have been here" Murray cursed himself, as Krystal kept her hands at her side, the hug feeling too strange to reciprocate.

"There's nothing you could have done. Trust me" Krystal replied, as Murray slowly pulled away.

"Where's Billy? Max?" Murray inquired.

"I don't know. We got split up" Krystal responded, as his eyes flickered down to the axe in her hand.

"…How did you escape?" Murray frowned, as Krystal ran a hand through her hair.

"She didn't" The Mindflayer announced, through Steve's lips, as all eyes turned to him.

"Oh, shit…" Hopper trailed off, as he realised the situation they had found themselves in.

In the next second, he was reaching into his pocket for his gun, but the Mindflayer was too quick. His arm had been roughly grabbed, as the Mindflayer used his other hand to pry the gun from Hopper's fingers, who wasn't giving up without a fight. Hopper let out a cry as the Mindflayer began to bend his fingers backwards until he had no choice but to let the gun go. The Mindflayer then shoved him backwards, as he almost collided with Joyce, who was glaring at Steve.

"Krystal, just think about what you're doing. He's controlling you!" Murray insisted, as Krystal's lips twitched into a smile.

"I'm more me than I've ever been" Krystal stated, raising the axe in the air.

"Get on your knees" The Mindflayer announced, as Hopper clenched his teeth.

"…Or I shoot you all. Byer's mom goes first" The Mindflayer informed them, turning Hopper's gun on Joyce.

"Okay, okay! Alright, just…" Hopper exclaimed, as he reluctantly did as he was ordered, the rest of the group following a moment later.

"Kill the Russian" The Mindflayer told Krystal, who stared at him in surprise.

"We should flay him—" Krystal began, as Steve tilted his head.

"I said…kill him" The Mindflayer insisted, his eyes boring into Krystal's.

"No. This isn't…I don't…" Krystal shook her head, scrunching her eyes shut.

"You don't want to hurt him, Krystal! You don't want to hurt any of us. Please, it's…it's me, Krystal!" Murray pleaded, as she slowly turned to him.

"My head…" Krystal trailed off, dropping the axe, as she clutched at her burning head.

"It's okay. It's okay. Just…let them go. I'll help you, alright? I'll stay with you. I'm not going anywhere" Murray went on, as Krystal looked at him, in confusion.

"If you won't do what needs to be done, I will" The Mindflayer warned, turning towards the Russian, who was beginning to shake.

"No! It's Harrington, right? Steve. This isn't you. You're a good person. This isn't who you are. It's the Mindflayer. He's using you!" Hopper exclaimed, in a panic.

"…I know exactly who I am" Steve replied, emotionlessly.

The bang that rang through the air made Krystal flinch, as her eyes flickered to the smoking gun Steve was holding in the air. She let out a shaky breath as she watched the blood pool underneath the Russian's shirt, and realised the Mindflayer had shot him. Like he was nothing. He was nothing to him, she realised. Maybe they all were.

"Alexi!" Murray screamed as the Russian fell onto his back, blood beginning to coat his lips.

"You didn't need to kill him!" Murray cried, angrily.

"Necessary losses" The Mindflayer retorted, suddenly turning the gun on Murray, as Krystal's eyes widened.

"No!" A new voice announced as Krystal's eyes flickered towards the newcomer.

"Well, this is a surprise" The Mindflayer mumbled, tilting his head.

Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Ooo, I wonder who this mystery person could be? Please leave a review:)