21
Home
El
El looked around herself as Billy stood from where he had been thrown into the wall. Heather, Mrs. and Mr. Holloway, Ms. Driscoll and so many others stood around her in the shadows that she lost count. Their eyes black as the night and veins matching. Billy moved then catching her eye and she was happy to see black blood dripping from his own nose now along with the black blood falling from his forehead and lips.
He didn't take his eyes from her as he walked to meet her back in the middle of the room, his breathing heavy, anger clear in his eyes as red lightning flashed from the skylight above them, lighting the room here and there. "I tried to help you, but you're too much of a child to understand the bigger picture and what you really could be, so now I have to kill you plain and simple," He hissed at her.
El looked to the side of the room where the stairs sat if she could get to the next floor she could- her thought was cut off suddenly as she felt arms go around her chest and the next thing she saw was the ground as she was thrown to the side.
El felt the breath knocked from her lungs leaving her to gasp on the cold hard floor as she lay on her side, pain running up and down her whole body.
When the stars cleared from her vision she saw that a middle-age man stood over her, his fist raised and as El looked up into his face she saw herself pale and small in the black pools of his eyes.
Before he brought down his fist she rolled to the side as he hit the ground instead of her and a second later she sent a handout, sending the unknown man backwards, but not even a second later he was replaced with someone else.
El got to her feet and backed away just as a piece of metal piping came down right where she had been. She moved quickly and found she was faced with a small army of people all of which was running right for her.
El sent out a burst of power out much as she had done for the demodogs that sent the ones that were close flying. But she felt hopelessness rise in her as more simply took their place. Suddenly she felt something hit her on the back of the head so hard she was sent stumbling back into a wall but she didn't let that stop her as she kept running.
She ran towards the staircase and made it almost halfway up and just saw the next floor when someone gripped the back of her shirt and pulled her backwards. She was slammed into another wall so hard she tasted blood in her mouth. She looked back up and found Heather standing over her, a chain in the other girl's hand, flying right at her face.
El put out a hand and closed her eyes waiting for the pain but it never came and went she reopened her eyes she found Heather had paused.
"I...I knew you?" Heather said with a look of confusion.
El started to nod, hoping that she had snapped out of his control but that hope died a moment later as Heather hissed in pain holding her head in her hands, but when she looked back up her eyes had turned black once more.
El put out a hand in hopes of pushing Heather back but the other girl had been ready and grabbed her hand and punched her right in the cheek sending El to the floor once more.
El tried to blink away the pain but it did nothing to help as she opened her eyes to see someone kneeling in front of her. She cried out as someone grabbed the back of her hair to make her look up and there she met the black pools of Billy's eyes.
"You could have been so much more if you would have given me your powers, but instead you're going to die here, alone, He started to smile as he went on, "But don't worry your friends will follow you soon, they can't keep as back forever."
Before she could think of a way out of this he wrapped his other hand around her neck and slowly started to get to his feet dragging her up with him as she started to gasp for breath.
She clawed at his hands but it did nothing to him as she started to see dark spots in her vision.
Fear gripped her for a moment as she longed for air wondering if this was really where she was going to die...and she didn't even get to say goodbye to her friends...and Mike...Mike would never know what happened to her here, the people she loved would never know, Max would- A thought came to her then just as she let out her last breath.
"Max."
For a long moment, she worried her voice hadn't been strong enough to be heard but then Billy loosened his grip.
"What did you just say?" He hissed at her.
El sucked it a deep breath before she spoke, "Max, you saved Max that night at the mall Billy, she's alive and okay but she wouldn't be if you don't fight one last time."
"God you're dumb," Billy said rolling his eyes at her before he started to tighten his grip again.
"You made a choice then do it again….please Billy," she said with scared tears in her eyes now.
"You really think that's going to work you can't… can't…"
El watched as his eyes flashed to a deep blue, suddenly he let go of her where she fell to the floor but quickly got back up onto her feet. She watched as his eyes flashed back and forth from blue to black and she knew she didn't have much time as he gripped the sides of his head, pain in his eyes as the real Billy fought, she needed to finally try her plan.
She reached out her arms and focused on all of the people who should never have even been here in the first place. Pain pounded through her head as slowly black ink started to drip from them.
She felt her own blood start to drip down her nose as the world started to spin around her and pools of black started to form on the floor, as their eyes started to turn back to what they had once been.
"Y..you will….never win…" Billy said through his teeth, black blood dripping from his mouth.
"Maybe, but I'll never give up, no matter what," El said as she tasted her own blood in her mouth.
"Your friends will die alongside you then," Billy said, "And you will lose everything." His eyes flashed black one last time before she let out a scream as the black ink poured out of them.
With a flash of red lightning above her, the last drops of blackness fell from their fingertips as she fell to her knees, exhausted.
She was barely able to raise her head, but when she did she saw the clear colorful eyes of the people standing around her, all looking very confused. For the first time, she took in just how many people had died to make the monster from this summer. There were even children, younger than she was herself. That's when she let the tears fall and drip from her cheeks, not scared, or fearful anymore just sad at what had happened to all of these people and so so tired.
"I'm so sorry," She croaked wiping at her tears, "This should have never happened to any of you, you all should be...be alive and be with your families who love you."
For a long painful moment, the air was filled with silence before someone spoke.
"Then you should."
She looked up and through her watery eyes, she saw Heather along with everyone else looking at her.
"You should go home and be with your family now," Heather said her eyes showing kindness before suddenly she started to turn to ash.
El watched as slowly the people…..no the shadows of the people they used to be, that were used to that monster's control started to turn ashen before they disappeared like flower petals on a breeze. That was besides one person. Billy.
El stood slowly, her head still spinning as Billy just stood there in the middle of the room. "Billy?"
He turned to look at her, his eyes a clear blue now. "How did you know you could reach me still?" He asked her, looking confused maybe not sure where he was now.
"That night you called me and said Max's name, it wasn't...It wasn't him. It was you I could tell."
He was quite a long, long moment before he swallowed and looked down and away from her, "I was never a good person to her, I was never a good person to anyone in life, I hurt people, I used people, I said some awful things to the people I cared about and now...now I wish I could go back."
"But you saved us that night," El said, "That last choice made a difference, that's what made you a good person in the end."
"Can one truly good action really make up for all the bad I've done?"
El didn't have an answer for that, because there didn't seem to be one. "I'm still so sorry," she said. "None of this should have happened.
"No it shouldn't have. But we don't blame you, none of this was done by you."
"But it happened because of me," She said gently.
"No, I saw what was in that monster's head when he was in my mind, my body. It was like a two-way mirror, I could see everything and this goes deeper than you. So don't let our ghosts haunt you, don't let that monster win, he can't use us anymore so don't let him use you next, that's what he wants."
El nodded understanding him. All of this had been to try and get to her, even what he had shown her before in that building was all a nightmare in her head.
"Just do me one last favor?" Billy asked and she saw he was starting to turn ashen.
"Yes."
"Just look after Max, keep her far away from my father."
El smiled softly as she remembered what she had already done to his father before she answered, "Of course."
With that, he disappeared into ash and she watched as it mixed into the other white dust that floated all around her, just like everyone else had to leave her by herself. El sucked in a deep breath as if a heavyweight had been lifted off her shoulder at that moment, relief washing over her.
Finally, she closed her eyes feeling safe doing so for the first time since before July 4th.
The next thing El knew was gasping awake and opened her eyes to darkness and an unfamiliar cold, so cold place but before she could start to panic she felt warm arms wrap around her. A warmth she knew all too well now. Mike.
She looked up as her eyes met his. "Mike?"
"Hey, hey I'm here," he said gently moving a piece of her hair out of her face and behind her ear.
"W-where are we?"
"That's a long story," Mike said as he started to help her up to her feet and she saw they were in a freezer, it really was a long story then becouse the last thing she recalled was being in the Byers house.
The sound of running footsteps made them both look up to see Dustin.
"Um Mike all the killer fog people just turned to water out of nowhere and Steve looked outside and the fog is gone and everyone seems to be waking up so we need to…." He paused when he saw both of them. "El you're awake!"
Suddenly she was engulfed in a hug, a smile spreading across her face.
"Um guys hate to break this touching moment up but we need to go."
They looked up to see Steve standing in the doorway and behind him the sound of someone's very angry yelling.
Without saying another word Mike took her hand and together with Dustin and Steve they ran out of the freezer and passed three people just waking up all looking very out of it and confused.
They joined the others in the main dining room to find a very angry man yelling at Jonathan and everyone else behind him.
"What the hell happened to my door and who are you people!?"
"That's a very good question," Jonathan said his hands up trying to calm the other man down. That was until he looked to the side and saw them. "That I will not be answering today."
Everyone made a break for the door then. The next thing El knew she was in a car, Mike next to her as she rested her head on his shoulder as they sped away, driving back towards the Byers house. She looked out the window and saw the sunset once again.
"What happened to you while you were asleep?" Mike asked her softly his hand laced with hers.
"That's a long story."
AN
As always thanks for reading, it means a lot to me. If you want to review and give me your thoughts and or any criticism on what I could do better please feel free, it always helps. This was the big ending to the ghost story, but the story as a whole isn't done just yet. I'm going to have about six more chapters to bring us to the big moving day and a little seek peek to season 4 ;) Stay safe everyone :D