Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

*Happy 2021, BTW!*

On the elevator down to the secret Russian base, Murray discussed the plan with Joyce and Jim. Of course, Joyce was all for it. Jim looked down, then at the bearded man. "That's a hell of a risk, Murray," he told him.

That made him sigh in annoyance. "We're already taking a hell of a risk going down this elevator, Jim," he retorted. "Kinda have to go with it."

"It'll be worth it if we're careful," Joyce reassured him.

It would, so he nodded. "Okay, fine."

That surprised the brunette. "You just agreed to his plan?"

He looked at her weird. "Yeah? We're already going through with it, can't say no at this point." She grinned and suppressed a chuckle.

"Oh hey, look at you being reasonable-" Murray said before getting cut off.

"You sound pretty confident that this plan will work all the way through."

Murray rolled his eyes. "It's the best we got, given the situation and time constraints. Hell, if this DOES work all the way through..." The elevator stopped. "They won't even know we were here."

The second the door opened, a few Russian soldiers appeared and pointed their guns at them, all shouting something in Russian. Jim and Joyce were petrified, holding their hands up. Murray, however, held his hands up and started talking to them in Russian. He got close to them, the few looking puzzled and letting their guards down just a little. While he was talking to them, Jim eyed the assault rifle he hid behind some boxes. He didn't want to go all Rambo and gun those guys down, but if Murray fails...

One of the soldiers asked what Lieutenant summoned them and Murray answered, "Lieutenant...Molotov?" They looked at each other with puzzled looks. Jim kept eying the rifle, but Joyce lightly slapped his arm to prevent him from getting it at the second. The soldiers faced Murray...and pointed their guns at him, yelling something to him in Russian. He looked petrified, trying to convince them that they were important, but it wasn't getting through.

Jim huffed and muttered, "This is insane." He grabbed the rifle, pushed Murray out of the way, and proceeded to gun down the few soldiers that were there. Joyce screamed and covered her ears, Murray doing the same. All of them took the bullets and fell, dead. He stopped shooting, breathing heavily with wide eyes. With his free hand, he rubbed his face, saying in a frustrated voice, "This is insane..."

Murray and Joyce stopped cowering, absolutely shocked at what he just did. The woman slowly approached him and put a hand on his shoulder. "A-are you...okay?" she asked softly.

"I just gunned down a bunch of men to save Murray like I'm Rambo," he answered, sounding more frustrated as he dropped the empty magazine, pulled out a new one, and shoved it into the rifle. "What the hell do you think?!" She tensed up and looked sad for him, clearly seeing the guilt in his eyes.

"W-well, I should thank you..." the bearded man said. "But we REALLY need to get moving." They stepped into the room, looking down at the dead men's uniforms. "And hide in a different way."

Becky and Carl arrived at the home, seeing Terry's car on the driveway...but not Kali's. Plus, there were no lights on in the house. Maybe Terry and the girls were sleeping? They parked near the car and got out of it. The dirty-blonde-haired woman raced to the door while her husband went to get the baby. She rung the doorbell, waiting for an answer. Carl stood beside her with Tina, waiting with her. There was no answer after a minute. She rung it again. They waited. No answer.

She sighed deeply and pulled out the spare key, unlocking the door and getting into the house. Carl and Tina followed. "Terry?!" she called out. "Girls?!" She turned the lights on in the house. "Anyone awake?!" The door was closed behind them, Carl looking confused and Becky looking worried.

"Should we look around for them?" he suggested.

"Yeah," she answered. "That's a good idea. I check upstairs, you check downstairs." He nodded at her as they went their separate ways.

Becky ran up and called out, "Terry?! Kali?! Jane?!" There were no answers, making her worry even more. She got into Terry's room, not seeing her in there. She checked Kali's room, her teenage niece not in there either. She went into Jane's, not seeing her young niece either. She barged into the bathroom, seeing nobody in there. She looked very distressed. Her family was not up here.

...

Carl got down into the basement, Tina whimpering a little. He gently rocked her as he turned on the lights down there. He saw nobody there. He wandered around, still seeing nobody there. He walked to the bathroom and opened it, still seeing nobody. He began to worry about them as much as his wife was.

...

He got up just as Becky was done checking the kitchen. "You couldn't find anybody either?" he asked.

She shook her head and answered, "I even looked outside and there was nobody." Her voice was getting shaky. "Terry's car is here, but nobody's home."

The dark-haired man began thinking. "Maybe they're at Andrew's home."

She sighed, trying not to cry. "I hope to God they are." Suddenly, Tina began to cry, the two smelling that she needed a change of diaper. Becky sighed and took her from her father's arms. "After I change Tina, we need to go there."

Carl looked puzzled. "Becky, we don't know where it is."

"Then we'll look around town. Start the car." She then raced up the stairs, Tina still crying.

"Becky-"

"Start it!" He sighed and ran outside to start up the car.

Back in the main lobby of the mall, Jane had a walkie on her, connected to Cerebro. She paced around and said, "Scoops Troop, do you copy?" She paused for an answer. She got none. "Scoops Troop, do you copy?" Still no answer. She groaned and continued in a frustrated voice, "Scoops Troop, I repeat, do you copy?" Still nothing but static. "We're trapped in the mall and need emergency transportation ASAP." There was still no answer. This was getting annoying for her, but she had to keep trying. "Scoops Troop, Billy and Stacey found us. He disabled our cars and trapped us in the mall." While she was doing that, Mike leaned against a table, Lucas sitting at it and practicing with his wrist rocket and Will next to him, watching. "I repeat, Billy and Stacey disabled our cars and trapped us in the mall."

Terry was at one of the dead Russian's body, pulling out a pistol for her or anyone to shoot with. She pulled it out to check if there were bullets. It was full of them. Kali and Jonathan were next to her.

Max and Andrew looked down at her, the long-haired man asking, "Do we have to kill them?"

"Yeah," Max said. "Maybe there's a way."

The dirty-blonde-haired woman looked up at them, trying to look reassuring. "This is just a precaution, you two," she said.

"But we can't promise anything," Jonathan added. Andrew sighed deeply as well as Max.

"Plus, if they know we're here, then the Mind Flayer does too," Kali also added. They looked at each other, exchanging hurt glances since they were in the same situation.

They all looked at Jane, still trying to get an answer from Scoops Troop. However, she passed the wrecked car from before. Kali sighed. "Too bad that thing can't drive," she stated.

Andrew and Jonathan looked thoughtful though, the man saying, "Maybe we don't need to drive it." The girls looked up at him in confusion.

"He's right," the auburn-haired teen said. "We just need the ignition cable." Their faces lit up, looking at the car once again. It would take a lot of force to move it...

...

Later, everyone except for Mike tried their best to lift that thing off the destroyed counter. Everyone was grunting and strained themselves, but it wasn't budging. Everyone stopped, the glass of the windshield shattering. They all panted, wearing out. "Shit!" Lucas exclaimed.

Feeling bad for everyone, Mike suggested, "I can move it for you."

Jane looked at him worriedly, resting an arm on the side of the car. "Mike, you're not..."

He stepped forward, standing his ground. "Let me try and move it for you." Everyone looked at each other, seeing that they have no other choice.

...

Everyone was behind Mike as he had his head tilted down and his arm stretched out, his nose bleeding. The metal was creaking a little, but the car wasn't moving. His hand was shaking and his breathing got heavy. He still tried, but something was...off. He could feel something's weight whenever he tries to pull it, but...this weight seemed...weaker. He continued straining himself, the metal creaking more. He was getting frustrated, channeling his inner anger. He breathed more heavily, exclaiming to move it.

...

Much to everyone's shock and surprise, including his own...Mike could not move the car down to its wheels. That was why everyone else went back to it and decided to push it with stools. Everyone made strained noises, Jonathan yelling, "Push!" It was moving and then it stood on its side. Everyone took a few second break, catching their breaths.

Some of them got up on the counter, everyone looking at each other. "Okay, let's go all the way," Andrew said. Everyone nodded and positioned the stools against the car. "On three. One...two...three!" Everyone pushed it with all their might. In only a few seconds, the car got back on its wheels, rocking a little.

Everyone caught their breaths and began to relax. Jane smiled a little. "Physics," she said simply. They all got down, Lucas and Will helping the girls down. The adults and teens went over to the hood, the adults trying to get it open. They were struggling before the teens walked over to the body of the car. "Maybe there's a latch somewhere," Kali stated as she and Jonathan began looking for one.

Suddenly, Terry spotted Mike...digging through the trash. She was puzzled and walked away from Andrew. Jane saw that as well, the daughter joining her mother. "What is he doing?" the woman asked her.

She shrugged. "I don't know, Mama," she answered. They looked at each other, concerned.

Meanwhile, the telekinetic boy continued digging through the trash until he got out an empty Coke can. He quickly set it on a table on the pillar and stared at it intensely. He took a deep breath before tilting his head down and using his power to crush it. He did it during his traumatic times in the Lab. He didn't want to be reminded of it, but he also didn't want to think that...he was suddenly powerless.

He strained himself to crush it, his nose bleeding again. Again, the weight...it felt weaker. Why did it feel weaker? He gritted his teeth and strained himself even harder. He could do it, he did it before. By now, it should be crushed...but it wasn't.

"Mike?" asked Jane. He stopped, sighing deeply before seeing her and Terry near him, looking concerned.

"Are you okay?" Terry also asked. He didn't answer, looking back at the empty can of Coke. There wasn't even a dent...how...?

"Found it," Jonathan said, pressing the latch near the driver's seat. Andrew finally popped open the hood, the teens joining him. "You see it?"

He shrugged. "I don't know," he answered.

"It should be in here," Kali stated as they looked around for it.

"Would this even work in your van?"

The long-haired man shrugged. "We have to try. Billy and Stacey could run over us if we go to one of your cars." They nodded, getting his point.

Suddenly, as the rest of the kids watched them try to find the cable, Will became breathless, the goosebumps rising on his neck. He touched the back of it, his eyes widening. Lucas and Max took note of this, looking scared.

Still in the middle of the food court, Terry, Jane, and Mike heard a very faint rumble, becoming stiff. The woman looked up at the ceiling, seeing...something crawl on top of the glass. The two kids looked up as well, seeing the glass pound at every step. They were even more stiff and aghast. "Oh my God..." Terry muttered under her breath.

"It can't be..." Jane also muttered.

Andrew saw that Terry was with the kids...looking up. Concerned, he told the teens, "Look for the cable for me." They did so as he lightly jogged to them. "What's going on?" He then heard glass cracking. Stiff, he looked up with them, seeing the glass crack with every footstep. He looked just as terrified as the three.

Jonathan pulled out the ignition cable, saying, "Alright, got it."

Jane and Terry looked straight at the teens and rest of the kids, yelling, "KALI!" The Indian girl looked straight at them as well as the others, worried because of their expressions. The glass began cracking more...and they heard growls...just as they expected.

Mike was breathing quickly, petrified and frozen in place. Suddenly, Jane grabbed his hand and yelled, "Go! Go!" The two and the adults ran away from the middle of the food court...to hide from the Mind Flayer. The glass began breaking more...then it shattered. Thousands of glass shards rained on the food court as the Mind Flayer landed inside. It took two thundering steps...then roared loudly.

While waiting around in the storage room, Jim paced around, extremely anxious. He took off the cap he was wearing, scratching his head. "This is taking too long," he grumbled.

Joyce, crossing her arms and looking content, looked at him softly and said, "It's okay-"

"No, it's not, Joyce, it's not. Mike could've died back there." He huffed, looking forlorn. "He almost did..."

She frowned, feeling awful for him since she was in the same situation back in '83, when Will was missing. She walked towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "He almost did, but he didn't. He's a strong boy and he's on his way to Murray's with Terry and the others." He sighed and rubbed his eye. "He'll be safe." He turned around and looked down at her. "That thing will not find him until we kill it. Have faith, Jim."

He put his hands on his hips, looking away from her as she removed her hand from his shoulder. "It's that easy, huh?"

She nodded, smiling a little. "Yeah, try it."

He looked down. "Okay..." He took a deep breath and looked up at her. "My son will be safe and everyone else will be too."

She smiled more. "See? It's not that hard."

It wasn't. A little optimism wasn't a killer after all. "I guess."

She gave him a playful look and lightly hit his arm. "You 'guess'? Come on."

He laughed a little. "What else do you want me to say?"

"Well..." She began thinking, coming up with nothing. "Nothing...negative."

He laughed again. "I mean...it doesn't hurt to be realistic too, right?"

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Oh really? You think it's as easy as having hope?"

"You try it, unless you're too scared."

She scoffed. "Oh no, I'm anything but scared." She cleared her throat and looked up at the police chief. "Maybe everyone else...is going through some obstacles while getting to Murray's." She looked serious, making him do the same. "And that worries me, that Terry would be in danger...that my boys would be in danger..."

"That everyone else could be in danger." He nodded. "Yeah, I understand that."

She sighed. "I just hope that neither Billy or Stacey chase them down, you know?"

He nodded again. "Yeah." She smiled at him a little.

The both of them were silent for a moment, looking around. It was pretty quiet. Then Jim decided to speak his mind by saying, "Y'know, Joyce?" She looked up at him again. "Despite everything...we make a pretty good team."

She smiled and shrugged, replying with, "Well, we made it this far." She then sat down at one of the stairs to the storage room.

They then decided to talk some more: about her being a detective...about her still moving...about the date they will have once they get out of here. Jim was absolutely not expecting to be asked out by Joyce at a time like this, so he asked, "J-just for clarification, so that we're crystal clear..." he said, eyes squinted as he faced her. "Just because-if, I-um..." He felt very tongue-tied...he never fumbled over words like this in his life. "When you say 'date', you mean-uh-just-"

"Jim," she said, cutting him off.

He raised his brows and replied, "Yes?"

She held his arm. "I know you had a rough dating history. I know..." She exhaled through her nose. "I know you were hurt over Terry." He looked at her solemnly. "You know I was hurt over...Bob." She looked down, forlorn. He hugged her close, the woman accepting it. "Let's just have it, okay?" Her voice sounded a little sobby...for a reason. "After all this...let's have it."

He nodded, replying in a soft voice, "Yeah...we'll have it." They stayed like this for a bit, then just continued sitting next to each other, just so they didn't look suspicious.

While Dustin, Erica, and Robin were talking about the "My Little Pony" thesis, Steve was standing up, looking around. He suddenly saw lights blinking rapidly from afar. He walked forward a little, having a worried look on his face. "Guys?" he called out to the rest of the Troop. They all stood up and saw what he was seeing:

The rapidly-blinking lights of the mall.

Steve instantly thought of Kali, her being in grave danger. Jonathan was in grave danger too. He couldn't lose his girlfriend AND his best friend.

They quickly ran to Cerebro, Dustin getting the communicator and yelling, "Griswold Family, this is the Scoops Troop, do you copy?! Over?!" There was nothing, worrying them more. "Griswold Family, I repeat, this is Scoops Troop! Do you-" Suddenly, the monster screaming cut him off, now making them horrified. Steve clenched his fists. "Griswold Family, do you copy?! DO YOU COPY?!" The only answer they got was an ear-piercing roar from the creature.

That was it then.

They found them.

The Mind Flayer threw the walkie and broke it against a sign, destroying it as well. Dustin's voice was still heard trying to get anyone's answer, but they were hiding. The rest of the kids and the teens were hiding behind the car, petrified as hell. Will was having a panic attack due to getting a horrific flashback to his time in the Upside Down. Lucas and Max were next to each other at the end, holding hands. The redhead was hyperventilating too, her boyfriend looking over with a scared expression. Jonathan and Kali were in the middle, panting and being as still as they could.

The fleshy monster roamed around, looking for Mike. He, Jane, Terry, and Andrew hid behind a Fourth of July goodie stall, breathing heavily. The two kids held each other's hands tightly...as well as the adults. They knew it was close, hearing its growling. The part of it that was in Mike's leg crawled to it and became one with it, then he roared.

Mike's eyes were wide. He never thought he would be this terrified again...but he was.

"GRISWOLD FAMILY, DO YOU COPY?!" Dustin kept yelling into the communicator, hearing nothing but snarls. Steve looked like he was going to burst into tears. They were there...with that goddamn humongous monster.

There was no way he would let them just sit there and let it kill them.

He stood up and ran away as fast as he could, Erica yelling, "Where are you going?!"

"Stay here, contact the others!" he yelled back, getting back to the Toddfather.

Robin stood up, looking worried for her friend. "Shit," she muttered, about to run after him.

"Wait, Robin!" Dustin cried out. She stopped and turned to him. He tossed her a walkie-talkie. "Stay in touch!"

She caught it and replied, "Got it!" She then ran after Steve.

She eventually caught up to him as he started up the car. "Wait!" she shouted. He looked up, seeing her run down the hill before hopping into the car. She faced him. "No way I'm letting you go there alone, dingus."

He smiled a little, happy to have his friend come along. "Hang on tight!" She buckled herself up before he began backing up.

The four heard another step from it and its roar way too close to the booth. They still hid themselves, despite shaking in fear. They then heard it walk away...and destroy whatever was in its way. It snarled, getting closer to the rest of the group, still the same as they were before. Kali looked up at the rearview mirror, seeing it pick up one of the Russian bodies...and throwing it hard against a pillar. Her breath hitched and she looked away.

Jane took a quick peek up, seeing its back facing them. She went back down and looked at everyone else with her. "O-okay," she whispered. "Maybe if we can make it up the stairs now, we'll make it."

Andrew shook his head and whispered back, "No chance, not with Mike's leg."

She looked pleading. "But we have to try."

Terry then noticed that they were close to The Gap, leading her to whisper, "Hey." Everyone looked at her. "We're close to The Gap. We can get out using the secret hallways in it." That sounded like a good idea to everyone else.

Jane peeked up again, seeing that it was still turned away. She got back down and nodded. "Okay." She looked at her boyfriend. "Go." They got up from the booth and quickly ran to the store, still holding hands. Mike still had his limp, but kept going. They walked through the glass. The kids managed to get in undetected, but Andrew accidentally tipped over the mannequin on display, making a loud enough noise for the Mind Flayer to hear.

They quickly got in the dark, empty store and hid behind the shoe shelf. They heard its leg come in, then the screeching from the tentacles it got out. All of them were panting, their hearts racing like crazy. One of them caught a mannequin wearing Mike's shirt, the monster holding it close and roaring at it. However, it saw that it was just a mannequin wearing the shirt he wore, so he threw it away, landing near them and terrifying them more...especially Mike.

Becky and Carl drove around to every neighborhood with Tina in her seat, but there was no sign of Andrew's van. That made Becky panic as they drove into town. "Maybe they're still around here?" Carl asked, extremely worried.

"I hope to God..." she muttered.

Stacey and Billy were still in the car before the curly-haired woman unbuckled herself and got out of it. She walked towards the mall, going to help "him" look for Mike.

Inside of it, one of the tentacles reached to the shoe shelf, screaming and launching itself to get the four, but they weren't there anymore. It continued looking. Terry, Jane, and Mike were hiding behind the side of the counter, still panting. Andrew managed to hide in one of the dressing rooms, completely on the bench inside of it. All tried to be as still and as quiet as possible.

...

Jonathan had peeked over and seen it in front of The Gap before getting back down. Lucas did too, then let go of Max's hand as he quickly got out his wrist rocket. Max looked at him with a worried look. "What are you doing?!" she whisper-shouted.

"Don't worry, babe," he replied, getting it ready.

...

One of the tentacles continued looking and hissing, eventually getting closer to the counter, much to the horror of the three hiding there. Jane looked to her left...seeing the head of the tentacle right next to her face. She held back every thought to scream and run.

Suddenly, they all heard something pop from a distance. The Mind Flayer roared, getting its tentacles back before going to the area where the pop came from. Andrew thought it was safe, so he got on the floor and peeked over from the curtain, seeing that the coast was clear.

...

Once it went to the balloons Lucas popped, Jonathan and Kali gestured them all to get over the counter of the restaurant and go. They all did hurriedly.

...

Terry nodded at Andrew that it was clear. They then got out of their hiding spots and ran like hell, following the woman to the secret hallway.

...

The rest of the group ran through the kitchen before finding the stairs and running up it.

...

The four barged into the hallway, continuing to run away.

...

In the secret hallways, the four ran quickly, trying to find any exit they could. But as they turned to another hallway, they stopped in place, eyes widened when they saw Stacey going down one. She stopped too, her eyes focused on Mike. "There you are, kid," she said coldly as she began approaching them.

They backed up, Terry pulling out her gun, but he put it down. "No!" he exclaimed, looking at his friend. "Stacey!" She continued walking towards them, making them back up. "Stop! You're under his control! You can fight it!"

"Andrew, it's no use-" Jane said before he continued.

"He's the reason why Dave's gone! Dave's DEAD because of him, Stace!"

Suddenly, the woman stopped, becoming very still. She then looked...sad. "Dave...?" she muttered.

The other three were surprised that worked, looking at each other. Andrew had tears welling up in his eyes though. "Remember? Our best friend? Jokes around a lot? Always gets into fights?" His voice began to tremble. "You were living with him here! You two had great memories of this place! You were best friends for life, like me and him were!" He sniffled, beginning. "He's dead, Stacey! He's dead because of the monster that's influencing you! Please! Fight against it!"

Even though she was at a distance, everyone could see her...heartbroken face. Andrew could've sworn he saw a tear come out of her eye. "Dave..." And then in a mere second, she lost that face and continued approaching them. "...does not matter to me anymore."

His heart and Terry's shattered when he heard that, the kids feeling absolute horrible for them. He shook his head, his voice now choked. "Stacey, fight it!" She continued approaching them. "FIGHT IT!" She was getting too close, so with a heavy heart, Terry pointed her gun at her leg and shot it. She screamed and fell down. He looked down at her in complete shock. "TERRY!"

"I'm sorry, Andrew, but we need to go!" she replied loudly in a saddened voice. She grabbed his hand as she and the kids began running the other way. They could still hear Stacey groaning in pain as they ran.

The woman herself tried her best to stand up, not even bothering to pull out the bullet. She looked at where the group had went furiously, still willing to chase after them, despite the wound and pain in her leg.

Stopping right here. How was this chapter? Any typos or mistakes I might've missed?

I don't know the writers thought making Hopper Rambo was a good idea. That's why I had him regret gunning done the soldiers. Because he knows it takes insane measures to solve insane problems.

Just like El in the show, Mike doesn't have his powers anymore. Poor him...

I liked how I wrote that Jopper scene. I always thought that's how it should go, considering what they've been through to get here.

Also, poor Andrew. Stacey just can't get out of her mind control...

The next chapter...oh boy, the next chapter is gonna be long and intense! Plus, Becky and Carl might have a bigger role in it! There'll be a couple of twists and turns too! I can't wait for you guys to see it!

So, keep supporting this fanfic as you guys do and I'll see you then! :D