Chapter Forty-Eight

Raining Glass

Veronica walked back with Jonathan toward the center court of the mall. Jonathan broke away from Veronica as they stepped down onto the small court, while she continued forward to where El sat with Hopper beside her. The corner of El's lips turned up slightly when El noticed her older sister walking back toward her.

"How are you feeling, kid? Did the snacks help?" Veronica asked, sitting down on the other side of her father, leaning forward slightly to look at El.

"A little…my battery is low, but…" El started, Veronica getting the read almost immediately on the drained and tired emotion rolling off of El. "…but I will recharge."

"Everything is going to be alright," Hopper spoke, his arm wrapped around her shoulder.

"I can fight," El spoke quickly, conviction in her voice, despite the tired look in her eyes.

"Better than any of us," Hopper smirked, bringing her closer to his side before reaching and doing the same with Veronica. He pulled both girls tightly into his side. "The both of you can. But right now, I need the two of you safe. This…thing…it's after you two. Not me."

"And that's why you're sending us away?" Veronica frowned as she turned her head up to look at her father.

When Jim looked down at his daughter he couldn't help but feel like someone had hit him right in the chest. With her dark curls and large moon eyes, Jim couldn't help but feel it, since she looked just like her mother. The woman he loved long ago. He always thought what his life would be like if he'd convinced Lauren to be with him. To leave her husband and raise Veronica together and be a family.

But then he pushes that away because then he wouldn't have had Sara, and he wouldn't change a thing about having her in his life – even if it were for a small amount of time.

"I'm not sending you away," Jim spoke quickly, "I'm making sure that you're somewhere safe where this thing can't get you. I'm going to take care of it once and for all, but for me to do that, I need to know that you two are safe."

Veronica nodded her head before she quickly wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly.

"We should probably get going," Mike spoke as he walked closer, a sheepish look on his face. "Jonathan and Nancy are getting the car together."

"Ok," El whispered, pulling herself away from Hopper for a moment.

Neither of them spoke a word for a moment the two of them exchanging a look that said more than any words. But before she stood from the bench that sat at, El wrapped her arms around Hopper's neck and hugged him tightly. Veronica sat back with a woeful smile as her father's arms wrapped around El's smaller frame.

Mike stepped up closer and wrapped a supportive arm around El's waist before helping her walk toward the front doors where the rest of the group was waiting. Veronica sat there for a moment longer, watching as they walked away, before speaking.

"Please be careful," Veronica whispered, her eyes slowly moving away from her friends before landing back on her father. "I-I…I need to know that you're safe too… to be ok."

Hopper's brows pulled together tightly as he looked down at Veronica, "I'm going to do everything in my power to be careful, I promise you."

Veronica nodded her head, feeling her throat tighten slightly, "Ok, Dad."

"And keep an eye on your sister. The two of you…I know you'll do what you need to to keep her safe. But that includes yourself. Do you understand?"

"Dad…"

"No, Veronica, I need you to hear me. I just got you back and I'm not going to let anything risk me losing you again. Do you understand me? You're my daughter and I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure you're kept safe. But a part of that is making sure you know when to slow down and stop." Jim spoke firmly, "I can see it…you're more than drained…you're on empty."

Veronica frowned and looked down slightly, feeling shame come over her for a moment.

"Keep the two of you safe." Jim's tone was softer, reaching to tuck back some of the curls that had fallen into her face. The touch caused her head to lift back. "I want to have a little more time with my daughter, and I can't take it if I lose another."

The tightness of her throat pulled a little tighter and she fought back the strangled sound that wanted to come out. Her eyes watered slightly as she felt a bit of her father's sorrow. Veronica didn't hesitate before she nearly threw herself into Hopper's arms. He let out a groan as her body slammed into his, before relaxing and hugging her just as tightly.

"I love you, dad." Veronica's voice muffled since her head was tucked into his neck.

"I love you, too, sweetie."

Veronica moved back and quickly reached up to wipe away the stray tear that started to move down her cheek.

"Now go, get out of here," Jim said before the two of them broke apart.

Veronica looked back over her shoulder to her father and gave a small smile and a wave. Jim couldn't stop himself from doing the same with a small chuckle. He felt like a heavy weight was being lifted from his chest as he watched Veronica and El disappear out the front of the mall doors.

Veronica sighed heavily as she walked with Nancy, Jonathan, El, and the others toward the large main doors of the mall out to the Byers car. The station wagon sat out front and one by one they all piled into the car. Nancy got in behind the wheel with Jonathan in the passenger beside her. Veronica watched as El, Mike, and Max crawled into the back trunk set – which left her squeezing into the back beside Lucas and Will.

But as Nancy went to start the car nothing happened. The sound of the engine trying to turn over echoed through the empty parking lot.

Nancy tried again, and again, and again. But nothing changed. The car wouldn't start.

"Didn't your mom just buy this car?" Lucas asked with a worried look pinching his face.

"Yeah. Like a couple of months ago," Nancy answered.

"The lights weren't left on again were they?" Will asked.

"No! The lights weren't left on." Nancy snapped, as the sound of the engine sputtering began to sound once again. "Come on!"

"Do we have gas?" Mike asked from the back.

"Yes!" Nancy yelled in frustration, trying the car once again, but the sputtering continued. "Goddamn it!"

Veronica jumped slightly as Nancy's emotions hit her. She worked to bring her blockers up but was failing, her energy too depleted to do so.

"Stop! Ok?" Jonathan reached over and grabbed her wrist gently, stopping her from turning the key once more. "Pop the hood, let's see what's going on."

Jonathan got out of the car quickly with Nancy following close behind him. The moment the doors slammed shut behind them, everyone else in the car fell into a slight silence. The only sounds being heard were Nancy and Jonathan's muffled voices. Veronica relaxed back into her seat and closed her eyes for a moment.

But the small moment of reprieve quickly ended with the loud sound of a car engine revving. Everyone seemed to tense up at once as the sound continued growing louder and louder. Everyone turned to look just like two bright headlights shone from the other side of the parking lot.

"Holy shit," Max whispered, "That's Billy."

"Get back in the mall," Veronica whispered, her eyes unmoving as she stared at the car across the dark lot.

When no one moved, she snapped, "Get back in the mall!"

Everyone seemed to snap into action just as Jonathan and Nancy scrambled to get the car doors opened. One by one they scrambled out of the station wagon before running back through the double glass doors. Veronica stumbled slightly as she was one of the last to get out of the car. Mike had a firm hold on El's waist as the two of them limped in through the door.

A part of Veronica was hoping her father or Joyce would still be where they had left them – but alas, the courtyard was empty as the seven of them rushed inside.

"Get on that damn walkie, call out to Dustin and the others. We need backup." Nancy shouted. "More importantly we need a car."

"How the fuck did he find us?" Jonathan asked angrily, rushing a hand through his hair.

"What does it matter how? He's out there and we're trapped in here." Veronica sighed taking a seat at one of the small tables outside the food court.

In the background, Mike paced back and forth repeating the same message over and over again hoping for a response from Dustin and the others.

"Scoop Troop…Scoop Troop, can you copy?" Mike would start, "We are trapped inside the mall, I repeat we're trapped inside the mall. Billy has found us and we need emergency transportation."

There would be a pause of silence before he would start back up again.

While Mike called out on the walkie system, Nancy worked quickly and looked for means of defense. Her first source was the bodies of the Russian spies that lay across the white tiled floor. After rifling through a few of their pockets, she was able to locate a Russian Makarov.

"You're going to kill him, aren't you?" Max asked somberly as she stood watching off to the side.

"This is just a precaution; we can't be too careful," Nancy spoke, checking from ammunition, before moving on to another body.

"If Billy knows that we're here, that means that the Mindflayer knows that we're here," Will spoke up.

"We need to come up with a Plan B in case Steve and the others aren't able to get back to us." Veronica reached up to rub at her temples as she spoke, the throbbing of a headache beginning to form.

Nancy's eyes locked on the turned over car that rested against some of the counters of the food court.

"Too bad that thing isn't able to drive," She laughed dryly.

A look of realization dawned on Jonathan's face, "We don't need it to drive…we just need the ignition cable. Use it to replace the missing one on the station wagon."

"We're going to have to flip it to get under the hood," Nancy pointed out.

"I'm sure with the seven of us we can flip that thing." Jonathan shrugged before walking over to the other side of the court toward the flipped vehicle.

One by one they took positions around the car. Max and Lucas were on the counter behind it to push, while Jonathan and Nancy stood off to the sides to pull on it. Mike and Will taking positions beside him.

"Alright…ready…push!" Jonathan instructed before they all started pushing or pulling on the vehicle.

Everyone one of them straining and putting all their strength into it – but it wasn't budging. It barely lifted an inch from the counter before it slipped and slammed back down.

Veronica watched with a frown as she watched them struggle, "Let me try!"

Everyone stopped and watched as she stood from her seat and walked closer to them. She stopped once she was right in front of it, her eyes darting around as she looked at everyone.

"Are you sure about that?" Jonathan asked as he stepped around the counter.

"I can move the car," Veronica nodded her head, before taking a deep sigh, "Now move so that no one gets hurt."

Jonathan opened up his mouth to argue but stopped himself before moving to stand behind Veronica. The others followed along and stepped back to watch.

Veronica took a couple of deep breaths before locking her focus on the car. Her body got ridged as she pushed all the strength and energy she had left into moving it. The car began to rock slightly as Veronica's manipulation got a handle on it, but when it wouldn't move more than that, she pushed harder. The sound of metal buckling and squeaking could be heard as she pushed harder and harder. Her chest began to rise with labored breaths as she strained herself a little more.

"Ronnie…" Jonathan took a step forward but stopped as she hit her hand up.

Veronica ignored him and pushed even harder, before letting out a cry of frustration. It was like a burst had moved through her and grabbed onto the car before flipping it back upright. She stumbled slightly as she let go, Jonathan there to catch her as she struggled to stand up straight.

Jonathan's brows pinched with concern as he watched the trickle of blood move down from her nose and to her upper lip.

"I've got you," Jonathan whispered, "Good job, Ron, good job."

Veronica gave him a weak smile as she leaned into him more before moving to gently set her down in one of the chairs. The moment the car flipped over back onto its wheel, Nancy worked quickly and opened the hood. Veronica rested her head down on top of the table and closed her eyes for a moment trying to get her breath under control. Her chest felt tight and like her lungs weren't getting enough air.

"Not smart," a voice caused her to slowly open her eyes, looking up slightly to see her sister standing over her.

"H-Had to help…" Veronica struggled the words out between her labored breaths.

El's brows pinched together tightly before kneeling beside Veronica, pressing her hand down to her forehead. After a few passing seconds, the frown on El's face deepened as she stared down at Veronica.

"No…read…no…electricity…" El whispered out in confusion.

El pressed harder searching for the connection that she shared with her sister but couldn't find it. It was like it was right there beneath the surface, but she wasn't able to break through. This made her stomach fill with dread as she watched Veronica close her eyes once more.

"Guys…" Will spoke, with his hand grasped to the back of his neck and his eyes widened with fear.

Everyone froze for a moment causing a silence to fall over them.

But it wasn't silent for long.

El's back straightened as she heard and felt the pounding footsteps that sounded coming closer and closer to the mall. Veronica's eyes opened once more as she too began to feel and hear the steps coming closer to them. Max's head moved up and stared toward the glass ceiling of the mall and suddenly it seemed like it was getting darker and darker within the mall. Like the moonlight was being blocked.

Veronica sat up and stared up as a form started to become more and more noticeable against the glass. Everyone stood there frozen in fear as the sound of the glass cracking beneath the pressure of something heavy could be heard from above.

It didn't take much to put together what was looming over them like a nightmare.

Veronica remembers how Mike and everyone else described what the Mindflayer looked like now.

A large, flesh monster made up of the people it had flayed around town.

And through the glass that's exactly what stared down at them.

"He's here," Will whispered.

A snarling vibrated against the glass causing everyone to move and to move quickly. In a blur of motion, El was grabbed by Mike and pulled away towards one of the stores. Veronica pushed herself out of her seat just as Jonathan came up beside her and hauled her toward one of the shops. The two of them fell behind the counter just as the glass broke and began to rain down on the court beneath it.

Then it felt like an earthquake had moved through the building.

Before the bone chilling roar of the Mindflayer echoed through the chaos.

AN: Coming to the end of S3! Please leave a review if you enjoyed it. Took a bit of a mental health pause there but I am trying to find time to write now that I'm starting to figure myself out.