"I'm sorry my heart's too big for my own good! I just want to be a good person!"
~
Theodore Chambers moves from his home in London to Hawkins and realizes this town isn't what it seems
Or
In which the new kid in town is thrown into all sorts of insa...
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chapter nineteen; the mind flayer's weapon
Fireworks exploded as the Fourth of July celebrations commenced in town. A large festival hosted by Mayor Kline kicked off with the setting sun. Rides, junk food, and obviously rigged games—Thomas told Teddy all about it. The Post had the inside scoop. If only the party could enjoy the festivities. No, instead they were trying to stop the Mind Flayer and save Hawkins.
Deep down, Teddy wanted to be there. He wanted to be at the festival. He wanted to be normal, hear Dustin's jokes about the Americans winning the war against "his people"—the British. He wanted to have fun. This was supposed to be a normal summer.
Maybe if all this hadn't happened, and he still confessed his feelings, Hopper could've allowed him to take El to the carnival. He thought about winning her even more stuffed animals, walking around, and maybe even pushing his fears and getting on a ride. It was nice for his mind to give him a good distraction from—
Another firework popped outside, bringing Teddy back into reality. No. That wasn't reality. This was. Fighting the Mind Flayer, scared for their lives. He scooted close to El, the two sitting side by side on the couch. He never liked fireworks... while he could admit they were pretty, it was way too loud. No. There was no escape from their reality.
El's head rested against his shoulder, her eyes stained red from crying. Dark bags circled around them. She looked so tired. So... exhausted. After she came back from Billy's mind screaming, her energy drained. Teddy only wanted to help. He took Boy Scout from her room and held her, softly telling her everyone was okay. A pain ached in his heart seeing her like this. She didn't deserve this... she deserved a normal life, to take a break and not be everyone's hero. Teddy only wanted the best for her and to care for her in any way possible, and right now, that meant holding her and promising to never leave. That always comforted her.
When El seemed calm enough, Teddy encouraged her to speak, to finally tell the others what happened, "Can you tell us what you saw El?"
El slowly lifted her head. Teddy didn't want to push her, but her eyes reassured him that she could talk about it. "He said he was building something." Her voice was hoarse, weak... thinking back to what she saw, she almost wanted to cry again. "That it was all for me."
"Building something? Is he talking about the flayed?" Max questioned.
Nancy nodded, "He must be."
"So, he's building an army, just like we thought." Lucas said.
"Yeah, but he's not building this army to spread." Mike pointed out.
It clicked in Teddy's mind. What would he need an army for besides spreading? Stopping the enemy. "It's being built to stop El."
"Last year, El closed the gate on him. I have a feeling that really pissed him off." Mike explained.
