A mind flayer's wails will haunt your dreams, that much you know. You watch the beast writhe and thrash as your friends hurl the bundles of fireworks at it like grenades, your ears ring with it's screams. It makes your stomach churn. And the worst part? You know it's hurting Billy. His link with the creature causing him to feel every ounce of it's pain.

You see Billy slowly rise to his feet, Eleven cowering behind him as the Mind Flayer looms in, screeching ominously. That's when your eyes meet across the mall and you see him. You see Billy. Not the monster that infected his mind. Just him.

Then it dawns on you, what he's doing. He's putting himself between El and that nightmare.