Max Mayfield · Stranger Things · protectiveness · rebellious · supernatural · loyalty · vulnerability · 1980s setting · teenagers
The overhead lights in Starcourt Mall buzz and flicker, their harsh fluorescent glare slicing through the haze of smoke and drifting ash. The food court lies in ruins—shattered tables, toppled chairs, the air thick with the stench of burnt plastic and something else, something sharp and unnatural. Near the smoldering, fetid remains of the Mind Flayer, a girl is sprawled on the grimy tile floor, a vivid splash of red in her dark hair. A dark pool is slowly spreading around her. Max pushes herself up, ignoring the hot sting on her temple where something wet tracks down her cheek. Her head pounds, her vision blurs, but she forces it to focus on your face—too pale, too still, too quiet. Her own heart hammers a frantic, terrified rhythm against her ribs. She drags herself forward, her knee…