𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒅𝒔 • 𝑩𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 [2]

36•

I held Max's hand as the four of us hid under a stall table that was positioned near the escalator in the middle of the mall. The sound of the monster's squelching stomp's filled my ears and I shut my eyes tight, fear engulfing me.

It let out an ear splitting roar and I couldn't help but gasp. I quickly snapped my eyes open and stared straight ahead, trying to prepare myself for an attack any second. The lights flashed all around the mall as the monster paraded about, its determination to find us thick in the air.

Suddenly, Mike moved to peek over the stall before quickly ducking back down beside us. "It's turned away. If we go up the stairs now, we'll make it."

"Are you fucking crazy?" I whisper shouted at him as he looked between me and Max.

"Yeah, no way." Max agreed. "Not with El's leg."

"We have to try." He insisted as I shot him a dirty look.

"Famous last words." I mumbled.

"There's another way...to get out." El quickly interjected as all three of us turned to her. "Through the Gap." She pointed to the store a few yards away and Mike moved to look at the monster again.

"Okay." He nodded before glancing at me. "Now."

My hand never separated from Max's as we ran from behind the stall towards the store. Mike and El quickly entered first and for a split second I thought we had actually made it until a rail of clothes hangers clattered to the floor, sending a lout rattle through the mall.

"Fuck." I groaned before pulling the kids to the back of the small store and shoving them behind a shelf. I could hear the monster marching towards us and I jumped as a loud crash filled my ears, presumably the demise of the front of the store as the beast tried to squeeze itself inside.

All of a sudden, a manekin which was coincidentally wearing the same clothes as El landed with a thud a few feet away from us, and my jaw hit the floor. I held Max tight in my grasp as we all stared, and tried as hard as I could to control my breathing. "We've got to move." I said quietly between gasps.

"No." Max shook her head and I could feel her trembling in my grasp. "It'll see us."

"We have to move." I repeated, saying each word slowly as I looked her in the eyes.

"Okay." Mike gasped as he frantically looked around. "The counter, go!"

I moved first, desperately crawling towards the counter as fast as I could. A few seconds later the others arrived and I hugged Max to my chest as Mike hugged El to his.

We sat there for a moment and I looked around trying to find a better spot, when out of the corner of my eye I saw one of the monster's limbs snake around the side of the desk. It hadn't seen us yet and the fear that was already rushing around my body severely increased as I stared in horror.

Just as I thought it would lash out and grab someone, a pop echoed from outside the store, causing the limb to retract and the monster to stomp away. "Let's go." Mike ordered as he jumped up from his spot and dragged Eleven behind him. I quickly kissed Max on the head before pulling her up off the ground and following the others through a service door against the back wall.

"I think I pissed myself a little." I half laughed as we ran through a maze of corridors.

"Yeah," Mike half laughed as he swiftly turned another corner, "me too."

"How the hell do we get out of here?" Max frowned as we began turning corner after corner.

"I don't really-" Mike began, only to be cut off by Eleven suddenly dropping to the ground. "El!"

"My leg." She gasped as she clutched her calf.

"It's okay, it's okay-uh." I babbled as I looked around for a way out, my eyes lighting up once I spotted an emergency exit. "This way!" I pointed, Max and Mike hoisted Eleven up by her arms and helped her walk towards the door.

The cool air hit me like a truck as we stepped out into the night. "How do we open the gate?" Max breathed heavily.

Panic set in again as I turned around trying to find a key pad or a lever or a...button. "Bingo." I said with a small smile as I pushed the red button that was situated on a little podium beside the gate.

As I walked out behind the others, the smell of smoke quickly caught my attention as a burning car came into view. "Shit." Max gasped as she looked past the flames.

I followed her gaze and my heart begrudgingly sank as I locked eyes with Billy. "Go, go, go, go, go!" Mike yelled as they quickly turned around and began running back towards the mall. I hesitated for a moment as I gazed at Billy. He began limping around the side of the car and honestly, he looked like shit.

"Evie!" I heard Max yell and I felt my heart break a little more as I forced my feet to move away from Billy.

I slammed the door behind me as we re-entered the mall and began running down the corridors yet again.

"Okay, in here." Mike nodded towards an elevator a few feet away and I quickly ran up to it and began impatiently pressing the button.

"Come on, come on, come on." After a few moments of the elevator doing nothing I angrily banged my hand against the panel and groaned. "Piece of shit!"

Suddenly, I heard a door open at the end of the corridor and Max hastily walked over to take a look.

"Billy." She stated, her voice shaky, causing Mike and El to quickly whip themselves around and stare too. "Billy, you don't have to do this." Max spoke as Billy's footsteps echoed down the corridor. "Billy. Your name is Billy, Billy Hargrove. You live on 4819 Cherry Lane. Billy, please, I'm Max, I'm your sister-"

A scream tore through my throat as Billy backhanded Max, causing her to drop to the ground. I quickly grabbed El and shoved her behind me. Tears streaming down my face as Mike ran towards him, only for Billy to grab him and slam him against the wall, knocking him out cold.

"Billy." I pleaded, barely above a whisper. He never took his eyes off me, and without a second thought he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me away from Eleven, before pushing me to the ground. "No!" I quickly got to my feet and shoved him as hard as I could as he went to reach for El, but he barely moved.

Before I knew what was happening, his hand was around my throat and I was slammed against a wall. I clawed at his hand as I stared into the eyes of the monster that was inside of him. "Please." I squeaked as my head started to pound. In a last ditched attempt to get through to him, I grabbed his free arm and pressed it against my stomach. "I need you, we need you."

After the words left my lips, something sparked in his eyes, and they really were his eyes. He released the grasp around my throat and I dropped to the floor, dark spots still clouding my vision as I coughed for oxygen.

He gazed at me for a moment and I couldn't help but let a small smile cross my face, only for it to immediately disappear a second later once he blinked. My Billy was gone once again, only to be replaced by a monster.