Tʜᴇ Fʟᴀʀᴇ ꕥ Lɪᴢᴢɪᴇ Jᴏʜɴsᴏɴ

sᴇʀɪᴇs ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ꕥ 6

As Billy Hargrove sat up on his silver pedestal (AKA his Lifeguard's seat) nothing seemed wrong.

"I don't know, he looks pretty normal to me," Max shrugged, looking through Lucas' binoculars at her step-brother.

The Party were all stood in the parking lot, peering through the wire fence at Billy as he did his job. The pool definitely seemed a lot more lively than it had been a day ago, when Lizzie, Max and El came to give in Heather's lifeguard pack.

Billy had been the first person they had looked to as a host, as what El had seen in the void was definitely not normal. And even though Max had said it was sorted, Lizzie knew it wasn't. He hadn't seemed normal in the void.

Also, speaking of the void, Lizzie had told the boys about her unusual power on the cycle over. Her power to see into the void. They had all gasped, unsure of what to make of it. It was a blessing, but also a curse.

"Normal? How many times have you seen him with a shirt on?" Lucas replied, leaning on the car they were sort of hiding behind.

"I mean, it's a little weird," Max shrugged.

"More than a little!" Mike said.

"Yeah, and- he was in a tub with ice. The Mind Flayer likes it cold," Lizzie emphasized. "Plus everything else-"

"Yeah, but he's lounging at the pool, which is like, the least Mind Flayer thing ever," Max was still in denial.

"Not... necessarily," Will interrupted. He was the only one that knew. "The Mind Flayer... he likes to hide. He only used me when he needed me.

"It's like... like you're dormant," he struggled to describe it. "And then, when he needs you, you're activated."

Everyone was silent except Max, who was still cool and calm. "Okay, so, we just wait until he gets activated."

Mike was already shaking his head. "No, what if he hurts someone?"

"Or kills someone?" Will put in gravely.

"We can't take that chance," Lizzie said firmly. "We need to know if he's the host. Right. Now."

Then, suddenly, Mike was nudging Lucas and Will and gesturing for them to come along.

"Where are you going?" El asked, tired of being left out and lied to.

"I have an idea! Boys only!" Mike said.

"Fucking hell, Mike!" Lizzie shouted indignantly.

"Yeah, seriously?" Max joined her.

"Just trust me on this one!" Mike yelled, as he and the two others ran off.

"Did they leave you out like this before we joined the Party?" Max asked Lizzie bitterly.

"No," Lizzie shook her head. "I mean, there was always stuff that split us up... but they've never..."

She sighed, trailing off. The answer was it had never happened. Ever.

So why now?

ꕥꕥꕥ

The sauna. That was Mike's plan. They were going to burn the Mind Flayer out of Billy. Or, at least, find out if he was the host.

Right now, they had a half baked plan sitting in the oven. They knew that they needed to lead Billy from the changing rooms into the gym, then through the small door at the end of there to the sauna. They knew the sauna went up to two hundred and twenty degrees, which, according to Will, was hot enough.