[ 𝙶𝚘𝚕𝚍 & 𝚂𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚎 ] ~ 𝙱𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝙷𝚊𝚛𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

XXI - Static

Static hissed through the room as Eleven sat before the tv, blindfolded with blood trickling from her nose. She seemed to gasp, though it was subtle, more of a staggered breath. The other four kids sat on the sofa, silently watching her, while the older teens were off to the side. Eleven panted, ripping the blindfold off and taking a moment to ground herself from whatever she'd just seen Billy do. 

"What's he doing now?" Max questioned. 

"He's. . .in his room." She shrugged. 

"What?" Rylie scoffed, shaking her head. 

"In his room." Eleven repeated, as if unsure that Rylie actually heard her the first time. 

"That's not right. You're wrong." Rylie shook her head once again. There was no way. Not a single time had Rylie ever proposed they stay in during the day and Billy said yes. Unless the proposal excluded clothes and included a locked door. 

"Uh. . .let's get you water?" Justin piped up, holding her hands out to Eleven and helping her get up. The two walked toward the kitchen, leaving the other seven on their own. 

"So that's not normal?" 

"Billy staying in his room, ever? No. Especially not on the Fourth of July." Rylie shook her head. "No way." 

"He wants us to find him." Will concluded. The water ran in the other room before shutting off. 

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of." Nancy nodded. "If we go to Billy, then the rest of the flayed know where we are." 

"It's a trap, I agree. We'll be ambushed." Mike shrugged. 

"We won't be surprised. We'll know that they're coming, and we will kick their flayed butts." 

"That doesn't matter, Sinclair. There are more of them than us, we'll be outnumbered. I mean, hell, did you see how big just two of them were at the hospital?" Rylie sighed. "No way we can take them." 

"You mean El will kick their butts." Max corrected.

"It's too risky." Mike muttered. 

"Yeah, and unnecessary." Nancy added. 

"Unnecessary to you maybe. It's not your boyfriend who's been possessed by some freaky flesh monster." Rylie scoffed, stepping up to Nancy. 

"You can get a new boyfriend, Billy's an ass anyways." Nancy shot back, trying to stand up taller. It didn't work. 

"You're an ass, you don't see us sacrificing you to the flesh demon." Rylie snarled. 

"Ladies. . ." Justin chuckled dryly, pulling the two apart. "Please shut the fuck up." 

Rylie rolled her eyes. 

"Though I don't see why we don't sacrifice Nancy to the skin goop creature. She doesn't bring much to the table." Justin smiled, only half joking. Rylie laughed, glancing at Justin with a small grin. 

Nancy scoffed, clearly offended, before continuing. "We have to find out where it's spreading from. We have to find the source."

"Billy knows it." Eleven said, coming back from the kitchen. "Billy's been there." 

Rylie tensed up, freezing in place. Her expression drowned in heartbreak as she realized. "The night he was supposed to meet me. . ." She whispered, looking away from everyone and drawing in a breath. 

"To the source."

"Yeah, but-" Mike started. 

"It's a trap. I know." Eleven nodded. "We can't go to Billy, but I think there's another way. A way for me to see where he's been."

Within a few minutes the tv was back on running static, Eleven had her blindfold back on, and she was sitting cross-legged in front of the television. The entire room went silent beside the scratchy static noise, everyone staring at Eleven with intrigue or fear. Eleven started whimpering, breathing heavily and shaking. 

"Something's wrong." Mike started sitting up. 

"Mike." Rylie warned, shooting him a look. "She's okay. She's got this." Rylie nodded, putting her hand on his shoulder. 

Mike hesitated but sat back against his chair, but didn't stop trying to get through to her. "El, you okay? Are you okay?" 

Eleven sighed. "I'm okay." 

"What's going on?" Mike questioned, sitting up and leaning against his knees. 

"I'm on a beach." El answered. 

"Okay, I may be dense, but the last I checked, there weren't any beaches in Hawkins." Lucas said. 

"California." Rylie muttered.

"What else do you see?" Max asked. 

El softly shook her head, thinking before answering. "A woman. She's. . .pretty. I. . .I think she's looking at me."

"What the. . .fu-" Justin started before getting shushed by Jonathan. 

"There's. . .a boy."

"Billy." Rylie whispered with a frown. 

Eleven stayed silent for another minute. "It's Billy." She confirmed.

"It's a memory." Max spoke up. 

"I think I see it. The source." Eleven muttered. 

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Word Count - 753

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Published - April 22, 2024

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{Author's Note}

Hello, hello!

I'm sorry it's been such a long time since I've been able to update this series. I've been really busy in my personal life and haven't had the energy or time to work on any writing. 

Thank you for being patient with me, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

<3 - Ghosty