Chloroform (Billy Hargrove)

Chapter 9: Hunter and The Hunted

We drove down the street, and just before turning onto the long winding road to the boy's house I had the urge to go home for some reason. Maybe it was my sixth sense telling me something was wrong, or perhaps I just had to check if Billy was gone or not; in case he decided to rummage through my belongings.

"Stop at my house before we go." He nodded, getting onto the road. I could feel the boy's eyes burning a hole in the back of my head, so I decided to introduce myself.

"I'm Tesla or Tess for short." I held my gloved hand out to him and turned my body, so I was facing him. He took my hand and gave it a shake, introducing himself as well.

"Dustin." He replied. The handshake only lasted for a few seconds, and then broke apart soon after. I tried to keep my eyes off of him but sadly did not succeed in doing so, getting sucked into his mind, and converging with a memory, latching onto it like a leech.

"Hold on; we're almost there, we're almost there." Dustin was carrying Eleven, who looked like she was on the brink of dying. Her body hung limply in his arms, the only sign of life was her faint breathing. There were two other boys with him, but I couldn't see their faces. It was like I was looking through a blurry tunnel, and the only thing I could see was her, in a faint pink dress, and a plaid shirt. Dustin put her down on one of the lab benches, and she turned to the side looking away from him.

"Just hold on a little longer okay? He's gone, the bad man's gone. We'll be home soon, and my mom...She'll get you your own bed, and you can eat as many eggos as you want." I could see a small smile appear on her face, and her eyes were filling with tears. "And...We can go to the snowball." She stared at the blurry figure that was talking, gripping his hand just a little tighter. Gunfire faintly echoed through the room.

"Promise?" Her voice whispered,

"Promise." The boy replied, making her lips turn up into a faint smile. Then a loud, monstrous roar interrupted them.

Steve nudged me, snapping me out of my trance. He knew Eleven; that means he's the one that took care of her and protected her, he must know where she is. (It) I gulped all my built up saliva, and turned back, facing the windshield. I closed my eyes, wiping a stray tear that fell down my cheek, burning the skin beneath it.

The house was relatively close to Dustin's, so it didn't take too long to make it to my place. Steve parked on the road and sighed, sitting back in his chair.

"You think he's still in there?" He asked, staring out the window. I shrugged.

"If he is he is if he isn't, he isn't," I replied, unbuckling my seat belt, stepping out of the car.

"If I'm not out in ten minutes, come in," I instructed, slamming the door behind me. The cold fall air surrounded my pale legs, as I stepped towards the house, slipping the house keys out of my pocket. My stomach flipped, as a shiver ran up my spine, it was as if my senses were on the brink of being out of my control. I unlocked the door quickly and stepped in, closing it behind me.

"Billy? Are you still here?" I called out, walking toward my living room. The silence gave me an answer, but I still couldn't comprehend why it felt like I was going to explode out of my own body. I tiptoed to the kitchen, and before I could even take a step into the room, I heard the echo of metal hitting metal, like a gun being loaded.

"Hands up Fourteen." Immediately I did as I was told, holding them high above my head, with my hands splayed out, so the man knew I wasn't carrying anything. I closed my eyes, focusing on the environment around me, sensing that there were eight men, with their weapons, pointed directly at my back, "Turn around slowly." I opened my eyes and twisted around on my heel, facing the men who were holding me up.