Chloroform (Billy Hargrove)

Chapter 12: Sunday Bloody Sunday

It was three in the morning when I woke up from my short-lived slumber, craving a cigarette and some much-needed air. My back ached as I sat up from the cold, glossy, and uncomfortable floor, crawling over to my pile of clothes that I had left on the ground, searching my pockets for my pack, until I got ahold of it. Exhausted I stood up, tiptoeing over to Steve's window, a low groan escaping his mouth, the bed releasing a loud and annoying croak, as he restlessly tossed himself onto the other side of his bed, crushing his pillow against him. My eyes tore away from his sleeping figure, a sigh escaping my lips, adjusting the thick blanket around my shoulders, shuffling over to his curtain covered window. The moonlight peeked through the space between them, a dim blue light intertwining in a haze, reflecting off the glass. I pushed the barrier out of the way, glimpsing outside, staring at the pool below, which glowed an aqua blue, shimmering in the lights that hid beneath the water. Steam flowed above it, as if there was glass between it, separating it from the water.

I unlocked the window gently, sliding the bottom half up, quickly slipping out of the comforting warmth of Steve's room, escaping into the cool night air, my bare feet meeting the shingles of the roof, the rough, sandpaper-like material scraping my feet, gaining my balance quickly, proceeding to take up a seat on the roof, taking a cigarette out of the box. My eyes trailed up to the star-speckled sky which was unnaturally clear for such a cold night. The cigarette hung between my lips, while I cupped my hand around the end, lighting the end in a millisecond, inhaling the strong nicotine, holding the thick cloud in my mouth, letting it linger on my tongue before exhaling a thin stream of smoke into the air, watching it dissipate into the atmosphere, as I tightened the blanket around me, a shrill breeze running by my skin, a sickly sweet scent itching my nose. The nausea passed over through my body, taking another inhale from the cigarette, trying to ignore the unsettling feeling that was brewing in the lower part of my stomach. Fighting it off didn't seem to work though, I was too weak to continue holding myself back from the impending memory that was already playing in my head. The world around me turned off suddenly, and I found myself locked in a pitch-black room, until the light dimly shined in the enclosed space, reminding me where I was.

"Tess...Look at me." Lina whispered, her voice bouncing off the walls. I held my knees up to my chest, shivering from the cold temperature that ran throughout my own personal prison. Brenner had thrown me in there two days prior for disrespecting his orders, and for bad behaviour. It wasn't the first time I had been in this room for more than a few hours, I had lost track of the punishments over time, and by now I had gotten used to it. Lina was dressed in a lab coat that hung over a black button-up dress shirt, and a pair of flared out dress pants that seemed to blend in with everything she was wearing. Her eyes were glued to my frail figure, as she stood in front of me, fidgeting nervously from one leg to the other.

"Listen...I want to get you out...But you have to look at me, and speak to me." I closed my eyes tightly, forcing my neck to tilt back so I was able to look at up at her face, a feeling of lightheadedness clouding my senses briefly before my vision cleared up. The facial expression she wore was unreadable, as she scanned my features.

"You..." My voice croaked, swallowing some saliva, deciding to speak again "You...and I don't stand a chance. If you're with me, we won't make it out alive." My throat was sore and raw from all the screaming I had emitted while I was being dragged to my isolation chamber; it felt like I had swallowed hot coals and it had settled right up against my vocal cords. Lina glanced down at her lab coat, her hand slipping into the large pocket, before quickly pulling her hand out from the fabric. Dangling in front of my eyes was a pair of master keys, the ones that I had seen countless times on the most trusted security guards, now they were so close I could almost picture the feeling of them in my hands.

"If you follow my plan." She took a moment to look behind her at the large metal door, "You'll be free by eleven o'clock tonight." Her offer was enticing, no doubt, and at that moment there was nothing to lose except for both of our lives. I took my bottom lip between my teeth, squinting at her with a mix of confusion and fear.

"Why do you want to set me free so badly?"

"Because if I set you free I'll be able to set the rest of your friends free as well. You're the strongest out of all of them right now, and if I don't have you on my side nobody will be able to get out of here tonight. Now, please...Just do as I say." My jaw clenched thinking about; Seven, Eight, and Ten, as well as Eleven. They relied on me, and right now their fate was in my hands...So I gave in.

"What do you need me to do?" Lina's facial features relaxed as she crouched down so we were at eye level, creating a balance of power between both of us.

"You need to make it look like you did it yourself, without my help, once you do that I'll be able to help you. I'll wait outside in the hallway." It sounded like a setup, and it even felt like a setup, maybe Brenner was testing me. God forbid I went against him. The things he would do to me. I could tell Lina saw my facial expression drop into a harsh suspicion. "If you truly don't trust me, check my story." She added, holding her hand out to me. I glanced down at her pale skin, seeing that she had removed her glove, as she held her palm out to me, my eyes returning to hers, watching her move closer. A glimpse of her mind told me all I needed to know, all the plans she had made, the notes she had made on the exits that were located sparingly around the lab, the fuss that she went through to take the master keys, there were no lies to confront her about, it backed up her story completely. It didn't seem like she had ulterior motives, and she definitely didn't have anything to hide, at least I presumed that in the moment. I decided to make a split decision.

"Promise me you won't go far." A faint smile appeared on her lips, nodding, sliding her glove back onto her hand.

"I promise." She replied, getting up from her crouched position, giving my shoulder a comforting pat before leaving the room, closing the door behind me, taking away the only light that I had in the room, letting the darkness surround me. My rapid breathing bounced off the walls, the sounds returning to me. If I got myself going, there was the risk of not being able to stop myself. The slim chance of me being able to calm myself down was almost non-existent, getting worked up was one of the easiest tasks, bringing myself back down was going to be a mission from God. I needed to focus as much as I could, not wanting to cause more damage than needed. My arms wrapped around my knees, holding them against my chest, as I sifted through my anger stricken memories, the ones that seemed to act like a hair-trigger to my abilities, taking them to another level entirely. Thoughts of Brenner screaming at me passed through my mind's eye, the electricity from my failed shock therapy coursed through my veins. I tried to avoid the pain that the death of six brought to me, but the guilt settled in the pit of my stomach until my brain settled on the day I was taken away from my father. It was as if I could feel everything all over again, the fingers digging into my skin as I was dragged away from my biological father who was begging the men not to do anything to me. I remember his face like it was yesterday, the soft brown stubble that was poking out of his cheeks and chin, his eyes sunken in from the lack of sleep, and dark circles were forming. Those bright blue eyes, they were something that I would never forget, and like any father...He was willing to risk his own life for my safety.

Something ignited, my skin glowing, the bright orange colour shining through my eyelids, the heat surrounding the tips of my fingers, feeling the temperature fade up to my neck. My heart compressed as if it was being crushed all over again, I felt like I was reliving it, even my throat felt sore hearing my screams and cries for my father, watching my hands reaching out to him, witnessing the windows of our old, temporary house that we had planned on staying in, exploded, crashing down onto the front porch. We wanted to stay in that home until the labs would give up searching for me, but somehow they found us, it was like they had tracked our every move. We should've known that hiding from them was impossible, they would always be able to find us somehow.

I could feel my chest tighten, my body tensing up, a wave of pressure building up within the core of my stomach, there was resistance, like a force holding me back, a shield confining me in its own bubble. Brenner used to tell me that these feelings were just my brain fighting off something that it didn't want, like a defence mechanism, luckily for me he taught me how to override it. My mind continued to see the image of me being pulled away, as my father was surrounded by the guards, Saul had taken me out of the grips of the men, sliding his forearm around my neck, keeping my head forward, forcing me to look at my father, as one of the men pulled out a pistol, placing it on his forehead. I could feel the tears streaming down my face, making one last attempt to save him by holding both my hands out, trying to push the men's gun off from his head, but before my powers were able to get jump-started the doors of the van closed, and the last thing I remember hearing through the darkness was the gunshot ringing through my ears.

The rage and anger shot through me, my hands clenching into tight fists, my brain overcoming the resistance, letting it be replaced with the emotional turmoil that was exploding through me like atomic bombs. The flames that surrounded my body encompassed the entire room, as I held back a scream that was threatening to come out.

My memory began to slip, as my vision turned black.

"Tess?" Steve's voice called out, causing my line of sight trailing over to the window, seeing Steve's dishevelled hair poking out the opening before I even saw his tired face that was full of concern. His features softened once his eyes laid on me, "What are you doing out here?" I sat up, holding the covers around my shoulders, watching him carefully climb onto the rooftop to join me.

"I...Was having a smoke." I held up the pack, sniffling gently, feeling a mixture of blood and tears streaming down my cheeks, irritating and burning the skin beneath it, as I brought my hand up to my wet skin, wiping the tears off quickly. Steve took a seat beside me, his watchful eyes scanning my face.

"Do you always cry when you smoke or is that just a thing you've developed recently?" His tone was serious yet it sounded like it was a light, joking tone as well. I continued to dry the remaining tears, not having any desire to have more irritation marks running down my face.

"I just saw something I didn't want to be reminded of..." Steve nodded, looking around at the darkness of the night, the both of us staring at the moving trees that were dancing around in the cool breeze. We could've sat there for hours in silence but Steve decided to press on in the conversation.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I contemplated keeping it away from him for a moment, but seeing as though Steve is one of my only friends that I could talk to about these things, and he didn't know much about my past I felt obligated to tell him. We exchanged looks, while I pulled another cigarette out of the barely full pack, lighting the end up quickly, making sure the smoke wasn't blowing into Steve's face. I fiddled with it, moving it between my pointer and middle finger, watching the end of it burn freely. I chewed on my cheek, drawing blood, letting the iron taste settle on my tongue, absorbing into my taste buds.

"I feel like I'm losing control of my abilities. Or something is happening in my own head, or my mindset is off, there is just something wrong. I can feel it y' know?" He nodded, watching me take another drag, "Lina...My guardian...She told me that after all the research she has found on my powers, she has only seen one reoccurring thing, and that thing is losing control. These powers are intertwined with emotions, or at least mine are, and it seems as though my memories keep dragging me back to the hardest times in my life, and I just can't seem to piece it together, it's like my mind is trying to tell me something." Steve's brows furrowed slightly at my theory. "It started when Lina went missing too..."

"Maybe you're just under a lot of emotional pressure. You should just relax, I'm sure she'll be back, maybe they were just being spontaneous or something." I shook my head.

"No...When you were fighting with Billy and Dustin and I were hiding in the closet, she grabbed Dustin...I just know it was her Steve." I shakily tapped the ashes off the roof, bringing the filter back to my lips.

"What are these memories though? Are they really that out of the ordinary to you?" I nodded, the thoughts flooding back to my head.

"I hid these in the back of my mind, all of them. I'm able to control these memories and flashbacks, but I haven't been able to do that recently..." He leaned forward, watching the smoke disappear into the air.

"And you think something is wrong because you're basically malfunctioning." My face dropped, my eyebrows raising at the use of the term 'malfunctioning,' and he definitely took notice. "I didn't mean it in that way...But you should know what I mean. You used your powers almost non-stop today, maybe you've just exhausted yourself and you need a break? That probably why these memories are coming back to you." He explained, I scratched the back of my head, tapping the ashes off with my pointer finger, watching the end burn slowly.

"It's never been like this though." The same curious look appeared on his face again, "It's like my brain is telling me that I need to go back to the labs, so I could protect the people who are close to me...Something that I wasn't able to do for my dad." I mumbled, trying to piece everything together for myself, it was as if the cogs began to turn in Steve's head, his eyes planting themselves onto the cigarette that dangled between my fingers.

"Whatever happened to him...It wasn't your fault, and you should know that. You shouldn't live with the guilt if you had no control over it." I raised my eyes to him, watching him push his hair away from his forehead, the dishevelled locks standing up on edge from the disturbance.

"That's not the point...The point is that every person I even remotely care about is always in harms way either for the reason of trying to protect me, or they get caught up in the crossfire, just like today with you and Bill-"

"Billy and I have our own personal issues that we are settling. You're not going to blame yourself for the vendetta he has against me because he had it before I even knew you." He interjected I stared at him out of the corner of my eye, the ashes from the end of my cigarette falling onto the shingles on the roof. The fact that Billy of all people knew my biggest and darkest secret was terrifying, and just knowing the way he was naturally, he would use it against me...I could sense it. There was absolutely no way that nobody would find out if he knew, every person in town probably knew by now, and even if they might not believe him, they might dig deeper, and find that everything was true. "Is there anything else bothering you?" He pressed, as I put out the cigarette throwing the remnants off the roof, watching it fall onto the ground below.

"I think I'm going to have to talk to him tomorrow, to keep myself safe, or at least ensure that he won't tell anyone." Steve rapidly shook his head.

"Nope. Nope. Nope. Tess you're not going to see him, you think he's going to give you a chance to speak? You're going to try to explain and you'll be met with constant interruption. It's too dangerous, and knowing him he'll probably end up threatening you and then I'll have to kick his fucking ass." I stifled a laugh, turning my head away from him, as Steve shifted his weight so he was now completely facing me.

"Why the hell are you laughing? I could beat Billy in a fight hands down." Now my laughter was booming through the air, echoing through the night.

"Yeah, just like you beat him today." I shot back sarcastically. Steve's face looked flustered, all the colour and blood rising to his cheeks.

"Excuse me. He caught me off guard. If I was read the fight would've been even and he would've been on his ass!" He seemed frustrated, maybe it was the fact that I was right, or maybe he was just trying to convince himself that he would be able to win against Billy, even though he was more physically inclined to beat the crap out of Steve, and there was proof as well. I brought myself forward, dragging my butt along the rough surface until my legs were dangling off the roof, the aqua blue light casting a shadow on my pale skin.

"You have to have some faith in me once in a while Steve...He won't hurt me, and even if he tries he definitely won't be able to succeed." Steve scoffed.

"Tess...Just because you have the ability to prevent anything from happening doesn't mean it will work all the time. He's built like a fucking machine I-." My hand shot up in front of his face, causing him to flinch.

"Steve, for the love of God, just shut up, please. My decision is final. You're not going to change my mind, and you don't have to worry about me. If need be I could just make him pass out, and then boom bam problem solved." I didn't mean to sound rude, but it was set in stone, Steve wasn't able to change my mind, and that was for sure. This was for my own protection, and it - quite frankly- didn't need to involve Steve or his opinion. He silently gave up, tapping on his knees quietly.

"Is there anything else you want to argue about?" I stared down at my palms, noticing the bloodstains on my pale skin, a breeze flowing by the both of us, blowing Steve's hair to the opposite side making it an even bigger, voluminous mess, more than it already was. He readjusted himself in a quick fashion, a silent, unheard laugh escaping my throat.

"I think I'm alright for now...We should get some sleep though, you, Dustin and I have a busy day tomorrow." I slid backwards, bringing myself away from the edge of the roof, the both of us crawling back into his room, returning to our respective spots. I draped the duvet over my body, staring at the massive amount of junk under Steve's bed, I could've sworn something moved, so I decided to face the other way, turning my line of sight towards the door, planning my exit. A pain brewed in my stomach, waiting for the cue to leave the bedroom. It might've been half an hour until I heard Steve's loud snoring, giving me the opportunity to go back outside to have another smoke, hoping it would relax me a bit. I snuck out of Steve's room, slipping down the steep steps that led to the living room. It was awkward knowing that his parents weren't home, it seemed like they were never there, and it probably got lonely for him sometimes. I held the covers over my shoulders, adjusting it tightly around me as I unlocked the door, returning to the cool night air, lighting up another cigarette. I took a seat on the concrete step, clinging to the soft duvet, another searing pain erupting in my stomach, a hiss escaping my mouth. I leaned back, not wanting to put any pressure on the area, using my free hand to lift up my shirt. The dim light from the dusty black sky danced over my stomach, my eyes catching glimpses of blue and purple bruises almost replicating the ones Steve had on his stomach. It was sore, and hard to the touch, discomfort fluttering through my body, a pang of worry exploding through me. The fact that my body wasn't even attempting to heal the damage was another problem to write up on my list. Maybe I was using my abilities too much and I needed a recharge, or maybe I had to give it time and it would go away within a couple of hours, maybe I didn't have to worry at all and I was just overthinking it. I released my shirt from my grasp, taking another puff of my cigarette, holding the blanket, my sight beginning to drift, pulling me back into my memory.

Flames exploded around me, blowing the door off its hinges, slamming against the wall with a loud crash, the sound of the thin metal bending and adjusting to the drywall, until it fell to the ground, making an indent. The unbearable noise of the fire alarm began to ring, the lights shut down in the hallway, the only thing my eyes could see was the bright red emergency fluorescents flickering on and off in a rapid motion. It was a guide for people so that they would be able to get out of the place if they didn't have any assistants. Flames disintegrated from my skin, turning into a dark smoke, the sprinkler system turning on with a sudden blast, the freezing cold water hitting my skin harshly, bringing me brief relief. The only desire running through my head at that moment was that I would never have to do that again, I never wanted to have another opportunity to lose control. A few tears dribbled down my face, a whimper escaping my lips, either out of fear or out of relief, I wasn't sure.

From the dissipating smoke, I could see Lina's shadowy figure coming towards me, her hand covering her mouth, shielding herself from smoke inhalation. She dashed over towards me, with an extra lab coat draped across her arm. She didn't lay eyes on me for a few moments as she took in the damage that had surrounded me.

"Jesus Christ." She whispered, finding my eyes. Her gloved hand reached up, wiping away the tear stains that had soaked into my cheeks, a smile forming on her light pink lips. "You did wonderful." I avoided eye contact as she wrapped the large lab coat around me, covering my partially clothed body. The rough, sack-like material irritated my skin as she helped me stand up on my wobbly legs, I caught a glimpse of the damage I had done.

The white walls that had surrounded us just minutes ago had turned a black, ashy colour, which had started to look decayed. Several flames laid on the wallpaper. Something that had brought me so much pain had finally been destroyed, and for a split second, I wasn't afraid of my powers. The feeling was short-lived once Lina pulled me out of my long-winded thoughts.

"We need to get out of here before they come, god forbid Brenner sees us." She warned, poking her head out, checking the hallway, her hand wrapping around my wrist, dragging me out of the room, taking a right. Her hand was attached to me the entire way as she checked each room we passed, making sure everyone had evacuated and had hopefully escaped. There was no sign of anyone, which brought relief, but in theory, looking back at it, that only made our escape more complicated than it needed to be. We ducked under a desk, taking shelter beneath it to catch our breath.

"How are we going to get out of this place? They're going to surround all the exits, they know that everyone is gone by now." Lina took in a deep breath, slipped her hand into her opposite pocket, taking one of the key cards out of her pocket.

"Too bad Brenner left this laying around, he should've paid more attention to it. The card gives access to one of the back exits, it's his own private one on the main level. We will be able to get out of that one." She returned the keys into her pocket, as her hand returned to its respective place on my arm, helping me back up again. By the time we started running again, the lights had turned back on, and chaos began as the search commenced. Lina and I found one of the close emergency exit's, the both of us rushing down the hard concrete steps that stung my bare feet with each connection it made with the ground. I could hear Lina's negative thoughts racing through her head. I couldn't help but agree that Brenner would kill both Lina and I if he found us. They wouldn't think twice about it either, and knowing the way that the labs work, they wouldn't let it be a quick death either. I tripped down one step, catching myself on the large landing. Lina pulled me back up, and I could have sworn my shoulder had popped out of place for a brief moment.

"How...How many more flights?" My wheezing made it hard to speak or form a simple sentence.

"Just a couple more, we're almost there, we're so close." That settled my discomfort, knowing that my freedom for so close, it was just a couple more flights away. The muscles in my thin legs began to ache, crying out for a break, but Lina for too focused on getting out of there, and I was too caught up on trying to keep myself on my feet. Three flights of stairs later and we had finally made it to the main level of the facility, the emergency door opening up to reveal an empty, almost abandoned hallway. If we ran straight across we would be able to make it to the other side with no issue at all, and once we got to that side we would be home free.

"I'll run across first, just to be sure nobody is there." She whispered, pointing at the bright red exit sign.

"No...It's either we do this together or nothing at all..." I replied. Lina adverted her eyes, silently agreeing with a nod. She inhaled deeply, laying her back against the wall, tilting her head up to look at the ceiling, a loud crash echoing through the hallway, glass trickling and clinking down onto the porcelain white floor. The both of us flinched, her hand wrapping around my wrist.

"Please God...Just keep us safe, that's the least you can do right now, and that is all I'm asking of you..." She continued her prayer, finishing it in her head, mumbling a small "Amen." Before opening her eyes again, a tear sliding down her cheek, her free hand quickly drying it. She gave my wrist a tight squeeze, signalling that she was ready when I was.

"On three..."

The room suddenly got brighter, the memory clouding over, as a deep, rumbling noise, similar to an engine echoed. My eyes shot open, seeing the all too familiar headlights shining into my pupils. I squinted, letting my eyes adjust to the scene, instantly recognizing the blue Camaro with the California license plate.

*Note: Jeez...It's been a hot minute. Sorry, it took so long to get something written out for you guys. I have been caught up with Summer school for my university program and it's hard to find time to write while I'm working as well. I hope you guys enjoyed this new chapter, it's definitely going to pick up from here. 

On a side note, I blasted through season three the night it came out and I regret absolutely nothing. Anyways, I hope y'all enjoyed the new chapter. <3*