Hell is for Children

Runaway

Diana blinked hard, trying to take in her surroundings. Metallica poster....bedside radio...bikini clad woman...she was in Billy's room. She slowly sat up on his bed. She saw a faint crack of light beaming in from the street light outside. She got off the bed and slowly walked out of his room. The house lay silent and dark, aside from a lamp on in the living room. Once she realized no one was home, she went to the door. It refused to open, and when she looked through the window she realized it was anchored from the outside. 

"Shit!" She screamed as she fought off tears. She ran to the telephone, thankful when she heard a dial tone. She called her house but it rang and rang. She slowly began to run down the list of numbers she remembered off the top of her head. 

                       On the edge of town Billy stood in the basement of Brimborn Steel Works, taking in all his hard work. About thirty locals stood numb to their surroundings, focusing on one sole purpose. 

"Its time" Billy announced. 

He watched on as Heather Holloway lead the line of locals. Each one stepped forward and evaporated into a thick, red goo. The goo slid across the Steel Works floor like its own entity, as each individual melted, it began to form a creature. Billy looked on with pride as the creature grew and grew. 

                    Diana looked around the house for nearly twenty minutes before giving up on a way out. She headed back to the phone and dialed the last number she could remember. 

"Ahoy Matey! Youve reached Scoops Ahoy! Are you calling to inquire about an ice cream cake order?" Steve blubbered on the other end. 

"Steve!" Diana yelled into the phone.

"Whoa. Who is this?" He asked, dropping the pirate voice he had been trying out. 

"Its Diana. Listen I cant get in touch with anyone. El, Hopper, nobody. I need you to get someone for me. Billy's gone crazy, hes got me locked inside his house" she rambled, almost out of breath, her voice shaky. 

"Wait. What?" He asked again. 

"Steve! That mind flaying thing is back and its got Billy! I need you to get in touch with Hopper or Max or El. Anybody!" She begged. 

"Ok. Ok. We're kind of dealing with our own matters right now. Ive got Dustin. I'll see if he can reach the kids. Calvary's comin' Diana. Just hang in there" Steve promised. 

She heard the Camaro pull up out front. 

"I have to go. Please Hurry" she slammed down the receiver just as Billy burst through the door.

"Who the hell were you talking to?" He demanded. 

"Uhh..damn telemarketers. Wouldnt stop calling so I had to answer." She lied, hoping he'd buy it.

"Mhmm" he had a suspicious look on his face as he walked toward her. He got about three inches from her face and cracked that creepy smile, like he was a puppet. 

"How are you feeling, my love? Youre looking much better after your rest" he commented. 

"Uhh...yeah. I feel good" she lied again. 

He placed a had over her abdomen and she felt something inside her start to move around. Her stomach lurched at the feeling. It stopped when he removed his hand. 

"And how is our precious cargo doing? Behaving themselves?" He asked, same creepy smile plastered on his angelic face. 

"Themselves?" She asked warily. 

"Well I mean you never know. Theres no rule against having more than one harbinger of death" he chuckled as if they were discussing the weather. 

She watched him, terrified as he began to walk down the hall towards his bedroom. 

"Now if you dont mind, Im going to clear my head for a little while. You sit tight and I'll be back to check on you" he walked backwards down the hall, staring at her until he reached his room,shutting the door but never breaking his stare. 

Diana heard the water running, along with loud splashing as if he was pouring something into the water. When the water stopped she scurried to the back. She picked up one of the wooden kitchen chairs and took it to the back picture window. She took a deep breath and smashed it. She looked behind her, expecting Billy to be hot on her tail, but he wasnt. She struggled through the broken glass trying to reach the ground three feet below. As she almost got one of her feet on the ground, she lost her balance, one of the large glass shards slicing into her leg. 

She screamed at the hot, sharp pain that coursed through her leg. She clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound. Hot tears streaked down her face as she began to run down the street. 

Inside the house, Billy's head emerged from underneath the ice water. He already knew she had gotten away. But he also knew, shed never be able to escape him. She had no idea that he could watch her every move, hear her thoughts, see her in her dreams, if he truly wanted to. All he needed was a drop of her blood. By the pain he was picking up on, he knew she had injured herself. He didnt much care as long as it wasnt lethal, after all, she had a job to do.