𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒅𝒔 • 𝑩𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 [2]

26•

The sound of television static filled the room as Eleven tied the blindfold around her head. I sat on the back of the couch behind Max, anxiously biting my nails in anticipation for El to tell us what she saw.

A few moments of painful silence passed until she started to breathe heavily before ripping off the blindfold and throwing it on the ground behind her.

"What's he doing now?" Max asked cautiously.

El slowly turned to look at us before taking a deep breath. "In his room, just sitting."

"What?" I said quietly with a frown. Chilling in his room is like the least flayed thing to do. I ran my hands over my face and continued to stare at El as she slowly got up from the ground and went to the kitchen sink.

"That's so weird." Max thought aloud.

"That's not normal, right?" Nancy asked Max.

"Billy staying in his room on the 4th of July? No, that's not normal."

"He wants us to find him." Will quietly voiced.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Nancy unfolded her arms and took a step forward. "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.

"Hang on," I mumbled, "we can't just not go."

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

"You mean El will kick their butts." Max corrected. I glanced over to El, who was holding a box of Lucky charms, A distraught look on her face.

"It's too risky." Jonathan nodded.

"Yeah, and killing the flayed won't stop the mind flayer. We have to find out where it's spreading from. We have to find the source." Nancy continued.

"Billy knows it." El spoke as she walked closer to us. "Billy's been there, to the source."

"Yeah, but-" Mike began.

"-It's a trap. I know. We can't go to Billy, but I think there's another way. A way for me to see where he's been." She said the last bit in a low voice, which made a small shiver run down my spine.

Lucas and Will slowly got up and stretched and went over to the kitchen. I pushed myself off the couch to follow and stood in front of the sink, my arms at each corner to support my weight. I could hear the boy's rummaging around in the fridge behind me as I closed my eyes. My body felt abnormally warm and I tried desperately to control my breathing to try and cool myself down.

I opened my eyes and a sudden wave of nausia washed over me and I quickly placed my hands on my stomach. A million thoughts rushed through my head, causing me to sigh. Now was not the time.

"Evie?" Will asked as he tapped me on the arm, causing me to whip round and almost knock the can from his hand.

"Sorry." I mumbled.

"Are you okay?" Lucas questioned as he eyed me suspiciously.

"Mmhmm." I nodded as I pushed away from the sink and made my way back towards the couch. I sat beside Max, Lucas and Will sitting at either end of us, and watched as El tightened the blindfold around her head for the second time.

The room fell into a deafening silence until El's breathing quickened. I stared at the back of her head, not even daring to imagine the state that Billy was in.

Suddenly, she started to gasp and whimper. "Something's wrong." Mike frowned. "El? El are you okay?"

"I'm okay." She mumbled in the least convincing tone I've ever heard.

"What's going on?"

"On a beach."

"Okay," Lucas spoke, causing us to look at him, "I may be dense, but the last I checked... There weren't any beaches in Hawkins."

"What else do you see?" Max slowly leant forward.

"A woman. She's...pretty. I think she's looking at me... There's a boy." At her words I felt my heartbeat quicken as I thought back to the old picture in Billy's room that was stuck just above a recent picture of us. Eleven was seeing a memory, a memory of him and his Mom. "It's Billy."

"It's California." Max said slowly. "It's a memory."

"I think I see it, " El whispered, "the source. I think I found it, the source."

"Where El? Where are you?" Max almost demanded.

"Brimborn Steelworks."

All of a sudden, Jonathan jumped up from his seat and ran to the kitchen counter to grab the phone book. Nancy got to her feet and started hastily flicking through the pages. "Here, found it. 6-5-2-2 Cherry Oak Drive."

"That's close."

"El! El we found it! Get out of there!" Mike shouted. "Get out!"

Her breathing was heavy as we continued to stare at her. "No!" El's scream was deafening as she ripped off the blindfold and gripped onto Mike, tears streaming down her face.