My Brother's Enemy • Billy Hargrove Fanfic

Chapter 35

The group walked over to Max's trailer where Lauryn sat on the couch quietly. The others huddled in the corner quietly trying to devise a plan.

"He showed me things" Lauryn spoke out. Finally gaining enough courage to speak out about what she had saw. What she had been forcefully immersed in. "Things that haven't happened yet. The most awful things. I saw... a dark cloud spreading over Hakwins. Downtown on fire. Dead soldiers. And this- this giant creature with... a gaping mouth. And this creature wasn't alone. There was so many monsters. An army. And they were coming into Hawkins. Into our neighbors. Our homes. And then.... He showed me my mom. And Troy, and, -. And they.... They were all- " Lauryn choked trying to hold back the tears. She couldn't even get the rest of it out without sobbing hard.

"Okay, but..." Steve began but Billy cut him off.

"He's just trying to scare you, Lauryn. Right? I mean... it's not real" Billy softly muttered trying to sooth Lauryn from another attack.

"Not yet" she whispered. Looking at the group scared. "But there... there was something else. He showed me gates- four gates. Spreading across Hawkins. And these gates, the looked like the one outside of Eddie's trailer, but... they didn't stop growing. And this wasn't the Upside Down Hawkins. This was our Hawkins. Our home"

"Four chimes" Max spoke out causing Lauryn to look up at her in the doorway. "I meant to tell you guys last night but-" Max spoke out nervously. Lauryn bursted into tears confusing the others.

"What's your favorite song?" Lauryn asked pulling the Walkman off of her neck. Max waved her hand, signaling for Lauryn to keep it for herself. "Take it! He won't kill me" Lauryn said.

"Woah. How do you know that?" Eddie questioned, jumping up from his spot on the couch. His hands had been tightly linked together in a praying position. Lauryn didn't pin him as the religious type but at a time like this anything was possible.

"Cause he wants me to go down burning with Hawkins. He won't kill me. But he needs a fourth victim" Lauryn explained handing over the Walkman. Max slipped it on, softly playing the music. "It's Vecna's clock, countdown, whatever you want to call it. Four chimes, four gates, four kills, and, Hawkins goes up in flames"

"End of the world" Lucas stated, the realization of the situation was beginning to kick in for the younger teens.

"If that's true. He's only one kill away" Dustin added making everyone even more uncomfortable now.

"Oh Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ" Eddie cried. Lucas ran to the phone trying the Byer's household but on the other side was just a busy signal.

"Maybe you punched it in wrong. Try again" Steve suggested. Nancy got up from the couch, helping Lucas dial the number she had known by heart.

"He's right. Busy signal"

"I'm telling you. Joyce has this new telemarketer job" Dustin sighed, mad no one listens to him.

"It's not that. Something is going on in Lenora and whatever it is it's connected to here. Vecna can't hurt them if he's dead. We have to go back in there. Back to the Upside Down" Nancy urged, trying to rally the others behind her and her crazy idea.

"Yes. Use me as bait. He wants a victim he'll get one" Lauryn suggested wanting for once not be the reason for something bad to happen.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Billy snapped.

"Hate to say this but yeah. Are you kidding me?" Steve asked. For once he agreed with Billy, even if he hurt to say it out loud.

"I'm sorry but. Nope. Not going back" Eddie added shaking his mullet back and forth.