𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐑 | stranger things ✓

CHAPTER FOUR: THE NEW HOST

Mike, Will, Lucas and myself, retreated from Castle Byers and to Mike's basement. Mike asked his mom if he could have his friends stay over which she was okay with. She probably didn't know I was staying though. We tried to get in contact with the girls and Dustin but no one answered. I started worry about them.

"It's okay. They're probably sleeping and turned their walkies off. It's cool, we'll tell them first thing tomorrow." Mike reassured me.

The next morning, Mike managed to get a hold of Eleven and Max. Still no Dustin. He was probably with Steve or talking to Suzie.

We all gathered round the floor of Mike's basement as El and Max skipped down the stairs cautiously.
"What's going on?" Max asked with a frown.

"Shh! Sit down and listen." Lucas told his girlfriend who was awful displeased at his tone.

"Fine. But don't 'shush' me again or it'll be the last thing you do." She threatened before her and El sat down.

"I didn't think it was anything at first." Will began, "The first time I felt it was at Day of the Dead. Then I felt it again at the field near the Nelson farm the next day. Then again last night outside Castle Byers with Melanie." He told us all. "You felt it too, right?" He asked and everyone's attention was brought up to me.

"Only through you." I confirmed.

"Your powers are back?" Lucas asked me.

"That part was never gone. But yes, my visions are back. That's how I found Will last night."

"I've felt this before...whenever he was close."

"When who was close?" Max asked, confused.

"The Mind Flayer." Will replied, sending a shiver down my spine.

"I closed the gate." El reminded us with a mumble.

"I know but, what if he never left." Will theorised. "What if we locked him out here with us?" He told her before her facial expression changed from intrigued to scared.

"I don't understand." Max complained. "The Demodogs died when El closed the gate. If the brain dies, the body dies."

"We can't take any changes. We need to assume the worst: The Mind Flayer's back." Mike said and we all nodded in agreement.

"And if he is, he'd wanna attach himself to someone again."

"A new host." Lucas whispered.

"How can you tell if someone is a host?" El asked Will, who maybe the only one to be able to answer that question. I could tell she already had someone in mind, as did I.

"Is there someone you have in mind?" Lucas wondered.

"Yes." I said in almost a whisper, thinking back to my vision of Billy. Why else would I have seen that if it didn't have something to do with The Mind Flayer?

El then held my hand and looked at me concerned before asking, "Billy?" I entered her mind incase she was trying to show me something. She showed me what she saw when she spied on Billy that one time. It wasn't right.

I nodded, "Billy." And Max just looked at both of us as if we were completely insane.

We then headed to the community pool where Billy would be on Lifeguard duty. Max watched him through a pair of binoculars as the rest of us lay low behind a parked car. "I don't know. He looks pretty normal to me."

"Normal?" Lucas butted in, "How many times have you seen him with a shirt on?"

"I know, it sucks." I joked, pretending to frown.