hargrove. [ BILLY HARGROVE 2 ]

ii. PROLOGUE

~*~
July 4, 1985
The Night of the Starcourt Accident

     The paramedic glanced around at the people crowding around the mall, looking to his partner and nodding. The two turned and climbed into the ambulance that had Mary in it, and was supposed to be taking her body to the coroner's office.

     "Start the process, get the O Neg ready," the paramedic said, his partner nodding. He hit the wall for their third teammate to start driving to the meet up location, knowing that they had gotten away from the crowd so easy. The decoy body with her clothes would be at the coroner's soon enough, and they'd already paid off the coroner to fake the autopsy.

     "I have a faint pulse," the second paramedic said, his fingers touching her neck. "Heart rate is low."

     "She'll be back soon enough. Boss said it would work," the first one said. The drive was around twenty minutes in, and her heart rate increased nearly every minute. It had reached normal again, and she'd been bandaged up enough to function. She had all the blood she needed, and the surgeon would do the rest before she got on the helicopter.

     Mary could feel a bright light above her. Not what she expected for Heaven, but not anything she was familiar with. She blinked, eyes widening as she realized that she was alive. She hadn't died after all, and she could be with Billy. She turned her head, seeing the paramedics.

     "H-Hello?" she asked, her voice hoarse. She coughed, the two turning and looking at her.

     "Good, she's awake," the first one said.

     "W-Where's Billy?" she asked. "Where's my brother?"

     "Everything will be just fine, Miss Henderson," the second paramedic reassured her. "You are in good hands."

     "Is Billy okay?" she asked. "Please tell me he's okay. Tell me my brother is okay." The paramedics looked at each other, Mary looking between them with wide eyes. "W-What's wrong? What happened?"

     "Billy is fine. Your brother is fine," the first one said, nodding slightly. "They'll be at the hospital to meet you soon."

     "Okay," Mary breathed out. She sighed, realizing that this ambulance ride was awfully quiet. No sirens, no fast driving. It seemed like a normal drive. The ambulance stopped, so she assumed that they were at the hospital. Instead, the doors opened and Mary looked up to see a helicopter waiting for her. "What's going on? The hospital is only 10 minutes away."

     "Bring her out," a voice called. She was rolled out, and it was then that she noticed her hands and feet were tied down. She tried to fight against the ropes, but came to no success. The voice from before took a step to Mary, leaning over her. "You have something in you, child."

     "No, no, no, I don't," she sobbed. "It's not in me, he's gone. The Mind Flayer's gone."

     "Hm, we think otherwise," the man said. She sobbed as she was defenseless, and being loaded onto a plane to a place she knew was far away from Hawkins.

     "Please let me go," she cried out. "Please, I'm just a kid. I'm only 18, I'm supposed to go to college next month. I have a brother, he'll worry about me. Please, let me go." The man sighed, turning and stepping in the plane next to Mary.

     "No one will wonder where you are, because, as far as they're concerned, you're dead," the man told her. "Your body replica is already at the coroner's, and no one will suspect a thing now that the Chief is dead, too. No one will come looking for you, Mary. You belong to us, now." She shook her head as she began to cry again, the man smiling down at her. "Have a safe flight." He turned and stepped out of the helicopter, shutting the door behind him and stepping back. The pilot started the engine, Mary sobbing as this was her fate now. The helicopter rose in the air, and she was flown away.