-This chapter takes place during Season 3 Episode 5: The Flayed-
-Max's POV-
"I found him", El says. "Where is he?", I ask her. Blood drips down El's nose. "Woods", she says. "With Will's mom". Will's eyes go big as he moves slightly closer to her. "My mom? What's he doing with my mom?", he asks, panicked. Mike lets out a chuckle and I slap his knee. Jesus teenage boys are so immature. "Ow", the taller boy says, clutching his knee. "What are they doing?", I ask my brunette girlfriend. "Ill... annoy. They're going to Ill-annoy". Mrs. Wheeler knocks on the basement door calling for breakfast. "Not now mom!", Mike snaps. I turn to him with a crazy look on my face. What kind of mom lets their son talk to them like that? He turns back to El as she removes her blindfold. "Illinois? Like the state of Illinois?", he asks her. "Ill-annoy", El says again.
I take her into the bathroom to get the blood of her nose and I notice her inspecting her neck where Billy was choking her. "Does it still hurt?", I ask. She looks at me. "Only when I talk". "At least your not Mike then. Blah, blah, blah, blah, I mean you'd be in constant pain". She laughed, which made me laugh.
-Will's POV-
"Something's not right. I can't get Hopper off my back all summer, and now all of a sudden he's hiking with your mom to Illinois? And Dustin's M.I.A. too? I mean this can't be a coincidence", Mike says to me.
I nod. "Why does it matter? They're not here so we gotta do it ourselves", I say.
"Do what ourselves, exactly?", Mike responds.
"Find Billy and stop him".
"Okay yeah. That's a really nice sentiment, but even if El could find him again, and that's a pretty big if, then what?".
"We burn the crap out of him, and make sure he doesn't escape this time".
"Then what?".
"Then we win".
"No Will", Mike says. "See that's the problem. We don't win. We got the Mind Flayer out of you before but he just came right back. We don't just have to stop Billy. We have to stop the Mind Flayer".
"How do we do that?".
"I don't know".
"Maybe El knows".
"Maybe".
I look over to Lucas. He's watching Julie, who's wearing El's blindfold. She said she can see the future paths easier when it's darker. I look back at Mike who's just staring at me. "What?", I ask him. "About what I said. Yesterday at the pool", he starts. I feel my face flush. It felt almost unreal. Mike Wheeler, the boy I had a crush on since forever, liking me back. "Mike I-", I take a breath in. Don't immediately cave Will, I tell myself. Stop, think about it. You don't want to get hurt. "Mike, I do like you. And I'm glad you think you like me too. But as you said. You only think that. I want to give you the time for you to figure your stuff out. Okay? So you take the time you need. When you know, we can talk. Alright?". Mike nodded, looking slightly disappointed. "Yeah, okay".
Our conversation was interrupted by a banging on the door. "I said not now mom!", Mike shouts. "MIKE! Open the door!", Nancy's voice shouts back. Mike looks at me confused and I shrug. He runs up the stairs and let's Nancy and Jonathan down. Jonathan gives me a kind of side hug, which isn't normal. Something's definitely off with him. When he hugs me he gives me a full on bear squeeze. "We have to talk", Nancy says. It's kind of weird because it seems like everyone is saying that nowadays.
-A few minutes later-
-Max's POV-
"It was the same thing that happened last year to Will. And look at this. Look at the body temperatures", Nancy says. We all lean forward to see the paper. Will points to a number. Ninety-five degrees. "He likes it cold", Will says.
"Okay so this crazy old woman who was eating fertilizer-", Mike starts
"Mrs. Driscoll", Nancy says.
"Yeah, Mrs. Driscoll. What time was this attack?".
"Last night".
"But what time last night?".
"Around nine".
Johnathan looks down at her. "You waited all night to call?", he asks her.
"I was waiting for the doctors to run some tests", Nancy answers.
"You weren't there?", Will chimes in.
"Well I'm here now, aren't I?", Johnathan says, slightly annoyed.
Nancy scoffs. "Hallelujah!".
Lucas and Julie wince. "Ouch", I say raising my eyebrows. Nancy brushes us off. "What time was your sauna test?", she continues. "Around nine", we all say. "Well that proves it!", Nancy says. "That proves my theory". Mike nods. "She's Flayed. Just like Billy. If there are two Flayed we have to assume there are more". "Heather", El says. I look at her. "Billy was doing something to her. She was scared. She was screaming. Bad screams."
"What's a good scream?", Lucas asks
"Max said-".
"Doesn't matter", I quickly interrupt. I really didn't want to be the one who corrupted El's innocence. Then again, maybe I was the only one who wasn't innocent. Maybe what Billy did to me, it ruined me.
"I'm sorry who is Heather?", Nancy asks. "She's a lifeguard at the pool", I answer. Nancy's eyes go wide. "Heather Holloway?". Me and El nod. Johnathan and Nancy lock eyes. "Tom". "Who's Tom?", I ask. "Their boss", Mike answers. Nancy grabs her keys off the table before walking to the door that goes outside and Johnathan gestures us to follow. "Something was off about him the other day", Will's older brother says. We all get up and rush to Nancy's car. Lucas and Julie get in leaving only one seat left. "I'll sit on your lap", El suggests. I blush profusely. "Yeah, okay", I stutter getting in. El sits on my lap, just as she said she would and I wrap my arms around her to make a human seat belt. Even if we are together I was still redder than a stop sign. Mike and Will hop in the back and Nancy speeds off.
About seven minutes later we pull up to the Holloway's house. Nancy goes and rings the doorbell but no one answers. She rings it a couple more times before El unlocks and opens it with her powers. We all walk in as Nancy calls out for each Holloway. I shiver. "Jesus it's freezing", I say and El nods as she wraps her arm around me, pulling me in for a hug while rubbing my back. A smile grows on my face Nancy sniffs the air before scrunching her nose. "Do you guys smell that?". She hurries to the kitchen where containers for all types of cleaning chemicals are sat and cracked open and empty on the fridge, which is knocked over on its side and pushed away from the wall. Johnathan picks up an empty tube of Ajax and inspects it. "You think they're guzzling this shit?", he asks. "Yeah or they just went on a hell of a cleaning spree", Nancy says. "But Will didn't eat chemicals last year, right?", I ask. Will shakes his head. "Mr. Clarke. Fifth grade. Posit. What happens when you mix chemicals together?", Mike says. "You create a new substance", Lucas and Will answer. My question is how have they had the same science teacher for so long. fifth grade, seventh grade, and now eighth grade. Maybe even sixth grade. Mike nods.
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