𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐄 || 𝘔𝘈𝘟 𝘔𝘈𝘠𝘍𝘐𝘌𝘓𝘋

24. code red, code red

El furrows her brows. "I closed the gate."

"I know, but...what if he never left?" Will gives a look to Mike, who gives a tight smile back. "What if we locked him out here with us?"

El gives a look of concern before Will jumps up from the chair and fumbles through the shelves and pulls out a piece of paper and a crayon.

He slams the paper down on the table and the kids gather around to observe.

"This is him." Will starts to draw something that looks similar to the Mind Flayer he drew last year. "All of him." He continues scribbling vague arms and legs. "But, that day on the field, a part of him attached itself to me."

Stephanie frowns at the remembrance of that day. Not being sure if Will would make it, running around the school looking for Dart, running into Mrs. Bennett.

Will slides his hand across the paper to show the way the Mind Flayer attached himself to Will. "My mom got it out of me...and Eleven closed the gate." Will flips the paper over to the clean side. "But the part that was still in me, what if it's still in our world?" He presses his hand on the paper, leaving a black handprint. "In Hawkins."

"I don't understand." Stephanie sighs. Why does everything have to be so vague.

Max looks between Stephanie and Will. "The Demodogs died when El closed the gate."

"If the brain dies, the body dies." Stephanie adds on, almost saying it as a question, she can't be sure of anything anymore.

"We can't take any chances." Mike stares deep into Will's eyes, trying to read his emotions. "We need to assume the worst. The Mind Flayer's back."

Will keeps his eyes glued to the paper of the handprint. "Yeah. And if he is, he'd want to attach himself to someone again. A new me."

Lucas puts the pieces together. "A new host."

"How can you tell if someone is a host?" El asks, receiving silence, no one really knows the answer.

"Billy," Stephanie blurts, almost thinking out loud.

"Steph—" Max starts.

Stephanie turns to Max, trying to hide an eye roll. "It makes so much sense, Max. The blood. The ice."

"I don't—"

"What about Billy?" Mike asks, interrupting Max.

Stephanie takes a deep breath and starts to explain. "A few days ago, El saw Heather and Billy in the void doing some really weird stuff. Max and I didn't really believe her since y'know...Billy does weird stuff with girls all the time, but this time it was extra creepy. Then, we went to find them and we ended up in Heathers house, and we crashed their family dinner but Billy was acting super creepy even though Max doesn't agree with me, he totally was being creepy, like, super su—"

Max puts her hand on Stephanie's shoulder to get her attention. "Steph, Steph we get it."

Upon hearing Max's words, Stephanie stops talking, and it creates an awkward silence.

"We should probably go and check it out," Mike speaks up. "Billy, I mean."

The group does a collective nod and grabs their belongings to head out.

————

༺♥༻ "I don't know. He looks pretty normal to me," Max says, staring at her brother through the binoculars Mike brought.

"Normal?" Stephanie questions, almost laughing out of disbelief. "How many times have you seen him with a shirt on?"

Max hands the binoculars to Stephanie, who brings them to her eyes and observes Billy.

"I mean, it's a little weird," Max admits.

"A little?" Mike argues. "He was in a tub with ice. The Mind Flayer likes it cold."

"But he's lounging at the pool." Max shrugs her shoulders, really considering it. "Which is, like, the least Mind Flayer thing ever."

"Not necessarily," Will speaks up, breaking his stare at Billy. "The Mind Flayer likes to hide. He only used me when he needed me. It's like...like you're dormant. And then, when he needs you, you're activated."

Billy's wearing a long sleeved tie dye shirt with a white pool towel draped over his legs. He's also wearing a blue baseball hat while holding an ICEE cup, presumably filled with ice.

"Okay," Max starts to reason, "so we just wait until he gets activated."

"No," Mike contradicts, as always. The plan can never not be his. "What if he hurts someone?"

"Or kills someone?" Will adds.

"We can't take that chance. We need to find out if he's the host," Mike says, walking away from their hiding place.

"Where are you going?" Stephanie asks, looking at Mike through her binoculars.

"I have an idea." Mike beckons the other two boys forward. "Boys only."

"Seriously?" Stephanie yells, rolling her eyes.

"Just trust me on this one!" Mike turns around, but he's too far away for Stephanie to hear anyway.

Stephanie scoffs. "Why does Mike have a habit of doing that?"

༺♥༻
my views rn: 📈📈📈📈📈
(tytytytytytyty)

steve probably doesn't know how to write an essay anyway

5/9/23