the view between villages // a stranger things choose-your-own-adventure

PAGE 17: Chain yourself up

"I told you to come when he calls," Billy says, voice dangerously level.

You aren't sure what to do. You aren't sure if you can talk yourself out of this, and you definitely can't fight your way out.

"Come with me," Billy says. "We have business to attend to."

"And if I don't?" you say, raising your chin defiantly.

"If you don't," Billy snaps, "I'll kill you and your little friend Steve Harrington."

Your heart pounds. You won't let him hurt Steve, so you follow him out of your apartment and to his waiting Camaro.

He drives to the Bradley's Big Buy store and demands you to wait in the car. He returns minutes later and says, "You're in luck. We're going to the mall. Maybe we'll see Steve, and he can see how much of a monster you've become."

"You're the monster!" you shoot back.

"We both are!" Billy says. He cackles. "But you're so much of a useless fuck-up, you can't even do this right. Your dad would be so ashamed of you, if the bastard wasn't six feet under."

You don't know how Billy knows about your dad. The creature controlling you both must have given him a glimpse into your mind. The thought sickens you and angers you all the same.

He careens on the twisty back roads of Hawkins, driving you two to Starcourt Mall. He orders you to stay in the car once more as he goes over to a station wagon parked by the entrance.

The mall is long since closed. You have no idea who's still here, and no idea why Billy is messing with their car.

He returns with a cable of some kind and tosses it in the backseat before killing the headlights.

"What now?" you ask, voice thick with nerves.

"We wait," he says, eyes glinting. He squeezes the steering wheel and stares.

A few minutes later, you see a yellow Cadillac convertible zipping from around the opposite side of the mall. You consider screaming for help, but you don't want the driver and passengers to be subjected to Billy's reign of terror.

As if he can read your mind—which, you think he can—Billy says, "Don't even think about it."

The Cadillac drives onto the main road and disappears off in the distance, leaving you behind. It's for the best. If you don't do what Billy wants, he'll kill Steve.

He'll also kill you, but at the moment, you're starting to realize maybe that's what needs to happen. If you do die here, it wouldn't even matter, because your dad would be waiting for you in whatever comes next.

A hubbub by the doors of the mall sends you on high alert. It's a group of people that you think might be some of Steve's friends. They load into the station wagon and, a few minutes later, pop the hood.

"What did you do?" you ask. "Why don't you want them to leave?"

"Stop asking so many goddamn questions and just do what I say," Billy barks. "I must've fucked up when I turned you, because you don't know when to shut the hell up."

You shrink in your seat, and then flinch when Billy revs the engine and turns the headlights back on.

The people in the station wagon scurry back into the mall. Billy watches them, eyes still glinting with malice.

You almost cry out in fright when you see a big, fleshy, disgusting monster crawling up the mall like King Kong. Strangely, you recognize it. You just know that that's the thing haunting you. If you had gone to Brimborn Steelworks tonight, you would've ended up a physical part of it. You shudder.