Chapter Eight: The Sauna Test
"Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play. Now I need a place to hide away..."
•
The plan was working, Billy was getting worked up as he looked around the locker rooms for where Mike Wheeler was, or Billy believed he was.
Eve, El and Max were hidden behind a row of lockers, El sharing a look with Max.
Max had told El how they needed to test Eve, and El had agreed. They'd made their own plan, or part of the plan.
"El," Eve whispered, nodding her head outwards. El walked past her as Billy went into the sauna, thinking he'd got mike, when really he'd got a recording of Mike's voice attached to a dummy used to teach CPR.
"Hey, behind you," Mike's recorded voice spoke as Eve and Max started to step out.
Billy turned to see eleven staring at him.
"Hi." She said simply as he went to run at her. With a flick of her head, he flung back into the wall.
"Eve," Max spoke quickly, Eve looked over at Max, who looked regretful for some reason, "this is for your own good, okay?"
"What?" Eve asked, confused, as El suddenly lifted up the Harrington girl and threw her into the sauna next to billy.
Eve jumped up as el kept billy in place.
"What the fuck are you doing?" She yelled at the girls in complete anger as El let Billy go. Billy completely ignored Eve as he ran at the door, El slamming it locked with her mind.
"Now!" She hears Mike's voice as the boys ran out and started to lock up the sauna with no idea El and Max had trapped her in there with Billy, who looked ready to murder.
Eve ran into the corner as she watched billy slam on the door and the kids lock it. He turned towards Eve, his eyes full of anger as she gulped, terrified.
He looked at her dead in the eye, before letting out a maniacal laugh that was enough to send anyone screaming and running, but Eve didn't have anywhere to run.
"Where's Eve?" Mike spoke, worry springing up as he looked around the area. Inside the sauna, Billy was walking towards Eve slowly, Eve trying to back further into the wall, but it wasn't working.
"We did it for her," Max answered him as she didn't take her eyes off of the Sauna, where she couldn't see two figures from where she was standing anymore.
Mike's face drops as his gut clenches in fear and worry. He looks at them disgusted as he tries to move to the sauna to get Eve out, but El stops him, "are you guys crazy?"
"Stay back," El told him as they heard a scream, their heads turning towards the room where two people were locked inside. They ran to the window of the door, Mike reaching it first.
"Stop!" Eve screamed as loud as she could as she held Billy's hands that were wrapped around her throat, her feet no longer touching the ground.
"Hey asshole!" Mike shouted out, making Billy look over to him, yet not falter his grip on the younger teenage girl, "you wanted me! Come get me! Oh, wait, you can't!" He teased, his plan was to get him off of Eve, and it seemed to work as he dropped the girl and ran at the door, ramming into it and letting out a scream of anger.
Eve panted and coughed heavily as she tried to regain her breath. She looked up to see Max's face looking at Billy as he screamed, her heart breaking.
Why did max do that? How could she do that to her? Eve looked down at the ground as she felt a tear go down her face, her heart breaking in her chest that Max purposefully put Eve in danger, and had planned it beforehand with El. The two girls she was supposed to depend on turned on her, and that was the worst feeling in the whole world.
Another bang on the door dragged Eve back to the situation she didn't want to be in, her tears clouding her vision as she moved to the corner quickly, cowering, scared to make a noise in case Billy saw her and went to hurt her again.
"Let me out of here!" Billy yelled as he slammed his hand on the door, the heat going up quickly, "let me out!"
He slammed his fist on the door once more and it got hotter and hotter, "You kids... you think this is funny? You kids think this is some kind of sick prank, huh?" He slammed his hand son the door, "you little shits think this is funny? What is this? Open the door! open the door! Open the goddamn door."
Eve watched as Billy suddenly fell backwards. She breathed heavily as it got too hot to breathe, and watched as he backed into the bench. He looked like he was going to cry, like he was himself. Like Eve could hell him, could stop him.
"Billy?" Eve called out, moving closer to the man as he cried. This is first time Eve had seen emotion other than anger on his face, and she worried for him.
"It's not my fault," he cried as he couldn't keep still, the heat taking over. Eve grabbed his arms as she made him look into her eyes. Max watching by the door, along with the others, "it's not my fault. I promise you it's not my fault."
"What's not your fault, Billy?" Eve asks him softly, trying to be compassionate when she just wanted to throw up.
"I've done things," he cries, "really... really bad things. I didn't mean to. He made me do it."
"Who made you do it," She asked him, her eyes flicking all over his face to see any chance of him lying or acting, but he was really just scared.
"I don't know, it's kind of like a shadow," he whispers, as if he's scared that it will hear. Eve's face dropped, the mind flayer, "like a giant shadow. Please, Eve."
"What did he make you do?" Eve asked him, trying not to cry at the sight of this man reduced to tears. It was so hot in the sauna, they both could feel it.
"It's not my fault, okay?" He cried as Max watched from the door, "tell max, please, it's not my fault. Believe me, please," He cried as Eve let go of his arms and he leaned against the bench by his head, unknowingly to her grabbing a sharp object underneath the chair.
"I tried to stop him! Okay, I did!" Billy cried, his eyes going from Eve to Max who stood in the window, tears on her cheeks, "please believe me max."
"It's gonna be okay," Max promises her brother as Billy grabs the sharp tile, "it's gonna be okay. We want to help you. You just have to talk to us, okay?"
Eve blocked out max as the feeling returned. Her gut dropping and her heart flipping. She felt a rush as goosebumps appeared before going.
She looked round at the door, Max not looking at them as she looked at Mike. She suddenly felt herself be pushed to the ground as billy ran to the door, smashing the window in the door, making Max jump back out of reach.
"Open the door, you bitch!" He yelled at her as Eve backed up, scared to see what Billy was capable of. She watched him yell more and more before being hit in the face by something and falling back. Eve ran towards the door as she looked at the spluttering Billy who she was sure would get up soon and fight.
"Max open the door!" She screamed at Max as she pounded against it, getting more and more frantic, "open the fucking door!"
Max stared at her girlfriend as she screamed in her face in pure terror. Max just shook her head, tears streaming down her face as the party watched.
"Max," Eve screamed at her. "You're fucking insane, you hear me!" She screamed, "Why the fuck did you do this! What is wrong with you? What the fuck is wrong with you!?"
She pounded on the door again and again, trying her hardest to open the door, she looked up at Max who seemed to be crying, and her whole demeanour changed from anger to disgust.
"Why are you crying?" Eve asks her in a low deep voice filled with disgust, "I'm stuck in here with a psychopath!" She screams, slamming on the door, "a psychopath!"
She froze after that, hearing grunts and other noises behind her. She slowly turned, resting her back on the door as she looked at Billy who was starting to get up.
"Get me out," She cried to them as she put her back against the door, staring at Billy as he grunted, "Please!" She cried as Billy grunted louder and louder, his veins becoming back. He was becoming the mind flayer. Her breathing was short, and her heartbeat was too fast to be considered normal, if human.
Mike moved forward to get her out, but max pushed him back. Eve cries louder and she pushed the door as hard as she could, begging to be let out.
"He's gonna kill me," Eve cried to them, "get me out!"
And when Will moved towards the door with Mike to help her, she felt Billy grab her shirt from behind and tug her to the floor. She let out a large scream as he did so.
"Eve!" Mike yelled, pushing past Max and starting to try to undo the door, only for El to push him back.
As soon as Eve's back connected with the floor, Billy went to kick her in the face, when her hands came out, a black mist following them and stopping his movements.
She let out a grunt and cry as she twisted his foot with her powers and he fell to the floor next to her. She jumped up, running to the door when he grabbed her leg and tugged her backwards.
She lost her footing and slammed down on the ground, her arms barely catching her as Billy got on his knees and crawled closer to Eve.
Eve got onto her hands and knees, managing to stand as Billy stared at her. But it wasn't Billy, It was the mind flayer.
She didn't know what was scarier.
As he stared at her, she took the opportunity to quickly lift her leg and kick him directly in the face.
Billy fell backwards and landed on his side. He felt like his nose had increased ten sizes and he grabbed it with both hands, hissing painfully. He looked at his fingers covered in a string of blood oozing from his nostril.
"What the fuck?!" He exclaimed, looking at Eve, who was standing and glaring at him, anger in her eyes as she recalled when he beat her to a pulp last November.
Eve's fist met Billy's face quickly and He was propelled backward again, but when he tasted the blood in his mouth, he stood up swiftly and swung his fist at Eve's head. She fell against the sauna with a grunting noise and Billy grabbed her by the collar. He held up his fist and crashed it on Eve's jaw. He raised it again, ready to punch Eve in the eye, but a pain in his stomach made him curl up on himself. Eve's knee met his already bruised nose and he moaned in pain.
From the corner of his eyes, he saw Eve's leg. her other foot was in the air, ready to kick him again, but before she did, Billy pulled on her ankle. Eve lost her balance and fell forward on the floor. Billy stood up in a swift movement, clutched the fabric of Eve's shirt, banged her head against the floor, then lifted her up and rammed her body on the wall. He stared at her face for a few seconds, noticing a long cut on her brow bone.
Eve was panting and her eyes were wet. Her lips started shaking when she realized Billy was ready to continue the fight and he was a lot stronger than her. He could easily kill her.
"Lights out," Billy smirked at her before banging her head on the wall and dropping her to the ground, turning back to the door and using all of his power to try and open it.
Eve lay on the floor, vision blurry as she watched Billy run at the door trying to open it. Her hearing wasn't there as she watched him be successful.
Above her in seconds was Mike, calling her name and slapping her face.
"Mike," she whispered, grabbing at him as her vision and hearing began to come back, she could hear screaming and grunting as Mike helped her up. She saw Eleven be grabbed by the neck and held up.
She let go of Mike as she shot her hands up at Billy, making him let go of Eleven. Billy turned towards her, a sickly smirk on his face as he ran at her, only for her to stop him with the mist.
He froze, Eve beginning to choke him as she lifted him higher and higher in the air as she screamed and grunted, the shadow coming out of her hands and surrounding Billy at an alarming rate. She walked round to El's side as she cried out and struggled to hold him, before letting out a scream and propelling him through the wall and to the outside area. As soon as she had done so, she dropped to her knees, tired, in pain, and worn out.
Mike quickly grabbed her as she cried, holding her and shushing her as the party started to walk to the massive hole in the wall. It reminded him a lot of when the mind flayer first came and he comforted her in the lab.
When they kissed.
With that thought, he held her closer to his chest as she cried out in pain from what had happened, and cried from her heart being broken.
"You're Safe now," Mike told her softly, stroking her hair as she started to calm, "you're safe."
Mike eventually helped Eve up and walked her to the group, watching as Billy ran off.
"Eve," Max began, wanting to explain herself. What she had done seemed like a good idea, but in practice put Eve in danger and caused her a lot of pain, pain that Max had caused.
"No," Eve responded before Max could talk, "I don't want to talk to you. We're over," Eve snaps as tears glisten in her eyes, "He almost killed me, Max!"
"Hey, calm down," Mike says to Eve as Eleven stares at the two, "C'mon, lets get back to mine," He says to the others as he puts his arm around Eve for comfort and leads the way out. Eve holding onto him tightly, accepting the comfort as she sobbed silently.
Eleven and Max share a look, both upset and jealous, as they sulked and followed, Lucas and Will behind them.
A/N
hoes mad 👺