ACE OF HEARTS
CHAPTER FOURTY-THREE:
THE SAUNA TEST
CASSIE HARRINGTON THOUGHT SHE WOULDN'T HEAR FROM HIM AGAIN. When she told Mike Wheeler that they were over, when she said her final goodbye, she hadn't thought that they would meet up the very next day. Actually, she hoped he would be out of her life for a while. A few weeks, at least.
But now, hearing Max Mayfield explain that they were to go to the Wheeler's house that next morning, the girl couldn't help but feel sick to her stomach.
"Is that all he said?" Cassie asked the red haired girl.
"Yeah." replied Max, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. "He said that something bad happened, that our very lives could be at stake."
Rolling her eyes, Cassie sarcastically muttered under her breath, "Well there's something I haven't heard before."
"D-Did he say what it was?" Eleven spoke quietly.
Max shook her head, "No. But he told us to get to his house as soon as possible, so I guess we should go now."
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"I didn't think it was anything at first. I mean, I think I just didn't want to believe it. The first time I felt it was at Day Of The Dead." Will announced to the group of five listening to him.
"The power went out that night, too." Mike recalled.
"And then I felt it again at the field near Nelson farm the next day. Then again yesterday outside Castle Byers.
"What does it feel like?" Max asked.
"It's almost like..." Will trailed off, trying to think of a way to explain it. "You know when you drop on a rollercoaster?"
"Sure."
"Yeah."
"Of course."
"No."
"It's like...everything inside your body is just sinking all at once, but this is worse. Your body...it goes cold -- and you can't breathe. I've felt it before, whenever he was close."
Max furrowed her eyebrows, "Whenever who was close?"
"The Mind Flayer."
Eleven shook her head, telling the boy, "I...closed the gate."
Will sighed, "I know, but...what if he never left?"
Cassie felt her breath hitch in her throat, "What do you mean?"
"What I mean is...what if we locked him out here with us?" Will asked.
When receiving multiple blank, worried expressions, Will sighed and picked up a blank piece of paper and a black crayon. Drawing a large black circle, Will explained, "This is him. All of him. But, that day on the field, a part of him attached itself to me."
"My mom got it out of me, and Eleven closed the gate. But, the part that was still in me, what if it's still in our world? In Hawkins."
"I don't understand," Max spoke up. "The Demodogs died when El closed the gate. If the brain dies, the body dies."
"We can't take any chances," Mike answered. "We need to assume the worst. The Mind Flayer is back."
Will nodded, "Yeah, and if he is, he'd want to attach himself to someone again. A new me."
"A new host." Lucas spoke.
Cassie let out a quiet gasp, turning to Max, "You don't think..."
Max shook her head, "No, no, no. No way. It can't be."
"What can't be?" Lucas asked the girls.
Taking a deep breath, Cassie Harrington turned to the group and announced, "There's only one way to know for sure. We have to go to Hawkins Pool."
"The pool? Why?" Mike asked the girl, looking her in the eyes.
Cassie moved her eyes to meet his gaze and spoke in a stern tone, "Just trust me on this one. I think I might have a plan."
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Cassie Harrington was right, The Sauna Test had been executed exactly to plan. It was a very dark night, about nine o'clock, not a single person was in sight. The pool was closed, all the families had left.
The test had officially begun.
Billy Hargrove lingered through the locker room after his cold shower, his wet feet padding against the floor as he made his way over to his locker.
After a moment, from the other side of the locker room, Cassie Harrington slammed the entry door closed, alarming Billy and causing his gaze to shoot over to the source of the noise.
"Pools closed," Billy shouted as he put on his clothes.
From beside her, Eleven continued to bang and scratch on the door. This got on Billy's nerves, his voice raising as he slammed his locker shut and yelled, "Hey! I said the pool is-"
The boy stopped mid sentence when realizing that the door had been locked from the outside. Furrowing his eyebrows, the boy continuously banged on the door. That was, until the lights switched off, leaving a red glare to fill the void.
"Biiillyyyy," Mike's voice taunted, echoing off the thick walls.
"Who's there?" The boy asked, turning other direction.
"Biiillyyyy," Mike continued, repeating the boys name over and over. "Come and fine me!"
"I find you, it is your funeral."
"Come and get me! Come on!"
"Found you." Billy called as his eyes move over to the sauna, spotting a dark, human shaped figure.
The moment the boy stepped into the trap, Eleven stepped out of the shadows and spoke, "Hi."
Enraged by this, Billy advanced towards the girl, only to be pushed back by an invisible force into the wall, causing him to collapse onto the ground.
Eleven then shut the door, and the rest of the group appeared, quickly moving to lock the door. Once succeeding, they stepped back and watched as Billy forcefully tried to escape. After repeatedly pounding on the door, Billy's eyes moved upwards, meeting with one person in particular.
"Max," Billy breathed, his tone softening.
Max took a deep breath and nodded, "Do it."
Cassie Harrington looked to the girl and nodded in reply, moving towards the door and cranking the dial up, increasing the temperature of the sauna.
The brunette girl could feel Billy's eyes burning on her as she turned to look at him. Staring into his eyes, Cassie was shocked to say she found nothing inside. There were shadows of pain and sorrow, but it was so hidden that you would have to dive deep inside to even try and see a glimpse of it.
She blinked, attempting to think this was all in her head, but nothing changed. His eyes were black. Pure black.
After a moment, Billy Hargrove turned back to Max and pushed his face up against the small glass window, staring at her with wide, horrific eyes as he bellowed, "Max! Let me out of here!"
The six kids just stared at the boy, unresponsive.
Noticing what they were doing, Billy continued, "You kids...you think this is funny? You kids think this is some kind of sick prank, huh? You little shits think this is funny?! Open the goddamn door!"
Remaining in her spot by the door, Cassie watched as Billy fell faint, collapsing onto the floor. Looking down at the meter, Cassie turned to the group and announced, "We've reached 220."
From inside the sauna, Billy's mind screamed out as the pain drove through his back. Every thought he had became confused as the burning pain filled his body, an unstoppable fire. As sobs begin to escape his lips, the boy found himself weep at his own suffering.
He could hear people around him screaming and shouting. Mentally anger swiped through at this chaos and pain, pain that he wanted to end so badly. But it didn't end. He couldn't stop it.
"It's not my fault!" Billy shouted, rolling up into a ball as he sobbed, wishing for the unbearable feeling of guilt to go away. "It's not my fault, Max. I promise you, it's not my fault."
Max stepped towards the door, making her way up to the window, just beside Cassie.
"What's not your fault, Billy?" The red-haired girl asked.
"I've done things, Max." Billy cried. "Really bad things. I didn't mean to. He made me do it."
"Who made you do it?"
"I don't know, it's like a shadow. Like a giant shadow. Please, Max."
"What did he make you do?"
Billy suddenly broke, shouting loudly, "It's not my fault, okay! Max, please! Please believe me, Max! It's not my fault!"
Mike suddenly got a bad feeling, "Cassie, I think you should come back over here."
Cassie turned to the boy, her eyes softening only slightly, and then she nodded. Turning to face her friend, Cassie noticed the several tears that had slipped from Max's eyes.
"Max, I think we should go back with the others." Cassie spoke softly to the girl.
"No, I have to help him." Max shrugged off the girl, placing her hand up against the glass. "Billy, it's gonna be okay. We want to help you."
"Max, I'm serious," Cassie continued. "It's not safe being this close to him."
"It's okay, he just needs to talk to us." Max replied. "Billy, you just have to talk to us and it'll be okay."
From behind the girls, an abrupt chill rose up Will's spine, causing him to shiver. Something was here with him and he could feel it. It only took but a moment to figure out.
He was here.
"I feel him," Will whispered to Mike. "He's activated."
"Cassie, you need to get her away from the door." Mike spoke, causing the girl to turn.
Cassie turned to face the boy, "I know, I'm trying, but-"
"No, now!" Mike shouted. "Get away from the door!"
Not even a moment later, the sound of glass shattering sent Max and Cassie flying backwards.
"Let me out, you bitch! Let me out!" Billy bellowed. "I'll fucking gut you!"
Sobbing, Max backed away from the door as Cassie pulled her into the corner.
It was then Lucas pulled out his slingshot, aiming for Billy and hitting him straight between the eyes. This caused him to fall backwards, giving the two girls just enough time to retreat back to the group.
The lights above start to flicker chaotically, and Billy's growling only grew stronger.
"He can't get out, can he?" Max asked worriedly.
Lucas shook his head, "No way."
Boom, the boy rammed into the door once, rattling the chain that bound the door closed.
Boom, he did it again.
Boom, a third time.
At the fourth attempt, the door burst open, sending the boy out towards the group. The six jumped back in fright as they watched the boy they once knew transform into the devilish monster they had all feared the most.
Just a moment later, Cassie felt a pair of long arms wrap around her waist and pull her behind him, away from the fight.
And there she stayed, protected by the boy who she had absolutely despised only yesterday.
The fight in front of them played out vigorously that nobody had any idea how it would end. Eleven threw something at Billy, he would get hit and jump right back up.
This continued for some time until Billy was too quick and grasped onto her neck, lifting Eleven up off of the ground.
He was going to kill her.
"Don't you fucking touch her!" Cassie screamed at Billy, taking a step towards him.
"Stop, I have an idea," Mike assured the girl, pushing her back to where she was.
A feeling of fear pressed into Cassie the moment she felt Mike pull away from her. She knew what he was going to do, and God, was she terrified of what would happen.
Picking up a metal rod, Mike held it tightly in his grasp as he creeped up behind Billy.
"Go to hell, you piece of shit!" Mike shouted, hitting Billy on the back of the head.
This may have worked in the movies, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Instead of knocking him out, this only angered him more, and as Billy turned to him, Mike's heart dropped. He was no match for Billy.
"Fucking hell," Cassie muttered under her breath.
No matter how much she hated him, Cassie would not let that monster take Mike from her. Something she had soon realized was that, broken up or not, she would always be there for him in times of need. Just as he would for her.
Cassie needed to think quickly. She didn't have her knife, she needed something sharp. Sharp, sharp, sharp, her eyes trailed over to the broken glass surrounding the door.
Racing over to the shards, Cassie grasped one in her palm and advanced towards Billy from behind, taking the glass and slicing open his back, which also caused her to slice open her hand.
The monster let out a loud cry, turning to face Cassie with a look a pure rage. Thankfully, Eleven stopped Billy before he could even lay a hand on her.
Lifting him off the ground, Eleven screamed at the top of her lungs as blood trailed out of every opening of her face. Using all of her power, the girl threw his body through the brick wall, then collapsed onto the floor.
"El!" Cassie shouted, racing over to her friend.
She didn't hesitate to help her up, cradling her in her arms as she lifted her body into a stance. Moving quickly, Cassie helped the girl walk over to the rest of the group, who stood facing the hole broken into the wall.
Huddled together, the six kids watched in fright as they spotted a dark figure running away. Billy Hargrove, the boy who they now knew was the new host of the Mind Flayer, had raced into the woods and disappeared into the night.