CHAPTER EIGHT.
the burning.

I'm sorry!!!!!!!!!!! I'm trying to update!!!!! Love y'all!!!!!

gifs just don't work for me anymore :( like they don't load or move and it's upsetting
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it took only a minute for mike to tell them the plan, and then it took until nightfall for them to prepare. nineteen had sifted through one of the back storage rooms. it was pretty much empty, except for some duct tape and big, thick chains. she grabbed them anyway and went back out to max.

mike pretty much had the entire plan hatched out, and it only required two people to set everything up. all they had to do was wait.

it seemed as if the rest of the day drug out. they were worried that billy might immediately leave after the pool closed, but nineteen had let out a breath of relief when he instead made his way to the showers.

the party immediately sprung into action.

"ready?" mike asks now, rubbing his hands together. the others nod hesitantly. "okay. let's go."

they all make their way to the sauna room, except for nineteen, who stands outside the bathroom door. lucas had locked it up earlier, giving nineteen the key.

she takes a deep breath in and looks down at the watch mike gave her. she closes her eyes to focus in on billy.

he's grabbing his towel.

she takes in another breath.

he's walking to his locker.

she flexes her fingers, getting ready.

he's pulling out his clothes.

10 more seconds...

he pulls on his pants.

she lets out a sharp breath and clangs the metal bar against the door.

"pool's closed." she hears from inside. she bites her lip and then scrapes the chains against the door before running away and around the corner.

she hears him yelling as she presses herself against the side of the building. he bangs on the door, making her breath hitch. what if he somehow gets it open?

then, mike shuts off the lights and she bends over on her knees. she lays down the bar and chains and reaches into her pocket, pulling out the key to the lock. she slowly makes her way to the door, hearing mike taunt billy.

billy buys right into it, and starts making his way to the sauna room. he's going slowly, taking his time. she hears what he's thinking about doing to the poor soul he finds. he slowly rips back each shower curtain.

"billy!" mike taunts lowly. "come find me!"

"i find you, it is your funeral." he replies, making nineteen flinch.

it's only when he's walked through the door leading to the sauna that she quickly inserts the key into the lock and slowly opens the door so that it doesn't make a sound.

she tiptoes through the bathroom, waiting.

"hi." she hears eleven's voice inside, and she makes her way to the door. there's a grunting sound and then a body hitting the wall.

"now!" mike calls. at the sounds of the storage doors opening inside, nineteen quickly goes in. eleven throws the door shut and mike puts a long bar across it while will and lucas lock it up with the chains. they then all run back to the girls.

billy pounds on the door, and they're all scared that he could somehow open it. he looks out at them through the glass, and then his eyes shift and he stops, staring out at them.

"max." he whispers, and they all turn to look at the trembling redhead.

"do it." she says lightly, and will dashes forward, turning the room's heat all the way up.

"max! let me out of here! let me out!" he bangs against the door as the heat feels the room. sweat begins to drip from his face and hair.

"you kids... you think this is funny?" he asks. "you kids think this is some kind of sick prank, huh?" he takes a deep breath in, before spitting at the glass.

"you little shits think this is funny? what is this?"

nineteen looks over at eleven worriedly.

we're just gonna make him mad.

eleven pales at her words. she looks back to billy, who's breathing heavily. "open the door." he then bangs on it. "open the door!"

they all scramble in alarm, nineteen grabbing eleven's wrist.

"open the door! open the goddamn door!"

then, he lowers himself to the floor and nineteen hears him scream as he slaps his hands against it. will quickly runs to the thermometer against the wall and points at the red dial. he looks back. "we're at 220."

it's silent for a second as will backs up to the group, and then they hear a small sound inside. it gradually grows louder as they realize billy is crying.

"it's not my fault."

nineteen swallows thickly as billy continues, "it's not my fault. it's not my fault, max."

max takes a small step forwards, then another. she walks as slow as possible to the door. "i promise you, it's not my fault." he cries.

"what's not your fault, billy?" she asks, looking through the glass.

"i've done things, max. really... bad things. i didn't mean to."

nineteen squints, trying to see what those bad things are, but there's just... nothing. endless nothing. she looks at eleven, shaking her head. "i can't hear him," she barely whispers.

they all step forward, huddling closer together.

"he made me do it."

nineteen lets out a sharp breath. the mind flayer.

"it's him," she breathes. "it's him. we have to go." she whisper-yells.

"we can't," lucas mutters back, but he sounds like he wants to leave too.

"who made you do it?" max mumbles.

"i don't know, it's like a shadow." he tells her. nineteen pushes her fingernails into palm. they need to get hopper and joyce. something terrible was about to happen. someone was going to get hurt.

eleven and will share a look. nineteen breathes shakily. this was the first time she had ever wanted to run away from a fight.

"like a giant shadow. please, max."

"what did he make you do?" max asks.

"it's not my fault, okay?! max, please." he sobs. nineteen's face scrunches up at his pain and she has to close her eyes.

"please, believe me, max, it's not my fault. i tried to stop him, okay? i did." he sniffles. "please, believe me, max."

"billy, it's gonna be okay." she says, putting her hand up against the glass. "it's gonna be okay. we want to help you."

nineteen stops, feeling something change in billy. something... shift.

"guys..." she whispers.

"you just have to talk to us, okay? you have to talk to us." max continues.

"guys." nineteen says again, louder.

will let's out a small breath. "i feel him." he says shakily. she looks over at him holding his neck. "he's activated."

she realizes, belatedly, that all this time, she had been feeling will's thoughts and feelings, not the mind flayer. when she felt the chill, it was happening to him automatically, but for her, manually. it's like her mind sought out will.

even though her stomach is now doing cartwheels, she turns back to the redhead. "max," she says aloud. "get back!"

"what?"

"max." mike says louder, looking at will. "get away from the door!"

but it's too late. billy throws his arm and head through the glass, making max scream and fall into the wall.

"let me out, bitch!" he screams, banging his hand on the outside of the door. "let me out! i'll fucking gut you!"

he reaches down to the bar and pulls it out, pushing on the door. lucas acts quick, loading his wrist rocket and aiming it at billy. it hits him right in the forehead, and he falls backwards to the ground.

"max, come on!" lucas yells. she rushes back to the group with lucas throwing an arm around her protectively.

they all gasp when the lights above them start flickering. they glance up and around them, breathing heavily.

nineteen looks back to the room, where billy is grunting and coughing. she feels billy's thoughts start to fade, and then they're completely gone. she glances at the others, who are looking around frantically.

"it's him now." she points to the room, at billy, who has his back turned to them and is hunched over. he then yells, his voice somehow distorted.

nineteen grits her teeth, staring in at billy. he lets out a roar before running towards the door, ramming his shoulder into it. the chains don't break, yet eleven reaches her hands out, shoving the rest of them behind her.

nineteen places a hand over eleven's arm, silently letting her know she's right by her side. billy rams into the door again, the chains rattling.

"he can't get out, can he?" max asks.

"no way." lucas replies, but it sounds like he doesn't believe it. "no way."

billy pounds on the door again. he rams into it, and the pipe that the chain is wrapped around begins to bend.

he lets out a final roar, and runs towards the door, breaking it open. he rolls out onto the ground and they all gasp, backing up quickly.

he raises up slowly, looking eleven right in the eyes. nineteen stands in between the girl and the party, her arms blocking her friends.

eleven raises her arm up, and with it, one of the weights near the wall. she pushes it forward, and they watch as its thrown across the room into billy. he clutches it as it nails him to the wall. the brunette moves in front of him, holding it up there. it moves to his neck, causing the bricks against billy's back to break.

eleven grunts as she exerts more power, holding up her other hand.

and then, nineteen's eyes widen in horror as billy pushes back, holding the bar in his hand. eleven screams as billy throws it at her.

she ducks to the ground just in time as it clangs against the wall behind her. billy stalks forwards.

nineteen rushes to them before he reaches her, dodging his fist, and landing one of her own against his cheek. he grunts, stumbling in surprise. she holds out her hands on either side, and she's almost shocked to see that small electric currents are weaving through her fingers, forming an electric blue sphere in the center of her palms.

she looks back up at him, lightly tilting her head in a challenge. he yells, running towards her. she dodges again and grabs his neck, electrocuting him. bright blue currents run through his skin for a moment as he convulses.

he stumbles against the wall, coughing. he breathes in and out before standing back up and looking over his shoulder at her.

she can't hear him so she can't anticipate his moves. he turns too quickly, bringing his other hand around and punching her in the gut.

she doubles over as he turns back to the telekinetic girl. his punch was twice as strong and it almost made nineteen's stomach completely turn.

eleven starts to crawl back to the group, when he grabs her by the hair. she cries out as he pulls her back to look at him.

nineteen stands up straight again, running at him, but he blocks her by grabbing her left arm and squeezing. she tries to grab him with her other hand but he blocks it as well, turning to look at the other four by the wall. he fists nineteen's overalls in her hand and raises her over his arm.

nineteen's feet are dangling halfway off the ground. he barely glances at her before he looks to the rest of the group with a menacing expression. he turns to eleven, staring her down.

just when everyone thinks he's gonna toss nineteen aside, he moves his arm in a swift movement and wraps his hand around nineteen's neck.

they all gasp in surprise as nineteen starts choking. billy carelessly throws eleven to his left. she hits the wall and falls to the ground with a thud.

he slowly stands up, raising the blue-eyed girl above his head. a choke escapes her, her face slowly turning red. she kicks out as hard as she can while slapping her hands against his arm. she kicks his stomach, his shoulders, his face, but nothing works. he doesn't budge, just stares up at her, turning to the side so that her friends can see her face clearly as she gasps for her last bits of air.

she remembers this feeling. the first time the lab's trial had worked. the trial for secondary powers. she had been the first experiment to survive, hadn't she? and then papa had died not long after.

she had found herself in the dark place with a man from russia. he could see her, somehow. somehow.
how? how had he been able to see her? was it because of her? or something else?

the man had been tall, much taller than billy. he had thick eyebrows and almost pitch black eyes. he had wrapped both of his hands around her neck, almost like he knew who, or what, she was.

he hadn't hurt her like this, though. the feeling isn't the same. he wasn't as strong as billy was right now. this was worse.

there was something else happening.

she looks down at his arm, and with a loud, strangling scream, she watches his veins turn blue.

is he taking her energy? rapidly stealing it all? what if he took all of it? could it kill her? she kicks at him again. she doesn't want to die. she has a life she finally gets to live. she has a family. she has a home. she has love, and she doesn't want to leave it.

it burns in her chest, spreading up her neck and to her stomach. her hands shake as she tries a last attempt to slap at billy again. it's a horrible stinging sensation that hurts her to her core. it feels like it's splitting her head open. her body could be on fire for all she knew. the same feeling from when her and eleven had tried to shut the gate.

billy squeezes harder, and she coughs, slapping his arm.

as she looks up to the fluorescent lights, her eyes begin to shift from their blue color to a startling white. she lets out a strangled cry and the bulbs pop. glass goes everywhere, her friends scream, and blood pools her eyes.

losing air felt similar to losing time. it could have been forever he was holding her up, even if it only was a mere 20 seconds.

yes, there we go. i'll kill you and then i'll kill her. i'll kill everyone.

nineteen's head snaps back and her white eyes look down to billy. that wasn't billy, was it? that was....

the mind flayer.

nineteen gasps out, but for a different reason. she'd never been able to hear animals, monsters, and anything in between. she'd never been able to go to the upside down like the others had. nobody knew why, not even papa. she wasn't sure if it was because they were more focused on her mission with the russians, or for some other reason. and once they discovered the upside down, they changed eleven's mission to discovering more about it.

nineteen was sure she had begun hating papa at that moment. eleven was even more traumatized for that. nineteen only had one power at that point. then they started the secondary powers trial. she had been the eighth child to be submitted, and the only one to survive.

she looks down into billy's eyes. he stares back up at her with hostility.

you. she says. billy's, or rather the mind flayer's, eyes widen.

how?

nineteen's head tilts back and she digs her fingernails into billy's arm. she wants to let go, she wants to let her power take over her. but she couldn't. she would kill everyone. she would kill her friends just like those lab men last year. her energy is fading rapidly anyway. it wouldn't be long before she passed out, or worse.

how? it repeats. it wasn't an actual voice, she realizes. she could tell what it was saying so clearly, but there was no voice. it was so strange, but that wasn't new.

the room seems to sway as nineteen's vision finally starts to fade. blood slithers down her cheeks and onto his hand. she lets out one last meager scream.

then she hears a loud cry, and billy lets go.

the girl drops to the floor, landing on her knees. she gasps out, scrambling for air before falling to her side. she can barely raise her head, but through clouded eyes, she sees mike.

he yells something as billy falls to the ground beside her, but she's too weak to care.

her hand shakes as it reaches up to her throat. she feels so light, yet so heavy. she starts to get up again, but her stomach lurches and she falls back, hitting her head against the tiles. she pushes through it, though, because her friends need her.

she raises up, just in time, to see eleven get up from the ground and raise billy into the air. she moves around, getting in between him and mike. nineteen coughs, and her hand moves to her mouth, blood coating her fingers. she coughs again, staring down at the red liquid. she drops, and looks back up at billy.

eleven lets out a scream, pushing out all of her power. billy screams back at the pain, and mike shakes from behind her.

eleven throws her arms to the side, and billy goes flying through the wall. the bricks crumble as he lands with a thud on the ground outside.

nineteen groans, and then turns on her side, throwing up. it's mostly red, making her lip tremble. blood dribbles down her mouth onto the floor as she raises up on her hands and knees. her hair covers her face as she moves to stand up.

she hears a small cry, and then she's being pulled back into someone's embrace.

eleven, who had fallen back into mike the minute she threw billy, had immediately tried to crawl over to nineteen and pull her as close as she physically could. nineteen was half laying on the girl's lap, half on the sauna floor. eleven sobs, clenching her eyes shut and pushing nineteen's face into her shoulder. she holds her head, crying out at the thought of losing her sister.

she runs her fingers through her hair comfortingly, trying to stop crying. they had other things to deal with. she covers nineteen's ear, before pushing her hair behind it.

nineteen was so weak, but she had to get up. eleven pushes her shoulders so she can look at her and they cry out again once their eyes meet. eleven grabs her hands and pulls her up. the party watch them, not sure what to think.

and then they turn to the wall. a medium sized hole sits in the center where eleven had thrown billy. they walk towards it slowly, bricks laying everywhere.

billy's running for the woods, wailing in anguish and pain.

nineteen turns away from the sight, trying to catch her breath. the room spins, and she stumbles, falling into someone's arms and passing out.

—
sorry but everything suspenseful happens to eleven, steve, and hopper which makes it really boring so i just changed it up a little.

also what do you guys think is gonna happen at the end of the show? i hate to say it but i'm positive eleven is gonna die. there's just so much foreshadowing