activation

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

"Max!" Billy shouted, pounding against the sauna window. He was completely covered in sweat, bare chest slick with the grease as he slammed his hand against the door. "LET ME OUT OF HERE!" his breaths came quickened and erratic, and his breath fogged up the window. Gabe clutched at his Swiss Army Knife and Will's hand, the two things that were keeping him standing, and watched, like all the others were doing, because what else could they do? "Let me out!"

It crossed his mind how stupid this plan was. Yeah, now they had Billy trapped, but now what? Would they just leave him in there to burn? Watch the Mind Flayer burst its way out of his mouth in wisps of smoke, taking to the air but possibly into one of them? Gabe eyed the chain on the door, and thought it seemed almost flimsy compared to the beast raging inside the sauna. All of their planning, all of this waiting, and now none of the party knew what to do but watch. Watch, with their hearts in their throats, as Billy pounded on the door.

With his chest heaving, his voice got lower. Quieter. Almost normal. "You kids..." he began, a snarl contorting his face, "You think this is funny?" Gabe clutched at Will's hand harder, and Will did the same. "You kids think this is some kind of sick prank, huh?" Billy spat on the door, saliva dripping down the window, and his voice rose to a yell again. "You little shits think this is funny?!"

Not at all, Gabe thought to himself, breathing almost as heavily as Billy was. I'm actually really scared right now. He looked around at the similarly scared faces—at Lucas and Mike and Max exchanging panicked looks, at Alina, holding a ball of energy in her palm, red and warm, at El, beside her, her eyes narrowed as she concentrated in case Billy managed to break out, and at Will, who didn't seem to have felt anything yet.

He wondered what he himself looked like. Probably like a mess. He was sweating like crazy, and his button-down was damp from it (his grandma would be pissed if he ruined it. Although his grandma's wrath was the least of his concerns right now. He had to focus more on staying alive and staying away from Billy Hargrove).

"What is this?" Billy asked. And then, without waiting for a response (he seemed to know all of the party were too petrified to speak, and would be unwilling to anyway), "Open the door."

Yeah, right after we jump off a cliff, Gabe thought. Because that'll be the same amount of dangerous.

If he had telepathy, these thoughts would be a lot cooler.

"OPEN THE DOOR!" Billy slammed against it, and it rattled, making everyone jump, Gabe most of all, because he'd never been cut out for shit like this. He wondered, for a moment, if this would be it. If today would be the day he died, and he'd never turn fourteen and never admit his true feelings and never find out who he really was. He was trembling, his eyes darting around, but in the end they always locked back onto the predator behind the glass.

"Open the door!" Billy repeated, pressing his face against the glass. His voice got louder. It was a wonder he hadn't gone hoarse by now. "OPEN THE GODDAMN DOOR!"

Nobody moved, because although this plan hadn't been the smartest, none of them were complete idiots. They knew opening the door would do nothing good, and besides, they had to find out once and for all if the Mind Flayer was really inside Billy. Alina, slightly in front of Gabe, was hissing through her teeth, and suddenly she let a ball of energy fly slightly into the air before reabsorbing into her. She did that sometimes, when she was holding it for too long. But almost immediately, a new one took its place, illuminating their panicked faces with red. Gabe watched a trickle of blood run from her nose and tried to breathe a little more steadily.

We can at least fight, he thought to himself. And it is seven against one...

Of course, it was more like three and a half against one. Alina, El, and maybe Lucas, with his wrist rocket, were the ones who could do damage. Will, Mike and Max were all unarmed (although there were some supplies from the workout room they could possibly use as a makeshift weapon), and Gabe did have his Swiss Army Knife. Although he didn't know how well he'd be able to use it.

And then something happened that Gabe didn't expect. Billy's eyes rolled back, and then he collapsed to the floor of the sauna. His screams permeated the air and Will (tugging Gabe along) ran forward, up to the controls. "We're at two-twenty," he said aloud. Which meant they were close.

The two of them ran back to join the others, and Alina sank to her knees, her entire body trembling from the effort of holding her energy. She reabsorbed it again, and this time kept it absorbed, possibly knowing that it would do herself no good to be tired if the need to fight arose. Gabe closed his eyes, and counted his breathing. He was even more scared than he'd been last year, with the vines and the Demodogs.

Maybe because this time, Steve wasn't here to help them.

Then Billy started to sob. Quiet at first, eventually getting louder, and it was very strange, because Gabe didn't think he even had the ability to cry. Gabe's eyes opened, and he listened as Billy moaned, "It's not my fault. It's not my fault, Max. I promise you, it's not my fault."

And before Gabe or anyone else could stop her, Max had moved right up to the door of the sauna. Gabe exchanged a panicked look with the others, and Alina called her back, her voice trembling, but Max didn't listen. She instead spoke, for the first time, to Billy.

"What's not your fault, Billy?" she asked. Gabe could tell by her voice that she was trying to be strong. Trying not to let it break.

Billy sounded like a child when he spoke. "I've done things, Max. Really... bad things. I didn't mean to."

The entire party took a few tentative steps forward, listening to Billy's sobs. "He made me do it," he said, his voice oddly pitched. Gabe's heart lurched.

Max's voice did end up breaking when she spoke next. "Who made you do it?"

"I don't know, it's like a shadow," said Billy in a whisper, and that was it. That was the confirmation. The party all exchanged looks of resolute, because now they really knew what they were fighting against. Now they all were completely convinced. Gabe could see Alina and Will linking hands.

"Like a giant shadow," continued Billy. "Please, Max."

Max didn't open the door, as Gabe feared she would. Billy wasn't acting like Gabe—or anyone else—had ever seen him like. There was something off about this, and not just the part where he was possessed. It was almost like he was biding his time.

"What did he make you do?" Max asked, and Billy's voice rose to a shriek.

"It's not my fault, okay? Max, please. Please believe me, Max, it's not my fault. I tried to stop him, okay? I did."

Max was crying at this point, because even if her stepbrother was a monster, he was still her family. Gabe longed to pull her back, pull her away from him, far away, where she'd never have to get hurt by him ever again. Even now, even when he wasn't himself, he always found a way.

"Please believe me, Max," whimpered Billy. Gabe had never heard him sound so human before. "Please believe me."

Max put a hand against the glass. Her body was racked with sobs. "Billy, it's gonna be okay," she choked out.

"Max, please."

"It's gonna be okay," said Max. "We want to help you. We want to help you. You just have to talk to us, okay? You have to talk to us. I believe you, Billy."

Alina Fairgrieves-Byers and Will Byers didn't, because, just then, they felt twin shivers down their spines. Their bodies went cold. Their stomachs dropped, like on a rollercoaster. And Will, one hand still clutching onto Gabe, choked out, "I feel him. He's activated."

"Biding his time," said Gabe aloud. "Shit, shit, shit!" he realized what was happening now, and Mike did, too, because he was already calling out.

"Max, get away from the door."

Max, who had still been talking to Billy, soothing words that had no meaning behind them, sucked in a breath. "What?"

Mike's voice rose to a yell. "GET AWAY FROM THE DOOR!"

Before anyone could move, however, the window suddenly shattered, raining glass down on Max. She let out a scream, shielding her face, and Gabe saw Billy's arm grope around, trying to grab her. Because he'd been biding his time. Or the Mind Flayer had, anyway. There had been no real remorse. No real tears. It was just so he could find a way to break out.

Billy let out a shriek, and El thrust out her arms, shoving her friends behind her. Alina groaned and formed more energy on her palms, her nose bursting with blood, and Max pressed herself against the wall by the sauna, terrified, watching as Billy slammed against the door. His upper-body was thrust through the window at this point, but luckily he was too large to fit completely through.

As he pounded on the door, he yelled at Max. "Let me out, you bitch! Let me out!" She was in the corner at this point, her face wet with tears and pale with fright. "I'll fucking gut you!"

And then this was where everything went, if possible, to even deeper shit, because Billy began to unlatch the door. Just as he was about to burst free, Lucas used his wrist rocket to send a rock hurling in his direction. It hit him right in the forehead, knocking him backwards, and Gabe had just enough time to thank every spirit out there for Lucas Charles Sinclair before he, along with Lucas, was yelling at Max to come back.

She sprinted back to them, and Alina and El pushed her behind them, and then the lights began to flicker. On and off again. Gabe knew enough about the Upside Down to know that this was no good. This meant that the Mind Flayer was becoming fully active in Billy, reducing him to a skeletal shell, just like he had to Will and Alina. Billy was not Billy anymore, he was part of the We, and the We was what remained of the Mind Flayer's army.

There was some sort of gurgling coming from inside the sauna, and the party pressed themselves back-to-back, their eyes darting around the flickering workout room as if a Demodog was going to burst through at any minute. Then Gabe reminded himself that they were all dead. They'd killed them all last year.

But if the Mind Flayer was alive...

Shit shit shit shit shit.

This was it. This was it. Alina's hands were completely inflamed now, and El had her fists clenched, ready to attack at any moment. This was when they were going to have to fight, Gabe knew. And as Billy roared from inside the sauna, an inhuman sound, he braced himself, and yet again closed his eyes.

Your name is Gabriel Burton. You've run away from home and been disowned and fought against Demodogs and vines and other interdimensional creatures. You get scared sometimes, but your fear is what makes you human. It's what allows you to fight. And if Billy manages to break through the door, then you're not going to just stand there. You're going to do something. Because you'd rather die with your fists swinging than with them hanging limp beside you.

Your name is Gabriel Burton, and you will never be weak.

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

a/n: 😳 oh shit.