TEENAGE NIGHTMARE
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO — PART ONE.
THE EXORCISM OF FRANNY WALKER.

          " This is where the Chief dug his hole. This is our way into the tunnel. " Mike informed them, pointing to a spot on the wall correlating to Will's map of Hawkins. As the others watch him intently, he moves to another part of the room to point at an eerily similar drawing, " Here, right here, this is like a hub. So, you got all the tunnels feeding in here, maybe if we set this on fire. . "

           " Oh, yeah? " Steve asked rhetorically, placing his hands on his hips, " That's a no! "

            " The Mind Flayer will call his army away. " Dustin responded, promptly ignoring Steve, as did the others.

            " They'd all come to stop us, " Lucas chimed in as Steve grew annoyed, eyes darting between the group of boys incredulously.

            " Then, we circle back to the exit! By the time they realize we're gone, El would be at the Gate! " Mike finished, a wide grin on his face as he nodded.

              Steve suddenly clapped his hands together, making them all jump, including Franny, who sat on the edge of the couch with her hands clasped between her knees, a weak look on her face as she looked over at the lanky boy.

              " Hey, this is not happening. " He declared, pointing towards the party with furrowed eyebrows as he shook his head.

               " But— "

               Dustin is cut off before he even has a chance to rebuttal, Steve frantically shaking his head more as he insisted, " No, no, no, no, no buts! I promised I'd keep you shitheads safe, and that's exactly what I plan on doing. We're staying here, on the bench, and we're waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everyone understand? "

                " This isn't a stupid sports game! " Mike snapped back, but Steve glared down at him with utmost seriousness.

                 " I said, does everybody understand that? " He repeated, yanking the dish towel from his shoulder and waving it around dramatically; JP hadn't been paying all that much attention to the argument as he was preoccupied with observing how sick Franny had suddenly gotten. His brows creased and he glanced over at Steve and the huddle of kids as he pulled the cigarette from between his teeth.

             " What about Fran? " He asked, and the brunette lifted her head in his direction, opening her mouth to protest, to say that she was fine, but her brother shot her a look. " You are not okay, Franny, you look like shit, and I'd prefer if you didn't die. "

              He then turned his head to look at the others, " So, if we stay here, what the hell do we do about her? That thing is still connected to her, and I'll be damned if she dies with it. Harrington, you got any ideas on that one? "

             " She won't- I won't. . " He stuttered, surprise evident on his face as his eyes flickered between Franny and JP, shaking his head lightly, " I won't let that happen. "

             JP nodded at him, placing the death stick back into his mouth, stating, " Good, "

          Then he flipped his attention to Lucas, Mike, and Dustin, cocking an eyebrow as he gestured his hand around, speaking through his teeth as he kept his cigarette between them, " So, smart asses, what do we do? "

           The trio of boys looked at each other, all of them secretly wishing that Charlie was with them. Still, they seemed to concoct a plan telepathically, turning to the three teenagers. Mike spoke first, " They went to burn the Mind Flayer out of Will, right? "

            " So, lets burn it out of Franny, too. " Lucas stated simply, and Franny leaned forward, shaking her head lightly as she already felt a bursting pain radiate through her body at the idea.

             " They took all the heaters with them. " She reminded them, and Dustin rushed to the kitchen without a word, reappearing with a long, sharp knife held tightly in his hand. Both Steve and Franny recoiled at the sight of it, the latter feeling a sick feeling in her stomach.

              The curly haired boy looked to Steve, " Find some lighter fluid from out back. "

              Steve hesitantly did what he was told, sharing a concerned expression with Franny. He wasn't inclined to letting a few thirteen year olds tell him what to do, but, for Franny's sake, he'd let it go. He came back shortly with a big, white container of lighter fluid and brought it over to the fireplace, where Dustin told him to take it. Lucas hurried tossed a few pieces of wood inside from the small pile that sat beside the fireplace, and Dustin poured a hefty amount of the fluid over them. Mike glanced back and looked to Steve expectantly.

             " Lighter? " He tossed it to him without question that time, and the teens (and Max) watched as he lit the fireplace up with an abundance of flames. The brightest of the fire was sudden, making both Franny and JP squint while Dustin carefully inched towards it, sticking the blade of the knife into the deepest part of the flame.

              JP casted a glance back to Franny, who was staring at the now-glowing knife as Dustin pulled it back out. She swallowed thickly and released a shaky exhale as she asked, " I'm not gonna like this, am I? "

            Dustin frowned as the boys walked over to her, " No, probably not. I'm sorry. "

            " If it gets this thing out of me, " Franny inhaled deeply, " then let's do it. "

             The seven of them set up a makeshift infirmary in the kitchen, placing several bath towels on the floor and table to catch any blood that happened to spill. A bright desk lamp sat on the edge of the table, already providing heat to Franny's hand as it laid on the table. The girl sat in one of the uncomfortable chairs, Steve sat beside her as he squeezed her unoccupied hand tightly. She glanced over at him, breathless as her heart began to face in pained anticipation.

             " You know I'm the one that's supposed to be squeezing your hand in pain, right, Steve? " She reminded him, and he blinked at her before quickly relaxing his grip, shrugging with a sheepish look on his face.

            " Right, yeah, I was just. . uh, trying to take your mind off of it. " He insisted, and Franny halfheartedly smiled at him as JP's hand pressed tightly down on her outstretched wrist at Mike's orders.

             " You gotta keep still, Franny, " The dark haired boy insisted as Dustin walked over with the knife in his grip, the end of the sharp blade glowing a bright orange. Lucas and Max were on the opposite side of Franny, holding her upper arm and shoulders tightly to try and keep her steady if she moved.

            Mike moved the lamp slightly, leaning forward and looking down at the wound on her hand, then to Dustin, then to Franny.

            " You ready? "

            She missed the small head nod he gave Dustin as she started, " Wait, give me a—GOD DAMMIT! "

            She wasn't sure which hurt worse. The initial blinding white hot pain that erupted in her palm like a furious volcano as Dustin drove the knife into the gash, digging deep inside of it. Or the reactionary rush of heat all over her body as the Mind Flayer thrashed inside her. It was an agonizing pain like she'd never felt before, and it took everything in her to drive her teeth into her bottom lip and not scream bloody murder. She gripped Steve's hand so hard that she'd be impressed if she hadn't broken a few knuckles, and she tightly closed her eyes to keep tears from falling.

            " Come on, Dustin! " Lucas exclaimed, struggling to keep his hold on Franny as her body jolted and struggled as Dustin dug the blade deep into her hand; they could hear a small, screeching noise, and Mike watched with terror as the dark veins encasing her skin began to thump with some sort of heartbeat.

           " I'M TRYING! " Dustin yelled back, but all Franny could hear was her blood rushing in her ears and her heart pumping erratically against her chest as the boy hit something. He gleefully shouted, " I got it! I think I got him! "

             Dustin began pulling the knife out, and the blade came out of her hand cleanly. What didn't was the black, slimy, slug-looking creature that was pierced with the knife. It screeched and wailed in a high pitched tone that nearly made their ears bleed, and they all started yelling at Dustin to kill it. The pain was unbearable now, and Franny found herself screaming her throat raw as agonized cries poured from her mouth. Her hand had released Steve and instead grabbed his shoulder, pulling him towards her to lean her head against his chest as her body lurched, feeling the creature trying to stay latched inside her bloodstream.

            " Come on, you son of a bitch! " Dustin screamed, finally ripping the black slug out with a sickening SNAP! They all looked down at the creature as it continued to shriek on the table, squirming around, leaving a puddle of dark liquid beneath it.

           " Kill it! " Max and Lucas shouted in unison, but before Dustin could pull the knife from it to stab it clean through, JP suddenly slammed his fist down and crushed his burning cigarette down on its small head. He flicked the excess ash from his fingers, raising his eyes to look at the kids with a pointed look.

             " And that's what smoking does to you, kids. " His ability to find humor in the oddest situations was one of his greatest traits, but his cool demeanor quickly disappeared when he looked over at his sister, seeing her body completely slumped, eyes closed and muscles limp as Steve shifted his arms around her, moving to lay her on the floor as they all turned their attention to the lifeless girl.

              " Franny, Fran, Fran, " JP hurriedly called her name, falling to his knees on the other side of her body as Steve lifted her head from the floor. The blond grabbed her wrist, checking for a pulse while simultaneously seeing the veins around the wound retracting, leaving her skin unmarked as all that was left was a relatively normal gash on her palm.

              " Is she. . " Lucas trailed off as the four kids stood behind JP, looking over his shoulder down at Franny. JP's eyes moved to her neck, where the veins were slowly fading into nothing. Steve shifted his hand from the back of her head to the side of her face, patting her cheek lightly with the other.

              " Come on, Fran, come on, " Steve muttered, feeling a knot growing in the pit of his stomach as she didn't budge. JP kept his thumb against her wrist, concentrating on trying to find a pulse, grimacing in growing aggravation. Steve shook his head, turning her face towards him, waiting impatiently for her eyes to open an inch, " Wake up, c'mon, babe, wake up, "

              JP closed his eyes in mild relief as he felt a soft thumping against his thumb, and he let go of her wrist, assuring them, " She's got a pulse. Weak, but it's there. "

             " How do we make her wake up? " Dustin asked, and JP looked from Franny's finally content face before he raised his eyes to Steve, who still didn't look any less worried at the information. JP glanced at the curly haired boy and shrugged lightly.

            " We don't. " He replied, " She's gonna have to just do it on her own, whenever she gets some of her strength back. "

            They were all quiet for a moment as they watched the indistinct rise and fall of Franny's chest, then Mike said, " What do we do until then? "

           " Wait? I don't know, " JP admitted, sitting back on his but as he propped his arms on his knees; he gestured towards the table, " we could play some of those games up there, if you're really that bored— "

           Before any of them could answer, JP's suggestion is interrupted by the sound of an engine revving loudly. The kids all dart to the window before JP could order them not to, and Max clutched the curtain with a death grip as she swallowed thickly.

          " It's my brother. " She announced, turning to look at Lucas and the other boys before her eyes darted to JP and Steve, who had briefly swiveled his head to look towards the window, a hand still underneath Franny's head to keep it from touching the floor. " He can't know I'm here, he'll kill me. He'll kill us. "

           " I'd like to see the asshole come and try. " JP scoffed, rising to his feet just as Steve subtly sniffled, also standing after gently moving Franny off of him. The brown haired boy looked to the blond, and they shared a similar look.

           " Stay here. " Steve insisted, and JP whirled on him as he tried to pass him, grabbing his wrist and pulling him back. Steve raised an eyebrow at him, and the blond shook his head.

           " The hell are you gonna do? " He questioned, and Steve glanced towards the door before his eyes flickered back to JP.

            " I'm gonna have a chat with him. " He simply said, and JP let out a mildly impressed laugh, a ghostly smirk on his face as he nodded.

            " Alright, but if you don't walk back into this house with all your limbs in tact, my sister is going to rip my ass for it. " He reminded him, releasing his wrist and gesturing with his hand as he added, " Go show that asshole some of that Harrington charm. "

              Steve returned a grin before he turned on his heel, storming out of the house and slamming both the wooden and screen doors behind him harshly, rattling the frames on the walls. As if on some sort of cue, Franny suddenly shot up, choking and gasping for air. The kids all looked back from their positions near the window, and JP rushed to kneel beside her, smacking her back as she slightly turned her head to him, spitting out a stream of black goop that splattered on his face.

             As his sister finished choking up whatever residue was left in her body, shifting so that she could spit it out on to the floor, JP removed his hand  from her back and slowly wiped the slimy liquid from his face, flicking it to the ground with a scowl.

            " You couldn't have done that when Harrington was in your personal bubble? " He asked rhetorically, and he shot a glare back at the kids as they all stifled giggles at the smeared black substance covering his face.

             " Steve. . " She said, turning and grabbing JP's arm, her eyes searching the room quickly to see that only the kids were in the room; she noticed they were staring out the front window, though, and she only imagined the worst: the Demodogs had come back and Steve was (foolishly) trying to be the hero like he had at the junkyard. Franny pulled on JP's sleeve to heave herself up as she frantically asked, " Where is he? Where's Steve? "

            " Slow your roll, Fran, " JP responded, but Franny was already pushing herself to her feet, standing on shaky legs as she tasted a bitterness on her tongue from the leftover inky saliva in her mouth. JP also stood to his feet to stop her, but she had seemingly gained an adrenaline rush upon waking up and rushed to the door, opening it and trudging outside as the door shut in JP's face.

             " Steve? " Franny called, instantly wrapping her arms around herself as the cool night breeze rushed over her when she stepped onto the porch. She saw him standing down the driveway, turning to look at her over his shoulder as his eyes widened the slightest in surprise. " Steve, what are you. . "

             Her question died on her tongue as she looked past him, her blood running cold. She expected a pack of Demodogs, maybe a bear, but she felt her heart stop when she saw that it was Billy Hargrove standing across from him, his blue Camaro a few feet behind him. Blond hair a mess of a mullet as usual, accompanied a leather jacket, he was definitely hard to miss. The grin on his face grew at the sight of the brunette, pulling his burning cigarette from between his teeth and letting out a humorless laugh.

              " Franny Walker, what a surprise it is seeing you here! " He exclaimed, and, while Franny's aching body was telling her to stay right in her place on the porch (or, better yet, back inside the safety of the house), she scowled back at the boy and impulsively walked down the porch. He shrugged his jacket off, his maroon shirt underneath unbuttoned enough to barely be covering his chest in the first place as he continued, " I haven't seen you since that day in the hallway, I gotta say, I missed your fiery little ass. "

            
               " Wish I could say the same. " She replied blankly, keeping her arms wound tightly around herself as Steve held out an arm in front of her, keeping her from stepping in between the two teens. She didn't argue, but she grabbed his arm, lowering it between their bodies.

               " Mm, " Billy hummed in amusement, glancing between the two as he nodded to Steve, acting as if they were casual friends and this wasn't some sort of standoff, " what are you doing here, amigo? "

            " Could ask you the same thing, " Steve insisted, crossing his arms over his chest as he raised an eyebrow questionably at him, adding spite to the last word, " amigo. "

            Billy placed the cigarette back into his mouth where it hung loosely from his lips as he again dragged his eyes over Franny before locking with Steve's, " Lookin' for my stepsister. Little birdie told me she was here. "

            " Huh, that's weird, I don't know her. " Steve replied calmly, shaking his head lightly as he reached behind himself to grab Franny's hand, propping an eyebrow up at her. " You know her? "

             Franny hesitated momentarily, her head still fuzzy from the whole 'exorcism', if you will, and she just turned her head to look at Billy, a glare hardening on her face as she insisted, " Your birdie lied. "

             " Nah, I don't think so. Tall, redhead, bit of a bitch? " He listed for them, and Franny had to bite her tongue to keep from insulting him at the last part. Steve gave Billy a dry look, shrugging.

             " Doesn't ring a bell, sorry, buddy, " He said bluntly, and Billy lowered his eyes to the ground, nodding briefly before pulling the cigarette from his mouth. He let a small sigh, jerking his head to the side as his eyes flickered between the two teenagers in front of him.

            " You know, I don't know, " Billy gestured his hand towards them, sucking his teeth as he looked to Steve with a doubtful expression, " this-this whole situation, Harrington, I don't know. . It's giving me the heebie-jeebies. "

            " Yeah? " Steve asked, his voice monotone and sounding completely uninterested with the conversation. Franny felt the same, she just wanted Billy to accept it and leave, but, a part of her knew it couldn't be that easy. " Why is that? "

            Billy drew another puff from his cigarette, blowing a stream of smoke at them before continuing, " My thirteen year old sister goes missin' all day, and then I find her with you, " he gestured between them, purposefully sneering at Franny as he added, " while you're enjoying my sloppy seconds, in a stranger's house, and you both lie to me about it. "

             Franny first reaction is to step towards him, Steve releasing her hand to instead grab her forearm as the girl spat an angry, " Fuck you, Hargrove. "

            " Already did, remember? " He smirked, lazily dragging the cigarette out again to point it towards her; the brunette felt her blood boiling, making her headache grow even worse as he leaned an inch towards her, smoke coming from his mouth as he lowly said, " If you ever want to know what it's like sober, the door's always open, sweetheart. "

            Franny's hands clenched to fists at her sides, and just as she opened her mouth to spew insults at the boy, Steve beat her to it, holding his arm out in front of her defensively now as he insisted, " Man, where you dropped too much as a baby, or what? I don't know what you don't understand about what I just said. She's not here, and I'd appreciate it if you left us out of it. "

            " Let's just go, Steve, " Franny suggested, gently tugging on his arm, but neither of them moved even though she knew they definitely should just drop it and go back inside.

           Billy let out a small, amused chuckle, but the deadly serious look on his face contradicted it as he licked his lips. He leaned towards Steve, pointing back at the house with his cigarette and asked, " Then who is that? "

           The two teenagers turned to look back at the house, where they saw a set of four heads peering through the window. Franny felt annoyance add to the suspenseful anticipation riddling her nerves as her jaw tightened. They instantly ducked when they realized they'd been spotted, but it was too late. Steve realized it, too, muttering, " Ah, shit. "

            As soon as he turned back to make up some lame excuse to Billy, he was shoved to the ground, falling with a surprised grunt. Franny instinctively stepped back, eyes widened in shock as she glanced over at Billy, who leaned over him with a condescending sneer.

            " I told you to plant your feet. " He muttered, then, for good measure, slammed him booted foot into Steve's stomach, earning a loud groan from the boy on the ground as Franny flinched, snapping back into reality as Billy shoved past her, not bothering to even spare him a glance as he hit her shoulder with his, storming up the porch steps.

            " Steve. . " Franny whispered, hurriedly kneeling down beside him as he leaned his head up, clutching his stomach with an arm; she grabbed his shoulder and took hold of his free hand, pulling his lanky body up with her as his arm draped over her shoulder. Her body wasn't fully recovered from the removal of the Mind Flayer, and she struggled to keep him up as he regained his strength. " Come on, Steve, we gotta get in there— "

             They heard shrieks coming from inside the house, and, as Billy burst through the door with enough power to tear it from its hinges, JP stood defensively in front of Max, shielding her from her stepbrother as he walked inside, fuming. His eyes darted around the room, seeing his sister and seeing Lucas standing tensely beside her. A predatory grin fell to his face.

            " Well, well, well, " He clicked his tongue, lurking further into the house as she slammed the door shut behind him; JP's eyebrows lowered as he glared at the blond, hands hovering in front of Max, Lucas, Mike, and Dustin, but Billy looked as if Lucas was the only target in the room. He said his name with utmost distaste, like it was sour on his tongue, " Lucas Sinclair, what a surprise. I thought I told you to stay away from him, Max? "

            " Billy, go away. " Max quietly said, but Billy only gave her a eerily serious look as he slowly walked over to them.

            " You disobeyed me. . and you know what happens when you disobey me. " He stated venomously, a flash of anger crossing his eyes. " I break things. "

             As Billy made a move to grab Lucas, JP shoved both his hands against his chest, making Billy stumble backwards with a loud laugh. He pointed towards JP with a wide grin, the blond stepping forward with a burning scowl planted firmly on his face. Billy told him, " You know, you're not half as pathetic sober as you are when you're completely wasted, Walker. "

             JP closed the distance between them and leaned so close to Billy's face that their noses were almost touching as he threatened, " Get the hell out of here before I do you a favor and rip the fucking rat from your head, Hargrove. "

            Billy chuckled menacingly, poking his finger into JP's chest as he exclaimed, " Now, that's what I'm talking about! "

            JP wasn't amused, though, and he didn't budge, clenching jaw as Billy's laugh died down. His eyes lingered on JP's for an uncomfortably long time before they flickered to Lucas, then back to the blond boy. He clicked his tongue and grinned as he reminded him, " You think you're his brother or somethin', you gotta fight his battles for him? 'Cause, let me tell you, just because you got that black shit all over your face, doesn't make you a n— "

             JP's fist reared back, hot anger running through his veins and making his heart beat unsteadily fast, but, before he could finish the action and punch the asshole square in the jaw, a series of events happened: the door flew open, revealing Franny and Steve, equally winded, then, JP's eyes flashed to them, his anger contorting into concern as he saw the distressed look on his sister's face, and, finally, Billy's god awful laugh rang in his ears.

            And he barely even had enough time to see Billy's fist slam right into his nose.

X X X

note.

the end is near

as alway, all comments, questions, predictions, and feedback are greatly appreciated!