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{Isadora}

I was completely drenched by the time I followed Max through the front door of the Hargrove house. My shoes squelched against the floor, rainwater dripping from my hair and sleeves. Thunder cracked overhead and I flinched. Everything felt unreal, like I'd stepped out of one nightmare and into another.

Max disappeared down the hallway and came back a moment later with an armful of clothes.

"You can borrow these," she said, thrusting them into my hands. "And you can stay the night. There's no way you're going back out in that."

I nodded, murmuring a quiet thank-you, too tired and overwhelmed to argue, before heading to the bathroom to shower.

The shower was hot, almost scalding, but I barely noticed. As the water poured over me, my thoughts spiralled back to the Holloway House, and about the things that didn't add up no matter how hard I tried to make sense of them. Nothing about what was happening made any sense to me.

After I changed and dried my hair, I padded quietly down the hallway, not entirely sure where I was going, before coming to a stop in front of a door I hadn't noticed before. The first thing I noticed was there was a lock on the outside of the door.

I hesitated, then slowly pushed the door open.

This was Billy's room.

My mind flashed back to the only other time I'd been in here, and I gulped before crossing the room and opening his closet, before pulling out one of his shirts, and bringing it to my face without thinking, breathing in his scent.

I slipped the shirt on, the fabric hanging loosely against my skin, and for a brief moment, it felt like he was close again. Then I forced myself to leave, closing the door behind me. As I did, my eyes caught onto the lock on the outside of the door again, and I couldn't help but wonder why his door would even be locked from the outside.

I shook my head and then made my way to Max's room, where a mattress had been set for me. I lay down on it and listened as Max, Laura, and Eleven talked quietly, though I couldn't help feeling completely out of place here.

Sleep didn't come easily, and I lay awake with the same question kept looping through my mind over and over again. What was going on with Billy?

Eventually, I fell into a restless sleep, but in the early hours of the morning, a loud voice ripped me out of sleep, my heart lurching as I jerked awake.

"Do you copy? This is a code red. Max, do you copy?" Lucas's voice crackled through the walkie-talkie. For a second, I lay there, disorientated, the words not fully sinking in.

"Shut up," Max snapped, fumbling for the device before switching it off. She rolled over without another word, already halfway back to sleep.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to follow her lead.

It didn't last.

The phone rang a moment later, and Max groaned loudly.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Max," I mumbled, my voice thick with sleep as she sat up, "it's so early."

"I'm sleeping. Go away," she snapped into the phone, lowering it briefly, then she froze. Slowly, she lifted it back to her ear. "What are you talking about? What?"

That did it. I pushed myself up on my elbows, fully awake now.

"What did he say?" Eleven asked, as she sat up.

"What's going on?" Laura added, rubbing at her eyes as she sat up.

Max exhaled, "We need to go to Mike's house. Apparently the boys have something to tell us."

A knot formed instantly in my stomach. I had no idea what I was being dragged into, but something about the urgency in Max's voice made it impossible to ignore, and so I told myself I could always leave later, go home if it got too much.

We changed quickly, and when I pulled on my clothes, I decided to keep Billy's shirt on, smoothing down the fabric without thinking about it. Once we were dressed, we headed to the Wheeler's house together.

When we walked down to Mike's basement, I was a little surprised to see Mike, Will, Lucas, and Hazel were already gathered here, and I frowned as I joined them.

"What's going on?" I asked, as we stepped into the room.

"Will has something he needs to tell everyone," Hazel replied, her eyes flicking around the room, and I couldn't help noticing that she looked genuinely startled to see me.

I just nodded before sitting down beside Max.

"I didn't think it was anything at first," Will began. "I mean, I think I just didn't want to believe it. The first time I felt it was at Day of the Dead."

"The power went out that night too," Lucas said.

"And then I felt it again at the field near the Nelson Farm the next day. Then again yesterday, outside Castle Byers," Will continued.

"You were out there in the storm?" Hazel asked.

"It's almost like ... you know when you drop on a roller coaster?" Will said, staring off like he was reliving it.

"Sure."

"Yeah."

"Yes."

"No."

"It's like everything inside your body sinks all at once," Will went on, "but this is worse. Your body goes cold, and you can't breathe. I've felt it before, whenever he was close."

"Sorry, whenever who was close?" I interrupted.

"The Mind Flayer," Will said.

A chill ran straight down my spine.

"The Mind what?" I asked, feeling completely lost and totally out of the loop with what was even going on.

"El closed the gate."

"I know, but what if he never left? What if we locked him out here with us?" Will asked, as he grabbed a piece of paper and started sketching quickly. "This is him. All of him, but that day on the field, part of him attached itself to me. My mum got it out, and Eleven closed the gate, but what if that part is still here? In Hawkins?"

"None of this makes sense," Laura said, and I nodded in agreement.

"I don't understand. The Demodogs died when El closed the gate. If the brain dies, the body dies."

"The demo-what?" I asked, rubbing my temples. "Actually, no. You know what? I'm just going to pretend I understand any of this right now."

"We can't take any chances," Will said. "We have to assume the worst. The Mind Flayer's back."

My heart started racing.

"And if he is," Will continued, "he'd want to attach himself to someone. A new me."

"A new host," Lucas added.

"How can you tell if someone's a host?" Eleven asked.

My thoughts shifted to Billy, his strange behaviour, the way he'd seemed distant and not quite himself, the flashes of anger, and the emptiness in his eyes. What if it wasn't just him? What if this thing had found him?

"Who do you think's a host?" Hazel asked, studying our faces.

The four of us – Max, Eleven, Laura, and me – looked at one another, and I knew there was no point holding it back, and so we started explaining everything that had happened with Billy and Heather, every strange detail, and every moment that hadn't made sense before.

By the time we finished, my chest felt tight, because saying it out loud made it terrifying real: Billy might be the Mind Flayer's new host.

After we laid everything out, we agreed that the next step was to return to the community pool, because if Billy really was the new host, we needed to see it for ourselves.

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"I don't know," Max said, lifted the binoculars up again as we stood outside the fence of the Hawkins Community Pool. "He looks pretty normal to me."

I followed her line of sight. Billy sat in the lifeguard chair, scanning the swimmers like he always did, and from a distance, it almost looked ... ordinary.

"Give me those," I said, a nervous flutter settling in my stomach.

Max passed the binoculars over, and I brought them to my eyes, zooming in on him. Almost immediately, my forehead creased, "I don't know about normal, Max. He's wearing a shirt. Billy never wears a shirt at the pool."

"She's right," Lucas said. "How many times have you ever seen him in a shirt?"

Max hesitated, "I mean, yeah. That's a little weird."

"A little weird?" Laura scoffed. "It's totally weird. He never wore a shirt when he lifeguarded in California either, or at the beach."

"And he was sitting in a tub of ice," Will added. "The Mind Flayer likes it cold. Everything else –"

"But he's just lounging at the pool," Max cut in. "That's, like, the least Mind Flayer thing ever."

"Not necessarily," Will said. I lowered the binoculars and looked at him as he continued. "The Mind Flayer likes to hide. He only used me when he needed me. It's like you're dormant, and when he needs you, you're activated."

My stomach dropped.

"So we just wait until he gets activated," Max said.

"No," Mike said. "What if he hurts someone?"

"Mike's right," I said. "We can't just wait around and let that happen."

"We can't take that chance," Mike agreed. "We need to find out if he's the host."

Before anyone could stop him, he started walking away.

"Where are you going?" Eleven asked.

"I've got an idea," Mike said over his shoulder. "Boys only."

"Seriously?" Laura huffed, folding her arms.

"Just trust me," he called back.

I exchanged a look with Hazel, as the boys disappeared from view. With a shaky breath, I lifted the binoculars again and focused back on Billy, who looked calm and normal, and somehow, that scared me more than anything else.

The boys came back not long after, breathless and talking over each other as they explained their plan to confirm whether Billy was actually a host. Once they finished, they immediately took off again to gather supplies, leaving the rest of us behind.

I stayed where I was, eyes fixed on the pool, my thoughts spiralling as I continued to watch Billy from afar.

"I'm going to help Will," Hazel said from beside me. "Are you going to be okay here, Isa?"

"None of this, none of it makes sense, Hazel. Eleven has powers, there's something called a Mind Flayer, and Billy –" My voice faltered. "Billy could be a host, and that might actually explain why he choked me."

Hazel's eyes widened, "Is that why you have bruises on your neck?"

"Y-Yeah," I said quickly. "But it's fine. I'm honestly oaky. You should go help Will."

She studied me for a long moment, clearly unconvinced. I forced a small smile and waved her off. "Go on, I'll be fine."

"... Alright," she finally said, before heading off to help organise supples with the others. That left me with Max and Laura, the three of us waiting in tense silence.

Max lifted her walkie-talkie, trying to sound calm even though her face gave her away, "Mike, are you there?"

"Yeah."

"Where are you guys?" She asked.

"I'm coming. Just hold on a second."

She set the walkie-talkie down and raised the binoculars again, staring out at the pool.

"God," she muttered. "I hope it's not you. I really hope it's not you."

"I hope it's not Billy either," Laura said softly.

"I don't want to believe it's him," I added, my heart hammering, "but he's acting really strange."

Max glanced at me, and all I could do was shrug. I felt completely overwhelmed, by the fear, by the waiting, by how much was riding on what we were about to do.

When the boys, Eleven, and Hazel finally returned, the sky was beginning to darken. We waited for night to fully settle in, knowing that was when their plan would start, but even then, as the last light faded and everything began to grow quiet, I couldn't shake the feeling that none of us really knew what we were doing, or whether any of this was going to work at all.

By the time night fell, Billy's shift was finally over.

We waited, barely breathing, until we heard the showers shut off. The moment they turned off, we moved, being loud on purpose, slamming lockers and stomping our feet, every noise a deliberate mistake meant to draw him out.

My heart was pounding so hard I was sure he could hear it.

"Billy!" Mike called.

"Who's there?" Billy snapped back.

"Billy! Come and find me!"

"If I find you, it's your funeral," Billy warned.

"Come and get me!" Mike yelled.

Billy headed toward the sauna. I caught a glimpse of him then, wet hair clinging to his neck, shoulders tense. For half a second, my chest ached with relief at the sight of him. Then Max grabbed my arm and yanked me back hard, shaking her head.

"Pool's closed!" Billy shouted, his voice echoing through the locker room.

"Shit," I whispered to Max and Laura, crouched behind the wall. "He's really pissed."

"Pool is closed!" He yelled again, slamming his fist into a door.

The lights flickered, and then everything went dark.

"Billy!" Mike called again, louder now.

"You think this is funny?" Billy snarled.

"Come and get me, you piece of shit!" Mike yelled.

Billy turned.

"Do you think this is a joke?" He growled. The sauna door flew open.

"Hey, behind you!" Mike yelled through the walkie. That was our signal. I took a breath and then stepped forward.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, my voice barely there.

"Hi," Eleven said, before using her powers to blast Billy backward into the sauna, and I watched as he slammed back against the wall like a ragdoll.

"Now!" Mike shouted. The boys hurried to lock the door. I stood frozen beside Hazel as Billy slammed into the glass, rage and panic bleeding together.

"Got it," Mike said, before we backed away and clustered together behind Eleven.

"Is –" Billy started. I looked up, and our eyes met. For one unbearable moment, it was just us.

"Do it," Max urged from behind me. I tore my gaze away from Billy just as Will turned the heat up.

"Let me out!" Billy screamed. My chest ached, and I stepped closer without thinking.

"We can't, Billy," I said softly.

"You kids think this is funny?" He snarled. "Did you let them do this, Isadora?"

"Billy, I –"

"Open the door!" He slammed his fist against the glass. I flinched hard, shaking my head.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"Open the goddamn door!"

"We're at 220," Will said.

Billy broke. His anger collapsed into sobs that shattered something inside me.

"It's not my fault," he cried. "It's not my fault, Is. I swear. Please."

I rushed closer, and put my hand to the window, "What's not your fault, Billy?"

"I've done things," he sobbed. "Bad things. I didn't want to. He made me."

"Who?" I asked, tears spilling down my cheeks.

"I don't know," he cried. "It's like a shadow. Huge. Cold. Please, Is."

"What did he make you do?"

"I tried to fight it," he begged. "Please believe me."

"I do," I said, nodding desperately. "I believe you. We're going to help you."

From behind me, I heard Will's voice, "I feel him. He's activated."

"Isadora, get away from the door!" Mike yelled.

"What?" I turned –

"Get away!"

Before I had a chance to react, the glass exploded. I screamed as shards flew toward me. Billy lunged forward, eyes empty and furious.

"Let me out, you bitch!"

I slammed back against the wall, sobbing helplessly. At that moment, something hit him in the head, and he staggered back. I ran behind Max, shaking so badly I could barely stand.

"Are you okay?" Hazel asked.

"It's not him," I gasped. "That's not Billy."

"I know," she said.

"We're gonna save him," Laura said.

Billy slammed his body against the door again. Eleven raised her arms, shielding us.

"He can't get out, right?" Max whispered.

"No way," Lucas said.

At that precise moment, the door shattered. Everyone moved back, but I didn't.

"Please," I cried, stepping forward. "They're just kids. If you want someone, take me."

"Isa!" Hazel screamed.

Billy took a step toward me, and his hand closed around my throat. I couldn't breathe as his grip tightened.

"Isadora!" Max screamed.

Terror flooded me as my feet left the ground —

Then something smashed into Billy, hard, and he dropped me.

I fell to the ground, gasping and sobbing as air finally rushed back into my body. At the same time, Eleven lifted him, and flung him through the wall. As dust filled the air, I staggered forward to the hole, just in time to see Billy stand, and disappear into the darkness, and as I watched him go, I knew my Billy was still in there somewhere, and I wasn't giving up on him. 

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Is may not fully understand what's going on but she would definitely do everything she can to protect the younger teenagers (I.e Max, Mike, Lucas, Will, Laura and Eleven) and her friends.

Enjoy! Xo

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