CHAPTER FIVE: ROBBING A DRUGSTORE

My eyes shot wide open. Even with Nancy's blanket draped over my body, I shivered fiercely. I stared up at the ceiling as my teeth chattered, before suddenly the coldness died down. It was still present, but I felt content with it. I suddenly preferred the cold over the heat.

I slowly turned my head to face Nancy. A part of me wanted to smile at the sight of her. She slept so peacefully next to me, a pencil behind her ear, and a textbook opened between the two of us. Of course Nancy Wheeler stayed up studying past 3:00 am.

The longer I stared at her, the more I began to panic. I quickly realized that I couldn't remember basic things about her. What's her birthday? Is it in January? October? How old is she?

I branched out from those thoughts. A frown tugged at my lips at the realization that I wasn't just forgetting Nancy, I was forgetting myself, too.

No.

My heart raced in my chest, and my palms felt sweaty, despite the cold. Just when I thought I was going to begin hyperventilating, a sudden calmness fell over me. My face turned stone cold, before blanking.

It was silent. I stared up at the ceiling, my hair brushing against my face as a breeze went through Nancy's window. I could feel my curls tickling my cheeks, but I let them be.

I slowly rose from Nancy's bed, and made my way towards the open window. I didn't spare the sleeping girl a glance, as I was too focused on my task.

My task. What was my task? I racked my brain for a few moments. I could've sworn I heard a whisper by my ear, but it was only the wind. Finally, I remembered.

I was going to kidnap Eleven, and this time, I would not fail.

     I slipped through the window, leaving it open behind me. I crouched down on the rooftop to think for a moment. Billy was surely waiting for me. I began to make my way towards him, assuming that he was in the old and abandoned building.

     There was a whisper down my neck. Yes. That's exactly where he was. The memories found themselves in my brain as if they had been there the entire time, and as if I had experienced them myself.

     I walked down the quiet street without a care in the world. My mind was blank, and my eyes stayed forward, not even taking in my surroundings. I didn't need to focus to get where I wanted to be. No, I didn't have to worry about that at all.

     As I walked across the jagged rocks and the pointy sticks in the ground, I realized that I had left my shoes in Nancy's room. It didn't bother me though. I didn't even flinch from the pain of the sticks scratching around my ankles, or the rocks scraping the bottoms of my feet.

     It took quite some time for me to find the old building that housed the Mind Flayer. The time didn't bother me though — nothing did.

     I walked around the hallways and tunnels as if I had been here a thousand times before. I made no wrong turns. When I heard the sounds of the mist nearby, I knew I was close.

     After one more left turn, I found myself in a large room, with metal scraps littering the floor and rusted nails jabbed into the walls, or thrown around in messy piles. Billy stood there, waiting for me. He still had an off look on his face, as if he was looking through me. I could only assume that I looked the same.

     "Harper." He greeted. "It's time."

     I felt my lips twitch upwards, "this should be fun."

It was late at night, but the two of us managed to find a a small store that was open 24/7. It sold just about anything: snacks, medicine, makeup, toys. The employee looked bored out of her mind, and was already half asleep, so she didn't question our sketchy attitude.

Billy and I walked side by side, scanning the isles. We made our way to the medicine section. My eyes scanned over the bottles with white labels, and black words printed overtop. An orange container caught my eye.

Melatonin.

I turned to Billy, who shrugged and nodded. I hummed, taking the container in my hands before the two of us began to look around some more. Billy found some rope (surprisingly) and I found a metal baseball bat in the sports section (which was also surprising.)

I also found a pair of shoes, and after I had removed the tag, I put them on. They were a nice clean white that would probably blind someone if you saw them in the sun. They were good enough.

The two of us knew that our attempts to capture Eleven would most likely be in vain, due to her power to move things with her mind (among other things) but we had to try. It was important that we got the job done.

Billy and I glanced over at the employee behind the front counter, before walking out the door. That woman was out like a light, and we didn't have any money. I was thankful that we managed to get this done without a fuss.

I swung my new bat over my shoulder, and held the melatonin tightly in my hand. Billy held the rope in his hand, keeping his eyes forward as we made our way to the small cabin where Eleven lived.

I frowned momentarily, once again trying to figure out how I knew the place. Then, memories swarmed my mind. The mist left Will's body, breaking through the tree line and leaving the cabin in a rush. I no longer questioned the mysterious presence in my mind, and let it guide me forward.

Billy and I shared one more glance. This time, we would not fail.

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lizzie speaks...

can't wait to write more of this evil duo (i don't like billy but y'all get what i mean, writing villains is fun)