Chapter Eighteen

Bloody Whistle

Piper leaned against the counter of the theater, this time the ticket booth instead of the concession, the conversation with Billy replaying in her mind over and over again. She was worried and knew something was off. Maybe it's just our fight, maybe he's just that pissed off? She sighed and shook her head. No...maybe? Once again it replayed in her head as she plastered the fake smile on her face as another couple walked up towards her wanting tickets to a show. As the couple walked away, from behind them, Max and El appeared. Piper's eyes widened, mumbling a excuse to her co-worker, and walking around the counter heading towards the two teen-aged girls.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Piper spoke looking down towards them both.

"Needed some fun." El looked up towards her with a wide smile spread across her face. Piper looked towards Max who just smiled towards her and nodded her head.

"Ok...does Hopper know you're here?" Piper crossed her arms at her chest.

"No. Don't tell him."

"Mike lied to her, so I thought it would be cool to have a little day out...as a distraction." Max spoke up, causing Piper's eyes to to look towards the red head.

Piper's shoulders sagged slightly. "Alright. Just be home before curfew so that he won't ask questions on to where you are. And on top of all that...be safe." El nodded her head, but taking a fuller look at Piper and frowned slightly.

"You ok, Piper?" El asked

"Y-Yea...yeah kiddo I'm fine." Piper lied. "You two wanna see a movie? You chose, my treat."

The two girls nodded their head, quickly distracted away, before following Piper down the hall so she'd be able to sneak them into a movie of their choice. Once they were inside Piper headed back towards the front counter.

When it came time for her break she headed towards where she always went, Scoops A'Hoy. When she walked in she could see Robin glaring down a group of girls that were pestering her for samples. The moment she walked closer she could see Lucas's little sister at the front of the pack.

"Having fun?" Piper asked with a soft chuckle

"Oh the most." Robin rolled her eyes. "Looking for Harrington? He's in the back with some kid."

"Kid?"

Piper pushed past the small double doors before walking through towards the back. What she walked into wasn't what she was expecting. Dustin and Steven hunched over a small radio, books and note pads all over the small fold out table and a white board filled with unusual letters. Both boys shot their eyes towards the opening door looking like they had been caught doing something they weren't supposed to.

"Umm...what's going on back here?" Piper asked looking between the two.

"Nothing." They quickly spoke in unison with wide eyes.

"Or really? Nothing? Then why do you two look like you got caught doing something really bad." She folded her arms across her chest. "And anytime you two are together nothing is simply going on."

Both boys looked towards each other, back at Piper, before bending closer to each other and talking in hurried whispers. The only words Piper being able to make out are 'Russian 'and 'top secret'. Piper sighed heavily and rolled her eyes causing them both to look towards her.

"How do we know we can trust you?" Dustin asked with a slightly lisp to his words.

"Haven't I proved enough that I can keep a secret? Hello...the Lab? El? Must I keep going on?" Piper moved her hands to her hips.

"She's got a point." Steve whispered towards Dustin, but loud enough for Piper to hear.

She rolled her eyes and moved towards the table grabbing the other spare chair and sitting down across from them.

"Tell me what's going on right now before I come to the point where I have to beat it out of you." Piper looked between them both with a emotionless stare.

Almost immediately the two of them began to talk at once, and once again, Piper was only really able to understand that it was about something Russian, top secret and deals with a radio. Her eyes moved quickly between the two of them as they spoke trying to keep up before she rose her hands up to stop them both.

"One at a time...please." Piper spoke slowly after taking a deep breath.

"I intercepted a Russian radio call." Dustin spoke with a prideful smile on his face. "We're trying to crack the code so we'd be able to tell what they are saying and become hero's."

"Hero's?" Piper looked towards them confused "How is this gonna make you hero's?"

"Because it's Russians...need we say more?" Dustin laughed.

Piper looked towards them even more confused and looked down towards their notes, grabbing the one closest towards Steve, seeing they were trying to translate what they were hearing. Behind her the door opened and slammed against the wall causing them all to jump and turn towards it.

"Steve I really need you out here man!" Robin spoke her voice strained with frustration. "I can't take it out here, it's your turn."

"I'm...needed back here." He spoke quickly.

"I don't think you two dingus's are going to figure out anything that the Russians are saying since neither of you speak it.

"You told here!" Dustin screamed looking towards Steve quickly.

"You guys don't really speak quietly...you know that right?" Piper chuckled softly "Even I could hear you talking from back here when I walked into the shop."

Dustin bit his lip and slowly shrank down into his chair. Piper turned towards Robin. "Do you know Russian, since it's pretty obvious that we don't."

"Iigsnay on the privay." Robin smirked causing Dustin's eyes to widen in surprise and Piper to bit her lip to suppress her laughter.

"You know Russian!" Steve spoke in surprise.

"That pig Latin, moron." Robin spoke causing Piper to laugh loudly. Piper stood from her seat and walked towards the other girl, holding her hand up for a high-five which Robin was more than willing to give. "Harrington get your butt out there and we'll work on this back here."

Robin walked towards the table to take a seat with Piper and Dustin as Steve walked out towards the counter.

"I can't help for too long. My break is up in forty-five minutes." Piper spoke as she grabbed a Russian dictionary and grabbed a empty notebook.

"I think we can get a lot done in that time." Dustin spoke with excitement in his voice.

Piper left Scoops A'Hoy exactly thirty minutes later, giving her enough time to make it back to the theater, leaving Robin and Dustin with the one sentence they were able to crack. They'd hopefully figure out the rest, she thought to herself. When she stepped out she saw Max and El walking hand in hand together coming from the food court laughing. She couldn't help but feel a little happiness as she watched them walk off. But sadly that smile fell from her face the moment she walked out of the ice cream shop since the thought of Billy instantly came back to her mind. The sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach formed again as what happened in the locker room replayed in her mind over and over.

The rest of the night moved quickly and thankfully on Piper's end. Her body felt heavy and tired as she walked through the empty mall towards Scoops A'Hoy where she knew Robin, Steve and Dustin would be waiting. She ran her hand over her tired face as she walked through the empty shop and into the backroom.

"You guys figure it out?" Piper asked as she looked towards the three of them standing next to each other staring towards the white board. When Piper turned to look she saw a phrase written across it with Russian lettering across the top of it.

"The week is long. The silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west." Piper read along. "What the hell does that mean?"

"We've been trying to figure that out." Steve sighed

"It sounds like the line in a puzzle from a messed up children's book." Piper spoke as Robin and Steve gathered their things to leave.

One by one they walked out of the ice cream shop as Steve grabbed the metal gate and pulled it down to secure the shop.

"Maybe it's wrong?" Steve asked as they started to walk through the mall.

"It's not wrong." Robin spoke, matter-a-factually

"I trust you got it right," Piper smiled towards the girl.

"Thank you, Piper. At least someone believes in me." Robin wrapped her arm around the girls shoulder as they walked side by side. "I knew there was a reason that I liked you."

Piper smiled towards her and wrapped her arm around Robin as Steve rolled his eyes at the two of them. "Well none of it makes sense. So much for being hero's."

"Maybe it's code for something?" Dustin suggested

"That makes sense." Piper nodded her head. "Like a secret spy code?"

"That's a total stretch." Steve muttered

"Is it really? Why would anyone speak obviously if they are trying to do something like send a missile?" Robin spoke as they walked "We are just going to have to finish off the rest of the translation to be able to fully figure it out."

As they walked Steve stopped beside a small carousel and stared down towards it. Piper looked over her shoulder towards him with confusion, and stopping, causing Robin to stop as well.

"You ok there Steve?" Piper spoke

Robin laughed and stepped back from Piper. "You need help getting on that buddy?"

"Quarters." Steve looked towards them causing them all to look at him with looks of confusion. "Quarters! I need quarters!"

Piper reached into her pockets and walked towards her friends, sifting through her pockets for the few spare quarters that she had. Piper placed them into his hand, Steve working quickly to feed them into the machine. Instantly it began to move and the annoying music began to play.

"I don't get it Steve," Piper spoke

"Just shut up and listen." He spoke hurriedly

The music continued to play, Robin and Piper looked towards each other in utter confusion, as Dustin gasped and looked up towards Steve. "Oh my god. The music!"

"The music?" Robin asked

Dustin reached into his backpack and pulled out the recording of the Russian radio transmission. The moment it hit play Piper was able to hear it, her jaw dropping, as she got what Dustin and Steve were trying to say.

"Oh my god. This isn't coming from Russia..." Piper slowly spoke as she figured it out.

"It's coming from Hawkins. It's coming from inside this mall." Steve finished her sentence.

Billy whimpered softly as his back slid down the wall inside the showers located in the locker room. His head felt like it was seconds from imploding with the pressure that was building inside of it. He reached up and gripped his dirty blonde curls tightly and let out a sound of pain. Bring me the girl. The voice inside his head spoke, a pain moving down his spine every time it appeared.

"No...please..." Billy whimpered as he moved to crawl out of the shower, suddenly his legs feeling weak.

A scream left his lips as he was flipped onto his back by an invisible force with a tightening feeling forming around his throat. He reached up to grab and stop whatever was chocking him, but felt nothing there. No. Please. Billy thought as he felt his body being taken over for what felt like the one hundredth time that day. Don't fight it there is no point. The voice spoke. It was deep and dark and made him shutter with fear.

Billy felt his legs move to have him stand from the wet floor and towards the sinks of the locker room. Suddenly he was no longer within the locker room. He was back on the highway surrounded by darkness. The sky lit with flickers of lightening as dark cloud rolled across the crimson sky. It was like Billy was in a nightmare version of Hawkins. But another thing, it felt weird for Billy, for he was looking back at himself, but it wasn't him. His eyes were darkened, hard and empty along with the face being void of any emotion or expression.

"Please what do you want?" Billy spoke with a tremor in his voice. "Please."

"To build." The darker form of Billy spoke, the voice distorted but loud enough where it felt like it was completely surrounding Billy. "Now bring me the girl."

"Who? Piper?" Billy asked. His stomach sank at the darker form of himself nodded his head. "No. Please."

"Bring her to me." The voice vibrated louder sending Billy to his knees, causing tears to well in his eyes and stream down his cheeks. But before Billy could say anymore his mind was encased in darkness.

Piper parked her car beside her Uncle's truck and slowly made her way up the stairs the heavy feeling of wanting to sink into her bed and crawl under the covers weighing on her mind more and more with each step. When she walked into the cabin Piper found her Uncle laid back in his Lazy Boy watching TV with a beer in hand. His head turned towards when she walked through the door, loud music coming from El's room again. She could tell by the slightly glassy look in his eyes that Hopper was a little intoxicated.

"Hey, you're home. How was work?" Hopper asked

"It was...uh...ok, I guess." Piper looked towards the shut bedroom door before looking back towards her Uncle. "I thought the door was supposed to be open when Mike was around?"

"Oh..." Hopper looked over his shoulder and then back towards his niece. "Mike isn't over...some girl..." He paused to think "Red hair."

"Max?" Piper asked, her uncle nodding his head.

Piper walked towards the bedroom and knocked twice on the door, hearing the girls giggle as she opened the door wide and smiled towards them.

"Piper!" El smiled and nearly jumped off her bed as she walked towards the older girl. "Max is spending the night for a...a..."

"Sleepover." Max smiled

"Right." El nodded her head. "Wanna join?"

"I'd love to. Just let me shower off the smell of popcorn from my hair and body and I'll be right in."

Piper smiled before pulling the door closed as she exit and walked towards her room, grabbing a change of clothes for after her shower, and walking towards the bathroom. She showered quickly and changed into her clothes before braiding her wet hair back from her face. Piper knew if she didn't – she'd be waking up to a fizz mess in the morning. When Piper walked back into El's room she saw the two girls huddled up on the bed with a piece of cardboard between them with names written on it.

"What's going on in here?" Piper moved to take a seat at the end of the bed.

"Well, we spied on Mike and the boys and decided to do the same to other people that we know. For some fun."

"You sure about that?" Piper looking over the board. "What if you find out something you don't like?"

"That's the fun in it." Max spoke excitedly

"It's just fun, Piper. Please." El looked towards her, her brown eyes pleading with her.

Piper sighed and nodded her head. "The minute you figure out something bad or gross, get out of there ok? Promise?"

El nodded her head "Promise. Why don't you spin first, Piper?"

Piper reached for the bottle and wasn't gonna lie, the thought of spying in on some people did sound like harmless fun. She gave the bottle a quick flick of her wrist causing it to spin quickly around, before landing on a name. Billy. Piper's stomach dropped.

"You sure?" Max whispered looking towards the older girl with a small look of worry in her eyes. "We can spin again."

"Uh, no. I wanna know." Piper nodded her head "Go ahead El."

El nodded her head and grabbed the blindfold as Max grabbed the radio and changed the channel till she got white noise. Piper and Max looked towards her with curiosity, knowing that El was the only being able to hear anything that was happening with in the radio static. The three girls sat in silence for a while, before El spoke.

"I found him." She spoke with a monotone.

"What is he doing?" Max asked, Piper's heart racing with anticipation.

"I-I don't know..." El spoke slowly "He's on the floor...talking to someone...there's a girl...s-she's screaming..."

Once again she fell silent, and something within her body language gave Piper that same feeling she felt back at the locker room when she was with Billy. Reaching across the bed she grabbed El's fisted hand and could feel the slight tremor.

"El?" Piper asked

El jumped slightly and ripped her hand out of Piper's grasp before reaching up and removing the blind fold over her eyes. Blood dripped down from her nose, something that always happened any time she used her powers, but what worried Piper was the scared look in her eyes. Tears welled up in her stare as she looked towards her.

"What happened? El?"

"I-I don't know." She whispered

"What do you mean you don't know?" Max asked "You said that you found him."

"Yeah...but...something..." El stuttered before relaxing and reaching up to wipe her eyes and then the blood from under her nose. "I don't know...something was off. He saw me."

The next morning Piper, Max and El woke up early and quickly headed out from the cabin. Piling into Piper's car and pulling out to head towards the Hargrove household. Last night none of them were able to make sense of what El described happened. Once again Piper was left with a mystery she wasn't able to figure out. But this one she was able to go to the source, or try to. Her fingers moved against the steering wheel as she drove, wanting nothing more for the nervous scared feeling in her stomach to go away.

"What do you think it could be?" Max asked

"You said there was a girl?" Piper spoke again after a moment of silence.

"Yeah. Well, more like I heard her." El spoke softly "And he was able to see me, Piper. I know that he was."

"You've said that Mike was too." Max tried to reason "And about the girl..." She looked towards Piper and frowned, not wanting to finish the sentence with what her mind was thinking. "My brother is a dirt bag."

"We fought." Piper moved her hand up towards her lips to nervously bite at her nail. She didn't have her cigarettes so the next 'best thing' as nail biting. "H-He did tell me to stay away from him." She whispered.

"Like he broke up with you?" Max questioned. Piper could only shrug cause even she didn't know the answer to that. That left Max confused knowing how deeply her step-brother felt about Piper.

Once again the car fell into silence as they drove and pulled up in front of the Hargrove house. Max and Piper looked towards the house in confusion. His car wasn't there.

"You sure you wanna do this, Piper?" Max asked

"I believe El when she says something wasn't right." Piper spoke as she turned off her car, and turning her attention towards the girls. "So it doesn't hurt to check it out."

El nodded her head and smiled towards Piper, before the three of them climbed out of the car and walked up towards the Hargrove house. Thankfully no one was home to question them about what they were about to do. They walked down the hall towards Billy's room, Piper grabbing the door handle and pushing inside and seeing nothing out of place. It was the same usual teenage boy mess room that it always was. The familiar smell of cigarette's and Billy's cologne filling Piper's senses and giving her a feeling of comfort.

"Why do I feel like we're about to find something bad in here?" Max spoke as she moved around her step-brothers room and started opening drawers looking for something.

Piper walked towards his nightstand and smiled when she saw the Polaroid of them sitting on the small table. She was sitting in his lap and kissing his cheek as he snapped the camera. His eyes were bright and shining with love. Quickly she pocketed the photo and slipped it into the back pocket of her jean shorts. From behind her she heard the door of the adjoining bathroom open, and looked over her shoulder to see El walk inside.

"Piper." El spoke with a shakiness in her voice causing her to move quickly towards the bathroom and step inside.

Towels were all over the floor, wet from the overflowing bathtub that sat nearly empty. Emptied bags of ice floating at the surface of the water.

"It's probably for his muscles. He works out a lot." Max shrugged her shoulders and looked towards Piper who stood frozen behind them. "Right Piper."

The girl didn't speak a word as El slowly looked towards the sink vanity, her eyes scanning over it quickly. El bent down quickly and opened the two doors beneath the sink cabinet and pulled out the trash bin. Inside the nearly empty bin was a bloody lifeguard whistle, El reaching down and slowly pulled it out and turning around to show them both.

"Fuck." Piper spoke before turning quickly and walking out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom. Moving to take a seat on the bed and dropping her head into her hands as she felt her heart rate go up and her breathing become more and more labored.

"Piper! Piper!" Max moved towards Piper and knelt down beside her and caressed her cheeks, making her look towards her. Piper's eyes were wide and face turning red.

"Oh god she's having a panic attack!"

AN: Please review with thoughts! Not gonna lie after I updated the last chapter I wrote this one and chapter twenty as well. So chapter twenty is just needing to be edited and then I'll update. What do you guys think it gonna happen? Will Piper get flayed? Will Billy die? Time will only tell...