Death Cannot Touch

Disclaimer: I don't own Stranger Things, The Duffer Brothers/Netflix does. Just a note that the title comes from the quote: "Those we love never truly leave us. There are things that death cannot touch" - Jack Thorne.


Billy knows he's dead. He can feel the moment of impact when the mind flayer kills him. He knows his last thoughts are with Max and his mother. On how he wants to protect Max from this creature. He knows he's not a good older brother, but fuck he tries so hard. It hurts to know that his last actions are this.
He doesn't quite know where he is though. Maybe he's in hell or a limbo place. The place is red, distorted, and cold. Empty and lonely. God, he wants to be alive and change everything he's done in his life because he amounted to nothing so far.

He doesn't know how long time passes but he feels emptiness and loneliness. He comes across Hawkins, but it's not Harkins. Everything in this world is inverted.

Yeah, he's definitely in hell.

He gets used to the idea that he's in this place to atone.

Until he hears him. A cruel voice called his name.

"Billy Hargrove" screams a creature that feels similar to the mind flayer.

He meets this grotesque man or creature. He has no words to describe it but he feels the creature extends his hand out at him to do something like take his memories. But he's dead. How would his memories help?

"I am so grateful you are here, Billy. You will have some use after all. Let us prepare."

Billy ends up getting tied up by vines by this creature. He feels nothing but pain and agony.

He doesn't know how much time passed but he knows he's been dead for a while. He hears Max at his grave. This creature lets him hear what she says about wanting them to be siblings and how much she misses him.

And then he hears himself saying awful things to Max. These are not his words. He hears the monster telling words that he doesn't want to say. These are not thoughts. Especially the following me into death. He fights, he fights so hard. He wants to scream out to Max to run, get out of here. She doesn't deserve death as a fate. Billy is crying, he's dead, and he can't protect his sister. He hears this creature using him to say hateful things, fuck he's fighting so hard. He tears up, he hopes Max notices that much.

And then he sees his tenacious sister fighting this creature. Being stronger than himself but fighting to survive. He sees her run and escape this hellhole.

"Now, Billy quit fighting. We have more work to do. And it's not like you can do anything to protect her."

The creature tells him these words. But he knows something that this creature doesn't know. That Max is not a quitter, she's a fighter. And he's determined as best as he can to help even if he's fucking dead.

He's glad Max is out. That her friends helped save her. That Steve Harrington was screaming to his sister to wake up. He knows what he has to do. He hopes he never sees his sister back here. But he has a feeling this fucker won't quit trying to hurt Max. He knows and is better prepared to help Max if she ever does come back here.