Chapter Eight

Steve held to Piper tightly as she seemed to fall apart and let the grief leave her body, slowly sagging against his body as her body felt heavy. It wasn't long after the sun had disappeared behind the trees and Hawkins was under a sky of darkness. Piper sat in the passenger seat of Steve's car with her eyes focused on the trees as they drove back toward town. The car was tense with silence, no one sure of what to say. With each minute that passed, Piper began to feel like the pressure was building within her chest making it hard to breathe. Robin couldn't stop herself from checking in with her friend with quick glances. She sat behind her in Steve's car and could see the tears slowly moving down Piper's cheeks.

But for once, Robin couldn't think of something to say that would bring comfort to her. The rest of the car was feeling the exact same. The monster that they thought was finally gone from their lives seemed to be back – and worse than it was before.

When Steve pulled up to the motel that Piper was staying at everyone could see Billy waiting outside the room pacing back and forth. His blonde hair was in disarray from running his fingers through it. But the sound of Steve's car moving through the parking lot caught his attention. He recognized the burgundy BMW moving past the run-down trucks and rusted-over station wagons. The moment Piper caught sight of her boyfriend, quickly, she got out of Steve's car. A relief moved through Billy's body the moment he saw her. For the last few hours driving himself crazy with worry ever since going to Family Video and not seeing anyone there.

"Jesus, fuck, doll," Billy rushed out before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his chest.

Piper whimpered his name softly as her face nuzzled into his neck and tightened her arms around his neck. Billy looked over her shoulder to Steve with a concerned look masking his face. One by one he was able to see the sullen looks on everyone's faces and quickly Billy was able to see that something was wrong. Billy moved his hand up and down Piper's back.

"Can we go inside? Please?" Piper asked before anyone could say a word. Billy caressed her cheeks and wiped away her tears.

Billy's blue eyes danced between Steve and Piper for a few moments before nodding his head and gently leading her back into the motel room. No goodbyes were whispered. Steve sat there for a moment and watched as the motel room door closed and he couldn't help the large sigh that passed through his lips.

"Do you think she'll be ok?" Robin whispered

"I'm not sure...I-I really don't know" Steve shook his head, "I-I really don't know."

Steve pulled away from the motel and drove through Hawkins till he was able to safely see everyone home one by one.


"...she ascended in front of him, and he said that there was nothing around that it was an invisible force or something...a-and there wasn't the particles or the smoke. But we all feel that the only thing that makes sense is the Upside Down. What else is going to bend a girl's bones like that? And suck her eyeballs from her skull?" A shudder ran through Piper's body. "I-I remember Chrissy...kinda from high school. She was a sweet girl..."

Billy sat silently beside her, his elbows resting forward on his knees, his head hanging low. His body was stiff and unmoving as he sat beside her. The stiff silence that settled between the two of them was making Piper feel like she couldn't breathe. She shifted in her seat slightly. But after a moment Billy finally spoke.

"How are we sure that the freak didn't just kill her?" Billy's voice was monotone and dropped into a deeper tone.

"First, don't call him that. Second, after everything I just told you...you're questioning it?"

Billy's eyes snapped to her, "You're defending him? I was there, Piper...the Mayfield's trailer is direct across the street. I saw them drag that girl's body out of there."

"I believe Eddie." She spoke before standing beside him. "And if the Mindflayer or whatever is back then we need to prepare for it."

"Why do we need to be involved at all?" Billy asked, anger flashing behind his blue eyes. Piper looked down at him in shock.

"You're kidding me right?" Piper paused waiting for him to elaborate, but he sat there in silence. "Our friends and family are here, Billy. We can't just leave because we're scared and don't want to get involved. Not to mention if this fucking monster is back I want to kill it myself. It took my uncle from me, and made his death pointless by coming back."

Billy's shoulders sagged slightly at the mention of Hopper, understanding the fire behind her eyes.

"Would Hopper want you getting yourself in this mess again?" Billy asked

"Hopper would be the first one ready to take care of this, and you know that." Piper scoffed, "I'm not going to crucify and say that Eddie is the reason behind this. I saw his face as he told us what happened...I believe him."

Billy dropped his head into his hand and gripped tightly at his blonde curls, a sound of frustration coming from deep within his chest. The couple stood there with them both understanding that their troubles were long from over. That the nightmares that have plagued them over the last few months were coming back to life. Piper moved back to Billy and knelt down in front of him, placing her hands on top of his thighs. His head peaked up for a moment before pulling her tightly into his arms. Her arms wrapped around his frame tightly as he pulled her against his chest. Piper couldn't fight back the tears as she felt the familiar burn in her eyes. She sniffled lightly and buried her face into his neck.

"We're gonna be ok," Billy whispered softly, his hands moving up and down her back. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, ok?"

Piper nodded her head but didn't speak a word, just found comfort in his arms.

"I knew something was wrong the moment we crossed into this town," Piper whimpered, pulling back from his arms and wiping away her tears. Billy reached to caress her face gently. "I could feel it...i-it was like a sickness that never left."

"I know...I felt it too." Billy nodded his head, "I thought it was just...memories or something. I didn't think we would face this again,"

Piper nodded again, with a soft sniffle, her throat feeling like it was tight again as more tears fell down her cheeks. Billy frowned as he watched her slowly crumble in front of him. Quickly, he grabbed her from the floor and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her tightly.


Piper pushed the curtain away after stepping out of the shower, swiping the condensation away from the mirror as she looked at herself. A frown turned her lips down as she saw how sunken in her cheeks were, making her face appear more angular. The dark circles beneath her green eyes were deeper and worsening. It was like she was able to finally see what Billy, Joyce, Jonathan, and even El have been telling her since they all had moved to California. She was wasting away and becoming a different version of herself.

"What a disappointment you've become," a voice echoed out.

Piper jumped slightly and looked around the room expecting to see her mother standing in the room with her. But she saw nothing. Piper gripped to the towel tighter to her chest as she felt her heart rate spike. For a moment she thought that she was hallucinating.

"What would your father say if he saw the tragedy that you'd become?" Her mother's voice sounded again.

Piper shook her head, "No...no...it's not real...it's not real..."

"Oh but it is."

Her voice was closer this time and soon Piper felt a tightened hold around her throat. A strangled choking noise came from her as her body was quickly slammed against the wall behind her. Her fingers reached up to fight off the force wrapped around her throat, but there was nothing there. Instead, her nails scratched and clawed against her skin. Piper tried to call out but she wasn't able to make a noise. Instead, her lungs constricted more and more and she wasn't able to breathe.

"You did this! You did this! You did this!"

The voice screamed out more and more with the volume of her voice becoming louder and louder. From the corner of her eyes, she was able to see a form. But it wasn't a ghostly version of her mother. It was something else. Taller, and with each step it took came a wet, squelching noise. A deep growl sounded from the figure as it lurked in the shadows before coming toward her. Tears filled Piper's eyes as she fought against the hold around her throat more and more. But the more she fought, the more she panicked.

"Piper..." the figure spoke, its voice deep and gravely, "...it's time to end your suffering..."

Piper couldn't speak, instead whimpered and sobbed. The figure stepped into the light of the bathroom and she felt a fear shot through her body like nothing she'd ever felt before. The form in front of her was like a monster she'd never seen before. He loomed over her with his dark eyes staring down at her. Tendrils covered his skin and wrapped around his skin with scaring beneath.

"Are you ready for your suffering to end?" He asked with his head tilting to the side slightly.

From the corner of her eye, Piper watched as his hand slowly rose up. It was larger with long claws extending out of the tips. She whimpered more and tried to fight more but nothing happened. Instead his hand slowly rose to hover over her face, slowly moving down, till soon she felt it latch over her face.

Piper shot up with a scream with her hand quickly moving to her neck. Billy shot up beside her, waking with a shock from the sound of Piper's screams. The moment he realized what was happening. Billy wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his side, whispering soothing words into her ears, but Piper fought against him. Her mind wasn't fully pulled from the nightmare as Billy held her.

"It's me! Piper, it's me!" Billy screamed, grabbing her face and caressing it gently, making her look at him. "It's me...it's just a dream...you're ok..."

Piper stared at him with such fear in his eyes that it made his heart stop for a moment. It took a while but slowly he could see the recognition on her face as she slowly began to calm down.

"That's it, doll...that's it..." Billy whispered, his thumb rubbing against her cheek to wipe away the tears. "Come back to me, come back to me."

"I-I...I...he...he was..." Piper babbled as she tried to speak.

Her mind wasn't able to fully decipher what was happening with the nightmare feeling so real. It felt so real that she was able to still feel the fingers of whatever was choking her wrapped around her throat. But Billy looked toward her with confusion, along with concern, as his thumb moved down and wiped gently beneath her nose. Piper looked down and watched as blood was swiped along his thumb.

"Fuck baby," Billy spoke, rushing from the bed to get her tissues. "Your nose is bleeding...must've been some nightmare."

With a shaky hand, Piper reached up and touched her nose as more blood dripped from it. Her stomach twisted feeling like this was a sign of something worse to come. That dream and monster were still heavy in her mind.