Chapter Ten

Billy looked down and watched as Piper's chest rose and fell with each breath that she took. But the only thing giving him true solace over the fact she hadn't woken in weeks it the continuous beep of her heart monitor. Billy brought her hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to them, hating how cold they felt against his lips. All that played in his mind over and over again was watching as the Mindflayer ripped her away from him. Her contoured body was amongst the rubble of Star Court Mall.

Visitors came and went out of Piper's hospital room, but Billy stayed right in that chair beside her bed. Sleeping on the lumpy couch across from her bed. And eating the nasty food in the cafeteria. Because Billy wanted to be there when her hazel eyes blinked open finally. Especially since there was still a part of him that feared that she'd be taken away from him forever.

With a deep sigh, Billy stood from his chair and walked across the room into the bathroom. He turned on the cold water to splash along his face and wake himself up a little more. But when he pulled back and stared into the mirror, Billy jumped back as the face reflected back wasn't his own. Instead, it was a twisted, monstrous face of scared skin and tendrils. Though Billy had never seen this face before – he couldn't help but feel familiar with it.

"What the fuck," Billy spoke, quickly turning to see if the monster was standing behind him. But there was nothing there. Just the sterile white wall with a towel bar in the center.

Billy turned and stared right back to see the figure still standing there.

"Have you missed me, Billy?" It spoke his voice deep and gravely.

Billy's spine straightened as a tingle move down it quickly. His entire body felt ice cold as the recognition of the voice hit him directly in the chest. Tears watered his blue eyes as he backed away from the mirror to get as far away from the creature that tortured him for weeks. Nearly caused him to kill his girlfriend and hurt those in the town.

"No...no...we killed you!" Billy screamed into the mirror with panic causing his body to shake violently.

"You simply killed a creature I created, but I am still here, Billy."

Billy's brows pulled together tightly in confusion.

"Don't think that my plan will not continue. I will have the girl," The monster spoke. "I will have the girl?"

"Eleven?" Billy asked

The monster slowly shook his head before growling slightly and looking past Billy, his eyes shifting slightly to behind him. Billy's heart felt like it dropped into his stomach as he quickly turned to look back into the hospital room where he knew Piper was resting. But when he looked through the doorway in the room, the monster was no longer in the mirror. Instead, he stood looming over the side of Piper's bed with his larger left hand extended out and hovering over her face. The final sound of her heart monitor flat-lining was enough to snap him out of his daze and rush to her side. But no matter how fast and hard Billy ran, he was never able to get to Piper.

Billy sat up with a gasp as he was rocketed out of his dream. A cold sweat covered his body and forehead. His eyes wildly searched around the motel room in search for Piper was welcomed with nothing but an empty room. Billy's heart hammered tightly in his chest as the panic from the dream carried on into his reality. He pushed off the blanket that was twisted and kicked at the foot of the bed before getting up.

"Piper!? Piper, baby? Please!" Billy called out as he searched around the room. But was quickly able to come to the conclusion that she wasn't there.

Billy ran a hand through his blonde curls before rushing back toward the bed. His mind was so frantic he wasn't able to see that her things were gone along with one of his jackets. Or see the note that was left behind for him on the bedside table. Billy's mind was so frantic that he felt like he wasn't able to focus on anything. Billy dressed quickly, barely buttoning his shirt, before scrambling out of the motel room. He started his Camero up quickly and peeled out of the parking lot in search of his girlfriend.


Piper walked behind Steve as they headed down the pebbled driveway of Reefer Rick's home. The entire drive back toward the drug dealer's home, Steve and Dustin filled Piper in on the information they were able to conjure up eavesdropping in on the police department. Piper couldn't help but feel immense empathy for Eddie, knowing the true reason he's even a true suspect was the cause of how the town viewed him. For all they knew, Eddie could've been taken and killed but instead, he was labeled a suspect and possible murderer. The only peace of mind they all could have was that his name was being kept from the public. But Piper, and the rest of the team, knew better than to know what was going to last with this small town. It was only a matter of time before someone else was able to find the same information Dustin did.

The neighborhood was silent as the five of you walked down the trail toward the large boat house. Steve and Dustin were the first to step through sending the small door a little too violently against the adjoining wall. Piper looked over Steve's shoulder and could see Eddie standing in front of one of the windows. He jumped slightly at the intrusion of the group coming in. His fear was still at an all-time high of the police – or worse the town folks – coming for him and finding him. Piper didn't miss the broken bottle in his grasp that moved from being directed at them, to right at his side.

"Delivery service," Dustin spoke with a smile, a little too enthusiastically.

"Way to give me a fuckin' heart attack man," Eddie sighed heavily, pushing away from the door and back toward the turned-over grates at the other side of the wall.

"Sorry," Dustin spoke sheepishly as they all walked in, Max being the last and closing the door behind her tightly.

Almost immediately, Dustin, Steve, and Piper passed over the bags from the grocery store. Eddie wasn't able to control himself as he saw the food, his stomach growling hungrily as he grabbed a box of cereal and a bottle of YoHoo chocolate milk. Piper watched as he stuffed handfuls of the dry cereal into his mouth, no regard for those around him and trying to be proper. Piper couldn't blame him, honestly. She could only imagine what he'd been living off of before they found him the other day.

"So we have an update," Dustin started as he took a seat across from Eddie, Steve moving to stand against a post behind the younger teen. "Do you want the good news, or the bad news first?"

"Bad news, obviously," Eddie spoke with a mouth full of cereal.

Piper couldn't stop the small laugh that left her lips as she sat against the table beside Max and Robin. The dark-curled metalhead looked across the space toward her and shyly smiled with a blush coming over his cheeks. From across the room, Dustin shot a look at Steve, his face giving away how nervous he was feeling. Eddie was nervous with his knee bouncing slightly as he took a long drink from the glass bottle in his hand.

"So we tapped into the Hawkins PD with my Cerebro, and they are out looking for you," Dustin paused for a second, before continuing, acting as if he'd forgotten the last bit. "And they are pretty convinced that you killed Chrissy."

Eddie's brows shot towards his forehead for a moment, looking around the room, as if asking for confirmation silently.

"Like a 100% convinced," Piper confirmed

Piper watched as his shoulders sagged a sadness taking over his frame. She couldn't help but have deep empathy for him. When Piper looked back at Robin, she saw that her face, she could tell she was feeling the same.

"A-And the good news?" Eddie asked

"The public doesn't know your name yet, the police are keeping that piece of information close," Max spoke up quickly, her voice trying to add a little enthusiasm to the information.

"But it's only a matter of time till that information becomes public. It was easy for us to find out, it wouldn't take much effort for anyone else to." Robin quickly spoke, "and once they do everyone and their shallow-minded mother is going to be gunning for you,"

"Hunt the freak, right?" Eddie spoke, his large doe eyes staring toward Robin. It was enough to make Piper's stomach twist as she saw his eyes downcast.

"Sadly, Robin is right." Piper tiredly said "So you're going to have to hide out here a little bit longer. It's most likely the safest place for you to be. No one is really going to expect to find you here."

"So before that happens," Dustin spoke, rising his voice to sound optimistic, "We need to find Vecna, kill him and prove your innocence."

"That's all, Dustin? That's all?" Eddie asked sarcastically

"Yeah, pretty much,"

Dustin's voice rose in a way that made Piper believe he didn't even believe in himself. Piper sighed and rose up from her chair and walked to stand in front of Eddie, and in front of everyone else.

"Listen, I know this all sounds a little hard to believe, and trust me I've been in your shoes before. But we know what we're dealing with and we know what to do when it comes to this kind of thing." Piper clasped her hands together, "We all collectively know how to handle this, and I know we all really, really want to make sure it's dead and gone this time around. Right guys?"

Her green eyes moved from person to person looking for their agreeance with what she was saying. Everyone began to murmur and mumble to agree with Piper's words. It seemed to lift Eddie's spirits a little, at least until Steve spoke.

"Well, I mean, theoretically we know what we're doing," Piper couldn't help but glare, but Steve hadn't noticed as he spoke. "We really depended on this girl with superpowers, Piper's sister actually...or...not really sister. But she lives in California now and lost those powers the last time we faced off with this sort of thing,"

"Steve!" Piper scolded, his brown eyes snapping toward her almost immediately, "Really?"

"Though what Steve had said is correct we can handle this...I mean...we're more in the brainstorming stage, but we got this." Robin said trying to be encouraging.

"There's nothing to worry about,"

Eddie's head went back and forth as each person began to speak. Dustin's voice doing that weird octave thing that made it clear that he was lying. Eddie wasn't sure what to think at the moment. He was barely running on more than three hours of sleep, and he didn't have much choice but to trust the people in front of him. Because his true only other choices were; going on the run forever or turning himself in to the police. Neither were sounding good at the moment.

Everyone stood in silence for a moment as everything that was just said began to settle in. But in the distance, a sound started to grow closer and closer to them. Piper's back straightened the moment she recognized that sound.

Police sirens.

Everyone frantically looked at one another, fear coming over them, thinking they were coming for Eddie.

"Tarp! Tarp!" Robin spoke in a rush toward Eddie, moving at him to help him back into the hanging boat.

Piper was one of the first to move toward the window of the boat house with Dustin and Steve directly behind her. While they were all expecting to see the front yard of Reefer Rick's home to be swarmed with police cars. Maybe we weren't as careful as we thought. Maybe someone saw us through the window? Or we were being trailed from the grocery store? All these thoughts ran through Piper's mind as her eyes scanned and searched for the police cars. But nothing of that sort was happening. Instead, she watched as a cluster of police cars raced past the drug dealer's home and in the direction of north.

"They're heading back towards the trailer park," Piper spoke up "We should go and investigate."

"Eddie, stay here, we're gonna go and see what's going on," Dustin spoke loudly toward the direction of the hanging fishing boat, as everyone else scrambled to move out of the door.

One by one they climbed back into Steve's BMW before he peeled out and drove in the same direction of the police cars. It wasn't long till they made it down the street and saw the array of police cars lining and blocking the road, their lights flashing with a group of people starting to form around the blocked-off scene. Steve pulled up as close as he could placing the car into park. Through the front windshield and saw Nancy speaking with a few officers at the side of the street.

"I-Is that Nancy?" Piper asked, before unbuckling and throwing her car door open.

Everyone stood right outside the car doors and looked in the direction that Piper had pointed off to. No one could make out what they were saying, but it was clear that Nancy was in distress. Her eyes slowly looked up and connected in the direction of the group. Steve rose a hand up to her and waved slightly, a sad smile coming across the girl's face as she waved back.

"Let's go to my trailer, Nancy can meet us there," Max instructed.

Everyone began to walk in the direction that Max led them toward. But Piper looked back over her shoulder and saw Steve hesitating for a moment, she harshly whispered his name to snap him out of his daze. He looked between Piper and Nancy for a few seconds before following behind the rest of the group into the trailer park.


Piper stood off to the side of the picnic table that was in the center of the Forest Hills Trailer Park where the rest of the group was seated. It also happened to be only a few feet away from Eddie's trailer. The police tape was still wrapped around the perimeter of the trailer. Piper couldn't take her eyes off of it as she heard Dustin explain everything that had learned over the last few days to Nancy. There was something about the trailer that made Piper's skin break out into goosebumps and a shiver run down her spine. But it wasn't the fact that an eighteen-year-old girl was murdered there. It was something else. Something more sinister.

"Piper," a voice, similar to her mother's whispered eerily in her ear, making her jump slightly and turn around. Fully expecting to see an apparition of her mother standing on the pebbled road of the trailer park. But instead, there was nothing.

Steve looked over and saw his friend standing more off toward the road, her head moving rapidly from side to side. He had found himself watching his friend probably more than usual. The feeling from the store never leaves him and instead becomes worse with time. He saw the frantic look on her face. It was fear.

"...so you're saying that the thing that killed Chrissy and Fred is from the Upside Down?"

"Yes," Dustin confirmed "Our working theory is that he kills them with a spell or a curse, something that would have it so he's not physically. We don't know if it's dealing with the Mindflayer or what."

"We just know that this time around is different," Max concluded "Something new."

"That doesn't make sense," Nancy slowly shook her head.

"It's just a working theory so far."

"No, not that. Fred and Chrissy don't make sense. They couldn't be more opposite people," Nancy explained "Why them?"

"Well, if we break it down, they both go to Hawkins. Both were at the game, and near the trailer park." Dustin explained

"Uh...we're at the trailer park," Steve spoke.

Everyone looked around them quickly as if trying to spot something, or as if Vecna himself would be looming within the trailer park itself. That statement alone was enough to cause Piper to step closer to the group. Her arms wrapped around herself as she felt another shiver run through her.

"M-Maybe we shouldn't be here?" Piper whispered, her eyes wider with fear.

"There is something about this place, Fred started acting weird the moment we got here. Scared...on edge...upset."

Steve's eyes shot towards Piper again.

"Max said that Chrissy was the same the day before she died."

"Yeah, but not here. At school, she was crying in the girl's bathroom."

"Well, it's known that serial killers hunt their prey before attacking. What if this Vecna creep was the same? But stalking them in a different way?"

Everyone paused for a moment, everyone in a train of thought.

"L-Like visions?" Piper spoke "If he's attacking to where he doesn't have to be there or physically do it...what if he's doing the same beforehand. This Vec-whatever is supposed to be some dark wizard. What if that's how he's going about it?"

"That's not too bad of an idea," Nancy spoke "But no one else would be seeing this? And you can't go to the police about it...they'll think you're crazy."

"I saw Chrissy coming out of the guidance counselor's office once, and she did seem pretty upset coming out of it."

"Telling your shrink is a possibility," Robin nodded "We just gotta figure it out and get proof."

"I've been speaking with Ms. Kelley lately, just to work through some stuff...my mom suggested it." Piper frowned as she listened to Max speak, "Maybe I can go and talk with her? See if I can see some clues?"

"I can drive you over to her house. Can try there first," Steve spoke

Everyone stood from the picnic table and started heading in the direction of Steve's car before Nancy paused for a moment.

"There is one theory that I wanna check out too, as another possibility, Victor Creel. Wayne, Eddie's Uncle told me about him." Nancy shrugged her shoulders, "Could be nothing but it's worth looking into."

"Well, we shouldn't separate at the moment with this Vecna creep running around," Piper turned and looked at Robin, "Why don't you head out with Nancy, follow that theory? And I will go with Steve, Dustin, and Max to the counselor's home."

"Really? Gotta be the babysitter again?" Steve looked at Piper, causing her to roll her eyes.

"They aren't baby's stop it." Piper scoffed, before looking between Nancy and Robin. "That good with you ladies?"

Piper didn't miss the look that crossed over Nancy's face but quickly covered it up with a nod to her head. Robin gave an apprehensive smile to both Piper and Steve as she passed them, the other four standing there and watching as the two ladies pulled off in Nancy's car.

"Max, Dustin can you go and sit in the car for me? I-I need to talk to Piper about something," Steve spoke up once the other two were gone.

"Why?" Dustin began to argue

"Can you just...please...go." Steve harshly spoke

Dustin and Max shot a look at one another before moving back to the car and getting inside. Piper tried to follow after them, but Steve reached a handout and grabbed her upper arm tightly.

"Oh, no...not so fast..." Steve pulled her to stand in front of him, his face stern "You gonna tell me what's going on with you?"

Piper's eyes quickly darted away from him, looking down at the pebbles beneath her feet, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"No, don't do that..." Steve shook his head, moving to stand in front of her more, blocking her path. "I have noticed the last few days that you've been off. First at the ceremony for Hopper. Then again when we were searching for Eddie. But today you're on edge, came out of your room this morning looking like you haven't slept. You're jumpy...always looking over your shoulder scared. Now, what's going on Piper? Talk to me. I'm worried about you."

Tears quickly welled up in Piper's eyes as she stared up at one of her best friends. Steve whispered her name again and reached to caress her cheek and wipe the tears away. Her lower lip quivered before her breath came out a little harshly.

"I-I..." She whimpered, shaking her head a few times "T-There's something that I haven't told you guys. Not even B-Billy really knows."

Steve felt his heart drop, having a feeling of knowing what was going to come out of Piper's mouth next.

"It happened the first night that we got here, it starts slowly as nightmares at first. And I thought it was cause we came back. You know?" Piper cried softly, Steve nodding his head as he comfortingly rubbed her arm. "I've been struggling with my Uncle's death...and being back for the ceremony seemed to bring stuff back up again. B-But then the hallucinations started."

"Hallucinations?"

"I would see my mom. At the ceremony one second, I was downtown, and then I wasn't. I-It was like the Upside Down version but my mom was the only one I saw. A-And she wasn't herself. She was...off...wrong. Kept telling me that it was my fault that she and my father were dead," Piper cupped her hand over her mouth. It took her a few minutes to calm down before continuing. "And then the nightmares were happening through the day, along with the sound of this...clock ticking."

Piper looked off to the side, her eyes landing on Eddie's trailer before she spoke again.

"I've seen him, Vecna...or who I can guess to be Vecna." Her eyes moved back to Steve, watching as the color drained away from his face. "I-I think I'm next, Steve...I really do."


AN: The truth had come out! At least sort of! This is where the story is going to change slightly, cause it's Piper that cursed and not Max. Please let me know your thoughts, I love love love reading your reviews. Also, check out my other Stranger Things fic; Seven