Saved

Eight

When Allison finally reopened her eyes, she found herself laying on the living room couch, staring up at the ceiling of the cabin. She immediately became aware of the intense pain in the back of her head, and a hunger only comparable to the one she had felt when she spent a week in the woods, almost a year earlier.

After slowly sitting up, she reached back to access the damage that had been done to her head, wincing as she touched an open wound. As she pulled her hand back, she stared in disbelief at the dried blood on her trembling fingers. A wave of mixed emotions came over her, knowing that Eleven had hurt her, yet still taking the time to move her onto the couch.

The boards that Hopper had put over the windows made it difficult to know what time of day it was. As her eyes scanned over the dark and empty cabin she spotted the radio on the floor, still sitting where Eleven had left it. 

With a wave of her hand, she lifted the radio with her mind and hovered it towards herself, snatching it out of the air. She flipped through the radio frequencies until she found a radio station that would inform her of what day it was. Her stomach dropped as a man's voice echoed out of the speakers, announcing that the date was November 4th. 

She had been knocked unconscious on the night of November 2nd, missed one full day, and was already halfway through another. As she slowly stood up, bracing herself on the arm of the couch, she heard the two-way radio that was mounted on the wall start to beep.

"Hey...uh...it's me. I know that I've been gone too long...and uh...I just want you to know that it's not about you two, or the fights we had, okay? Something came up and I will explain it all when I get back. I want you guys to know that I'm not mad...I don't want you to get hurt...and I don't want to lose you. Just make sure you take care of each other and eat some real food, I'll be home soon.", Hopper's voice was thick with emotion as it came over the static.

Allison stood in the middle of the cabin with tears streaming down her face, unable to move from her spot on the carpet. She wanted to answer and tell him that she was okay, but she knew that he must be busy, and finding out that Eleven was gone would only cause him unnecessary stress. 

Instead, she went straight to the refrigerator and pulled out a container of leftovers, bringing it over to the table and eating until her hunger had subsided. Then she went to the washroom and got in the shower, letting the water rinse the dried blood out of her hair and down the drain. As she felt her body relax under the warm water, she closed her eyes, allowing herself to enter the void. 

She thought of Hopper and watched as he manifested in front of her. He was standing next to a man in a white lab coat, that Allison didn't recognize, both of their faces covered in worry as they stared at a flashing screen. 

"What the hell is that?", Hopper whispered, leaning over the desk to get a closer look. The man beside him swallowed hard, the uncertainty in his eyes obvious to both Allison and Hopper. As she tried to understand what was happening, she found herself getting dragged backward, and no matter how hard she fought to stay, she watched as Hopper disappeared before her eyes.

"No! Wait!", she shouted into the darkness, feeling herself get pulled back by an invisible force. Before anything came into view, she was met by the strong smell of cigarette smoke and cologne, followed by the sound of loud music. Her stomach fluttered as Billy Hargrove appeared before her.

He was wearing a tight pair of dark blue jeans, and a red shirt with several of the top buttons undone. Allison watched as he applied cologne to his wrists, and then instinctively looked away as he reached inside his pants to put some there. 

When she turned back around, he had lit a cigarette and was staring at himself in the mirror as he smoked it. Suddenly there was a loud knocking sound that echoed through the void, and he glanced behind him.

"Yeah, I'm a little bit busy in here, Susan.", he called out nonchalantly.

"Billy! Open this door, right now!", an angry-sounding man shouted, prompting a look of fear to spread across Billy's face. He stomped through the empty space, his shoulder passing through Allison as he went. He then reached out and opened his bedroom door, a man and woman coming into view.

"What's wrong?", Billy asked, looking back and forth between them.

"Why don't you tell us?", the man growled stepping into the room. Although it was subtle, Allison could see the way Billy had flinched.

"Because I don't know...", he shrugged, waiting for an explanation.

"We can't find Maxine.", the soft-spoken woman responded, appearing worried.

"And her window is open. Where is she?", as the older man demanded an answer, Billy's face dropped.

"I don't know. I'm sure she just went to the arcade or something. I'm sure she's fine.", Billy insisted, turning and walking back towards his closest, where he grabbed his jacket and quickly put it on.

"You were supposed to watch her."

"I know, Dad. I was! It's just that you two were three hours late and well...I have a date.", Allison felt an unfamiliar feeling come over her, in response to Billy's words. Similar to how she had felt back at Hawkin's Lab, whenever Dr. Brenner had chosen Eleven to complete a task instead of her. A feeling of inadequacy. Jealousy.

"That's why you've been staring at yourself in the mirror, like some faggot, instead of looking after your sister.", his father scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. The negative way he spoke to Billy, distracting Allison from her own emotions.

"I've been looking after her all week, Dad! If she wants to run off, then that's her problem alright? She's thirteen years old, she shouldn't need a full-time babysitter, and she's not my sister!", Billy snapped, shutting off the music that was playing nearby. Allison stood by helplessly, as the man with the mustache charged towards Billy and shoved him into the nearby bookshelf.

"What did we talk about?", he yelled, punching Billy hard across the face without a shred of remorse.

"Respect and responsibility.", Billy whispered, his voice cracking as he did. 

"That's right. Now apologize to Susan."

"I'm sorry, Susan.", Billy forced out, trying to hold back the tears that were welling up in his eyes.  Even though he was unable to feel it, Allison took a step towards him and placed a hand on his cheek. Her heart, breaking for the boy in front of her.

"It's okay Neil, really.", Susan whispered, shooting Billy a look of sympathy.

"No, it's not okay! Nothing about his behavior is okay! But he's going to make it up to you. He's gonna call whatever whore that he's seeing tonight and cancel their date, and then he's going to go find his sister. Like the good, kind, respecting brother that he is. Isn't that right, Billy? Isn't that right?!", Neil screamed, bringing his face inches away from Billys.

"Yes, Sir.", Billy answered, trying to keep his voice steady. His father stared into his eyes, seeming to take pleasure in the pain he had caused him. As Neil and Susan left the room and shut the door behind them, Billy dropped his head and began to cry. 

Allison wished she could make her presence known and hold him until everything was okay, but she didn't have the ability nor the time to do so. She needed to get back in her body and find Hopper, who was in a situation that she couldn't even begin to understand. After shooting Billy one last glance, she took a step back and forced herself out of the darkness.

The water in the shower had turned cold, making the return to her body an unpleasant one. Her teeth chattered violently as she jumped out to retrieve her towel, wrapping it around her trembling body. She made quick work of going to her bedroom and getting dressed, then put all of her focus on locating Hopper, letting her instincts lead her out of the cabin and through the woods.