the view between villages // a stranger things choose-your-own-adventure

PAGE 10: Do not go with them.

You think it over, but shake your head.

"Sorry, Dustin," you say, "but I'd rather stay in tonight. Tell Steve I'll see him around, okay?"

Dustin shrugs.

"Okay, if you're sure you want to miss out on all our glory."

"I'm not much for glory," you say. "I prefer a more lowkey life. But have fun and, uh, don't get killed, I guess?"

Dustin gives you a salute and turns on his heel, running back to the others. As you lock the security grate and turn the opposite way, you hear Dustin say to Steve, "I said you should've asked them yourself. They wouldn't have said no if it was you asking."

Steve shushes him and you bite back a smile. It's your day off tomorrow, but the next day, you'll be sure to swing by Scoops Ahoy and see Steve. Maybe you should ask him on a date that doesn't include rain or spies or suspicious activities. 

***

You spend your day off at the pool, relaxing in a lounge chair with a good book and a cold beverage. Mid-afternoon, a lifeguard steps down and Billy Hargrove takes their place.

Except he looks strange. You don't know him well, but the few times he's come into the mall to flirt with the girls in the food court, he's always in a muscle tee, flexing his biceps. Today, he's wearing a long-sleeve shirt and, despite the unbearable July heat, keeps it on his whole shift.

He takes a sip of a huge blue Icee and stares vacantly out at the crowd. You're unsettled by his demeanor. Especially when he glances at you.

Well, you assume he's glancing at you. You can't really tell with those sunglasses on. But the tilt of his head gives him away.

You shiver and return to your book, too distracted to do anything but read the same page over and over and over again.

You leave shortly after that. You drive home, shower, and eat a microwavable TV dinner before realizing that you left your wallet in a locker at the pool.

When you arrive, you're surprised to see the gate still unlocked.

"Hello?" you call as you step onto the pool grounds. "Is anyone here? I just need to get to the lockers."

No answer. But since the place was unlocked, you figure you won't get in trouble for breaking and entering. Just trespassing, maybe.

You book it to the locker rooms, unsettled by how dark and quiet it is. You find the locker you used today and pull the door open.

Thankfully, your wallet is still there, untouched.

You tuck it in your pocket and move toward the exit. But then you hear something strange: some sort of crumbling. And then moaning. (And not the fun kind of moaning. The someone-is-really-hurt kind.)

You follow the sound all the way to the sauna at the back of the locker room. You gasp when you see a huge, gaping hole in the side of the brick wall, leading out into the grassy side yard of the community pool.

There's also broken glass, a padlock, a chain, weights, and a metal rod strewn around, as if someone threw a temper tantrum of epic proportions.

"What the hell?" you mutter.

You hear it again—that moan. It's coming from outside.

You hesitantly step through the Kool-Aid-Man-sized hole and into the night. You scan the surrounding area, until your eyes settle on—

"Billy!" you say, jaw dropping in shock.

Billy stumbles out from the treeline, gripping his side. He's sweatier now than he was earlier, and he's disheveled, and he seems to have dark red blood dripping down his arm.

"Help me," he moans. "Please!"

You balk at the sight of the big man lumbering toward you. It would be wrong not to help him, but the way he's looking at you...it frightens you. Sure, he looks desperate and in need of medical assistance. But he also looks at you the way sharks circle chum. The way lions eye vulnerable gazelles on the Savanna. The way a predator stalks its prey...

WHAT DO YOU DO?

A. RUN - go to page 11

B. HELP HIM - go to page 12