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___________ c h a p t e r t h i r t y - f o u r
Chimes. Four chimes. That's all Sam could hear as she slept.
Of course, she follows the sound, ending up at her front porch. Sitting there was Hopper and her dad, laughing about something over beers.
"Sammy! You're back!" Hopper grins in a very unusual way, and for whatever reason, she felt like she couldn't move.
"Hop?" she sputters out, eyes widening at the man in front of her.
"Hey kid," he smiles, pulling her in for a hug.
"But you... you died."
"Well, I'm back now," he squeezes tighter, enough for her to jump back.
Quickly, the once blue sky turns a devilish red, with storm clouds crowding behind the man's body as he menacingly inches closer.
"You kids just don't know when to stop, huh? I mean, I wouldn't have even gone to the mall that night if it weren't for you and your stupid buddies getting involved in something you shouldn't have."
"Hopper, that doesn't make any sense," she steps back again, hitting a brick wall.
"How about this? You can't save anyone Sam. One day, something is gonna come around and it is going to kill everyone you love and all you will be able to do is watch."
"You're not real," she bites back, eyes watering.
He simply smirks, holding up a hand. "Is this real?"
He then snaps, revealing everyone she cared about, now dead. Bianca, Steve, Dawn, her parents... everyone.
"Why?"
"Because you were too weak to save them, Sam. The same way all you could do was let Billy nearly take your last breath before beating Steve halfway to death two years ago," he chuckles, his own face morphing into Billy's.
"What?"
"Miss me?" he smirks, pushing her against the wall.
"Get away from me."
"It was the first time you realized just how weak you were, wasn't it?" he holds up a hand. "You tried to fight, to protect those stupid kids, and all you ended up doing was making me angry."
"That's not true," she whimpers.
"Reminded you of those days on the playground, didn't it? Poor, helpless Sam. Luz the Loser strikes again. Because that's all you'll ever be, Sam. A loser. The one who always has to be saved. A waste."
"Please get away," she sobs.
"No, it won't be that easy. I think it's time I finish what I started," he shrugs. "Everyone would be better off anyway. You know it, too."
