Stranger Love [Billy Hargrove]

Stranger Love - Chapter Four

Stranger Love

Chapter Four: The Alien Creature

Anya left Benny's late again, the country lanes almost black with darkness at 11:15pm.

She was tired, and going slightly faster than normal, in a hurry to get home. Working so much was taking its toll, what with school pressures as well. She knew Charles would be fine if she stopped doing so many shifts at the diner, but Anya didn't want to. If she was idle, her brain would start replaying the night her Dad was killed, and she couldn't face it.

The kid, Will Byers, was also playing on her mind. His strange episode at school had riddled her with questions, not to mention curiosity. Whatever had happened to him when he went missing was clearly still affecting him.

Suddenly her headlights caught the figure of a four-legged creature in the middle of the road. Anya cried out in shock, swerving to avoid the strange looking animal. Her front tires veered off the road and she lost control, the bonnet of her car smashing head on into a tree.

The airbags deployed and Anya felt herself being propelled forwards harshly, before hitting the back of her seat again. She must have blacked out for a while, for her eyes fluttered open and she read the blurry time on her radio: 12:36am.

The road was silent, save for the hissing of her engine. Anya groaned, putting her hand to her forehead and feeling hot sticky blood on her fingers. She used her hand to feel for the door latch, opening it up and practically tumbling from the car. A sickly feeling had settled in her stomach, the world spinning horribly on its axis. Anya heaved herself to a standing position, unable to see much save for the streak of light emitting from one of her headlights.

In her hazy state, she barely heard the strange growling sound at first. Her eyes squinted into the darkness of the forest, wondering if the animal she had almost hit was hanging around. She couldn't quite place what it was...a fox, maybe? It had been quite big, but dark in colour.

A high-pitched squeal made her gasp in fright. A shadow flitted through the light. There was something out there.

Anya was about to get back into the car when she saw it. It wasn't any animal she'd ever seen before in her life. It was black, almost slimy looking, with a strange elongated face. Huge claws dug into the hard forest floor as it seemed to just stare at her.

She couldn't move for fear. The creature let out a low, glutaral growl before its mouth opened up in four parts, revealing many rows of ultra-sharp teeth. Anya screamed, scrambling to get into her car when the sound of a loud engine filled the night.

The creature scurried into the forest out of sight, as the car skidded to a halt next to Anya's now totalled vehicle. Billy Hargrove stepped out of his car, cigarette in his mouth as he looked at her. "This is why women shouldn't drive,"

Anya wanted to come back with a sassy retort, but her head was pounding and she felt extremely weak. Plus, her heart still hadn't stopped racing, the strange looking animal still freshly in her mind. "There was...something in the road...I swerved and lost control..."

"Fucking obviously. Don't you know you should just run whatever it is down and keep going?" He strode over to her, leaning through the driver's window and flicking the engine off with the keys.

"I don't need a goddamn lecture right now!" Anya spat angrily. She had not been expecting sympathy from the world's largest prat but a little wouldn't have gone amiss. Her outburst sent waves of nausea through her body and she started to keel over, a faint feeling overwhelming her.

"Whoa there," Billy mumbled, catching her before she hit the ground. "Does Hawkins have a hospital or what?"

"Yea, it's West just outside town. I'd rather go home though," Anya leant her hands onto his strong, muscled chest, which was partially bare due to his buttoned-down shirt. She liked the feeling of his skin; he was warm, solid, and smelt lovely. She was also surprised at his willingness to take her to hospital in the middle of the night.