Billy Hargrove Imagines

Nose Bleed (pt. 1)

You had no name, only a number. You weren't a person to the scientists at Hawkins Lab, you were just their test subject. The experiments they put you through had done a number on you, both mentally and physically. You couldn't remember a single place other than the different halls and rooms in the lab, even though you were taken when you were seven. Your past life was drained from your memory. You didn't know anyone other than the scientists that worked on you. You had no contact with anyone your age. All you knew was in the confinements of Hawkins Lab, your home for what felt like an eternity. You thought you were never going to leave.

And then you heard a snippet of a conversation between some scientists you passed in the hall. You were being escorted by the main scientist down the hall way to the water tank you despised. You were all too familiar with being submerged in the tank while being hooked up to a machine. You feel like you're drowning and your surroundings are all blurred as the scientists watch with their clipboards out when you are out in the tank, but then your mind slips. You're plunged into a dark, damp world that makes you feel like your brain is being pulled apart and twisted like clay.

On your way to the tank for the umpteenth time, you overheard some words some scientists were exchanging as you passed.

"Do you think Eleven will expose us?"

"Definitely, if we don't get her back soon."

Your brow furrowed and you glanced back at the two chatty scientists loitering in the hall. As soon as you turned your head, the scientist escorting you gave you a rough shove. You quickly returned your gaze to the floor in front of you.

After that, you felt hope for the first time. You were called Seven, so whoever Eleven was must've been experimented on in the Hawkins Lab too and escaped. That meant that you had a chance.

After Eleven left, security seemed to be heightened. You felt more imprisoned than you ever had in your entire stay at the lab.

Despite the low chances of you ever getting out, you still tried. You waited three days before you actually attempted your escape.

And it worked.

Your ice manipulation powers had been strengthened over your many years you were tested on, so it was relatively easy to get past all the scientists and security. You were always too scared to do anything that disobeyed what the scientists told you, but once you froze everyone in your way to the front doors, you realized how better it felt to have a sense of freedom. That freedom came with a price, though. You didn't like to use your powers; it made you feel weak and made your head feel ready to burst.

Weak and stumbling through the woods, you got as far away from the lab as quickly as you could with your energy drained and your head throbbing. Since you were still in your usual plain white cotton shorts with a plain white t-shirt, both of which were a size too big because of your frail body, your skin was vulnerable to the rough woods. Your legs scraped against the bushes with thorns and your arms were scratched from sticks. Your feet, also bare, thumped against the ground and didn't slow even when punctured by a sharp rock or twig.

You didn't stop running until you were physically unable to and felt like you were going to pass out. Your pace slowed, your chest heaving for air. Your body leaned against a tree as you closed your eyes, exhausted.

When your eyes opened, you were suddenly aware of your environment. You found yourself a few feet from where the wood stopped at a road. Buildings lined the street, including a diner and a gas station.

A breeze lifted your air and whipped through your loose clothes. A chill arose from your skin and your hands rubbed up and down your scratched-up arms. However, your hands were inhumanly cold to the touch, so you let your hands fall to your sides. You were always cold, but being in an in heated area made you freezing. It also made your powers almost uncontrollable. Your hands frosted over with intricate ice crystals that almost reached your wrists. Heat helped your powers be more controllable, and being outside in shorts and a T-shirt with the full moon hanging high in the sky, you knew you needed to get warm before something bad happened.