mary. [ BILLY HARGROVE ]

xlv. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

~The Case of the Missing Lifeguard~
warning: mature language, mentions of blood

     The radio in Eleven's room played quietly as her and Max were on her bed, getting ready to play a game. They had name's written out on yellow pieces of paper, and were planning on spying on whoever their empty Coca-Cola bottle would land on. 

     "Holy shit, I can't believe we're really doing this," Max said, placing the final name on the piece of cardboard. "Ready?" 

     "Ready," Eleven nodded. She spun the bottle, and it landed on Mr. Wheeler first. 

     "Mr. Wheeler," they said in unison. 

     "Ugh. Boring," Max commented. 

     "Yeah, boring," Eleven agreed. 

     "Spin again." 

     "Against the rules?" Eleven asked timidly. 

     "We make our own rules," Max said with a smile. Eleven smiled back at her, then spun the bottle again. This time it landed on Billy. 

     "Billy," they said in unison. 

     "Okay, look, I should just warn you, if he's with Mary or doing something gross, just get out of there right away before you're scarred for life," Max said. She grabbed the radio, then the cloth and brought them to the bed. 

     "Max," Eleven laughed. 

     "No, I'm just saying, I'm serious," Max said with a shrug. "He's really gross." 

     "Max!" Eleven smiled. 

     "Okay, shutting up now," Max nodded. She tuned the radio to static as Eleven put the black cloth around her eyes. She focused, and was suddenly in the familiar black void. She looked to her right to see the Camaro running still, her eyes narrowing in confusion. She examined the damaged car, noticing the broken windshield and how it was still running. She peered inside, then turned to see Billy squatting over someone. 

     "I found him," she informed Max. 

     "What's he doing?" Max asked, seemingly concerned. 

     "I don't know," Eleven answered. The image flashed, but Billy didn't move. 

     "Don't be afraid." 

     "He's... on the floor." 

     "It'll be over soon." 

     "Talking to someone." Max's first thoughts were that it was Mary and the two must have talked. Eleven took steps forward into the void as she heard whimpering coming from in front of Billy. 

     "Just stay very still." 

     Billy stood up abruptly, turning and looking right at Eleven. Her eyes widened at their eye contact, and he faded from her view. Billy saw flashes of Eleven from where he was, and he knew she was spying on him. Eleven gasped at the encounter, and pulled the cloth off her eyes. 

     "What is it?" Max asked as Eleven breathed deeply. "What happened?" She took a few more deep breath's, not knowing how to tell Max. She didn't know what it was herself. 

~*~

     "It's gonna start pouring soon. We should be at the mall or, like, watching a movie or something," Max complained. She and Eleven were talking to Max's house to see what Billy was doing.