AS ABOVE, SO BELOW (BENEATH HIS FEET) | STRANGER THINGS ✓

CHAPTER EIGHT | I DID SOMETHING BAD

Amanda could hear footsteps approaching the men's locker room.

But they weren't the kids' footsteps, all airy and light on their feet. These footsteps were loud and heavy as they thudded their way into the locker room. Billy was here. Amanda and the others were running around making noise, trying to lure the Mind Flayer's new host into the sauna.

     "Pool's closed," Billy said as he began to pull back shower curtains and search for the culprit. Lockers were being banged open and closed as he continued to pull back even more shower curtains. "I said pool's closed!"

     "Billy!" Mike's voice rang out. Amanda let out a giggle as Mike called Billy's name again, this time in a more singsong tone.  "Billy! Come and find me!"

     "I find you, it is your funeral!" Billy exclaimed as he began to make his way to the back.

     "Go, go!" Mike whisper-shouted to Amanda to pick up the pace as they continued making noise. "Come and get me. Come on!" he shouted out. The two of them made it to the sauna room when they saw Billy come into contact with the radio that was sitting on one of the benches. "Got you," Billy whispered so maliciously that it sent a chill down Amanda's spine.

"Hey," said Mike's voice from the radio. "Behind you."

Billy turned around to see the kids surrounding him. His eyes landed on Amanda, who was wearing a sort of sinister smile when she came face to face with him. "Got you," she whispered. "Now!" Mike shouted. El used her telekinesis to blow Billy into the sauna and shut him in. They were all quick to chain the door closed and turn the sauna on to its highest temperature.

They all stood back in shock as Billy started banging on the door. "Max!" he screamed, "let me out!"

"No!" Amanda yelled, "don't fall for it. It's a trap!"

"He's my brother!" Max turned to yell back and took a step back in shock when she saw Amanda standing there in her dirty overalls and sneakers. "I can see you."

"That's because you just encountered the Mind Flayer."

Billy continued banging on the door, screaming for Max as the heat inside the sauna began to rise. "Max," he begged, "please."

Max ran up to the door. "We'll get you out! Just hang tight!"

"Let. Me. Out." Billy's fist made contact with the little window and Max backed away in fright. "Please, Max. It's not my fault. It wasn't my fault."

"What wasn't your fault? Billy? What wasn't your fault? You gotta talk to us. We wanna help you but you gotta talk to us."

Amanda could hear Billy starting to sob. "I did some really bad things, Max," he spoke through choked tears, "but I didn't mean to. God, it's hot in here."

Will brought his hand up to back of his neck as the hairs stood up on end once more. "I feel him. He's here. Max, get away from the door."

"What?" Max whipped her head around so she could hear him better. "Get away from the — " Will couldn't finish his exclamation because Billy's fist came flying out of the window and almost managed to grab Max by her ponytail if it weren't Amanda pushing her out of the way. "Open the door, you little bitch!" Billy roared. All the kids yelled and backed away as Billy started slamming his body against the door.

"Ah!" Amanda squeaked and Mike was quick to pull her away and cover her head as El was using all her might to keep Billy in. She was trying her best but he finally managed to knock the door down. El used her telekinesis to choke him and suspend him in midair. It was straining on her, using so much of her power in one sitting, and Billy saw that as his chance to take her out.

     Now it was her who was choking and gasping for air, and Amanda desperately wanted to do something, but all she could do was stand and watch on.

"Take this, you piece of shit!" Mike went swinging at Billy's head with some sort of plank in his hands, and it was enough to distract him momentarily to drop El to the ground. Amanda pulled her away so she could catch her breath and recompose herself.

     El got up again and this time, used all of what she had left in to bring up Billy up in the air and throw him the through brick wall of the locker room. She then dropped to floor, empty and defeated, and Amanda went to stay with her while the kids went to go see where Billy went.

"Are you okay?" Amanda asked El as she sat her up. "I think so," El responded. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I did this to you."

"You have no reason to be sorry, El. It's not your fault. Really."

     "I want to ask you a question."

     Amanda wasn't sure where this was going to go but she answered with, "okay," anyway.

     "Is Mike important to you?" El asked. Amanda opened her mouth to answer, then closed it because she didn't know how to respond to that.

     "Yeah," she answered finally, "I guess you could say he's important. Probably not to me, personally, but he's a pretty important person. He's the one who orchestrated this whole thing to get — " Amanda could see the growing confusion on El's face as she rambled and she sighed. "Yeah, El. He's important."

     "Who's important?" Just Amanda's luck. Mike was the first to walk back into the sauna room just as she reached the tail end of her answer.

     "No one."

"You," Amanda and El said their answers at the same time. Mike creased his eyebrows. "I'm not following."

     Amanda got up and went to go find the others but Mike caught her by the crook in her arm, waiting on her to give him an answer. "Trust me, Mike. It's not a big deal." She carefully tugged her arm out of his hold and went on her way. Mike looked at El and asked, "What'd you tell her?"

     El shrugged. "Just girl talk. I'm not supposed to tell you. But you didn't answer my question."

     "What question?"

"Is Amanda important to you?"

     "I already told you my answer. Why are you asking this, anyway?"

"I saw you had your arm around her when we were in the basement of your house," El responded, "I know it was there when you put her hand on her mouth to make her stop talking, but you didn't move when you pulled your hand away."

Mike gaped. "Are you asking if you I like her?"

Eleven shrugged before getting up. "Do you?"

"I've only known Mandy for three days, El."

"So she has a nickname." El raised a brow at him. "Everyone calls her that," Mike defended. "And besides, I like you. Only you."

El left Mike alone in the the sauna room with a small knot of uncertainty sitting in his stomach.