Alex moved the object around in his mouth, brushing his teeth and trying to forget what he saw. But he couldn't. He couldn't stop thinking about the blood on Heather's whistle, or how he saw Billy, and Billy saw him. He didn't understand any of it. He didn't understand how Heather was perfectly fine, but one thing he did notice. Billy wasn't acting normal. He was acting weird, and not the good type of weird. The weird that makes your skin prickle and your heart pound, the kind of weird that had goosebumps forming on the back of your neck as sweat trickled down your forehead. He tried to ignore it. He tried to ignore it as he took out his contacts and walked out of the bathroom, putting his glasses on and sliding off his clothes, leaving him in his boxers. He grabbed a baggy t-shirt, baggy because it was Mike's and he let him borrow it once. He crawled into bed, Max sliding in next to him.
"I just don't get it! The blood, Heather, the ice, all of it. I don't-" Max cut him off.
"Alex, it's okay, I promise. Heather was sick so she took a cold bath, but she's all better now. As for the blood, I can't explain that," she said, sighing. "It's good to know Billy's not a murderer, that's a relief!" She laughed, leaning back into her pillow. Alex chuckled, letting his mind clear as he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
------
Alex woke up to somebody talking in the walkie talkie, trying to get their attention. Alex groaned, putting the pillow over his head. Max answered it, telling them to fuck off and turning off the walkie. When Alex relaxed again, the phone rang, and before Max could answer Alex got out of bed and answered the phone.
"We are trying to sleep, go away," he said, about to put the phone down before he heard the voice of Mike.
"It's Mike, don't hang up. Something happened, something bad. Our very lives could be at stake," he said, his voice wavering.
"What are you talking about?" He said, his mind shifting to Billy and Heather.
"Just come over to my house, we'll explain everything. Hurry." He said before hanging up.
------
"I didn't think it was anything at first. I mean, I think I just didn't want to believe it," Will said, pausing to take a breath. "The first day I felt it was at Day Of The Dead."
"The power went off that night too!" Mike said, realization hitting him, and Will nodded.
"And then I felt it again in the field at the Nelson farm the next day. Then again yesterday outside of Castle Byers." Will said.
"What does it feel like," Max asked, not sure if she actually wanted to know the answer.
"It's almost like.... You know when you drop on a rollercoaster?" He asked, looking around at everyone.
"Yeah," Alex said.
"Sure." Mike said, confused.
"No." Eleven said, looking at him confused. He ignored her.
"It's like everything in your body is sinking all at once but...this is worse. Your body..it goes cold, and you can't breathe. I've felt it before, whenever he was close." He said. El was looking at him, taking in every word, along with Alex. He let it sink in, still trying to connect all of this with what happened with Billy.
"Whenever who was close," Max asked.
"The Mind Flayer," Will said, flinching.
"I closed the gate," Eleven said sternly, almost not wanting to believe it.
"I know but..what if he never left? What if we locked him out here, with us?" He said, voice shaking as he looked at Eleven, fear etched on his face. He stood up, grabbing a sheet of paper and a black crayon. He walked over to a high round table as everyone walked around the table, Will slamming down the paper. "This is him, all of him," he said, starting to draw a dark figure. "But, that day on the field, a part of him..attached itself to me." He slid his hand over the figure, making it blur and giving Will dark smudges all over his hand. He showed it to everyone, breathing heavily and his eyes blown wide. "My mom got it out of me, and Eleven closed the gate." He flipped the paper over, looking at them. "But, the part that was still in me, what if it's still in our world," he asked, pressing his hand to the paper, leaving a light black hand mark. "In Hawkins."
"I-I don't understand. The Demodogs died when El closed the gate. If the brain dies, the body dies," Max said, a bead of sweat falling down her face.
"We can't take any chances. We need to assume the worst, the Mind Flayer is back." Mike said.
"Yeah, and if he is, he'd want to attach himself to someone again. A new me," Will said, lookin at Lucas when he said,
"A new host." Max looked at Alex, who had already pieced it together.
"How can you tell if someone is a host?" He asked.
"It's a bit hard to explain," Will said, looking at him curiously. "Why?"
"We need to go to the pool house, right now." He said sternly. Max nodded, the two of them grabbing their things and walking out of the door, everyone else following them.
