Chapter Thirty-Nine: Billy

"Its not like it was before, I mean, its grown...a lot." Dad said as we gathered in the kitchen again to tell him our plan. "And, I mean, that's considering we can get in there, that place is crawling with those dogs."

"Demo-dogs." Dustin corrected.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I said uh...Demo-dogs. Like Demogorgon and Dogs. You put them together, it sounds pretty bada-"

"How is this important right now?"

"Its not. I'm sorry."

"I can do it." Eleven told him.

"You're not hearing me."

"I'm hearing you," She argued, "I can do it."

"Even if El can, there's still another problem," Mike said, "If the brain dies, the body dies."

"I thought that was the whole point." Max pointed out.

"It is," I replied, "However, Will is currently a part of that body meaning if we kill the Mind Flayer...we kill him too."

Joyce looked down at the table, her eyes widening in realization and she stood up, walking back into the hallway. We all exchanged concerned looks, following her into Will's room, where she stood, looking around, her eyes coming to land on the wind blowing through the open window.

"He likes it cold." Joyce muttered.

"What?"

"Its what Will kept saying to me. He likes it cold." She walked over to the window, closing it. "We keep giving it what it wants."

"If this is a virus," Nancy stated, "And Will's the host, then..."

"Then we need to make the host uninhabitable." Jonathan finished.

"So if he likes it cold..."

"We need to burn it out of him."

"It won't be pleasant." I pointed out, suddenly very aware of the bandages still residing on my back.

"Its better than killing him," Mike said, "We have to do it somewhere he doesn't know this time."

"Yeah, somewhere far away."

Dad and I shared a knowing look.

~~~"Take Denfield, then you'll see a large oak tree," Dad was currently walking out the door, Will swung over his shoulder as Joyce, Jonathan, and I walked outside. He was giving them instructions on how to get to our house. "You're gonna swing a right. That road is gonna dead-end, and its a bout a five minute walk from there."

He bent down, putting Will in Jonathan's car.

"Ok, Denfield to oak tree. Swing a right. That's it. But its channel ten, right?"

"Channel ten, listen, you let me know when that thing is out of him." Dad told him. He turned to walk towards his car and I followed him. "Whoa, where are you going?"

"What do you mean, where am I going? I'm going with you and El to the lab." I said. He shook his head.

"No you're not."

"Dad-"

"Riley, listen to me." He stopped, turning to face me. "I need you to stay here."

"But-"

"Stop talking." I sighed, but did as he said. "Like I said earlier, you were right about what you said when you left. I put too much pressure on you, even before you disappeared. Being in the Upside Down wasn't what forced you to grow up it was me, I forced you, but I'm done with that now. Its my turn to be the parent and its your turn to be the kid, and because you're a kid, I need you and Steve to stay here and look after the kids, because the rest of us are gonna be busy."

"But what about Eleven, Dad? She...She needs me." I tried. He nodded.

"She does, you're right...but see, if I had just done my job in the first place and taken care of you both like I should have, then she wouldn't need you so much. El's giving me an opportunity to trust her, I need you to give me the opportunity to do right by you for once in my life."  I bit my lip.

"You have done right by me." I told him quietly.  He shook his head.

"Not as often as I should have." HE said. "So, are you gonna stay, or are you coming with us, because I can't really stop you either way." I bit my lip, but nodded.

"I'll stay...look after the kids."

"Thank you..." He wrapped his arms around me, kissing the top of my head, "Thank you, kid."

"But you both better come back alive, do you hear me?" He nodded.

"Loud and clear." He pulled away, walking over to the car and I turned around to see Mike and Eleven standing together.

"Just be careful, alright? I can't lose you again." He told her.

"You won't lose me."

"Do you promise?"

"Promise." My eyes widened as she began leaning forward, and she might have kissed him right then and there if Dad hadn't spoken up.

"El...come on, let's go. Its time." She turned and looked at him one last time before turning around and coming to face me.

"What he said. Be careful." She nodded, hugging me again before going to get in the car with Dad. I walked over and stood beside Mike.

"Look, Mike-"

"Its ok. Hopper told me it was his decision and not yours. We're cool." He said. I nodded.

"I'm still sorry." I said, watching as the cars, one containing my Dad and Eleven, and the other housing Joyce, Jonathan, Nancy, and Will, pulled out of the driveway and took off down the road. As they left, Steve, Max, Dustin, and Lucas joined us on the porch, watching them go. I put a hand on Mike's shoulder. "She'll be ok."

Despite those words, I was scared too, and suddenly it was like we were back in that classroom a year ago, both of us sitting on the floor, watching as Eleven walked towards the Monster, unsure if she would be ok and with no way to stop whatever would happen next.  It wasn't a pleasant feeling...

I just hoped the outcome was the same, and that Eleven would find her way back to us so that we could be a family again.

~~~

Mike and I stood outside for a long while after they left, only coming in when it got too cold to stay there. When I got it, Dustin was in the process of dumping the contents of the Byers' fridge on the floor while Steve held the Demo-dog, which was wrapped in a quilt.

"Ok, it should fit now."

"Is this really necessary?" Steve questioned.

"Yes it is, ok?! This is a ground-breaking scientific discovery! We can't just bury it like some common mammal, ok? Its not a dog!" 

"Alright, alright, alright. But you're explaining this to Mrs. Byers, alright?" He walked over, managing to get the back half of the Demo-dog in the fridge, but getting its head stuck on the edge, covering it in slime. "Geez, help me out!" 

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Get the door man, Get the door!"

"Alright, I got the door!" He forced it in and they both slammed the door shut in order to hold it inside. They both began panting, and Steve ruffled Dustin's hair through his hat. I crossed my arms, leaning against the doorframe.

"You two together are...quite the pairing, aren't you?" I asked.

"You're one to talk," Dustin shot back, "Weren't you two making out on Mrs. Byers' couch not that long ago?"

"You want me to put you on that couch and make it so you can't get up?" I threatened, causing him to shrink back.

"Ok, easy, tiger, he's just a kid." Steve said, kissing the side of my head before going over to the sink to wash his hands.

"Mike, would you just stop already?!" I heard Lucas exclaim.

"You weren't in there, ok Lucas? That lab was swarming with hundreds of those dogs."

"Demo-Dogs!" Dustin shouted from the kitchen.

"The Chief will take care of her." Lucas assured him.

"Like she needs protection." Max muttered.

"I mean...she's not wrong." I said, as Steve, Dustin, and I came into the room.

"Look, the Coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it. Alright?" Steve told him, drying his hands with a dish towel.

"Ok, first of all, this isn't some stupid sports game. And second, we're not even in the game. We're on the bench." Mike argued.

"R-right, so my point is..." He trailed off and we all looked at him, waiting for the answer, "Right, yeah, we're on the bench, so uh...there's nothing we can do." He flipped the towel over his shoulder.

"That's not entirely true." Dustin added. "I mean, these Demo-Dogs, they have a hive mind. When they ran away from the bus, they were called away."

"So if we get their attention..." Lucas continued.

"Maybe we can draw them away from the lab."

"And clear a path to the gate." Mike finished.

"Yeah, and then we all die!" Steve exclaimed.

"That's one point of view."

"No, that's not a point of view, man, that's a fact."

"If it hasn't been proven yet, can you logically say that its a fact?" I asked. He furrowed his eyebrows at me, and I shrugged.

"I got it!" Mike said, walking into the kitchen and pointing to the spot on the vine map that was taped to the fridge. "This is where the Chief dug his hole. This is our way into the tunnel. So...Here, right here," He led us to another part, where all of the tunnels connected into one big area. "This is the hub, see how all the tunnels feed into here? Maybe if we set this on fire-"

"Oh, yeah? That's a no." Steve interrupted.

"The Mind Flayer would call away his army."

"They'd all come to stop us."

"Hey!"

"Then we circle back to the exit."

"Guys?"

"By the time they realize we're gone-"

"El would be at the gate!" Max exclaimed.

"Hey...HEY! HEY!" Steve clapped, drawing our attention back to him, and he put his hands on his hips. "This is not happening." He gestured to the map with a finger.

"But-"

"No, no, no, no, no. No buts. Riley and I promised we'd keep you dipheads safe, and that's exactly what we plan on doing. We're staying here, on the bench, and we're waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everybody understand that?"

"This isn't a stupid sports game!" Mike repeated.

"Riley, back me up here." Steve said, gesturing to me. I cringed.

"Steve..." He looked at me.

"No...no! Tell me you're not about to condone this!"

"This is the safety of my Dad we're talking about! And Eleven is basically my little sister, and if we can do something to keep them safe and potentially allow them to save our world as we know it, shouldn't we do it?" I asked.

"You see why she's our favorite teenager?" Dustin asked Max.

Our conversation was interrupted by a sound of a car engine outside, and immediately Max and Lucas got up and rushed to the window.

"Its my brother," She said, "He can't know I'm here, he'll kill me. He'll kill us." I looked at Steve.

"Billy." I said.