Heaven's on Fire - KISS

[playingtough]

WHO: Billy Hargrove and those that join him
WHERE: Mostly Temba's city-center area, maybe the Upside-Down
WHAT: Hey there's an event thingy
WHEN: During the event timeline
WARNINGS:STRANGER THINGS SPOILERS, profanity, event warnings, violence, panic/PTSD attacks, will update as they make themselves known




October 10th

Run To You - Bryan Adams

He’s in the civic center when the storm hits. Billy had seen it coming, but didn’t think anything of it. It’s a storm. It wouldn’t be anything to worry about. Earthquakes (well, volcanoes), those were something to worry about. Storms were not. So he had done his workout as usual as it hit and when he left…

…Well, Billy would wish later he hadn’t. Because upon leaving the civic center with the intention of hitting the diner and then heading home, he heard something. No, not something.

Someone.

He whirls around in place, his hair whipping about wildly as he struggles to see if it’s her. And Billy sees her in the distance. Tired muscles be damned, he breaks into a run, heading right towards the woman. She doesn’t seem to get closer no matter how far he runs.

“MOM!!” he all but screams out, determined to get to her, damn it. It’s hard to see with all of the lights out and the storm blocking out the sun. “Mom!” he shouts again. She disappears into the clouds, reappearing in different positions in the distance, never in the same spot. Billy looks confused, turning to try and track her.

What was going on?!

The ghost of his mother disappeared and he turned, looking for her. “I DONT’ UNDERSTAND!!” he yells, feeling the echo of those words from when he was at the Steelworks building.

October 11th - 12th


It’s The End of the World As We Know It - R.E.M.

It’s not the gate opening that starts it. It’s not the sight of the stupid looking bats or that weird flower dog.

It’s the gigantic thing that he knows from the mall. Seeing that mind flayer on the other side of the gate while trying to get from the cabin to the hotel to make sure there are others okay (hint: that didn’t happen). He freezes, the blood draining from his face to leave his skin white. Billy’s clammy and cold all in the span of a few seconds, but more importantly?

He’s terrified.

Billy knows that that monster can do. He’s felt it. It’s going to kill him when he’s sent home by the aliens here.

It’s here to kill him.

He ducks behind the fountain before darting to be against one of the side walls of the diner. Billy’s curling up, screaming and holding his head and looking like he’s agony. The guy is physically fine, but his mind is not. Guess seeing the very creature you helped create in your world while being possessed by the enemy would do that to you.

October 13th - End

If You Want Blood (You Got It) - AC/DC

No. He can’t be a pussy about this shit. It’ll kill him back home, but Billy has the tools to stop the beasts here. Gladio had found him in the chaos and dropped off an axe. Something about ‘use it if you need it, kid’ before running off to do more warrior things.

The axe had felt heavy in his lap from where he was sitting. But then Billy stood up, testing out it’s weight as he had been trained. It felt good. Felt right. He gave it a few swings before the confidence started growing in him. Billy could do this. He stopped the flayer’s tongue with his bare hands, didn’t he? He could stop the whole thing with his axe. He could stop any of them!

Heading out from where he had bunkered himself, Billy found one of those bat-things headed towards him. It took a few swings through the air (five, if you’re counting), to get it, but hitting it with the dull side knocked it down to the ground to slice through it with the blade.

“Take that you creepy fucker!” he shouted at it, giving it another smack. Black blood stained his boots and jeans as he hit something in it, before he moved on to the next one.

“COME GET SOME, FUCKERS!!” he shouted, wielding the weapon with far more confidence than he had when it had been dropped off.

Comments

[playingtough]

Billy almost feels like he's going to be sick. But he keeps it down somehow. He wishes his had his walkman. The music would probably help. Was this the very ordeal that the others talked about? With favorite songs? It's all the way in the beach cabin.

What he wouldn't give for some Metallica right now.

The axe is left on the table as he whirls to get up to Gladio. "If you see the other Hawkins people, don't leave them to do this themselves." The other Hawkins people. Gladio's already helped Billy. "I'll be okay in here. The diner's safe. I'll get my shit together and go out to fight those bastards. Just... make sure to help the others if you see them."

[ziedrich_bearer]

"Hey," Gladio says, reaching out to touch Billy's arm, lightly. Light enough for it to easily be shrugged off. "I'm not going to let people get hurt if there is any way I can stop it. And we've already seen that I have the skill to keep to that promise."

He won't leave any of them to this alone. He's not that sort of man.

"Just wish I could protect you all at hte same time."

[playingtough]

There's a flinch, but he doesn't entirely pull away. Billy plants his feet and pushes all of his fear and panic to the side to look Gladio in the eyes so that the guy gets it.

And he does. Or, vocally seems to. That might have to do for now. Billy can trust Gladio. "If you let any of them get hurt, I will personally beat the shit out of you. You got that? You break that promise I'll send you to Tae myself." Billy knows he won't though. Gladio has more than enough muscle and training to keep from having that kind of ordeal given to him.

"You can't. Can't protect all of us. So just... fucking do what you can and don't worry about me in here."

[ziedrich_bearer]

That's a terrible reaction. And Gladio's going to find a way to tear through the dimensions to find whatever man made Billy fear comradely contact, and he's going to make them suffer for it.

"If I let any of them get hurt, you can personally try. But Here's the thing. I'll hate myself more than enough just for letting it happen. No damage you could do to me would make me hurt more than knowing I failed any of you."

Would that he could hug the kid.

"I can protect you all. Got you here, got you armed. Expect you to stay sensible or you're going to get a 'value your life' talk later. I'm good at those. In the mean time..."

He waves the mace still in his hand.

"I'm going to arm my other student and search out anyone else under the age of 21 who needs a protector. Be smart, Billy. I know you can."

[playingtough]

"There's not going to be a try. You taught me stances and how to throw a punch. Take it as a promise or a threat and you'll be right either way. You'll be able to hate yourself from the comfort of a hospital bed."

He relaxes and then goes to pick up the axe again. Billy knows his life is valuable - it is in Temba anyways. It's borrowed time so he's not going out to be stupid.

A glance over his shoulder, then back to the axe. "Go be a shield then. And remember what the fuck I told you."

[ziedrich_bearer]

"Haven't taught you throws. Or higher level evasion," Gladio says. Because it's a lot harder to do when you aren't touching each other. And he won't make Billy nervous like that. "But I'll welcome the attempt if I mess up."

He won't mess up. So he gives the kid one more nod before turning for the door.

There are more idiots out in this red storm that clearly need saving.