33. Possessed

Billy didn't give Mrs Wheeler any time to think over her choices, as he was storming towards Karmen, a dark look in his eyes.

"Go…go!" Mrs Wheeler exclaimed as she pushed Karmen behind her.

Mrs Wheeler wasn't sure what was happening, but Karmen was injured and it looked like it was Billy's doing. Karmen did as she was told and began to rush in the other direction, as she could hear screams from the children around her.

"Billy, stop!" Mrs Wheeler yelled, holding her arms out to stop him from getting any further.

Without giving her another glance, he shoved the older woman into the wall, his muscular frame making it easy. Mrs Wheeler slumped against the wall, as parents and children began to run towards the exit. Karmen tried to follow them, but the exit to the pool had become blocked by the terrified swimmers. She turned to see Billy was already gaining on her and changed direction towards the fire exit at the back of the building. She dashed down the side of the building which had a large fence surrounding it, meaning there was nowhere to run but forward. She allowed herself to look behind quickly and frowned when she saw Billy was no longer following her. Karmen didn't stop, as she knew the fire exit would be around the next corner. She slid to a halt when she almost collided with Billy, who also knew where the fire exit was. He had gone around the other side of the building and had managed to cut her off.

"Billy…it's me. It's Karmen. What are you doing?" Karmen cried as he began to advance on her.

"I'll take you to him" Billy nodded as if he couldn't hear her.

"Stop! I said stop!" Karmen shouted, holding out her hand, as Billy came to a halt.

They could both see the blue sparks flickering on her palm, as a blue orb of power began to materialise.

"Could you really do it?" Billy tilted his head, as Karmen backed up against the fence.

"Could you really hurt me?" Billy questioned, as Karmen dropped her hand.

"That's not what I was doing" Karmen retorted, as Billy frowned.

She suddenly threw her hand against the metal fence, as the blue orb melted the barrier. Karmen quickly ducked through the new opening and ran. She didn't look back as she made her way through the parking lot, only stopping when a car pulled out in front of her.

"Get in!" Mrs Wheeler exclaimed, from the driver's seat.

Not needing to be told twice, Karmen ripped open the passenger seat door and fell in, as Mrs Wheeler pressed down on the pedal. They both looked to their right as Billy ran after them, but he soon realised he would never be able to keep up with the car.

"Seatbelt" Mrs Wheeler mumbled, as Karmen turned to give her an unimpressed look.

"Do you have something I can use to stop the bleeding?" Karmen queried, as blood began to drip onto the car seat.

"I have a jumper in the backseat but…" Mrs Wheeler trailed off, as Karmen grabbed it and pressed it to her bleeding wound.

"…It's expensive" Mrs Wheeler murmured, turning her eyes back to the road.

"I need you to take me to Starcourt Mall" Karmen informed her.

"What? No, you need to go to the hospital" Mrs Wheeler retorted.

"I can't" Karmen shook her head.

"Then you at least need to go to the police. Billy attacked you! That is what happened…right?" Mrs Wheeler inquired, still confused.

"It's complicated…look, I need to get to Steve" Karmen sighed.

"I don't see how your boyfriend is going to be able to help in this situation" Mrs Wheeler scoffed.

"He'll understand things a hell of a lot more than you will" Karmen stated.

"What does that mean?" Mrs Wheeler frowned.

"It means that you're clueless" Karmen mumbled.

"I know a lot more than you teenagers think" Mrs Wheeler grumbled.

"Your son is dating my sister…did you know that?" Karmen questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"…Mike and El are dating?! I thought they were just friends!" Mrs Wheeler gaped, as Karmen had to stop herself from laughing.

"Case and point" Karmen declared, as she took a walkie talkie out of her jacket.

"Who are you calling?" Mrs Wheeler questioned, as Karmen shushed her.

Her adrenaline was starting to wear off and the wound on her neck was hurting more than she had expected. Turning the walkie talkie on, she hoped that Dustin would have gotten to the mall by now, as she knew that had been his plan the day before.

"Dustin! Dustin, come in! I've got a code red. I repeat a code red" Karmen announced into the walkie talkie.

She waited for a reply and threw her head back against the car seat when she heard nothing.

"Dustin, I seriously need you right now. Please pick up" Karmen all but begged.

"Karmen? What's wrong?" Dustin suddenly answered, concern clear in his voice.

"Where are you?" Karmen inquired.

"At Scoops-" Dustin was cut off, as another voice could be heard.

"Karmen, what's going on?" Steve asked as Karmen sagged in relief at hearing her boyfriend's voice.

"I need you to meet me in the Starcourt parking lot. Bring the first aid kit" Karmen told him.

"Why?" Steve questioned, a panicked edge to his voice.

"I can't explain right now but-" Karmen started but Steve cut her off.

"You can't just tell me to bring a first aid kit! Are you hurt? Karmen, please tell me what's happening" Steve begged.

"He's back. The Mindflayer is back" Karmen announced, hearing dead silence from the other end.

"…How long until you get here?" Steve queried.

"Ten minutes. I need you to try to get a hold of everyone. Especially Will and El" Karmen explained.

"Okay. Yeah, we will. Just…please get here soon" Steve insisted.

"I love you" Karmen sighed.

"I love you too" Steve replied, as Karmen dropped the walkie talkie into her lap.

Karmen had never been happier to see the mall, as Mrs Wheeler pulled up to the front entrance. She was ready to jump out, when Mrs Wheeler grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Hold on. I need some answers" Mrs Wheeler insisted.

"I'm sorry but I really don't have time for this" Karmen retorted.

"Is Mike in danger? Is Nancy?" Mrs Wheeler asked as Karmen caved in.

"If I'm right…we're all in danger" Karmen admitted.

"Are you going to be alright?" Mrs Wheeler frowned.

"I…I don't know" Karmen laughed, sadly.

Reluctantly, Mrs Wheeler let go of her arm, as she spotted Steve coming out the entrance of the mall.

"Did you go? To the motel?" Karmen questioned, not needing to elaborate more.

"No. Thank God" Mrs Wheeler mumbled, realising what could have happened to her if she had.

"What changed your mind?" Karmen went on.

"My family" Mrs Wheeler confessed.

"Thank you. You're not exactly my favourite person but…thank you" Karmen told her.

"Be careful" Mrs Wheeler exclaimed, as Karmen nodded and exited the car.

Steve's heart stopped the moment he saw Karmen stumbling towards him, her hand holding a jumper to her neck. He ran forward, pushing through the crowds, as he grabbed her shoulders.

"Are you okay?" He inquired, seeing the blood on her hands.

"No" Karmen cried, as a tear ran down her cheek.

Steve instantly pulled her into his arms, as Karmen sobbed, a mixture of fear and relief causing her outburst. She told herself everything would be alright now. It always was when she was in Steve's arms.

"Who did this to you?" Steve questioned, as Karmen hopped onto the table in the backroom of Scoops.

"You're not going to like it…" Karmen trailed off.

"Billy? Billy did this to you?!" Steve guessed, a wave of unusual anger on his face.

"He's not himself, Steve" Karmen shook his head.

"Oh, because it's farfetched to think he could attack someone? I still have scars from our showdown at Halloween" Steve scoffed, as he took out the first aid kit.

"It was different! It's like he was possessed" Karmen told him.

"Like Will?" Steve realised as Karmen nodded.

She opened her mouth to say more but the door suddenly swung open and Dustin ran in, his face losing it's colour the moment he saw the blood on Karmen's neck.

"I'm okay, Dustin. It's…just a scratch" Karmen informed him, as the younger boy rushed over to her.

He pulled her into a hug, which she gladly returned, knowing that the call over the walkie talkie must have freaked him out.

"You're going to be okay?" Dustin questioned, as she pulled away.

"Of course. I'm always okay" Karmen insisted, ruffling his hair.

Steve sighed as he went back to sorting through the first aid kit, trying to find some gauze and bandage. Karmen was far from okay, and he knew it.

"How could Billy be possessed by the Mindflayer? El locked him in the upside-down, right?" Steve questioned.

"I don't know…maybe it's opened again? Or…or maybe someone's trying to get through it again?" Karmen guessed.

"But wouldn't we know about it?" Steve pointed out.

"Well, what was the first sign the first time this happened? Someone became possessed" Karmen explained.

"Good point" Steve mumbled, as the door swung open again.

"Who's got possessed?" Robin frowned, her eyes widening when she saw the blood on Karmen's hands.

"Uh…we weren't…it's not…" Steve stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Billy attacked me. I was just saying…uh, he went crazy. Like he was possessed or something" Karmen told her, as it wasn't far from the truth.

"Shouldn't you be at the police station?" Robin suggested as Steve wet a few pieces of gauze.

"It's-" Steve began, but Robin cut him off.

"Complicated?" Robin rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Robin, I do want to tell you but it's too dangerous" Steve sighed.

"Right" Robin scoffed, crossing her arms.

Steve brought the first aid kit over to the table and helped to push Karmen's hair away from her shoulder.

"Okay, are you ready?" Steve inquired, as Karmen nodded.

She slowly pulled the jumper away, letting the group see the wound on her neck, which was worse than they had been expecting. As blood started to run down her neck, it was too much for Dustin to handle, who's eyes rolled into the back of his head, as he fainted. Luckily, he was caught by Robin, who looked away from the blood, feeling sick herself.

"Is he okay?" Karmen queried, as Robin nodded.

"Jesus, Karmen…what did Billy do to you?" Steve questioned, as he began to clean the wound.

"He…bit me" Karmen admitted.

"Bit you?" Steve asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I know it sounds weird. He just got angry suddenly and lashed out" Karmen explained.

"I'm surprised you're not the one fainting, Steve" Robin exclaimed, as she moved Dustin to a nearby chair.

"I've kind of got used to cleaning wounds. Usually on myself" Steve shrugged, as he pressed a piece of gauze against the wound and went to pick up the large dressing.

"Are you two spies or something?" Robin suggested as the pair shared a small laugh.

"We're just two unlucky teens" Karmen replied, as Steve stuck the large dressing over the wound, which covered the side of her neck.

Karmen hopped off the table and walked over to Dustin, who had started to wake up, looking around confused. Steve went to wash the blood off his hands, as Robin spotted tears had begun to well in his eyes. She placed her hand on his shoulder, understanding how terrified he must have been when he thought he might lose Karmen.

"Ugh, that was disgusting" Dustin murmured, as Karmen chuckled, turning her head to look at Steve.

She gritted her teeth when she saw Robin with her hand on his shoulder, as she could hear them whispering to each other. She knew it was a stupid time to get jealous, but she couldn't help it.

"Steve?" Robin questioned, as she picked up the last piece of gauze, he had used to clean Karmen's wound.

"Yeah?" He asked as he turned to look at her.

"Does this look normal to you?" Robin frowned, as she saw instead of blood on the gauze, there was only a black substance.

"She's fine" Steve insisted, as he threw the gauze in the bin.

"Did you manage to get any of the others on the walkie talkie?" Karmen asked Dustin, who shook his head.

"El and Max were in here earlier, they could still be in the mall?" Steve suggested as Karmen stood up.

"C'mon, we need to look for them" Karmen announced.

"Woah, woah. Slow down. You're hurt. You need to rest" Steve insisted.

"Steve, where do you think Max is going to go when she leaves the mall? Home!" Karmen pointed out.

"Home to Billy" Steve realised, his eyes widening.

"You think you can hold the fort for a bit longer?" Steve asked, looking at Robin.

"It's what I've been doing all summer" Robin shrugged.

It was surprisingly easy to find the teenagers, as they overheard people gossiping about a scene happening outside where a young girl had just told her boyfriend 'I dump your ass'.

"I only know one girl who would say that" Karmen announced, as they walked out the entrance.

"El!" Karmen called out, once she noticed the group of kids.

"Hi…" El trailed off, looking at her shoes, with a guilty expression.

"Are you okay?" Karmen inquired, unable to keep the concern out of her voice.

"Yes…what's wrong?" El frowned, as she saw Steve and Dustin running behind her.

"Dustin? What are you doing here?" Lucas questioned.

"I was hanging out with Steve when Karmen called in about being attacked, and then Steve had to dress her wound which was absolutely disgusting, but then Karmen said that you might be in trouble so we all ran down here…well not Robin, she's still…in Scoops…" Dustin trailed off, as he saw everyone looking at him with confusion.

"You were attacked? Hurt?" Eleven's eyes widened when she saw the dressing on Karmen's neck.

"It was Billy" Steve announced, as all eyes turned to Max.

"My brother did this to you?" Max gasped, shocked.

"He's not in his right mind…have you felt anything?" Karmen inquired.

"Anything?" Eleven asked, not understanding the question.

"Anything upside down related" Karmen clarified.

"No. Nothing" Eleven shook her head.

"I think Billy's been possessed by the Mindflayer" Karmen told them.

"Hold on, are you sure you're not just jumping to conclusions?" Mike suggested.

"No. He was acting crazy. Talking to himself. Your mum was there if you don't believe me-" Karmen began, but Mike cut her off.

"My mum?! Is she alright?" Mike cried.

"Yeah…she's shaken up and questioning a lot. But she's okay. She drove me here and…wait, where are you going?" Karmen exclaimed as Mike had begun to walk away.

"Home!" Mike retorted.

"But what about the Mindflayer?" Karmen insisted.

"It's still locked away in the Upside Down. El would know. Right, El?" Mike pointed out, turning to his possible ex-girlfriend.

"I'm the only one who could open and close the gate" Eleven nodded.

"But what if something got left here? Or…or the government tried-" Karmen suggested.

"You're clutching at straws because you don't want to believe your other boyfriend could hurt you" Mike retorted.

"Hey, watch yourself, Wheeler" Steve warned.

"Mike's right, Karmen. Billy's the bad guy. He always has been. Maybe you just haven't seen it until now" Lucas sighed, following Mike.

"Max?" Karmen questioned, hoping she would believe her.

"I thought Billy was changing but…I guess I was wrong" Max mumbled, as El put her arm around her friend's shoulders.

"Will you please promise me not to go home tonight at least?" Karmen insisted.

"You could come with me…sleepover?" El asked as Max grinned.

"Sounds good" Max smiled, as the bus pulled up to their stop.

"C'mon, we better go" Max exclaimed, as she rushed towards the bus stop.

"I closed the gate. He can't get out...Promise" Eleven told Karmen, who sighed but nodded to her.

"Maybe I am clutching at straws" Karmen murmured.

"No. Billy literally tore a chunk out of your neck-" Steve began.

"Ugh, I'm going to throw up" Dustin grimaced.

"He's an asshole but that is…not normal" Steve pointed out.

"I believe you" A small voice announced from behind them.

"What?" Karmen frowned, as Will stepped forward.

"The past couple of days I keep getting this feeling in the back of my neck…I can still feel him. You're right. Something's happening" Will explained.

"Why didn't you say anything, man?" Steve questioned.

"It's not like anyone would listen to me" Will shrugged, as he started to rush off to catch up with Mike and Lucas.

"Looks like it's just the three of us" Karmen sighed.

"The Scoops Troop" Dustin grinned.

Karmen flopped onto her bed happily, absolutely exhausted from the stress of the last twenty-four hours. Steve dropped onto the bed beside her, as he pulled her close to him, so they were spooning. They had left Dustin at Scoops, feeling bad for leaving Robin on her own during the lunch rush.

"Steve, you need to go" Karmen giggled, as Steve began peppering kisses down her arm.

"No, I want to stay here with you" Steve pouted.

"Dustin can't help at Scoops for long. Child labour laws and whatnot" Karmen pointed out.

"What if Billy comes here?" Steve suggested, holding onto her tighter.

"Claudia's in the other room. All the doors are locked…and besides, after what happened at the pool this morning, he's going to be lying low" Karmen explained.

"There's going to be a lot of questions coming up" Steve mumbled.

"Which is exactly why I need sleep" Karmen replied, turning around to face him.

"Call me if you need anything," Steve told her.

"Even a foot rub?" Karmen questioned.

"Even a foot rub" He chuckled, as he leaned forward and kissed her softly.

"I love you so much," Steve said, as he stroked her cheek.

"I love you too" She smiled, as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Now, get going, Harrington. Or Dustin will be calling in a minute" Karmen stated, as Steve rolled out of the bed.

"Oh, can you open the window before you go?" Karmen questioned, stripping off her jacket, feeling too hot.

"Baby, it's freezing in here," Steve told her, but he opened the window wide anyway.

"I think you've been around the freezer at Scoops too much. It's boiling" Karmen mumbled, as she dropped her head onto her pillow.

"Goodnight…well, afternoon…good afternoon?" Steve exclaimed.

"Bye Steve" Karmen giggled, turning onto her back, as he quietly shut the door.

Karmen's eyes slowly began to flutter shut, as her exhaustion took over. She looked down at her watch and saw it had just gone 1'oclock. With a sigh, she looked back up to the ceiling but found…the ceiling wasn't there anymore. Her head whipped around as she realised, she wasn't even in her bedroom anymore.

"What the hell?" She cried, when she saw she was in some type of warehouse.

She looked back down at her watch, her eyes widening when she read it was almost midnight. She had lost almost twelve hours in a split second. She backed up a few steps, her breathing starting to become erratic as she collided with something. She whipped around, paralyzed to the spot when she saw Billy standing there, with a sad look on his face.

"I'm sorry…I never wanted this" Billy cried.

"Stay away from me!" Karmen exclaimed, her heart pounding in her ears.

"I tried to stop him. I did. I really did" Billy sobbed, as a tear ran down his cheek.

Despite herself, Karmen couldn't help but feel sorry for him. It was so strange to see someone like Billy cry.

"Did...did you take me from the house? Did you hurt Claudia?" Karmen questioned, not understanding how he could have got to her.

"You walked here" Billy stated.

"What?" She scoffed.

"Look at your feet. You walked here" Billy insisted, as she looked down.

Her socks were completely covered in dirt, as she began to feel how bruised they were. It did feel like she had been walking for miles.

"He called you here" Billy went on.

"He?" She gulped.

"He's been waiting…so long. For you" Billy told her, his voice full of unshed tears.

"Me?" Karmen frowned.

"I thought I was at the wrong time, wrong place…but he wanted me as his host" Billy explained, holding his arms out.

"Jesus…" Karmen mumbled as she saw the black veins running up and down his arms.

"I can feel him in my mind, in my memories. I tried to hold him back but, he's too powerful. He saw what he wanted. I'm sorry" Billy told her.

"Sorry for what?" Karmen questioned, a shiver going down her spine.

Billy suddenly raised his arm out, pulling down the sleeve of Karmen's pyjama top, as she sprung back. Her palm flickered with unstable blue energy, ready to attack if needed.

"Look…" Billy trailed off, his eyes on her neck.

Slowly, Karmen looked down at her shoulder, her mouth going dry when she saw black veins running past the dressing on her neck.

"No, no, no…" Karmen panicked, her breath becoming erratic.

"It's slower for you. It wasn't a direct transmission. But it's started" Billy informed her.

"Why? Why me?" She cried, as tears began to well in her eyes.

"You're the one, Karmen. You're the only one who can do it" Billy announced, as Karmen heard a strange sound from behind her.

"Do what?" She questioned, feeling the hairs of the back of her neck stand on end.

"You're the only one who can kill Eleven," Billy told her.

Terror washed over her, as she saw him looking at something behind her shoulder. She wanted to run to safety, but her feet had a mind of their own as she slowly turned around. Karmen's blood ran cold as she watched a large fleshy creature appear out of the darkness, over twenty feet tall and growling. Billy flinched as she let out an ear-splitting scream, shutting his eyes as the creature approached them.

Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this monster long chapter...did you see what I did there? Sorry bad dad joke, haha. I'm going on holiday today so my updates might be a bit out of place for the next few weeks. I'm so excited about what's coming in this story, I have so many ideas! Please leave a review:)

Paigecute: I'm really glad I've got you shipping them! Yep, you've got me, I was a big Delena fan back in 2010, haha. Karmen's going to be very important as you can probably see in this chapter. It's going to be really fun exploring this darker side of her. Thank you so much for this review:)

Amadeusblack: At the moment Steve and Karmen are still endgame, don't worry!

tazsgirl6969: Thank you:) I hope you like this chapter!

NicoleR85: Aw, thank you! So there you have it, Billy bit Karmen to infect her, although he's says it wasn't a direct transmission...hmm, that'll be explained more soon. I hope you enjoyed this chapter:)

teenwolfismylife101: Uh oh, sorry for upsetting you, haha. I hope you like this chapter just as much:)

AshleyMarie2010: I did take some inspiration from Void Stiles, I just loved that storyline so much. Season 3 of Teen Wolf was amazing! Thanks for the review:)

shadowxofxdarkness: I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations! Poor Billy did go through so much on the show, we'll have to wait and see if Karmen being around can change things. Thanks for the review!