#{ Neil Mirror: Man of Mirrors Main Verse } | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

indomitableicequeen · 4 years ago

Text

Ficlet 9 in the No Happy Endings verse with @must-hate-dogs

Original thread || Ficlet 1 || Ficlet 2 || Ficlet 3 || Ficlet 4 || Ficlet 5 || Ficlet 6 || Ficlet 7 || Ficlet 8

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The water ran over Olivier as she showered in her private shower, the temperature tepid at best. She couldn’t stay in here too long. There wasn’t enough warm water to do that, and if she got hypothermia from standing in a cold shower, Doc would have her head.

…not that the woman wasn’t already keeping a close eye on her.

Olivier snorted. She didn’t need to be watched like a child. She admitted that Doc had a point about pushing herself too far. If she hadn’t, then she would have been able to get passed her little episode when she saw his face and moved to what she needed to do.

That was what she needed to get back to. General Hoffer was putting pressure on her to get him intel as soon as she could. Torture was dehumanizing, and she knew it. It was why she wasn’t going to allow any of her men to do it. Let her have the bloodied hands, and them be able to hug their loved ones with hands that were at least somewhat cleaner. It was her job, and hers alone.

Her hand brushed over a thick scar on her abdomen, and her eyes traveled to it. She tensed up, and her stomach clenched. She wasn’t able to get the thought of him out of her mind. He was down there. He was in her cells, in her interrogation rooms. The man who had taken so much from her. Her own torturer.

Stretched out stripped down, hands tied above her, hands spread apart, legs free, legs restrained, together, open, bare backed, the snap of whips, lashing in her skin, blood and bruises blooming, hot irons, burning, beating, broken bones, stabbed, taunts, permanent damage, pain, pain painpainpain

She gasped, breathing in and out rapidly. No. No. This wasn’t what she wanted. She reached out, turned off the water and reached for her towel, trying to break the grip the memory had on her. She dried off quickly, efficiently, and stepped back into the main part of her quarters. She left her towel in the bathroom to dry and the cool air hit her. Olivier hoped it would help bring her mind to the present. But before it could settle in, before she could even reach her lotion, she caught sight of herself in the full length mirror she kept, and stopped.

Her eyes scrutinized her body. She looked passed the tone, ignored her shape. She only had eyes for her scars. She vividly remembered getting them. The whippings he would levy on her that left her back and sides scared. (This is just the beginning. This is just your wake-up call. This is the introduction to what’s to come). The round burn marks on her left arm. (A dual purpose, no? Put out a cigar and see what information you’ll give me). The straight lines of burns on her thighs. (It will only get hotter and higher and longer, so please, keep resisting). The jagged scar across her abdomen. (Young women like you, you have hopes for the future, yes? It’s time to take that away).

She had been rescued. She had been taken to a hospital and treated and healed. She had been given time to recuperate, ordered away from the north and restricted on missions for a time. She had overcome it all and moved forward.

Even though not everything could be healed. Not everything could be restored.

She jerked away from the mirror. No. No, she thought she was over this, that she had dealt with it on her own. But he was still controlling her. He still had sway over her. No, she couldn’t—wouldn’t!—allow it.

She knew that Doc had ordered her away from the prisoners. She knew that Doc thought she was compromised. But Olivier couldn’t get any rest knowing that he was there, knowing that he had this much sway over her. She wasn’t going to be able to, until she dealt with this.

And she needed to deal with it her way.

She reached into her closet and pulled out her uniform. Miles wasn’t here. Doc was asleep. Neil was engrossed in a project. Falman was on outside duty. Karley was in communications. Hershel was sick and in his quarters. The usual people who would stop her and slow her down weren’t around or in any position to stop her. So, she dressed quickly, left her quarters, and made her way down to the interrogation rooms.

No one stopped her. No one questioned her. The guard stayed where she ordered him. The only stop she made was to a closet, where she gathered supplies. And then—then she made her way to him.

She shut off the heating vents to the room before she went in and adjusted the supplies, she had with her: A whip, a metal rod, a knife, and, if necessary, her sword. And then she opened the door. The man, at least, was smart enough not to try waiting by the door. His hands were still restrained, and he looked up at her, mildly interested.

“Ah, little one. And here I thought you had forgotten about me,” he said in Drachman.

Olivier snorted. “I have a fort to run, not baby-sitting to do.” She laid down her tools and reached for the hook to adjust it.

He looked at the tools in mild interest. “I see the type of conversation we are to have. You could just try asking nicely.”

“And would you give anything if I did?” She said, not even looking at him, but so, so keenly aware of him.

“No more than you gave me,” he said, and her heart suddenly seized up. He nodded. “That’s right. I remember you. You were much younger then. Tell me, how has your life been? We get some information, but not much.” He paused and grinned at her. “Tell me—do you have any children?”

Almost faster than she could comprehend, she was at him and backhanding him across the room. He crashed into the wall with a painful smack, and then she was on him, dragging him back to the hook in the room and hoisting him up by his arms.

He laughed. “Its too bad you’re not Drachman,” he said. “You would have made a lovely wife for my son.”

“You have information. I want it,” Olivier said, barely holding her anger back. “You will give it to me.” She reached for the whip, uncoiled it, pulled her arm back, and flicked her wrist.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Excuse me, Major Miles?” Miles looked up from his daughter Ada’s bedside, and towards the nurse who was standing in the doorway. “There’s a phone call for you. Its urgent.”

Miles looked back at his wife, who looked up at him with concern on her face but gave him a nod. He stood, bending to kiss Ada on the head. “I’ll be back soon, alright? And you can tell me what I missed in the story Mama’s reading to you and Eleni.”

Ada frowned, but nodded. “Okay, Papa,” she said.

Karissa resumed reading to their children, Ada listening from the bed, and Eleni from her mother’s lap. Miles strode towards the door, letting the nurse lead the way.

Miles was on emergency family leave. His wife had called the fort, in as close to a panic as he had ever heard her. She was not a woman prone to panic, and so he had been immediately alarmed. He had been even more alarmed when she had told him that she was at North Hospital and that they were taking Ada back for emergency surgery, hoping to get to her appendix before it ruptured. Miles had rushed to his family’s side immediately. That had been four days ago. Ada had, fortunately, come through surgery wonderfully, with no complications. She would be in the hospital for a little bit longer, but the doctors assured them that she would recover just fine. He had called the fort to give them that update, but that had been the last contact he had with them, until now.

The nurse showed him to a small office, and gestured to the phone before taking her leave, closing the door behind her. Miles picked it up. “Major Miles,” he said.

“Miles,” it was Doc. “I need you to return immediately.”

Miles’ brow furrowed. “What’s happened?”

“The general didn’t take my advice,” she said.

Understanding hit Miles, and he felt the feeling of foreboding in his chest intensify. “I understand,” he said. “I’ll return immediately.”

Doc said nothing more, just hung up the phone. Miles followed suit, and then left the office, making his way back to his family.

“Is everything alright?” Karissa asked him, knowing that he wouldn’t tell her everything in front of their daughters.

“There’s been some complications with prisoners,” he said. “They need me up there to help them deal with the issues.”

Ada and Eleni both whined, not wanting him to leave, but he could see that Karissa was reading between the lines. He had told her some of what had been happening, and she understood what he was saying.

“I’ll come back as soon as I can,” he said. He leaned down, kissing Ada again, and then leaning over to give a kiss to Eleni as well. Karissa set Eleni down.

“Ada, why don’t you help Eleni read this next page?” she said. “Eleni, remember to be gentle with your sister.” The girls nodded, and Karissa and Miles stepped to the side. “Is it Olivier?” she asked softly.

Miles nodded. “I don’t know the details. Only that she didn’t listen to Doc.”

Karissa’s lips pursed. “I have a bad feeling about this, Ephraim.”

“So do I,” he admitted. “A sense of foreboding.”

“Be careful,” she said, rising up on her toes to kiss him.

He leaned down to meet her. “I will,” he said.

Miles left the hospital, heading home to change into his uniform and gather the few things he had brought with him before heading to Northern Command. He had left the vehicle he had used to get to North City there, and he would need to pick it up and drive it back. He encountered no problems on his way, and he tried his best not to look too hurried. He was almost to the motorcade when a sergeant caught up with him.

“Major! Major Miles!”

Mentally cursing his luck, Miles turned around. The Sergeant was hurrying after him, a couple of privates following behind. They were all carrying mail bags.

“Major, I’m glad I caught you. You’re returning to Fort Briggs, correct, sir?”

“I am,” Miles responded.

“Then would you mind taking this mail with you? The men will get it sooner this way, and there’s a couple of important documents here from General Hoffer to General Armstrong. They seemed urgent, and this would save us a trip up there.”

Miles nodded. It wasn’t unusual for a Briggsman on leave to bring back the mail for the fort. “Put it in the jeep. Hand the documents from General Hoffer to me. I’ll ensure they get to General Armstrong.”

“Yes, sir, thank you,” the sergeant said, waving the privates on around him to begin loading, and handing Miles the documents.

Miles took them, and went to the jeep, throwing his own items inside and sitting down. He waited until they were finished loading, each moment grating at him and then, as soon as they were finished, he headed out. It was a long drive to the fort, but he knew it well—well enough to know the places to pull over without being seen. It was in one of those places he stopped, opening the documents that General Hoffer had sent. He scanned them, eyes widening as he did. He didn’t even bother to put the documents back in the envelope. He headed straight for Briggs as fast as he dared.

Doc was waiting on him. He handed his things over to a soldier to take to his quarters, while others automatically moved to start unloading the mail and take care of the jeep. He kept the documents with him. Doc just beckoned him on, and he followed her without a word. Keeping up with Doc was always a problem, but Miles matched her pace easily enough now, his sense of urgency propelling him along.

They went straight to sickbay, and Doc led him to a bed that was in the furthest corner, a curtain pulled around it. She beckoned him forward and pulled the curtain. Miles eyes widened.

It was the third prisoner, the one that Olivier had identified as the man who had tortured her when she was young. He looked terrible, pale, bandages all over his back, his upper legs, his left arm. One leg was clearly broken, his right arm too.

“What happened?” he demanded.

Doc handed him the prisoner’s chart. “The general happened,” she said, her voice serious. Miles scanned over the chart as the doctor continued talking. “Normally when she tortures someone, she does her best to stay away from any long lasting or permanent damage. The prisoners can, in time, recover. That is not what she did with him.”

Miles lowered the list of wounds, looking at Doc with troubled eyes. “This looks just like—”

“Just like what he did to her,” Doc said. “It is. Every type of torture he did to her, she did to him.” Doc turned her eyes on him. “Miles. This was not to get information. This was revenge.”

Miles’ lips flattened. “We have another problem,” he said, holding out the documents to Doc.

She took them, looking over them, and cursed. “This isn’t good.”

“No, it’s not,” he agreed. “Where is she?”

“On the roof. She probably knows your back by now,” Doc said.

Miles nodded, turned, and started to walk away. He paused though. “Will he live?”

“I’m going to try.”

Miles continued out of sickbay, making his way up to the roof, to where he was fairly certain Olivier would be. She had been spending a lot of time up on the roof, in her favorite place. She had spent a lot of time up there after Buccaneer. She had spent entire nights up here after Breda had left. He wasn’t surprised to find her here now. He also wasn’t surprised when she spoke first.

“How is Ada?” she asked him.

“Doing well. The doctors say she’ll be completely recovered in a few weeks.”

“That’s good,” she said. She paused. “I assume Doc has already talked to you.”

“Yes,” he said. He paused. “Why, Olivier?”

“It was necessary,” she said.

“Was it?” he questioned. “That wasn’t like your normal sessions,” he said. “Usually, the prisoner can recover in time. Doc doesn’t seem sure that he’s going to live.”

Oliver turned to look at him. “He’s a trained torturer himself,” she said. “He’s preformed it dozens of times, and I guarantee that anything milder would not have resulted in any information.”

“It didn’t look as if you tried,” Miles said, doing his best to keep his tone non-confrontational.

Olivier pierced him with a look, swinging her legs back around so she was facing him. “Have you ever been tortured, Miles?” she asked him, standing up and stalking closer to him. “Because I have. I have, and I survived it. And because of that, if I was taken, it would take more then a mild amount of torture to break me. For a man like him? Extreme measures were necessary.”

She sounded utterly convinced, and she may have been right—Miles wasn’t sure, and he wasn’t sure that he ever wanted to be. Instead, he held out the envelopes to her. “This was sent by General Hoffer,” he said.

She glanced at them, and then took them, opening the envelopes. “Well, this complicates things,” she growled out. “Of course, he had to be someone important.”

“The general wants all three prisoners readied for transport within the month,” Miles said. “The other two won’t be a problem. Drachma would have expected at least that much. But this one… he’s in no condition to trade. Drachma won’t be happy.”

“Then we’ll just have to be ready,” Olivier said, stuffing the papers back inside the envelop and handing it back to Miles. “We’ll wait a few days before sending a message back to General Hoffer. I want this fort to be in top condition before any Drachmans come near it. A month will give us plenty of time for drills.”

“And if the general wants to come up sooner, how will you explain his condition?” Miles asked.

“The same way I explained it to you,” she said, turning his back on him and heading towards the door. “I think he’ll find the intel most useful as well. It should be good enough.”

“Yes, sir,” he said, watching her walk away for a moment. His sense of foreboding only grew. He glanced at the unassuming manila envelopes in his hands. This was not going to end well. Not when Drachman General Iles Redowscle was a high-ranking official, with a high-ranking son as well. No, the moment Drachma got wind of this, none of it was going to go well.

With trepidation filling him, Miles followed, heading inside, and shooting up a prayer to Ishvala for the smoothest possible result to this situation.

#must-hate-dogs #writing #my writing #Verse: No Happy Endings #NHE Ficlet

0 notes

sciencespies · 6 years ago

Text

Before Going to the Moon, Apollo 11 Astronauts Trained at These Five Sites

https://sciencespies.com/space/before-going-to-the-moon-apollo-11-astronauts-trained-at-these-five-sites/

Before Going to the Moon, Apollo 11 Astronauts Trained at These Five Sites

Before Neil Armstrong could take his “small step for a man” on July 20, 1969, he and the rest of the Apollo 11 crew underwent a rigorous regimen of training to prepare for their mission to the moon. While much of their instruction took place inside the classroom and at testing facilities, NASA also charged the astronauts with tasks like collecting geological specimens and entering and exiting the lunar module to help build muscle memory to replicate these activities on the moon. To make their training as realistic as possible, the crew trained at sites right here on Earth that looked eerily similar to the topography of the moon.

“[NASA] was looking for places that would roughly approximate the geological features of the moon,” says Stephen Garber, a policy analyst in the NASA History Program Office, “but since we hadn’t been there before, it was something of a guessing game.”

During their training, astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins underwent frequent field trips both nationally and internationally, although the bulk of their fieldwork was based in the American Southwest at locations in Arizona, Texas and Nevada.

“The reason they trained at so many sites was to get an appreciation for the different aspects of various geological features [they would come in contact with during their mission]” Garber says. “They also had a combination of classroom training and field training, although the field training was really emphasized a fair amount because [NASA] wanted to ingrain the procedures in the astronauts’ muscle memory, so they wouldn’t have to spend a lot of time worrying about how to take a sample or how to take a photo. Scientists back on Earth could analyze the samples and photos later on; the astronauts had enough to do and the point was to get them home safely.”

Using their hands and small shovels, the astronauts repeatedly practiced collecting and analyzing rock and soil samples at different sites so that the process would become ingrained in them once they arrived on the moon. Other equally important simulations they conducted involved selecting site locations, digging trenches and collecting samples at different levels, driving core tubes into the soil for sample collection, describing geological characteristics both verbally and in written format, documenting sites using photography, and adequately labeling the samples they collected.

Seeing the benefits of training at lunar analogues, which are defined as areas on Earth that are used to simulate the topography and geology of the moon, NASA made analog missions a common training tool for astronauts preparing for future space travel, including for subsequent Apollo missions.

Now, with the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 quickly approaching, these training sites serve as a physical reminder of one of humankind’s greatest accomplishments. Here are five locations in the United States that you can visit:

Cinder Lake Crater Field, Arizona

Aerial photograph of Cinder Lake, San Francisco Mountain, and adjoining neighborhoods, Coconino County, Arizona.

Between July and October of 1967, NASA was on a mission to turn a 500-foot-by-500-foot site just outside of Flagstaff, Arizona, into a mirror image of a portion of the moon’s surface. Armed with tons of TNT and ammonium nitrate, NASA worked with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to blast craters into this swath of land chosen for its many layers of volcanic cinders, which approximated the look and feel of the moon’s surface. Workers used satellite imagery as their guide to duplicate the topography on a 1:1 scale. Over the course of the next 120 days, workers created 47 craters with diameters measuring between 5 feet and 43 feet, approximating Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility), Apollo 11’s planned lunar landing site.

During their field training, the crew visited this manmade crater field inside the lunar module and were tested on their ability to name their location by only looking out of the LM’s windows at the topography around them and pinpointing it on satellite images. Over the years, NASA and the USGS would create additional crater fields to train astronauts for future Apollo missions. Although the craters aren’t as pronounced as they were 50 years ago due to weathering and human use (they’re particularly popular with off-roaders and ATVs), they’re still visible and accessible to the public.

Grand Canyon, Arizona

Dr. E. Dale Jackson, U.S. Survey Geologist, with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Richard Gordon and Don F. Eisele during Geological Training in Grand Canyon, Arizona, in 1964

While all three Apollo astronauts were well versed in operating the Command Module Columbia, the spacecraft that would rocket them into space, and the LM that would shuttle them safely to the moon, they needed to brush up on their geology skills. Since one of the main focuses of their mission was to collect lunar samples, the crew worked closely with geologists here on Earth on how to gather and study rock samples. One place in particular where they did field training was in the Grand Canyon. For two days in early March 1964, the crew learned basic geological principles such as how to identify and collect various types of rocks. The group hiked the South Kaibab Trail to the bottom of the canyon and then had to identify their location using topographic maps and satellite images, before ascending on the Bright Angel Trail the following day. Both trails remain popular day hikes and give visitors the chance to trace the astronauts’ footsteps.

Astronauts in training noted that their time spent in the Grand Canyon were some of the most beneficial in their training as a whole, with one unnamed astronaut saying to the geologists that, “we’ve listened to you for two weeks [in a classroom setting] and not understood. And one field trip has shown us the importance and the reasons for all of the discussion.”

Sierra Blanca, Texas

Apollo 11 astronauts Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin (left) and Neil A. Armstrong prepare for the first lunar landing as they practice gathering rock specimens during a geological field trip to the Quitman Mountains area near the Fort Quitman ruins in far west Texas. They used special lunar geological tools to pick up samples and place them in bags.

Located about 90 miles southeast of El Paso, Sierra Blanca, near the Quitman Mountains, is peppered with volcanic rocks, making it a good location for Apollo 11 mission training. On February 24, 1969, Armstrong and Aldrin, the two astronauts assigned with completing the moonwalk, joined a team of geologists in an exercise that tasked them with properly identifying and describing rock samples using tape recorders and VOX microphones and capturing their work on camera, actions they would have to replicate on the moon. Although the exercise may sound straightforward, the astronauts had to accurately identify a multitude of samples from various sites in the area and correctly name each one. While visually many of the rocks appeared similar, upon cracking them open they were different, adding a layer of difficulty to the task.

Nevada National Security Site, Nevada

In this photograph taken in 1962, people stand at the edge of a gigantic crater near Mercury, Nevada, created by the Project Sedan nuclear test explosion.

Of all the test sites that the astronauts visited, in recordings from their mission to the moon, the crew cited the Nevada National Security Site (also known as the Nevada Test Site) as the most beneficial to their training. In fact, the site located just east of Death Valley National Park would become a recurring spot for future Apollo astronauts to train, as it was considered by geologists to be “an ideal training site.”

During a three-day field trip in February 1965, the Apollo 11 crew carried out numerous geological and geophysical studies at Sedan and Schooner craters and Buckboard Mesa, fine-tuning their ability to collect samples. They also explored ancient volcanic formations that closely resembled the surface of the moon, including the Timber Mountain caldera. Today, the NNSS offers monthly tours of the area (unfortunately, access to the caldera is restricted), and reservations are required.

Various Locations, Hawaii

While most of the astronauts’ fieldwork was done at sites over the course of a day or two, the Apollo 11 crew spent an extensive amount of time in January 1965 training on the ground in Hawaii thanks to its abundance of volcanoes. It was during these excursions both on foot and via airplane that the astronauts got a chance to study the different physical aspects of volcanoes, including gas and lava vents, lava lakes, pit craters and more. During the final days of their stay, they hiked to the top of the 13,677-foot Mauna Loa, known as the world’s largest volcano, to observe its summit crater. Four years later they would revisit Hawaii again upon completion of their lunar mission, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean via the Command Module Columbia. To trace their footsteps, there are two ways to ascend to the top of Mauna Loa. One involves obtaining a permit, but the other is a more gradual roundtrip hike of 13 miles.

#History, #NASA, #Space

#07-2019 Science News #Physics/Space/Nature/Humans/History #Science #Science News #History #NASA #Space

0 notes

rowdywarrior85 · 5 years ago

Text

STRANGER THINGS PRESENTS: WHEELERS VS HARGROVES (PART 1)

STRANGER THINGS PRESENTS: WHEELERS VS HARGROVES

[DISCLAIMER: This story in purely fan-fiction, meaning I own no rights to the show STRANGER THINGS, its episodes or characters. Basically, this story is my interpretation of the show, its episodes or characters. Forewarning, there will be descriptions of violence (sometimes graphic), adult content and language; if you have kids under 17 reading this story, VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. Either way, hope you enjoy it. This story takes place between Season 3-Episode 4: THE SAUNA TEST.]

(We open to a fogged-up mirror, a washcloth is wiped across to clear a reflection, and the man in the mirror is none other than Hawkins’ residential bad boy, Billy Hargrove, who just came out of the shower. NO ONE LIKE YOU by Scorpions drops in the background and it drops hard. Billy spends the intro guitar solo in the bathroom; blowing his nose, blow-drying his hair, cleaning out his ears, brushing his teeth and takes a quick shave. Then, he wraps a towel around his waist and strolls in his room. As he lights up a cigarette, the first verse starts up. He slips on a pair of boxers under his towel, drops a pair of denim jeans on his bed, followed by a navy short-sleeved dress-shirt. Satisfied with his choice of wardrobe, the towel flies off, then by the second verse, he slips on a pair of socks and a white tank top, which is odd since Billy doesn’t wear anything under his dress-shirts. Billy proceeds to don his jeans and dress-shirt, followed by his boots. As the chorus kicks in, he sprays his hair for a little extra volume. Then slaps cologne on his wrists, along his neckline and of course, below the belt. He grabs a black leather jacket, slips it on and takes one last look in the mirror, giving himself a confident look.)

BILLY: (whispers) Look out, Karen. Here comes trouble.

(As he tosses a smooch and a wink at himself, he opens the door to make his “date” with Karen Wheeler, Mike and Nancy’s mom. But, he’s met by his stepmother, Susan Mayfield-Hargrove, about to knock on his door. Third verse kick in.)

BILLY: (sigh) Susan.

SUSAN: I was gonna ask you what you wanted for dinner, but it looks like you got plans. Big date tonight?

BILLY: (clicks tongue with a wink) Bingo.

SUSAN: Um, is that a tank top under your shirt? This is a first.

(Billy passes by Susan as he makes for the front, hoping to God he isn’t stopped by his asshole father, Neil Hargrove.)

BILLY: Yeah, well, this one is special.

NEIL: Gee, I wonder how special.

(Billy is stopped by Neil’s stern voice. Billy’s smile slowly drops to a tense, tight lip as he looks to his left to see his father leaning on the frame that leads to the kitchen, drinking a can of beer with an equally stern look on his face.)

BILLY: More than you can ever understand, Dad.

NEIL: Oh, really? What’s this “special” date’s name?

(Neil asked that question to Billy with the intention that he knows exactly who the “lucky lady” is. Billy inhales deep, exhales as he looks to a concerned Susan, who’s afraid of another spat between Father and son. Billy turns back to his father.)

BILLY: Don’t wait up for me.

(Neil’s eyebrow starts to rise in agitation as Billy continues for the door.)

NEIL: HEY!

(Billy stops at the door.)

SUSAN: Neil, don’t.

NEIL: No, I wanna know the name of his “special” date, or else he can just forget about going altogether. WELL, WHO THE FUCK IS SHE, BILLY?!

(Billy turns to his dad with a hint of anger.)

BILLY: Why the fuck do you care, huh?

(Both Neil’s eyebrows are raised high at Billy’s snap by the second chorus.)

She’s just another whore in Hawkins to you, anyway.

(Billy opens door.)

RIGHT, NEIL!?!

(Billy slams the door shut, which by now infuriates Neil.)

NEIL: Son of a BITCH!!!

(Neil storms out after his “ungrateful” son. Susan tries to stop him, but to no avail.

SUSAN: Neil, just let it go. NEIL!!

(Billy storms into his blue Camaro, with Neil in hot pursuit.)

NEIL: BILLY! YOU GET THE FUCK OUT OF THAT CAR!!

(Billy starts the engine, but Neil jumps in front of the car.)

YOU SHUT THAT OFF AND GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE RIGHT NOW, BILLY HARGROVE, OR YOU’RE FUCKING GROUNDED! DO YOU FUCKING HEAR ME!?!

(As the first half of the main guitar solo starts, Billy stares at his dad, then turns to a scared Susan, then turns right back to Neil.)

BILLY, I’D THINK THIS THROUGH, IF I WERE YOU!

(Billy went to a timid look to a stern, angry look as he revs the engine hard on the second half of the guitar solo.)

Oh, don’t you even think about it, you little shit.

SUSAN: Neil, please get out of the road!

(Neil keeps his eyes fixed on Billy, while he points a finger at Susan.)

NEIL: Relax, Susan, he’s bluffing. He’s not gonna do shit. Are ya, you son of a…

(Neil leans forward.)

…whore.

(By the end of the solo, Billy flares his nostrils in a rage, drops into DRIVE, and peels out, spooking Neil out of the way.)

JESUS!!!

(Billy’s Camaro zooms out of Cherry Road, with Neil throwing his beer down the street at Billy’s direction, screaming with rage.)

THAT’S IT!!!! YOU’RE GROUNDED!!! DO YOU HEAR ME, YOU FUCK!!!! YOU’RE GROUNDED FOR THE REST OF YOUR NATURAL FUCKING LIFE!!!!

(Susan runs after him, trying to quiet him down.)

SUSAN: Jesus, Neil. You’ll wake up the whole damn neighborhood. What if they call the police?

NEIL: The police, Susan, Jesus. Who in this neighborhood, let alone this whole fucking town has the balls to call the police on me? Huh?

(Neil storms back into the house, pissed to infinity. All the while, Susan becomes more frightened what’s about to come.)

Pick up my fucking beer off the street while you’re out there.

(PRESENT DAY. Mike, Lucas, Will, El and Max stroll up in their bikes to the Hawkins Community Pool staking out for Billy. All of them, especially Max fear that he may be chosen by the reawakened Mind Flayer.)

MIKE: OK, so where is he?

MAX: He’s usually in by noon.

LUCAS: Well, it’s 5 minutes to noon. He should be up and running for work soon.

MAX: Oh, shit.

WILL: What, do you see him?

MAX: No, somebody much worse than Billy.

(They see a tan Ford pickup truck roaring into the pool parking lot. Max is horrified, for she knows exactly who it is.)

It’s my fucking step-dad, Neil.

LUCAS: Oh, that’s just perfect.

EL: Is it… bad?

(Max looks to El with concern.)

LUCAS: Let’s put it to you this way, El. You know what a mouth-breather is, right?

(El nods in affirmation.)

Well, from what Max told us, he’s a Class A mouth-breather. Believe me, I know, I’ve seen it first hand. Not to mention, he’s also a racist and a homophobe straight outta Vietnam.

MIKE: Long story, El, he’s a sadistic piece of shit.

EL: Piece of shit?

WILL: He makes MY dad look like a cream puff. I mean, coming from a divorced background myself, don’t get me wrong, I can’t help but feel sorry for him.

(The Party look awkwardly at Will.)

Billy, I mean. I’ve literally been where he is, if the Mind Flayer’s turned him, I mean.

(The Party look back to the pickup.)

MAX: (heavy sigh) I’m more concerned what Neil’s gonna do.

(Max looks through the binoculars, and she sees that he’s drinking from a flask, which does not bode well for Max.)

And worse, looks like he’s drinking. Guess it’s bad between him and Billy.

(We switch to inside the pickup, where Neil is formulating his plan, while downing Bourbon from his flask. Susan looks on to Neil, scared out of her mind.)

SUSAN: Neil, what exactly are we doing at the pool? I didn’t even bring my swimsuit.

NEIL: Isn’t it obvious, Susan? Billy’s behavior of late is fucking disturbing, more than most. His car isn’t in front of the house, where it’s supposed to be.

SUSAN: He’s stayed out late before.

NEIL: (takes a swig) Not like this.

(Susan looks at Neil with fear and concern.)

SUSAN: Hitting that kinda hard lately, have you?

NEIL: Don’t you worry about me, alright? It’s Billy that should be worried right now. Have you also noticed that Wheeler bitch isn’t with the rest of the Mom Squad?

SUSAN: So?

(Neil takes another swig, then gives an obvious look to Susan.)

(Scoffs) Oh my God. You’re not suggesting that Billy and Mrs. Wheeler were… are…

NEIL: It can’t be anymore obvious than that.

SUSAN: Neil, that’s ridiculous. There’s no proof of that.

NEIL: Please, I’ve been by the pool from time to time. The way he looks at her, the way SHE looks at him. They even talk to each other.

SUSAN: So they talk…

NEIL: FOR NEARLY 5 MINUTES, maybe more. Well this is gone far enough, I’m ending this right now.

(Neil prepares to exit the truck.)

SUSAN: Let’s go.

NEIL: No, you stay in the truck until I get back.

(Neil opens his truck door.)

SUSAN: Neil, I’m not letting you go out there alone, so you can make a scene.

NEIL: STAY IN THE TRUCK, SUSAN. I shouldn’t take long.

(Neil slams his truck door hard, takes another swig then make his way into the pool, while Susan looks on in fear. As he makes his way pass the entrance, the receptionist spots him sporting his flask in his back pocket and tries to take action.)

RECEPTIONIST: Excuse me, sir. You need to sign in if you want to enter the pool.

(Receptionist goes after him, then proceeds to put his right hand on Neil’s left shoulder.)

And another thing, there are no alcoholic containers of any kind allowed in the…

(Neil turns to the receptionist, swats his hand off his shoulder with the left hand, then lands a right cross decking him, knocking him to the ground with a bloody nose. Susan looks on with timidity.)

SUSAN: Ah, shit.

(Even the Mom Squad see this atrocity and fear the worst. While Susan gets out of the truck to tend to the busted-up receptionist, Neil spots the Mom Squad and saunders over with the intent of getting some answers.)

LIZ (BRUNETTE): Oh shit, Hargrove Rex is headin’ right for us.

MOM #2(BLONDIE): That’s never good. You don’t think he’s here about Billy, is he?

JILL(HEAVY): What are we gonna do?

LIZ: (picks up a COSMOPOLITAN magazine) Just act natural, ladies. It’s probably nothing.

JILL: Seriously?

LIZ: (through her teeth) Just… act… natural.

(Neil then approaches the Mom Squad.)

NEIL: Ladies.

BLONDIE: If you’re looking for your son, sir, he’s still in the bathroom, prepping for work.

NEIL: Billy’s the least of my worries right now. I couldn’t help but noticed one of your “crew” is MIA. Wheeler, is it? So, um, any of you… ladies… know where she is?

LIZ: Spa.

BLONDIE: Shopping.

JILL: Movie.

(Neil leans in between Blondie and Liz.)

NEIL: Well, which… one… is it?

(Jill starts hyperventilating, Neil turns to Jill, Liz prompting Jill not to say shit. Neil raises an eyebrow.)

JILL: (rapidly) LOOK, KAREN’S NOT HERE, OK! SHE CALLED US, SAYING SHE WASN’T FEELING LIKE A POOL DAY TODAY. SO SHE DECIDED TO SAY HOME!! (deep inhale and exhale)

NEIL: (Eyes on Jill) Thank you, ladies. Enjoy your day.

(Neil makes for the men’s room.)

LIZ: You just can’t keep your mouth shut for 5 minutes, you weak-ass fuck.

JILL: I’m sorry, girls. But that guy just scares the shit out of me.

BLONDIE: Honey, that man scares the shit out of pretty much the whole town.

LIZ: God save that boy.

(In the men’s room, a bench has a beach towel, a white long-sleeved shirt, and a ball cap with aviator sunglasses and a Zippo lighter. Billy is finishing applying SPF 50 on his body on account of the Mind Flayer inhabiting him. He then wraps a beach towel, and puts on a white long-sleeved shirt, then puts on his flip-flops. He grabs the bottle of SPF 50, and puts it in his locker. Suddenly, Neil slams the locker door shut, Billy doesn’t even flinch.)

NEIL: We need to talk.

(Billy doesn’t even acknowledge him, he makes his way to the sinks to wash his hands.)

Hey! Don’t you fuckin’ walk away from me, son.

(Billy looks to the mirror whilst washing his hands, he sees his father glaring at him, continuing to berate his son.)

Your behavior of late has been unacceptable. First, you try to run me down, which is surprising coming from you, and your car isn’t in front of the house. You either abandoned it or fucked it up. And another thing, this “special date” of yours couple nights ago, I think I know she is. Do you think for one second, that I’m stupid. I’ve been by the pool a couple times, I see the way you look at that Wheeler whore, and the way she looks at you. So what, all the teenage pussy is not enough for you, so you graduate to mommy pussy, is that it?

(Neil closes in to Billy’s right ear. Neil’s voice starts to distort.)

Or maybe, just maybe, you like her simply because she reminds of a certain somebody you lost as a child. Somebody that was TOO CHICKENSHIT TO COME AND RESCUE YOUR FAGGOT ASS…

(Neil lays his left hand on his right shoulder. Billy’s eyes widen, then grabs his hand, torques his arm, grabs his head and slams his head on the edge of the sink, breaking the sink in the process. Billy looks solemnly down to Neil on the floor, disoriented, head bleeding. Neil tries to crawl away, not believing what’s happening. Billy then grabs Neil’s left arm and steps on his head, preparing to kill him.)

(groaning) Billy, don’t do this. I’m your father, for fuck’s sakes!

(Billy looks at his busted up father with this blank, emotionless face.)

BILLY!!!!

(Billy viciously pulls on the arm while his foot is on the head, breaking Neil’s neck. Snap to black.)

(Echoing) Billy?

(Snap back to reality. Billy continues to stare at the mirror, while Neil tries to speak to him.)

Billy, you gonna fuckin’ answer me or not?

(Billy turns away from his father to grab his cap with his frames and lighter, then proceeds to make for the exit to get to work AKA keep up appearances. But Neil isn’t having it, he follows him with haste.)

Son of a bitch. Billy Hargrove, you fuckin’ answer me RIGHT NOW, OR…

(Billy suddenly turns toward him.)

BILLY: (roars) OR WHAT!?!

(Neil stops in surprise. Billy walks towards him with wide, crazy eyes.)

(low voice) What are gonna do, Neil?

(Billy and Neil are now face to face, toe to toe.)

What… are you going…. to do? What?

HEATHER: Is there a problem, gentlemen?

(Neil looks around Billy, and sees Heather in the same get-up with two large cherry Slurpees. Billy’s eyes go normal but still on Neil.)

BILLY: Cool as ice, Heather. My dad here was just leaving. Right, Neil?

NEIL: (quiet scoff) You’re wasting my time, anyway.

(Neil shoulder checks Billy before leaving, letting him know that it’s not over, like Billy cares at this point. Neil gives a slight glare at Heather as he walks out the door. Heather walks up to Billy, handing him his Slurpee.)

HEATHER: Shall we add him to the collective?

BILLY: No, we have enough. The end will come for him.

(Billy takes a sip from his Slurpee. We get a closeup on his “flayed” eyes.)

The end will come for them all.

(Neil storms out of the bathroom, and makes his way to the pool’s exit. At the receptionists’ office, Susan is tending to the receptionists’ broken nose.)

NEIL: Susan, let’s go. NOW!!!

RECEPTIONIST: (groaning) For the record, your husband’s a dick.

SUSAN: I know, I’m so sorry.

(Neil and Susan get into the truck, then proceed to exit the parking lot aggressively.)

LIZ: They’re leaving.

JILL: Not what?

BLONDIE: We need to warn Karen about what’s about to go down, all because you couldn’t shut up.

JILL: I said I was sorry. Jesus.

LIZ: There’s a phone in the office. Everybody follow me, and walk fast.

(Outside the pool, the Party observe on what’s going on.)

LUCAS: What the hell’s the Mom Squad doin’?

MIKE: I don’t know. When it comes to Moms, you never know.

MAX: Guys, shut up. Target in sight.

(The Party see Billy exiting the bathroom and mounting his post. Meanwhile, Neil driving like a bat out of Hell for the Wheeler residence.)

SUSAN: So, what happened?

NEIL: You mean, “what didn’t happened”? Time to do what I should’ve done at the beginning. End the problem at the source.

SUSAN: You’re not thinking of heading to the Wheelers?

NEIL: Goddamn right.

(Susan is now way frightened on what’s going to happen.)

SUSAN: Look, Neil. I know you’re going to object to this, but… maybe I should “take point” this time.

NEIL: (takes another swig out of his flask) Out of the question.

SUSAN: Look, Neil. You have enough booze in your system, just let me handle this. Cuz if you go in there, you’ll go tearing the place apart just to get your answers, causing a massive commotion, at that point somebody’s gonna call the cops. 10 minutes, that’s all I need, 10 minutes.

NEIL: 5. 5 minutes. After that…

(turns to Susan)

I do it my way.

(Meanwhile at the Wheeler residence on Maple Street, Nancy Wheeler and her mom, Karen just finished their heart-to-heart, wiping away their tears. But somehow, Nancy wasn’t quite finished.)

NANCY: Mom, if I ask you something, would you tell me the truth?

KAREN: (walks to the sink) Of course, honey.

NANCY: I came home from the first day of work a few nights ago, and I found your ring in the bathroom.

(Karen becomes alert.)

Something you want to talk to me about? Just us girls.

KAREN: Well, maybe I took it off to wash my hands, and probably forgot to put it back on.

NANCY: Mom, for as long as I can remember, you NEVER took your ring off.

KAREN: (turns to Nancy) Nancy, I don’t know your implying here…

NANCY: Mom, you gave me that talk for a reason, even put in an “I” in there like your just been through something. Plus, you wear makeup to the pool, which is odd, unless you…

(Just then, it dawned on Nancy, and turned to her mom.)

Oh, Mom. Don’t tell me you’ve been hitting on that California douchebag, Billy.

KAREN: Of course not.

(Nancy leers at her mom like she isn’t being honest.)

It’s been actually both ways, if I’m being honest.

NANCY: Oh, my God.

KAREN: What can I say, Nancy? He’s beautiful.

NANCY: OH, MY GOD.

KAREN: Look, Nancy, try to understand. Ever since he walked to my door looking for his step-sister last year…

(deep sigh)

…he looked like, something out of a dream, or right out of a romance novel. I thought to myself, “THANK GOD”.

NANCY: Yeah. Mike once told me he damn near beat Steve half to death because of Max “last year”.

KAREN: Oh, boys will be boys. You should know that by now.

(Nancy scoffs)

Did you know that he asked me out on a date a couple days ago.

NANCY: SHUT… UP!

KAREN: I know, right? Just caught me by surprise, and to be honest, I actually wanted him to.

NANCY: Well, you didn’t agree to it, did you?

(Before Karen could answer, the patriarch of the Wheeler family, Ted, strolls on in with younger daughter, Holly.)

TED: Hi, honey. Holly and I had an interesting time at the mall, the food court has this…

(Ted notices Nancy is home early.)

Oh, Nancy. You’re home early. Did I miss anything?

KAREN: Girl talk.

NANCY: I just got fired.

TED: Oh… well, just got to live and learn, I suppose.

(Both ladies give Ted a livid look.)

Come on, Holly. Let’s see what’s on TV.

(Karen and Nancy turn their attention back to each other.)

KAREN: Now do you see what I have to put up with, every single day?

(Unbeknownst to the ladies, Ted is quietly eavesdropping, while Holly is mesmerized by MY LITTLE PONY on the TV.)

You have no idea what it’s like, being married to same, boring person for the past 20 years. To not feel appreciated, to be stuck in a continuous rut.

(As Karen continued her lament, Nancy was reminded of the event of her life that occurred 2 years ago when she lost her best friend, Barbara Holland, all because she wanted to prove that she could make it with Steve Harrington.)

When Billy asked me out, I thought to myself that this is my chance. This one chance to be the woman I wanted to be, if only for one night. I wanted to scream “Yes, Billy. Take me, I’m yours”. But, just when I was about to walk out my door that night, I noticed Ted asleep on the recliner with Holly. And it just hits me,…

(voice breaking) I just couldn’t do it. Not without breaking your father’s heart, or Holly’s, or Mike’s, or yours.

(Just then, the doorbell rings.)

TED: I’ll get it.

KAREN: (clears throat) Thanks.

NANCY: Mom, I get it. You’re unhappy with your marriage, but still it’s no excuse to throw it all away for Billy, of all people.

KAREN: You’re telling me you wouldn’t do the same thing?

NANCY: I already did. Once. Back when I was with Steve.

(Karen instantly knew what Nancy meant.)

KAREN: Barb?

(Nancy nods, trying to hold back the tears of that fateful night.)

NANCY: (sniffs, voice breaking) To this day, I keep thinking to myself. If I wasn’t trying to be something I’m knew I wasn’t, if I had just left that party with her, she’d still be here, you know. I miss her so much, even now.

KAREN: Still, would you ever get with Billy if you had the chance?

NANCY: If I didn’t have my morals and/or Jonathan…

(Karen is waiting in anticipation.)

…probably, yeah. If you had, Dad would be blown away from his recliner, not to mention Mike would have a cow. But, I’m glad you didn’t go through with that date. Besides, I hear his dad’s a complete and utter psychopath.

SUSAN: You’re not wrong there.

(Karen and Nancy turn to the hallway to find Ted along with Susan.)

0 notes