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CHAPTER ELEVEN LIGHT HER UP
Abby's lungs burn as she breathes in the sulfurous air of the tunnel. Even the bandana tucked into the collar of her shirt and tied securely around her face didn't to much to fend off the toxic air and certainly doesn't help her still-pounding head. She gazes around at her surroundings, everything seemed to have a blue tint to it, and the beams of their flashlights barely do anything to penetrate the looming darkness. Vines cover the floors and ceiling and sanded up the circular sides, reaching and digging. Small particles drift like snowflakes around her, billowing in the soft wind that blew into the tunnel. Alex, who stands beside her, reaches out a gloved hand to catch one of the particles, but Abby is quick to swat it back down. She wonders how long the tunnels had been there, secretly burrowing and stretching toward the town.
The tunnels reek of death. Everything down here is some twisted version of the world above them. The dirt is a sickly shade of grey, the atmosphere is hazy, the air seems thick, suffocating almost, and the vines are covered in a thick layer of slime. The tunnels are a parasite as they dig, reaching and extending, infecting the plants and the people as it stretches towards Hawkins.
"Holy shit," Steve whispers as he drops to the ground and looks around at the landscape he finds himself in.
"Uh ... I'm pretty sure it's this way!" Mike calls as he stares down at the map, illuminated by the beam of his flashlight.
"You're pretty sure, or you're certain?" Dustin calls.
"I'm one-hundred-percent sure, just follow me, and you'll know!" Mike exclaims.
He takes a few steps further down the tunnel before Steve throws a hand out and calls, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, hey, hey, I don't think so." He steps forward and tries his best to glare at the kids through his goggles, but the warmth of the air has fogged them up. "Any of you little shits die down here, I get the blame. Got it, dipshit?" He turns back to the rest of the group. "From here on out, I'm leading the way. Come on, let's go! Come on."
They make quick progress over the vines that stretched out across the ground, and through the particles that seemed to fall thicker the farther they traveled and the blue-tinged fog that covers the ground. A few times, Alex would have to help Abby up from the slimy ground where she had stumbled over a particularly large vine or Abby would have move Alex along as she became too encapsulated with the walls that seemed to have a pulse of their own. Steve, from his spot in the front continues to yell words of encouragement as they progressed through the sulfurous terrain. Occasionally, Alex will grumble something about Steve's leadership skills.
