the gate

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part three

they worked in silence to ensure that every inch of the cavern was saturated in gasoline. lydia poured the gallon can of the flammable solution on the floor and splashed some on the wall for good measure. the sharp smell of the gas made lydia want to vomit in her bandana mask so she took shallow breaths to lessen the unpleasant aroma. in the moment, she felt so disconnected from her surroundings. like she was watching everything through a screen. the lighter from steve's hand flew into the middle of the hub in slow motion and the fiery tendrils from within the hub flailed in pain. lydia's legs began moving without her giving the command and she was following the others to the exit. the scar on her calf was throbbing uncontrollably and she was convinced that the wound had opened up again despite the fact that it fully healed months prior. as they were running lydia saw a tendril appear from the corner of her eye and it began to reach out toward mike's ankle. the events occurred through a viewpoint that was not her own and yet the teen found herself pushing the younger boy out of the way and the tendril quickly changed course and slithered around her wrist, tightening its relentless grip. a scream ripped through her throat and the hockey stick that she had been holding clattered to the ground.
"lydia!" they all screamed simultaneously.
"get this shit off of me!" her fingers were losing sensation and tears were forming in her eyes. this couldn't be happening, not again. dustin was holding her for dear life, determined not to let the creature take his sister but then the bat was coming down on the arm repeatedly and a high-pitched screeching sound filled their ears before going limp. there was a rising pressure in lydia's chest and she tried her best to force it down as steve helped her out of the tunnels. her breathing was ragged and with every step she took she felt like she was going to burst. then there was a growl that she knew far too well.
"dart?" her brother whispered as calmly as he could muster. everyone urged him to back up but he refused to listen. as he got closer he took off his mask.
"hey, it's me. it's me. it's your friend, dustin. you remember me? will you let us pass?" he got a snarl in reply but the demodog made no attempt to hurt him.
"okay, okay. i'm sorry about the storm cellar, that was a pretty douchey thing to do," then he pulled a candy bar from the back of his pocket. "you hungry? i got our favorite. nougat." that was lydia's favorite too. it was a treat her dad would sneak her before dinner, when she scraped her knee, or when she fell of the swings, or when she got a good grade on one of her tests. it was the candy of her childhood. something that her and this monster shared.
they snuck past the demodog and dustin said his final goodbye.

the unmistakable roar of the demodogs followed them to the exit tunnel and they scrambled up the rope in fear. steve and lydia helped the kids up one by one until they were the only ones left in the tunnel. steve held up his bat to ready himself for the onslaught of creatures coming their way, but the pack ran past them like they were flies on the wall. and just like that, they were gone. all the monsters that they had feared were gone.

the two teenagers made their way up the rope and watched as the headlights of billy's car illuminated far brighter than any car light could shine. and then it was over. and finally, the rising pressure in lydia's chest was released and she allowed the tears to flow freely. the fear subsided and a wave of relief washed over her once she realized that the gate was closed. eleven did it. she saved them.
~

lydia sat inside the library reading a book with her walkman's on and her favorite queen cassette playing quietly so as not to disturb any nearby readers. the slight movement she saw from her peripheral vision startled her and she looked up to see a face that she had not expected to see.

"hey, lydia."

"hi, lawrie." although she was still seething with rage, she couldn't make a scene here.

my girl, forever and always || steve harringtonWhere stories live. Discover now