The Overcomer, Stranger Things

Cursed

Suddenly, Gwen's eyes opened and she gasped, beginning to fall. Dustin grabbed the girl's arms as she dropped to the ground, landing next to him. Gwen couldn't think about the pain in her legs as the rest of the group crowded around them. The Byers girl breathed heavily as she grasped onto real life again.

"Holy crap," Dustin cried as he hugged his best friend tightly, feeling the girl's bones sticking out of her skin. Gwen continued to gasp for air as she held onto Dustin just as tight, feeling a sense of comfort in her best friend's arms.

"It's okay!" Dustin sobbed as Gwen hyperventilated, "It's okay. I thought I lost you."

"I'm still here," Gwen whispered as she clutched Dustin's sleeve, "I'm still here."

"You guys saved me," the 10-year-old looked around at all her friends, her family, her blue eyes clouded over with thick tears. "You saved me. Thank you."

"Well, it's about time that someone returned the favor," Steve joked before leaning forward to embrace the girl. Gwen giggled as the rest of the group joined the group hug, all of them thankful that she was alive.

~:~

The group sat in silence in Max's trailer, all of them staring at the traumatized 10-year-old who was holding onto her best friend for dear life. The normally chatty girl was radio silent and the only word she had spoken was 'no' when Dustin had tried to get up about an hour ago. The Henderson boy glanced at her, tightening his arms around the younger girl before giving Steve a prompting look.

"Uhhh," the Harringon boy started unsurely, having no idea how to approach this, "so, Gwen, how are you?"

"Seriously, Steve?" Robin looked at him like he had grown two heads as she dropped her arms to her sides while everyone else gave him an incredulous look.

"What?" he looked back at them with the same expression, "it's a valid question-"

"Tired," Gwen whispered, her voice clogged with tears as she pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders, "I'm really, really tired."

The 10-year-old could feel the other's pitiful glances that were being thrown in her direction which certainly wasn't helping. Nancy slowly stood up and sat next to Gwen, putting a gentle hand on the girl's back.

"What happened, Gwen?" she gently combed her fingers through the girl's locks. "You can tell us, you're safe here."

"Where do you want me to start," Gwen laughed dryly.

"Wherever you want to," Nancy gave her a kind smile.

"After the Battle of Starcourt," Gwen began as the group leaned forward, listening intently to every word, not daring to interrupt the girl. "I got brought to this place," she took a breath, a shudder going through her body just thinking about it, "this horrible, wretched place. It was like a... a prison. Actually, no, it was worse. It was like a concentration camp. I was there because they wanted to use me as a secret weapon, for war, I guess."

"I was the only kid there, and the only girl so the older men tended to take advantage of that. Because that meant I was weaker than everyone else. But the worst part about that camp was what the officers and the guards did to you. We were treated like we weren't... like we weren't even humans. And the things that they did to us," Gwen closed her eyes as she shook her head, "they did horrible, unspeakable things."

"W-what kind of things?" Lucas asked, his voice shaking.

"Torture," Gwen whispered as her mind went back to her time at Kamchatka.

"Starvation," she looked down at her emaciated body. "Excruciating labor."

"Death," she breathed, thinking about the gas chambers and the Demogorgon. "So much death."