Infatuation | Eddie Munson

29- Mattress Stains

~

The wheels of the bikes skidded across the deserted road rapidly as we rode further and further away from the Wheeler's house. I pedalled against the cold wind as it caused my hair to flow behind me, the cold air causing goosebumps to trickle up the back of my neck. The seven miles felt like hundreds, my legs slightly sore as adrenaline pushed me to continue pedalling.

As we continued to move, something came into my vision. A large mansion, being circled by a cauldron of roaring bats, the notorious red lightning crashing loudly as it shined brightly behind the overcast sky.
Nothing about the house looked inviting, a bad feeling settling into my stomach as I noticed Steve picking up his pace, in which I followed.

We swiftly rode down the moonlit road, coming closer to our destination. We quickly turned a corner and I noticed that the sign which once read 'Forest Hills Trailer Park' was completely covered by the black vines. One-by-one we entered the trailer park, pulling up to the wrecked, deteriorating version of Eddie's trailer.

"Right here!" Eddie called as he swiftly pulled in front of his home.

As we all jumped off of our bikes, Robin immediately spoke up, "That's gotta be a Guinness World Record! Most miles traveled inter-dimensionally."

"Just inhaled a bunch of that crap," Steve coughed, referring to the white particles as they floated around in the cold air. "It's stuck in my throat."

As Eddie opened the door, I stepped in behind him, an eldritch thrum loudly emerging from the bright red gate plastered into the ceiling, identical to the gate that we'd found in lover's lake.

"Goddamn..." Steve said as we all stared up at the gate as it made all sorts of unpleasant noises.

"This is where Chrissy died," Eddie explained, my breath suddenly hitching at the mention of my best friend's name. "Like, right where she died."

"I think there's something in there," Robin muttered as we looked at the gate with confused eyes.

Suddenly, something began to poke through the red, glowing surface of the gate. "What the hell is that?" I said hesitantly.

All five of us yelped as the object abruptly pierced through the whole gate, Eddie's hand meeting mine as we unconsciously reached for each other. Slime dripped from the ceiling onto the floor as we looked at each other in trepidation. My hand was firmly entwined with Eddie's and my breath became heavy as we walked closer to the gate.

As I looked inside the gate, Dustin was standing there, the wooden stick he'd used to tear open the gate held tightly in his grip. "No way..." Steve said.
Eddie exhaled in relief as he saw Dustin, the grip he had around my hand quickly releasing as he failed to even look at me. I opened my mouth to speak, but I immediately stopped myself.

Dustin cackled, "Hi there!"

"Hi," we all replied, a sense of relief in our voices.

I ignored Eddie's gesture and let a smile creep onto my face as the rest of the group looked up at gate in awe. "Holy shit, this is trippy," Robin muttered.

"Bada-bada-boom!" Dustin yelled in celebration.

~

We waited as Dustin, Max, Lucas and Erica made a ruckus on the other side as they looked for things to get us over and through the gate. After a while, a mattress flopped down onto the floor, various large stains covering it from head-to-toe.

"What the fuck, Eddie," I immediately muttered as I looked up at the mattress in disgust.

"Those stains are, uh..." he began, pausing for a moment before turning his head to face us. "I dunoo what those stains are..."

"Mmm," Robin said, side eyeing him as he looked away.

"I've literally slept on that..." I blurted, Robin and Nancy's heads turning to face me with raised eyebrows.

I widened my eyes, immediately regretting what I said. "Not like that, I-"

With a sigh, I shut my mouth as Dustin began to speak, Nancy and Robin nodding hesitantly at me.

"Not quite sure how these physics are gonna work. But, uh, here goes nothing," he grunted as he tossed the material through the gate. "There we go! And if my theory is correct..."

Dustin let go of the rope, the rope staying in place. "Huh! Abracadabra."

"Holy shit," Max said as she looked up, astonished.

"Okay, pull on it! See if it holds!"

The five of us looked at each other, Robin wrapping her hands around the white material and tugging on it with a grunt. It didn't budge.

"This is the craziest shit I've ever seen in my life!" Erica exclaimed, dumbfounded. "And I've seen some crazy shit!"

Dustin held out his hand, Erica high-fiving it.

"Guess I'm the guinea pig," Robin said as she stepped up to the rope. She grunted loudly as she pulled herself up gradually with her thin arms. "Oh my god!" She yelled as she flipped onto the other side, sitting up immediately as she panted heavily. "Oh, thank god... that was fun."

As Dustin helped Robin to her feet, the rest of us stared at each other hesitantly. When none of us spoke up, Eddie shrugged. "All right, guess I'll go."

He gripped the rope tightly with his hands, grunting slightly as he pulled himself up. Once he got through the gate, he let go of the rope, the stained mattress cushioning is hard landing. He sat up, breathing heavily, "That. Was fun. Shit," he laughed, grabbing Dustin's hand and jumping to his feet.

Steve chuckled at Eddie as I approached the rope, gripping it firmly as I stared up into the triply gate. I shook my head with an exhale before jumping, using all my arm strength to pull myself further up the rope. As I passed through the entrance of the gate, my stomach churned and I was inches away from falling onto the soft mattress. But the soft landing of the mattress never came.

It felt like I was falling through a dark abyss. Everything surrounding me was pure darkness until I landed on a hard surface, immediately getting winded as I lay breathless.

As soon as I caught my breath, I shot up, looking at my surroundings. I had landed on the notorious rooftop. The rooftop from my nightmares.

~
1068 words

vol 2 let's go