Black Beauty- Steve HarringtonxOC

Chapter 10

She's halfway there. Filly crawls even faster now, throwing herself into it fully. She feels trapped in the den, dug out of the earth and stone to escape the cellar it was trapped in. Dustin and Steve are counting on her to find it. From here, she should be able to see where Dart has gone.

She can't go any further. Though she's so close to the end, enough to reach the tips of her fingers into the rays of light outside of her entrapment, her hips won't budge any further. Her shoulders are caught between the diameter of the hole, not enough space for her to go any farther.

If she screamed, would they hear her? She's not sure how far she has traveled, only that it feels like hours since she left them.

The light's gone, blotted out by the heavy shadow that claims the space. She's back in the darkness, only it's more than that. Its face blooms open, completely blocking the opening ahead of her. When it cascades closed, sharp barbs catch on her forearm. The pain is indescribable. So gut-wrenching, so all-encompassing that she can't hear her own thoughts. She's screaming, she knows that on some base level, but she can't hear it. She does feel the burning of her throat as the wails wrench themselves from her diaphragm. She can sense the excruciating stabs of sharpened teeth puncturing her muscles, tearing apart her skin and then going back for more.

Is this Dart? Had he been a Demogorgon the whole time? Lying in wait, eating nougat, and appearing peaceful until it had the strength to turn the tables on them, Dart had finally gotten his chance to move up in the food chain. And to think Dustin had been in this monster's sight all that time. This is her end. It would be poetic, for her to live and die such as this At the very least, she wouldn't be going back to that place ever again. Never back to that man who calls himself their "papa".

The scream wakes her, dying out as she rips off her blankets. "Just a dream..." She's trying to convince herself, she knows it, but if it does its job then she couldn't care less.

The sun is almost fully over the horizon when she looks out the window. How had Filly slept so late? She confesses to herself that she really hadn't known what time her head hit her pillow last night, but she'd never say so to Dustin. She wants him to think her tough, capable, like she claimed to be.

"But am I really?" Her dream weighs on her while she tears into her rations. She sits on an upturned bucket, a protein bar caught between her knees while she stirs her oatmeal. Cold water soaks the oats and by the time the wrapper is filled with only crumbs, it's soft enough to eat.

She prides herself on the spoon she uses to shovel in her meal. She likes to be self-sufficient, though she can see the benefits of relying on someone like Hopper. It's so easy to get used to the conveniences he's brought her. Not just the food, of course.

He'd done a lot for her, but she can't help but wonder why. He's never here to spend time with her. He just leaves when he's done providing. But it worries her that he had never asked for anything in return. She's afraid that someday he will, and the price will be one she can't afford.

She's trying to be more like a human. More like Dustin. More like Joyce. More like a normal person. Less like a broken mess. She's not sure that it's working, but for all that she fears complacency, she fears being a pariah more and more. She wishes it was as easy as it looks for others. For people who are... regular. Common. Unlike her, the wretchedly morphed thing that she had become.

It matters little when the world is at stake, so she pushes past it and finds the strength to clothe herself. She dons a tight pair of jeans from Nancy that are long enough she has to roll up the cuffs twice. It feels snug, bracing almost. She'd only worn baggy jeans before this. It's odd, but she'll live. The chill makes her opt for a soft, dark jumper. It's one of Steve's, but his scent is long gone. The herbal sweetness of him has faded from the fabric and its woody grit has dissipated from the porous material. Now it only smells of the clean soap Hopper kept her stocked with. She throws on the old poncho as well, using it to hide her small bag.