Into Every Stranger Generation

Chapter 31

 The earth began to shake beneath their feet, sending them all violently to the ground. Eddie grabbed onto Becca, attempting to shield her body with his own. His eyes found the others, ensuring they were safe. Steve was protecting Will, his arms around the boy as they sat on the ground. Ever the babysitter, that guy. Ivy and Robin were holding onto each other, lying side by side, eyes wide.

"I really hate this goddamn place," Eddie muttered. He really couldn't wait to be done with the Upside Down once and for all.

"I really don't like earthquakes guys! Like really, top of my list of fears. I did this once in here and I don't want to do it again," Robin yelled.

"We have to get to the gate," Becca called to the others, "they are going to show up and those things are going to attack! We have to be there to help them!"

She pushed herself away from Eddie and tentatively rose to her feet, bracing her legs, taking a wide stance to attempt to steady herself. The ground continued to quake. This one was lasting a hell of a lot longer than the others had. Eddie placed his hands on the ground, taking a moment to get his balance before rising up. He glanced at Becca, their eyes meeting, and gave her a small nod to let her know he was with her.

"Okay," Robin answered, grabbing onto a tree and using it to guide her body upwards. She reached down, taking Ivy's hand, holding onto the tree with the other, helping the redhead climb to her feet.

Steve held onto Will, allowing the boy to get up before he also rose up. Everyone on their feet, they began making their way back to the gate, their steps slow as they fought against the vibrations that kept trying to knock them down. This place really did seem to be trying to stop them from leaving. Eddie was damned if he was going to let that happen. He was done with this hell that still haunted his nightmares in the right side up. He wasn't staying here and he sure as hell wasn't going to let it keep any of his friends either.

Ivy shrieked, losing her balance and collapsed to the ground. She hissed as her jeans ripped open, a huge chunk of skin scraped off of her knee.

"Oh shit," Robin exclaimed, kneeling down next to her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," she nodded, pushing herself back to her feet. "It's just a scrape."

"Yeah, but a scrape in here could mean gangrene or something," Robin said, her voice rising higher and higher with each word. "Look at this place. It's coated in who knows what. What if it gets infected and...

"Robin," Ivy said softly, "I am fine. It's not going to get infected, just a little scrape. No worse than falling off my bike, which I have done loads of times. Trust me. I can be the clumsiest person on the planet sometimes

"Uh-oh," Robin laughed. "We could be in trouble then because I hurt myself just standing still sometimes. We could be a walking disaster together."

"It's okay, I'm used to disasters. If you haven't noticed, that's pretty much my life most of the time," Ivy smiled.

They continued moving, grabbing onto tree trunks as they needed. Eddie stumbled and Becca grabbed his arm, helping to steady him before he fell. Finally, after what felt like way too long, they reached the edge of the woods once again. Eddie looked around at the creatures that had gathered. He had hoped that maybe with Vecna gone they would retreat back to whatever cesspool they came from, but no luck apparently.

"Any sign of the others?" Steve asked as they all gathered together, hanging onto tree trunks for dear life.

"No, but how are we supposed to fight these things when we can't even stay upright?" Robin questioned, her entire body wrapped around a trunk for support. "I'm already not very steady on my feet as it is and attempting to take deadly aim while the entire world is being shaken like a snowglobe does not bode well for me."