Stranger Things: Strange Encounters - End The Storm

Chapter Five: The Void

"Whoa, you okay there?" Erin said to me as I sat forward.
"Imogen." I whispered.
"What?"
"We need to find Imogen." I stated.
"Imogen? Imogen who? What are you talking about?"
"Imogen Henderson. I just...I don't know...I had a weird dream and I think that's where our journey begins." I said.
"Henderson? Your friend you told me about, the one that completed Vecna's plan? But I thought she got comatosed?" said Erin. That's when it hit me.
"The blind mage." I said.
"Oh shit, really? Imogen is the blind mage?" asked Erin.
"We need to head back into Hawkins." I said. Just as I said that, the car began to slow down as the gas light blinked at us.
"Well, we're out of fuel on this old puppy." said Erin as the car became even slower. Erin steered it as best as she could to the side of the road before it came to a halt. "Don't suppose Hopper kept any spare gas in here did he?"
"No." I replied, thinking about Hopper. My last images of him ran through my head. I couldn't believe I had lost him too.
"Well, I guess we're on foot here." sighed Erin.
"There should be an emergency bag in the trunk." I said, remembering Hopper always had one in there. We both climbed out of the car as Erin headed to the trunk. She popped it open and found the bag in question.
"Hey, what do you know. Flashlights, water, even some freeze dried snacks. This should keep us going." She grabbed the bag as I opened the back doors to grab the bat and the pole.
"How far is Hawkins from here?" I asked.
"Well, lucky for us there's still a road sign there." she said, pointing towards a run down looking sign. "Hawkins, thirty miles."
"That's not bad." I said.
"Right, but we'll take it slow since you're...well, heavily pregnant." said Erin. "In fact, when was the last time you ate? You're eating for two so you should probably take a snack."
"I'm fine. Let's just keep moving." I said as I began to lead the way. Erin slung the backpack on her shoulder and then came and joined my side as we began our long walk to Hawkins.

We had to take it slow as I had the extra baby weight to carry and I could already feel my feet beginning to hurt, due to not being outside for six months. Erin and I both kept an eye out for any monsters and the vines as we walked down the long stretch road.
"You good?" Erin asked as she saw me hobbling.
"Yeah. Just...not use to walking like this." I replied.
"We can stop?"
"No. I want to keep going." I protested.
"Okay, well we will rest soon." said Erin. I looked at her for a second as we kept walking. "What?" she asked.
"Nothing." I smirked. "Just wondering if you ever did manage to get Return To Oz."
"Oh!" laughed Erin. "Surprised you remembered that."
"Yeah, that's how I recognised you to be honest."
"No, I never got it. That's something I still want to see. I like the fantasy movies. My favourite is probably The Dark Crystal or Lord of The Rings."
"Yeah, I'm a Lord of The Rings fan too...so was Eddie." I replied, feeling glum. I could see Erin's expression for sympathy over his name but she tried to keep the subject light.
"Yeah, it's a good movie. I miss being able to wear my floral dresses and live in the world of fantasy. I mean, the world now is kind of like fantasy. Reminds me of Mordor a lot. Maybe we'll come across the eye of Sauron!" she chuckled, elbowing me. I snickered at her comment.
"So...what happened to your family?" I asked.
"They're gone. Just like everyone else."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. It's just me now. My mom and my little sister went when the house went down. I couldn't save them." said Erin. "So I know how you feel, losing Hopper and everyone else." Erin gave me a sympathetic smile. It was nice to have someone to relate to but at the same time, it was a horrible situation.
"I still feel them." I started. "It's like...it's like one of them are trying to reach out to me or something. I don't know."
"How? Who do you think it is?" Erin asked.
"I don't know. I don't know if it was just a dream but..." I trailed. I looked over at Erin who was waiting for me to answer. "I don't know, it's probably just all that talk about the prophecy."
"Is it the embalmed spirit?" Erin asked. I nodded my head. "Did they take a form of someone?"
"Yeah, but it was them when they were really young. I didn't know them then so it's just confusing." Suddenly, we heard some screeches from above us. We both looked to the skies and saw Demobats not far from us.
"Quick, into the forestry!" said Erin as she grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side of the main road, into a wooded area. The trees were dense and consuming, hiding us from the Demobats. We watched them as they flew away from us, not catching sights of us. "I think our best bet is to lay low here tonight. It looks pretty safe, since it's getting dark." said Erin as she took the bag off her back. I sighed and lowered myself to the ground.
"Here." said Erin as she threw me over a granola bar. "You need to eat."
"What about you?" I asked.
"Trust me, I'm just fine. Gotta keep your little one healthy." she smiled. I gave her a small smile on return before opening the bar.
We decided to not make a fire to keep ourselves hidden. I wrapped myself up in my jacket to keep me warm over the night and decided to get some sleep whilst Erin kept watch. That's when I fell into another dream...not one I particularly wanted to revisit again.