004 , [ mike wheeler x f!reader ] ST5 FINISHED, UNDER EDITING

THE RIGHTSIDE UP P.2

THE RIGHTSIDE UP
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CHAPTER EIGHT P.2

Hawkins, Indiana
NOVEMBER, 1987

" DUSTIN! LUCAS! WHAT'S GOING ON? COME ON, TALK TO ME! " Hopper's voice cracked through the walkie-talkie, sharp and desperate as he sat slumped against the cold metal of the water tank. The echo of his words died too quickly in the room. Static answered him.

Beside him, Y/n sat cross-legged on the floor, back straight despite the way her body trembled. Blood slid slowly down her nose, her hands rested on her knees, fingers twitching involuntarily.

Hopper's jaw tightened as his eyes lifted from her to the room around them. The shadows felt thicker now. Closer. His gaze snagged on something near the far wall.

Metal barrels.

About a half a dozen of them, stacked unevenly, dull and old. Hopper pushed himself to his feet, dread pooling heavy in his gut. The walkie-talkie slipped from his hand and clattered uselessly to the floor.

Slowly—too slowly—he walked toward the barrels. His eyes stayed locked on the orange-striped labels as if they might blink away if he looked too hard. He reached out, fingertips brushing against the cold metal of the nearest one.

HERBICIDE. 1966. VN.

His breath caught, a soft hiss filled the room. Hopper turned sharply as the mist began to pour in, thin at first, then thicker—rolling across the floor, curling around the base of the tank. It swallowed the space inch by inch. His heart slammed in his chest as his eyes snapped to the side of the tank.

He moved around it cautiously, on the other side stood a hospital bed. His blood ran cold. Sarah laid there, she looked small and fragile. A nasal cannula rested beneath her nose, the clear tubing looping around her ears.

Her fingers clutched her stuffed tiger, worn thin with love. She turned her head toward him, eyes calm in a way that hurt more than fear ever could.

"You knew this would happen."

Her voice was soft. Too soft.

"Just like you know what will happen to them."

Hopper froze. Tears burned behind his eyes, but his jaw set hard, muscles locking as if refusing to give in.

"Don't you see, Y/n?" Kali's voice broke through making Hopper turn, a memory of a conversation formed in the mist between his two daughters and Kali shown to him.