you are not alone → stranger things

i. nightmare

unknown time
El's POV

I raced through the woods, the diseased air barely allowing my lungs to constrict to breathe. It was coming.

I tripped over a fallen tree, gasping. I scrambled to get back up, but I could hear it approaching, crunching through the dead leaves. The dim atmosphere gave way for a moment, and I caught a glimpse the shadows of many heads, slithering high and low, searching, searching. For me.

I lay as still as possible, knowing that it couldn't see well. It might overlook me if I didn't make a sound.

The crunching stopped, and I heard rattling breaths right above me. I shut my eyes in fear, my throat getting tight. Would it-

I now heard a low growl, and it doubled and tripled, many throaty sounds overlapping each other like some kind of sick orchestra. No.

My eyes shot open, and I sat up, my heart pounding in my ears. It's okay, honey, I heard whispered in my ear. It was Joyce. I got you. Don't be afraid. I'm right here with you. You're safe.

I swallowed hard as her voice disappeared. I wished I could go home- but where was home?

I had been in the Upside Down for who knows how long. It was lonely- I mostly stayed in Mike's house. Sometimes I heard him talking, but I hadn't lately. Maybe he had given up on me.

I didn't know if there were still monsters. Real ones, not the ones haunting my dreams. Sometimes I thought I heard things, but I never investigated it out of fear.

"Mike? Mike!" I heard suddenly, making me jump.

"What?" The whisper was so quiet I barely heard it, but I did. My heart swelled. Mike.

"Mom says dinner is ready. She called you herself, like, five times." There was silence for a while, then the girl's voice came again, closer now. "Mike, I'm worried about you," she said. Worried? "We all are. You aren't eating. You barely move from this sofa. Just last week on Christmas Eve you were still playing D&D with your friends, and then it's just like you shut down." There was silence for a few seconds. "It's El, isn't it? That's why you're acting this way."

I swallowed, waiting for more, but Mike said nothing. Despite the awful things I had heard, I felt hopeful for the first time since I had gotten here. Mike missed me.

For the first time, I got up and left the basement just as I heard another voice. But I didn't listen to it. It was about time that I tried to get back to Mike.

Yes, I know, a dull start, but bear with me here lol