Moonstruck - Stranger Things

Falling|5

Seconds turn into minutes. Minutes into hours. Hours into days.
At least that's what it feels like, because I'm still falling through thin air.

I was right, I think to myself. Reality is just an illusion.

I look down, and for some reason, it looks like I'm falling through the sky. How did that happen? Below me, I see another dark forest, similar to the one I was just in. Only this time, it seems darker.
Could things get any stranger than this?
A few minutes later, I realize that yes, indeed, things can get a lot stranger than this.

I squeeze my eyes shut as I come in contact with the first tree, knocking the breath out of me. But for some reason, is wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. The bad thing is how hard it is to gain back my breath. It seems almost as if the air is toxic.

Wait a second.

I know a place where the air is toxic. Where things are stranger than usual. Where dark forests are darker. Where no one can hear your screams.

I know exactly where I am. Fear overtakes my body, and I begin to panic. The question is, how in the world did I get here?

I can feel the ground as it gets closer, closer, closer. I stop falling when I hit it, but it doesn't hurt. I slowly open my eyes, and notice that I've landed in a big pile of goo.
Gross, I mutter and I get up. What a warm welcome.

Yes, I am in the upside down.

. . .
I start to walk, afraid of what is to meet me here. I have no idea what lurks here, what could take me and eat me for a midnight snack. And all of a sudden, I remember what she said. How could I forget?

"Mike, please. I am upside down. Find a gate. I need you."

Well, unless I somehow fell through a gate in the sky, and unless she meant she was hanging upside down somewhere, I can assume that she brought me here. I have no idea how, but she must be drained by now. Especially in this toxic environment with no food. I need to find her.

I start running, screaming her name, not caring what monstrous creatures hear. I'm finding her, no matter what. I've waited this long, I've come this far, and I am not going to give up now. Actually, I kind of can't give up, since I'm already stuck here, but I just need some self-motivation.

"Eleven!" I scream, waiting for her fragile voice to answer me back. "El, where are you?"

And then I hear it. The voice that I've been hearing in my head, it's real. This isn't some dream or vision, this is real life. She's real.

And then, before I even know it, I'm falling again.

But this time, I'm not falling 200 miles per hour through the sky. I'm not waiting for the impact, because I know that this kind of falling doesn't have one. No, I'm not falling in that sort of way.

I'm falling for the glowing pair of eyes that shine through the darkness. The ones that I haven't seen in what feels like forever. The eyes that I fell for every single day, and have been falling for over and over again every single night when I dream about her. Those eyes, they don't just light up a room, they light up the entire world. They light up the upside down.

And even when I feel my absolute darkest,
they light up my life.

"El," I mumble, before running to her and taking her up in my arms. Tears escape from my eyes, sobs from my mouth. I don't care, though. She's alive. All this time, she's been alive. All the demons that I had in my head, the ones banging my skull with a sledgehammer, are all gone. It's like my mind was a dirty window, and she wiped me clean.

I sit down, and take her with me, still holding her. My sobs have turned into soft tears, but hers haven't. She sobs into my chest, saying things I can't understand. I rub her back and try my best to comfort her, but I have no idea what she's been through while I was gone. I just need to wait until she calms down to explain.

After about 10 minutes, El raises her head up from my chest and looks at me. Her hair is very curly and has grown out to chin length, the amount of dried up blood from her nose is unbelievable, and she has bruises just about everywhere. It hurts my heart to see her like this, but she still looks beautiful to me. I look down at what she's wearing, expecting  her old dress from Nancy would be on her, tattered up and torn. But instead, I see a hospital gown, stained with mud and ripped. Why would she be wearing that?

"What happened?" I ask her, and wipe the tears from her eyes with my thumb. I grab a tissue from my backpack and wipe up the dried blood on her nose.

"The-the bad men t-took me from the upside down. They hurt me and m-made me take pills. They t-turned me into a monster. I hurt them, and they made me close all the gates but one. Then they t-trapped me in here and d-destroyed the gate. There is no way in or out. I b-brought you here, I'm sorry. We are stuck until I get more power."

I can't find words. All I do is stare in complete sorrow. They tortured her and drugged her up, and when she fought back, they just trapped her here. She has been living in this awful place for almost a year, while I've been at home. I can't help but to feel guilty, although I know it's not my fault.

"So this whole time, you've just been trying to connect with me? That's why I've been hearing your voice and seeing monsters and having these weird demons in my head?" I ask, and she just looks at me with a confused expression.

"Mike, I did talk to you, but I never made you see any monsters."

HEY YALL
I JUST REMEMBERED I HAVE TRAINING FOR TRACK WITN MY DADS MILITARY FRIEND AT 10 AND IM STILL UP AT 4AM SO LAST UPDATE FOR TONIGHT
THANKS FOR READIN
Lauren