Shutter [Jonathan Byers] Stranger Things I

XXIX: Monster

mon·ster

noun

an imaginary creature that is typically large, ugly, and frightening.

Somewhere deep in the forest there was a lab, well funded although not well known, this lab stood in the heart of Hawkins' forests. No one knew it was located there, no one in Hawkins at least. Hiding in plain sight, it went unnoticed by anyone. Within thick, concrete walls was a large team of scientists and businessmen alike. They were the crooks, the dangerous ones. What they were willing to do, what and who they were willing to sacrifice, that was what made them dangerous. Inside those walls was something far more sinister than any man in a suit; what lurked within those walls was something not from this world.

This strange monster was no longer within those walls; desperate for an escape as any pursued creature would be, it managed to do just that. It was a dark day for the lab, with many, many casualties. However, it was the missing child that was more devastating to them than the release of the monster and the loss of many lives. She was the key; she was everything, and so they needed her back. Everyone was expendable except for the child.

In the safety of her room, Emilia turned on her record player and tuned out the thoughts of what was lurking outside. Although she didn't feel safe, she did not feel as though something had its eyes on her again. The image she had drawn, although raw and crude, seemed to call out to her, and she'd pulled it out three times since she'd tucked it away as to not look at it again. Taller than a man, she recalled, with no face. She wondered then, how could she have felt eyes on her if this thing had none. Half of her wanted to scratch out the drawing, to tear it up, to burn it, but she knew that it wouldn't leave her mind if she did that.

Pulling out the portfolio for her photography class, she spread it out. A large ringed scrapbook, each page had images plastered onto it, and on the back a description. She penned in the descriptions, using her favourite pen and making sure her writing was legible. The first page was of the forest, showing the beautiful evergreens, the dirt, the road. This was an allusion to her mother, and she wished she had pictures of her in that moment, just one. On the next page was images of the inside of her house, the ones she had been taking when her father lashed out at her. She knew her photography teacher wouldn't care about her home life; teachers only pretended to care, they never actually wanted to get involved, and she didn't want them to either.

In Mirkwood, as Will and his friends called it, the boy ran as fast as he could. He wanted to scream, but all he could do was pant and try not to cry as he raced through the forests. Something was following him, something dangerous. Although he wanted to believe it was his creative imagination running wild, he saw something on the road, something that caused him to crash his bike. Home was not far, but it was not close enough. The leaves scattered about the forest floor were everywhere underfoot, making running difficult. There was great risk of falling, something he could not afford.

Emilia heard the front door open, and she stood up so quickly that her head throbbed with pain momentarily. The head rush dissipated and she yanked open her bedroom door to ensure that it was her father returning home, not that creature coming into one of the two places she sort of felt safe in this world. Spotting his greying, short hair, she sighed in relief. Her father looked down the hall and spotted her, confused to why his daughter was bothering greeting him, especially at this late hour; it was almost nine, usually she was locked away in her room, avoiding him by now.