Moonstruck - Stranger Things

Fear|25

M I K E

"Don't cry El," I murmur, rocking her softly, like a baby. The sounds of her soft whimpers fill my ears, and I just wish they would stop. I want to make them stop. I can't stand to see her like this, but now I have to on a daily-basis. It's been 5 days since we took her home, since I got her back. Every single night, the sound of screaming fills up the room, her tears wetting the cloth of my shirt.

"Mike, I don't want to do this anymore," she whispers, sniffling. "We'll get through it, El. I will always be right here with you."

She wraps her arms around my neck as her body shakes with sobs. "When will is stop," she cries, her voice muffled. I gently place my hand under her chin, lifting it up. "El, I don't know when it will stop. But I do know that you don't have to be afraid anymore. You're safe, I'm safe. Nothing will happen, I promise."

I wipe her tear-stained face with my thumbs as she lies back down. "It's okay," I say, laying myself down beside her. She wraps her arms around my back as her sobs slowly begin to become quieter. Soon, her body is at complete peace, her steady breaths warm against my neck. My silent tears begin to fall, and just like every night, I pull her in closer with each drop. When I got her back, I thought that my mind would be purified, that everything would be well, that my insanity would disappear and my demons would escape.

But I was wrong. Man, I was so wrong.

The worst demon still thrives inside my mind. He eats away at my everything. He breaks me down until I am nothing. He rises above all others, with his very own throne in hell. For some odd reason, he chose my head as his new home, in which he will never leave. He's a seditionist, he's a parasite.

And his name is fear.

It is not just the fear of monsters in the shadows, of my unwilling fate, or even of the upside down. No, this is the fear of losing her. The fear of watching her crumple into tiny pieces of nothing. The fear of screaming her name, and knowing I won't get a reply. The fear of the insanity that would take over my mind if she was gone.

That is the worst kind of fear, the worst kind of evil that can ruin your mind.

Why did it chose me?

I don't know.

What have I done wrong?

Everything.

Do I deserve this fate?

Probably.

H O P P E R

I watch as the girl with the red hair peaks at us through the bushes. Her face is dirty and her clothes are torn. From what I can see, she looks skinny- too skinny. Her cheeks and eyes are sunken, and it looks like her happiness is, too. She looks so sad. She looks alone.

"Sarah, sweetie, can you come here for a sec?" I ask, and I see her get up from the couch. "What is it, Dad?" She asks, coming up beside me and looking through the window. "Look straight ahead, to the bushes about 20 feet away from us. You see that girl hiding in them? Do you know who she is, or can you find out?"

Her eyes widen and her cheeks turn a dark shade of red. "Uh...no idea," she mumbles, turning around and walking back towards the couch. "Sarah," I stop her, and she turns around again. "Are you sure?" I ask.