Heartbroken//Mileven

Chapter 22

Mike realized too late what was happening. Besides the fact that they were all blindly running into the heart of the Upside Down, the environment was constantly changing and moving as they progressed. 

As the four made it to a clearing, they all were faced with the edge of the cliff, the quarry of the real world. Mike turned to everyone, their desperation leaking out of their widened eyes. 

With out warning he flung himself over, and hurtled to the water.

 "Mike no!" 

Eleven screamed, trying to use the last ounce of her strength to hold him up; but Mike looked up at her. 

"You have to trust me El, I have a plan". 

She nodded with tears in her eyes and dropped him from her invisible grasp, having him hurtle once more towards the earth. 

At the last moment, Mike's arm hooks onto the moldy vine he had been eyeing before he jumped, the consistency making him gag. 

The last person to jump was Dustin, he screamed about how insane they all were for a solid ten minutes. 

Eleven finally just tipped him over enough to lose his balance. A mischievous smile caught the corner of Mike's eye, forcing him to burst out laughing just as Dustin landed in the cocoon of rot with the rest of them.

 "Great idea Mike" Lucas said sarcastically. 

"Now we can't get out". 

"Lucas stop being like that we can too."

Mike looks down over the edge and sees what El was whimpering about. Bodies in the lake, their eyes hollow, and the limbs limp and extremely pale. 

Dustin throws a stick into the water, and nothing happens, prompting Lucas to erupt once more. 

"What happens if they eat us? Huh Mike? Thanks for getting us in a mess again!" 

Mike turns away from Lucas to look into the hazy distance, the gruesome air choking him into aggression. 

"Well I don't see you with a better idea Lucas? Huh?!".

 "Guys guys, Jesus can you stop?"

 Dustin steps in.

 "You're gonna get us all killed by shouting so loud!" 

El puts her tiny hand on Mike's arm,

 "He's right."

He slowly brings his hand to meet hers, ignoring Lucas' persistent argumentation. All they had to do now was figure out how to get to shore without disrupting the bodies. 

El swirls her stick in the water until a hand suddenly grabs it and pulls her in. Dustin immediately grabs her foot and Mike her waist, tugging her free. 

As the body sunk back into the water, Mike could see its face. It had been Nancy.