brontide ; stranger things

TWO

Heimat (n.)

a place that you can call home

-Collie's Word of the Day #52

•••

  COLLIE shivered as she stepped onto the scale, wearing a thin white hospital gown. Her weight was marked, and her blood pressure was taken before she was injected with some sort of needle. She didn't know what was being pumped into her body, and she liked it to stay that way. Red markings were penciled onto the sides of her head and forehead, where small suction cups were placed with tape. She was then hooked up to a machine, which began to whir and quickly jot down readings.

  Still shaking from the cold, Collie looked nervously over at Hopper, who sat on a stool next to her reclined chair. Joyce was in the other room with Will, who was having the same thing done to him.

  "Breathe," Hopper reminded her quietly. She pulled in a deep breath as the door opened and Dr. Owens stepped in, carrying a file.

  "Collie, how are you doing?" Owens asked as he closed the door behind him. He nodded to Hopper, then took a seat on the other side of Collie. He opened the file and skimmed over it, sighing, "I see you shaved off another pound since you last came and saw us. Must be making room for all that Halloween candy." He laughed. "You still go trick-or-treating, Collie?"

  "No," Collie said, forcing a tiny smile. Owens glanced back down at her file, questioning,

  "What's your favorite candy? Huh? Desert island candy, what would you pick?" Collie shrugged, then replied,

  "3 Musketeers." Owens nodded as he looked at her.

  "That's a good call. I'm more of a Mounds guy. But, you know, nougat, that's hard to beat." He put down her file, then faced her. "Alright, let's talk. How have you been feeling since our last visit?"

  "The same," Collie said vaguely. Owens nodded.

  "The same, as in... varying appetite, chills, nightmares?" Collie was still for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Have you had any more incidents?"

  "...Yes," she said slowly.

  "And how do you feel during these?" he questioned. Collie stared at him, thinking deeply. The machine spitting out her readings whirred faster, her mind suddenly working overtime. The lights overhead flickered and her fingers twitched, as if she were controlling them. The flickering became faster and faster and her heart pounded in her chest, her skin tingling.

  Hopper and Owens stared at Collie, but she only looked ahead and ignored their worried gazes. At last, she said in a voice devoid of emotion,

  "Like... like I'm trapped. I can't get away from the feeling. It burns... everywhere, it burns. It's like I'm being shocked and I can't jerk myself away from whatever's hurting me. It's... electric. And there's nothing I can do to stop it."

•••

  That evening Collie, once again herself, followed Jonathan as they entered Will's room, sorting through the several movies in her hands.

  "Hey bud," Jonathan said as Will looked up at them, "we didn't know what you'd like for tonight, so we just got a bunch. Take your pick." Collie set the movies on his dresser as Will shrugged and went back to his drawing.