SHADES of GREEN ↬ m. wheeler

XV. ASHES

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
━━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━━
❝ASHES❞

　
　

DARKNESS. A churning mass of it spread on the wall. Dane had been the first to hear the disturbance, sneaking off with Carla to do things they shouldn't. He had demanded that Carla wait, frazzled and wide-eyed, as he moved down the hall at a leisurely pace. The lights had been flickering in brightness.

　He had used his master key to open several of the doors before finding the correct one. He'd pushed open the frosted iron door, to be met with an unnaturally tall and slender figure, pale and grinning with malice. Dane had not had time to scream before a white, long-fingered hand shot to curl around his throat, crushing it with one clench.

　Carla had called his name, tremulous voice echoing and bouncing from the stained walls. She hadn't been working at Hawkins Lab long enough to know what those dark stains were, but in the eery silence, her mind provided a few possibilities. Still, she inched forward, now only able to whisper his name.

　In the silence, Carla heard a delicate clink—the dropping of something small. A tiny smile flitted across her mouth—now smudged with her pink lipstick—because she knew that Dane was merely playing games, like he so loved to do. He was probably luring her inside a quiet room to bring things further than ever—and oh, was she ready.

　"Dane," breathed Carla on a sigh of relief. "You scared—" She reached the open door, glanced down—and found the handsome man crumpled on the floor, eyes wide and glazed, lifeless yet still full of terror. His mouth was stretched in an O.

　Carla screamed, before the pale figure leapt from the shadows and pounced. The woman's voice cut off with a choke, a gurgle, and blood sprayed across the walls, her white-blonde hair.

　Behind the pale creature emerged several others. Outside, the temperature dropped a few degrees.

　

✧
✧　✧
✧

　

"MAN, IT GETS colder every day," Mike said, roughly chafing his arms, despite his sweater and heavy coat. "And it's not even winter yet."

　Jade glanced over at the boy beside her; his boots scraped against the frosted sidewalk. A rush of affection warmed her skin, touched her veins with fire. She clenched her fists, hoping the warmth would not come alive on her fingertips.

　"Honestly," Jade agreed. She sucked in a soft breath, trying to find a way to admit something—but could not find the words. So she spoke on the first random thought that crossed her mind. "How come you never invite me to your house?"

　Mike glanced down at Jade, his expression unreadable. "I never thought about it. But if you would like to...I mean, you could. It's just that I like being at yours. Your mom's so cool."

　Jade cracked a smile. "I don't deny that."

　He murmured a soft laugh, and the two fell into a comfortable silence. There was only the sound of cars rolling home, distant music and teenage laughter. Jade found herself thinking of Indianapolis and the nearly constant noise in the heart of the city and even in her old neighborhood. She could still hear the scrape of skateboards, the whizz of bicycles and their tinkling horns; the elders gathering on one's porch and laughing, without a care in the world, young at heart. Jade had left behind so much love, had left behind everything she had ever known, and a large portion of her felt stripped to the bone, lacking what made her herself.