Illusion ~Stranger Things~ [COMPLETED & UNDER EDITING]

Chapter 12

||Will||

-The flea and the acrobat part II-

Pine woke in a very different place than she'd passed out in. The first thing she saw was the ceiling. At least, she thought it was a ceiling. It was so covered in vines and gunk that it almost wasn't recognizable as an indoor ceiling. That was another thing, this place was indoors. It didn't feel indoors. It was hardly a shelter from the dark, grim world outside. Pine realized she was laying on something soft. It was a sofa. She sat up and started to examine her surroundings. Everything was covered in either vines, slime, or both. Underneath all the grime. The walls were covered in a peach colored floral wallpaper. A coffee table sat in front of the sofa with papers and books scattered on top. It took her a moment to realize she wasn't alone. At first she was alarmed. Someone else was sitting on the couch. Pine looked a little closer and recognized the someone as Will. Curled up in the corner, against the arm, and fast asleep. Pine almost hadn't recognized him. He'd gotten so frail, so fragile. He looked as if he hadn't slept for days, he probably hadn't.

Pine has been here before. However, now it felt different. More real. Maybe it was the icy air biting at her fingertips, or perhaps it was the smell, a stench of death, rot, and decay, swarming around them. Most of all, she thought it was the feeling. Will was there. He was actually there, with her. She'd been to this world before, talked to him there, even seen him. This time, however, she wasn't just an illusion to this world, she was real. A small whimper broke the silence. The small boys eyes fluttered open, a slight sense of confusion before he realized where he was.

"Will?" Pine said

She only said that. There is so much to say but, for now "Will?" said everything. The last thing she had remembered was being a forest, inches away from death and someone else is wit. Someone had stolen the monsters attention, dragging it away from Pine, and putting that someone else in danger. Did that someone get away? Who was that someone? The only other person she'd seen any trace of here was Will. Thinking back to the shout, "LET HER GO!", it had sounded so brave at the time but, now as Pine replayed that moment in her mind, there was a quivering tone to it. "Let her go!" The voice had come from someone small and afraid, standing their ground but deathly afraid of the ground they stood upon. The voice had come from a child, judging from the key of which had come. Pine had a feeling she knew who it was.

"You saved me, didn't you?"

Will nodded shyly. Pine enveloped him in a hug. She never really hugged anyone anymore. In fact she rarely made contact with others. She didn't trust them, she was afraid she'd get hurt again. But now, as she sat in another universe filled with death, she didn't care if she opened up to Will. She didn't care if she told him all of her secrets. After all, for all they knew, this could be their last chance do so.

The hug served as an unspoken "thank you" and even when they pulled apart, they stayed close. Pine examined the space more carefully now that she was in less danger and less confused. The place was gloomy and filled with white flakes that floated through the air, almost like decaying snow. There was a sort of fog enabling Pine and Will to see clearly far ahead of them. It was a kind of mist, a dark thick mist. The whole place was very grim with a blueish aura. Glop collected in any corner it could find and most everywhere was caked in slime. There was a grey look to the place and the temperature was far below zero. Pine wished she was wearing more than just a sweater and jacket. Her jacket was thick and a bit too warm for the weather in Hawkins but this, this wasn't Hawkins. Her sweater was fairly warm and Will seemed to be frozen all the way to the bone. After all, both kids were stick thin, there wasn't anything there to keep them warm. She took off her jacket and held it out to Will. 

"N-no, you keep it."

"No." She insisted, shaking her head in disagreement.

He gave her a look saying that he didn't want to take it but, at the same time did. Once he put it on they leaned against each other, snuggling together for warmth and comfort. It felt a bit awkward at first but, as the moment deepened it became natural. After all, for all they knew they were the only humans in this terrifying reality. In Hawkins none of this would be happening. Pine would never have opened up to Will and Will would have never realized that Pine was truly his friend. Maybe, in a weird way, it may have been a slightly good thing that Pine and Will got kidnapped by a big monster and trapped in a world full of death. Well, not good but, at least something good came out of the experience.

***

After awhile the children became very sleepy. Both knew it was a bad idea to both fall asleep at the same time but, neither could keep their eyes open much longer. Pine slipped into a dreamland before she could stop herself and Will quickly joined her. 

Pine felt the gun unfit for her hand to hold. It was cold and heavy, hard and powerful. It was frightening to hold so much power, so much destruction. She was afraid of the man. He'd killed her parents. She felt she had to run after him, however, she had no clue what she'd do when she confronted him. All she knew was she felt stronger with that much power in her grasp. It was almost reassuring. Slowly Pine crept through a dimly lit hallway. Full of bloody bodies that littered the floors. The gun was held out in front of her, leading the way. 

She stood horrified, watching the girl, so small against the monster yet so much more powerful. 

Darkness consumed her as she felt herself being dragged over a rugged ground. 

"Pine, wake up. Come on," she heard a voice "we have to go."

"Huh?" she replied groggily

"You were having a nightmare."

Pine realized she was still slumped against Will, her position changed to face him more directly in her sleep. She blushed but didn't move. This was the warmest she'd felt in the bitter cold that surrounded them.

"O-oh. T-thanks for waking me up." 

Will replied with a sweet smile. 

"We have to go?" Pine asked, remembering his last words.

"Yeah, I heard it outside."

"Does it know were here?"

"Not yet."

"Where do we go?"

"Castle Byers."