Illusion ~Stranger Things~ [COMPLETED & UNDER EDITING]

Chapter 16

||Stars||

-The Monster-

"If you ever feel alone, just look at the stars. Each star is someone who past on. The stars are there so they can watch over you. As long as you see stars, you'll never be alone." Jerry Knight had told Pine one summer night.

Now as Pine looked up at the sky, she felt even more alone. No stars could be seen in the haze. Maybe there weren't any there at all.

"People are stars before they reach the sky. The most extraordinary people become the brightest stars. Pine, you'll be one of those stars."

"Daddy," little seven year old Pine had said "you and mama are gonna be real bright too."

Jerry and Lilac smiled at Pine as they all watched the stars.

"You know," Pine broke the silence between her and Will as they made their way to Castle Byers "I can't wait till the everglow."

"The what?"

"The everglow. It's a word my dad used to say. He said it was the feeling you get after your sad. The tiny bit of hope you feel after you have been through something big. That light, the glow of happiness. He named me after it, in a way. He said it made him think of evergreen. You only feel the everglow for a little while but, evergreen trees stay green forever. Pines were his favorite kind of evergreen."

"That's really nice. I'd like to meet him. You know, if we get out of here."

"There's something you need to know." Pine said looking at Will.

Will seemed to detect the sadness in Pine's eyes and took her hand to reasure her.

"When I was eight years old, my parents were murdered. When the cops arrived, they only saw the blood on my hands and the gun I as holding and thought it was me. I was proved innocent but, people still didn't believe it. The way people looked at me on the streets, the way parents would pull their children back... There was a man, he killed them but, I don't know why. The psychiatrists all said I was crazy, that I'd imagined it all but, I know what I saw. Before I got here, I'd just escaped. He found me again and kidnapped me. I don't know what he wants with me but, the night my parents died, I was in my room and I heard him say something. He kept asking where I was. And when he took me, I woke up with this."

Pine took her hand from Will's and pulled up her sleeve just enough for him to see the 014 tattoo.

"What does it mean?" He asked

"I don't know. The man, Brenner, he ran experiments on me. He kept trying to get me to find this girl with my mind, said we were a family. He wanted me to call him 'papa' and bring my 'sister' Eleven 'home'. Something about being a family. But he will never be my family. He killed my family."

A single tear slid down Pine's cheek. Pine had expected Will to run the other way or something but, instead he wrapped her in a hug.

"You didn't deserve any of that. I hope he gets justice someday." Will said

Pine smiled.

"There's one other thing." Pine said "I think I can see the future. Not only the future but, the past and present too. Those drawings you asked about, I think they're part of that."

"That's how you found you that night?" Will asked

"I think so."

The two walked hand in hand through the forest. They hoped they'd be out of this horrid land soon but, until then they knew, they at least had each other.

(That was more of a filler chapter but, it gave Pine an opportunity to tell Will about her parents. I wanted him to hear it from her.)

TwistedMinds