Black Ink (A stranger Things Spin-off)

Book 1/ Chapter 1: The Crossing Of The Paths

The boy with chocolate brown hair that matched his bedside slippers, rubbed his dark coloured eyes lethargically before slamming his fist against his digital clock, in the hopes that it would knock the time back an hour.

However, no amount of force would change the time.

It was 5:30.

Monday morning.

September 1st.

The high pitched beeping sound that he loathed so much had gone in through one ear and out through the other. Cutting his peaceful dream clean in half in the process, and now much to his dismay he was undoubtedly and irrevocably awake.

"Ughhhhhh" he groaned, getting up as every bit of warmth that had rocked him to sleep last night was harshly ripped away by the cold reality of the morning.

Michigan mornings in September were far from delightful in Rosebush County, with some days reaching a chilling twenty-one degrees. Of course some States saw far worse, but nonetheless, it was cold.

He put on his slippers as he made his way out of his small bedroom and across the hall to his sister's own. He flicked the light switch attached to the wall outside her room. It made the lampshade in her bedroom flicker and let her know that somebody was about to enter as she wouldn't hear it if you knocked.

It was the same-old-same-old routine for Eric. Get up, get his sister ready, get himself ready, hastily eat breakfast, go to school, come home, repeat...

He opened the door with a smile on his face but it dropped immediately when he saw her curled up in a ball on the edge of her bed with tears streaming down her face.

"What's wrong?" he signed.

"I had another nightmare!" she signed back, wiping away her tears.

"what happened, are you okay?"

"I'm okay. I promise."

"Did you wet the bed again?" He frantically pulled back the sheets and checked for wet patches.

"No, I've had dry sheets for seven days." She looked up at him proudly, her chest puffed out a bit higher than before.

"Good." He smiled, giving her a hug.

"You ready for school?"

She shook her head glumly, looking down.  "Are you?"

"Not really." He frowned.

She half-smiled, but it faded so quickly that he wasn't sure it had even been there in the first place.

"You know I love you more than anything, don't you?" He signed.

"I know." She signed back, her smile working its way back onto her lips.

"But I love you more."

" Not possible."  He signed before kissing her on the cheek.

He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bathroom, sitting her down on the seat of the toilet as he ran her bath.

"Eric! Eric hunny!" He heard his mom call as he heard her light footsteps coming up the stairs.

She was a fair, slender woman, a little above average height. She had a thin nose, high cheekbones that always seemed to be flushed with the warmest tint of pink and dark hair that formed into naturally tight ringlets. They were the stubborn kind of ringlets that would make the neighbours gasp in horror if she ever dared to brush them out, right before they asked if she'd just touched an electric fence! Luckily Eric had only inherited his mother's hair colour, but his younger sister was proof that such a thing as luck was not something that ran in the family.