𝙴𝚕𝚢𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚗 ~ 𝙴𝚕𝚖𝚊𝚡

《𝟷》

August 22, 1985
2:20 AM

I suddenly found myself standing in a dark place that was appallingly familiar to me. The upside down...a strong feeling of fear engulfed my body and I could feel the color drain away from my face. Everything was so cold. I could see the dark grey and blue sky that was slowly turning into an enormously giant shadow. Feeling a bad shiver and goosebumps rise on my body, I turned around to see the sky behind me changed the color from blue to bright black and red. The real storm was just about to come. I wanted to run away...to scream and make it all go away. But I knew I couldn't. I was frozen on the spot, staring up at the sky with wide eyes. This thing was here for me. The Mind Flayer is back...and it won't disappear. It is here to take me. I finally managed to tear my eyes away from the shadow and frantically started to look around for a possible escape even though deep down, I knew that there is none...
I felt my chest tightening. It was suddenly harder to breathe. The shadow was growing bigger and bigger with each passing second, covering the whole sky and making the place even darker than it was before. I was trapped. There was no safe place now. Realising that made me feel even more forlorn. Like a caged animal. Not again...Hot tears started to sting my eyes before freely sliding down my cheeks and falling to the ground.
"Go away!"
I screamed into the silence and took a few steps back before hearing the monster answer with a loud growl that made my stomach twist. My throat felt completely dry but despite that I managed to let out another scream.
"No! NO!"
I started repeating after I saw one of the morster's limbs stretch out towards me. I turned around and tried to run. But to no avail. I felt the limb wrap around my leg and lost my balance, falling to the ground and letting out another scream as the Mind Flayer was dragging me closer to it's body. I cried out in pain when it's sharp teeth tore my leg open and...
"El?"
I heard a voice that wasn't mine.
"EL!"

El felt someone grab her shoulder and shake it, making her whole body tense up and quickly try to crawl away from the touch. She sat up and hugged her knees to her chest that was quickly moving up and down because of her heavy breathing.

"No! D-Don't touch-! "

She said, her throat feeling scratchy.
The hand then immediately disappeared from her shoulder, allowing her to take a few deep breaths. It always took her a few seconds to realise where she was and that she just had another nightmare. She knew where she was even though the room was dark. She was only able to see the silhouette of the person that woke her up and was now moving to turn on the lamp that was standing on the night table. Once the light submerged the small room they were in, El shut her eyes quickly, giving them time to adjust. When opening her eyes wasn't painful anymore, she looked up and saw a very familiar redhead watching her with a concerned expression written in her face.

"...El? Are you okay?"

She asked, her voice sounding almost afraid to ask. Seeing her friend like this made her chest ache in a undescribable way. The frightened brunette was looking at her with terror in her eyes now. The redhead wanted to soothe her. But she knew that El needed space whenever she woke up from a nightmare. This wasn't her first time seeing the girl like this. It was happening quite often after the events at the Starcourt Mall.
After a few seconds of waiting for an answer and not getting any, Max moved from her spot, sitting closer to the brunette who was currently wiping her tear stained cheeks with her palms. When she felt Max move closer, she looked up at her, now inching closer to her too only to wrap her arms around Max and bury her face in the crook of her neck. She let out a quiet sob out of both exhaustion and relief. After the Starcourt incident that happened about a month ago, the girl wasn't able to get almost any sleep and it was slowly making her go crazy.
Max enveloped the other girl in her arms too, slowly rubbing her hand in circles on her back and hoping it's going to help her to calm down again.

A few minutes passed now and the girls were still sitting on the bed, wrapped in each other's arms. Max glanced over at El's digital clock...2:26AM. They didn't even sleep for 3 hours.
She slowly let go of El who didn't seem to want to let go of her though. The brunette was calmed down by now. She just simply didn't want to let go of her friend. She felt safe like that. And the feeling of safety was something she lacked for a really long time.

"El...it's pretty early. You should try and get some more sleep."

Max said carefully, looking down at the girl with a soft expression. She still meant it though.
El finally pulled away from the hug, looking at her too.

"I'm scared..."

She said, looking down when she felt her bottom lip quiver.
Max lowered her head a bit to see El's face, a small smile forming on her lips.

"It's okay now. You know they never come for the second time."

Max stated, her light blue eyes still trying to meet El's brown ones.
The brunette looked up again with a defeated face and nodded after a few seconds of silence to which Max responded with another smile. She nodded before leaning back to turn off the lights again and pulling the blanket over her body, hearing El doing so too.
There was another silence after that for a few seconds before Max heard quiet rustling of the bed sheets and felt the brunette's head tuck under her chin. El was simply just seeking the feeling of safety again. Max couldn't help but crack a smile at the girl's actions before pulling the blanket up to make sure El stays warm. She then wrapped an arm lightly around the girl, that being the last thing she did before hearing quiet snoring and smiling one more time, dozing off few minutes after.

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So...welcome to the first chapter of my first book! I hope there's not too many mistakes or something. If you find any, please let me know! :)