Play// Stranger Things

012

Valerie Archer had always been innovative. She guessed it was expected given who her parents were, but she didn't use her gifts like them. She didn't bother with trying to cure diseases or save lives, she didn't care about space exploration or solving the science behind time travel. 

What Valerie cared about was surviving. She might wear designer brands and live in a nice house, but things weren't always so easy for the Archer family. Rachel Archer spent every day of her life since she was sixteen looking over her shoulder, and living like that came with a lot of extra difficulties.

She didn't have any job experience, any that she could put down on a résumé, and even if she did the world didn't take too kindly to women trying to be more than a nurse when it came to the medical world. So, for a while, Valerie and Rachel had to do whatever they could to survive.

And yet, after all those years of being taught to put her will to live over any morals she might have, there she was throwing herself right into the lion's den for a bunch of strangers.  The girl had woken up almost immediately after she had closed her eyes thanks to a little blue pill she had taken two hours before.

At first, it was quiet, almost peaceful. The cold was different from the one on the other side, this cold was all-consuming and seemed to be coming from inside of her instead of the atmosphere.

Valerie sat in the silence for a moment, letting her body accommodate for the change in gravity levels and chemical balance that was the polluted air. That was until she heard a scream. Nancy's scream to be exact.

Valerie immediately took off running in search of the brunette, not daring to call out for her as she heard the sound of snarling in the distance every time she slowed to glance around her.

It didn't take Valerie long to find the girl in question, who was screaming out for Johnathan. Valerie watched silently as she spotted Nancy running right towards a large creature, one which Valerie recognized from her nightmares.

They seemed to be becoming a reality.

Valerie walked as lightly as she could over the crunching leaves below her feet, but in her head the slower she walked the louder they broke. Slapping a hand over Nancy's mouth, Valerie pulled them both back. Nancy let out a muffled scream before Valerie shushed her, removing her hand from the girl's lips.

"Valerie." Nancy exhaled in relief, looking around. "Come on, we gotta get out of here." Valerie panicked as she looked around in paranoia. She weirdly felt a lot less safe now that Nancy was with her. It put more than just her own life in danger.

"Definitely." Valerie nodded as she pulled the girl's arm, the two running in no particular direction. Once Nancy felt they were a safe distance away, meaning she couldn't run any farther without her lungs giving out, the two girls caught their breath against a rather gooey tree.

"What now?" Valerie questioned as she attempted to catch her breath. "Shh." Nancy panicked, listening for a moment. She could it behind them, the snarling. As if on cue the pair heard what seemed to be Johnathan calling out for Nancy.

Valerie met Nancy's eyes as they give each other the same look, Nancy nodding hesitantly before they both broke out into a sprint towards the source.

Valerie watched as Nancy stuck her arm through the glowing red transparent sap that laced over the rotting inside of the tree before she screamed out. "Johnathan."