Play// Stranger Things

016

Valerie Archer sat silent as she picked at her nail beds, her knees against her chest and her head aching. She had never imagined that she'd be in this predicament, sitting on the cold floors of the gymnasium beside an inflatable pool.

She supposed there were some things in life that no one could've imagined happening, this was definitely one of those times. She felt like she was stuck in a bad dream, but her bad dreams were much worse than this. 

The girl glanced over to her left as she watched her mother cradle El softly, the girl sobbing as she tried to recover from her mental trip to the upside down.

Hopper sighed as he grabbed his jacket, patting Charlie's shoulder as he neared where the boy was standing. "So this fort, where is it?" Hopper questioned as he slid his hat back on. "Uh, it's in the woods behind our house," Joyce explained softly.

"He used to go there to hide," Jonathan added as he sniffled. Hopper simply nodded, heading out of the gym without another word or a mention of a plan. Valerie watched as Joyce and Johnathan followed after the man before she let her gaze fall upon her mother.

"No." She shook her head. "Val," Rachel tried as she stood, her shirt soaked from where El had rested against it. "No." Valerie repeated as she followed her mother towards the door. "He's a monster, mom. You can't trust him."

"Exactly, he's a monster. I've got to make sure you don't hurt." Rachel spoke softly. Valerie scoffed to herself, of course now was the time her mother had finally decided to be selfless. "Then stay here, don't leave me."

"It's time for me to go home, Val. We can't hide anymore." Rachel shook her head before taking Valerie's hand and intertwining their pinkies. "No more hiding." Valerie stayed silent for a moment too long before bringing her hand up to her lips and pecking it, sealing the promise.

"Stay here. We'll be back before you know it, unless we die. " Rachel instructed, giving Valerie a reassuring smile. Valerie let out a soft chuckle before nodding, falling into line with Johnathan, who had just finished talking to his mother.

Johnathan threw an arm around Valerie's shoulder as the two slowly retreated inside to find the Wheeler twins sitting in an empty corridor decorated in a tiger mural. Johnathan slid down next to Nancy and Valerie next to Charlie.

"We have to go back to the station," Nancy spoke up quietly, hugging her knees to her chest. Her cheeks were met with tears, suffering under the weight of knowing that her best friend was dead. "What?" Johnathan questioned as Valerie gave Charlie a look, wondering if he felt the same.

"You guy's moms and Hopper are just walking in there like bait." Nancy spoke in distain as she absently stared into the distance. "That thing is still in there. And we can't just sit here and let it get them, too. We can't."

"You still wanna try it out?" Johnathan questioned the girl. "I wanna finish what we started." Her eyes slowly raised to Jonathan's. "I want to kill it."

"What about you new girl, you still wanna kick same monster ass?" Charlie questioned the girl who nodded. "Hell yeah." She answered without a second thought. "Johnathan?" Val questioned the boy.

"Let's do it."

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"Remember," Jonathan started, only to be cut off by Nancy.  "Straight into Will's room. And –" Charlie took lead.  "Don't step on the trap." He nodded. "Wait for the yo-yo to move. Then," Jonathan lifted the cap of his zipper lighter, the flame burning for a moment before he closed it. "Alright. You ready?"     

The group looked around at each other, all wearing the same scared shitless but determined looks. "Ready." The other three agreed before Charlie pulled Valerie over to the couch.

"You sure about this?" Charlie questioned as Nancy and Johnathan prepared to cut their palms to draw out the monster. "No, but I'm not one to back out of a fight, scaredy boy." Valerie smiled softly, causing Charlie to get the overwhelming urge to kiss the girl.

"Char." Nancy called out, handing the boy the knife she held in her now bandaged left hand. "Game time, new girl." Charlie let out a shaky breath as he stood from his spot on the couch, quickly slicing the palm of his hand before he could overthink it.

"Remember, the sooner the better." Johnathan reminded the girl. "And use the lamp. My mom, she said Will was about to communicate through them so two blinks yes, one blink no."

"Got it." Valerie gave the group the most reassuring smile she could muster before she laid back on the couch and closed her eyes. The girl stayed completely silent and still until she felt it.

The temperature dropped and the air thickened, a tingle raising up Valerie's spine before her honey colored eyes flew open. She wasn't sure what she was looking for in all honesty. The group of teens didn't have much time to put together their plan, so they were improvising for the most part.

Charlie was the one who thought they could use Valerie as a security system, but now that she was actually on the lookout she thought the idea was really stupid of the boy.

That however didn't stop Valerie from sticking to the plan. God this was a really stupid plan. With each step Valerie took her legs shook lightly, but she just kept thinking about him. She had never met anyone like him before.

From the way he talked to the way he dressed he was completely unique. His porcelain skin shined in the sun and his shallow hazel eyes were hauntingly breathtaking. Valerie liked every little thing about him, even the things she hated, like the way he wordlessly stared at her or how he always kept eye contact for far too long.

She felt stupid, thinking about her dumb teenage relationship in such a moment but there she was, surrounded by an ulcer of decay and darkness, and all she could think about is how she should've kissed him.

"You with us, new girl?" His voice sounded, but it wasn't clear or crisp like usual. It came out muffled, like Valerie was submerged in water. The girl frowned, unsure of what to do.

She had spent months being taken to this god awful hell hole, and yet she still didn't understand it one bit. Valerie let her eyes close as she took in her surroundings. For the first time she didn't feel any fear. For the first time she felt, at home?

She pushed the strange feeling deep down as she approached the lamp Johnathan had put on the end table for them to communicate through. "Val?" Charlie sounded once again.

She could hear Nancy and Johnathan too, but they were more sounds and syllables than coherent words. She could barely tell it was them and not static buzzing in the air, but Charlie's voice echoed in her head.

"She should've answered by now." The boy stressed from across the void.

Valerie's lips pursed as she stared at the object before flicking it to no avail. The girl scoffed before she focused her attention on the energy in the air around her. The atmosphere was magnetic, she could feel it racing through her skin, and with a single breath the bulb sparked to life.

Blink Blink

"That's my girl." Valerie grinned victoriously at Charlie's words, but her moment of celebration didn't last long as she felt a shiver travel up her spine. The brunette quickly turned around to face the door, slowly approaching it.

Valerie felt her heartbeat pick up with every step she took, but she didn't dare hesitate as she pried the vine encased door open, coming face to face with the thing of her nightmares.

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