Home // A Stranger Things Story

.ii

November, 1983

My eyes shot open and I immediately regretted it. My eyes stung and I couldn't breathe. I sat up, coughing up a clear liquid that I could only hope wasn't spinal fluid. I hacked up the rest until I could breathe again.

I sat up and realized with a jolt that I wasn't in the Upper World anymore. The same eerie vines and bluish color covered everything in sight. I whimpered as I looked around quickly. Part of me hoped I was alone. That would mean everyone else was safe. But I also didn't want to be alone in there.

I saw a glimpse of a dirty pink dress and I felt a mix of terror and hope. "El." I croaked out weakly. I could taste blood in my mouth and it hurt to speak.

I crawled over to her and shook her awake, but nothing happened. "El. El. El!" Her eyes snapped open and she coughed up the same liquid. I patted her back until she was done. She looked up and me and weakly smiled.

"You're okay." She whispered.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I lied, hoping she didn't catch my voice breaking. Pain crashed into my body in waves. She looked behind me, a single tear falling down her face.

"Upside Down?" She whispered.

"Yeah. We need to find a way out." I told her firmly. I stood and helped her up. We both stumbled, holding onto each other for support.

We walked out of the classroom, trying not to think of the boys. I had only known them for a few hours, but they were the only family I had. I missed them, but I knew El was in more pain. She loved Mike, and now he was gone. Or more correctly, she was.

We walked down several hallways, getting lost in the maze of the school. Finally we stopped above some stairs to calm down a bit. El looked over her shoulder at something and I caught the reflection of something red in her eyes. I followed her gaze to see a gate. It was small, just enough to fit my head though. We walked forward slowly as voices came through it, sounding distorted.

El peered through, but pulled back a few seconds later, pushing me flat against the wall. She put her finger to her lips. We held our breath until we heard footsteps receding.

We waited a few moments before El stood in front of it. She put her hand through it and her eyes widened as she felt air. She stepped back and raised her right arm, destroying the wall and widening the gate. She looked at me without emotion.

"You first." I told her, smiling softly.

She went through arms first, getting all slimy from the gate as she fell to the floor. The gate sealed back up within seconds. I took a deep breath and put my arms out, just like El.

Nothing happened.

I pushed more and still nothing. I leaned into it, putting all my weight into breaking the thin layer, but nothing happened. I raised my arm and tried to rip through it with my mind, but instead of opening, it started to close.

"No!" I screamed. "Eleven, no!" I

I could see her panicking and trying to reopen the gate. But I had broken it somehow and it wouldn't work. The bricks were peeled back from her efforts, only to show more of the shrinking gate. Before I knew it, it had narrowed until it was too small to fit my head in.

"Seven!" El called back desperately. I could barely see her as the gate started to close all the way.

"Eleven!" It got smaller until I could no longer see her tear stained face. "No! Stop! Stop it!" The light from the portal faded until it disappeared altogether. I pounded on the wall with my fists as hard as I could, but nothing happened. "No!" I screamed into the dark and collapsed into myself, bawling.

I sat up and pounded my fists into the floor. "Please! Someone get me out of here!" I closed my eyes and sank fully to the floor. "Get me out!"

I have no clue how long it's been. I've lost track of the days, not that I can tell the difference. I was back to square one. I slept outside, in nothing but the t-shirt and sweatpants from Mike. I found a box out in the woods in the first week. I found food and water, which kept me from dying.

I had a routine. Sleep next to the box, wake up to find food and water in it most of the time, and laid down again. I always made sure to leave the Eggos and extra water bottle. It was my way of letting El know I was alive.

After a while, the box only had food and one water bottle. No Eggos. I left it, thinking maybe it was still for El. But when I found her mind I saw that she had gotten somewhere safe. That's all I could see before I stopped using my powers altogether. It hurt.

I hadn't visited anyone from the Upper World in what I guessed was months, but who knows. I opened the box shakily, but it was empty. I sighed and sat down. I pulled my thin arms through the sleeves of the thinning shirt for warmth.

And then I heard the most magical sound. The sound of a car pulling up. And there was no way I'd be able to hear a car unless there was a gate. Or maybe I was crazy, but I still looked around me, scanning my surroundings for even a hint of the red glow.

"Please don't be crazy, please don't be crazy." I muttered under my breath. And that's when I saw it. A small gate was up ahead, glowing from within a tree. I let out a squeak of happiness and started to stand up. It was hard, but I managed. I collapsed in front of the tree and looked through it. I saw the faint silhouette of someone with a hat and a cigarette, who I recognized as Hopper.

I gasped and thrust my arm into the gate, pushing as hard as I could. "Hopper!" I said weakly, trying desperately to get his attention. I heard the car door open. "No!" I managed to croak out. That seemed to work. The door shut again, but he was walked towards me. I pushed my hand as far as it would go.

"Jesus!" I could barely hear his distorted voice. He was right in front of me, with a pocket knife. He stabbed it in, away from my hand, and the gate ripped open. A harsh wave of pained washed over me. It hurt so much. I couldn't breathe. He grabbed my arm and pulled me through. I had no idea how bad it would hurt to leave. It felt like what little energy I had was being sucked out of me. It knocked the wind out of me so I couldn't scream. I drifted in and out of consciousness until I couldn't hold on anymore and gave up, falling into darkness.

Word Count- 1,211. This is by far the shortest chapter. But fear not, we're getting into some good shit.