Clean cut American kid ~ Stranger things

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

The information I have about everything is playing on repeat in my tired brain. Will has now lost his memories and is starting to loose himself to the shadow monster at the same time as vines in the upside down are spreading beneath Hawkins. The only realised method the soldiers have to keep the vines from spreading is by burning them, but that hurts Will.

We're standing around a table filled with pictures. Everyone is staring at Will. Waiting. Anticipating. I try to melt into the back. I've noticed some bitter looks from a few scientists as well as a nervous glance from Nancy's little brother Mike. We haven't gotten to speak since he noticed my tattoo and started freaking out, because a lot of shit went down instead.

Will walks around the table and puts his finger down.

"That's it."

"That's what? What's there, Will?" Doctor Sam asks.

"I don't know. I just know he doesn't want me to see there... I think it's important."

His words puts a wheel in motion. The scientists starts discussing and pour as if on cue out of the room. Joyce walks up and hugs her son. Sam nods for me and Hopper to follow him and the scientists out.

"She stays." Hopper says and blocks my way.

"Miss Harrington is more needed where we're heading." Sam elucidates.

"She's got a broken arm and don't know any more than me what's going on. Let her stay."

"She might not know more that you about this but she is knowledgeable and skilled in other areas. She comes." Sam concludes as his face grows slightly more sly. I watch the two grown men stare each other down.

"We don't have time for this!" I groan and push passed both of them. They've caught up to me soon enough and Sam shows the way. We're lead down into what looks like a control room. Scientists are sitting in front of screens and computers. Sam is staring out through the large window covering one wall. They have their own portal to the upside down. I can study the atmosphere more now that I'm not in there and panicking for my and Hopper's life. I only se blackness.

After a few minutes soldiers dressed in protective suits pile in. They're armed with weapons. I take a step back and observe. Hopper wraps an arm around my shoulder. I look at him. He looks more nervous than I do. Should I be more nervous? I hate to say that I was excited. Hopper's expression made me realise the seriousness of the situation and my stomach turns.

Sam exchange words with the scientists seated in front of the computers as well as with the soldiers. They are heading towards a sluice leading them into the upside down. I don't keep up with whatever is happening and I can't tell if it's because they're speaking a language I don't understand or if it's because I'm overwhelmed. The soldiers are lining up to enter. Some final instructions from Sam and they pack into the sluice. I watch it close before it opens on the other side so they can step onto some sort of platform elevator. Slowly they're hoisted down and released into the blackness where they fade from eyesight.

My gaze sticks to the darkness for a while before I tear it away. I look to the screens where everyone else has started working to follow the soldiers on their mystery quest. I see movement on different screens. One's a live video from one soldier's head. There's a radar with different spots moving across it. It's one for each person down there. I watch the screen again. It's dark and we all have to move close and squint our eyes in order to make out any shape. The only light down is coming from the flashlights mounted on each weapon. We watch the soldiers turn corners in order to get to the place Will pointed out.

We hear a crack and watch on video as the soldier looks down to see he stepped on a bone. Hopper reacts.

"Wait. That's where I was. It's that damn graveyard."

We see the camera pan over the area. Aside from the ground covered in bones there's nothing there.

A low growling starts to ring through the speakers. We see the soldiers turn quickly and watch as a fog seeps into the space. The streams of light dilutes and the area turns grey and invisible. We loose good sight on anything on the video.

New spots appear on the radar. As the scientists try to warn the soldiers I hear how they start to panic. The growling appears again. It gets louder this time. We can't see anything on the screen besides fog. The soldiers starts to fire their guns. The sound of gunshots fill the room as we try to watch blindly what is happening.

We hear a scream and then the line is knocked off. The screen turns black and only the crackling of static is heard.

Sam wipes his hand over his forehead. Defeated. I look over at Hopper. He looks the same. He looks up and notices the radar. I turn and see what he's seeing. The spots for each soldier has disappeared. They are gone. The soldiers are gone.

We hear sounds from the pit where the sluice was dropped. Where the soldiers disappeared an eternity ago. These monsters move fast. I walk up to the large window and brace myself for what is to come. I can't use my powers through the glass but if it breaks they will get to me first. The growl increases. It's louder now that it's not coming from a video. It's here now. I watch with wide eyes as a giant clawed paw reaches up and grips the edge of the pit. Then another one. They're seeping with venom. The creature swings down and catches momentum before it shoots up faster than a bullet. It's face opens up in the air and as it hits the glass I find myself staring down into a throat and a thousand knife sharp teeth. I've had them described in detail to me but even in my most vivid imagination I wouldn't have been able to prepare for how it would be to face one. But now I am. I'm staring right at a demogorgon.