Bloody Negatives {Stranger things}

Chapter Twenty-Nine

《Chapter Twenty-Nine》
__________

__________
"Can we— can we stop yet?" Eddie panted as they charge deeper into the woods.

"No," Robin retorted sharply, though they did all end up slowing to a halt.

"Holy shit," Tally groaned, collapsing onto the floor. His body hurt in places he didn't know he had. "Holy shit."

He rifled through his pockets, making sure he hadn't lost any of his belongings. His hands found the pencil, sitting there, useless. His heart throbbed.

"You okay?" Steve laughed, slumping onto the ground next to him.

"You guys didn't warn me," Tally winced, his head rolling back as he suppressed the pain plaguing his muscles.

Tally let his eyes flutter closed as the noises all around him blended into nothingness.

When his eyelids snapped open again, he was no longer sitting in the Upside Down. No, he was somewhere very different. Somewhere very unfamiliar.

It made him shaky.

At first he thought he'd accidentally contacted El again, though she was nowhere to be seen.

He heard a voice. It was soft and polite, though Tally had absolutely no idea where it came from.

He examined his surroundings for the first time since he'd arrived in the mysterious place.

It was a hallways of sorts. Long, stretching away from him. Hardwood floor was beneath him, and he was leaning against a big, wooden cabinet.

Standing up was almost impossible.

Almost.

The boy stumbled to his feet and began to wander down the practically endless corridor.

He heard the soft voice speak again. This time it was louder. He could almost make out the words it was saying.

A few more steps, and he noticed a doorway several feet in front of him. Glowing, bright light came out of it, and Tally was slowly drawn forwards, almost like he was in a trance.

When he finally reached the doorway and poked his head inside the room beyond, what he saw was fairly normal.

A family sat around their dining room table. A little girl—she must be the youngest child—was speaking with excitement in every word, though her voice wasn't the same as the one Tally had been hearing.

The girl's father and mother smiled at her with an almost inhuman type of joy. It seemed fake.

She seemed to have a brother, as well. He sat across the table from her, picking at his dinner with his fork, his eyes half-closed, and lips pulled into a thin line.

The trance-like energy was radiating off the boy.

Tally took a few steps closer, then stopped. No one could see him. Or if they could, they just ignored him like nothing was wrong.

Tally looked at each of them. The daughter, waving her hands enthusiastically. The mother, so pretty and petite. The father, proud and grinning. And the son...

Who was looking right at Tally.

No, not at him. Through him. Staring straight at something behind him.

Something about not being able to see what had peaked the boy's interest, so he turned around.

Tally wanted to scream, though the sound never made it out of his throat.

Crawling across the ceiling was the most horrid creature Tally had ever seen.

It's head was a bloody mess of teeth, separated into five separate folds. Petals. Like a flower. It's body was slimy and grey. It's ribs stuck out from underneath its skin like prongs. It looked oddly familiar.

It's "face" spread wide, and Tally was ready for it to roar, maybe lunging at his face and tearing apart his flesh.

It didn't roar.

It spoke.

Tally's blood ran cold as he recognized the voice. The soft, kind voice he'd heard only a few moments before.

"No one else sees," the creature said, somewhat sadly.

It wasn't talking to Tally. It was talking to the boy. Tally felt his body shaking. It was almost like he was watching someone else's memory.

He turned his head to look at the flawless family, mom, dad and daughter still smiling brightly.

Then he turned back to the creature, only to find that it was leaping right at him.

The last thing Tally saw was the clock ticking in the corner of the room.

Then firm hands shook him awake.

"Tally?" Eddie's voice was loud. It helped Tally ground himself.

"I'm okay," Tally whimpered, rolling over. "I'm okay."

"What happened?" Nancy asked, crouching next to him, resting her hand on the back of Tally's neck.

Tally gulped. "We have a problem."

__________