𝒪𝒷𝓈ℯ𝓈𝓈𝒾ℴ𝓃 • ℳ𝒶𝓍 ℳ𝒶𝓎𝒻𝒾ℯ𝓁𝒹

Chapter 30 | 𝔒𝔫𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔦𝔫 𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔡

"C'mon, don't be such a pussy, Harrington. Take one" Tommy gripped onto her shoulder, sinking his nails into her skin. "I know you want to" he whispered, waving the red pack of cigarettes right in front of her shaking eyes. Carol's laughter sent rings of panic throughout her stomach almost bringing tears to her eyes. Younger Grayson was getting pressured to smoke a cigarette by Tommy H her brother's ex-best friend.

"Tommy!" The brunette turned to look at the redhead shouting the boy's name across their backyard. Older Grayson creased her eyebrows with a panic. Barb. She stumbled forward with one thing on her mind: barb and how she was going to save her before it got her. Before it decided to show its ugly face. "Barb!" She panted a foot away from the redhead before the scene started deteriorating. "No, no, no! Barb!" Grayson shouted, missing the girl's shoulder by an inch before colliding with the cold wooden floor of the Creel house.

Grayson quickly stood up, backing up against the wall with her fists clenched, darting her eyes all over the empty room. She was on high alert. Her brain was buzzing anxiously with her thoughts pounding against her skull. Her expression quickly hardened as she clung to the wall just like fear clung to her. Even though it ran throughout her body she refused to let it show. She wouldn't give Henry that sweet satisfaction.

Grayson shook her damp hair out of her face as sweat rolled down her veiny neck and stained the hardwood floor beneath her. It was hot. Hotter than it should be and it wasn't because she was here. She grabbed the handle of the attic door immediately Yelping in pain as the skin on her palm burned. The handle had become red, molting with heat. If she was normal her skin would've come right off but luckily for her, she wasn't. She was far from that.

"Henry!" She shouted, clenching her teeth, fixating her eyes on the door handle while taking deep breaths. "Stop playing with me and come out!" Grayson had enough. She placed her hand on the door handle, trying to ignore the cinching pain pricking at her skin. She threw her shoulder against the wooden door until it fell at her feet, blowing dust everywhere.

"Stop playing with me, Henry!" She snarled, holding her burnt-out hand against her chest. Her breathing was erratic barely able to feel the throbbing pain traveling up her arm. "You bastard!" The scene changed. Grayson shook her head spotting her younger self getting kicked to the curve by her father or rather the man who was supposed to be her father. She hovered her wavering hands above her head. "No, no, no, no!"

That scene had been buried deep within her brain. She had tried so hard to keep it at bay but even then I guess it never really left. Now Henry was using it against her. He was probably enjoying this more than he should of. The scene quickly dissolved engulfing a whimpering Grayson with the eeriness of whatever was left of the Creel house. She stood up with a start, releasing heavy breaths of air as she looked down at her left hand already starting its transformation with terror.

Grayson traced her eyes over the uneven fingernails dripping with blueish blood. The faint remains of black goo gathered in her bloodstream, staining her veins a blackish color.

"Grayson...."

•••••

Lucas was careful not to move the two girls away from each other's embrace. He got on his knees franticly waving a hand in front of Max's face while Lex tried everything to get a response out of Grayson. "Max? Grayson? Can you hear me? Guys! Guys!"

His yells bounced off Eleven, sending shivers up her spine. "He has them" Jonathan snapped his head up sneaking a concerned glance at Will who locked eyes with Mike. The inside of his mouth went dry. "Them?" He squeaked. "What...what do you mean by them?"