Stranger Things: Strange Encounters

Chapter Four: Hellfire

~Imogen POV~

I had never ran so fast and so far in my entire life. I felt adrenaline take over me to get me out of that situation. I didn't look back once, in fear of tripping up or seeing that creature following me. The direction my body took me in for some reason, was toward Steve's house. He lived in a huge house with his parents, they had a pool in their garden and everything. I approached his house through the back and stopped right in front of his glass back doors. There were lights on upstairs so I knew someone was home. I started banging and tapping on the glass doors, desperately.
"Steve! Steve? Are you in? Steve! Open the door!" I shouted. I continued to bang on the door and look back over my shoulder. "Steve! Are you in!?" I continued to shout. Suddenly, I saw some lights for the downstairs flick on and inside I saw Steve coming down the stairs, only wearing pyjama bottoms. He looked at me confused before coming to unlock the back doors.
"Imogen? What-what are you doing here? What happened?" he asked as I barged my way in. I slammed his back doors shut and locked them, peering through them to make sure the creature hadn't followed. "Imogen, talk to me, what the hell happened?" Steve asked again. I spun myself around and held my back against the back door. Steve's eyes widened as he looked at me. I looked at him with lips parted and a serious expression on my face, trying to catch my breath. "What happened to your face?" Steve asked, worried. He came close to me and put his hand on my chin, inspecting my busted lip. I didn't know what to say to him. I was still in a shock like state, unsure of my own eyes. "Come with me, I'll get you cleaned up." he said, putting his arm around me and taking me into his living room.

Steve had cleaned up my lip and both my knees and then gave me a blanket and sat me on the couch. He had also gotten himself a shirt and sat down opposite me.
"You going to tell me what happened?" Steve asked. My nerves had settled down a bit then. My brain was trying to convince me that what I saw wasn't real and it was just the dark playing tricks on me. It sounded crazy and it would sound even crazier if I said it out loud.
"I fell." I responded.
"Really? Is that what you're giving me?" Steve replied with a raised eyebrow.
"I was skateboarding. I face planted." I responded.
"Okay, well that explains the busted lip and grazed knees but it doesn't explain the desperate banging on my back door and panic." said Steve. My facial expression had fallen back to its natural state. Resting bitch face. I just looked at him, not knowing how to respond. "Come on, if something caused you to act like that then it's got to be something bad, right? You pretty much don't react to anything."
"I...I thought I saw...something." I spat out.
"Like what?"
"I don't know. I...it was probably nothing."
"Imogen...you can tell me, you know? I'm not Tommy or Carol...or Billy." Steve tried to reassure. I looked down, holding the blanket around me tighter. Steve sighed with slight frustration. I knew he just wanted to help, but I never opened up about anything to anyone. He was lucky to have me there on his couch. "Okay, look, it's getting pretty late. Did you want to stay here tonight? I'll take you to school in the morning. My parents are abroad so you were lucky it was just me in the house." offered Steve.
"Thanks but I can't. Billy is picking me up in the morning. He'll go crazy if he found out I was with you." I replied, looking back up at Steve.
"Right, yeah...Billy, of course." said Steve with slight defeat in his voice. "At least let me give you a ride home then."
"I'd appreciate that." I replied, pushing the blanket off my shoulders and standing myself up. Steve nodded his head and went over to grab his car keys.
"You know, you can tell me though, right? Like, I won't think you're crazy." he started. I looked at him with unsure eyes. "Some of the stuff I've seen, I'd believe whatever you saw out there."
"I didn't see anything. I told you. I fell." I replied bluntly.
"Imogen..."
"Steve, seriously. It was nothing. It's dark outside and I must of spooked myself." I shut him down. Steve sighed, knowing he couldn't argue with me. I couldn't be persuaded to do anything...unless it was Billy.
"Okay. Let's get you home." said Steve. I could tell he was still worried and wondering what actually happened to me. What would be the point in telling him I saw a creature with no face? That sounded crazy.