DESOLATION [ 1 ] ↠ STRANGER THINGS

11. TERRORS IN THE NIGHT

DESOLATION
CHAPTER ELEVEN

➝ TERRORS IN THE NIGHT

      COLLEEN COULDN'T CATCH HER BREATH. She would wake up screaming from the never-ending nightmare that had been recurring ever since her father's disappearance. At first, it was a just a simple car accident. Then it moved along to an unsolved homicide case. But ever since she saw that thing... she would be there, watching as that monster ripped into her father's chest. Blood spluttering all around him as she watched in horror as it began to feast on his dormant corpse. She sat there in that place, the place that Nancy talked about, and she couldn't move. All she could do was watch as it took another victim.

"N-no!" Colleen yelled out, startling the boy who was laying on the other side of the bed. Jonathan quickly maneuvered across the bed, placing his hand on her shoulder as she ripped herself from her bad dream. His eyes were as wide as saucers, displaying all the words that he was too terrified to say. She swallowed hard once she realized who was there comforting her, allowing herself to be cradled in his arms with a familiar ease.

Once her breathing settled, he pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. Careful not to be too loud and attract the attention of his mother. Joyce had suggested that the girl get some rest while they try to locate the kids, so Jonathan accompanied her to his bedroom, knowing damn well that she wouldn't want to be alone. He pushed a piece of hair behind her ear, as she focused her startled eyes on him, "Hey, are you okay? What happened?"

She looked around the room with tears staining her cheeks and she let out a shaky breath, "I've been having this really bad dreams lately. But they've gotten worse since we saw that— that thing. It always ends the same way though, with my dad just... dying, while I'm there on standby."

He pulled her into his chest, "It'll be okay."

She quickly attached herself to him, letting his warmth calm her anxiety. She couldn't recall the exact moment when she began relying on him, but it wouldn't be something that she would be able to just forget about. She knew she enjoyed his company, relished in it, in fact. The way his brown eyes were always so full of concern whenever he sensed an ounce of trouble, and how open he was to helping her calm her nerves. It was something that the teenaged girl had never been used to, but she never wanted to lose it either.

"Have the kids returned?" Colleen inquired, hearing more than two voices from the living room. She started to get up from the bed but Jonathan grabbed her arm, "What?"

He cleared his throat and tried to keep her attention, "We don't have to go out there yet. Last I heard, they were still trying to make a plan on what to do from this point."

She shook her head and started quickly getting out of the bed, shoving the blankets from off of her. She looked over at him harshly, "They've been back all this time and you've just been letting me sleep the night away? We should be out there with them. We should be helpi—" But she was cut off.