𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐲 ⟿ s. harrington

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

HELP ME.

☀︎

JONATHAN TRIED TO SNAP THE TWO GIRLS OUT OF THEIR PARALYZING FEAR. All he could make out from Nancy's rushed words were of the monster. His heart had only continued to race as he saw how silent Alex had become and the blood that had just barely been visible on the corners of her mouth. Whatever had happened inside where they had disappeared had only been a living nightmare. "We need to get out of here," Jonathan said frantically, getting the girls to steady themselves. Nancy nodded her head, following after Jonathan quickly, grabbing onto Alex's shoulder to bring her along with them.

Once in the car, Nancy filled Jonathan in on what had gone down in the other world, still unaware of what happened to Alex before she climbed out of the hole. Alex looked out the window, not wanting to hear about what the boys called the Upside Down, wanting to erase it from her memory. Of all the chaos that had been discussed on what this world could be, it was unimaginable to what it truly was. It was no adventure-- it was a nightmare that no one should live.

It was no use, no matter what she tried to think of, the image of the Demogorgon slipping a tube down her throat replayed in her head over and over. The searing pain it had caused and the feeling of it forcing its way down had been burned into her mind. The taste of blood in her mouth had continued to be a reminder of the horror.

"Alex, you can spend the night at my house if you want," Nancy turned to look in the backseat. She felt like there was something very off with Alex and wanted more than anything to be there with her. The thing that they had seen was enough to cause issues, but Nancy was sure it was something they should've talked about-- but Alex had gone silent. Almost numb.

"No thanks, Nance. I just want to go home," she said quietly, not taking her eyes off the woods that whipped past as they drove. Nancy and Jonathan exchanged looks with one another but gave in to her request. As Jonathan's eyes had turned back towards the road, Nancy had left her eyes lingering on him. Even if Alex didn't want company, she was sure that she had wanted it for herself.

It wasn't long before they had pulled up to the Henderson household. Nancy jumped out of the car with Alex, wanting to talk to her without Jonathan around. He hadn't been there to fully understand what each of the girls had gone through. Tightly wrapping her jacket around herself, she had hoped some warmth would help, but the smell was there and the slime she was covered in didn't help. Alex, on the other hand, had seemed almost unbothered by the cold-- too numb to process it all.

As the girls had rounded to the side of the Henderson's house, Nancy reached out for Alex's arm before she could lift open her window. "Listen, you call me if you need anything. Especially if you need someone to talk to, okay?"

Alex nodded her head, not finding it in her to talk. Her strength had felt wasted on the monster that had her pinned down. She tried not to think about it, knowing she wouldn't be able to find it in herself to call Nancy even if she did need her. Instead, she let go of Nancy's grasp and lifted up her window. Using what little she had in her, she lifted herself, climbing in through her window without a word goodbye to Nancy or a wave to Jonathan.

As soon as her feet had landed in her bedroom, Alex finally let out a sob, letting the tears that have been building up inside spill out. Turning back to the window, she slammed it down shut, hoping to never have to look out it ever again. There was so much dark out there, horrors she wished she never saw, and she never wanted to go back. Everything around her felt like a nightmare to her now. And she felt like she was weak and pathetic for not being able to handle it as tough as she thought. To sit in her room and cry after surviving, felt wrong to her.

Her stomach did multiple flips, feeling disgusting, and still felt like there was a Demogorgon tube down her throat. The vomit building up inside her had only felt like a cruel reminder of what had happened this night. It only made her more sick inside.

Alex wiped her tears away as she made her way to her bedroom door. Peeking out her bedroom door, she looked down the hall to see no one in sight and crept down to the bathroom, ripping her completely ruined clothes and tossing them off to the side.

Wanting to clean herself off from the nasty substance from the Upside Down, she jumped into the shower, washing it away, hoping it'd also wash away the pain and trauma that came with it. The shower never made her feel clean. She was certain that nothing would. There was always going to be the memory, and even then, it felt like a darkness was always going to be trailing her.

When Alex finished her shower and got into pajamas, she headed back to her room, sitting down on her floor, and resting against the side of her bed. The whole scenario of the Demogorgon and the Upside Down raced through her mind-- consuming her thoughts.

Alex buried her head into her hands, desperately running her fingers through her hair. No matter how hard she tried to push the clicking and growling sounds away, the Demogorgon noises were stuck in her mind. The feeling of pain had been burned into her mind and the face of the monster so close was forever haunting her memory.