Valerie Archer had always been innovative. She guessed it was expected given who her parents were, but she didn't use her gifts like them. She didn't bother with trying to cure diseases or save lives, she didn't care about space exploration or solving the science behind time travel.
What Valerie cared about was surviving. She might wear designer brands and live in a nice house, but things weren't always so easy for the Archer family. Rachel Archer spent every day of her life since she was sixteen looking over her shoulder, and living like that came with a lot of extra difficulties.
She didn't have any job experience, any that she could put down on a résumé, and even if she did the world didn't take too kindly to women trying to be more than a nurse when it came to the medical world. So, for a while, Valerie and Rachel had to do whatever they could to survive.
And yet, after all those years of being taught to put her will to live over any morals she might have, there she was throwing herself right into the lion's den for a bunch of strangers. The girl had woken up almost immediately after she had closed her eyes thanks to a little blue pill she had taken two hours before.
At first, it was quiet, almost peaceful. The cold was different from the one on the other side, this cold was all-consuming and seemed to be coming from inside of her instead of the atmosphere.
Valerie sat in the silence for a moment, letting her body accommodate for the change in gravity levels and chemical balance that was the polluted air. That was until she heard a scream. Nancy's scream to be exact.
Valerie immediately took off running in search of the brunette, not daring to call out for her as she heard the sound of snarling in the distance every time she slowed to glance around her.
It didn't take Valerie long to find the girl in question, who was screaming out for Johnathan. Valerie watched silently as she spotted Nancy running right towards a large creature, one which Valerie recognized from her nightmares.
They seemed to be becoming a reality.
Valerie walked as lightly as she could over the crunching leaves below her feet, but in her head the slower she walked the louder they broke. Slapping a hand over Nancy's mouth, Valerie pulled them both back. Nancy let out a muffled scream before Valerie shushed her, removing her hand from the girl's lips.
"Valerie." Nancy exhaled in relief, looking around. "Come on, we gotta get out of here." Valerie panicked as she looked around in paranoia. She weirdly felt a lot less safe now that Nancy was with her. It put more than just her own life in danger.
"Definitely." Valerie nodded as she pulled the girl's arm, the two running in no particular direction. Once Nancy felt they were a safe distance away, meaning she couldn't run any farther without her lungs giving out, the two girls caught their breath against a rather gooey tree.
"What now?" Valerie questioned as she attempted to catch her breath. "Shh." Nancy panicked, listening for a moment. She could it behind them, the snarling. As if on cue the pair heard what seemed to be Johnathan calling out for Nancy.
Valerie met Nancy's eyes as they give each other the same look, Nancy nodding hesitantly before they both broke out into a sprint towards the source.
Valerie watched as Nancy stuck her arm through the glowing red transparent sap that laced over the rotting inside of the tree before she screamed out. "Johnathan."
The raven-haired girl watched Nancy get pulled halfway through before she closed her eyes, focusing all her attention on the warm feeling in her chest that bubbled up whenever she used her abilities.
Charlie watched as Valerie shot up, a sigh of relief leaving his lips. "Nancy." The girl inhaled sharply before turning to look back at Charlie. "Nancy?" He questioned before the girl rushed to her feet, pulling Charlie along with her just as they heard Nancy screaming. "Valerie!"
"Nancy!" Charlie shouted, now being the one who was pulling Valerie along. "Nanc, Nancy!" The two immediately slowed as they spotted both her and Johnathan. Nancy was sat by the trunk of the tree while Johnathan was running around in every direction.
"Valerie," Nancy called out once she spotted her. "I'm okay," Valerie spoke while placing her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. You'd think a girl who ran track would be in better shape.
"Oh, thank god." Charlie cried out as he embraced his sister, placing a kiss upon her dirty forehead.
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Valerie hadn't murmured a single sound the entire way home. She hadn't let a single syllable of conversation leave her lips, but she was practically talking herself in circles. There wasn't a millisecond of peace inside her mind as she tried to grasp onto one thought for longer than a minute without getting bombarded by a plethora of others.
Rachel was so immersed in whatever romance novel she was reading that she probably wouldn't have noticed Valerie and Charlie entering the house if it wasn't for the screeching sound the door hinges made as Valerie opened it and Charlie closed it behind him.
He awkwardly following behind Valerie, who was possibly his girlfriend, as she led him towards Rachel. "Hey, hun. How was your night?" The woman questioned, not bothering to look up from the book in her hand.
"You're late," Rachel called out as Valerie wordlessly walked past the woman, making a beeline straight for the stairs. "And you're a liar." Valerie almost whispered as she came to a quick stop, Charlie almost bumping into the girl.
"Hey, what's with the name-calling?" Rachel frowned as she placed down the notebook she had been writing in moments prior. "You lied to me!" Valerie shouted as she turned to face the woman, anger building up in her chest as she stood straighter. Rachel was not winning this one, Valerie thought.
"Val-" Valerie didn't give the woman the chance to finish her sentence as she scoffed, a bitter laugh leaving her lips. "Valerie, soft words and calm composers." Valeria imitated her mother as she snickered lightly, shaking her head.
"Wanna hear about my night, mommy? Well, It started off with a long walk through the woods, and ended with my traumatized friend being pulled a out of a slimy, decayed tree trunk while I magically poofed in and out of conscious reality."
Rachel's eyes darted towards Charlie, who was stood behind Valerie. The boy immediately casting his eyes onto the ground once Rachel's gaze found his own. "Charlie hun, it's late. You should probably head home."
"Uh, yes ma'am, That'd probably be best." Charlie nodded quickly, glancing over at Valerie as she gave him a small smile and a nod. "You're too close to that boy, Val," Rachel spoke softly once she heard the front door shut.
"What are you saying?' Valerie barked, knowing all too well what her mother was getting at. "Now is not the time to be worrying about making friends, that's all." Rachel tried. "Oh, well, Charlie isn't a friend. We're dating." Valerie spoke vindictively, spite dripping from every word.
"You're dating? We don't date, Valerie, not while we're here." Rachel spoke sternly, trying to straighten up and gain the upper hand. "That's rich coming from you." Valerie sneered. "What are you implying?"
Valerie let out a shout of frustration, the lamp sitting on the end table sparking as she did so. The girl shut her eyes tightly as she tried to calm herself, her mother's attempts of turning the argument back onto Valerie irritating her greatly.
"You said you closed it!" She finally shouted, her fists balled up so tightly that her nails drew blood from the palm of her hands. "I did!" Rachel shouted back, her brows frowning. "No, you didn't. You didn't and now he's eating kids and screwing with me in my sleep."
"No, I closed it. I closed the door." Rachel's eyes went glossy at the thought of that fateful day. Valerie knew it was true. As much as she wanted to blame Rachel, she knew the woman had closed it.
The truth was scary, Valerie didn't like the truth. The truth complicated things. The truth was Valerie had felt it the moment the door had reopened. It had changed her.
She stopped sleeping because her dreams changed into nightmares, she started feeling things she shouldn't have, emotions that weren't her own. Then, her nightmares changed. They weren't dreams and Valerie knew it.
"If you closed it, who opened it back up?"
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