Valerie Archer was no stranger to fear. Every road she crossed, every corner she turned; there was the feeling that something was lurking, watching, waiting for the perfect time to pounce.
Her dreams had never been happy ones. For as long as she could remember they had been plagued by strange worlds filled with inhuman creatures and shadowy landscapes of dread.
Fear was second nature for Valerie Archer, who had been told stories of bad men in white coats who weren't afraid to rid of her just like they did to her father.
Yet, standing face to face with something truly terrifying Valerie felt nothing but relief. The thing in front of her didn't have any eyes for her to peer into and yet she felt it staring back at her.
At that moment Valerie felt relief because her biggest fear had been proven untrue. Micheal Archer, a kid with a deadbeat dad and a mother who had fled years prior, was not the Demogorgon.
Michael Archer, who had gotten a once-in-a-lifetime internship at Hawkins lab for the price of being subjected to experimentation of foreign substances from an alien dimension across the void, opened by one Rachel Brenner, was long dead.
While the Demogorgon resembled that of a man, it was no human in any sense. Valerie Archer was sure of this above all. Micheal Archer, who was sent into the upside-down 16 years ago was but a memory.
Valerie watched the being in front of her let out a low crackle from its spot across the yard, but for a moment the girl felt as if there was no space separating the two.
That was until its face blossomed and it let out a treacherous bellow, snapping the young girl back to reality. Valerie let her eyes fly shut and a sensation similar to falling through time in space washed over her until she jolted back to the present with a cold and sharp inhale of oxygen.
"Guys," Charlie called out as he ran to Valerie as the girl shot to her feet, coughing as she fought to catch her breath. "It's here." She barely managed to get out before she took in her surroundings. "You have five seconds to get out of here," Nancy snapped at Steve, revolver in hand as she pointed the weapon at the boy.
"Whoa, whoa. Okay, is this a joke? Stop. P-put the gun down." Steve croaked as his eyes darted around the room. "I'm doing this for you," she said genuinely, missing the flurry of bright lights behind her. "Nancy." Jonathan's eyes grew wide. "Wait," Steve panicked. "Is this a- what is this?"
"Nancy-" Charlie tried as he grabbed a golf club and gripped it tightly. "Three," Nancy threatened. "No, no, no! No!" Steve cried out. "Two,"
"Nancy! The lights." Jonathan shouted over the madness, finally capturing Nancy's attention as she sharply turned to watch as the Christmas lights jittered throughout the house. "It's here," Jonathan whispered.
"Wait, what's here?" barked Steve, shaking from the whole ordeal as he scanned the rainbow of colors going off throughout the house.
Valerie handed Johnathan the spiked bat from the table, causing Steve to scream as he watched the group of four stand back to back in the center of the room. "Easy with that!" Steve cried out. "Where is it?" Nancy questioned, ignoring Steve as they turned in a short circle under the rave of lights.
"I don't know. I don't see it." Charlie panicked. "Where is what? Hello! Will someone please explain to me what the hell is going –" A thundering noise sounded from the back of the house, the ceiling above the tarped-up wall beginning to cave in under moving pressure.
Nancy fired off two rounds at the mass in the ceiling that was threatening to break through, drawing screams from Steve. Jonathan grabbed the back of Nancy's shirt as a slimy entity began to emerge from the ceiling. Valerie was the first one to head for the bedroom, with Nancy right behind her and Johnathan in tow.
"Go! Go! Run! Go!" Charlie snatched Steve's hand, dragging him down the hall. "Oh my God, oh my God!" Steve screamed like a scared little girl, leaping in terror over the armed bear traps as he was down the hall and into Jonathan's room. Johnathan slammed and locked the door behind Charlie and Steve, Valerie listening as the creature's howl echoed throughout the house.
"Jesus! Jesus! What the hell was that? What the hell was that?" Steve cried as he ran to the back of the room. "Shut up!" Jonathan and Nancy shouted in sync, barricading the door. Steve was pushed to the back corner as Valerie approached the door, Nancy on the opposite side of her and Johnathan in the middle.
Jonathan wielded his lighter in one hand and his bat in the other while Nancy aimed her gun at the door. Valerie chewed on the inside of her cheek as the lights continued to flicker, a familiar tingle racing up the back of her neck. "What's it doing?" Charlie whispered as the house fell silent, only soft chitters sounding from outside.
"I don't know," Jonathan panted in an attempt to catch his breath. Valerie wordlessly stared at the yo-yo as Charlie stared at her from where he stood beside the door, his back up against the wall and a metal baseball bat in hand.
Charlie's worried expression was evident to Valerie, she just chose to pay it no mind as the electricity snapped, the lights leveling. "Do you hear anything?" Jonathan questioned as he flicked his lighter shut.
"No." The group shared a long, silent moment filled with hesitant and unsure glances before Valerie pulled the door open, Johnathan following so closely she could feel him against her back. The house was quiet, eerily quiet, that was until Steve began mumbling indistinctly to himself, his voice slowly rising to a yell. "This is crazy. This is crazy. This is crazy!" He darted towards the landline, dialing '911' before Charlie snatched the device from his hand and slammed it against the ground.
"What are you doing? Are you insane, man?"Steve panicked. "It's going to come back!" Nancy countered loudly. "So, you need to leave. Right now." Charlie agreed, placing a hand on his sister's back in an attempt to calm her nerves. Steve took his chance to bolt, running straight out the door, But before he could get in his car the lights began to flicker.
The fluorescent Christmas lights surged violently, causing the trio to turn in a panicked circle. Their hearts pounded, scanning the room incessantly for any sign of movement. Valerie on the other hand stood a foot away, her eyes dilating as she felt a tingle travel up her spine.
"Where is it?" Nancy asked, her finger lingering over the trigger. "Come on," Jonathan growled. "Come on, you son of a bitch. You see it?" He questioned Charlie, who had his back to Nancy and stood beside Johnathan. "No. Come on. Where is it? Come on!" The three didn't seem to notice that Valerie was in another world, literally speaking.
The girl's vision had been filled with decay and rot, but she could feel Charlie's shoulder bumping into her's still, she could practically see it in her peripheral vision if she focused hard enough, but she couldn't.
She couldn't tear her eyes away from where she was looking because right in front of her stood the Demogorgon, who was clawing its way through the floor, and subsequently the upside down. Valerie's vision flickered for a millisecond and she was back in her realm, which was now covered in darkness, every available light going out.
A large, sickly gray creature stood in front of her, looming overhead as the other teens failed to notice its arrival, that was until chittering filled the room. "Valerie!" Charlie shouted out, shoving the girl back behind him before the beast merely flung him to the floor. Valerie snapped back into reality, letting out a yelp before rushing over to Charlie, who didn't move for a moment or two.
Without a thought, Johnathan charged the beast, knocking the hybrid bat out of reach. "Jonathan!" Nancy cried out as drool poured over Jonathan's face as the beast lowered its head, taking in a deep whiff of his scent before letting it bloom like a wildflower. Nancy rounded the back of it, firing off rounds into the scared, fleshy skin at no avail.
"Come on, Char. Get up." Valerie shook the boy, who was now bleeding from his scalp. "Go to hell, you son a bitch!" Nancy shouted as the Demogorgon rose, slowly turning to the tiny girl. Nancy continued to fire as the creature stepped towards her, only to be met with a sad click and no backlash. She was out of bullets and Valerie was completely engrossed in trying to shake Charlie back into consciousness.
Charlie finally let out a cry, his eyes shooting open before he quickly looked around, remembering what happened. Just as Nancy began to feel helpless, The front door broke open. Steve quickly grabbed the spiked bat from the ground and wailed it against the creature before it could charge Nancy.
The adrenaline-fueled boy drew back towards the kitchen, knuckles white as he clutched the bat tightly while dodging swing after swing. He rolled the bat over his wrist in a flourish before driving the spikes upward against its jaw, causing the Demogorgon to stagger back, the snap of a bear trap alerting the others.
"He's in the trap!" Jonathan screamed out as Steve fell back to the others. "He's stuck, Jonathan, now!" shouted Nancy as the lights continued to surge overhead, worsening the headache that Charlie immediately felt. Jonathan snapped the zippo open, but it didn't catch fire, causing an immediate panic.
"It- it's- Shit!" Johnathan panicked, trying yet again. Valerie quickly jumped to her feet, pushing past Johnathan before focusing all her attention on the heat she felt inside of her until she felt it become overwhelming. Once her skin felt like it was on fire she let her brown eyes fly open, the entire hall going up in flames, the gasoline-soaked carpet lighting like cheap paper.
The Demogorgon writhed and screamed against the scorching heat, trapped in the fire. Jonathan didn't waste any time as he ran for the fire extinguisher. "Get back!" he shouted, pushing Valerie back before stifling the flames.
The home fell back into darkness as the heat of the fire disappeared, the teens, all but Valerie, coughing as they tried to catch their bearings. The lamps in the hall rose back to their normal intensity, muted against the smoke polluting the air.
"Nice one, new girl," Charlie whispered as he slowly and unsteadily approached her as the group began to inch forward, Steve the only one donning a weapon. Valerie let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as the noise of the beast had ceased, the hall still clouded.
"You should definitely stick to being a lover, Scaredy boy." Nancy shot the two a sharp look before speaking. "Where did it go?" She questioned. "It has to be dead. It has to be." Jonathan let out an exasperated sigh. The trap was empty, and the Demogorgon was gone.
The teens drew back as the lights overhead blinked, one by one instead of a manic flurry like the monster had caused. It guided a slow line before an entire row above them remained strong. "What's going on?" Steve's heart pounded as he led the group, the lights beginning to move slowly back toward the living room. Jonathan's lips slowly parted, recognizing the soft blinking.
"Mom? Is that you? Mom?" Jonathan led the teens out onto the porch, a nearby light humming softly. "Where's it going?" Charlie questioned. "I don't think that's the monster," Jonathan replied softly. "Val?" Nancy questioned the girl.
"I think Johnathan's right. It definitely doesn't feel like the monster." Steve's brows drew in as he glanced over at Valerie in thought. "Who the hell are you?"
✦
"Hey, we just kicked monster ass." Charlie tried as he brushed a strand of Valerie Archer's sweat-coated curly locks behind her pierced ear as the two sat in her living room. The girl didn't seem to notice the gesture as she stared straight ahead, nervously chewing on her thumb.
Charlie let out a low sigh as he leaned back into his seat, turning to shoot Nancy a glance. The brunette stood a few feet away, her back rested against the frame of the kitchen's entrance and a cold cup of coffee in hand.
She had tried to give Valerie a cup, along with tea, and hot chocolate, and whiskey. The girl had simply stared back at Nancy with an empty gaze until she would eventually slump her shoulders in defeat and retreat back into the kitchen.
Fear was no stranger to Valerie. She knew what it felt like, she knew the metallic taste it left in her mouth and the feeling of coming down from an adrenaline high. This feeling wasn't fear. She was sure of it.
This feeling, this feeling felt like nothing but sorrow and despair. It wasn't overwhelming, it didn't cloud her thoughts nor bring out her basic human nature and it definitely didn't feel thrilling or exhilarating.
affrighted, frightened, horrified, terrified, trepidation. No word lived up to the feeling of the troubled, engrossed state of mind that Valerie was currently trapped in.
"They should be back by now," Valerie muttered in an almost inaudible tone, her words more a breath than a coherent string of words. Nancy shifted in her spot. She wasn't sure what to say so she simply cleared her throat to buy her time.
Valerie wasn't sure if Nancy ever figured out what to say; before any other sounds could reach her ears she felt a tinge of coldness bloom in her chest. "She's here," Valerie announced as she jumped to her feet, causing the two twins to share yet another look.
Charlie stood, slowly going to look out the living room window, but before he could glance out at the driveway and into the darkness of night the front door flew open.
Rachel Archer ran straight into the embrace of her daughter's arms as if she had known exactly where the girl stood before ever stepping foot into the room. "Mommy." Valerie cried out, clutching onto the woman's petite figure for dear life.
"Hey, hey. It's okay. Shh, I'm right here, It's okay." Rachel tried to soothe her daughter's nerves as she held her forehead against Valerie's own for a moment before pulling away. "Hey, we did it," Rachel whispered, her dark eyes exploring Valerie's identical ones
"We did it?" Questioned Valerie, her voice shaky and uneven as she gave her mother a look that resembled distrust before the corners of her lips rose and a sigh of relief escaped her lips as her eyes fluttered shut.
"We did it." Valerie chuckled before she glanced over at the Wheeler twins who wore soft smiles at the sight of Rachel and Valerie's reunion.
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