chapter twenty-nine
her demise under the moonlight
✧
BY THE TIME THEY HAD GOTTEN to the hospital, it was dark, and it was getting colder than it was in the afternoon, and the sun was no longer shining brightly over Hawkins, and the Moon was the source of light.
The groups of kids and two young adults had run into the hospital, making a whole scene as they hurried to Mrs. Driscoll's room, Alex and Nancy leading the way. When they were about to pass the receptionist, the team was stopped when the lady had called them back. "Whoa whoa whoa! Excuse me! Where do you think you're going?"
Nancy turned around, trying to play it cool. "Oh um. . . I was just going to visit my grandma again —" She wrapped an arm around Alex's shoulder, "— Mrs. Driscoll, remember? This is her neighbour, Alex Maguire — he was here last night and . . ." Nancy turned to everyone else, who stood behind her. "And this is. . . This my family,"
They all waved, forcing smiles on their faces at the lady who stared at Lucas with an unconvinced look. He, however, just smiled and said, "Extended,"
"I don't care who they are," the lady sighed, "you know the rules. Two visitors at a time."
"Yeah but —"
"Two!"
Nancy huffed, pushing everyone to turn around and walk back to the waiting room. She held Jonathan's hand as she spoke to the kids. "You're going to stay here, okay? We'll give you a signal when we've let Mrs. Driscoll go, okay?"
Alex stepped forward, "Is she going to be okay?"
Nancy smiled sadly, "I don't know, Alex."
And with that, they left.
（ ₊˚. ✰┊📼 ! ）
El and Rue gaped at a magazine. They were flipping the plastic pages, admiring the colourful outfits or the popular makeup looks of the summer. El stopped Rue from turning the page, pointing at a yellow summer dress with flowers.
"Do you like it?" Rue asked.
El blushed and nodded. "It's pretty."
Max sat next to Rue, her arm locked around Rue's free one as she snuggled her head on her shoulder. She was silently tracing the pattern of the yellow plaid skirt Rue wore, and sometimes she'd circle the buttons.
Rue was trying her hardest not to melt right there, but she already felt like putty under Max's touch.
"Oh, come on you piece of shit!" The three girls heard Mike's loud voice. They all looked up from what they were doing and spotted him and Lucas struggling to get snacks out of the vending machine. Mike smacked his hand against the glass, then he tried to shake the machine, but nothing would happen.
"Mike, shh!" Will exclaimed from one of the couches near the bathroom, where he was lying back with Alex playing with his hair.
"But it's not working! It's stealing my money!" He gave the machine one last kick.
All of the snacks fell out, piling on the dispenser where the boys would only have to reach their hands and grab them all. Mike and Lucas jumped back, staring at the machine in shock. He turned to El, who stubbly wiped her nose. "Thanks," Mike said.
El nodded and put her attention back to the magazine with Rue.
One Lucas had gotten the snacks he wanted, he sat next to Max and offered a few Skittles to the three girls. Max and Rue gladly took a few.
"I'll give you my yellow ones for the green," Rue said, knowingly wiggling her eyebrows.
Max sat up on the chair, looking at the colour sweets in her hands. "Hmm, yellow seriously?" She hummed.
Rue huffed, "I don't like yellow!"
"Oh, I know," Max chucked. "But I also happen to like the green ones,"
"Since when?"
"Since now!"
"That's not fair! You never liked green, you've always liked purple or red."
"Don't you know me so well?" Max teased as she put the green Skittles she had on Rue's palm. She took Rue's yellow ones and swiftly kissed her cheek.
Rue's face went bright red, and she began to stammer, "Oh—oh um — t—thanks,"
El giggled at the interaction while Lucas faked a gag, "Could you two get a room? Please." Max rolled her eyes and hit his shoulder as he laughed.
Their laughing trailed away, and Mike cleared his throat and stood in front of the four. They all looked at him blankly as he kept twitching his head to the side.
"Mike, do you have a tick?" Lucas asked, and Rue, Max, and El burst into giggles.
The boy scowled at his friends, and he grabbed Lucas' arm and pulled him off the seat. "Hey — man, I was just kidding—" He stopped as Mike whispered in his ear. "Oh, then why didn't you just say so?"
Mike rolled his eyes and pushed him away. He turned back to the girls once Lucas was out of the way. "Can you two go make out somewhere else, please?"
Rue choked on a Skittle while Max's face flushed. "Listen, Wheeler," she stood up, her hands in a fist as she stepped towards him.
Rue quickly got up and grabbed her arm. "Come on," She pulled Max away from Mike, who gave her a thankful smile as she and Max sat at the other side of the room.
El chuckled at the girl as she got forced to sit down.
Before the two girls could get comfortable in the fresh seats they heard the entrance doors slide open. There were echoed footsteps and chatter that grabbed Rue's attention. She leaned to the side of the chair, trying to see who it was or hear what they were saying. Rue ended up putting all her weight on one side of the chair, which made her fall off and hit the tiled floor.
She felt two hands helping her stand, and she thought it was Max until she got a glance at the person's face. "Sky!" she stumbled back from her touch and bumped onto Max, who had stood up.
The girl with short strawberry hair smiled at Rue, holding onto a bouquet of lilies and roses. "Hey, Newby," She smirked, "You're still as clumsy as I remember."
Rue grinned brightly, "I haven't seen you in a while!" she said, "How have you been? I'm sorry I haven't called — um how was your aunt's party?"
Sky frowned, shaking her head. "Not good," she said, "she caught a bug at the party."
Max made a face, "A bug?"
"She got really sick — some strange fever and my uncle caught her eating our cleaning supplies. . . so we brought her here last night," Sky lifted the flowers in her hands, "I'm here to check in on her, you know? Make sure she's feeling better."
Rue and Max shared a glance. Sky's aunt was eating cleaning supplies, and so were the Holloways. "She's flayed," Max whispered in Rue's ear, and she nodded.
Sky furrowed her eyebrows at the two girls' whispering but brushed it aside. "So, how have you been? No more exploding smoothies?" She playfully nudged Rue's shoulder, who let out a laugh while Max went red in embarrassment,
"No," Rue chuckled, "Not anymore,"
Sky clicked her tongue, nodding as she winked at Rue. "Well, that's good, babe," she looked down at her clothes, "New style, I see? What happened to my cute little hippie."
Rue blushed as she shrugged, "Oh this was just for fun, my brother's boyfri — um . . . his friend picked it out of me."
She hummed, "So, what are you doing here?"
"I—I'm visiting my brother's, friend's, sister's, grandma," Her voice cracked.
"Are you okay?" Sky asked.
"Are you?" Max said suddenly as she stepped in front of Rue.
Sky looked at her funny. "What do you mean?"
Max narrowed her eyebrows, "I dunno, you look tired."
"Well, my aunt's been eating cleaning supplies — I'm stressed out. I don't know if she'll be okay."
The fluorescent lights above them began to flicker and buzz. They look up at the lights, and Will and the others run out to the three girls. "He's here—" he started but stopped himself when he saw Sky. Mike, El, Alex and Lucas stood behind Will, staring at Sky, who stared at them with a confused expression.
"Who's here?" Sky asked.
"The—" El was going to say, but Will cut her off.
"No time to explain we have to go!" He yelled, then everyone, even Sky, ran after him. They headed towards the elevator, rushing past the receptionist.
"Hey, hey, hey!" She yelled at the kids who ran down the hall, "Two at a time!"
"Sorry, lady!" Rue called, catching up to the rest. Mike repeatedly pressed the elevator button before the group decided it was going to take too long. "Stairs," Rue pointed at the sign, and they all slipped on the glossy tiles as they ran down the hall and burst into the stairwell. Will, Rue, and Sky were the lead as they ran up the steps that seemed to be never-ending.
Sky opened the door, which left Alex confused about how she knew which floor it was, but he didn't have time to question it when they continued running down the hallways, turning corners in search of Nancy and Jonathan or any threat.
Will had run into Jonathan, who was desperately smashing a fire extinguisher into a window on the door, trying to break it open as tears ran down his face.
Then it hit Rue that Nancy wasn't with him. Some growls came from the room Jonathan was trying to get into. Her heart dropped at the thought of Nancy being trapped in a room with a monster.
A voice spoke up, "I got this," They all turned around to see it belonged to Sky, who backed away. Everyone stepped out of her way as she stormed towards the door. She kicked it expertly and sent it off its hinges, crashing to the ground.
Without question, everyone tumbled in. The monster that was in the room slowly turned towards them. Rue felt like her throat had gotten clogged, and her stomach was doing flips. Her eyes were wide, and she had never seen anything like that before.
It scared the shit out of her when it roared so loudly, and instantly, Will pulled her to the back of the group, away from the monster's sight as it began to charge at them all.
"What the fu—" Max was about to say but cut off by El's screams.
Eleven stepped forward, using her powers to throw the monster to the wall. She held both hands up in the air, screaming as the monster began to levitate just centimeters above the floor, then started to be thrown around the room, wall to wall, roof to floor.
Over and over, until it began to turn into a mush. And finally, it was thrown out the window, causing the glass to shatter and land on the floor, just missing Nancy.
"Go!" Eleven said, pushing Jonathan to get Nancy while the rest of them rushed outside. They all ran down the flight of stairs again, and once they got to the entrance doors, El pushed them open. The cool fresh air hit her face as they all made it outside.
El protectively put her arms back, keeping everyone away from the monster that lay on the ground. Max shuffled and grabbed Rue's hands, their fingers interlocking as they watched the monster squelch, turning into some type of ball and roll over to the sewer, leaving a few bones and flesh behind.
Nancy and Jonathan had run out — barely missing the monster's disappearance.
"What the—" Sky said out of breath, "how?"
"What are you doing here?" Mike exclaimed, "why are you here? You shouldn't be here! Rue!" He turned to the girl, "Why is she here?!"
"Mike—" Nancy started, but only to be cut off by the girl.
"Her aunt got flayed!" Rue shouted, "She was here to visit her!"
"Flayed?" Sky almost laughed, turning to Rue, "What is that supposed to mean? She turned into that fucking thing?"
Rue's eyes widened at Sky's reaction. But she had to put herself into Sky's shoes for a while. How would she react if she came to see a family member who was sick, instead, find a monster that could have possibly been — Rue paled at the thought.
She looked at Sky sympathetically, "How about I take you home?" she asked, "I'm pretty sure you'd want some rest after that," She let go of Max's hand, which made Max frown a bit, watching as Rue walked up to Sky and hesitantly put her arm over the older girl, leading her away.
"Rue!" Nancy called after her, shakily running up to them. "Meet us at El's cabin as soon as possible, okay? And — And stay safe!"
"Yeah totally!" she nodded. And then the two girls took off to the nearest bus stop.
（ ₊˚. ✰┊📼 ! ）
( BEFORE YOU READ )
the rest of this chapter
has triggering topics
such as violence,
abuse, vomit, slurs,
blood, death, murder,
& insanity !!!
She had made a mistake. Rue Newby had made a horrible mistake. And she knew that the second she stepped into Sky's house. This wasn't part of the plan. She was supposed to drop her off at the door. So why was she walking the house?
Rue felt welcomed once she walked in. Like they were waiting for her. The coldness of the house wasn't putting her off, but instead, it made her want to advance further.
And then, there it was, that feeling of power, the feeling of wrong. The whole house stank of it — the wrongness was pouring from the walls in waves — Just like Billy during the sauna test. Just like Will the year prior, she thought in horror. Rue had to leave. She wasn't safe. But her thoughts were mudded, and her mind was a mess. That has never happened before.
Sky led Rue through the halls until they got to a living space where a man sat. He was staring off into space while the T.V played nonsense. His eyes were dazed, and for a sick moment, Rue thought he was deceased. He was dead on the couch.
Get out of there, she thought, get out!
"Uncle Dave," Sky's soft voice broke Rue from her blurry mind. The man on the couch blinked and looked at the two girls. His stare was colder than the house — it felt lifeless and empty. Sky smiled at her uncle, "This is my friend, Ruth," she told him, "the one I told you about."
"Hi," Rue waved at him softly.
"Hello, Ruth."
"Y—you can call me Rue," she stuttered.
"Alright," he cleared his throat, standing up from the couch he sat on and walked towards her. "Nice to meet you, Rue," he said, "I'm David."
Rue didn't say anything. There was something wrong with this house. Something wrong had happened. She knew it. Rue could feel it on the tip of her fingers. And when she looked at the sofa again, she saw it. An arm — it was poking out from under the couch. It looked green and purple, and there was a beautiful wedding band on the ring finger. Rue knew it was her time to go.
Just before she could turn to leave, she felt a grip on her wrist. Rue looked up to see Sky pulling up the stairs. Rue panicked as she looked back at the man, stumbling on her feet as she tripped on the steps. She had snapped back to reality when a door shut on her face.
Rue had to leave. And all she had to do was open the door and walk out. But that something was holding her back. Could it be that she was finally going to get the answer to her questions?
Rue turned around to find herself in a room that was about the same size as the one she shared with Will, however, this one only had one bed and tons of baseball trophies and fewer drawings. The grip on her wrist was gone, and she moved around the room shyly.
"Do you like it?" She heard Sky ask.
Rue turned around to find the ginger smiling at her. "Yeah — it's nice here — better than my room."
She should have left when she still had the chance — she knew that the second Sky's face went cold and blank. Rue wondered if El was right. Maybe she did have Telepathy, and if she did — right now would be a great time to use it to find out what the hell was going on.
Before she could think, the Whisper spoke to her — it was the same overlapped mutters. Once again, it was terrifying how simply she had gotten to Sky's mind. Just as easily as it was with Billy. With the voice telling her dark and evil things, and then Rue knew, that's what they wanted.
Sky walked up to one of her shelves, "So. . ." she trailed off, picking up one of her baseball trophies, her pale fingers tracing the hard gold figure of the player, "Wanna sleepover?"
"I can't," Rue answered quickly. She looked at the door at the sound of the floor creaking, and she noticed the shadow of someone under the door frame. "I have to meet up with my friends, as you heard," Rue started to roam around the other side of the bed further away from Sky.
"Oh, alright," The older girl hummed, walking closer, making Rue take more steps back and stupidly trapping herself as her back got pressed to a wall and Sky just a few feet away.
"Sky," Her name sounded soft and warm as it slipped from Rue's lips. The girl had eased for a moment and relaxed at the sound of her name.
Sky looked at Rue with her blue eyes, "I don't want to hurt you," she said slowly. "I need your help," she pleaded.
"With what?"
"Making an army. . ."
Rue shivered, looking anywhere in the room but Sky. Her green eyes landed on the door, and she glanced between Sky and the door, thinking if she ran fast enough, she could make it out. Or she could jump out the window, but that would be a two-story fall. Rue pursed her lips, finally looking at Sky.
"How would I make an army?"
"Because!" She screamed, gripping on the trophy tighter. Rue jumped at her sudden outburst, and Sky took a few breaths to calm herself. There was sweat rolling down her pale skin despite the cold temperatures in the house.
Skylar was shaking, and the bags under her eyes seemed to darken, along with the blue in her eyes. They deepened into a dark black and Rue wanted to cry as the girl turned into some sort of monster before her, Sky's veins shadowing, contrasting against her pale skin. "He wants the Celestial," Skylar told her. "Give it to him."
Rue shook her head, her green eyes clouding with tears. "I don't— I don't know what that is."
"Don't lie." Sky spat, "We know you have it."
"I don't know—"
"She gave it to you!"
"The girl doesn't know—just grab her," Rue began to make out the over-lapped voices, and her heart dropped. They were going to take her. It was a trap.
"If we wait any longer she'll figure it out — "
"Stop, she's listening."
Without another word, Rue burst off into a sprint, taking Sky by surprise. She had jumped over the bed and ran to the door. Rue fiddled with the knob for only a second, and she swung it open to be met face to face with Sky's uncle.
He swayed in his spot, staring down at the girl as he waited for orders. And when he blinked, he had snapped back and raised his hand. Rue ducked, thinking he was about to swing at her with his palm, but she fell with a nasty surprise of feeling a plate blow against the side of her head.
It smashed into countless pieces, cutting at her soft skin by her temple and ear. The shattering echo rang in her ears as she collapsed to the ground.
Rue groaned as she hit the hardwood flooring, the back of her head striking with the floor. She didn't know what hit her, but she knew it hurt when she felt thousands of sharp stabs light up all around her body. Rue could feel the blood on the face, dripping from near her eyebrow and on her cheekbone.
Tears stung in her eyes as she laid on the floor, trying to recall what just happened. She wiped the tears away, trying to stand. Her knees wobbled like a baby trying to take their first step.
Her attempts to stand weren't appreciated and she was sent back to the ground by another blow to the head by a harder object. Rue knew one thing, it was sharper, and she was sure Sky had hit her with the trophy.
Pain spiked on her forehead, and she nearly felt her skull shake once her head hit the ground again. The stinging pain quickly turned into a throbbing, and Rue could feel the blood drip from a fresh cut on her forehead down her face to her collarbone.
Rue couldn't make out her surroundings. She saw a blur of clouds, and the world was slipping away from her. Rue was shifting through consciousness, and for a moment, she felt nearly no pain. Was this it? Was she going to die?
No way, she's felt worse pain than this. That day on the baseball field was worse. Rue was too stubborn to die then — she was too stubborn to die now.
At least she believed so until all the feeling grew back to her skin. Rue blinked awake, and that was when she noticed she wasn't on the ground anymore. No, her feet were swinging in the air.
As her world slowly came back to focus, Rue wondered if she was being drowned. Had they thrown her in a lake? She couldn't breathe, there was no air in her lungs, and her toes tingled.
And once Rue could see again, the first thing she saw was David. His lifeless yet determined blue eyes with his irises crawling with black lines like a virus.
Rue choked as she tried to breathe in, and her clouded mind realized she was getting strangled. Tears rolled down her cheeks as her lips parted and turned purple, yet she still wouldn't fall unconscious as David wanted. She gasped and coughed, her hands swinging up to pull him away from her neck while her feet swung in the air to get a kick at him.
Rue Newby wheezed as she blinked slowly, and when her eyes closed, they stayed shut. The man choking her laughed — he'd finally done it!
His grip around her neck loosened when she went limp, and he nearly dropped the girl to the ground.
A childish smirk grew on Rue's face, she began to giggle, and she opened her eyes and spat on his face. Her nails dug at his wrists as he tightened his grip again, growling at her as she kicked him in the stomach. David shook her body in the air, gripping tighter and tighter and he was close to breaking her neck.
Blood rolled down Rue's ears. She glared at the ground, clenching her jaw as she focused. More blood trickled down her nose, and David's feet began to sink into the hardwood floor as if it were quicksand. This caught his attention, and he dumped Rue on the ground. She gasped, taking in as much air as her lungs could hold.
Rue scrambled from the floor, wiping away as much blood as she could from her face. She had to get out of there.
Sky had run at Rue with the trophy, who ducked in time before she could hit her again. She frowned at the girl, who no longer had those happy blue eyes. In the corner of her eyes, Rue could see David pulling his feet off the wood that had become frozen around his ankles. The hardwood was stabbing at his skin and pulling on his skin.
Rue sobbed like a child — she didn't want to hurt them. Rue wasn't like she was a year ago — she wouldn't hurt a fly.
Sky ran at her again, and Rue moved her head up, throwing Sky to the wall, where she crashed onto her mirror. The glass shattered under the girl, and Rue let her fall to the ground. Sky groaned in pain and struggled to stand.
"I'm sorry," Rue sniffed, weakly trying to make her way to the door. "I'm sorry,"
Her hand was at the handle of the door, but she fell when a hand grabbed her ankle. She had put her hands out to break the fall. Rue got pulled back into the room, and she tried to reach for the door. But then, she let out a cry as something stabbed at her right leg, and then again, and again. It dug at her smooth skin, breaking the layers and sinking into the flesh. Rue's body jerked suddenly from the pain, and she weakly glanced over her shoulder to see David, who was still stuck to the ground, stabbing at her leg with the same trophy Sky had bashed her head with.
Something flashed in Rue's eyes as she cried. Her eyes grew darker, and her hair began to glow. The pain had gone away as she reached for the trophy that flew out of David's hand into hers.
She slowly stood, feeling the blood rush down to her ankles and soak up her socks. Rue held her hand up, the trophy floating just inches before her palm with belts of gold and blue.
Sure, Rue wouldn't hurt a fly, but something seemed to snap deep inside. And as her eyes darkened and the glowing became brighter, David began to choke. On what? It wasn't seen.
The blood on her leg fell slowly, but it puddled on the floor with humble splashes — Drip, drip, drip — And there were thoughts put into Rue's clouded mind, He was going to kill you, what are you going to do about it? What was she going to do about it? She couldn't just walk away, could she? He'd just come back, wouldn't he?
He was coughing up blood now, gasping for air.
Rue wondered what her parents might think of her. But it doesn't matter — she's killed before — what's one more to the list going to do?
But she wasn't like that anymore.
Was she?
She felt a blow on her back, and Rue had remembered Sky was still there. Rue turned around to find Sky with a picture frame in her hand. It happened like a flash when Sky hit her in the face with it, the corner stabbing at the wound she already had and the glass shattering at her skin. When would it end?
Rue fell on the ground again, more open gashes and cuts. She knew that they wanted her knocked out, and that wasn't going to happen. Rue had to stay awake, no matter how heavy her eyelids were becoming, or how welcoming the lightened world was, or the ringing that took away her hearing.
The glowing went away, her eyes were green, and the pain had come back. She was Rue again. She scrambled back on her arms, throwing anything she could reach at Sky. Get up! Get out!
She cried and sobbed as Sky inched her way closer. Rue was weak, and she knew it. She had already told this to El. Rue wasn't a fighter. And even with her powers, Rue didn't fight — she killed. She was weak.
From her left, David's body started to shake violently. Rue screamed as she watched his body turn into mush by her feet. Just like the monster at the hospital. Rue cried as the slush moved closer to her, and she hurried to her feet, nearly falling back down from the dizziness in her head. Everything was spinning — everything was disappearing — was that the door?
It wasn't.
And she only figured it out when Sky had kicked her in the stomach, pushing her through the window.
Though it felt like hours, it happened in seconds. Rue was falling, through the air, her hair whipping at her face as she desperately tried to grab onto something, something she could catch herself with. But there was nothing.
Rue was falling, and perhaps it wasn't to her death, it had still brought a dropping response to her stomach when she didn't feel anything below her.
She landed on the grass with a thud.
Rue was about to give in on the soft green grass with the moonlight above her. What a great way to go. If only she wasn't in pain. If only she had been numb, perhaps she would have enjoyed it.
The distant ringing came back, and Rue laid on the ground for a little while, her vision zoning back and forth. She could stay there, slowly bleed to death, or die from exposure to her injuries. She greeted death like an old friend.
Did she have a concussion?
Probably.
She really thought about giving up as she stared at the moon and stars. She really did. But she remembered what she had waiting for her.
Rue may not know it — but a part of her had died under the moonlight.
And though it ached and it pained every inch of her body, she carefully stood up. Her knees were unsteady, but she managed to stay on her two feet.
Rue felt like she was floating. Was this even her own body?
Her stomach flipped when she tried to take a step, and she dropped to her knees, puking on the grass. Her throat burned, but her body has never hurt more than this.
As she wiped her mouth, she picked herself up, not daring to look back at the house.
The Mindflayer saw her. It knew her. It was using her — It was taunting her. It needed her to build an army. But why Rue Newby? What could she do El couldn't?
"You can do many things, my dear."
Rue stopped in the middle of the woods, her arms hugging herself. She spun around, trying to find where she heard the voice. But then she realized she had said it herself. Rue shook her head, continuing her walk.
There was so much blood on her, and she couldn't tell which came from what — from her nose and ears or the cuts on her face and leg. Her eyes were wild, and the red liquid drizzled down her face like a rainbow. Rue tried to make out what was real and what were the things her mind was ruffling with.
"You've had your chance to heal, it's time for you to know."
Rue stiffened, trying to ignore it.
"You meddle with minds, my dear. You can bring an army of men to their knees with a flash of your smile."
It echoed in her ear, and Rue spun around, trying to catch the source of the voice. She tripped on a stick and landed on her butt.
"But you can do much more than just that. There's so much you don't know."
"I don't understand!" Rue cried to no one, her voice ripping through the air and disappearing within the trees. Her through clogged up and tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Don't cry yet, you still have a fight to win."
（ ₊˚. ✰┊📼 ! ）
5404 WORDS
#faye give rue a break challenge
and so the plot thickens