･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. ☆彡ﾟ.
17 | Dark Times
･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. ☆彡ﾟ.

𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ʇɥǝ 𝙣𝙙𝙨ı𝙙ǝ 𝙙𝙤ʍ𝙣

WITH WILL RIGHT BEHIND her, both tweens went tumbling downhill. It was a small hill, but nevertheless, they were both bruised, scraped, and slightly bleeding when they reached the bottom.

Too shocked and terrified to move, they laid still on the cold ground. Their teeth chattering as they waited quietly for the roaring of the monster to stop. Eventually it did, and the kids let out a sigh of relief.

Stella was the first to sit up and she winced in pain as her whole body was aching. She gritted her teeth as a sharp pain and a stinging sensation come over her body. She looked down at her arm and saw small but nasty looking gash. Blood oozed out of it, and it made the girl dizzy. Will was able to get to his feet, and his face was covered with scratches, and his jeans had a hole. The sight of Stella's wound made him gasp, and he hobbled over towards her.

-"Stella we have to wrap that!" He said strained and breathlessly. Stella nods, she too was trying to get her breathing back to normal.

He grabs her arm gently and examines it. Neither were no doctor, so common sense would have to do.

-"I-ah! Read that you can clean it with water- ow! And wrap it with-..."

The girl stopped short when she got chills. She shivered in the cold, and Will pulled her in for a hug. He hoped that this warm her up. Stella's teeth chattered and she felt frozen. Will did his best to rub her hands and arms to get her blood moving.

She moaned softly out of her state of discomfort. Both felt horrible, cold, hungry, and tired. Stella didn't have to be there, but I guess that's what happens when you try to be a good friend.

-"Here," Will speaks, interrupting her thoughts. He opens up her backpack a pulls out her water bottle. Stella shakes her head vigorously, but Will pays no attention. Instead, he brings the bottle up to her lips and the cool liquid enters the girls dry mouth.

-"T-thank you," she whispers. Will nods and gives the bottle a light shake. Disappointment can be seen in his eyes as places the bottle back in her backpack.

"Not much left?" She guesses. Will responds with a sad nod of his head. They both sit in silence, doing their best to warm the other.

𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚

-"STILL PRETTY?" Eleven asked quietly as she looked at herself in the mirror.

-"Yeah," Mike assures her. He shifts from one foot to the other, feeling slightly nervous.
He clears his throat lightly before continuing,

"Pretty, really pretty. El?"

-"Yes?" The girl answers turning towards him. She looks at him with wonder, waiting for him to speak again.

-"Um, I'm happy you're home." He stammers, looking around at anything but the girl in front of him.

-"Me too," she smiles lightly. Mike does the same, and time seemed to suddenly freeze as he slowly stared to lean in.

El wasn't really sure about what was going on, but she trusted Mike. So she stood still as the boy in front of her started to slowly close his eyes.

-"Guys!" Dustin's yells while opening the bathroom door open quickly. This catches the two off guard and Mike lets out a squeal.

"It's Lucas, I think he's in trouble." He says while panting. Mike immediately walks forward, and El follows suit. They make their way over to the couch and sit. Mike holds his radio in his hand.

"Do you remember how he said he was looking for the gate?" Dustin fills him in quickly.

-"Yeah,"

-"What if he found it?"

Suddenly, Lucas's voice can be heard. Only problem was, was that it was filled with static.

-"What's he saying?" Mike asks aloud, growing annoyed by the minute.

-"I don't know, he's way out of range." Dustin says with a shake of his head. El wasn't really sure about what was going on. But she could tell that Mike and Dustin were not happy, and that this was a serious situation.

-"...son of a.....!" Lucas's voice could be heard a little more clear now. Both boys perk up in excitement. Mike's hold on his radio tightens.

-"Lucas, if you can hear us, slow down. We can't understand you." He speaks loudly into his device.

-"Yes, I copy!" Is the response.

-"Do you?"

-"They know about Eleven!" Lucas yells, they can hear him panting for breath.

El's eyes for up at the sound of her name. She sends Mike an alarmed look, and he does the same. Dustin starts to pace the basement floor in contemplation.

"Get out of there! They know about Eleven!
The bad men are coming! All of them! Do you hear me? The bad men are coming!"

Sinclair warms them. He pedals faster, the cold wind nipping at his cheeks.

-""Mad hen." Does that mean anything to you?" Mike turns to the curly haired boy. Dustin shakes his head vigorously.

"Like a code name or something?"

-"The bad men are coming!" Lucas's warns them once more before the connection goes down and nothing but static is heard.

-"Bad men." Bad men!" Mike repeats aloud. El's mouths opens wide and she starts to slightly hyperventilate.

The sound of radio static is the only thing one can hear as Mike, Dustin, and El sit in silence. Each lost in thought.

Then Mike had a thought. He quickly moves over to the stairs, but before running up them, he tells El to stay where she is.

"What's that guy doing?" He asks Dustin, who had followed him. They were standing by the front window, watching a van that was so causally parked near Mike's house.

On there way back home after El had rescued them, they noticed a van parked outside of Mike's house. It didn't raise any suspicion, but after Lucas's alarming warming, Mike was having doubts.

-"You don't think..." Dustin finishes his thought aloud.

-"Well, I know she and Steve have been spending some time together, -so I thought maybe..." Mrs. Wheelers voice could be heard coming from the kitchen. She had the phone to her ear, and she was cooking dinner.

-"Mom!" Mike shouts, sliding into the room on his socks.

-"Well, is he home? Maybe you could call and ask him?" She stammers into the phone, ignoring her son.

-"Mom!"

-"I'm sorry can you just hold on, please?
Michael, I'm on the phone. I've told you a million times..."

-"Did you schedule any repairs?" Mike asks, interrupting her.

-"What?" Mrs. Wheeler shouts, baffled. What had gotten into her son?

-"Is there anyone supposed to come and do repairs on the house?" Mike repeats himself, this time, slowly and clearly.

-"I don't understand. Is there something wrong..." Mrs. Wheeler shakes her head at her son, completely thrown off by his attitude.

-"No, Mom, nothing's wrong in the house."

-"Mike!" Dustin yells from the bottom of the basement stairs, he ran back down, when Mike was speaking with his mother. The Wheeler boy runs off in the direction of where Dustin is.

-"One second." Karen speaks into the phone.

"Mike!" She calls out his name, pressing the phone to her chest to muffle out any sound.

-"We need to leave... right now." Dustin says while panting for breath.

-"Michael!" Karen yells out her sons name again, after a sigh of frustration.

-"If anyone asks where I am, I've left the country." Mike tells his mother before running back downstairs.

-"What?" Karen shakes her head in disbelief. She shakes her head before putting the phone back up to her ear.

-"Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!" Dustin urges the other two. By now, they're outside and and pedaling away from the house.

𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ʇɥǝ 𝙣𝙙𝙨ı𝙙ǝ 𝙙𝙤ʍ𝙣

-"WE HAVE TO KEEP MOVING." Will states while standing to his feet. Stella nods and gently rises off the ground.

-"I-I hurt all over." She groans while stretching, hopping that that would ease some of the pain.

-"I know. We need to do something about your arm though." He says in response while pointing to her wound and walking over towards her

She nods and unbuttons her pant pocket. She feels around in it and pulls out a small, black, flip opening Gerber knife.

-"Use this to cut my shirt sleeve off, my jacket'll keep me warm," she informs him while handing over the knife to her the boy beside her.

The two then set to work. The goal was cut off Stella's sleeve without cutting her. That would be used as a bandage for the arm that was banged up.

It took them a little while, but in the end, they succeeded. So with her bandage, on one arm, and her backpack slung over her other shoulder, she set out. Will was right beside her this time and the two prayed that the monster would not cross they're path once more.

-"These are dark times," Will observes after they had been walking for a while.

-"They are," Stella answers in response. She looks about them, and nothing but trees, the white substance that feel from the sky, destruction, and darkness could be seen around them.

Her mind then went back to Steve. What was he doing right now? What were her parents doing? Was Steve looking for her? What about Mike, Lucas, and Dustin? Or Eleven?

"Should I stay or should I go? If I go there will be trouble," she starts sing under her breath, hoping that that would calm her, and put her mind at ease.

-"If I stay it will be double." Will finishes for her.

The two share a light laugh, before continuing to sing the rest of the song, lightly, though, of course. This seemed to lift their spirits, for awhile, until they got to town.

"Woah," Will breaths out.

Even in the dead of night, Hawkins never seemed this deserted and eerie. The buildings were destroyed and wired plants grew out of the ground. The two stood in silence, too shocked to move.

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. ☆彡ﾟ.･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. ☆彡ﾟ.
I know it's short, but we're coming to
the end!

I'm still doing the graphics by you guys!
So if you have one, or wanna make one, just PM me!

Also changed my username,
simplyalimelight- laurielaurense

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Thanks for reading! (and thank you for your patience!)

<3 Catherine✎