Through The Strangest Things || Steve Harrington x Reader

8. The Upside Down

Jonathan sped into our gravel driveway and we all piled out of the car. He tossed me the keys and Nancy and I walked around to the back of the car and unlocked the trunk.

Nancy was quick to grab the fire extinguisher and the gasoline, and I reached down and picked up the cardboard box. We set everything down in the living room once we got into the house, and we each grabbed a handful of Christmas lightbulbs and started screwing them back onto their correct places.

We finished that in record time and made our way to the hallway next. Nancy and I handed Jonathan supplies while he hammered the bear traps into the ground. I grabbed the ammo we bought and quickly loaded the revolver.

While I was doing that, Jonathan took one bat and shoved nails through the top. We only bought enough nails for one bat, so Nancy was gonna have to use a normal bat.

Next, I helped Nancy cover the carpet of the hallway and Will's room in gasoline. I opened the door to his room so she didn't have to stop pouring. Then, we went back into the hallway where the bear traps were, and helped Jonathan set them.

"Ready?" I asked both of them, breathless after all the work we did.

They both nodded, looking me in the eye before we all stood up and maneuvered ourselves to the living room. Jonathan detoured to the kitchen and grabbed three knives from the drawer before joining me and Nancy.

He handed each of us the knives. "Remember . . ." he said, gesturing for us to recite the plan.

"Straight into Will's room. And--" Nancy started.

"Don't step on the trap," I added.

"Wait for the yo-yo to move," Nancy said.

"Then . . ." Jonathan opened the lighter, meaning that he was going to set the monster of fire once it was caught in the trap.

"Alright," I breathed, suddenly very nervous.

"You ready?" Jonathan asked us.

"Ready," Nancy and I chorused.

We all held the palms of our hands face up and pressed the blade of the knife into our skin, preparing to cut through.

"On three," my brother warned.

I closed my eyes briefly and took a deep breath, then stared down at my hand.

"One."

He glanced up at us.

"Two."

Nancy looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack.

"You don't have to do this--" Jonathan tried to say.

"Jonathan, stop talking," Nancy breathed with a shake of her head.

"I'm just saying, you don't have to--"

"Three!" I said, cutting off their argument.

Dark, crimson blood spilled out of my hand as the knife pressed into my skin with excruciating pain.

"Jesus," I muttered before dropping the knife and looking frantically at Jonathan. "Get the bandages."

Small pools of blood from all three of us already began to stain the carpet, and my hand hurt like hell, so I wanted to wrap it up as quickly as I could.

Jonathan came back with the white bandages, and I sat down on the couch with Nancy, grabbing her wrist and starting on her hand.

Next, Jonathan did mine. As he finished, I got up off the couch and sat on the edge of the coffee table, leaving room for Nancy to sit next to my brother.