𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐜 ᴱˡᵉᵛᵉⁿ ᴴᵒᵖᵖᵉʳ ⁺ ᴹᵃˣ ᴹᵃʸᶠⁱᵉˡᵈ

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴏɴᴇ

Words 1035 -Edited

Trigger warning: Mentions of abuse, knife, death threats, and more! If any of these trigger you click off!

. . .

"Hey, uh, Dustin?" I was denying the inevitable, "Take good care would ya? Tell Will i'm sorry, sorry I couldn't save him." Troy sneered pulling the knife closer to Dustin's mouth, "Hurry up fag," he motioned with his head for me to jump, "or maybe I won't be able to resist the urge to knock your brother's pretty little teeth out."

I gritted my teeth trying to think of a way out of this but it was pratically impossible. Well I mean improbable, nothing is truly impossible, it just takes time. Time I don't have. I tried to hold back a growl as Troy and James looked at eachother smirking. "You know as much as i'd love to rip your faces off I admit defeat, so have a lovely time!" I grinned. If I was going out better be in style. I slung off my pack and did a backflip off the edge.

I was falling, really just falling. For some reason the thought of me dying didn't scare me, I guess I was just never the type. The wind roared past my head, the sound deafening. All of a sudden I stopped, a shockwave wrenched through my body. It was El slowly lifting me back up the cliff. My eyes fluttered open and I grinned seeing Troy and James scamper from the edge. Dustin grabbed my arm lifting me back up the rest of the way.

He look disgruntled, "Thanks a million!" I patted him on the shoulder before walking away from the cliff front, the gravel crunched but something crunched even louder. Troy's arm. The boy let out a shriek letting his knife drop as he grasped his arm. I saw him speak to James, a look of pure terror painting his features. Once the words left his mouth James nodded then they turned tail and ran.

It was absolutely hilarious to me for some odd reason. Laughter was trying to bubble up and through my mouth but I bit it back, better not to have them think i'm that crazy. Often more times than not I was viewed as downright twisted. I could help the snort as Dustin began shouting to the two Wolflings. "YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT! SHE'S OUR FRIEND AND SHE'S CRAZY, IF YOU COME BACK SHE'LL KILL YOU SONS OF BITCHES!"

El looked to be on the verge of collapsing, shaking legs, heavy breathing, and blood smeared across her face. It was strange seeing her like this, in all honesty i've seen myself worse. But, it hurt to see her like that. A frown marred my features as I walked over to steady the girl. A soon as she felt my hand holding her up she sighed and dropped. She had tears running down her face which only made my frown turn more sour. I hefted the girl up, she was light, lighter than she should have been for someone of her age and height.

I felt her head burrow into the crook of my neck, "I'm sorry," it was a muffled statement. "For what?" my curiosity got the better of me but I was pretty sure I already knew what she was going to say. "The gate," she paused and sniffled, "I opened it. I'm a monster." My gaze softened, "Hey, no no no! El look at me, you're a fucking hero you hear me? Not a monster."

She was wrong. The lab was mostly a haze but I had a good chunk of solid memories, it was me. The one vivid memory I had, the one that shone bright above the many others. That dammed gate.

"It; was never you." My pace had slowed to a sunken trod. "You were asleep that day, sick in your room." The wind stirred my short hair and ruffled both of our jackets. "Papa, he, wanted me to reach out to what you had saw before, wanted me to brave the unknown. But, we can see how that turned out." My eyes flashed guiltily to the tip of a scar poking it's head out from her shirt, dress, okay whatever it was.

I started to think about the strange flashes I would have, it was familiar yet entirely alien to this time. 2022, an entire thirty-nine years in the future. But it was so odd, I could swear I remembered things that didn't even exist yet. I shook my head to clear it of the thoughts plaguing them.

Christopher Brenner, a picture of a man who looked like Papa with blonde hair and green eyes popped into my head. I girtted my teeth trying to listen to what El was murmuring. "Not your fault." Her tone was soft yet firm. It almost looked like she had a fire blazing in her eyes. I internally scoff at the notion but thought it true, she was like tempered steel. Strong and durable.

"Are you well enough to hold on?" I questioned her, it was more of a statement but she nodded and stumbled out of my grasp to sit on my bike. It was silent until I broke it, "I don't know why but I feel like i've seen you before, like in a different time. Is that strange?" I ask quietly scared of her response.

She shook her head no and I let out a relieved breath I didn't know I was holding. "Not strange."

. . .

We broke from the treeline, Mike was huffing severely. I kept a brutal pace but Dustin didn't complain, it was always Mike. I shook my head but he flipped me off in retaliation. "Can off Wheeler." I sneered at the boy, I never liked him all that much, he was far to 'Judge everyone if they aren't in the party cause I think i'm better than everyone else.', It was annoying, his little act I mean. I had grown used to it but it wore thin quick.

"Chop Chop! We gotta get going!" *I paused putting on a blank face, "That means you, Wheeler." He grunted in annoyance as we rolled our bikes onto the cracked pavement. We kick off and started speeding down the overgrown road.