THE KIDS AREN'T ALRIGHT ｡ STRANGER THINGS

29 - UNDER THE NEVER-ENDING SKY

Teenagers with beer fizzling in their veins and headaches growing behind their eyes, stumbled through the tall dark trees with sparks in their hearts. Halloween was coming to a close, but a few kids were determined to make the party last forever. Police had broken up the Halloween bash almost half an hour ago, most fleeing into the streets without being caught. But some devilish teenagers had taken the party to the woods, Marigold Lonsdale included.

Cold seeped through her thin costume, her lips stinging from the bitterness in the air. Drunken roars from the kids around her set her bones stiff, but she smiled through the fears. She had always hated the woods. Marigold had ditched the party with some girl from senior year, Darlene something. She was barely paying attention to the loud mouthed, overly ditsy redhead, her sole attention being sucked up with the boy stalking through the undergrowth in front of her. His black leather jacket was hanging from his toned shoulders and his denim jeans hugged his behind like silk. Somebody had shoved a flask with sour whiskey into her hands and she had thrown back her head and let the liquor warm her insides. Marigold knew she should have gone straight home, but the longing for something exciting pushed her into the wake of stupid teenagers, who were blindly following Billy Hargrove into the darkness.

"I really love your costume, it totally suits you." Darlene something was gushing out lamely, hands crawling at Marigold who had to shrug her off with a roll of her eyes. She did not have time, or patience, to allow this girl to think they were friends just because they had stumbled behind some boys from school that thought stomping through the woods on Halloween was a fun idea. The only reason Marigold had even followed was because Billy Hargrove had let his eyes land on her, a tiny smirk lifting up his lips. "We should totally hang out at school."

Marigold Lonsdale hiked up her skirt, her heels sinking into the dead leaves and dirt. "Yeah, sure." The lie slipped smoothly from her lips and she didn't even feel terrible. She had always been a wonderful liar.

Darlene beamed. "Awesome."

Another kid behind them hurried through the darkness too, branches yanking at his own costume. Fear danced in his eyes, the shadows of the night spooking him. "Hey guys, where are we even going? I'm freezing out here." He paused, eyes darting towards the girls. "Maybe we should just go back..."

Billy Hargrove turned around, lips snarling. "Off you go, then."

The boy panicked. "I just mean—"

"Are you scared or something, shithead?" Billy taunted him, enjoying how easy it was to get under these kids' skins. It was actually too easy. He was baffled by how hick and lousy this town was too. He was almost tempted to get into his car and keep on driving without looking back. At least then he wouldn't have to smell the cow shit anymore. "Are you chicken shit? Like this entire town. Come on, it's just trees and dirt."

Marigold Lonsdale did not mention how these woods, these trees and dirt, had hosted something much more sinister not a full year ago. She would never confess that a monster had dwelled in these hallow woods, not that anybody would believe her. Instead a laugh fell from her lips, eyes glistening. She took a deliberate step towards the boy from California and pushed the flask into his hands. "Hawkins blows, sure. But there's no need to scare the locals. Carter here is just sensitive." Billy let his eyes run over her face slowly. "Come on, new kid, there's a clearing up ahead. You wanted a party, right? Let's go."

The group of drunk teenagers were venturing too far into the woods that lined the tiny town. Laughter danced off the trees but they didn't notice how the earth around them was decaying, quite literally rotting from the inside out. A disgusting scent had circled around them now, Darlene noticing it first. Her giggles were cut short, her eyes spotting something strange through the darkness. Nobody else noticed, not even Marigold who had grown very used to spying strange things. Marigold was too caught up with sharing the whiskey with Billy, who was more than enchanted by the girl everyone spoke about. He had somehow pulled her away from the others, wanting a second or two alone with her. He had backed her up against a tree, fingertips touching her shoulder.