𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐃, 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 | 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐰𝐨

chapter eleven; nightmares

꒰꒰・┄┄・𓆩♡𓆪・┄┄・꒱꒱

"HELLO?" Summer's tired voice echoes. She'd been screaming for what seemed like forever in search of any sign of human life. Her surroundings were dark and the air was cold, so cold she could see her breath in front of her. Small flakes fell from the sky, slowly trickling down and then disintegrating into the ground around her bare feet.

"Is anyone there?" She calls out again, but just like every other time... radio silence. Not a single sound.

Just as she's about to give up a familiar sign catches her eye. 'Hawkins High School'. Everything looked so different. This was not her school and it most certainly was not her home.

Being cautious of her environment she makes her way toward the abandoned building. Slimy tendrils had snaked their way across the floor and up the walls, blocking off all other exits. But Summer's attention was elsewhere as she noticed the bright red glow that was coming from the other end of the corridor.

It's bright light cascading across the walls and illuminating the floor. The closer Summer got, the more she too shun a bright red. Anyone else would've known better than to follow the light, but she couldn't help herself, her curiosity had got the better of her as if an unexplainable force was pulling her towards it.

The wall was covered by the same slimy substance as the tree she and Nancy had come across when they first encountered the Demogorgon. The memory causes her body to shudder with fear and as she takes in a deep breath, the sound she had been dreading to hear, ripples out from the other end of the corridor.

There it stood in all its horrifying glory, right in front of the only exit, it's body hunched over as it lets out another roar. It's face blossoms open like a delicate flower with its thousands upon thousands of razor-sharp teeth glistening under a thick layer of saliva. Summer stands frozen in the face of it all, her heart about to burst out of her chest with panic, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move.

The Demogorgon's head twists and turns in Summer's direction as if it recognised her and knew exactly who she was. Studying her from a distance it raises its hand up and unclasps it. Inside its palm was the necklace Steve has given her. The necklace that had been ripped from her flesh and almost killed her. She reaches for her neck only to find it bare and without a scar.

Within seconds, the Demogorgon pushes back on its legs and starts running at her, it's large limbs carrying it faster than she'd ever seen. She tried to run but it's like she's been glued into place. As the Demogorgon closes in on her, it's claw raised and ready to rip her to shreds, Summer shields herself as best she can and waits for the impact... except it never comes.

Summer jolts up in her bed, her palms clammy and body soaked with sweat as she pants aggressively. Relief sets in when she feels around her neck and finds the necklace from Steve still safely clasped in place. It's then, and only then, that she accepts that it was just a nightmare - her first nightmare in six months.