my girl || steve harrington

the monster

part one

"jonathan!" nancy screamed before repeating his name a few more times. she ran through the forest looking for the tree that they crawled through, but everything looked the same. she couldn't distinguish one tree from the next. they were trying to find a needle in a haystack except if they couldn't find the needle, it meant certain death.

the sound of rapid footsteps made her turn her head. before she could process what was happening, she was knocked off her feet. she screamed repeatedly before a hand was clamped over her mouth. her eyes focused and lydia hovered over her, a finger pressed to her lips. pulling the girl up, they hid behind a tree with their backs pressed against rotting wood. they held their breath as the monster skulked past and growled, searching for the two.

looking to their left they saw the hole from which they entered. nancy grabbed her friend's arm and rushed over to the trunk. she crawled through first and lydia waited for her friend to go through all the way before starting to crawl in herself. but before she got through, a hand clamped around her leg and pulled her back. she screamed at the top of her lungs as she was slowly pulled away from her one chance at escaping. her free hand tried to grasp anything that would stop her but nothing worked. she turned so she was on her back and looked down at the appendage that was currently clutching her ankle.

in a moment of clarity, she gripped the hockey stick in both hands before slamming it down on the limb of the monster. she screamed as she brought it down with all her strength over and over again. once it's grip was loose enough she pulled her leg out and stumbled towards the tree trunk. she threw herself in and felt two pairs of hands grip her arm before pulling her out completely. she lay on top of both her friends and started to sob. she felt jonathan's arms wrap around her while the other girl wriggled out from underneath. the boy sat her up and held her face in his hands.

"lydia, hey, hey, it's me. it's jonathan. you're okay now, you are with me and nancy. you're okay. just try and calm down and breathe." he shushed the girl softly as she cried. "oh my god." the older wheeler whispered. she stood up, gathering all their things. holding the hockey stick in one hand and the bat in the other, she gave the boy a look of concern and urgency.

"jonathan, we have to go. now." she demanded. he looked at her in confusion before pointing down at the sobbing girl's leg. it was bleeding profusely. there were several lesions on her calf that caused blood to drip down onto her white sneakers. his eyes widened at the gashes and he scooped up the weeping girl in his arms.

"okay, uh, let's take her to, uh, your house." he struggled as he carried his friend. although the crying had been suppressed to whimpers, lydia was beginning to feel lightheaded due to the loss of blood and water. she clutched her friend's jacket and laid her head against his chest, listening to his heart beat. in the moment, it was the most comforting sound. "lydia, lydia stay with me." he begged. her eyelids were so heavy and her entire body felt like it was begging her to go to sleep. her last memory was the sound of her car sputtering to life and a bright light, before she succumbed to darkness.

~

"hey, how are you feeling?" jonathan asked the girl as she regained consciousness. she laid on nancy's bedroom floor with gauze wrapped around her ankle. her leg was throbbing and her head was pounding. sitting up, she watched the room spin for a second before settling. her eyes focused on her concerned friends who sat on the bed.

"i mean as good as anyone will feel after being dragged through an alternate dimension by a faceless monster." she chuckled as she tried to lighten the mood. she didn't want them worrying about her, they had enough on their plate as is. she stood up slowly, grabbing the bed frame for support. both teens rushed to her side. "woah, woah, woah, slow down there. you're still hurt." nancy supported the girl and helped her to sit down on the bed. lydia shook her head fervently.