There's No Place Like Hawkins//Stranger Things. SH

THIRTEEN

The Monster

"Jonathan!" Nancy yelled as she ran, Catherine running slightly behind her. "Jonathan! Jonathan, we're right here!" She screamed, walking around in circles, trying to work out where Jonathan was and how they could get out of this place.

"Nancy! Catherine!" Cat heard Jonathan yell, but she couldn't work out where his voice was coming from.

Catherine ran after Nancy who was yelling, "Jonathan, where are you?"

"Jonathan!" Both girls yelled out, breathing heavily.

"Jonathan!" Nancy continued yelling. "We're right... We're right here!"

"Just follow my voice!" Jonathan's voice called.

Both girls were panting and Cat could feel her chest tightening and she gripped tightly onto Nancy's hand. Nancy began to run, pulling Catherine along with her. The taller girl continued to call out to Jonathan, wanting to get herself and her friend out of there as quick as possible.

"Follow my voice," Jonathan's voice could be heard again in the distance. "Nancy, Cat, I'm right here!"

Nancy's heard turned from right to left, trying to figure out what direction Jonathan's voice was coming from.

"Nancy! Catherine!"

The girls turned to see the monster standing a few metres away from them. It snarled at them and Nancy gasped while Cat let out an ear splitting scream. Nancy tugged on Cat's hand, pulling her away from the creature as she began to run. Hiding behind a tree, the two girls began to breath heavily, trying to catch their breath. The sound of growling could be heard not too far from where they were hiding. They held their breath, waiting for the monster to pass by them- hoping to not be seen.

After a few moments, Jonathan's voice could be heard again, calling for them. "Nancy! Catherine! Follow my voice."

The girls turned their heads in the direction of his voice, spotting a hole in one of the trees- something similar to what they had crawled through. The monster growled again, this time seeming closer to be closer to their hiding place. Nancy turned her head towards Cat, gripping the girl's hand tighter. Cat gulped, not believing the words that were about to leave her mouth. She wanted Nancy to get out safely and the only way she believed they hand a chance was through what she was about to suggest. But she had to be brave, she needed to be. She cared so much more about her friend's life than her own. So she whispered her plan to Nancy. "I'll distract it while you run back to that weird portal thing and crawl back through."

Nancy shook her head, her grip on Cat's hand tightening. "What? No. No. I'm not letting you put your life on the line. I can't lose you too. I can't lose my best friend."

"It's the only way for us to do this, otherwise we both die and we both get stuck here."

The monster let out another growl causing the girls to jump.

"When I say run, you run."

Nancy nodded.

Cat poked her head around the tree seeing the creature with its back to them. She looked back at Nancy, tightening her grip on her hand briefly before letting go. "Thanks for being one of my best friends and always having my back." She stepped out from behind the tree, Nancy watching her with a terrified and worried look on her face, she didn't want to lose another friend. Cat sent Nancy a salute before catching the attention of the monster. "Hey! Weird, ugly, flower monster!" The creature turned around and snarled at her. "It's dinner time, baby!" Catherine turned around and ran as fast as her legs would allow her, not waiting to see the creature open it's mouth as it stood at it's full height. It began running after her and once Nancy's coast was clear, Cat screamed at her to run.

Catherine ran, trying not to steer herself too far from the only exit, but far enough that Nancy could escape without the monster realising.

She didn't see Nancy get pulled out by Jonathan or hear them calling out for her, begging her to crawl through the hole. She didn't notice her feet becoming cut up from the broken tree branches. She didn't see the fallen tree and tripped, falling flat on her face. She rolled onto her back, seeing the monster looming over her. It roared, its face opening up as it's saliva dripped onto her face. It sat back on its hind legs, roaring as it clawed at her. Catherine screamed as a claw came into contact with her face. She lifter her arms up to push it away but it kept on attacking her. She screamed, blood dripping down her face and arm. She kicked it off of her, her hands finding a sharp rock by her head. She picked it up, hitting the monster with it. The creature was distracted for a moment, but it was long enough for Catherine to escape it's grasp. Adrenaline fuelled her as she ran, not noticing that her leg was twisted slightly from where she had fallen. She sprinted towards the tree, feeling the monster behind her. She was almost there. Cat could see the weird portal starting to close, her friends screaming from the other side of it for her to hurry. Catherine dove through the hole, barely making it before the portal closed, the tree looking completely normal.

She landed on the ground, her breathing heavy. The adrenaline was wearing off and Cat could feel the pain shooting up her leg. She sat up, tears starting to form as she saw how messed up her leg was. Jonathan crawled over to her, pulling her gently into his arms as she cried. Nancy ripped off part of her shirt, wrapping it around Cat's arm to stop the bleeding before wrapping her own arms around her friend.

***

Catherine laid in her bed that night, unable to fall asleep. Once they'd left the forest, Nancy and Jonathan had taken Cat straight to the hospital where she had gotten stitches across her face and down her arm and had her leg put in a cast. She had broken it when she tripped over the tree. The doctors and nurses had asked what had happened to the girl and in her shocked state she had barely managed to get out an answer, so Jonathan and Nancy lied and told them it was a bear. If they had told the truth no one would have believed them, so it was better to lie.

Cat broke down in tears, she couldn't stop thinking about that place. Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was that monster towering over her. Jonathan was with Nancy. He had offered to stay with her, but Catherine turned him down believing that it was better for her to be alone. But she was wrong. She needed someone to hold her, comfort her. Someone to take the pain away.

She didn't realise how loud her sobs were until her door opened and her brother entered her room.

"You okay? Mom says you got attacked by a bear." Dustin sat next to Cat on the bed, helping her when she tried to sit up.

She let out a dry laugh. "That... that thing was no bear."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Cat shook her head, no. "But I don't want to sleep, either. So, why don't you tell me about your day? Anything interesting?"

Dustin smiled and began to tell his sister about how the girl they had found the other day, El, had superpowers and she was basically a Jedi. Catherine smiled, the conversation taking her mind off of the day's events and the pain she was in.

***

Edited: 5/4/2020

Edit 2: 29/7/2021