Hungry Heart ~ A Stranger Things Fanfiction

chapter two: dragon's lair

"for which 'f' are you drinking for

fuck, forget, or fun"

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I couldn't breathe. I had to keep running. I had to. It was chasing me. Where was I ? Everything turned rotten around me, my environment in a constant state of decay. The once beautiful autumn trees now appeared cold and lifeless. 

"Help !" I screamed, but nothing came out. My voice was absent from me. Red flashes came from behind me and I turned around to face it, wherever it was coming from. A great big storm lurked overhead with bolts of red lightning. A large, shadowy spider-like creature stood in the midst of it and spun around to face me. The only thing I felt in my chest was immense fear, a strong petrification numbing my every sense. I couldn't move or speak, paralyzed in a state of absolute horror. The dark shadow figure came closer to me, engulfing my whole being and everything went black.

"Eileen, wake up ! It's 6:15am," Floyd yelled, shaking my body awake. I shot up in my bed, gasping for breath, covered in a pool of sweat with tears springing from my eyes. I turned to look at my brother who stood at the edge of my bed, his eyes growing wide with concern. He walked closer to me and grabbed my hand. 

"Whoa, are you alright ?" Floyd asked, furrowing his eyebrows. I couldn't find the words to what I had just experienced. It all seemed too real. I wiped my face and nodded, giving him a soft smile. 

"Yeah, just a nightmare," I replied, moving my blankets aside as Floyd let go of my hand. 

"Okay, well, start getting ready cause you're my ride," Floyd smiled before exiting my bedroom, closing the door behind me. I sat in the darkness for a while before finding the motivation to get out of my bed. I clicked on my bedside lamp  and undressed myself before sliding my bathrobe on. I walked into my bathroom, setting my bath towels on top of the sink, and stepped into the shower. I felt the scolding hot water splash onto my skin, relieving the tension from my body. 

I waste in sighs, scrubbing my hair with shampoo and conditioner, and my body with a scrub of the scent of milk and honey. I couldn't help but contemplate the nightmare that I had just awoken from. What was the place ? So cold and so desolate. It was as if the world had ended, the human race extinct, settling in an apocalyptic atmosphere. And that creature...the blackest I've ever seen with spidery arms and legs so large, so scary, so...

"Eileen ! We're gonna be late !" Floyd yelled, knocking on the bathroom door. I snapped out of my thoughts and switched the water off. I dried off quickly before slipping on a pair of high-waisted light blue jeans with my black belt and an over-sized Def Leppard shirt. I tugged on my Doc Marten boots and brushed my hair , my natural waves poofing out. I applied some natural makeup before snatching my book bag and purse off the floor. I grabbed my keys and ran downstairs to meet Floyd. My brother waited at the front door wearing his Rambo costume from First Blood  while eating  a piece of toast with strawberry jam. I grabbed a granola bar from the pantry before Floyd and I walked out to my truck. 

"What took you so long ?" Floyd asked before taking another crunchy bite into his toast as I clicked in my seat belt and started up my truck. I hesitated to answer him. 

"The nightmare I had just really shook me up and I kept thinking about it," I admitted and Floyd nodded, clicking in his seat belt. I drove slow, the morning fog engulfing the air around us as we traveled down the road.