Hungry Heart ~ A Stranger Things Fanfiction (REPUBLISHED)

chapter two: dragon's lair

"for which 'f' are you drinking for

fuck, forget, or fun"

• ࿇ •

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 gradual state of decay. The once beautiful autumn trees now appeared cold and lifeless around me. 

"Help!" I screamed, but no sound came out. My voice was absent from my body. Red flashes erupted from behind me and I turned around to face it, wherever it was coming from. A great big storm lurked overhead with large bolts of red lightning. 

A large, shadow spider-like creature stood in the midst 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, everything was consumed in blackness. 

"Eileen, wake up! It's already 6:15," Floyd yelled, shaking my body awake. I shot up in my bed, gasping for breath, drenched in sweat with tears springing in 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 put a hand on my shoulder. 

"Whoa, are you alright, E?" Floyd asked, his eyebrows furrowing with worry. I couldn't find the words to describe what I had just experienced. It all seemed too real to believe. I wiped the tears off my face with the back of my hand and nodded, giving him a small reassuring smile. 

"Yeah, just a wicked nightmare," I replied, moving my blankets aside as Floyd let go of my shoulder and backed away toward the door. 

"Okay, well, start getting ready cause you're my ride," Floyd smiled before exiting bedroom, closing the door behind him. I sat in the darkness for a while before finding the motivation to get out of bed. I clicked on my bedside lamp and peeled my pajamas off my body 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 the scent of milk and honey. I couldn't help but contemplate the nightmare I had just awoken from as I stared at the blank white tile shower wall. What was that horrid place?  So cold and desolate. It was as if the world had ended, the human race was extinct, settling in an apocalyptic atmosphere. And that creature...the blackest I've ever seen with spidery limbs so large, so terrifying, so-

"Eileen! We're gonna be late!" Floyd yelled, banging his fist on the bathroom door. I snapped out of my thoughts and switched the water off. I dried myself off quickly before slipping on a pair of light wash blue jeans with my black belt and an oversize Def Leppard shirt. I tugged on my Doc Marten boots that were worn from age and brushed my hair, my natural waves poofing out. I applied some light mascara and blush with a thin layer of lip gloss before snatching my book bag and purse off the floor. I grabbed my keys and and ran downstairs to meet Floyd, who was dressed as the ghost from Ghostbusters for Halloween. I chuckled at his appearance, grabbing a granola bar from the pantry before we walked out to my truck. 

"What took you so long?" Floyd asked, throwing his bag on the ground and clicking in his seat belt. I hesitated to answer him, not entirely sure what to say about it.