Being the middle of Winter, it begins to get quite dark out fairly quickly. By the time my watch hits 4 o'clock, the sun has already begun to lower itself down beneath the horizon, giving the moon a chance to breathe. In fact, just watching the sun set so that the moon can rise reminds me of a quote I once heard El recite; "the sun and the moon loved each other so much that he died every night just to let her breathe."
I've always liked that quote, ever since I'd heard if leave El's lips.
It reminds me a little of us, and how we're both drowning, pushing each other up towards the surface of the water so we can let one another breathe, even if it means that one of us has to hold our breath for longer.
I just wish we weren't so tortured.
I'm helping El put on her coat and mittens, letting her borrow a pair of mine so her hands don't freeze off. Dustin, Lucas and Will all have their things gathered, they're only waiting for Eleven and I now.
"You guys wait outside," I say, turning to face them with a smile, "I just want to talk to El, we'll be out in a second."
Lucas nods and leads the others out the door, while Will lags behind a little, snatching my gaze and holding it between his narrowed eyes. I watch as he steps out the door, shutting it behind him, leaving El and I alone.
I turn to her, looking deep into her dark eyes, which seem to be crammed with fear. I offer her a look of reassurance, the corners of my mouth curving up into a soft smile.
She looks somewhat at ease, although not by much. I sneak one last admiring glance at her before I pull her close to me, holding her in a protective embrace as she wraps her arms around me.
She holds onto me tightly, her mitten clad hands gripping my jacket nervously. "Mike," she whisper into my chest, "I'm scared."
My heart is broken.
I don't want to bring her into this situation, I don't want to put her in any more danger than I already have in the past.
"I already told you," I answer her quietly, "you don't have to come."
She shakes her head into my jacket, "I have to. I have to help find those kids."
"Well," I say with a sad sigh, "like I said before, I promise, I swear on my life I will protect you with everything I have. I'm not going to let anything happen to you ever again."
El pulls away, staring at me with glossy eyes. She looks tired, her under eyes dark and her lips chapped and dry. I can't imagine how little sleep she would have gotten since Will hurt her, even though it was only a day or two ago. She probably hasn't slept at all.
I almost tower over her, our heights differing so dramatically, she's so much smaller than I am. She's like an expensive piece of fine china that I can't let anyone touch. She has a few cracks, and I need to fix them before they get any worse, or she might shatter completely.
I take her hand in mine and squeeze, not too tightly, but just enough to reassure her that she is safe. Her past experiences with monsters haven't exactly been good, so it's only understandable that she is scared out of her mind right now.
I lead her outside, her hand still in mine, and I collect my bike while El waits with the others. I come back with my bike, locking the basement door with my key. We then head off and ride towards the forest, El on the back of my bike as usual.
The roads are slippery from the ice and snow, and I notice a few snowflakes starting to fall from the sky. The clouds are grey and the sky is growing really dark now, so we all flick on our headlights, the tiny flakes of snow glittering in the light of our bikes.
I sneak a glance at Will, who's face is straight and his eyes opaque, and I still decide that he's hiding something. He probably has something to do with all of this, or he at least knows something.
As we make it to the edge of the forest, I can start to hear rustling amongst the trees. There's little wind, so it can't be that. There's something in there.
My ears prick up at a sort of growling sound, but it doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard before. The others have noticed to, their eyes all darting around to find the source of the sound as we ride along the forest's edge.
El's grip tightens around my waist, and I can feel her hands shaking as she grips my jacket.
"Mike," she whispers, leaning forward slightly, "I want to go home."
"We will, El. I promise you'll make it home safely. We just gotta find where the monsters are coming from, then we'll go an get Hopper, okay?" I reply reassuringly, although I'm scared out of my shorts too.
She leans her head against my back, and I feel her nod against my jacket. She's shivering, her arms struggling to hold on as she attempts to keep herself warm.
I glance back at her for a moment, noticing how the snowflakes stick to her eyelashes and land on her cheeks, my gaze lingering on her before I hear someone scream in front of me.
"Guys, look out!" Dustin's voice is loud and rings in my ears and my eyes snap back in front of me, El's head perking up to see whatever is ahead of us.
My eyes widen at the sight of a dark figure in front of us, and I stop abruptly, the wheels on my bike slipping on the ice and flinging us off of the seat before we find ourselves on the ground.
I don't even worry about seeing if my bike is okay, or if I'm even okay, because when I glance behind me I find that El has grazed the side of her face and her knee is bleeding as she sobs into the ashphalt.
I quickly stand to help her up, and I nearly trip as I try to lift my bike off of her. I push my bike off of her, and I touch her face to check for any more signs of blood. I'm kneeling down next to her, holding her close to me and smoothing her hair as she sobs into my chest.
I look back to where the others had been heading, and I realise that none of them realised that we had fallen and had continued to ride away. The dark figure is gone, which I'm thankful for.
"Guys!" I scream as I watch all three of them ride away from us, and at the sound of my voice they immediately turn around and come back.
"Help! El is hurt!"
I turn back toward El to look at her, but what I find instead of her in my arms is...
Nothing