I am doing my best to keep up with this story along with my others, but its a struggle
However, here is the next chapter. I was a little unsure how to start the Season 4 part of this fic and i am pleasantly surprised and pleased with how it turned out.
Hope you think so too.
As always i own nothing other than my OC and my errors that i inevitably made.
Dear Veronica,
I hope you are doing well. I miss you so much. I think I am finally getting comfortable at school. I have been working on a project that I am excited about. It is called a visual aid. We had to talk about our hero's and I chose Jim. I wish he was still here. I still think of him every day.
Mike sends me letters too. He tells me all about school. I am happy you are all at the same school now. He tells me he has made some new friends. I have so many friends now too. Everyone has been so nice. I am good at math and my grammar is getting better as well.
Joyce has a new job. She gets to work from home and is on the phone all the time. She says it's so she can be here when we need her, but I think it's because she is nervous that something might happen if she is not here.
Will seems to be getting better. He doesn't have nightmares anymore. He really likes art and has been painting often. He won't show me what he is working on, but I think it is for a crush.
Jonathan has not received his letter for college yet, so he has been anxious. I know he will get in, Nancy and him belong together. He made a new friend named Argyle. His friend is funny and has long hair. They smoke smelly plants, Jonathan says they are safe because they come from the earth, but we are not allowed to tell Joyce.
I am happy here. It is different than Hawkins, it doesn't get cold here often. You were right, getting away has made it easier to feel like a normal girl. I wish you could come here for Spring Break. I really miss you. Keep practicing your powers. I know you will be able to reach me soon.
Love,
El
Putting the letter on the side table I rolled back onto my back and stared at the ceiling. I had been up for hours now, my head pounding and strange dreams keeping me up most of the night. El had sent a letter just about every week just to keep in touch, and I read, and re-read them. I missed her, missed the connection we had, had.
"Did you sleep at all last night?" Steve asked, moving around the bed, to sit beside me. Groaning, I stretched and sat up, pulling my legs up and resting my arms on my knees.
"Yeah," I smiled at him and watched as he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at me.
"Are you lying to me?"
"No, I slept, just woke up early." I answered.
"El doing okay?" he asked, nodding towards the letter.
"Says she is." I sighed running my hand through my hair.
"Don't believe her?"
"Just a feeling," I shrugged.
"You know you can go up there and see her," Steve suggested. "It might do you good to get out of this city too."
"The whole point was for her to get away from me, and the lab." I said, "It's redundant for me to go up there. Plus... I have a job, and a boyfriend..."
"Oh yeah?" Steve quirked a smile at me and leaned forward and I nodded, his lips brushing mine. "You gotta get up and ready or you're going to be late."
"Ugh!" I groaned, falling back onto my pillow. "What if I just skip, I mean do I really need to go a few days before break?"
"Yes." Steve nodded, patting my leg before standing up. "Now let's go, we have to pick up Robin on our way."
Reluctantly I got up and took a quick shower. Since the events of the mall fire this summer and the Byers move, life had seemingly gone back to normal. Steve had basically moved in, only to go home a few times when his parents showed up. It seemed like moving too fast, but having him around had helped, helped me cope with losing Jim and El, cope with Billy dying and the nightmares that followed, I was more relaxed with him around.
He seemed happier too, he and Robin had found a job at the local Family Video store. But that carefree happiness made me feel uneasy. I didn't want to take that away from him, but deep down something wasn't right in Hawkins.
Finally ready for school, after a few distracting moments with Steve I opted to sit in the back seat so Robin could finish getting herself ready for the pep rally. She was dressed in her band uniform and her hat sat awkwardly on her lap as she attempted to use the vanity mirror above her head to finish her make up.
"I'm just saying that I don't need to go to college right now. I mean I have a job and I'm doing exactly what my dad wanted me to do, so I'm not sure what the problem is and I..." Steve had been going off about the last dinner he had had with his parents. The dinner alone had been tense, his mom had plastered a smile on her face when we walked through the door, his father had a permanent frown across his. The small talk had only gotten us so far before the conversation about school and the future came up. In the end we left before the main course had been served, and Steve had vented the rest of the night while I listened.
"Robin, are you listening to me?" Steve asked, looking towards his friend and I smiled from the back seat as she nodded.
"Yes... What, yeah." she answered with a shrug while she drew on her eyes lightly with eyeliner.
"What did I say?" Steve questioned.
"You... You said something... something about... sex." Robin offered and I couldn't help the bark of laughter that I emitted from the back seat.
"No!" Steve stated surprised.
"Cut me some slack, please." Robin defended with an exasperated groan. "It's seven in the morning and we have to go to this stupid pep rally, and I woke up looking like a total corpse."
"You're worried about a pep rally; you expect us to believe that?" Steve scowled looking at me through the rear-view mirror and I smiled and shook my head.
"Yeah, so?" Robin shrugged.
"So, we all know that that is not the thing you're worried about right now." I said and smiled as Robin turned to glare at me.
"This is about Vickie." Steve added.
"Absolutely not!" Robin denied and I chuckled, shaking my head.
"You are so red right now Robin," I said.
"You want to know what I think?" Steve asked, his eyes still focused on the front of the road.
"I don't care." Robin shook her head checking her make up again in the mirror, checking her lipstick, trying to ignore him.
"You gotta stop pretending to be someone else when you're around her." Steve said ignoring Robins comment. "Okay you just gotta be yourself."
"You are literally quoting me... to me." Robin paused and eyed him. "You do realize that right?"
"No one better to listen to then yourself." I said leaning back in the seat to stare out the window as we passed farmland after farmland.
"Exactly, I mean I listened to you and look at me!" Steve said enthusiastically and I sat up a bit and raised an eyebrow at him from the backseat as his eyes met mine through the rearview. "I mean... well..."
"So... I should be thanking Robin for you taking the stick from your ass?" I asked a light tone in my voice as Robin giggled next to him.
"Well... I mean I did most of it, she just..."
"Dude..." Robin interrupted with a laugh before shaking her head. "Plus, it's not the same thing, okay."
"Eh, well..." Steve shrugged in disagreement.
"Look, you ask out a girl and she says no..." she gestured to me before continuing, "no big deal, nothing happens."
"I wouldn't say nothing happens... I mean... his ego was hit pretty hard." I stated, and Steve glared at me.
"Okay, fine, but I ask out the wrong girl... and bam, I'm the town pariah." Robin rolled her eyes.
"Okay, yeah, I'd buy that... except Vicie is definitely not the wrong girl." Steve scoffed.
"We just don't know that do we?" Robin shook her head defeated.
"She returned Fast Times paused at 53 minutes, 5 seconds." Steve stated, "Do you know who pauses Fast Times at 53 minutes, 5 seconds? People who like boobies, Robin!"
"Oh jeez." I grimaced in disbelief of his statement.
"Ew, gross, don't say boobies." Robin scrunched her nose up.
"Boobies." Steve smiled at her as he said it again. "Not a big deal, okay? I like boobies..."
"Don't even go there..." I quickly said feeling my cheeks turn red, as he winked at me from the front seat. "He said it wrong... but, he's not wrong, Vickie definitely likes..."
"Boobies." Steve finished with a smiled and I rolled my eyes. "Boobies." he said again, and I watched Robin shack her head at him before going back to looking at herself in the small mirror. I settled back into the seat, my head giving a constant and annoying thudding that made my eyes hurt. The car came to a stop and students at the school started to filter through the closed door of the BMW as Steve came to a stop. Robin was the first to get out.
"Hey wait up!" Robin called out grabbing her instrument and backpack to chase after someone dressed in a similar band uniform. Opening my door, I slowly got out and squinted against the sun. As I closed the door Steve started getting out and I scowled confused as he shut his door and stood in front of me.
"You sure you're okay?" he asked quietly brushing a strand of hand behind my ear before resting his hand on my shoulder, so his thumb traced the bottom of my jaw. "You've been kind of quiet this morning."
"Yeah." I nodded, giving him a soft smile tilting my head into his hand slightly. If I had told him 'no' he would have been worried, and he had work today, plus I wasn't even sure what was wrong... I just felt... off. "I'm okay, just tired."
"Alright." he sighed after a silent moment searching my eyes. "Pick you up after school?"
"Don't you work?" I questioned lifting my arms up and lacing them together behind his neck.
"I'm getting off early to go to the game tonight." He smiled and I groaned realizing he was talking about the championship basketball game tonight.
"You're really gonna make me go to that?" I asked.
"It's my old team, come on..." he begged playfully.
"Ugh..." I sighed heavily rolling my eyes. "Fine, but you're taking me for ice cream after."
"Deal. Will grab a burger before." He smiled and leaned down, giving me a soft kiss before pulling away and letting me walk towards the school. The pep rally was first thing, and as kids piled into the gym sitting beside their associated cliques, I stood by the door scanning the crowd. I found Dustin and Mike in the middle of the bleachers talking amongst themselves as Max joined them. I felt a small bang of guilt run through as I analyzed the girls face. She looked tired, like she hadn't been sleeping. I hadn't seen her smile in weeks, and she seemed to be pulling away. The band started playing and I quickly found Robin who was looking beside her. Following her eyes, I recognized Vickie beside her and instantly smiled. Robin quickly turned as Vickie looked at her. Her eyes met mine and I winked at her and raised an eyebrow. Even as she played her instrument, I could see her cheeks turning red as she glared at me.
"And let's hear it for your Tigers!" Our principal announced as the band ended their song and the basketball team ran into the gym. The crowd of students went crazy as they stood and cheered for the players. At the back of the pack Lucas ran out with the team smiling and raising his arms in triumph. After the events of the mall, it was nice to see Lucas find something he enjoyed doing... what sucked was how he broke away from his friends, more specifically Max. I watched as he found Max in the crowd and tried to wave at her, but she kept a stoic expression and looked away.
"Good morning, Hawkins High!" Jason called into the microphone and the students all cheered loudly, making me wince as the noise made my head pound more. "First off, I'd like to thank each and every one of you... Without your support we wouldn't be here. Give yourself a big hand!"
"And of course..." Jason continued his hand reaching out to the cheerleaders sitting on the first step of the bleachers. "I have a special shout-out to the best and the prettiest fans of all times... The Tiger Cheer Squad! Chrissy... Chrissy, I love you babe..." as if reading a queue card, the majority of the crowd made an 'awe' sound. Chrissy sat with a smile on her face looking at Jason, but the smile almost seemed forced... not at him, but in general, there was a shadow behind her eyes. As I watched her look at her boyfriend, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise slightly and a sharp pain pierced behind my eyes. I quickly closed them and turned away into the door frame placing the heel of my hand to the side of my temple holding my breath until the pain finally dulled.
"You okay?" A voice beside me asked quietly and I felt a hand on my shoulder. Blinking back the water in my eyes I looked up to see Nancy looking at me concerned.
"Yeah." I cleared my throat and standing up straight. "Yeah, just a migraine, had it all morning... the yelling... it's not helping." I smiled hoping to ease her worried glance. Her lips pursed together as if trying to dissect the lie.
"You know!" Jason's voice filtered out into the crowd again and both Nancy and I turned back towards the gym. I think I can speak for all of us when I say it's been a tough year for Hawkins. So much loss... and sometimes I wonder... how much loss can one community take? In dark days like this, we need something to believe in." There was a murmur through the students as they thought of the last few months, to the last year. The quiet that filled the gym felt wrong and sent chills down my spine as I watched everyone's once enthused faces turn somber and sad. "So last night when we were down by 10 points to Christian Academy, I looked at my team, and I said... Think of Jack, Think of Melissa, think of Heather, think of Billy, Think about our heroic police chief, Jim Hopper."
A lump grew in my throat as he said Jim's name. No one here knew what happened to any of them. They call Jim a hero, but they believe he was a hero, because he risked his life in the mall fire. None of them knew how close this town had been to being destroyed, how close they came to being part of that thing... for them it was something they could brush off, but as my gaze found Robin, Mike, Dustin, Max, even Nancy they all shared the same pain, same loss.
"Think of each and every one of our friends who perished in that fire." Jason continued. "What did they die for? For us to lose to some crap school? No... For us to return home with our heads hung low in defeat? No! No, let's win this game, let's win this game for them, and that's exactly what we did. We embarrassed those candy-asses in their own house, and now tonight... tonight, we're gonna bring home the championship trophy! Let's go!"
"Did he seriously just make one of Hawkins biggest tragedies about basketball?" I scoffed, looking at Nancy.
"I doubt he even knew half the people that died... Billy yeah, maybe Heather..." she nodded as we listened to everyone in the bleachers go crazy and cheer for the basketball team as the jumped around.
As the commotion died down everyone started going back to class, to continue with their day. It was hard to focus, as first period ended and I walked towards my second class of the day, everyone was talking about the basketball game. There were smiles and chaos in the hall as you would find typical in high school, which is why when Chrissy came barreling out of the counselor's office with her head down, I stared after her scowling as she ran past Max. The headache came back but I was able to blink past the pain before going into class.
Unfortunately, the headache didn't go away in the first thirty minutes of class making concentrating on the derivative of a common function to find their tangent slope almost impossible. The headache became unbearable, and I snuck out the back door of the classroom while the teacher's back was turned. Leaning my head against the nearest lockers I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. There was a flash behind my eyelids and my vision blurred into a red landscape covered in vines before flashing back.
Biting my lip, I muffled my groan as the hallway flashed again and I was staring at the red horizon again, but this time there was a distorted voice. 'Can you hear?' I closed my eyes and shook my head, opening to find the hallway again just as Max rushed out of the bathroom looking unsure and freaked out. Taking another deep breath I pushed forward towards her, as she continued to look over her shoulder at the room she left.
"You good Max?" I asked and she jumped slightly just before she would have run into me.
"Yeah, uh... Chrissy was just... I don't know having an anxiety attack I guess." she answered shaking her head with a shrug. She pushed past me before I could press her for any more information, and she pulled her backpack over her shoulder tighter as she left. I looked between her and the bathroom trying to decide which way to go, ultimately choosing the bathroom since I hadn't seen Chrissy come out yet. As I entered the bathroom, nothing seemed out of the ordinary outside of Chrissy exiting a stall. Her eyes were wide, her skin looked clamy and pale, and her hands were shaking.
"Chrissy?" I asked cautiously. Her blank stare at the wall behind me seemed to come back into focus and she met my gaze. "You okay? Max said..."
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said quickly. "Just wanted some privacy." She went quickly to the sink and washed her hands.
"Are you sure, I mean she said you were kinda freaking..."
"I said I'm fine Roni." She turned at me quickly, her voice hard, but as much as she wanted me to believe the strong tone in her voice, the fear behind her eyes gave her away. Before I could ask again, she shoved past me, her shoulder hitting mine before she exited the bathroom. I watched as she went and then looked back at the stall she had come from. Something had scared her, and something was still scaring her.
I couldn't find Chrissy the rest of the day and as much as I wanted to make sure she was okay, another part of me wondered why I cared so much. Chrissy and I had never been friends... she was a socialite, and I was... well awkward and sat alone in the corner up until recently. School finally ended after grueling lessons that no one paid attention to because of the basketball tournament. Going to class today felt redundant and pointless... and I really wished I had just stayed in bed.
"Hey Roni!" Dustin called running with Mike to my locker after the last bell. "What are you doing tonight?"
"Going with Steve to the basketball game." I answered with a scowl throwing my useless books back in my locker until Monday.
"Or... or," Dustin said enthusiastically holding up a finger as I shut my locker. "Hear me out, or you could spend the night on a quest... with us."
"A quest?" I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms.
"Yeah, we have a campaign tonight and we could use a sorcerer to help us succeed." Mike said.
"Exactly, check this out." Dustin clapped his hands together before continuing, "She escaped the magical conflagration and realized that she was unharmed or unchanged. She then exhibited unusual abilities. She's graceful, honest and doesn't pay attention to the risks in a situation, doesn't care about the odds... I mean come on perfect right." Dustin said with a large smile on his face.
"You really thought this one out... a whole character..."
"Party member." Dustin corrected.
"Right." I rolled my eyes and pushed off the lockers and started walking towards the door. "I've been on quests boys... I am good to sit this one out."
"Okay, but..."
"Lived the real thing don't need to run a campaign to live through another." I smiled, shaking my head as we exited the school. I heard them groan behind me.
"But you're perfect for our campaign." Dustin whined.
"What's the big deal? Did you ask Max? Or Nancy?" I knew they were asking because Lucas had a game tonight, and the fact they were asking told me he had already bailed on them.
"They both laughed in our faces." Mike sighed, crossing his arms. "Wait... I think I have an idea!" The transition was quick and took me by surprise as Mike grabbed Dustin and started running up the hill.
"What was that about?" Steve asked behind me as we watched the two boys disappear.
"Some D & D campaign tonight."
"Oh, they asked you too?" he said, placing his arm over my shoulders and leading me towards his car. I laughed and nodded. Steve sat on the trunk of the car, and I leaned back into him, his arms moving around my shoulders as we waited for Robin. I found my gaze being drawn to the wooded area behind the school and stared waiting for something to emerge, but it remained still, and yet something was there, pulling at the back of my head.
The ache I had had almost disappeared by the end of the day, so when the pain reemerged, it took me by surprise, and I gasped nearly doubling over. Steve's arms tightened around my shoulders keeping me on my feet, as he jumped down, my name muffled against the buzzing in my ears. I squeezed my eyes closed just as my knees buckled and Steve slowly lowered me to the ground, his hands on either side of my face. Behind my eyelids there was a flash and then I was back staring at a haze of red. The ruins of an old house around me, columns dismembered, and windows shattered.
As my brain tried to fight against the mental attack the red vanished for a second and I clenched my teeth as it appeared again, this time placing me in front of an old clock. I was close enough to make out the features of and the design... it was an old grandfather clock, but the hands didn't seem to be moving. In my head as I stepped closer a loud chime went off, the sound echoing around me making me jump internally and cry out softly in Steve's grasp. The chime went off three more times before whatever held me hostage in my head released and I could breathe again.
Gasping for air, my eye flew open and all the tension that had built up left and I fell back and slumped against the car. The world in front of me was still blurry but I could make out two figures, both kneeling beside me, one with their hands on my face, the other had one hand on my shoulder.
"...ni..." The voice was still muffled but slowly I could make out what they were saying, and my vision cleared so I could see Steve calling my name. "Roni?"
"What the hell happened?" Robin asked looking from me to Steve.
"We were just waiting for you and then she just collapsed holding her head in pain." Steve explained, turning his attention back towards me. "Veronica?"
"I'm okay." I swallowed, closing my eyes, not in pain, but exhaustion as I pushed myself up straighter and took a deep breath. There was a taste of copper on my lip, and I lifted my finger to touch just blow my nose. It had started bleeding at some point... just as it does when my powers are used. Internally I cursed. The headaches, the weird visions, I wanted to believe it was just stress, or PTSD, but I was starting to think it wasn't any of that.
"Hey." Steve lightly tapped my cheek, and I focused back on his warm brown eyes that were scowling down at me. "What just happened?"
"Headache." I answered weakly using the sleeve of my shirt to wipe the blood under my nose. "It just hit me all of sudden, no warning." I added trying to ease both their worries. Using Steve as leverage I slowly stood up, his hands behind my back.
"Okay, wait. I've had a headache before but nothing like that." Robin said. "Should we take her to the hospital?"
"No." I shook my head closing my eyes exhausted. "No, I'm good now. I used to get these back at the lab... it's been a while and took me by surprise."
"Are you sure... maybe we should just stay in tonight, we don't have to..." Steve started but I shook my head quickly.
"No, we're going to the basketball game." I insisted. "I'm fine, it doesn't mean anything and even if it did nothing is going to change in the next few hours. The best thing is to do something that will make me forget about the headache. Which in this case would be a sanctioned school event, where Robin plays her instrument while trying to ignore standing next to Vickie, while you cheer on your former team, and we maybe see Lucas play for the first time."
Both looked at each other ready to argue but ignored their looks and walked to the passenger door, getting into Steve's car. A few moments later Robin jumped into the backseat followed by Steve. The drive to the local burger joint was quiet but I could sense their eyes on me the entire time.
"Stop that." I said once we were back in the care heading to the school again.
"What?" Steve asked.
"Looking at me like... like, I don't know, I'm going break, or my heads going to explode."
"Is it?" Robin questioned, and I turned in my seat to look at her. "I mean kinda felt like it was going to."
"No Robin, my head is not going to explode." I stated. "Believe it or not, I don't have any sign of a headache right now. I've been doing some exercises El told me to try to strength the telepathic part of what the Hawkins lab did to me to connect. I probably just did too much."
"You'll tell me if you get one tonight, right?" Steve questioned looking at me from the corner of his eyes.
"Yes." I sighed, placing my elbow on the window and pinching the bridge of my nose. "Can we please just... I'm fine, honestly." The subject was dropped as we parked in the school parking lot. Robin quickly left to get into the gym with the band.
"You sure about this?" Steve asked as we slowly made our way to the gym.
"Yes Steve." I groaned and rolled my eyes.
"You were on your knees, and I... I couldn't do anything..." he sighed, and I instantly felt guilty for getting frustrated. Stopping, I grabbed his arm and pulled back a few steps away from the building.
"I'm sorry I keep brushing it off... and I'm sorry you felt like that, but Steve... I'm fine." I said with a small smile my hands cupping his face so he could look away. "I promise."
He tilted his head slightly searching my face, before his broke into a smile and he leaned down, his lips meeting mine eagerly. As we made out outside the school the band started playing making us jump at the sudden noise. We laughed before releasing each other, Steve laced his fingers with mine and led me into the gym.
"How does it feel to be back?" I asked. The gym was loud, and the energy was high. The moment the ball was tipped off the players put up a fight. I had never been one for sports or activities, maybe it was because i never had anyone to go with, but seeing Steve so excited and happy... I couldn't help smiling and cheering along with him. The game was close, and I could tell our players were tired and then I watched as Lucas ran onto the court. The dorky kid with the bandana was now running with his team.
I stood with the rest of the audience as the ball was passed to Lucas in a last-ditch effort for the winning shot. The ball left his hands, and I held my breath and watched as the ball bounced on the rim back and forth until finally, it slipped through the net. In a roar the crowd yelled loudly congratulations. I was cheering right along with them, Steve's arm moving around my waist lifting me up. Wrapping my arms around him I laughed with him continuing in the celebration.
Between no sleep the night before, school, the pep rally, the headaches and the championship game and celebration, to say I was tired was an understatement. There was hardly any time between my head hitting my pillow and falling asleep. I'm not sure how long I had been asleep before the nothingness I had been dreaming of changed. Somehow the world around me changed and I was standing in a dark house.
'Chrissy.' The distorted voice was back and echoed off the walls. I spun in my spot searching for the source but what I was faced with wasn't the body attached to the voice but Chrissy. She was running away from something, looking over her shoulder scared and crying. I tried to call out, but she didn't even look at me, her fear completely blinding her from what was around her. As I followed her, she ran to a dead end. Stepping forward I wanted to reach out but entering the room was the object or being of Chrissy's fear. She turned and pressed herself against the wall crying in fear as the figure stepped towards her.
The figure was as distorted as the voice that came from his throat. His face resembled that of a human skull but was covered in red vines and veins that acted as joints, muscles and tendons. The figure walked up and stood in front of Chrissy, but I was frozen in place only to watch as it regarded the frightened girl almost curiously.
'Don't cry Chrissy.' it said and raised its hand above Chrissy's head. She continued to cry as she looked up at the hand. 'It's time for your suffering to end.'
"No!" I yelled but I was helpless to watch as Chrissy's crying stopped, and her body seemed to become overpowered by the being. The house around me disappeared and turned black but Chrissy was still in front of me only her body was suspended in the air. Her eyes were completely clouded over and staring above her, and her arms were outstretched. One at a time her limbs began to break, each snap echoing around us, but there was no cry of pain as it happened. Her wrists, arms, legs and then her neck snapped to the side and her body dropped. The lifeless body lying in a heap in the black abyss, her eyes completely gone, blood trailing from the sockets.
'You cannot stop me.' The voice was back, the chill ran down my spine. Spinning around the figure was in front of me, its eyes locked on mine. 'The suffering has just begun.' The world came back to me in a crash of yelling and sheets. I shot up out of bed struggling to breathe, my skin was clammy, and my hair was matted to my forehead.
"Roni!" Steve called, jumping from the bed and turning the lights on. I clenched my eyes shut but opened them quickly in fear the figure would appear again. The gasps of air turned to sobs as my brain replayed what I had seen. "Hey, hey, hey... talk to me, what happened?" I couldn't form any words, I just shook my head, tears streaming down my face gripping Steve's shirt as I dropped my head on his shoulder trying to get some form of comfort to chase away the nightmare. I felt his hands wrap around me pulling me closer, one hand moving to the back of my head and tangled in my hair, telling me it was a dream, hushing me as best he could.
The only problem, it didn't feel like a just a dream. Every single bit of what I saw felt real, the fear, the cracks as the bones broke, the voice... and if it was more than a dream, whatever this thing was...it was worse than anything we had dealt with, and that alone terrified me.
Thanks for sticking around and continuing to come back, I am really excited for the next several chapters.
Any comments or suggestions are welcome and I always appreciate likes and follows.