Unhinged | S. Harrington| B. Hargrove | Stranger Things

Alone

Charlie and Nancy had fortunately escaped the upside down. Jonathan inquired on what had happened but neither rod them could answer. Charlie was too shaken up when he returned home.

His dad was drunk and passed out on the couch. He slid into his room quietly and went to the bathroom. He stood under the cold shower for almost half an hour. He could still smell the stink of the upside down on him. It was suffocating.

Charlie, then, threw up. It was black like thick blood but darker. And slimeir. He curled up on the floor of his bedroom, trembling with cold.

"I was there, Charlie, I was in you. And I have been growing within you. Now is the time."

The eerie voice rung out and....

Charlie woke up with a gasp. He felt steady hands grab his hand, trying to comfort him.

"Hey, hey, hey! It's alright, you're safe." Hopper spoke trying to hey his son's attention.

Charlie was in the living room couch of the Byers with worried Hopper and Joyce by his side. He had been out for a couple of minutes now. Hopper was terrified to the core when he found Charlie unconscious on the floor. He looked worse than he did in the morning.

Joyce extended her hand and touched his face, comfortingly. Her motherly touched anchored Charlie to look at her and a teary sigh escaped his lips.

"It's okay, honey. We're here." Joyce spoke reassuringly.

It took Charlie more than 10 minutes to compose himself enough to speak. Joyce brought him a glass of water, which practically inhaled.

"Why didn't you tell me anything?" Hopper asked. Charlie didn't answer.

Hopper sighed and threw and arm around him. He wasn't going to trouble with further questions. Charlie though older than Will was also a kid. And he's been through so much and most of it beyond Hopper's knowledge.

"We're going to figure this out. When you can, tell us what you know." Hopper said firmly. Charlie nodded with his gaze fixed on the floor.

"It's the shadow monster Will drew. He... He's been speaking to me." Charlie said, his first words after waking up.

Joyce and Hopper shared a look. Will had said nothing about the shadow monster speaking to him. He said what the monster felt, he felt.

"It's like he's inside my head. And I have tried- I have to force him out." he took a long breath. Unspilled tears clinged to his eye lashes.

"But I think he's been there for so long. Since the day Nancy, Jonathan and I discovered the upside down. He told me- the end is near. And he is not going to stop until he's taken everyone."
Charlie now looked at his dad. The fear and pain evident in the young Hoppers' eyes.

"How does he talk to you?"

"Through dreams. Nightmares. He's in all of them. He has showed corpses of people I love and the destruction of Hawkins. I didn't think they were...connected until- until he started talking to me."
Charlie wiped away a tear and cleared his throat. His voice was failing him. His hands were involuntarily. Joyec, with a pitiful expression, held then firmly. He looked at her and she gave him a half smile.