CHAPTER ONE: DON'T GO INTO THE DARK

Hawkins was not the ideal place to live, for anyone. The town always felt as if it was dull, or maybe everyone's eyes were washed over with a thin layer of grey. I wouldn't be surprised if the latter was true.

My shoes clicked with each step that I took, and strangely, I liked the sound. I liked to count each step I took, as I listened to my even steps. Click, click, click.

The only other sounds were the trees rustling in the wind, and leaves dragging across the ground, being lifted by the same breeze. I broke my walking pattern to sidestep and squish a leaf beneath my foot. It made a satisfying crunching sound.

I clutched my backpack straps tightly as I walked. Glancing up, I noticed the school in view. The dullness of it made me want to turn around and walk back home. I knew that my parents would never allow that.

They were your stereotypical and utterly perfect family. It drove me insane most days. My mother would tell me to worry about my grades, and my hair which seemed to frizz beyond control. It never seemed to stay straight like she wanted it to, as the curls always seemed to bounce back at some point in the day.

My father was obsessed with first impressions, and encouraged me to act confident and professional on my first day. I remember when we moved to Hawkins two years ago, and the confusion I felt when we arrived. This town felt too boring to be a home for us. I didn't mind it very much, but I was surprised when they said that they didn't mind at all. It was out of character for them.

I jumped slightly as a fall leaf landed on my head, before I sighed as I pulled it out of my straightened hair. It was all sorts of shades of oranges and reds, and the tips of the leaf were beginning to turn brown, and dry out. I threw the leaf into the air and watched as the wind carried it away, before turning my attention back to my clicking shoes.

Click, click, click.

"Harper!" A voice caught my attention. It was then that I realized how close I was to Hawkins High. I looked up, and glanced around to see who had spoken my name, before my eyes landed on Nancy Wheeler. The girl had her hair down to her shoulders, and there was a slight wave in it. I smiled softly before making my way over.

     She stood in front of a nice car, which I quickly noticed belonged to Steve. The boy in question then opened the drivers door, and stepped out with a charming smile on his face. It was nice to see that the two were still close, even after breaking up a few months prior.

     Steve nodded to me as a greeting, to which I sent a small wave. Before I could get a word out to the boy, Nancy was dragging me inside. I glanced back at Steve in confusion, before noticing the amused smile on his face.

I glared playfully at him as I let Nancy pull me through the school; my ears were met with the sounds of gossiping teens, laughter and lockers slamming shut every now and then. I wanted to cover my ears, and drown out all the sound, but I didn't. I continued forward.

Nancy's hand slipped from my wrist to my hand, and she subtly intertwined our fingers as we began walking at a slower pace. I felt a brush rise to my cheeks as I held her hand tightly in my own.

     Steve seemed to notice, but he didn't say anything. He continued walking, before falling into place next to Nancy.

     Nancy led us to her locker as she began ranting about her chemistry work. "I usually finish my homework in time," she said, opening her locker as she did so. "But I didn't last night." She frowned. I watched as she pulled out a math book, and then a chemistry book. "What if Mr. Smith calls on me in class? You know he likes to call on people."

     "Nance," I chuckled softly, "just figure it out in your head if he does. You're a quick thinker."

Nancy shot me a look, causing me to raise my hands up in defence. "But what if he wants me to show my work?"

Steve shrugged, "tell him you didn't do the work. I'm sure he'll understand."

Nancy's eyes widened in disbelief, "understand? Mr. Smith? No way."

Steve and I glanced at each other, before looking back at Nancy. "Are you all right?" I frowned. I began to notice how stressed she was, she was far too stressed to be panicking over chemistry.

Nancy exhaled, "I'm fine." She sighed. She shot Steve a subtle look, causing his eyes to widen. I frowned in confusion as I watched the duo.

"Hey," I chuckled awkwardly, "what's with all the secrets?" The two whipped their heads into my direction, their eyes wide. "What? Don't think I don't notice the silent conversations y'all have been having." I hummed, "Jonathan's in on it too. He's way worse at lying than the both of you." In other words, Jonathan Byers becomes a train wreck when it comes to lying.

     Nancy began stuttering out some excuse, her voice going higher in pitch. "what? Secrets— we'd, um, we'd never keep a secret from you."

     Steve sighed as he put a hand over his face. He seemed to be embarrassed by Nancy's sudden lack of confidence. "What Nancy means to say is that she's just had a lot going on right now. You know, with Barb." He lied smoothly, causing Nancy to turn to him with wide eyes. "She'll tell you when she's ready."

     Nancy turned to me once more, her shoulders tensed up. It was another obvious lie, but for the sake of their egos, I decided to let it slide. "All right," I nodded, "I understand." The two seemed relieved that I had dropped the subject, which caused me to frown momentarily.

What could they be hiding?

School had gone by in a blur. It was clear to Nancy that I hadn't payed attention that much. She seemed confused by my actions, as I always used to have my eyes glued to the front of the class, and my pencil moving as I took notes. Yet, today, I couldn't bring myself to do that.

Everyone has off days, I thought to myself.

     I began to make my way towards the sidewalk without a second thought, but Nancy's hand caught my wrist. I glanced back at her in confusion and quickly noticed the look on her face. She looked hopeful.

     "Yeah?" I tilted my head at her.

     Nancy inhaled deeply, before loosening her grip on my wrist. "Did you want a ride home? With Steve and I?" She asked, pointing a thumb behind her. I glanced back to see Steve leaning against his car with a raised brow. "He said he didn't mind."

I glanced back behind me, looking at the leaf covered sidewalk with a frown. I'd become accustomed to my walks down the sidewalk, and even grown to like them. But going with Nancy didn't sound too bad.

I turned back to face her, and nodded my head. "Sure." I sent her a half smile. The girl smiled widely as she took my hand, and led me to Steve and his car. I felt butterflies floating around my stomach at the contact once more.

     The three of us got in the car silently, and began to drive to my house first since it was the closest. Steve tapped his fingers against the steering wheel to the beat of the music on the radio, Nancy looked over her chemistry notes momentarily, and I kept leaned my head against the window from where I sat in the backseat.

     I felt a chill on the back of my neck, and goosebumps followed soon after that, but I ignored it. I pulled my hands close to my chest for warmth, as the heater in the car seemed to be doing nothing.

But, as soon as the coldness found me, it went away. I was immediately relieved to feel the warm air hit my face, and surround my body. It was like a thousand suns on my skin compared to the coldness I felt moments ago. The quick change in temperature felt like much more than it actually was.

The silence in the car didn't last much longer. Nancy seemed to notice my unusual silence, which caused her to turn and face me. "Harper?" She asked softly, "are you all right?"

     I shrugged, "I was just cold." I frowned in confusion, "I feel fine now."

     Nancy and Steve discreetly glanced at each other, I noticed the familiar knowing look in their eyes in an instant. Nancy quickly turned back to me, "and you're sure you're okay?"

     I nodded enthusiastically, completely unaware of their worried gazes; Steve looked at me through the rear view mirror, which he had turned to face me, and Nancy was turned completely around in the front seat to face me. She seemed to turn more in anticipation for my answer.

     "Yes." I nodded, "I'm sure."

     Nancy didn't seem pleased by my answer, even if it was the truth. She seemed unusually worried, which caused me to feel confused, but I didn't question it. She was just a worried friend.

Now, it was Steve's turn to ask for my well-being. "Harps?" He glanced back at me, rather than looking in the rear view mirror this time. "You're not lying, are you?"

     I looked between the two in amusement, "why would I be lying?" I laughed aloud. "Seriously, guys, I'm fine."

     The two seemed unconvinced, but decided not to question it. Nancy was the first to speak up after that, and she decided to change the subject. "Well, what do you say about going book shopping?" She asked me. I could see the weary look in her eyes, but I ignored it.

     My eyes grew wide in excitement, "oh, can we?" I smiled widely, "when did you want to go?" I leaned forward in my seat, and pulled myself as close to the middle-back seat as my seatbelt would let me.

     "Are you busy tonight?" She asked.

     I shook my head, "no. You know I'm never busy." I brushed it off. It sounded like a joke, but it wasn't. I never spent any time outside of my house unless I was at school or with Nancy.

     Steve laughed softly at the comment, pressing on the brakes slightly as we stopped at a red light. Nancy turned to me with a sudden enthusiasm, and she seemed to brush off the conversation from a few moments ago. "We should keep an eye out for The Hobbit. You said you were looking for that one, right?"

     I nodded quickly, "yeah! It's okay if we don't find it though," the red light turned green, and Steve began to pull forwards. We were one right turn away from my street. "I don't mind."

     Nancy nodded at my comment, "you say that every time." She reminded. "As a way to not be so disappointed."

     "Well, they never have it." I shrugged, "I swear. We've been there 27 times in the past few weeks, and all they have are stupid romance books."

Nancy frowned, "I like romance books."

I stared a her for a moment in silence before speaking, "sorry."

Steve laughed loudly from where he sat, causing Nancy and I to laugh as well. It didn't take long for us to arrive at my house, and as soon as Steve put the car in park, Nancy stepped out of the vehicle. I furrowed my brows in confusion before following her out the car.

Nancy closed my door for me before walking me to the door. I tilted my head in confusion before speaking, "why are you walking me to my door?" I asked.

Nancy seemed slightly on edge, and worried, but she only shrugged. "Why not?" Was all she said.

When the two of us made it to the front door, I turned to face her, before pulling out a key from my back pocket. It was the only key I owned, and the only one I needed at the moment. My house key. I unlocked the door before pulling it open, to see the inside of the house submerged in darkness. It was like it was empty, a void of nothingness staring straight back at me.

I didn't think anything of it, besides the fact that my parents weren't home. Nancy, on the other hand, seemed deeply concerned. "Maybe I should—" she went to place a hand on my shoulder, and lead me in, but I cut her off.

"I can get to my room just fine, Nancy." I reached around the corner and switched on a light switch, ignoring the cold feeling lingering by my fingertips. "See?" The house was now lit by the bright light above. "It's fine."

Nancy seemed far less worried, but she still bounced on the balls of her feet nervously. "Yeah." She nodded, "it's fine." Her words weren't very convincing, but I ignored it.

"I'll see you later tonight." I said, before pulling her in for a hug. She wrapped her arms around my waist, and hummed softly in agreement.

"See you soon." She mumbled, before hesitantly walking back to Steve's car. It was then that I noticed the concerned look on Steve's face, as he eyed me wearily from where he sat behind the wheel. I frowned in confusion before entering my home.

When I closed the door, I quickly noticed how silent it was. Only the front of the hallway was lit, leaving the rest of it in darkness. I furrowed my brows at the lack of light, as it was only around 3:00 pm. The curtains must be closed.

I slid my shoes off of my feet, before slowly walking down the hallway. The farther down I got, the darker it got. Eventually, the darkness had swallowed me whole. I had to drag my hands across the walls to know where I was going. I could feel a chill run down my spine.

Soon enough, I was engulfed in a sudden coldness. The room was still eerily silent, but I payed no mind to it. Creak. I listened to my soft footsteps, and kept my ears tuned in to the echo of the creaking floorboards.

The creaking sound changed, making me assume that I had neared a wall. I reached forwards, but felt no wall ahead of me. Yet, whenever I made a sound, it appeared as though the sound was bouncing off of something nearby.

I frowned, before continuing to walk forwards. I was freezing at this point. I could hear the soft sounds of something that I couldn't make out — it was similar to the sound of the wind, but far more harsh than that.

It seemed to be coming from everywhere, rather than earlier, when it was only ahead of me. I could hear it next to my ears, and down by my feet. It echoed on the walls around, and the ceilings above.

Soon, it was all I could hear.

My feet still carried me forwards, but I heard no creaking. It was as if I wasn't walking at all, but I was sure that I was. I paused in my place. My hand still touched the wall, but I had lost all sense of where I was going. This was my house, surely I should know my way around my own house.

I hesitated before dropping my hand to my side. I stood there, beginning to panic. It was so dark, and so cold. It didn't feel like my house at all. My surroundings had never felt so unfamiliar.

The wind around me began to pick up, hitting my face sharply. It felt like sand, I had to squint my eyes to prevent them from feeling dry, or possibly getting sand in them. What are you talking about? I thought. This is my house, there is no sand.

My arms and legs began to tingle, and suddenly, I dropped to my knees as my legs went numb. Whether it was from the cold, or something else, I didn't know.

There was a moment of silence. A second to think. And then, I was struck with a blow of sand — or was it smoke? Mist? I could feel my lungs burning, and my head aching. My brain began to go fuzzy, and my eyes began to feel heavy. I no longer had to focus on squeezing them shut, as they began to feel as though they were being weighted down by dimes.

At first, I was scared, and my heart raced in my chest. Now, I couldn't feel anything at all, and my heartbeat was steady. I didn't feel calm, or worried. I just felt numb. I felt like a void — a void of emptiness and nothingness.

I held no thoughts, no emotions, and no feeling. I no longer felt control, just an overwhelming sense of coldness filling my mind.

As quickly as the torture began, it stopped. I blinked rapidly, watching as the light returned to the room. The curtains, in fact, were closed. Yet, light still seeped through them. There was no explanation as to why I couldn't see anything in this room before.

This room. It turned out, I was no longer in the hallway. I had entered the living room at some point, and was near a couch. I could hear my parents arguing upstairs. Neither seemed to notice my arrival.

I slowly stood to my feet, and felt my legs stop shaking as I held onto the couch for support. The room spun for a moment before I began to make my way up the stairs. I walked past my parents room, before entering my own. I closed the door shut behind me, and fell on my bed in sudden exhaustion.

It's been a long day.

—————
lizzie speaks...

hello, welcome to Void :)
this is based after season 2, therefore, the others are already familiar with the mind flayer, and it's ability to 'possess' others. also, yes, harper has no idea what has been going on in hawkins