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𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗬

chapter nine:
hold me, I'm falling apart

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SERENITY DIDN'T NECESSARILY want to leave the bat in the car.

However, she didn't think she would be allowed into the hospital while holding a bat with nails spiked into it, so she begrudgingly left it in the back of Nancy's car.

All of them entered the hospital, and Serenity felt a shiver go up her spine. She hated hospitals. Everything from the fluorescent lights, to the linoleum floors, to the smell, to the uncomfortable chairs. Not to mention, the last time she was here was after she had faced the Demogorgon and Will had been rescued from the Upside Down. Nancy led their group, trying to sneak past the receptionist, who was talking on the phone.

"Woah, woah, woah, woah!" the receptionist scolded, and all of them paused in their tracks. "Excuse me! Where do you think you're going?"

Nancy turned to her with a smile. "Oh, um . . . I was just going to visit my grandma again. And — and this . . ." She gestured to their entire group. "This is my family."

The receptionist gave a disbelieving look to Lucas.

"Extended," Lucas replied.

"I don't care who they are," the receptionist stated. "You know the rules. Two visitors at a time."

"Yeah, but—" Nancy began.

"Two!"

"Can you at least make it three, just for now?" Nancy looked right at Serenity. "I want you to come."

The receptionist sighed, apparently noticing Nancy's uneasiness. "Fine. But only this once."

"Renny?" Nancy asked softly.

"Uh, sure, yeah, I'll come," Serenity agreed. She then looked at the kids. "You guys gonna be okay?"

All of them nodded. Serenity gave them a tight smile before following after Nancy and Jonathan towards the elevator. She then grabbed Nancy's arm, allowing Jonathan to go a little ahead of her, and looked at her friend in concern.

"You okay?" Serenity questioned worryingly.

"Yeah," Nancy answered. "I just . . . you're really good at calming people down, and considering right now I'm freaking out, I thought Jonathan and I could use you."

"Does it provide you comfort that I'm also freaking out?"

Nancy sighed. "Yeah."

The three of them piled into the elevator, and Nancy pressed the button for them to go to floor four. Serenity leaned against the back wall, standing behind Nancy and Jonathan. Her eyes slid between the two. They weren't talking to each other at all, and the elevator's air was thick with tension. Maybe Nancy hadn't told Serenity everything — she wanted her there because something had happened with her boyfriend.

"You know, those things that I said yesterday, I . . . I didn't mean them," Nancy told him, and Serenity's eyebrows raised.

"I know," Jonathan responded.

"I don't think you're like those assholes. At all. I never have. I . . . I was just—"

"Angry? Which I still don't get. I mean, I was just completely, utterly, mortifyingly . . . wrong." He looked at Nancy. "Don't let that go to your head."

"I won't," Nancy said. "I just look forward to you never doubting me again."

Serenity slightly grinned at them. She really loved Nancy and Jonathan together.

And God, she missed Steve.

The elevator dinged and the door opened. Serenity followed after them, considering that that knew where they were going. However, this floor seemed eerily . . . quiet. There was even scattered papers on the floor, ones that suspiciously looked like someone had dropped them to run away. Serenity felt her stomach twist uncomfortably.

Finally, they stopped in front of a hospital room. Nancy pushed the door open, but the bed was completely empty, and a vase was overturned, flowers and water spilling out of it. Serenity's eyebrows knit in confusion.

"Where is she?" Jonathan inquired.

"I don't know," Nancy revealed.

"Is this the right room?" Serenity added.

"Yeah."

Suddenly, the lights started to flicker. Serenity felt her veins fill with fear as she looked up at them. The lights only flickered like this because of one thing — the Upside Down.

"She's gone home," a new voice stated, and Serenity whipped around, only to see Tom Holloway standing in the door. He was wiping his hands on his shirt, which immediately became stained with blood. "We were hoping you might come back."

"Whose blood is that?" Jonathan demanded as Tom walked into the room, slightly pushing Serenity and Nancy behind his back.

Serenity felt her heart race increase as Tom got closer and closer to them. She now suddenly regretted leaving the bat in the car.

"Tom, whatever you've done, it's not you," Nancy insisted. "He's making you do this."

Jonathan then grabbed the vase on the table in his hands and smashed it against Tom's head. It shattered into pieces and Tom slumped against the wall.

"Go!" Jonathan shouted.

He grabbed Nancy's hand, who in turn grabbed Serenity's hand. The three of them instantly sprinted out of the room. However, they stopped in the hallway, only to see another man standing there, also covered in blood. He looked just as insane as Tom had.

The man put his blood-stained hand to his head, the veins on his face turning black. "Owie."

"Who is that?" Serenity asked.

"Bruce," Nancy breathed out.

He advanced on them, too. Jonathan turned around and gently pushed the two girls forwards.

"Go, go, go!" Jonathan yelled.

Serenity let go of Nancy's hand and ripped open the door to the staircase. She pushed her way through and Nancy followed, the two starting to race down the stairs. Jonathan stopped by the door, slamming it shut in Bruce's face.

"Run!" Nancy called to Jonathan.

The three of them sped down the stairs. Serenity breathed heavily from running, and from fear, and from being totally exhausted. They reached another door to a new floor and opened it. Serenity sprinted down the hallway, her eyes widening in horror that the sight of dead nurses and doctors on the floor covered in blood. The door opened behind them, and she glanced back, seeing Bruce following after them.

"Run," Jonathan urged. "This way, this way!"

He led them behind a sheet, putting them in a part of the hospital that was under construction. Serenity's thighs and calves burned, but she pushed herself. This was, quite literally, life or death. Serenity didn't want to die, she really didn't.

"Nancy, Renny!" Jonathan exclaimed, making them stop. He pushed on the intercom system. "Hello? Hello?"

Nancy's head whipped around. "Here!"

She led them into an operating room. Jonathan shut the door and locked it behind them while Nancy ran up to the phone in the room. Serenity's chest felt tight with panic and her heart was going at a million miles per minute. This could not be happening, this could not be happening—

"It's ringing," Nancy announced. She hit her hand against the counter in frustration. "Come on, pick up!"

The lights started to flicker again. Serenity looked up at them, her mind starting to spin. She felt a sob build up in her throat. No, no no no—

"Nancy?" Jonathan let out. "Serenity?"

The glass from the window on the door suddenly shattered. Serenity screamed and jumped, turning to see that Bruce had punched his bloody hand through it. She stared in horror as Bruce smiled at them through the broken window, looking like a homicidal maniac.

"Hi there," Bruce greeted. His bloody hand then reached through the window and unlocked the door, opening it and entering. "I'm here for you, Nancy Drew."

He came towards them again. Serenity clutched onto Nancy's arm nervously, who whimpered in response to Bruce's threat. Jonathan then lunged forwards to attack, but Bruce merely grabbed his throat and started to choke him.

"No!" Nancy screamed.

She tried to get him to let go of Jonathan, but he pushed Nancy away, sending her flying into the wall and crumpling on the floor. Before Serenity could do literally anything, Bruce headbutted Jonathan and threw him right into the row of lockers. He then walked up and grabbed the metal stool, lifting it above his head.

"Jonathan!"

Bruce slammed the metal stool right down on Jonathan when he tried to get up. Serenity gasped in horror, snapping herself out of whatever panic trance she was in. She glanced around frantically for a moment — God, if she had just brought the bat. Finally, her eyes set on a pair of scissors, and she ran up to them, grabbing them in her hands. When Bruce went to hit Jonathan with the stool again, Serenity lunged the scissors right into his back.

He dropped the stool, groaning in pain. However, it didn't really seem to affect him that much. He merely just reached back and pulled the scissors out of his skin. Serenity's chest heaved up and down as she watched, slightly taking a step back.

"You bitch," Bruce stated.

"Renny," Jonathan said, and Bruce threw the scissors to the side. "Run!"

"Go, Renny!" Nancy added.

She didn't need to be told twice. Serenity pushed a cart out of her way, trying to halt his movement. She ripped open the door and ran out so fast that she stumbled into the wall for a moment. Serenity pushed herself forwards and ran down the hallway, leaving Nancy and Jonathan behind in that room.

The sound of a door opening rang throughout the entire hallway. Serenity glanced back to see Bruce following after her. Another sob built up in her throat, but she pushed it away, because now was really not the time to cry. She turned around again and ran down the hallway with the flickering lights.

"Renny," Bruce taunted, and Serenity fucking hated how he said it.

Her eyes then set on the fire extinguisher on the wall. She suddenly got an idea, and she grabbed it, holding it close to her chest.

"Renny."

Serenity ducked inside the nearest room, letting the door shut behind her. This one had multiple beds, all covered by curtains. Serenity ducked behind one and gripped onto the fire extinguisher with shaking hands. The door opened, and she resisted the urge to gasp. She pursed her lips together, praying to God, or literally anyone, that she would make it out of here alive.

"Yoo-hoo," Bruce began. "Oh, Renny, where are you?"

The curtain on the end opened. Then the curtain next to that one opened too. He was getting closer. She lifted up her fire extinguisher, her eyes narrowing. Serenity was so fucking over this.

"Renny." Another curtain opened. "Marco."

The curtain right across from her then opened, and she saw his figure. That's when she struck.

"Polo!" Serenity shouted.

She moved out of the curtain and ran at him, slamming the fire extinguisher right in his face. Serenity watched as his nose smushed, and black blood started to drip out. He groaned, touching his nose, so she struck while he was distracted. She moved the fire extinguisher upwards, slamming it right into his chin. Bruce stumbled towards her and fell to his knees, bleeding in black. She pushed away her disgust for now, even though she felt like she was going to absolutely throw up.

"I know you can hear me," Serenity said, raising the fire extinguisher above her head. "So I'll tell you again. Don't fuck with the babysitter."

She hit the fire extinguisher right on his head. Bruce crumpled to the ground and just laid there, not doing anything. Serenity let the fire extinguisher fall from her hands with a bang. She stared down at Bruce, panting from it all.

The lights went dark for a second, but then they started to flicker again. Serenity watched before her very eyes as Bruce's body on the floor started to move back and forth, almost like against its own will. She took a step backwards and watched in complete and utter horror as his entire body began to turn into literal blood and guts. It squelched as it did do, and it melted down until all that was left was a pile of guts and some clothes over it.

Honestly, she was really surprised that she hadn't actually thrown up by now.

The pile of guts moved on its own accord. Serenity slowly followed it out the door. There was another pile of guts coming right at the other one from the room that Nancy and Jonathan were in. Serenity looked up, sharing a look with Nancy and Jonathan in confusion.

When the two piles met in the middle, they merged together. Serenity didn't know how she was processing what she was seeing, but the merged guts rose up, forming legs and a whole body. She put her hand on her stomach like it would be able to stop her from being sick.

The lights stopped flickering, and everything went dark. Serenity's limbs shook from fear, but then they suddenly came back on, shining brighter than ever. Right where the two piles of guts met now stood a monster with multiple arms and legs covered in blood and slime. It opened up its mouth in a shriek, only to reveal multiple rows of sharp teeth.

Remember when Serenity said she wasn't having as many nightmares anymore? Yeah, well, she was sure that after this, they would be ten times as worse.

Her eyes suddenly widened upon noticing the position she was in. The monster was facing her, shrieking at her. Not to mention that it was blocking her completely from Nancy and Jonathan. Her chest heaved up and down at a more rapid past and her mind screamed in panic. There was literally no other thought in her brain than oh my God oh my God oh my God.

"Fuck," she cursed.

"Serenity!" Jonathan shouted. "Run!"

She walked backwards until her back hit the wall. Serenity whipped around to see that she had gone all the way back to a door, and she immediately pressed on it. However, it wouldn't open all the way. She slammed all of her body weight against it, trying to get it to budge. Serenity glanced back to see the monster shrieking and crawling towards her, knocking things over in the process. She finally let out the sob that had been building and pushed against the door harder, and it finally opened enough for her to slip through.

Serenity ran down the hallway, going faster than she ever had. Her legs shook as they pumped faster and faster. She could hear the monster chasing after her, and she looked back for a moment to see it at the end of the hallway. Serenity sobbed again as she rounded the corner, the monster's snarls echoing throughout the empty hallway.

She opened the nearest door and shut herself inside, slamming the door shut and locking it. The monster shrieked and pounded against the door. Serenity panted in a mixture of adrenaline and fear as everything seemed to stop for a second.

Serenity should've known better than to believe that it was over, and that the monster would just let her go that easily.

Her eyes widened in horror when she saw all the goo, blood, and guts seep out through the cracks in the door.

"Steve," she whispered, reaching up and clutching the S necklace she had bought at the mall.

"Serenity!" Nancy's voice screamed from outside. "Oh my God."

"Steve," Serenity repeated with her voice shaking, because as the pile of goo formed back into one, he was the only thing on her mind.

Jonathan slammed his body against the door and tried to open it. "No, no! Serenity! God damn it!"

The pile of guts bubbled and squelched as it rose back up into its full form. Serenity felt her eyes immediately get glassy with tears, and her hands shook by her sides, and she gasped for air because she suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe. She was truly trapped in this room with this monster. Serenity thought she had been close to death with the Demogorgon and the Demo-Dogs. And, yeah, she probably had been, but nothing, nothing compared to this.

She didn't want to die. Especially not without seeing Steve first. But Steve was missing, and she was locked in this room with a deadly monster from a parallel dimension, and she was absolutely panicking because there was no way out, and this was really it—

The monster roared at her, showing its teeth. It then reached out one of its legs and slammed it against Serenity. She flew through the air and her body slammed against the wall. Serenity screamed in pain as she crumpled to the floor. She pushed herself up onto her knees, but the monster had cornered her in. Serenity's eyes widened and she fell backwards, sitting on the ground. She pushed herself all the way back until she couldn't go anymore.

"No," Serenity let out through a sob, her chest heaving up and down as the monster crawled towards her. "No, please."

The monster left her no choice but to lay on the ground, the cold of the floor pressing up against her. Tears started to roll down her cheeks as the monster crawled completely over her, trapping her into the floor. Blood and slime dripped onto her as it put its face just above hers, her gaze locking on its sharp teeth.

And then it opened its mouth and shrieked, and Serenity was absolutely sure that this was her final moment.

But it wasn't. The door was suddenly blown off of its hinges, and the monster turned around over her, turning towards the door with another shriek. She could see through the haze of her panic and her tears eleven standing at the front of the group of all of her kids, plus Nancy and Jonathan.

"Jesus!" Mike exclaimed.

"What the f—" Max began.

The monster ran away from Serenity and went towards the group, but Eleven screamed and thrust her hand to the side, slamming the monster against the wall. Serenity pushed herself up so that she was sitting with her knees tucked into her chest, pressing her hand over her mouth to muffle her sobs. Eleven thrust her hand the other way, and the monster slammed against the opposite wall. She moved her hand upwards and slammed it into the ceiling, the tiles crumbling and falling onto the floor. And then she moved her hand downwards, slamming it onto the floor.

It got up again and snarled, but Eleven pushed both of her hands outwards. The monster flew right out the window, shattering glass everywhere. Serenity pushed her shaking hands on either side of her temple, trying to regain her sense of self, but right now, it was pretty much impossible.

"Serenity!" Jonathan yelled, running up to the girl and immediately kneeling in front of her, placing his hands on her arms. "Serenity, are you okay?"

She shook her head, letting a sob pass through her lips. "No. I — I can't breathe."

"Serenity, you have to get up," Nancy's calming voice instructed. "We have to go outside, okay?"

"Okay," Serenity agreed through her crying.

Nancy and Jonathan pulled her up. Serenity felt her legs give out underneath her, but the two caught her, holding onto her tightly. They ran after the kids, Nancy and Jonathan practically dragging Serenity because she was still crying, down the stairs and outside, where all of the lights were flickering now. The pile of guts that was the monster — the Mind Flayer — was laying on the asphalt, clearly hurt from Eleven. Serenity sobbed shakily as she watched the pile move over to the storm drain, slipping through it until it disappeared, leaving nothing behind but a couple of bones.

Serenity collapsed onto the curb outside of the hospital. She placed her arms on her knees and buried her face in them, starting to cry harder than before. It was like she couldn't do anything but cry right now. She had been doing so well trying to not let the Demogorgon and the Demo-Dogs and the Upside Down traumatize her, but it all came crashing down the second the Mind Flayer stood over her.

"Serenity, where's Steve?" Nancy questioned softly.

"I — I don't know," she cried, her voice muffled. "His — his car's still at the mall, but he — he's nowhere."

"Serenity," Jonathan said quietly. "Look at us, okay? Breathe."

She felt gentle hands pull her own away from her face. Serenity looked up, only to see the faces of Mike, Will, Lucas, Max, Eleven staring at her. Nancy and Jonathan were, too, but she was more focused on the kids. They couldn't see her in a state like this — all of them were probably traumatized enough. Serenity had to get over this to be there for them.

Serenity hastily wiped away her tears, but she was still gasping for air. "I — I'm fine—"

"No, you're not," Mike insisted.

"We've noticed what you've been doing these past couple of years," Lucas told her gently. "You've pushed down your own fears and your own feelings to make sure we were okay. We didn't realize it at the time, but now we do."

"Renny," Will interjected. "You've taken care of us for years. Please, let us take care of you for once."

Serenity sobbed again, louder than before and harder, letting her whole body shake. Her head fell against her knees, and she felt arms and hands get placed on her, trying to comfort her after that whole traumatic experience.

All of them held the crying girl on the sidewalk, as if they were trying to keep the broken pieces of her from crumbling away even further.

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MY GIRL