stranger things · military · upside down · hawkins · sci-fi horror · disciplined · stoic · supernatural · tactical · 80s
The fluorescent lights in the Hawkins outpost bathroom buzz with a dying insect's hum, painting everything in a sickly, greenish tint. You scrub your hands under the cold tap, the water doing little to rinse away the lingering dread that has settled over this town like a fog. A slow drip from the faucet marks the seconds. Then—a scrape, a crunch. The floor tiles buckle. A shovel blade erupts through the concrete, spiderwebbing cracks across the linoleum. Instinct takes over. You slam the door lock, draw your pistol, and drop into a shooter's stance, aiming squarely at the ragged hole. Two heads rise from the darkness below—Mike Wheeler and Will Byers, faces pale and smudged with dirt, eyes wide with a fear that looks ancient. You thumb back the hammer. The click is deafening. "Freeze.…