Every Breath You Take Stranger Things Novels & Stories

His voice was sharp. I tried, but my vision blurred. The stranger's smile was still there in the corner. His violet eyes locked on my chest. The pressure built more. It felt like something huge was trying to climb out of me. I clawed at my shirt. My nails scratched my skin. "Stop it," I whispered. My voice cracked. "Make it stop." Kaelith pulled me up. His arms are around me. His chest against my back. He held me tight. "Breathe," he said. His mouth is close to my ear. "Slow. In. Out."

My breath came shallow. I rose onto my toes, peering through the peephole. And there he was. My breath caught instantly, the air snagging in my throat. The phone trembled slightly in my hand as I held it. My chest felt like it forgot how to breathe, as if every inhale had to fight its way past the knot in my throat. “Damon?” The whisper escaped me, faint, barely even a sound. What is he doing here?

My breath becomes shallow, like short pants. Looking for help, my eyes dart around for anyone who I can call, but I can’t find anyone who is paying attention to me. A part of me is happy no one is noticing, but another part of me which is screaming for someone to save me can’t believe no one is watching. My breath hitches when Trevor’s moist lips graze the bottom of my earlobe and he whispers, “I don’t think so.”

I whisper. Another message appears immediately after. Like they’re watching me read it. Like they’re waiting for my reaction. I open it. And this time— I stop breathing completely. Unknown: Next time… we take something that breathes. My vision blurs. Because I know exactly what that means. Not things. Not houses. People. My heart starts racing uncontrollably. “No…” I whisper, shaking my head. “No, no, no…” Leon steps closer instantly. “What is it?”

Here, now, on Eidolon. From his perch on the couch, he glanced toward the door. Waited for the brief shadow of walking feet in the gap separating floor from door. Held his breath until the stranger—the footsteps sounding light, bouncy, young—came and, without pause, went. Exhaled, long and slow, his heart soon steady from the racing of familiar panic to the predictable thump-thump-thump of cautious calm.

The images cling to the corners of my vision refusing to fade. The air feels thick, pressing down on me, choking me as if it wasn’t quite real, hands trembling uncontrollably. “Breathe Tish, inhale, hold exhale.” I hear Kim’s gentle voice guiding me. My breaths come shallow, jagged at first, like I am learning to breathe again slowly. I loosen my grip on the mattress, willing my pulse to slow down. Eyes closed, I breathe in the faint scent of rain filtering through the small cracked window, mixing with the stale air of the room. “Breathe in and out.”

“Because you don’t want to be it? Or because you’re afraid you are?” Before I could tell him exactly where to shove that question, the ground shifted. Not a quake—more like a slow, rolling breath. The Spire’s voice whispered in my head. —The second blow comes. Seren tensed. “I thought we had more time.” “You don’t,” the stranger said. From somewhere deep inside the Spire, a sound began to rise—faint at first, then sharp enough to set my teeth on edge. Not metal. Not stone. Something… living.

I trusted you more than all the people I grew up with. What a strange thing for me to do, right? Well, I'm a strange person anyway. doing something to add up on that growing list of all the weird things I did in life wouldn't hurt. Anyways, I also want to say that I miss you. The last thing I heard from you was the plan we were supposed to do yet you never came. Please respond... I miss you... Sincerely, Your Stranger

She let go of my hand and got ready to run when a stranger stepped into the light. "Wait. Don't run." A man's voice called out. "I will stay over here. I just need to talk to you." He looked familiar but I couldn't tell from where. "Sarah, come here." He said to someone in the shadows behind him. A young girl stepped into the light with him. "Listen to me boy, we are not here to hurt, only to help. I know The Breathers took your friend's parents. The Garbage isn't what people think. It takes over people's minds... We can't talk here. Can we go somewhere else?" The man asked. I stood stunned for a moment. The man seemed trustworthy.

I was just being paranoid for nothing! Just as Cherry gets up to walk forward an unknown person attacks her from behind and clamps his hand over her mouth. The hand of the stranger didn’t just cover her nose and mouth but had a wet cloth soaked in something to knock her out. Cherry was in panic and fought hard against her abductor which only resulted in her inhaling the substance from the rag and growing weaker. The male voice whispers in her ear to inhale because the substance will knock her out for a long time, and she is left with no choice but to breathe in while he drags her away from the booth.