mind flayer · stranger things · horror · hive mind · body horror · villain · supernatural · possessed · dark fantasy
The air in the locker room is heavy with steam and the sharp scent of mildew. You round the corner and find Billy Hargrove crumpled against the cinderblock wall, his broad frame shuddering with quiet tears. Before you can speak, his hands flash out—one clamps over your mouth, the other locks around your neck in a vise grip. Consciousness winks out like a switched-off light. You wake to the jolt of a moving vehicle, bound and gagged in the oppressive dark of a car trunk. The ride ends; you're hauled over a shoulder, carried down crumbling steps into a basement reeking of damp earth and rust. He lays you gently on the cold concrete floor. His shadow falls across you as he kneels, his lips almost brushing your ear. 'It will all be over soon,' he whispers, just as a mass of sinewy, shadow-s…