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CATACLYSM
stranger things IV.
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❝Every ending has a beginning...❞

— The 'Hawkins Rejects' Series,
Book Four

EIGHT MONTHS after the Battle of Starcourt, a sense of doom hangs over Hawkins. Years of tragedy have finally aroused suspicion, as a Satanic Panic grips the town and those who hear of the godforsaken place. As for those who bear the burden of the truth, the repercussions have torn them in different directions...

CATH doesn't understand how she got here.

In the shifting currents of high school, with old friends growing apart, Cath was somehow swept into the orbit of the most popular kids in freshman year. Part of her craves the idea of finally being noticed; to not be seen right through, or excluded just because she isn't high enough on the social ladder. However, given the choice, she just wishes the Party felt like it used to. Cliques pull them in different directions, or grief distances them. Everything is changing more than she wants. Even with Mike Wheeler, one of the few she can truly confide in, their friendship is starting to take on a dizzying new shape.

Still, they say a change of location can change your perspective, and Cath has been looking forward to spring break in California for weeks. She tags along with Mike to visit the Byers-Hopper family, where surely they will find the clarity missing at home. But not all is as it seems. And soon, their demons catch up to them all, sending them on a journey none of them could have predicted...

DAPHNE hasn't told anyone this.

College is many of the things she hoped it would be: she has friends, including a nice roommate, and exciting classes that give her an excuse to watch movies constantly. New York itself welcomes her with its energy that totally juxtaposes Hawkins. It's almost perfect... almost. Felix's death still leaves her feeling hollow, along with everything that came before it. There is no one at college who could possibly understand. Nevertheless, returning to her hometown is the last thing she would want to do, until a horrible gut feeling calls her back to Hawkins for spring break.

     At home, Daphne is confronted by the past in all manners of speaking. Not just her traumas, or the heart that still beats for Steve Harrington, but a potent evil that threatens Hawkins in a whole new way: a mysterious killer who preys on his victims' worst fears before striking. Will she face the threat head-on, or will she run away?

     AMY is starting to lose her mind.

     She just wants to get her head down and work towards her Physics degree. But how can she, when her brain becomes more scattered with each passing month? Vivid dreams plague her at night, splinters of sound and sight from places she cannot recall... and yet they feel so familiar. Then there are the headaches, which have been fewer but far more unpredictable. When all of this culminates, a shaken up Amy returns to Hawkins to seek familiarity and the company of her friends, from Daphne to the talkative Robin Buckley.

Instead, she is thrown straight into the deep end, when the town points fingers towards an old friend to accuse him of murder. While she works to prove his innocence, more unexpected truths begin to surface. It soon becomes all-consuming. Amy finds herself unearthing things about herself that she never imagined possible, as well as things she never knew she was capable of...

     ANDREA should feel happier... right?

     Her dad is the healthiest he has been in years, despite everything, and he's back at work. Her friendship with Cath has also been rekindled, and high school could have been a lot worse so far. Still, Andrea cannot help but feel a little bit stunted by the anti-climax of it all. Now that she knows some of the dangers lurking in Hawkins, it is difficult to be entirely positive. Her parents know that too, in their own way, which is when Andrea starts to sense their eagerness to pack up and leave. It's the very last thing she wants.

     But when spring break takes a turn for the worst, Andrea joins the fight again, this time brought to the forefront of the Upside Down and its mysteries. When her friends have a target painted on their backs, Andrea's optimism will truly be tested, as they face this unpredictable evil...

     THOMAS is on his own this time.

     There has been enough change in his own life. Daphne away at college, his sister moved out with his nephew. Then there's Bob and Hopper; two friends gone in two years. Joyce was the only other adult who knew everything that happened, and even she left. A humbling realisation occurs to Thomas, that his living friends consist mostly of his daughter's friend's parents. Not that they aren't nice enough... but it is rather lonely.

     It only worsens when horrific and eerily familiar murders start happening around Hawkins, and the town grows hysterical. He is one of the few who can see reason through the Satanic Panic of his neighbours. Without Joyce or Hopper to help him, and the teens vanishing before giving an explanation, it looks like this is a mystery he has to solve on his own. Unless he can find some new allies...

     TIME IS TICKING in Hawkins, whether they know it or not. Split apart across countries and even continents, it will take a lot more effort to win the day time. What's more, it seems that this evil may go deeper than they realised, all-encompassing and playing the long game. Can they find it in them to fight when they feel so torn apart?

╔═══════════════╗
THE MAIN CAST
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Kyla Matthews as
Catherine ❛Cath❜ Delaney

— ❝I've wasted so much time trying to be someone people might want.❞

Britt Robertson as
Daphne Delaney

— ❝How do you know it'll work this time? Maybe we just got lucky before.❞

Karen Fukuhara as
Amy Nakamura

— ❝I don't think these are just dreams... somehow, they feel familiar.❞

Dalila Bela as
Andrea Sandoval

— ❝Just think about it: you've been given a second shot at life. You're a survivor.❞

Bill Hader as
Thomas Delaney

— ❝Something evil is at work in this town, but in no world would it be our own kids.❞

[ + additional cast... ]
tamlyn tomita as rin nakamura
carrie coon as peggy delaney
kelly macdonald as lydia farris
emma nelson as helen talbot
emily bader as sharon talbot
raphael alejandro as pedro sandoval &
dee wallace as vivien delaney

[ + recasts... ]
milo parker as will byers
eric lange as murray bauman

—— DISCLAIMER.

     I do not own the original characters of Stranger Things, nor do I own their related plots, dialogue, etcetera. I only own Cath, Daphne and every other character you don't see on the actual show.

     Cataclysm will contain violence, supernatural elements, gore, character deaths, coarse language, sexual references and themes surrounding mental health/PTSD. If these are potential triggers to you, please proceed carefully. I'll try to put a warning at the beginning of a chapter if it contains more intense scenes.

—— FOREWORD.

     Here we are, at last! Season 4 is so epic in scale and story, so I'm both excited and nervous to start this. There will definitely be a slightly darker tone to Cataclysm than previous books. The "kids" like Cath and Andrea are proper teenagers now, for starters, so you may notice that they feel a bit older. Despite all the action, there is a lot of focus on the characters and their inner conflicts in this one. Also some (hopefully) interesting backstories built in.

     No new POVs this time, so we can focus on the ones we have. A bit like how Andrea got some more spotlight in book 3, this time it is well and truly Amy's turn to shine. I cannot understate this... she goes on quite the ride during this season, so buckle in! There will also be some ships getting introduced in a bigger way, as well as existing ones being revisited (don't worry, Staphne has not been forgotten, quite the opposite in fact).

     Finally, since we are in the penultimate season, I'll probably start to set up the endgame during this book, i.e. bigger plot details or character dynamics. Hold onto your butts, brochachos.

     I hope you enjoy book 4! Grab your Walkmans, and play that Kate Bush...

— Imogen

—— DEDICATIONS.

To just some of the readers who helped power me through the last book and boosted my inspiration: ketterdam dash-of-clarity GhostWriterGirl-1

And to eufourias , who has had to listen to me info-dump about various plot points (*cough* Wheelaney *cough*) for years... thank you for putting up with my lengthy paragraphs on all this.

—— THE HAWKINS REJECTS SERIES.

PARANORMAL
( book one, season one )
completed

WHISTLEBLOWER
( book two, season two )
completed

UNDERWORLD
( book three, season three )
completed

• CATACLYSM •
( book four, season four )
ongoing

DENOUEMENT
( book five, season five )
coming next...

—— IMPORTANT.

[ Started: March 13th, 2021 ]
[ Published: December 28th, 2025 ]

© starryeyedturtle 2025