MELANCHOLY [S.T. B. Hargrove]

52

The gate was nearly indescribable.

It was moist. Sticky. Like being birthed all over again- except this time, I was aware of the sensations.

As my head pokes through, it was nearly suffocating. It only makes me move faster.

I push off the back of the couch by the tips of my toes and fling myself into the gate.

The world spins. Motion sickness blows through me suddenly and brutally.

I was certain I flipped. Before I knew it, I was on my back, slamming against the floor of Eddie's trailer.

The sky was gray. A red tint every so often- caused by red lightning shocking through the air.

So.. this was the Upside Down..

My nerves spike at the reminder.

I was actually in another dimension? Another world?

"Holy shit," I pant, grabbing my inhaler from my pocket and taking a puff.

The song turns to the Spanish verse. I pull myself to my feet and scan the area.

The ground was even gray for the most part. But, there was something familiar about the black vine-like things that were scattered everywhere. They reminded me of the tunnels.

It was Eddie's trailer, still. The vines were growing along the floor, walls, and ceiling.

I take a deep breath and nod to myself.

If Billy was alive, he had to be bere.

Vecna had to be here.

And if I was here, I'd be his first target. Max would be safe as long as his attention was diverted and she had Kate Bush.

"I'm on your turf now, bitch," I whisper, taking out my gun. "Come and get me."

I couldn't deny that it was an overwhelming feeling to be in the Upside Down.

I couldn't deny how scared I was.

This was hell. I was certain.

I trudged through Hawkins for what felt like days. I knew it was probably only hours in the real world.

There were these.. things.. that showed up every so often.

The best way to describe them was if a bat, vulture, and stingray had a cursed baby that inherited only the worst traits of each of them.

They were persistent little shits. It took blow after blow just to make them regroup. Even more to scare them off, though they didn't scare much at all.

I wasn't totally sure where to begin the look for answers.

Find Vecna. Find Billy. Find something.

I made it to the first Hargrove house first.

I walk into the house but.. it wasn't right.

If this was just another Hawkins, imperfectly mirroring the one above.. why was this house outdated?

I didn't see any of Billy's items in the house. None of Max's. None of mine, even.

The last time I'd seen this house when driving by, there was a new family living there.

And yet, the place I was in now was completely vacant. Like no one had moved in for a while.

I search the house for tell signs.

There were no scratches on the floor from Billy's workout equipment.

There were no holes in the wall from Neil's angered outbursts.