Worlds Turned Upside Down: Will Byers x Reader

Chapter Sixteen: Death and Deceit

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Will can be heard audibly trembling over Mike's walkie-talkie. (Y/N) lets out a single raspy cough. However, the audio is a bit distorted. The Party sits in a circle on the floor of the Wheelers' basement. They look to Eleven who is tinkering around with the walkie-talkie, trying to get a signal to the Upside Down. "We keep losing the signal, but you heard it, right?" Mike looks hopefully at his two friends.
"Yeah, I heard a baby," Lucas responds skeptically.
"What?"
"Mike, you obviously tapped into a baby monitor," Lucas says, he's the realist of the group, "It's probably the Blackburns' next door."
"Uh, did that sound like a baby to you?" Mike asks Lucas. He doesn't want to deal with his friend's attitude, Will's and (Y/N)'s lives are in jeopardy, "That was Will and (Y/N)!"
"Mike..."
"Lucas, you don't understand. They spoke last night. Words!" The argument becomes a little more heated as Mike begins to shout, "They were singing that weird song they love. Even El heard them!" Dustin shoots Mike a confused look, he's torn between the two friends' arguments.
"Oh well, if the weirdo heard them, then I guess—"
"Are you sure you're on the right channel?" Dustin adds in, trying to gain reassurance from Mike.
"I don't think it's about that. I think, somehow, she's channeling them," Lucas rolls his eyes, Dustin however is enticed by Mike's theory.
"Like...like Professor X."
"Yeah."
"Are you actually believing this crap?" Lucas demeans Dustin.
"I don't know, I mean...Do you remember when Will fell off his bike and broke his finger? He sounded a lot like that. And when (Y/N) had a fever and was sent home from school because of her cough...it sounded like that too," Lucas looks between the two boys incredulously.
"Did you guys not see what I saw? They pulled Will and (Y/N)'s bodies out of the water. They're dead!" Dustin looks at the floor. Eleven has drawn her attention away from the walkie-talkie and now stares wide-eyed at a hotheaded Lucas.
"Well, maybe it's their ghosts. Maybe they're haunting us," Dustin wants to believe his friends are with them, so he searches for any explanation he can find so that Lucas believes they're here too. Maybe, if they all believe, his wish will come true and Will and (Y/N) will actually be okay.
"It's not their ghosts," Mike says unmistakably.
"So how do you know that?" Lucas pops back into the conversation.
"I just do!" Mike fights back.
"Then what was in the water?" Lucas asks his friend, the tension rises again as the boy demands for answers.
"I don't know!" Mike is annoyed by Lucas's stubbornness, "All I know is that (Y/N) and Will are alive. They are alive!" Mike looks at both of his friends as he makes his statement, "They're out there somewhere. All we have to do is find them," Lucas looks at Mike wistfully as Eleven continues to tinker with the walkie-talkie. It makes a low-pitched screech and Mike looks over at it in realization. "This isn't gonna work. We need to get El to a stronger radio."
"Mr. Clarke's Heathkit ham shack," Dustin grins dreamily thinking about playing around with the AV Club's new electronic gadget.
Mike grins back, "Yeah." However, Lucas isn't sold just yet.
"The Heathkit's at school. There is no way we're gonna get the weirdo in there without anyone noticing," There's a pause of silence as the boys consider Lucas's statement, "I mean...look at her," The boys look uneasily at Eleven as she shifts her eyes between them.
And so the task begins. The boys collaborate to put together a disguise for the young girl. Meanwhile, there's a daunting duty being done at the Hawkins Laboratory.

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A few men in hazmat suits stand in a control room. A younger man in a yellow suit gets hooked to a steel cable by an older man in a white suit. "Clear," another man gives a thumbs up to the younger one which he returns after the steel cable is attached to a loop on the suit. The man looks unsteadily behind him before turning in the other direction to face an observation window.
"You boys hear me all right in there?"
"Loud and clear, Shepard," A bearded man responds. An older man steps forward.
"Good luck in there, son," This man, who can be identified as Dr. Martin Brenner, looks uneasily out at the man. Shepard wears a look of determination as he makes his way toward the opening of a portal. His eyes face forward and he focuses on nothing else. His strides are slow but significant. He's aware of how dangerous this mission is.
The portal growls as if it's a large, uncontrollable beast ready to snatch up its next prey. One of the men feeds the steel cable out just enough so that Shepard can take a minimal amount of steps.
Shepard runs his rubbery glove down slimy webs, breaking them because they obstruct his path. His mask starts to illuminate a blue light, so that he can see through the darkness that surrounds the portal. Brenner watches intently making sure the man is using the correct technique.
Shepard pushes his glove through the thick webs and through to the membrane. The portal growls and Shepard pulls his hand back, the portal gives a sickening squelch as he does so. He inspects his gloved fingers and turns to face the observers. He glances seriously at Brenner and turns back towards the pure evil which resides in front of him.
Shepard steps forward and rips through the membrane becoming consumed by the portal. The entrance closes up just after he steps through, it looks like he had never been there at all. The only trace that Shepard is still with the scientists is the unwinding steel cable which now freely feeds him line as Shepard advances through the alternate dimension. Dr. Brenner doesn't look optimistic. His expression is grim.

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"Try him again," Brenner glances worriedly down at a clock.
"Shepard, come in. Confirm comm," The bearded man speaks through the communication device. Static sounds off from Shepard's end, "Shepard, come in. Confirm comm," The hope drains from Brenner's face. He looks down, already mourning the man who entered the other dimension. More crackling can be heard from the other side. However, this time a voice breaks through the static.
"This is Shepard. Confirming, over," Dr. Brenner looks up, obviously surprised. He grins, feeling accomplished.
"Shepard. Where are you? Can you describe to us what it is you see? Over," Brenner asks, curious about the newfound land.
"It's low visibility. I'm about one click south of the rift. Everything's still here, but it's all eroded. Covered in blood..." There's an indistinct growling on the radio. Brenner is a bit distressed by the noise, "Shepard? Do you copy?" Shepard breaths heavily over the radio. Brenner presses the blue call button down anxiously calling out to the man, "Shepard? Can you hear me?" A strange sound from some sort of animal sounds off.
"There's something else...There's something else in here!" Shepard becomes increasingly panicked.
In the lab, the emergency lights flash red and the siren blares. Brenner's face fills with concern as his mouth gapes open. "Reel him in," Brenner says quietly whilst his gaze stays locked on the portal. The bearded man next to him remains unresponsive with shock. Brenner whips his head towards the man, "Reel him back in!" He harshly commands. Redness fills his face.
"Get him in," The man directs the others down below. The cable starts to wind back up. "Come on, come on! Faster!"
Shepard's voice comes through again, "There's something else in here!" He is clearly frightened for his life, "Pull me out! Pull me out, pull me out! Pull me out! Pull me out!" Shepard pleads. There is a monstrous growl and the cable starts to swing back and forth wildly. The cord jams for a second but soon after resumes winding. The cable continues to flail. The men all watch in horror. There is yelling heard from both Shepard and the man giving commands, but when the cable relaxes and falls stiff, everything but the siren goes quiet. Brenner backs away from the window, knowing what this means.
"Shepard, come in. Over," The man at the communications panel commands desperately.
"Comms are down, sir," Another man responds.
"Shepard, come in! Over," The man at the panel disregards the employee's statement and gives another frantic call. The cable continues to draw back slowly. Everyone watches with anticipation. Dr. Brenner shifts uneasily.
The end of the cable retracts from the opening. It drags some of the portal's webbing with it as it slides across the floor leaving a trail of thick, crimson blood and a severed piece of Shepard's suit. Brenner drops his head.
The portal pulses as it repairs itself once again. The same happens on the other side, making it more difficult for anyone who wants to make an escape.

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The air in that dimension is dry, still, and sparse. Sound carries. Two startled children poke their heads out of the crawl space's hatch. The muffled cries of a man echo all around them. Did someone else get trapped too? Was he there to help them and ended up getting attacked? Maybe there's a way out nearby? The two decide asking questions and hiding out isn't the best way to get answers. They need to go out and investigate. Maybe in the process, they'll be able to find a way out.

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As (Y/N) and Will force their cramped bodies out of the small space and out into the large, unexplored world, Nancy Wheeler has just discovered a familiar monster lurking in a torn photograph, and The Party sits in the gymnasium listening apathetically to the speeches made about their friends' so-called "demises" awaiting the truth to finally make itself known.

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Hi!!! I'd like to start with thanking everyone for reading and enjoying my story! Thank you for your kind and encouraging comments too! I'm not going to be including gifs right now however, later when I finish season one and I revise I'll see if there are places where the gifs will fit! If anyone wants to send me any you think will fit well please do! Stay safe, I'm sending my love♡︎ ~WoodCeiling♥︎

*THE CHARACTERS, THEME, AND SOME DIALOGUE BELONG TO STRANGER THINGS AND THE DUFFER BROTHERS*