You burst through the disgusting, snake skin like portal that screamed 'bad ideas' and land hard on the ground with a grunt. You look around, your panic stricken mind looking wildly for Steve. In that moment, you didn't care about what he said or what you said, you only cared that he might be dead in this moment.
You hear Nancy land beside you, Eddie and Robin close behind. You immediately get up from the disgusting ground after hearing an ear piercing scream that made your heart drop and soar.
Steve.
He was still alive.
But not for long.
You worked fast, eyes scouring the area, and immediately see an unmoving body a few meters from where you were currently and run over to investigate, the others not far behind. Nancy assesses the situation, grabbing one of the oars that belonged to the old rickety boat that was a few feet from Steve as she passed by it.
You allow Eddie to take the other one, working quickly to get into the boat and step on the side of it with your combat boot, pulling up at the weary wood with all the strength you could muster, and it finally gave up, sending you flying back but accomplishing exactly what you wanted.
A weapon.
Not as effective as your axe would be in this very moment, but hey sharp wood would fair pretty well for the time being. You finally turn around to face Steve, and wince at the sight. He was covered in bites from one of the many evil creatures surrounding him.
They were shaped like bats, and it was as if their skin was flipped inside out. Their tails had to be at least two feet long and their teeth were exactly like the demogorgons. Thankfully, they didn't seem to be too big, but a pack of them like this could prove to be a struggle to get rid of.
Nancy didn't waste any time, immediately hitting one of the bats that was biting Steve's middle hard with her oar, making it skid across the hard ground, wince and double back in pain.
"Hey there." She said softly, immediately working to hit the other bat-like creature that was on Steve's other side. You immediately walk over to Steve's head, seeing how a bat had wrapped itself around his neck and cutting off air.
"Quick! Hold it hold it hold it!" Nancy screams at Robin, who immediately stepped on the creature to stop it from moving, allowing you to bend down and start unwrapping its tail from around his neck. Nancy started hitting the creature fiercely in the face as you worked as fast as you could.
The thing had somehow tangled itself around his neck, making it insanely difficult to take it off, especially with the slimy complexion. Once you see you weren't making progress just yet, you force your hand down the tight space the thing had created that prevented Steve from breathing. It would at least allow him a bit of air while you worked. Steve gasped loudly, finally able to breathe at least a little bit.
You hear Eddie shout encouraging words from behind you, but you pay no mind, scooting closer to Steves head and propping it onto your knees so you could reach under and start to unwrap the thing from him.
You work hastily, your process was working surprisingly well before you feel Nancy back off suddenly, and soon you see, or rather feel, why. You bite your lip, you were so close to freeing him.
It was then that you felt many tiny teeth sink into your shoulder, and you let out a cry of pain, but you ignore it and the feeling of blood and flesh leaving your body as the thing fed on the nutrients you were providing it.
You could hear bats starting to swarm everywhere, more attacking Nancy, Robin releasing her foot from the bat choking Steve to go help her and leaving you to slide over to it before it could start choking Steve again and undo all the progress you had made.
You feel a second pair of teeth sink into your back, and then a third and fourth, but ignore it as well as the urge to fight back. Almost there... You think to yourself, biting your lip as you unhook the last bit of the bat, fully releasing Steve from its clutches. You get off the bat as soon as he was free, now trying desperately to get to your wooden plank from the boat as to get the bats off your back.
You manage to get a grip onto your makeshift weapon, forcefully putting it over your head and trying to scrape the bats off. You couldn't roll onto them as it would make their teeth sink deeper into your flesh.
After much struggle, you finally got them off. You see them stunned on the ground, and start beating them aggressively with the wood in your hands, feeling warm blood coat your face and some of your skin as you beat the creatures to death.
Adrenaline numbed out the pain in your back from where the bats were feasting, but it wouldn't last for long. You knew you would have to patch up your wounds before they became infected.
Once you were satisfied with the state the now dead bats were in, you wiped your cheek and turned to the others, wooden plank placed over your shoulder just to see Steve beating the ever living daylights out of the bat that was choking him.
He was flinging the lifeless bat over his shoulder like a rag doll, only stopping when he finally felt the fatigue wash over him. He finally let go of the bat, throwing his head back and letting blood trickle from his mouth. You couldn't deny that he looked undeniably hot right now. With his topless fit upper body, even with the dirt, grime, and blood coating his perfectly tan body, he still looked perfect in every way. His hair was still very perfect as well. You wanted to go over to him and take him right then and there-
Shut up, me.
"Steve!" Nancy calls, immediately rushing over to him. You bite your lip, averting your eyes from the two and going over to Robin. "Jesus H. Christ!" Eddie exclaims, throwing his oar onto the ground with a weird 'hmph'ing sound.
"You okay?" You ask her, as you can see her wide and terrified expression, eyes flashing over to see Nancy leaning down to check Steve's wounds on his stomach occasionally.
"You're asking me if Im okay??? Jesus, Y/n, you're the one who was attacked not me! Here, let me see your back." She says in response, turning you around sharply and taking a look at your back.
"I have a tank top under this, if it would make things easier?" You suggest, to which she nods. You take your hoodie over your head and wrap the sleeves around your waist, leaving you only in a tight white tank top and newly ripped jeans.
Robin winces at the sight, and that only makes you slightly nervous. "Uh, guys? Do you think these bats have, like, rabies??" She asks suddenly, backing off from her investigation and turning to the others. You raise an eyebrow and look back to Robin. "No? I seriously doubt these inter dimensional bats have rabies." You respond, only calming her down slightly.
"Why would you even think about that right now??" Steve asks her, making you turn to him. Him and Nancy were inches away from each other, their bodies almost touching. You knew you shouldn't, but you can't help but feel a familiar pit in your stomach.
"Well, rabies are, like, my number one greatest fear and I think we should get both of you," She waves her pointer finger around to you and Steve, "to a doctor soon because once the symptoms set in, it's too late! You're already dead!"
"Okaaay... Good to know but I think we're fine." You state, a large screech cutting you off curtly. You turn around sharply to see a giant hoard of those creatures flying in your direction. You and Robin immediately look to each other before running over to the others. Your back was screaming in agony, the bleeding was still not slowing down due to not having any pressure on it, and you wince. Eddie turns to you with a concerned expression.
"I'm fine." You lie, turning back to the scene in front of you. It doesn't look like he believed you but he let it go, as you had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment.
You watch as four or five bats fly up to the gate entrance. It looked like they were standing guard. "All right. There's not that many. We can take 'em... Right?" Steve says from the front. You see how battered he looked, the skin around his neck looking extremely painful and irritated. You couldn't see his stomach from the angle you were at, but you had a feeling it had to be much worse than yours.
Just then, there was a sound of a swarm chittering in the distance, getting closer by the second. The red lightning that flashed occasionally lit up the hundreds upon hundreds of bats there were that were littered throughout the dark, cloudy sky.
"You were saying?" Robin says sarcastically. You turn around immediately and spot the woods, getting an idea. "The woods. Come on guys!" You say, pointing to the many trees located behind you, making sure everyone got in front of you so you could take the rear.
"Great. More running." Robin complains, side eyeing you before taking off as well. You carefully run and step over the many vines and branches that were scattered on the ground, trying not to step on one as it may alert Vecna.
You eventually find the Upside Downs version of Skull Rock, which was characteristically dark and depressing just like everything else in this dimension. You all were hunkered down under the large bolder, taking a breather before you tried to plan your next course of action.
You could hear Eddie and Robins sharp breathing from either side of you, and close your eyes in attempt to calm your own. Your back was in so much pain now that the adrenaline rush was over, but you tried not to show it. You would take care of it when everyone was safe back in the Rightside Up. You smile slightly at your naming abilities before opening your eyes as you hear Robin shift from beside you. It sounded like the bats screeching was somewhat past where you were hiding, but it would be illogical to try and exit through the gate again. You needed to think of another plan.
"That was close." Robin says, slowly getting out from under the rock. "Too close." Eddie says from behind you. "Way way way too close." You agree, stepping out and sticking your hand out to help everyone else as well.
It was then that you heard a thump against the rock, and look over Nancy's shoulder to see Steve rested against it, his forehead covered in sweat. "Steve???" You say in a concerned voice, making your way over to him but stopping yourself as you see Nancy doing the same thing. Your heart screamed at you to check if he was okay, to clean and seal his wounds as you knew how but for some reason didn't. You bite your lip, tears forming in your eyes as everything crashed down onto you.
Your head was starting to feel a bit light as well. You needed to sit down... And that's exactly what you did, but wince as soon as you do. The rock hard surface of the bolder wasn't the ideal place to rest your wounded back. Maybe Robin was right. Maybe those bats did have rabies.
You close your eyes, hands going up to them and dragging them slowly down your face. You were on the verge of another anxiety attack. You hated this. You hated how weak you were. You hated them. You think, turning over to see Nancy dressing Steve's wounds instead of you. It should've been you.
But... Maybe it shouldn't have. Maybe Nancy would be better for Steve. Maybe you didn't deserve him. Maybe it would be better if you just didn't exist. You wouldn't be able to hurt him. You wouldn't be able to hurt anyone ever again. The thought sounded nice to you. You not existing would bring you out of this horrible place and situation you somehow always found yourself in.
"Y/n?" A voice calls you out of your trance. "You... okay?" You look over to the voice that belonged to Eddie, smiling a horribly fake one. "Fine." You reply.
"No... You're crying." He says, pointing to his own cheeks. You put a hand up to your cheek, feeling the soft but wet texture coming from it. "Oh." Is all you say, bringing your hand from your face and back down to your lap. You didn't feel the bat bites anymore. Just the pain of your heart breaking in two. You didn't know why you were like this.
"Do you... Wanna talk about it?" He asks awkwardly, stiffly sitting down next to you. "I may not be good at giving advice... But Im a damn good listener." He states. You don't respond, only looking back over to the others who were surrounding Steve. Eddie notices your line of sight and nods slowly.
"Oh." Is all he says. "I see." He runs a hand through his messy hair, successfully messing up his black bandana. "Just go talk to him. I don't know what's happened between the two of you but... I know that he needs you more than he needs Nancy." He says knowingly.
"But maybe Nancy's better for him. She wouldn't hurt him." You say, voice shaking a bit. "Sorry you have to see me like this. Jesus..." You apologize, turning back to your knees.
"Don't apologize for anything. We all have those moments. I'm definitely one of those people. But, about Nancy... I just don't see that she is. I don't really have a reason to think that, other than my obviously superb intuition from playing D&D so often, but it just seems like the two of you are the better match." He encourages. You let out a sigh.
"Do you ever... Feel like the world would be a better place.... Without you?" You ask softly, barely audible but Eddie hears you. "Seems to happen a lot more these days. Each days feels like that for me. But, I power through. I'm not taking the easy way out. I still need to get my diploma and show everyone that I'm not the weird, stupid freak everyone labels me to be." He says, a small smile making its way onto his face as he thinks about graduation.
"You're not." You state, looking over to him with a soft smile. "Neither are you. The world wouldn't be better off without you. We can do this together." He says encouragingly. You bite your lip again, eyes tearing up again. "Woah woah woah, what's wrong???" You respond by wrapping your arms around him, a small but happy tear making it's way down your cheek.
"Nothing." You respond, smiling into his long, matted hair. You feel Eddie tense up at the sudden physical contact, but relax almost immediately after and wraps his arms around your body as well. You stay like that for a while. Two friends comforting each other. He lets go, turning you around and looking at your back. "Jesus, Y/n... Go see Nancy. You need to do something about that." He says before getting up, handing you his hand to hoist you up as well. You really didn't think it was that bad.
But you go anyways. As soon as you get up, you walk over to Nancy, brushing shoulders with Steve as the two of you pass each other. You knew you had to talk to him like Eddie said. You would. Not now though.
"You got attacked too?" Nancy asks, to which you nod your head sharply. "Yeah... Those suckers got me pretty good apparently." You say, turning around so she could see your back. She winces at the sight. "Yeah they did..." She says, ripping some of her scarf off. "Can you take off your tank top?" She asks. You hesitate, looking over to see no one but Robin still in the cave. You relax a bit before taking it off. You knew neither of them would judge you. It wouldn't be the first time they'd seen you topless, as you'd had many sleepovers together and you were always too lazy and sleepy to change in the bathroom.
You luckily wore a sports bra, so you still weren't showing much. Steve was outside the rock, leaning against the stone carefully. Nancy immediately gets to work, wrapping a piece of her scarf around your shoulder, another one down the center of your stomach, and one more across your shoulder blade. You could see Steve sneaking glances at you, but pretended not to notice. Though, the action did make a small shimmer of hope glow through your heart. "There's a bit more bites, but I'm running out of material... We'll get you fully dressed when we get back home." Nancy says, patting your unharmed shoulder before walking out, you and Robin following close behind.
"So uh... This place is like Hawkins, but with monsters and nasty shit?" Eddie asks as soon as you got out. He was at the top of one of the many tree trunks, looking down at you all. "Pretty much." Nancy says, going next to Steve and guiding his arm around her shoulder to help him walk. All possible feelings of hope were gone in that moment.
You look back up to Eddie to see him start to walk back down. "Wait, watch out for the vines. It's all a hive mind." You state, going next to the tree to help him down once he was close enough. "It's all a what?" He questions.
"A hive mind. Essentially, all the creatures down here are connected through their minds. Means if you step on a vine, then you're stepping on a bat, and you're stepping on Vecna. So... Just try not to step on one." You say, Eddie nodding at your adequate explanation.
"Shit." He states, now descending down the trunk slower and more carefully. You stick your hand out once he was close enough, and he grabs it, letting you help him down onto safe, level ground. "Thanks."
"No problem."
"But everything from our world is still here, right? Except people, obviously?" Robin asks from the entrance of the cave. "As far as I understand it, yeah." Nancy responds. "So, theoretically, we could go to the police station and steal guns, and grenades, and whatever we need to blow up those bat things that are guarding the gate!" Robin suggests, making you raise your eye brow. "Not a bad idea." You concur.
"Yeah, I highly doubt the Hawkins PD has grenades, Robin."
"But they would have guns." You defend, giving challenging eyes to Steve to which he rolls his eyes. Great to see he was still being an asshole. Loved to see it. "Well we don't have to go all the way downtown for guns. I have guns in my bedroom." You slowly nod your head. You forgot Nancy had guns.
"You. Nancy Wheeler. Have guns, plural... In your bedroom?" Eddie asks, almost not believing what he was hearing. "Full of surprises, isn't she?" Nancy ignores Robin, answering Eddie's question instead.
"A Russian Makarov and a revolver." She states. "Yeah, you almost shot me with that one..." Steve responds. "You almost deserved it." She says slyly back. Their flirting made you sick to your stomach. But you didn't have the guts to break them up.
Eddie thankfully recognizes your obvious discomfort and throws his jean jacket forcefully at Steve's chest, who catches it and doubles back a bit.
"For your modesty, dude." Eddie states. There was a moment of silence before suddenly the earth started shaking violently, knocking you back into Eddie's chest. Robin runs over to you, and you take her into your arms, the three of you collapsing to the ground at the uneven weight.
Eddies arms were wrapped around you tightly, the two of you panting loudly at being caught off guard by the sudden earth quake. You could smell the scent of his masculine cologne and feel his deep breathing blowing on your hair. You had your arms wrapped firmly around Robin, feeling her racing heart.
You stay like that for a while, hearing multiple pained screeches coming from the distance. "Yeah so guns seem like a pretty good idea to me." Eddie says shakily finally. "I agree." You breath out, still slightly panicked.
You let go of Robin, taking her outstretched helping hand and standing up. "So what are we waiting for?" Steve asks, turning on his flashlight before walking deeper into the forest. You follow slightly behind, wanting to keep a fair distance from him and Nancy.
———
It felt like you had been walking four hours, but it couldn't have been more than 30 minutes. Steve and Eddie had fallen back behind you, Nancy, and Robin, both talking amongst themselves. You desperately wanted to eavesdrop but you knew that was rude... That had never stopped you before though.
"Couldn't we have tried a road, or something just slightly less creepy?" Robin asks, making hand gestures at the railroad track you were currently walking on as to get back to the Wheelers 'house'.
"I think we're getting close. We're almost out of here, don't worry." Nancy assures her. "Nancy-" She turns to you with a questioning gaze. "Do you... Do you like Steve?" You ask, carefully wording your sentence. She scoffs. "Of course not. Im still dating Jonathan." She states, ending the topic abruptly. You were tempted to say she liked Jonathan when she and Steve were dating, but held your tongue. You didn't wanna start drama when there were much more important matters at hand.
You sigh, everyone going quiet except for the loud thunderclaps and spontaneous screeching coming from the demobats and whatever else monsters lay in here. You hear your name being said in the conversation a few feet behind you, and linger back a bit as to eaves drop to the conversation. Screw it being rude.
"But Henderson, right there? She didn't waste a second. Not even one second, Harrington. She just dove right in as soon as she realized you were in danger. Now, I don't know what happened between you two, but if I were you? With a sweet girl who has looks like like that? I would get her back. 'Cause that was as unambiguous a sign of true love as these cynical eyes have ever seen."
You blush at his kind words. But it didn't last long, as the ground began to shake violently yet again, making you lose your footing and fall straight to the ground again, only the trunk of a small tree keeping you stable.
You look up immediately when you hear Nancy's name being called. She was running away from the group. You sigh, getting back onto your feet before running after her. "Nancy! Stop, it isn't safe!" You yell, gaining on her.
"Nancy, what the hell???" You say, out of breath from running so fast. What you see her staring at was definitely a valid reason for her running from the group.
Her house. Abandoned and dilapidated in the middle of nowhere, none of the familiar surrounding houses around it.
You take the lead and start walking towards the creepy house, the others following close behind. You look around at your surroundings to see a broken down power line and just... Trees. A field of nothingness. It made you feel quite uncomfortable to say the least.
It felt almost post apocalyptic.
You shake your head, trudging further towards the upcoming door. You finally get to the white door, vines scattered among it and look behind you to see everyone else waiting for you to do something.
You sigh before opening it cautiously with a loud creek. It was unlocked. You step in, carefully avoiding the various vines scattered throughout it before looking back and letting Nancy take the lead.
You linger back once more to let Steve get in front as well, as he was the only source of light at the moment with his bright flashlight.
"Might be time to get a maid, Wheeler." Robin comments, breaking the silence, seeing the weird dust particles floating around as well as the black vines.
"Come on. I don't want to stay here longer than we have to." Nancy states, starting for the stairs and not waiting to see if the rest of you were following.
You go up next after seeing Steve hesitate slightly. You hated it when people walked slower than you. You make it to the top, seeing Nancy's open door and follow her in. She had her white box that used to have shoes in it on her dresser. You go up next to her and watch as she opens it to find yellow paper, and those same shoes wrapped beneath them.
"Those aren't guns." Eddie states the obvious. "I mean, these heels are a bit pointy but I was hoping for a deadly projectile." Robin comments. "Should we go check the police station?? Or my house, we have some weapons in the shed." You state, remembering your beloved axe.
"Wait... I don't understand." Nancy says, cutting off your train of thought. "Well, maybe you left them somewhere else?" Eddie suggests, making Nancy shake her head.
"There's a six year old in the house, I know where I keep my guns. And also, I threw these away years ago..." She says before looking down at the desk. You follow her train of sight to see flashcards from your chemistry class and gasp. She picks them up, starting to flick through them.
"I get that grades are important to you, but perhaps studying can wait till we get out?"
"These are from sophomore chemistry." She says before pointing to her wall. "And this! This is old wallpaper... And this mirror, this went to a yard sale. And... You." She says, going over to her bed and picking up a plush rabbit that was laying innocently on her bed. "You're not supposed to be here. No. I gave you to cousin Joanna two years ago." She says, holding it up to her face before placing it back down and going to her bedside table to pick her diary up.
She goes to the latest entry, staring in silence. "What is it?" Eddie asks, walking closer to her. "Nancy? You're freaking me out..." Robin says as well.
"I think... The reason that my guns aren't here... Is because they don't exist yet." She says finally. "They don't... Exist??" Eddie asks. Nancy shakes her head before turning around to face you all, diary in hand. "This diary should be full of entries... It's not, last entry is November 6, 1983."
"The day Will went missing." You say in realization. "The day the gate opened." She says, nodding to your statement. "We're in the past!" She says, making you think of Back To The Future. You all look to each other with concerned eyes, wondering what this meant.
Why is Hawkins stuck in the past? Is it just because that was the day El opened the gate? Or is there something else to it...
"Dustin!!! Dustin!" You hear Steve yelling from downstairs, interrupting your thoughts. You look to Robin before tearing out of the room and down the stairs, going back to the living room where Steve was yelling into the walls.
"Dustin!!! Can you hear me?! Dustin!!!" He says, circling the room with his flashlight. He looked insane. "Du-Hello?! Hel... Hello?!?!" You were slightly concerned.
"Maybe he really does have rabies.." Robin murmurs over to you. "Steve, what are you doing??" You ask, making him turn to you and blind you all with his bright flashlight.
"He's here... Your brother, Henderson... That little shit, he's here. He's like... He's in the walls or something. Just listen." He says, putting a finger up to his ear. You shake your head before putting a hand up to his forehead.
"Huh... Feels normal." You say, taking it off before wiping the sweat off onto your jeans. "Dustin. Dustin! Dustin!" He says, ignoring your statement entirely. Did rabies come with a fever?
"Can you hear me?!" You sigh before looking over to Nancy, who was standing in silence, listening it appeared.
"To the question you first raised..." You finally hear, a bit warbled but still comprehendable. You raise your eyebrows to Steve. "Hah!!! Told you!" Steve yells loudly. Nancy hushes him, still trying to listen.
"How and why is there a gate... Lovers Lake? Analyze... What... Eleven and Vecna have... common?"
"Dustin!" Nancy shouts. "Dustin?!" You say as well, searching where he was in the real world. There had to be a way to contact him, there had to be.
Now everyone was calling his name now, trying to get his attention. "Guys, this obviously isn't working..." You say finally.
"Either this kid can't hear us or he's being a total douchebag." Steve agrees before sighing. "The lights..." You say in realization. "Pardon?" He asks, turning around to face you. You turn your head as to not look at him, instead looking to Robin who had a confused expression.
"Will found a way to speak to Joyce through the lights..." You say, looking around the house before finding what you were looking for. Light switch.
You hurry over to the switch next to the stairs, flicking it on and off but to no avail. "Try the switch?" Steve suggests from behind you, pointing to the lamp. At least he's talking to me again. You think, a frown still on your face.
You pull the string, trying to get it to light up but again to no response. You walk over to the switch on the wall again, flicking it and turning back to the chandelier.
"Wait, stop." Steve says finally, putting a hand on your shoulder and pointing over to the chandelier with his flashlight. You bite your lip before shifting away from his touch, bringing your hand off the wall and draw your eyes to the light.
You could still hear Dustin's occasional warbled voice as you stare with wide eyes at the chandelier. "You seeing this?" He asks, your only response is walking over to the light.
It was glowing a beautiful orange color, small sparkles surrounding it. You really wanted to touch it... It fortunately wasn't far from the ground, so you subconsciously reach up, putting your hand through the glittery barrier. It felt ethereal, like you were in a fairy tale.
You wiggle your fingers, eyes admiring the sight of the sparkles following your fingers as you do so. It felt warm and inviting on your cold hand, tingling just a tad. You drag your hand back and forth, a small smile making its way onto your face.
You could hear the others awe at the situation, all of them making their way over to you. Steve takes a stand next to you, making you take in a sharp breath as you wave your hand gracefully back and forth, urging the others to do the same.
Steve gasps in amazement at the feeling and sight of the sparkly particles surrounding the now brightly lit lamp. "It... Tickles." He comments. "It... Kind feels good." Robin agrees. Nancy suddenly takes her hand out of the light, looking down at it.
"Does anyone know Morse code?" She asks, making your eyes light up. You knew it decently well, as you had committed one of your many summers with Dustin just after the Mind Flayer incident to learning it together. Many fond memories, but Eddie speaks up before you do.
"Does SOS count?" He asks from the side of you, making Nancy turn to him. "Is that... Is that good?" He asks, looking down to you before turning to Nancy. "It'll work." You say, shrugging your shoulders. Nancy nods to your encouragement, letting Eddie get closer.
He taps the light three times quickly, pausing a bit before doing the O, flicking the light more slowly before doing it three times more quickly to make the last S. This continues for a while, and you hear the distorted talking from your brother stop.
"It's working." Robin comments, smiling over to you. It takes a minute before you hear Dustin's voice again.
"Remember... I said, wouldn't be stupid enough... Go through watergate? Overestimated them." You roll your eyes at your brothers ego. "That's all I know." Eddie says finally, withdrawing his hand from the lamp.
"I know some." You say, trying not to sound too prideful. Eddie raises his eyebrows before bowing to you, waving his hand around in a circular motion tho take his spot. "Then I give you my place." He says in an English accent, making you snicker before going back up to the light.
"S...T-U..-C-.-.K-.-" You say, murmuring the words as you go along, trying to recall your morse code alphabet.
"We know... Dumbasses. Sister?" He asks, to which you respond. "Y-.- -E.S..." Rolling your eyes at his annoying mannerisms.
"Has to be... Easier way... Communicate." He states, making you nod your head. Nancy's eyes brighten up considerably as an idea sparked into her head. She taped your shoulder, making you look over to her.
"W.- -A.-I..T-" You say, turning to Nancy. "What?" You ask. "My sister... She should have her Lite Brite." She says, making your eyes light up. Immediately getting what she was suggesting.
"L.-..O- - -N-.G- -.
S...E.N-.T-A.-N-.C-.-.E." You warn him before continuing. "Kay... Take long as you... need." Dustin responds. "Listening." He finishes, encouraging you to go.
"H....O- - -L.-..L.-..Y-.- -
H....A.-S...
A-
L.-..I..T-E.
B-...R.-.I..T-E.
U..-P.- -.S...T-A.-I..R.-.S...
T-H....A-.T-
W.- -E.
C-.-.A.-N-.
U..-S...E.
T-O- - -
C-.-.O- - -M- -M- -U..-N-.I..C-.-.A.-T-E. M- -E.E.T-
I..N-.
N-.A.-N-.C-.-.Y-.- -S...
R-.O- - -O- - -M- -
W.- -E.
W.- -I..L.-..L.-..
H....E.A.-R-.
Y-.-O- - -U..-
A.-N-.D-..
B-...E.
T-H....E.R-.E." You finish finally, drawing your hand away and listening to his response.
"Didn't get all... It. Repeat." You deadpan to the light. You really didn't wanna do all of that again. "Kidding. Meet you then." He says before going MIA. You turn to the others who were staring at you in amazement. "What??" You ask, to which Steve shakes his head, laughing lightly.
"Seems like you know everything, Y/n." Robin states. "Come on guys, we can't just stand here in awe we need to go find that Lite Brite." Nancy says, taking the lead up the stairs and into her little sisters room.
You all start searching immediately, looking in every box imaginable before-
"Found it!" Robin exclaims, holding the device above her head. You smile over to her. "Great. Let's go to Nancy's room. Hopefully the others have found their version of it as well." You say, making your way over to Nancy's room. Robin places the Lite Brite gently onto the bed.
You didn't know if you had to do this, but you did so anyways and plugged it into the nearest outlet before sitting down next to her, all of you getting comfortable before you finally heard Dustin's familiar voice.
"Here." He announces finally. You smile slightly, looking to Eddie who was on your left in happiness. He smirks back before looking back at the device intently. "This better work, Wheeler." He says.
"It should." She responds from your right. "Come on come on..." Eddie says after a few more moments of silence. Finally, you see the box light up just like the chandelier did and smile.
"Seeing this??" Dustin asks, making you nod your head and put your hand over the box to make it hopefully light up on the other side. "Holy shit!!!" You hear Erica say from the other line. You weren't surprised at all at how she managed to weasel the plan out from the boys.
You hear Dustin's laugh echoing throughout the small box, and laugh with them in giddiness. You were about to get out of here. You would be free.
"We're not moving it! We're gonna unplug it. Stand by." He says, the words much clearer now that you were closer to his being. "Try it now!" He says after a few more seconds.
"Okay." You say, smiling from ear to ear as you spell out the words. "hi dipshit." You were childish and you knew it. "Ohhh wow, I'm so utterly offended by such profanity's!" Dustin says sarcastically, making you giggle. You missed him.
"But that worked! Hi!" He says back, making you all laugh in relief. "Yes! Yes! Hi!" Eddie says aggressively at the thing, making you snort in amusement.
"how to get back?" You ask, the kids guessing at what you were spelling as you went which made you smile. "You can't get back through watergate??" He asks, making you shake your head. "The hells watergate?" Steve asks, turning over to Nancy. "Cause it's in water and it's a gate?" You say, stating the obvious and rolling your eyes. "Oh, that's cute." He says.
"no. guarded." You spell out. "Okay. Watergates guarded." He says, making Eddie clap his hands. "Perfect! Yes!" Steve encourages. "We think we have a theory that can help with that!"
"Genius child..." Robin says. "No, don't tell him that. His egos as big enough as it is." You state. "We think watergate isn't the only gate! That there's a gate at every murder site!" He says, making you nod your head in understanding.
"Does... Anybody understand what he's talking about?" Nancy asks. "Means exactly what he said. Every time someone dies, they open a gate where it happened. For example, that one jock that died at the lake opened up watergate. I'll bet you anything there's bound to be another one at Eddie's." You elaborate to the others, to which they nod in understanding.
"Okay, so how far is your trailer?" Nancy asks Eddie, leaning over to catch his gaze. "7 miles." He answers. "Nancy? I know your house here is, like, weirdly, creepily frozen in time and shit, but haven't you always had bikes?" Robin asks, making Nancy gape in understanding.
"meet you at gate at eddie's." You say to the box. "See you then." Dustin replies before going radio silent again. You smile, turning to Nancy. "Better go fast then." You say with a newfound sense of hope.
Nancy nods, standing up before walking out the room and down the stairs, leaving you to follow her. You all follow her down into the garage. Guess past you had stayed the night or something, as there was your bike right there on the rack where you would've left it.
You smile at the many nostalgic thoughts rushing through your mind as you get onto the bike. You feel the nicely padded handles, and look over to the others to see if they were ready. They weren't, adjusting the sizes of the bikes before Steve goes to open the garage door.
You take the lead, immediately going out of the door and into the toxic air. Your hair still blew around your face as always. You felt so alive and free, despite being minutes away from possible death at any given moment.
You try to remember where you were going as you bike down the flat road, a few flickering street lights passing by every few minutes with an occasional bat sitting atop of them.
You notice something at about the halfway mark. Eddie was now in front of you, as you lost where you were going. You look to the side at the sound of thunder and bright flashes of lighting, the occasional shrieks of those bats. You see the Creel house in all its glory and get a shiver down your spine at the fact that Vecna was only a few minutes away. You shake your head before pedaling faster.
It didn't take long for your group to finally get to the trailer park. You park the bike on the side of the road, carefully getting off and rubbing your sore thighs. You hadn't biked in forever it seemed.
"That's gotta be a Guinness World Record for most miles traveled interdimensionally." Robin comments as you follow Eddie up to his house door. "Just inhaled a bunch of that crap." Steve says, letting out a raspy cough. "It's stuck in my throat." He finishes, making you slightly concerned. But you shake off your worries, knowing it wouldn't be lethal due to the group having not been there for more than 24 hours.
You enter the house, following Eddie before coming to a stop at the sight of the gate. "Goddamn." Steve says just what you were thinking. "This is where Chrissy died... Like, right where she died." Eddie says, looking down at the traumatic memory. You give him concerned eyes and put a hand on his shoulder. He smiles awkwardly at you before looking back up at the gate.
"I think there's something in there..." Robin says suddenly, watching as something pushed through the spot. "What the hell is that???" Eddie asks. "Nothing good..." You guess.
It stayed still for awhile before it bursted, a slimy substance coating the ground. You all double back and scream at the noise. You all look to each other. It all finally stops, and you take a step towards the portentously danger.
Steve's arm stops you. He steps in front of you, taking the lead as you make an annoyed 'tsk' sound.
"No way..." He says in awe, staring up through the gaping hole in the ceiling. You look up as well, seeing Dustin, Lucas, Erica, and Max all on the other side, Upside Down and laughing. Dustin waves to you. "Hi there!" He says joyfully, to which you return. "Hi!" You say back, the others a bit hesitant. "Holy shit this is trippy..." Robin comments, a smile working its way onto her face.
"Badda badda boom!" Dustin yells triumphantly. "Okay, now the problem is, how do we get out of here??" You ask. "I have blankets in the closet just over there. If Dustin can tie them together... Maybe that would work??" Eddie suggests, making you consider the good plan.
"You get all that Dusty?!" You ask. "Already on it!" He states, going over to the closet before getting the blankets that he was talking about. "We're gonna need something soft to fall onto as well... Eddie, can we use your mattress?" You ask him, to which he hesitates before nodding.
"Uh... Yeah, sure, why not?" You look up to Lucas and Max. "Okay, you two go work on that." You say to them, to which they both nod, going into his room.
It takes a while, but eventually they haul the queen sized bed into the living room, plopping it onto the ground just below... or was it above?? Where you would land.
You see some questionable stains, but you dare not ask. "Those stains are, uh..." He looks over to you before looking back down. "I dunno what those stains are..."
"Lovely." You say sarcastically, sighing. You see Dustin and Erica come into sight moments later carrying a stack of blankets and towels all tied together.
"Not quite sure how these physics work but uh... Here goes nothing." And with that, Dustin tosses the makeshift rope up and through the gate, which falls down onto the ground at your feet.
"There we go." He says, pulling on it slightly. "And if our theory is correct..." He let's go to see that the rope was unchanged. "Huh. Abracadabra."
"Holy shit!" Max replies. "All right, pull on it! See if it holds!" Robin decides to be the guinea pig and tugs on the rope with all her body weight, laughing happily when she sees that it didn't move even and inch. Dustin laughs in victory.
"This is the craziest shit I've seen in my life, and I've seen some crazy shit." Erica comments. "Guess I'm the guinea pig." Robin says. "You don't have to be, I can go?" You ask, to which she shakes her head. "No no, I got this." She says confidently, to which you smile.
She jumps up the rope, climbing it before finally getting to the top and falling through onto the mattress with a hearty 'thud!' She gets up and takes Dustin's hand before Eddie decides to go next.
"Right, guess I'll go. See you there." Eddie says, giving you a light punch on the shoulder before hopping onto the rope and climbing up just as Robin had. He goes through the gate, doing a flip as he goes down before sitting up.
"That! Was fun! Shit!" He says, clasping hands with Dustin and getting up. Steve chuckles before looking to you and Nancy. "I'll go. See you up there, Y/n." Nancy says, smiling gently over to you, which you return before she hops up as well.
You watch cautiously as she climbs the rope and goes through safely just as the others did.
"Doesn't this seem... A bit too easy?" You ask, turning to Steve. "No. Have you seen me? Have you seen yourself??? We both got eaten alive by those bat bastards... Thanks... By the way..." He says hesitantly. "Yeah. No problem." You day back, before saluting to him, taking it upon yourself to be next.
"See you on the other side." You say, quoting yourself from that one day all those years ago.
"See you on the other side, Y/n."
You smile to him slightly before jumping onto the rope, climbing it. You feel your hair starting to go through the portal, and gravity go back to normal as it pulled you down. You let go, and fall back.
Problem was, you didn't stop.
You kept going and going...
Down...
Down.......
And down.........
Into a deep dark abyss until finally-
You landed harshly onto a hard tiled floor. You let out a grunt of pain, using your arms to hoist you up.
I know this tile.... You think to yourself, looking around at the familiar kitchen. Your eyes finally land on someone you never thought you would see again.
You would recognize that hair anywhere.
You would recognize her eyes anywhere.
Her voice.
Her voice, oh how you missed her voice.
Sometimes you cry because you think you'd forgotten how sickly sweet it sounded.
But... She couldn't be here. She couldn't be.
She died 8 years ago.....
"Mom?"
———
hey besties, i'm SO sorry for such the late update like fr. im so busy though, like so freaking busy i hate it 😭
had our first football game though, and we won! go us. we slayed on the baton twirling.
college classes started and i'm so stressed and one act is about to start as well as UIL and winter guard and ahhh so busy
anyways i hope you all are good <3
question of the day: have you started school? if so, how is it? how are you if you haven't?
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