A/N second ending starting from the end of chapter 13
A glow that felt like home reached within them, sending pleasant shivers: an ice cream thrill. The sweetest song. Tears of a beautiful story. Rainy sunsets and soft blankets. Hot pavements and sweet nectar. The beginning of trying. The end of running.
She whips her head to look at him, and finally, after many tries, they're here. They were home.
As she walked through the glow, his hands slipped from hers. She tries to reach for him, but he becomes so far from her. Horror wells up. No! Not again. She can't lose him. As the light tugs at her: she can only see his resigned face. His sad brown eyes. Him becoming far away.
When she woke up from her coma. The doctors say she suffers from cognitive abilities. Rambling about lights and video games. But it was not a matter for long. Death came for Hawkins. It came for Indiana until it disappeared like a freak storm. It was swept away, and everyone forgot. Ghost towns. Just like any other in the Rust Belt. Industries fall, businesses fail, and environmental disasters happen. People moved on.
But some urban legends say the Arcade in Hawkins, Indiana: operates. The lights glow, and a faint sound of music lingers. A sole machine runs. The game is a basic dungeon crawler. The only avatar available is an archer, but he seldom follows orders. Ignoring the monsters and running in the darkness.