"So.. music snaps you out of the trance?" I clarify.
"Nancy and Robin figured it out," Dustin confirms.
"How did you guys figure out my favorite song? Where'd you gringos even find this?" I turn the tape around in my hands.
"I found it in Billy's room when Neil was moving out," Max reveals. "After you two had that fight.. Billy played that song every week or so and just.. was quiet."
"Billy?" I repeat, the name putting me on edge.
Should I tell them what Vecna said?
What if it was just a mind game?
I saw Billy die. I held him as he took his final breaths. There was no way..
"I think he bought it the night you were supposed to go on the date," Max reveals. "I think it was supposed to be a present or something."
Another pain hits.
"I grabbed it from Billy's room before Neil could find it. I had it with my stuff because.. I guess I figured one day I'd have the guts to tell you about it."
I clutch the tape in both hands and rest my head on my hands.
"My dad used to sing it to my mom," I reveal. "Back in Mexico. It was the first song I learned how to sing."
"I listened to mine after Billy.. I thought about how he made that deal- the Mind Flayer not allowed to kill me," Max reveals. "Kate Bush has cameras in my head or something because it's a little too personal."
I mentally curse to myself.
I had to know.
"Drop me off at the store. I'll take my car from here," I tell Steve.
"What?"
"We can't keep trading off the Walkman. I'll run and buy a spare. No biggie," I lie.
"You're not going alone," Steve denies.
"I'll play the tape the whole ride there, buy a Walkman, and start playing it immediately. I'll be fine. You need to regroup anyway. Plus, Eddie probably needs a hand."
"Are you sure?" Max asks.
I kiss her head gently. "I promise, Max. Just keep blaring Kate Bush and I'll be back before you know it."
--
Freddy Fender continues playing through the headphones around my neck as I put my gun in the waistband of my jeans.
I check the area before jogging over to Eddie's trailer. Then, I see the gate.
It was further open than the last time I was here. Like the gate was trying to open more on its own.
I try to not think about it, but it was impossible. This was another world. Another Hawkins. Another dimension.
This was the shit people dreamed about after long nights of conspiracy theory talks. This wasn't real. And yet, here I was, staring at the gate and readying myself to go through.
I push the thoughts away. I play pretend. This wasn't another dimension, it was just.. a door to another room. Yeah. Another room.
A big room that looked almost exactly like the world I knew. Scary. Monsters.
No. I shake my head clear of the thoughts. I can do this.
Billy could be there. Vecna may have told the truth. If Billy was there.. I had to know.
I climb onto the couch. With steady hands, I tie my hair back in a ponytail and gran onto the edge of the hole. My feet find the back of the couch and I pull myself up by my arms.
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.
Just.. nothing.
I leave the area again and head on the road.
It was uncomfortable, to say the least, to be the only person around. The only living thing still here. In a weird way, I didn't feel that. The entire Upside Down was alive in its own way.
If I was a demonic son of a bitch who curses people and taunts them with trauma.. where would I go?
Vecna.. everything had a start, right?
Where was Vecna's beginning? Where was his place to hide?
After a little while longer, I realize where I was.
"Brimborn.." I whisper.
The source.
This was the place Billy was taken over by the Mind Flayer.
The place El used Billy and I's bond as a bridge.
Before I knew it, my feet were running.
I hadn't even told myself to go. I just.. ran.
"Billy!" I scream, kicking the door.
The door barely budges. I slam my feet and shoulder into it.
"Billy! Are you in there?" I shout.
The door wasn't moving. I curse under my breath and take my bag off, setting it on the ground.
"Racquel.."
"Oh, shit," I panic.
Vecna.
My hands grapple at the Walkman. I push for it to rewind and continue kicking at the door.
"You come into my world.. it is only fair that I speak your language," Vecna says, getting closer.
"Piss off, you uncircumcised dick!" I scream, throwing a rock in the direction I heard him.
Why now?
I had been in the Upside Down for hours.. why did Vecna only appear now?
He must've known I've been in here for a while. Yet, he only called me out when I made it here?
My mind screams Billy's name.
I take a few steps back then, charge at the door, bashing my foot against it.
"Come on!" I complain.
I grab the knob and thrash around.
The tape clicks, finished rewinding. My hand slams on the Walkman and I go to press the play button.
"Mija.."
My body goes frigid. Stiff. I couldn't even push play.
"Mija.."
Slowly, I turn. The gravel stirs under my shoes. The Upside Down air grows more tense and cold.
"Javie.." I gasp.
Javier takes a step closer, but stops.
He was still wearing the outfit I'd last seen him in. Bullet holes scattered across his body, blood stained his body like a tattoo.
"Did your arm heal?" he asks.
My insides tremble wildly. My jaw locks. I couldn't breathe.
"Because.. I don't think my wounds will heal as quickly," he continues.
Flashes in my head of that night play.
The screaming. The fighting. The gunfire.
"Primo, I.. I didn't.." I gasp out.
"You didn't.. what? Cause this?" he motions to his chest.
My bottom lip shakes.
"Because you know that's a lie. Mierda.. you may as well have shot me yourself."
"No.. no, no.." I whimper. "I didn't.. I didn't know it would.."
"You did. And you didn't care. You were just.." he takes another step closer. "Just.. bloodthirsty?"
"No! I mean.. Nessa," I cry. "He.. What he did to Vanessa.."
"So because Nessa offed herself.. the rest of us had to die?"
My chest shakes as I gasp out a sob. I pull my hands to my hair and shake my head.
"You know what I think?" Javie asks. "I think.. you did that and you wanted them to come after you."
He takes another step. I have enough wits about me to inch backward. But, the door was still shut behind me.
The door.
My surroundings seep into my reality again.
This.. this wasn't real.
Javier wasn't here.
This was Vecna.
"You tried to do it yourself, but you were too weak. So, when shit gets tough, you try to provoke people and things so they will put you out of your misery," Javier speaks.
Get it together, Racquel.
This wasn't real. This was Vecna. This was a trap.
He was playing mind games with your weakest point.
"What if I told you that I could end that pain, Mija?" he asks.
"No.." I deny, pinching my leg. "No.. you're not.. you're not real."
"Your pain is real," he reminds.
Javier gets even closer. If I reached out, I could touch him.
No.
He wasn't real.
Vecna.
This is Vecna.
How do I stop him again?
I reach for the Walkman. Javier's hand snaps out, grabbing my wrist.
"Let go!" I demand, shoving at his chest.
Javier slams my back into the door. To my surprise, through the pain, I notice that it moved.
I wasn't strong enough to shove the door open.. But, Vecna was.
If I could just..
I kick at Javier's stomach. He bends down, releasing me as he groans.
Then, when he raises back up, Javier is gone. Vecna was here in full.
A worry hits me as I lean my back against the door.
The music helped Max and I out of the trance.. I wasn't in a trance. I was in the Upside Down. I was practically in Vecna's backyard.
Would the music even work?
Vecna stands up straight.
I pull the headphones off from around my head. and let the Walkman fal to the ground.
"Come at me, puta," I challenge.
Vecna hisses and growls low. I ease my hand to my gun. Then, Vecna charges at me.