In the basement, El is laying down, Mike is pacing around, you, Dustin, and Lucas are sitting down. "What was Will saying? Like home... Like home... But dark?" -Mike. "And empty" -Lucas. "Empty and cold. Wait, did he say cold?" -Dustin. "Yeah I think so" -You. "I don't know. The stupid radio kept going in and out" -Lucas. "It's like riddles in the dark" -Dustin. "Like home.. Like his house?.." -Mike says, still pacing and repeating his words. "Or maybe like Hawkins." -Lucas. "Upside down" -El. "Huh?" -You. "Upside down." -Mike repeats. "What?" -You. "Upside down." Mike says again, walking over to the flipped DnD board. "When El showed us where Will was, she flipped the board over, remember? Upside down. Dark. Empty" -Mike. "Do you understand what he's talking about?" -Lucas. "No." -Dustin. You look at Mike "I mean, if you think about it. When El took us to find Will, she took us to his house, right?" -You. Mike nods at you, glad you understand. "yeah, and he wasn't there." -Lucas. "But what if he was there. What if we just couldn't see him?" -you. "What if he was on the other side?" He flips the board onto the playing side, "what if this is Hawkins" he flips it back upside down. "And this is where Will is. The upside down" -Mike. "Like the vale of shadows" -Dustin. "Precisely" -You. "Huh?" -Lucas. Dustin pulls put this pamphlet filled with stuff about DnD. He flips to a page that says the Vale of shadows. "The vale of shadows is a dimension that is a dark reflection or echo of our world. It is a place of decay and death. A plane out of phase. A place of monsters. It is right next to you, and you don't even see it." -Dustin reads aloud. "That's scary as sh**. Is anyone else scared as sh**?" -You. "An alternate dimension" -Mike. "But how.. How do we get there?" -Lucas. "you cast shadow walk" -Dustin. "In real life, dummy" -Lucas. "We can't shadow walk, but... Maybe she can." -Dustin. You all turn around and look at El. "do you know how to get there? To the upside down?" -Mike says to her. She slightly shakes her head no. "Oh my god" -Lucas says in annoyance.
You guys sit down for a bit. Dustin leaves first, then Lucas. "I'm gonna go home, cya Mike" -You. "Okay, let me know when you get home, bye" -Mike. You smile at him and walk out of his basement door. As you start to walk to your bike, Mike runs out of his basement and up to you. "Oh, hey Mike did I forget something?" You ask as he's looking straight at you. He looks around the empty neighborhood and grabs your hands. He kisses you for about five seconds. "Stay safe" he turns back around and walks back through his basement door. He leaves you there, stunned and blushing. You start smiling like an idiot while you bike home.
Once you walk in, you assumed your parents weren't home since they weren't for over a week. But you were wrong. You walk through the front door, smiling but it drops once you see your dad in the living room and your mom in the kitchen. It's not like you hate them, well yes you do hate them. You walk in, already knowing something is gonna happen. "Where were you at?" Your dad immediately says. "I was just at my friends house" -you. "What friend?" -Your dad. "Gee, I don't know, the one I've been friends with since 1st grade?" -you. "Don't talk back to me, kid" -Your dad. "yeah whatever" you say as you try to walk over to your room. He grabs you by the shirt and pulls you closer. "I'm not playing with you, boy." -Your dad. Steve walks into the living room and goes straight to you. He pulls your dad's hand off of you and you walk to your room. After about five minutes of them yelling, Steve walks into your room. "Hey, how was your friend's?". You look down and smile "great." "Why? What happened?" -Steve. "Well Harringtons attract Wheelers. Mike kissed me." -You. "Lets go, little dude. You've liked him for so long it was getting embarrassing" -Steve "shut up" -You say smiling. "Well, goodnight. I'll help you get ready for the funeral tomorrow. Sleep well, loser" -Steve. "Okay. Goodnight, weirdo" -You. He closes your door and you lay on your bed. Your eyelids start to get heavy and you drift off to sleep.
When you wake up, you collect yourself and take a shower. You change into your brother's old suit and he fixes a tie around your neck. You're about to bike to Mike's house, because you need a ride there. "Where are you going?" -Your dad says, stepping into the living room. "To a funeral" -You. "Who died?" -Your dad. "Will, one of my best friends since first grade" -You. "Okay" -Your dad leaves the living room and you get to Mike's house. Mike's parents drive you to the funeral and a guy is giving a speech. Dustin nudges you and Lucas and looks at Jennifer Hayes who was crying. "Just wait till we tell Will that Jennifer Hayes was crying at his funeral." -Dustin. Mike's mom shushes him. After the funeral bit, Mike's mom drives you home.
You decide to just lay down until you have to go to this memorial thing. It was weird like an after party for the funeral. You group up with the rest of your friends and find Mr Clark. "Mr Clark?" -Mike. "Oh, hey, there. How are you boys holding up?" -Mr Clark. "We're.. In.. Mourning" -Lucas says, sounding like a robot. "Man, these aren't real nilla wafers" -Dustin. You all look at Dustin. "We were wondering if you had time to talk?" -Mike. "We have some questions." -Lucas. "A lot of questions." -You. You all sit down at a round table and start talking. "So, you know how Cosmos, Carl Sagen talks about other dimensions? Like, beyond our world?" -Mike. "Yeah, sure. Theoretically." -Mr Clark. "Right, theoretically" -Mike. "So, theoretically, how do we travel there?" -Lucas. "You guys have been thinking about Hugh Everett's Many-Worlds interpretation, haven't you? Well basically there are parallel universes. Just like our world, just infinite variations of it. Which means there's a world out there where none of this tragic stuff happened" -Mr Clark. "Yeah, that's not what we're talking about." -Lucas. "Oh." -Mr Clark. "We were thinking of an evil dimension, like the Vale of shadows. You know the Vale of Shadows?" -Dustin. "An echo of the material plane, where and shadow magic-" -Mr Clark. "Yeah, exactly. If that did exist, a place like the Vale of Shadows, how would we travel there?" -Mike. "Theoretically" -You add in. "Well.." -Mr Clark. He grabs a paper plate and holds it up. He grabs a pen and draws a line and a small person. "Picture an acrobat standing on a tightrope. Now, the tightrope is our dimension. And our dimension has rules. We can move towards or backwards. But what if, next to the acrobat is a flea. The flea can also move backwards and fowards." -Mr Clark. "right" everyone agrees. "Well what if the flea can also move... Along the side of the rope" -Mr Clark says, while drawing a line on the side of the rope. "He can even go underneath the rope." -Mr Clark. "Upside down"-everyone says out loud. "Exactly" -Mr Clark. "But we're not the flea, we're the acrobat." -Mike. "In this metaphor, yes we're the acrobat." -Mr Clark. "So we can't go upside down?" -Lucas. "No." -Mr Clark. "Well, is there any way for the acrobat to get to the upside down?" -Dustin. "Well... You'd have to create a massive amount of energy. More than humans are currently capable of, mind you, to open up some kind of tear in time and space." -Mr Clark. "theoretically" -You. "yes, and then.." He grabs the paper plate, folds it in half, and pokes a hole through it using the pen. "You create a doorway." -Mr Clark. "Like a gate?" -Dustin. "Sure. Like a gate. But again, this is all-" -Mr Clark. "Theoretical" -Lucas finishes his sentence. "But.. But what if this gate already existed?" -Mike. "Yeah, how would someone be able to find it?" -You. "Well if it did exist, I think we'd know. It would disrupt gravity, the magnetic field, our environment. Heck, it might even swallow us up." -Mr Clark. You all look at eachother. "Science is neat, but I'm afraid its not very forgiving" -Mr Clark. "Thank you Mr Clark" -You.
You all wait for the event to be over and once it is, you all go to Mike's house. Mike grabs a paper and pen and shows El what Mr Clark showed you. "It would take a lot of energy to create a gate like this. But that's gotta be what happened. Otherwise, how'd Will get there, right?" -Mike says to El, sitting next to her. "right" -El. "What we want to know is, do you know where the gate is?" -Lucas. She shakes her head. "Then how do you know about the upside down?" -Lucas raises his voice. Dustin is walking around the basement with a compass in his hand. "Hey Dustin, buddy. Whatcha doing over there?" -You, talking to him like he went crazy. "Dustin?" -Mike says also looking at him now. "Dustin!" -Lucas. Dustin breaks focus from his compass and looks over at you guys. "I.. I need to see your compasses." -Dustin. "What?" -Mike. "Your compasses. All your compasses right now!" -Dustin. Everyone pulls out their compasses and lays them out on the table. "What's exciting about this?" -Mike. "Well, they're all facing north, right?" -Dustin. "Yeah, so?" -You. "Well that's not true north." -Dustin. "What do you mean?" -Mike. "I mean exactly what I said. That's not true north. Are you guys seriously that dense? The sun rises in the east, and sets in the west, right?" -Dustin. You all nod. "Which means that's true north." -Dustin. "So what you're saying is the compasses are broken." -Mike. "Do you even understand how a compass works? Do you see a battery pack in this?" -Dustin. "No." -Mike. "No, you don't. Because it doesn't need one. The needle is naturally drawn to the earth's magnetic north pole." -Dustin. "So, what's wrong with them?" -Lucas. "Well, that's what I couldn't figure out but then I remembered. You can change the direction of a compass with a magnet. If there's a presence of a more powerful magnetic field, the needle deflects to that power. And then I remembered what Mr Clark said. The gate would have so much power-" -Dustin. "That it would disrupt the electromagnetic field" -You finish his sentence. "Exactly" -Dustin. "Meaning, if we follow the compasses-" -Lucas. "We find the gate." -Mike finishes off. "Then we find Will" -You.
You get everything you need and start to follow the compasses. They lead you to walking on these long train tracks. Dustin is leading you guys, Lucas is next to him. You're beside Mike and El is in the back. You walk up to Lucas and Dustin to hear what they're talking about. "How much further?" -Lucas. "I don't know. They only tell direction not distance. You really need to learn more about compasses." -Dustin. "I'm just saying. How do we know when you get to the gate?" -Lucas. "Uh, I think a portal to another dimension, will be pretty obvious" -Dustin. You walk back to Mike and El- and try to keep your balance so you don't trip on the tracks. El start breathing deep and looking around a lot and you notice, you also notice how close Mike and her are but you don't say anything about that. "hey, El are you okay?" -you. Even though you're jealous of her sometimes, you kind of started to get used to her and grow attached to her. Nevermind, she ignored you and grabbed Mike's arm. "Mike." -El. "Yeah?" -Mike. "Turn back." -El. "What? Why?" -Mike. "Tired" -El. "Look, I'm sure we're almost there, just hang on a little longer, okay?" -Mike. You guys keep walking and end up at some kind of junk yard with old buses. "Oh no" -Dustin. "'Oh no'? What's 'oh no' mean?" -Lucas. "We're headed back home" -Dustin. "What? Are you sure?" -Lucas. "Yeah, I'm sure. Setting sun right there. We're heading back around." -Dustin. "And you're just realizing this now?" -Lucas. "Why is this all on me?" -Dustin. "Because you're the compass genius" -You. "What do yours say?" -Dustin. You all say "North." "Makes no da** sense." -Dustin. "Maybe the gate moved" -Mike. "No, I don't think it's the gate. I think it's something else screwing with the compasses" -Dustin. "Maybe it's something here" -Mike. "No it has to be like a super magnet" -Dustin. "It's not a magnet. She's been acting weirder than normal" -Lucas. "do you think-" -You. "Yes, if she can slam doors with her mind, she can definitely screw with a compass." -Lucas. "Why would she do that?" -Mike. "Because she's trying to sabotage our mission. Because she's a traitor!" -Lucas. He walks towards her. "Lucas, what are you doing?" -Mike. You walk behind Lucas, to see what he's doing. "You did it, didn't you? You don't want us to reach the gate. You don't want us to find Will." -Lucas. "Lucas come on seriously, just leave her alone!" -Mike. "Well, he has a point." -You. "You too?" -Mike. "Admit it." -Lucas. "No." -El. "Admit it!" -Lucas. Lucas grabs her sleeve and looks at it "Fresh blood, I knew it." -Lucas says, putting her arm down. "Lucas, come on!" -Mike. "I saw her wiping her noes on the tracks! She was using her powers!" -Lucas. "Bull! That's old blood, right El?.. Right, El?" -Mike. "It's.. Not.. It's not safe" -El. You and Lucas look at Mike. "What did I tell you? She's been playing us from the beginning!" -Lucas. "That's not true. She helped us find Will." -Mike. "Find Will? Find Will? Where is he, then? Huh? I don't see him." -Lucas. "Yeah, you know what I mean." -Mike. "No, actually I don't. Just think about it Mike, she could've just told us where the upside down was right away, but she didn't. She just made us run around like like headless chickens." -Lucas. "Alright calm down. Both of you" -You.
You try to push them away from eachother, Lucas moves your arm. "No! She used us! She helped just enough, so she can get what she wants, food and a bed. She's like a stray dog." -Lucas. You are standing beside Lucas. "screw you, Lucas!" -Mike "No, screw you Mike. You're blind.. Blind because you like that a girl is not grossed out by you." -you take out your anger of what you've been wanting to tell him for a while. "But wake up, man. Wake the he** up!" -Lucas "She knows where Will is, and now she's just letting him die in the upside down." -You. "Shut up!" -Mike yells at you. "For all we know, it's her fault. " -Lucas. "Shut up." -Mike. "We're looking for some stupid monster, but did you ever stop to think, that maybe she's the monster?" -Lucas. "I said shut up!" -Mike says shoving Lucas to the ground. You pull him off but he just pushes you down too and you both fall. You get on top of him (they're 12, nothing inappropriate.) And everyone is telling you two to stop.
El screams and sends you flying 15 feet into an old bus. "Jesus!" -Dustin. "Lee. Lee! Are you alright?" -Mike. "Lee, come on." -Dustin. "Lee? Lee." -Lucas. "Lee, wake up!" Mike. "Lee, Lee" -Lucas. Mike stands up and turns towards El. "Why would you do that? What's wrong with you? What is wrong with you?" -Mike. You finally wake up and your friends are surrounding you. Speaking at the same time. "God" -You. After that, Lucas leaves angrily. "I'm sorry, Lee" -Mike. "It's okay, sorry for being rude" -You. "No, I shouldn't have pushed you" -Mike. "Okay, you're both sorry. Now where's El?" -Dustin. "El? El!" -Mike. "Eleven!" -Dustin. "El!" -You. "El! Eleven!" -Mike.