"Should I stay or should I go?"
Four boys were grouped around a large table in the unusually large basement of the Wheeler's house. The four boys were playing a game of Dungeons and Dragons and had been for at least 10 hours.
"Something is coming, something hungry for blood." The dungeon master, Mike Wheeler, began, narrating the game. "A shadow grows on the wall behind you, swallowing you in darkness. It is almost here."
"What is it?" Will Byers asked, enthralled in the game.
"What if it's the Demogorgon?" Dustin exclaimed, looking frantically between Will and Lucas. "Oh, Jesus, we're so screwed if it's the Demogorgon."
"It's not the Demogorgon." Lucas dismissed Dustin's fear.
"An army of troglodytes charge into the chamber!" Mike shouted, slamming the pieces onto the board.
"Troglodytes?" Dustin asked, disappointed.
"Told ya." Lucas leaned back in his chair, laughing a little, a smirk clear on his face. The other boys join in his laughter, but Mike looked around, a worried look on his face.
"Wait a minute." He whispered, "Did you hear that? That sound? Boom boom boom! That didn't come from the troglodytes. No, that came from something else."
"The Demogorgon!" Mike yelled, slamming the piece onto the board. The other boys groaned.
"We're in deep shit!" Dustin exclaimed, slumping in his chair.
"Will, your action!" Mike yelled.
"I don't know!" Will replied, his head in his hands.
"Fireball him!" Lucas yelled.
"I'd have to roll a 13 or higher!" He replied, shaking his head.
"Too risky, cast a protection spell," Dustin suggested.
"Don't be a pussy." Lucas rejected the idea, "Fireball him!"
"Cast Protection."
"The Demogorgon is tired of your silly human bickering! It stomps towards you. Boom!" Mike interrupted the small argument, slamming his hands on the table.
"Fireball him!" Lucas shouted.
"Another stomp, boom!"
"Cast Protection!" Dustin yelled.
"He roars in anger!" Mike continued to yell over the top of the argument.
"Fireball!" Will announced as he tossed the dice, a bit too aggressively. The dice rolled off the table and onto somewhere on the floor.
"Oh, shit!" Dustin yelled jumping up from his seat. The three other boys followed his actions.
"Where'd it go?" Mike asked as they separated to find the dice.
"Where is it?" Lucas echoed the question.
"I don't know!" Will yelled in reply.
"Is it a 13?" Dustin asked, standing near the table as the others searched on the floor.
"I don't know!" Will yelled again.
"Where is it?" Lucas yelled the question, angry with the lack of dice.
"Oh, my God!" Dustin began to freak out.
"Mike!" Mike's mother, Karen, called from the top of the stairs.
"Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" Dustin whispered, his hands clasping his head.
"Mike!" Karen called again.
"Can you find it yet?" Lucas asked.
"No, I can't find it!" Will replied.
"Mike!" Karen called a third time.
"Oh, my God! Oh, my God!"
"Mom, we're in the middle of a campaign!" Mike yelled.
"You mean the end?" Karen replied.
"Mom, wait, just 20 more minutes!" Mike pleaded, running up the stairs.
"It's a school night, Michael. I just put Holly to bed. You can finish next weekend." Karen said, putting food into Tupperware containers
"But that'll ruin the flow!" He argued.
"Michael."
"I'm serious, Mom. The campaign took two weeks to plan." Mike shuffled awkwardly, "How was I supposed to know it was gonna take ten hours?"
"You've been playing for ten hours?" She asked, turning to him with her eyebrows raised.
"Dad, don't you think that 20 more-" Mike turned to his dad for help.
"I think you should listen to your mother." Mike's dad replied, messing with the television.
Mike groaned, looking at both of parents with disbelief.
Back downstairs, the boys heard the argument and began to pack away.
"Oh, I got it! Does a seven count?" Will asked, walking over to Lucas and Dustin.
"It was a seven? Did Mike see it? Then it doesn't count." Lucas said, sneakily. The boys grabbed their backpacks and started heading upstairs.
"Does anyone want this?" Dustin asked, holding the leftover pizza box.
"No." Will and Lucas chorused from the stairs. Dustin shrugged and walked up to Nancy's, Mike's older sister, room. He waved to her from the doorway.
"Yeah." Nancy laid on her bed, her phone her hand, talking to her best friend, Barb. "No, I don't think... Yeah, he's cute. Barb, no, I don't think so. Barb, you're not-"
"Hey, Nancy, there's a slice left if you want it. Sausage and pepperoni!" Dustin called, smiling at her.
"Hold on," Nancy said, putting the phone down and walking over to Dustin. She slammed the door in his face, leaving Dustin disheartened. He ate the remaining slice as he made his way to the garage with the others.
"There's something wrong with your sister," Dustin exclaimed.
"What are you talking about?" Mike asked, looking over to him.
"She's got a stick up her butt." He explained, climbing onto his bike.
"Yeah. It's because she's been dating that douchebag, Steve Harrington." Lucas agreed from his bike.
"Yeah, she's turning into a real jerk," Dustin said, riding up to Lucas.
"She's always been a real jerk!" Mike argued.
"Nuh-uh, she used to be cool," Lucas said.
"Like that time she dressed up as an elf for our Elder tree campaign," Dustin remembered.
"Four years ago!"
"Just saying," Dustin said, before riding off into the night.
"Later," Lucas said, following Dustin. Only Will and Mike remained.
"It was a seven." Will whispered.
"Huh?"
"The roll, it was a seven. The Demogorgon, it got me." He explained. "See you tomorrow." Will said before following after the two other boys. The three rode through the streets together until they reached Lucas' house.
"Good night, ladies," Lucas said riding off.
"Kiss your mom 'night for me," Dustin called after him.
"Race you back to my place? Winner gets a comic." He asked Will.
"Any comic?"
"Yeah." Will smiled, and suddenly took off into the night.
"Hey! Hey! I didn't say "go"! Get back here! I'm gonna kill you!" Dustin yelled after him.
"I'll take your X-Men 134!" Will yelled in response.
"Son of a bitch!" Dustin whispered, before heading into his house.
Will rode alone in the night, looking down at his light switched off. He looked back up as the light turned on and saw a frightening human-like creature, with long arms. Will gasped and veered off to the side, to avoid the creature and rode into the woods. On the way down, Will fell off his bike. As he heard the creature getting closer, Will ran off, leaving his bike behind.
He ran the rest of the way home and raced inside, where his dog was barking ferociously.
"Mom?" Will yelled, "Jonathan?" He walked down the corridor, "Mom?" There was no response, he was all alone. The dog continued to bark.
Will opened one of the curtains, looking out when he once again saw the creature. He ran over to the phone, dialling a number and waiting.
"Hello? Hello?" Will yelled into the phone, but was just left with static. The dog's barks became form frantic as the creature got closer to the door. Will watched, the phone still in his hand as the creature unlocked the bolted down. Will dropped the phone and ran towards the shed in his backyard. He locked the door and began to load a gun that they kept in the shed.
Will shakily aimed at the door, expecting the monster to attack from there. Instead, the monster spawned behind him. There was a bright flash as the light bulb glowed brighter and brighter, and then Will was gone.
~~~~~
The upside down was very dark and extremely cold, but most of all, it was lonely. Nine didn't mind the loneliness; it was something that she was used to. She didn't mind the darkness and the cold either. She was safe there, apart from the monster that haunted the decaying forest.
Nine walked slowly around the trees, trying to find any source of food she could. It had been a full week since she had found any food and her supplies were starting to get low. Nine stumbled upon a dead animal of some sort, seemingly left or forgotten about by the monster. Using a couple of leaves, Nine wrapped up the dead creature and began to head back to her camp, Castle Byers.
Nine was halfway back when she heard a massive thumping. She gasped and instantly scaled the nearest tree, careful to not let the monster see her. Safe in the tree, Nine watched as the monster came into sight, dragging a body behind it. At first, she thought it was a large deer or a bear, but when she looked closer, it was a boy. Nine almost gasped when she saw him; finally, it wouldn't be just her in the forest. But if she wanted company, she would have to save him from the monster.
Nine climbed down the tree, abandoning the dead creature she had found. She picked a rock off the ground and threw it as hard as she could. It slammed into a tree, almost cracking it in half. The monster immediately turned its head to look for the source of the noise. It sniffed the air, and Nine took the opportunity to throw another rock. The rock caused a massive bang, and the monster let out a mighty roar, and then ran in the direction of the noise. Nine let out a sigh of relief, before running out of her hiding place to the boy. She knew she'd had to be quick to rescue him.
When Nine reached him, she grabbed his shoulders and shook him. The boy's head merely lolled to the side. Frustrated, Nine lightly slapped the boy's face, but once again, there was no response. She looked up as she once again heard the monster's roar; they were running out of time. Nine gently reached under the boy's legs and shoulders and lifted him up, careful not to hurt the boy. As she picked him up, a weird oblong object fell from his hand. Lifting the boy over her shoulders, Nine picked it up. A gun, she realised and clutched it tighter in her hand.
The monster roared again, louder this time. Making sure the boy was slightly secure, Nine took off running. She tried to keep her footsteps as light as possible, but with the added weight of the boy and the gun, it was nearly impossible.
The steps of the monster became louder and more clear, angry that Nine has stolen its meal. She began to run in a zig-zag pattern, trying to deter the monster. Coming close to another a tree, Nine began to climb up the tree, slinging the gun over her shoulder. She found it more difficult with the added weight, but she was able to scale the tree in seconds. She found a spot in the trees, safe from the sight of the monster, and once again tried to rouse the boy. She moved the boy so he could rest against a tree branch.
"Hey!" Nine whisper-yelled, shaking the boy's arm. The boy's eyes remained closed, and she sighed in defeat. It seemed like she was going to have to wait for the boy to awaken. She watched quietly as the monster stormed past, not bothering to look in the trees.
Nine and the boy waited in the trees for what seemed like ages. It began to turn colder, and Nine deemed that it was safe to come down. As they returned to the ground, she repositioned the boy over her shoulder and safely held the gun in her hand, and then she began to walk back to Castle Byers.