The whole world feels as though it ruptures. The dimension seems angry; frustrated. Both children are ripped forcefully from sleep. They have been tangled around one another. Arms and legs intertwined, hair ruffled and sticking to their faces, and bodies supporting one other's.
(Y/N) and Will shoot up from their positions, still a discombobulated mess, but alert. Everything is still. Silent. Why had it not felt like this a second ago? It is as if something had purposely awoken them. Something trying to help them. But nothing in this place can possibly be trying to help them.
(Y/N) peels her hair from her cheek, now noticing that goo had found it's way into the strands and onto her face. She looks back at Will and notices how close he really is to her. For a slight second heat rises and lands in her cheeks. However, the atmosphere is too cold for the warmth to linger. (Y/N)'s cheeks already appear to have a pinkish tint because of the biting cold which had seeped well into her bones. Her embarrassment only shows in her widened eyes. She tries to speak to Will, who has the same expression pasted across his discolored face, but her mind is suddenly knocked into a feeling of fright.
A roar sounds off in the distance. (Y/N) wants to stamp her foot down with pure annoyance. Why again? Because I'm tired. I don't want to run again. Please, oh, please let me be dreaming. Please, stop this. Please, save me. But, annoyance is soon replaced with adrenaline and a leap of the heart. Will chokes out a tearless sob, he's looking towards Castle Byers' entrance.
(Y/N) scrambles from her jumbled position and the frosty air rushes to fill the space between her and Will. A crisp breeze touches the parts which were once huddled against one another. The children both shiver and wish that they were snuggled against each other again. For the warmth, of course. But, they have to get onto their feet. The two must prepare to escape, once again, from the relentless monster.
♥︎
Joyce sits, unconscious, on an old floral patterned armchair, a new beige telephone rests in her lap. Mrs. (L/N) is at the kitchen table, supporting her head with her hand. She's on the verge of sleep. The silence had been both comforting and unbearable. They both want to hear the children, to find the children. But, what would happen if they did? What if the mothers couldn't save them even if they had gained confirmation that their two are out there.
Mrs. (L/N) definitely has her doubts, as the hours grow later, she starts to lose hope. There is a sinking feeling in her heart. The phone is never going to ring. For hours, Mrs. (L/N) had sat in thought. Could she ever be able to return home? What would happen to her if she did? Frankly, she is scared of her husband. Scared that he'd be popping open another bottle. Scared of what her act of defiance would bring him to do to reestablish his dominance.
Suddenly, the phone rings. Mrs. (L/N) jumps and straightens out. Her heart races, even if it is just a spam call. She still holds onto a speck of hope. The sound shakes Joyce from her slumber. She fumbles with the phone but quickly gets it up to her ear. Mrs. (L/N) leans forward and places her forearms onto her knees. Her leg is bouncing up and down, a nervous habit she'd acquired.
"Hello?" Joyce manages to blurt out in her nervous haze. There is no answer. She stands up and holds the phone more steadily. (Y/N)'s mother shoots up from her chair and steps over to be next to Joyce. Their heads are close together as Mrs. (L/N) tries to hear any conversation on the other end of the phone. There is only muffled breathing. "Who is this?" Joyce is stammering. Mrs. (L/N) listens intently, evaluating any sign that the children could be on the opposite end of the call. There is breathing; panting.
It's them. It's Will and (Y/N). Mrs. (L/N) would have dropped whatever she had in her hand if she were holding something. Joyce was right all along. The children really did contact her. Her daughter is there, on the phone.
"Will?"
"(Y/N)?"
♥︎
They had ran, fast, after they heard the first roar. Will had jolted off of the comforter and took ahold of (Y/N)'s hand. He knew that they had to move, it was now or never. They left Castle Byers, before they had wanted to, tearing themselves away from the comfort. The pounding of the monster's feet had started. It was running. Will and (Y/N) crashed through the woods and shot right into "Will's house". Will headed straight for the phone.
♥︎
"Will, it's me. Talk to me," Tears start to make their way out of Joyce's eyes. Mrs. (L/N) is too shocked to understand that's she's started crying as well. The sound of her daughter's breathing becomes her only focus. "I'm here," Joyce is struggling to form sentences, "Just tell me where you are, honey," Joyce is shaking but she still manages to have a solid grip on the phone. (Y/N)'s mother is frozen, she cannot speak. The build up of tears hurts her throat. She sobs lightly. Subconsciously her hands start moving towards the phone. Towards the sound of her daughter. "I can hear you. Please."
"(Y/N), (Y/N), I'm here. I'm here too," Mrs. (L/N) stumbles frantically over her words. She doesn't want to talk but she feels the need to make herself known to her daughter. So, that (Y/N) knows that she's trying. Trying to find her. Static is heard rattling through the phone.
♥︎
"Mom?" Both children almost simultaneously ask. Will's tone is calmer. It sounds as though he's comforted by his mother's voice, yet there's a longing to get to her. (Y/N) is more surprised. Shock is evident in her tone. She had never thought that she'd hear her mother with Joyce Byers. She also hadn't believed that her mom would be looking for her in this particular way. Yes, she knew her mother would search for her. But, she hadn't expected her mother to actually believe that she's in some alternate dimension. Now, she knows that someone else is aware of their situation and that brings her a slight fragment of relief. They may actually have a chance in escaping. And even if they don't, there will be some answers to where the children had ended up.
♥︎
The lights start to flicker out of control. Both mothers shriek their own child's name a few times. (Y/N)'s mother grabs Joyce's arm, she feels light-headed. "Yes, it's me! It's me!" Joyce sobs into the phone.
"Where are you?" (Y/N)'s mother chokes out, putting her face close to the phone to try and get her message through clearly.
Joyce repeats what Mrs. (L/N) said, "Where are you?" Just to make sure the children heard the question. No answer. "Just talk to me— " Joyce let's out a cry as the phone produces a string of electricity that shocks her. She drops the phone into the armchair. Everything is silent for a single second. (Y/N)'s mother turns to Joyce, still holding onto her arm, and by default tries to ask if she's okay. Joyce however, falls to the ground and repeats, "No!" as she examines the phone which has, like the other one, burned to the point of disfunctionality. Mrs. (L/N) covers her mouth with her hand and weeps. She gasps for breath, to try and stop the tears. But her attempt is no use. Joyce pulls the phone toward her ear again and aimlessly presses the buttons. She breaks down over the scorched telephone and slams it to the ground. It lets out a Ding as it hits the ground. Joyce recoils into herself and bawls. She feels as though she's failed her son. "No!" Joyce clenches her hands into fists and waves them around feverishly. Mrs. (L/N) would have thought Joyce was insane if she'd seen her break down this terribly out of context. But now, Joyce's reaction seems perfectly reasonable to her. (Y/N)'s mother just stands clasping her hand over her mouth breathlessly sobbing into it. Tears roll and soak both the top of her hand and her palm. The lights, once again, begin to flicker and the mothers are alert again.
♥︎
A crash echos from the back door. This time the door has flew right off of it's rusted hinges and up against the wall. The Demogorgon emerges from the spot which the door had previously been. It's head snaps upwards towards the kids. In a dog-like position, the monster crawls forward. Thick tendons and muscles move significantly as the monster walks. It's mouth splits open disturbingly and reveals an ugly, red crevasse with hundreds of tinted, off-white teeth. (Y/N) is the first to rush into action this time. She gives Will a push as a signal to run. He wants to stay with the phone, it's clutched tightly in his hand, so tightly that his knuckles have turned white. The monster gives off a crackling call. (Y/N) yanks Will from his spot at the phone and the children bound down the hallway.
Hearing his mother's voice has made Will almost completely immobile. He misses her greatly. All he wants is to be with her right now. She sounded so, so sad.
(Y/N) has almost an opposite reaction to Will's. Hearing her mother's voice has filled her with some sort of determination. She wants to get back to her. (Y/N) knows now that her mother would go out of her way to help find her, even if that's out of her mother's comfort zone. And that means more than anyone could know.
♥︎
"Jonathan?" Joyce asks whimpering. She didn't see him come home, but he could have snuck past the mothers earlier when they were dazed enough not to notice. She wants to know if he's okay. The lights continue to flash. "What..."
Mrs. (L/N) stumbles down the hall slowly. She leans against the wood panneled wall to try and keep her balance, she is much too frightened to depend on her own strength. The women are bewildered. Their eyes are fixed on a small, blinking lamp set on a table at the end of the hallway.
Suddenly, music blares from the boombox in Will's room. It's his favorite song, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by The Clash. (Y/N) had gained a strong liking for the song as well. Will had shown it to her while they were sitting in his room looking over a few of his cassettes.
"What's this one?" (Y/N) had asked while holding up a cassette, there had been no special label. Just a blank white bar.
Will gently took it from (Y/N)'s hand and held it in his own, staring at it while a big smile crept onto his face. "Jonathan gave it to me," Will leaned forward and placed the cassette into it's slot, "You'll like it," The boombox clicked and the song begun. Guitar riffs filled the air and Will swayed his body and swung his head to the beat. (Y/N) giggled and took her imaginary guitar by the neck. She started to strum the invisible strings uncontrollably. Will added his fictional drums to the mix and started slamming his imaginary sticks into the air. Both kids laughed as the song continued.
Ever since then, they would oftenly play the song together, maybe even overplay it. But, it was their song. Will even had Jonathan make (Y/N) a copy as a gift for one of her birthdays. The Party didn't really understand what the big deal was, however, that didn't matter. Only (Y/N) and Will needed to know. That was enough.
♥︎
Now, the song brings fear to the two women. They jolt backwards and withdraw to the wall opposite of Will's room, where the music seems to be coming from. They stand back, gasping in terror. Lights can be seen blinking brightly from the slit underneath the door. It's Joyce who changes her expression of pure fear to one of twisted anger. Anger pointed towards whatever took her boy. She creeps slowly towards the doorknob, her arm outstretched. (Y/N)'s mother glances over at Joyce and watches her inch toward the door. Mrs. (L/N) stays plastered up against the wall. She would tell Joyce not to open the door, but she is so frightened that she cannot speak.
The doorknob clicks as Joyce turns the handle and she swiftly opens the door before she can change her mind. "Joyce," Mrs. (L/N) harshly whispers, finally finding her voice. Joyce doesn't hear her and continues to walk into the room. Joyce releases the door and it swings slowly backwards and hits the wall, shock is evident on her features.
Mrs. (L/N) hesitantly follows Joyce into the room. Her eyes widen along with Joyce's. They stare at the silver boombox which the song is playing from. While their eyes are fixed on the spinning cassette reel, the lamp on Will's bedside table begins to flicker. Joyce approaches the lamp with a look of observation on her face. (Y/N)'s mother is still focused on the cassette player. She's heard her daughter listening to this song quite a few times. Now she knows where (Y/N) heard it first. The Byers had more of an impact on her daughter than she'd thought.
"Will..." Joyce whispers to the lamp. She places her hands around the cylindrical lampshade. "Will, is that you?" Somehow she feels his presence in this exact spot. Joyce's face is illuminated as the bulb glows glaringly bright.
♥︎
Will and (Y/N) veer into "Will's room". They can barely find their way around, this dimension is so dark. It looks as if it's forever midnight, but darker than midnight. A dark that is banished from the natural world.
They can hear the monster coming closer, but they're trapped. Will puts his palm to his forehead and pushes his hair back, his eyes are bugged out. He's trying to conjure up an idea of how to escape but nothing is coming to him, his sense is wiped blank and has been replaced with panic.
Heavy thuds rattle the rotting, wood floor. It's coming closer. (Y/N) looks around the room frantically, looking for anything that can help them. She eyes a window and concurs that it's their only escape route.
The creaking comes closer. Thud. Thud. Thud. Will unconsciously backs up towards a broken lamp, it's bulb has been smashed and it's shade has gashes torn into it. He shudders as the creaking comes to a stop. Everything is completely silent.
The air buzzes with white noise. Nothing can be heard but the panting of the children. Then, an echoing voice sounds from in a place that cannot be identified, "Will..." Will whips his head upwards and looks around at the ceiling. That voice. "Will, is that you?" It's his mother's. But how? (Y/N) looks upwards puzzled as of where Joyce Byer's voice is coming from. Why can we hear her all the way from here? Why did we even bother using the phone?
A screech vibrates throughout the residence and the monster trots into the doorway. Will jerks backwards towards the lamp and nearly crashes into it, hearing his mother's voice no longer occupied his brain. Being eaten did.
(Y/N) is quick on her feet and shoots towards Will. She gets a firm grip on his arm and brings them both down onto the slimy, decaying wood floor. Will understands what she's trying to do.
The two slip underneath "Will's bed". (Y/N) cringes as goo builds up under her, she can feel it caking into her hair as her head touches the bottom of the bed.
They can hear the Demogorgon's heavy pants. Trying not to breath too loudly, (Y/N) covers her mouth in a way almost identical to her mother.
The floorboards creek. It approaches.
♥︎
The lights stop flickering. The music stops playing. Everything is silent. Joyce whimpers. Had she once again lost connection? (Y/N)'s mother stands trembling, still focused on the boombox. Joyce looks around in search of anything. Any movement. Any light. Any sign of her son.
The yellow wallpaper next to Joyce bulges in an unnatural way. It stretches far beyond its limit yet still stays intact. Something grows from behind the wall. Joyce's eyes trail to her left and she notices a figure attempting to get to the room through her son's bedroom wall. She shrieks at the top of her lungs which startles Mrs. (L/N). The air is filled with another shrill yell as (Y/N)'s mother whips her head towards the sound of Joyce's cry and notices the figure in the wall. Their faces twist in horror as the shape becomes more and more defined. The outline of monstrous fingers can be seen in the bulge.
The women dash out of the door. They bolt across the lawn and hop into Joyce's car. The two slam the metal doors shut upon entrance.
Joyce grabs her car keys from the car's visor and throws a panicked glance back at the house. She struggles while putting her keys into the ignition. (Y/N)'s mother is anxious for Joyce to start the car and drive anywhere far away from this location.
"Oh, my God," Joyce mutters while slamming her head against the steering wheel, hoping the keys will find their own way into the ignition.
She looks upwards, feeling at ease as the car's gas starts to sound off. Mrs. (L/N) gives a small sigh of relief, already feeling safer in the vehicle.
Just as Joyce plans to floor the gas pedal, Will's boombox comes back to life. The music blasts on from inside his room.
♥︎
The Demogorgan's grotesque, clawed paw shoots under the bed trying to take hold of one of the children. Will and (Y/N) were almost sure that the monster had brought it's attention away from them.
They belt out frightened shrieks and shuffle out the other side of the bed. The monster still mercilessly attempts to grip for the children under the bed, causing it to become splintered and misshapen.
Will and (Y/N) get onto their feet frantically, anxiety rocketing through their bodies. The monster slowly rises up from it's crouched position and grows from the shadows. It's truly hideous. The children look upwards, their eyes almost leaving their sockets.
Will has almost completely given up. He closes his eyes, awaiting the monster's sharp teeth to sink into his fragile, bruised flesh. He sees only black for a moment, but then he hears the smashing of yet another glass object.
(Y/N) had felt dizzy and leaned up against the wall for support. She felt a loose board which had been peeling away from the wall. (Y/N) gripped onto the wood as she stared up at the monstrous figure and held her breath as she pulled the plank from the wall. It had been easier than she'd expected because the ends were damp and decayed. She swung with full force and the piece of wood made contact with the window.
Shards go flying. The monster pounces.
♥︎
"Will..." Joyce's look of fear molds into courage as she considers the fact that her son is still there, in that house. She needs to be with him. She needs to be brave for him.
At first, (Y/N)'s mother is puzzled. Why would Joyce go back into that house? That thing could still be there. But, a realization similar to Joyce's passes over her. Yes, that thing could still be there...with her daughter. She needs to save her (Y/N). It isn't like the police believe them. They're the only ones who can do something.
The lights continue to buzz and flare from inside Will's room. Joyce swings the driver side door open and hesitantly wavers out onto the lawn.
The sound of Joyce's door slamming shut jolts Mrs. (L/N) into action. She charges out after Joyce and they both walk anxiously to the door. Joyce's speed picks up as she gets closer to the entrance. The mother's both disappear into the house.
Their speed increases more and more as they near the hallway. Joyce walks faster, determination and anger filling her up to the brim. She needs to get to her boy. (Y/N)'s mother speeds up to keep up with Joyce, she doesn't want to be left behind and caught off guard by that thing.
Just as the women arrive at the door, everything shuts down once again. No lights. No music. Joyce let's out a broken, whispery, "No," and Mrs. (L/N) just shakes her head.
They have once again lost their children. They can feel it in the particles passing through the air. It feels as if the two have disappeared from the vicinity. Joyce's body feels limp with failure. She has lost to this thing again. Now their children would have to bear the consequences.
___________________________________
Oh.My.God! I worked on this chapter all week so I'm very excited to share it with you all! Truly, thank you to everyone who has saved this story and to everyone who has voted on it! I appreciate you all♡ Have a wonderful week! ~WoodCeiling♥︎
*THE CHARACTERS, THEME, AND SOME DIALOGUE BELONG TO STRANGER THINGS AND THE DUFFER BROTHERS*