Corina Hayes had herself draped over Charlie Williams' bed. She lay on her side, the short red dress she wore clinging to her figure and her elbow leaning against the bed, her hand buried in her hair at the side of her head that kept it upright.

She looked up at Charlie that was on the other side of the room, leaning against his wall and chewing on his nails. She rose a red eyebrow, "You can come over here you know. I won't bite." She said, patting the bed beside him but the boy shook his head.

"This is serous Corina, we're not here to lounge about — I only invited you over because I thought you could help but if you can't then —"

She sat up, holding her hand in a silencing motion, "I can help," She insisted before getting to her bare feet: she had left her heels by the door. She moved towards him, "The question is, should I?" Charlie did a double take.

"Are you sure you're even ready for this? And what about Mary? Are you willing to do this without her permission?" She asked him. The boy narrowed his eyes at her and she threw her hands up, "Hey, I don't care to be honest — I care about myself. What your asking is dangerous." She reminded him, settling her hands on her hips.

Charlie pushed himself away from the wall, advancing towards her, "I thought you loved danger," He challenged, his eyes locked on hers as he rolled his shoulders back. Corina's lips stretched into a smile, "So do it. Take me to The Upside Down."

Corina held his gaze, a single eyebrow arched. She inhaled a deep breath, "You know if I conjure up The Upside Down in my head and it no longer exists like Hopper said then you and I will be lost, right?" Charlie furrowed his brows.

Corina rolled her eyes, "It's the one thing they were always careful with back at the lab — making sure I knew exactly where I was going so I wouldn't get trapped in," She paused, screwing up her face and clicking her fingers together, "Limbo — we'll be trapped in Limbo." She remembered.

"What's that?"

The girl shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. But they were afraid of it which should make you afraid too. It's nowhere and everywhere, it's life and death," She explained, her face stoic and Charlie gulped, diverting his gaze. She tilted her head, "You still wanting to go in this suicide mission?"

Charlie thought it over, his jaw tense and eyes downwards: he was incredibly handsome when he was thinking. His eyes met hers again, "I need to know if this is real." He told her and the girl held his gaze for a long moment. She understood what he meant; he had to know if The Upside Down was real or if he was going crazy.

Corina inhaled sharply, clapping her hands together before grasping her heels and slipping them on her feet, "Alright. I don't have anything exciting planned anyways." She said with a nonchalant shrug.

       She extended her hands to Charlie with a smirk, she pushed them forward when he didn't take them, "Don't worry Charles, the hand holding will be over before you know it." She teased him, quirking an eyebrow.

Charlie scoffed before taking her hands. Corina inhaled and closed her eyes before the swirls of shadows was moving around their bodies. Charlie watched their every move, studying how they twisted and turned like they were alive.

Corina's face screwed up, her teeth grinding, "It's not working. I need you to think of it with me — think of The Upside Down, Charles," She said, squeezing her eyes harder as pain moved through her skull. Charlie shut his own eyes and imagined the dreadful place, "That's it. You're doing good. Don't stop." She said, beginning to get breathless as more of the shadows moved like a tornado around them.

Charlie had never wanted to think about The Upside Down in such detail ever again. But there he was, remembering every little detail in attempt to go back — which he had never saw himself wanting until the nightmares got too much.

Corina's body was shaking, blood suddenly beginning to drip down her nose. Charlie opened his eyes, spotting the blood trickling down the girl's lips his mind faltered for a moment, "Corina, your nose —"

"I'm fine," She spoke over him and the ringing in her ears, "Just keep thinking about it!" She demanded. She was almost there, she could feel it and she was trying to grasp onto it with all she had — the hardest she had ever tried to warp.

And then suddenly, the ground beneath them shifted and they were elsewhere. Corina's knees hit the floor, scraping at the skin as she collapsed. Charlie was instantly at her side, putting his hand on her back comfortingly as she panted, trying to breath in air but it was incredibly stale.

Charlie rubbed at her back as the girl heaved with each breath, "You're alright. You're alright." He whispered gently to her as she let out a small sob.

      Her whole body was aching and she felt like she couldn't stand — it was the farthest she had ever pushed her powers. For some reason warping into The Upside Down had been incredibly difficult that time.

Charlie looked upwards as he rubbed her back with the palm of his hand and his lips parted — he were in fact in his nightmare. He found himself swallowing hard, trying to push back the nausea that he felt washing over him; he tried to remind himself going there had been his idea.

They were in the middle of the street, outside of his house and he remembered it exactly the way it had been when he had been trapped — cold and dark. But there was something that wasn't there the first time; the glowing red storm that had only been in his dreams.

He slowly got to his feet, turning in a full circle with his face towards the sky. Corina's hands were digging into the cement below as she looked up, her chest heaving with every breath. She exhaled, "It is real," She stated. Her green eyes took in her surroundings, "Charlie, you're not crazy." She stated in a tired whisper.

The boy sighed in what could have been both relief and dread at the same time, "Which means it is still here. When Eleven killed the demogorgan it didn't mean a thing — it's still here." He said, his words coming across as shaky.

Corina felt the need to comfort him and so she tried to stand, but her knees buckled and she collapsed to the ground again. Charlie gasped and instantly fell to his knees beside her, pulling her up so she sat on her legs — she was breathing harshly, blood still trickling down her lips and onto her chin.

Corina breathed out groggily, "I don't know what's happening this time. It's like my body can't handle it," She looked up, meeting his eyes through the red hair that had fallen on her face, "Charles, I don't think we're alone in here." She whispered, her eyes locked on his and the boy swallowed hard.

The boy traced circles on her upper arm that he held onto to support her, "Demogorgan?" He questioned and the girl stared at him for what felt like the longest time, her eye-lids marked with red from exhaustion.

"Something bigger," She said, "Something so powerful it's effecting me — something consumed in darkness." She clarified and Charlie felt his heart race, thinking of only one thing it could be.

"The shadow in the sky," He realised and she nodded once as she licked her drip lips, accidentally smearing some blood. Charlie took in the red substance smeared on the lower half of her face, "If it really is a shadow monster it would make sense why it's effecting you — you control darkness, shadows." He said and she cleared her throat, looking at the darkness around her through a hazy green.

Her eyes found his again and he was surprised to see that they were filled with tears. She gnawed on her bottom lip nervously before letting out a heavy sigh, "What if it can control me?" She croaked, terrified at the idea of being a tool again. She tilted her head, "Maybe it's trying to trap us here... Why I'm so weak." She diverted her gaze, looking to the ground in disappointment.

"Hey," Charlie said, making the girl look up at him almost timidly. He offered her the smallest of smiles, "You're not weak — a pain in the ass usually, but definitely not weak." He assured her and she surprised him by actually smiling back; a sincere and gentle one that made her look years younger.

He moved his face closer to hers, eyes sparkling with a newfound determination, "You can get us out of here — you need to get us out of here," He insisted and she nodded her head along with him, finding his determination contagious, "We have to get home and we have to warn the others. We have to tell them." Corina nodded one last time in agreement.

Charlie got to his feet, pulling Corina with him and holding her to his side. The girl straightened herself out, inhaling deeply, "I can do this." She said, more so to herself and Charlie nodded along with her, believing with everything he had that she could.

She picked Charlie's bedroom, conjuring every little detail to the globe he had on his desk to the ashtray that sat by his window. Slowly but surely, shadows began to crowd around them and Charlie squeezed her arm encouragingly.

Her small body was shaking as she squeezed her eyes shut, the vein in her temple popping out as the muscles in her face clenched. Something in the air picked up pace and Charlie looked to the sky with curiosity, his eyebrows pulled downwards.

A snap in the thunderstorm had him faltering for air, "Corina, you think you're almost ready?" He asked her nervously as the girl cracked one eye open at him, managing to glare for the brief moment.

"If you stop bugging me!" She snapped before closing her eye again, remembering every tiny detail of Charlie's room and trying to get them the hell out of The Upside Down.

Charlie noticeably gulped, his gaze focused on the sky as the shadow form his nightmares moved towards them, like a spider staking a fly before it would take it into his web. Charlie felt his heart race and his skin break a sweat, hoping and praying Corina could get them out before the mystery shadow could reach them.

"Corina, we have a small problem —"

"We're gonna have a bigger one if you don't stop talking —"

"Corina!"

"What?!" The girl opened her eyes in annoyance, ready to continue yelling when she suddenly noticed the shadow stalking towards them and her lips parted, eyes widening, "Oh, shit. Shit, shit, shit!" Her concentration was suddenly knocked, only able to see the shadow monster and nothing else.

Charlie was jumping up and down, panicking, "We gotta go! We gotta go!" He exclaimed and the girl grunted in agreement, quickly squeezing her eyes shut and imagining Charlie's room with everything she had — Charlie closed his eyes too, thinking of home and trying to help her out.

But it was too late and the shadow monster had reached them, hovering over them like a cloud of death. Corina stumbled, her eyes flying open and feeling its presence. She panicked, quickly grabbing Charlie, "Get behind me!" She exclaimed, standing in front of the taller boy that was staring up at the creature in horror; he was beginning to wish he had been crazy.

Corina's chest was heaving, her eyes narrowed and focused on the monster that seemed to watch them back. But then part of it broke off and came at them like a hurricane. Charlie put his arms in front of his face and squeezed his eyes shut, ready for whatever impact would come but it didn't.

He slowly opened one eye and then the other and his mouth fell open. Corina was in front of them, leaning back with her knees bent and one of her arms in front of her face, it was shaking manically; but it was some how holding off the shadow monster that looked like it was hitting an invisible barrier.

She was breathing heavily, her face scrunched up and skin breaking a sweat as she fought it off, her own shadows beginning to swirl around the arm she was using to block the monster whilst Charlie could only stare in amazement.

The girl threw her arm to the side with a scream, making the part of the shadow monster evaporate and she stumbled back into Charlie who caught her. The monster was still, watching as if it were studying them — anticipating what was to come or thinking over its own next move.

Corina looked up and Charlie was surprised to see that her eyes was taken up by black swirling around like a storm, "Time to go." She said as she grasped onto the material of the shirt on his arm before the shadows were consuming them.

The shadow monster tried to get to them on time, moving like smoke coming out of a cigarette but they were already gone; they had escaped its wrath.

                              ———

       Corina Hayes just held of the mind flayer with one hand whilst already having no energy, what a powerful baddie! Eleven who?

       Also Corina and Charlie are the duo you don't know you need until you get them!

        This chapter was pretty important because it shows Corina with her abilities a little more! I mean, she single handled held back the mind flayer and that's just pure power if you ask me! I love her!