╔══════✮❁•°♛°•❁✮ ══════╗

𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗚𝗔𝗡

chapter eleven:
the great escape

╚══════✮❁•°♛°•❁✮══════╝

ENTERING THE UPSIDE Down version of the Wheeler house was extremely trippy. It looked exactly like it did in the real world, with the furniture and the pictures on the walls, just covered by a bunch of those stupid vines. This was the version of Hawkins Will saw when he was trapped, which made Serenity's heart sink. It was home, just a million times worse.

"Might be time to get a maid, Wheeler," Robin announced.

"Come on," Nancy urged. "I don't want to stay here longer than we have to."

Serenity squeezed Steve's hand once before following Nancy, Robin, and Eddie up the stairs. Her hand slipped out of his when he stopped on the landing, but she let him be for now, assuming that he would follow in a second or two. Serenity wanted to see the weapons that she might need to potentially use for the Demo-Bats. If only she had the spiked bat.

Nancy went into her room and immediately headed to the closet. She opened it up and pulled a shoebox from the top shelf. Nancy placed it on her desk and opened it up, but instead of guns, there were just a pair of pretty shoes. Serenity stared at them. If the Upside Down was a parallel, why weren't Nancy's guns in the box?

"Those aren't guns," Eddie stated.

"I mean, these heels are a bit pointy, but I was hoping for something along the lines of a deadly projectile," Robin added.

"I don't understand," Nancy admitted.

"Maybe you left them somewhere else," Eddie suggested.

"There's a six-year-old in the house. I know where I keep my guns. And also, I threw these away years ago."

Her eyes then focused on something on her desk. It was an index card, reading What defines the identity of an element? Nancy picked up the stack of index cards and flipped through them, revealing more questions.

"I get that grades are important to you, but perhaps studying can wait till we get out of here?" Robin asked.

"No, that's not it," Serenity cut in, her eyebrows knit in thought and confusion. "Nance, we had sophomore year chemistry together. I remember studying this shit."

Nancy nodded rapidly and looked at her walls. "And this . . . this wallpaper, this is old wallpaper." She then pointed to a mirror. "And this mirror, this went to a yard sale. And . . . you." She picked up a teddy bear on her bed. "You're not supposed to be here. No, I gave you to cousin Joanna two years ago."

She then threw the teddy bear back down and went to her nightstand. Nancy picked up a pink notebook — her diary — and started to flip through the pages. She suddenly stopped, her entire body freezing in panic. Serenity slowly walked towards her, staring at her in concern.

"What is it?" Eddie questioned.

"Nancy?" Robin began. "You're freaking me out."

"I think the reason that my guns aren't here is because they don't exist yet," Nancy revealed.

"They don't . . . exist?" Eddie repeated.

Nancy turned to them, holding her diary up for emphasis. "This diary should be full of entries. It's not. The last entry is November sixth, 1983."

Serenity remembered that day. The day that started this all — the day she blamed herself for, the day they found out about everything, the day one of her boys had been trapped with no way to get home by himself.

"Will," Serenity breathed out. "That's — that's the day he went missing."

"The day the Gate opened," Nancy added. "We're in the past."

"Dustin!" Steve's voice then shouted from downstairs. "Dustin!"

Serenity's eyes widened. She ran first, the others following behind her. Serenity raced down the steps, but skidded to a stop. Steve was in the living room, staring at the ceiling while wandering around aimlessly. She blinked.

"Dustin!" Steve yelled. "Can you hear me? Dustin! Dust — hello? Hel . . . hello?"

"Maybe he really does have rabies," Robin said.

"Hello! Hello?"

Serenity sighed. "Steve, baby, what are you doing?"

Steve turned towards them, shining the flashlight right in their eyes. "Hello!"

Serenity blocked her eyes from the light with her hand. "Hi. Are you feeling okay?"

"He's here. Henderson. That little shit, he's here. He's like . . . he's in the walls or something. Just listen. Listen. Dustin." His eyes then widened, and his voice raised. "Dustin! Dustin! Dustin! Dustin! Can you hear me?"

She stared at him for a second, but then a whisper — something that wasn't them — echoed all around her. Serenity looked towards the ceiling and just really focused. And, sure enough, Steve was right.

"And that brings us to the question you first raised," the unmistakable voice of Dustin Henderson stated, although it was a little garbled.

"Dustin," Serenity voiced, her feet taking her further into the house as she continued to stare at the ceiling. The others joined in with her call. "Dustin!"

"All right, either this kid can't hear us or he's being a total douchebag," Steve replied.

Serenity suddenly stopped in her tracks. She took herself back to 1983. Will had communicated with Joyce when he was in the Upside Down, but not by shouting. Serenity remembered the Christmas lights strung up in the Byers house, and the alphabet on the wall.

"Will," Serenity said.

Steve looked back at her. "What?"

"Will." Serenity moved towards the closest lamp. "He spoke to Joyce through the lights in her house. If he did it, so can we."

Serenity tried to turn on the lamp, but nothing happened. She let out a breath of frustration before flicking the light switch on the wall up and down. Again, nothing.

Or so she thought.

"Guys?" Steve inquired. "You seeing this?"

Serenity followed his gaze. The small chandelier hanging from the ceiling was glowing a faint shade of orange, and sparkles surrounded it. Serenity moved closer, staring up at it in wonder. In a place so dark, it was strange to see something so . . . beautiful.

Nancy reached up first. Once her hand touched the sparkles, they glowed a brighter shade of orange. She moved her hand around, and the sparkles followed her.

"Woah," Eddie commented.

Serenity reached her hand up. Once she touched the sparkles, she let out a small laugh, which echoed across the walls. The others reached up as well, and all of their hands touching it made the chandelier glow brighter.

"It . . . tickles," Steve admitted.

"It kinda feels good," Robin agreed.

"Does anyone know Morse code?" Nancy asked.

"No," Serenity, Steve, and Robin chorused.

"Wait, does SOS count?" Eddie questioned. "Is that . . . is that good?"

It had to be. All of them let their hands drop, except for Eddie. Eddie began to tap the SOS version of Morse code. The sparkles glowed brighter and made a tink sound every time Eddie did something. To Serenity, it kind of reminded her of Tinker Bell's Pixie Dust.

Robin stared at it, almost mesmerized. "It's working."

Dustin immediately got the message. It was a little hard at first, because Dustin had to really yell in order for them to hear them, but he told them to go upstairs to Nancy's bedroom. All of them gathered in a group by the bed. The anticipation was practically killing Serenity, but after some moments, Dustin spoke up again.

"Okay, you guys seeing this?" Dustin questioned, his voice warped and far away.

Nancy reached out. At once, a large puddle of lights and sparkles appeared, just like by the chandelier. Serenity smiled, and it only widened when Dustin's laughter echoed into the Upside Down.

"We're not moving it, but we're gonna unplug it," Dustin told them. "Stand by." The orange glow went away because they unplugged Holly's Lite Brite. "Okay, try it now."

"Um, uh . . ." Nancy trailed off.

She reached out, and through the sparkles, she wrote HI.

"That worked!" Dustin exclaimed.

Serenity let out a small laugh. She held onto Steve's arm tight, who she didn't know was looking at her like she was something magical like the pool of sparkles in front of them. It was one thing to have a way to communicate — it was another to see his girlfriend look happy after days of nothing but pain.

"Yes!" Eddie shouted. "Yes! Hi!"

Nancy paused for a second. "Okay, um . . . um . . ."

She wrote STUCK through the sparkles. Serenity nodded. They truly were.

"Uh, you can't get back through Watergate?" Dustin inquired.

"What the hell's Watergate?" Steve asked.

"'Cause it's in water and it's a Gate," Robin answered.

"Oh."

"That's cute," Eddie said.

Nancy then wrote GUARDED.

"Okay, we think we have a theory that can help with that," Dustin revealed.

Serenity let out a breath. "I knew I could count on him."

"We think Watergate isn't the only Gate. That there's a Gate at every murder site."

"Does anybody understand what he's talking about?" Nancy questioned, and all of them shook their heads, so she drew a question mark.

"Seriously?" Dustin complained. "How many times do I have to be right on the money before you guys just trust me?"

"Jesus Christ," Steve commented. "This kid's gotta get his ego in check."

"It's his tone, right?" Eddie agreed.

"I know."

"Wait, hold on," Serenity interrupted. "If there's a Gate at every murder site, then . . ." She looked over at Eddie. "Hey, how far is your trailer from here?"

"Seven miles," Eddie replied.

"Nancy?" Robin began. "Uh, I know your house here is like, weirdly, creepily frozen in time and shit, but haven't you always had bikes?"

Serenity nodded. "Time to ride some bikes." She reached out to the sparkles and wrote EDDIE'S TRAILER so they got the memo to meet them there. "Let's go, kids."

They went downstairs to the garage. Sure enough, there were some bikes in the garage, enough for all of them. Serenity swung her leg over one and pedaled it out into the street. It creaked underneath her, but it worked nonetheless. They pedaled out from the cul-de-sac onto the street. It probably wasn't good, riding through the toxic air with strange particles floating throughout it, but they didn't have a choice.

The Demo-Bats and other creatures chittered around them, sending shivers up Serenity's spine. She wasn't sure how long they had been riding for, and even though she had been riding bikes for years, her muscles still ached. The streets turned and twisted around the dire landscape of the Upside Down.

On the way, the sounds of the screeching got louder and louder. Serenity glanced over, only to see the Creel house, standing broken on top of the hill. It seemed like the Demo-Bats crowded around there. There was no question as to why. Serenity knew, but she also felt it in her body somehow, that Vecna was in there. She swallowed nervously and turned back ahead.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they made it to Forest Hills Trailer Park.

Eddie pointed to a trailer. "It's right here."

Serenity let her bike fall to the ground as she got off. She stumbled a bit, her legs a little wobbly.

"That's gotta be a Guinness World Record," Robin admitted. "Most miles traveled interdimensionally."

Steve coughed. "Just inhaled a bunch of that crap. It's stuck in my throat."

Eddie opened up his trailer, and all of them entered. Serenity's gaze immediately went to the ceiling, and her heart dropped.

"God damn," Steve said.

It was definitely another Gate. The Gate glowed red, made a sort of squelching noise, and was surrounded by vines. Unlike the one at Lover's Lake, this one was the oldest Gate by Vecna, so it seemed more mature.

"This is where Chrissy died," Eddie explained. "Like, right where she died."

Robin stared at it. "I think there's something in there."

A shadow loomed over the red part before it pressed down into the Gate. It bulged slightly, but didn't break through.

"What the hell is that?" Eddie inquired.

Whatever it was pulled back before sinking in again. This time, the Gate ripped open. Serenity shrieked slightly and moved backwards away from it. The thing in question was a wooden stick, which continued to push away whatever the Gate was made of, spilling a liquid and a flesh-like substance to the floor. Once the hole was big enough, the stick got removed, and more liquid dripped to the ground.

Steve moved forwards first, breathing heavily, but then his eyes widened. "No way."

Serenity followed after him. She looked up, only to see Eddie's trailer in the real world staring back at her. Dustin, Lucas, Max, and Erica were standing on the other side, smiling up — down? — at them. Even though she was in the Upside Down, that world was upside down, so that meant she was really upside down.

God, her head hurt.

Dustin laughed and waved. "Hi there."

"Hi," Serenity, Steve, Robin, Eddie, and Nancy chorused.

"Holy shit, this is trippy," Robin admitted.

"Bada bada boom!" Dustin exclaimed in triumph.

In order to get them out, they had to go through it the right way. They would be coming out from the ceiling, so the kids got a mattress and placed it underneath their side of the Gate. Serenity tilted her head slightly at the brown spots on it.

"Those stains are, uh . . . I don't know what those stains are," Eddie voiced.

Serenity nodded. "Sure."

Dustin then walked to the Gate, holding together a rope of tied-up sheets. "Not quite sure how these physics are gonna work, but uh . . . here goes nothing." He tossed the makeshift rope into the Gate. Serenity watched as it fell down in front of them. "There we go. And if my theory is correct . . ." Dustin let go of the sheets, and the makeshift rope stayed completely suspended in between the two worlds. "Huh. Abracadabra."

"Holy shit," Max said.

"All right, pull on it! See if it holds!"

Robin pulled on the sheets as hard as she could, but nothing happened. Serenity nodded in impressment. It was actually kind of cool.

"This is the craziest shit I've ever seen in my life," Erica stated. "And I've seen some crazy shit."

Robin grabbed onto the sheets first. "Guess I'm the guinea pig."

She hoisted herself up, and with a little struggle, she managed to climb. Serenity watched as she went to the other side, this time hanging from the ropes instead of climbing it.

"All right, let's clear the landing pad," Dustin suggested, and the others got off the mattress.

"Oh my God!" Robin shouted, letting herself fall onto the mattress. She then sat up. "Oh, thank God. That was fun."

The four left in the Upside Down just stared at each other for a moment.

"All right, guess I'll go," Eddie offered.

Eddie climbed up the rope and also landed on the mattress before sitting up. "That was fun." He grabbed onto Dustin's outstretched hand. "Shit."

"Renny, you go," Nancy stated. "We should've let you go first. Out of all of us, you really shouldn't be down here."

Steve noticed her nervousness and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey. We'll be right behind you, promise."

Serenity nodded. "Okay."

She shook out her hands and took a deep breath. Serenity latched onto the rope and pulled herself up. She hadn't been the best at it in gym class, but she could at least do it. Serenity climbed through the Gate, and before she knew it, she was back in the real world. Gravity pulled her down, and her hands slipped off of the sheets. She landed on her back on the mattress.

"Woah," Serenity let out, sitting up. "That was weird." She took Dustin's hand and pulled herself up. "You guys stay out of trouble?"

Dustin shook his head. "Not even close."

However, unlike what Steve had said, him and Nancy were not right behind her. Serenity looked up through the Gate, only to see Steve and Nancy just standing there. Her eyebrows knit in confusion and she stepped closer to get a better look.

Steve had his hands on Nancy's shoulders and was shaking her. "Nancy. Hey, hey! Stay with me, Nancy. Hey! Nancy, wake up!"

Serenity's eyes widened when she noticed Nancy's frozen state and how her eyes looked cloudy. "Vecna." She looked to the others. "Guys, go find music. Anything!"

They nodded and rushed off to Eddie's bedroom. Serenity stayed, her heart beating fast against her chest. If Vecna was taking Nancy because she escaped his grasp, she wanted to trade places. Serenity had been so afraid of dying by Vecna, but she would not allow another person, especially someone so close to her, to die for her. Nancy hadn't even done anything.

"Nancy, just stay with me," Steve urged. "Stay with me, okay?" He looked at Serenity through the Gate. "'Renity, tell them whatever they're doing, hurry up!"

Serenity nodded and raced to the bedroom, her panic evident. "Don't mean to intrude, I'm sure you're doing your best, but Steve says to hurry!"

"Yeah, no shit!" Dustin yelled.

"We're trying, we can't find anything!" Max shouted.

Robin had a bunch of tapes spilling out of her hands. "Seriously, what is all this shit?"

"What are you even looking for?" Eddie asked.

"Madonna, Blondie, Bowie, Beatles, music, we need music!"

Eddie ripped the tape out of her hand. "This is music!"

"Oh my God," Serenity muttered. She ran back to the Gate. "All Eddie has is metal."

Suddenly, Nancy gasped, and her eyes cleared. Steve caught her and gently lowered her down to the floor of the Upside Down. Serenity felt her heart rate decrease, and she let out a breath of relief.

There was one lingering question, though — Nancy would've died if she didn't have music. Considering she didn't, that meant Vecna had to have let her go. So why did he let her go if he could just kill her so easily?

⊹⊱••••••⊰⊹

!!!!! THIS !!!!! IS !!!!! MUSIC !!!!!