Chapter 10
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See You On The Other Side

            Olivia Henderson never thought she would find herself in the Upside Down again. After diving into the lake, she spotted a strange red glow and once she hesitantly swam towards it, she realized that it must have been was the gate. Upon entering the Upside Down, she noticed it was just as she remembered, except it immediately felt much scarier and darker than the last time she was there. It was no doubt the most terrifying place in the world.

            All she could see was different shades of red surrounding her. If she hadn't known what this world already was, she would've thought it was Hell. Her eyes travelled to the ground that was covered in slimy vines. She cautiously watched her step, trying not to trip or get caught in them.

            The sky was painted a devil shade of red, a dark cloud was looming over her, and every now and then a bolt of lightning would strike from the sky. A couple of bats were swarming in the air, screeching out the most unpleasant high-pitched wails. She ducked her head and covered her ears with her hands when one of the bats swooshed over her. It was an unearthly, hellish world that was far beyond her worst nightmares. But she was here to find and save Steve, and get out of here as soon as she could.

It wasn't long until Robin, Nancy, and Eddie joined her at her side. "Y-you guys followed me here?" She asked, suddenly overwhelmed with love and warmth.

"Didn't think we'd let you go on your own, did you?" Robin said as another bolt of lightening struck the sky. "You might need this," The blonde added, handing Olivia an oar.

Olivia smiled at her friends, but before she could reply, her breath hitched when she heard the sound of Steve's agonizing screams. Olivia screamed out his name and followed the sound of his screams. She stopped in her tracks out of the utmost fear when she finally spotted him. Her Steve. He was lying on the ground, tied to some vines from the ground while bats were surrounding his body.

Without skipping a beat, Olivia took the oar from Robin and with the help of her friends, she started to hit the bats that crowded Steve. "Get. Off. Of. Him!" She emphasized each word, swatting each bat away, while trying not to hit Steve at the same time. Even being in the Upside Down, there was still nothing more frightening than watching the love of her life being tortured, so she used all of the determination that she had, and tried to hold back her tears and stay strong as she fought off the bats that were sinking their teeth into Steve.

As Olivia continued to hit the bats, another one flew by and landed on her back. "Ah! Olivia! Watch out!" Robin screamed.

"Get off me! Get off me!" Olivia shrieked, taking a few steps back. The bat was straddling it's long, thin tail around her neck. Nancy and Robin both tried to pull the bat off of her, while Eddie was swatting the other bats that were zooming around them.

When Steve was free of the bats, he quickly stood up and yanked the bat off of Olivia, throwing it to the ground and hitting it's wings until it was torn in half. Out of breath, Steve and Olivia both embraced each other in a hug. "S-steve, are you okay?" She asked, her heart still racing.

"Well, they took about a pound of flesh, but other than that, yeah, never better," Steve said sarcastically, locking eyes with Olivia.

"Alright, from now on, promise me you'll consult in me first before doing anything stupid like that again, alright? I've said this before and I'll say it again, we're in this together," Olivia said firmly.

Steve just nodded, not being able to take his eyes off of her. Olivia had just risked her life to save his without a second thought. She pulled him in a hug again, not wanting to let him go.

"Uh, do you guys think these bats have like, rabies?" Robin said wearily, kneeling down and studying the now-dead bats. "It's just that, rabies are like my number one greatest fear, and I think we should probably get you to a doctor like, really soon. Because once the symptoms set in, it too late. You're already like, dead."

Olivia and Steve share a confused look with the others, before a screeching noise in the distance catches there attention. The couple pulled apart slowly, turning their heads around only to see another swarm of bats flying towards them. Steve pushed Olivia behind him protectively as of what was just a few bats before, was now an army of bats that was landing in front of them.

"More bats!" Olivia huffed, peeking her head over Steve's shoulder. "Seriously, why does it have to be bats?"

"There's not that many. We can take them, right?" Steve said hopefully. But as the bats stared at them in an almost mockingly way, they knew they wouldn't be able to defeat these bats on their own.

"The woods," Nancy gestured to the trees behind them, catching everyone's attention. "Come on!"

Steve grabbed a hold of Olivia's small hand, and the group starting running in the direction of the woods all the while making sure to not trip over the vines.

"Great," Robin mumbled. "More running."

𓆩♡𓆪

The five of them were huddled under Skull Rock, hiding until the bats were gone. When Steve started to stand up, he looked like he was about to faint. Olivia immediately ran over to his aide.

"I'm fine," Steve lied as he winced in pain, making Olivia worried. Olivia gently moved his hand where he was covering his wound, only to reveal that his stomach was trickling with blood.

"No, you're not. You're oozing blood. Sit," She ordered, helping him sit on the rock.

Olivia began to tear off her sleeve off of her lilac sweater as Robin knelt beside him. "Okay, so the good news is that wooziness is not a common symptom of rabies. But, um, if you start having hallucinations or muscle spasms or you start feeling really aggressive, like you wanna punch me then you just totally let me know-"

"Robin?"

"Yeah?"

"I kind of wanna punch you," Steve said through gritted teeth.

"Sense of humor's still intact," Robin laughed uneasily, glancing at Olivia. "Still a good sign. Um, okay, I'll leave you guys alone," She said, giving Olivia a thumbs up.

Once Olivia pulled the rest of her sleeve off, she tied the fabric around Steve's stomach to help the wound stop from bleeding. As she tied the knot securely around his waist, Steve smiled softly at her, not being able to take his eyes off of her again. The couple locked eyes for the second time, like they were in their own little world. "Thanks," Steve breathed. "For saving me back there. Is it a bad time to say that kind of made me fall even more in love with you?"

"Maybe," Olivia blushed, leaning her head on his shoulder.

The couple continued to gaze at each other in a comfortable silence. Their faces started to lean in closer together until Eddie spoke up, pulling them out of their trance. He stepped up on a rock, scanning his new surroundings. "So, uh, this place is like Hawkins, but with monsters and nasty shit?"

"Pretty much," Olivia replied as she helped Steve slowly stand up by draping her arm around his shoulder. Before Eddie could step down, Olivia stopped him. "Wait, watch out for the vines, it's all a hive mind," She warned him, remembering what Mike had explained to her two years ago.

            "It's all a what?" Eddie repeated in confusion.

            "All the creepy crawlies around here, dude," Steve answered this time. "They're like, one, or something. You step on a vine, you're stepping on a bat, you're stepping on Vecna," He explained.

            "Shit," Eddie cursed while carefully stepping over the creepy, almost snake-like vines.

            "But everything from our world is still here, right?" Robin chipped in. "Except people, obviously?"

            "As far as we understand. Yeah," Nancy nodded.

            "So, theoretically, we could go to the police station and steal guns and grenades and whatever we need to blow up those bat things that are guarding the gate," Robin suggested.

            "Yeah, I highly doubt that the Hawkins PD has grenades, Robin," Steve retorted.

            Nancy stepped forward. "Well, we don't have to go downtown all the way for guns. I have guns. In my bedroom."

             Eddie hopped down from the rock, raising his eyebrows in surprise at who he always assumed was the 'Miss Perfect' Wheeler girl. "You, Nancy Wheeler, have guns? Plural? In your bedroom?" He asked incredulously.

             "Yeah, she's pretty badass, Eddie," Olivia recalled at the memory from three years ago. She most likely wouldn't have been standing here today if it weren't for Nancy saving her life. "If it weren't for her, I'd probably be dead. Saved me from one of those creepy demogorgans," She added.

             Nancy turned her head to her left, smiling at her friend. "Well, of course I had to save my best friend. I mean, what would I do without you, Liv?" While there was playfulness in Nancy's words, she genuinely meant what she said. The girls share a laugh before Nancy looks back at Eddie. "A Russian Makarov and a revolver," She specified.

            "Yeah, you almost shot me with that one," Steve mumbled to Nancy.

            "You almost deserved it!" Olivia said playfully as she remembered the old Steve.

             Steve sent her an annoyed glare. "Wow, thanks Liv," He said sarcastically, but nonetheless looks at her with loving eyes. Steve was so different back then, and that seemed so long ago. If someone told her back then that she would be dating him now, she certainly would have thought that person was crazy.

            Eddie tossed his jean jacket to Steve, once again breaking Steve and Olivia's gaze with each other. "For your modesty, dude," Eddie retorted, referring to the fact that Steve had his shirt off.

            Olivia blushed immensely, but the moment was interrupted when all at once the ground began to rumble. It was as if the ground had come to life. Steve immediately pulled his arms around Olivia protectively. Olivia clung onto him as if her life depended it while her body shook with fear. Eddie was holding Robin while Nancy was leaning on Skull Rock.

            When the ground finally became still, Olivia let out a heavy breath. "Is everyone okay?" She asked worriedly. The gang mumbled various yeses in response. Steve was still holding her, fearing that something would happen to her if he let go.

           "Yeah, so, guns seem like a pretty good idea to me," Eddie said.

            Everyone hummed in agreement, standing up on their feet and started to walk in the direction of Nancy's house.

𓆩♡𓆪

            It had been a good half hour of wandering in the woods, trying to find their way to Nancy's. One of Olivia's greatest fears was being in the woods, but on top of that she was in the Upside Down while also in the dark. She walked with the girls and chatted with them about random things, trying to ease her nerves while Steve and Eddie were walking a few feet behind them.

"Henderson told me you were a badass," Eddie said to Steve, his expression mixed with jealousy but also admiration. Noticing Steve's look of confusion, Eddie clarified it for him. "Dustin, I mean. Insisted on the matter, in fact."

Steve widened his eyes, taken aback by Eddie's words. "Wait, Henderson said that?"

"Oh, yeah. Kid worships you, dude. Like, it's kind of annoying, to be honest," Eddie told him. Steve scoffed at his comment, but smiled faintly, not wanting to admit that he cared what Dustin thought of him. "I don't even know why I care what that little shrimp thinks, but, uh, guess I got a little jealous, Steve."

Eddie paused for a moment before speaking up again. "I guess I couldn't accept the fact that Steve Harrington is actually a good dude. Rich parents, popular, beautiful girlfriend, not a douche? No way, man. That's like... flies in the face of all the laws in the universe. And my own personal Munson doctrine."

"Still super jealous as hell, by the why," He cackled. "I mean, mostly because you have Olivia. She's the reason I would have never jumped in that lake to save your ass. Not under any, uh... normal circumstances," He freezes when he hears a faint sound in the distance.

"Nope," He continued, shaking his head. "Outside of D&D, I am no hero. I see danger and I just turn heel and run. Or, at least, that's what I've learned about this week," He scoffed bitterly at himself. "The only reason why I came in here was because those ladies came in straight after you. Now, I was the one who was too ashamed to stay behind. But, Lady Henderson right there, she didn't waste a second," He pointed to Olivia. "Not one second," He repeated more firmly. "She just dove right in. Now, I don't know how you landed a girl like her, but if I were you, I would never let her go. Because that was as unambiguous sign of true love as these cynical eyes have ever seen."

While listening to Eddie, Steve stared at Olivia lovingly who was up ahead of them and laughing adorably with Robin about something. He silently agreed with Eddie, even sometimes wondering to himself how he got so lucky to have the most beautiful girl in the world.

The ground shakes again, interrupting Steve's thoughts and he unsteadily tumbles to the ground. Meanwhile, Olivia was about to trip over a vine but Robin was quick to catch her, and the two girls along with Nancy crotch down, holding onto the trees for protection. Olivia could feel her stomach lurching and she clutched onto Robin this time and glances behind her to make sure Steve was okay, fearing the sudden earthquake.

"Okay, second on my least favorite things: earthquakes. Seriously, I'm unsteady enough as it is!" Robin panicked.

Something seemed to grab Nancy's attention when she begins to run ahead of them. "Nance! Where are you going?" Olivia yelled over the loud earthquake. "Nancy!"

She let go of Robin and started to follow Nancy. Relief flooded through Olivia, realizing they had finally made it to the Wheeler's. Only it didn't look as inviting as it did in their world. The roof was cracked and the house was dressed in vines. Still, the five of them smiled in relief at each other and began walking towards it.

𓆩♡𓆪

            The Wheeler home that Olivia loved so much was exactly as it was in the Upside Down except it was dark and dusty with particles swirling in the air. It made her feel uneasy inside, knowing that it was the Wheeler's home but it wasn't the Wheeler's home.

            Olivia noticed Nancy glancing around her creepy alternate-dimension home. "You okay, Nance?" She asked in concern, knowing it must have been difficult to see your home in such a state.

            "I'm fine," Nancy replied. "Come on, I don't want to stay here longer than we have to." She started to lead everyone up stairs, but Steve stops Olivia before going up.

            "Do you hear that?" Steve asked curiously. When Olivia shook her head in response, Steve took her hand and lead her over to living room. "It's Dustin, I think he's here!" He started to shout Dustin's name repeatedly and examined the walls that were covered with more vines. "You try calling him, Liv. Maybe he'll listen to you," He shrugged.

            Olivia looked at him quizzically with no clue what he was talking about. "Steve, what are you-" She abruptly stopped talking when she finally heard it, the sound of Dustin's muffled voice through the walls. "Dustin!" She cried. "Dustin!"

            When Robin, Nancy, and Eddie come back downstairs, they look at Steve and Olivia with startled expressions. "Maybe Steve really does have rabies," Robin whispered.

            "Liv, Steve, what are you guys doing?" Nancy queried.

            "He's here, Henderson. That little shit, he's here," Steve informed, out of breath. "He's in the walls or something. Just listen."

            Everyone began to spread out and call out Dustin's name frantically. "Alright, either this kid can't here us or he's being a total douchebag," Steve scoffed.

            "Will found a way," Olivia said suddenly. "Will. He found a way to speak to Joyce through the lights."  She ran over to the light switch and began to turn it on and off.

            Steve stopped her and brought her attention over to the chandelier that had little gold particles floating under it. Olivia walked over to the chandelier with curiosity and extended her hand to the particles. The tiny particles begin to move around like magic as she waved her hand through them. Her hand began to feel tingly, and she giggled softly at the feeling. The others look at her weirdly, and she gestured for them to come over and try it.

            "It... tickles," Steve chuckled lightly.

            "It kind of feels good, right?" Olivia giggled as the rest of them smiled in agreement. "It looks like pixie dust," She smiled giddily.

            "Does anyone know Morse code?" Nancy asked, pulling Olivia away from her daze.

            The group shakes there head in response. "Wait, does S.O.S. count?" Olivia spoke up. "Dustin taught me S.O.S. for emergencies... is that- is that good?"

            Everyone glared at her with deadpanned expressions. "I'll take that as a yes..." Olivia mumbled, starting to brush her hands through the particles.

            Robin's eyes lit up. "It's working!" She grinned.

𓆩♡𓆪

            The five of them were crowded around Nancy's bed as they eagerly waited for a source of light to show. Dustin had come up with the genius idea to use Holly's Lite Brite toy to be able to communicate.

            A few minutes later, the tiny gold particles appeared in front of them. "You guys seeing this?" Olivia heard Dustin yell through the walls.

            Olivia and the others cheer, and she started to use her fingers to trace the particles, spelling out the first thing she thought of:

             H I

           She heard Dustin chuckling happily, making her smile and immediately hugged Steve, relieved to know Dustin's plan worked. She thinks thoughtfully for a moment, thinking of what letters she should trace next.

            S T U C K

            "You can't get back through watergate?" Dustin's voice echoed.

            "What the hell is watergate?" Steve asked.

            "Because it's in water and it's a gate," Robin snorted at Steve's cluelessness.

             Olivia rolled her eyes at Robin and started to trace the gold particles again.

            G U A R D E D 

            "Watergate's guarded," Dustin read. "Okay, we think we have a theory that can help with that."

            "Liv, your brother is a genius child," Robin exhaled.

            "We think watergate isn't the only gate," Dustin explained. "That's there's a gate at every murder site."

            "Does anybody understand what he's talking about?" Nancy asked, confused.

            Everyone looked to Olivia as if she would know what Dustin was talking about. "Just because he's my brother, that doesn't mean I understand everything he says," She said while rolling her eyes at them. "Okay, um..."

           ?

            "Okay, seriously?" Dustin heaved frustratedly. "How many times do I have to be right on the money before you guys just trust me?!"

            "Liv, I seriously don't understand how you put up with him everyday," Steve retorted. "The kid has gotta get his ego in check."

           "Believe me, I know," Olivia sighed. "I mean, I love him and all but he can be a real pain sometimes."

            Eddie looked at the couple. "It's his tone, right?"

            Olivia laughed at his comment. "Wait, I think I know what he's talking about. Eddie, how far is your trailer?"

            "Seven miles," Eddie answered.

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

𓆩♡𓆪

             After Robin's smart suggestion, they hurried to the garage, each of them grabbing bikes. They safely arrived to Eddie's trailer in no time. When they walk inside his trailer, a red glow was on the ceiling, similar to what Olivia had seen in the lake.

            "This is right where Chrissy died," Eddie shuddered at the terrifying memory. "Like, right where she died."

             "I think something's in there," Robin observed. Sure enough, something seemed to be digging through the red hole in the ceiling, almost like it was coming to life. When the red hole bursted open, a bunch of slimy goo was dripping from it. Olivia let out a small yelp, jumping back in surprise. Bravely, Olivia began to step forward, but the others quickly tugged her back, fearing that it could possibly be something dangerous.

Steve was the first one to walk closer to the hole. "No way," Steve said in awe, and signaled to the others that it was okay to come over.

Olivia slowly walked close behind Steve, but all the fear that was inside of her washed away when she saw what was on the inside of the hole. She grinned widely: it was Dustin, Max, Lucas, and Erica, only they were upside down from their view. Dustin waved excitedly, jumping up and down.

"Holy shit, this is trippy," Robin said under her breath.

"Thank God your alright Liv," Dustin shouted above them. "Mom has been interrogating me about you! She's been worried sick!"

"Yeah, nice to see you to Dusty," Olivia shook her head at her brother with a huge grin.

"Ba-da ba-da boom!" Dustin cheered, pumping his fist in the air proudly.

Not wasting a second, Dustin and the others lay a mattress on the floor and ties a bed sheet together to make a long rope. He swings it over to the other side, making it a way for everyone to safely make it out of the Upside Down.

            Robin was the first one to climb up the rope. "Oh, thank God. That was fun!" She breathed once she successfully landed on the mattress. Eddie and Nancy went next after Robin, leaving Olivia and Steve to be the last ones to climb up.

            "See you on the other side," Steve smiled softly.

            "On the other side," Olivia nodded. Steve helped her up on the rope, but instead of landing on the mattress like the others did, she began to fall into a dark, empty void.

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock

It is time, Olivia