The Overcomer, Stranger Things

Where are we?

Gwen's eyelids felt heavy as she slowly blinked her eyes open. Instead of being met with the sunlight, Gwen was used to waking up to every morning, the young girl was met with darkness. Gwen looked around to see that she was in her room... but not quite HER room. She rolled off the bed and groaned when her socks made contact with the soggy, wet carpet. 

Worst. Feeling. Ever. 

Gwen shuddered when she saw the ugly, slimy vines that were hung like Christmas lights all over the walls. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves, only to go into a coughing fit. The awful smell of mildew, paired with the spores drifting through the air made her nose burn. This place is not her home. Gwen just wants to go home. 

The youngest Byers wanted her family. She wanted her mom. She wanted Johnathan. She wanted- Will. Will. Where was Will?

"Will!" she shouted, frantically as she stepped out of the bedroom. 

Gwen stopped in her tracks, when she saw Will on the phone, holding a finger to his lips with wide eyes. Gwen's eyes widened in horror when she heard low growling coming from behind her. That was why Will wanted her to be quiet. She could hear loud static coming through the phone. For a second, she thought, she heard her mom crying but quickly brushed that thought away. It was just her and Will. And the Demogorgon. 

Gwen turned around, her breathing labored, to see the monster in all its glory. The faceless monster unfurled its flesh like petals, lined with sharp teeth, to reveal a large open mouth. Gwen shook uncontrollably in her place, frozen with fear. She let out a loud  sob when the monster erupted in a horrifying screech, causing bits of meat to fly in the girls face. 

Gwen backed away from the monster as fast as she could, knocking things over in the process. She looked over at Will who was whimpering softly, crouched down on the floor, with his hands over his ears. The deagoron stalked towards her slowly, like a predator hunting its prey. Gwen let out another whimper. 

"P-please, please, please" she whispered desperately, as she backed into a wall. The monster growled grotesquely. 

Right as the demagorogn is about to devour the girl, it was hit from behind. The creature turned around slowly to find Will holding a fire extinguisher above his head. It didn't even leave a bruise. The demagorgon was unharmed. The other two, however, were in deep trouble. 

Gwen held her breath as she watched her brother's face get paler and paler by the second. The demagorgon seemed to have forgotten about her as it was now focused on her poor, helpless older brother. The young girl silently crept over to the knives rack, pulling out the biggest one she could find. Right as the beast was about to unleash its wrath on Will, the fiesty 7-year-old impaled it from behind with a steak knife. The creature let out a pained shriek before falling to the ground. 

Gwen wasted no time grabbing her brother and making a beeline for the door. Due to their rush to get out of the house, the Byers kids did not see that instead of killing the monster, the knife was simply absorbed by the creature. Now the Byers kids not only had to deal with being trapped in an alternate dimension, but they had a pissed off, indestructable demagorgon after them. Could things possibly get any worse? Yes. Yes, they could. 

~:~

"Will are you insane? We can't go back there!" Gwen said incredulously. 

"Gwen, I taked to mom. Through the-" Will started, desperately trying to convince his sister to go back to the Byers' household, alternate dimansion edition. 

"Through the lights, yes, I know. But what if that thing is still there? We're on our own out here. Mom can't protect us," Gwen expressed, gesturing to the dark, scary woods around them. 

At this, Will fell silent. He knew his siter was right. He just really missed their mom. Gwen sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

"I miss her, too," the young girl said sadly. She felt tears welling up in her eyes at just the thought of their mom. She was definitely a momma's girl. And, right now, she was terribly homesick. 

Knowing exactly what his little sister needed, Will wrapped his arms around the small girl. Gwen sighed as she burrowed herself into her brother's embrace. The kids just wanted to go home. 

~:~

After much debate, Will finally convinced Gwen to go back to their house. Gwen agreed on one condition: they had to make a pit stop first. That was how the two eded up in the bear trap section of a hardware store. The Byers' shopping cart had all of the monster hunting equipment: a crowbar, three wodden stakes, two large mallets, a blowtorch, several trip wires, a rope, nails, bear traps, a container of gasoline, a box of matches, a shovel, and two guns. Since Will and Gwen were the only two in the store - scratch that, the only two in the town - they didn't have to pay. As the two stated their journey home, Will voiced his worry. 

"I'm a little bit concerned as to how you know what all these weapons are."

"What exactly are you implying William Byers?" Gwen questioned with a raised eyebrow, causing her brother to laugh. 

"What I mean is where did you learn about all this stuff?"

"Have you ever known me to miss a Home Alone re-run?"