My World / Stanger Things (Book 1)

The Flea and the Acrobat

By some miracle, we were able to keep El on Mike's bike and get her to the Wheelers. I help get her situated on the couch with some blankets and pillows. I decided to call my Aunt and tell her I'm ok cause she gets worried easily. She scolds me a little for not going to school but understands because of the situation. I pretend to be upset and tell her I'm at the Wheelers with boys mourning. After the call, I head downstairs.

"Empty and cold. Wait, did he say cold?" Dustin says I walk down the stairs.

'What are we talking about?" I ask.

"We're trying to figure out what Will meant," says Lucas. I turn to El and she nods.

"After I dropped El off here the other night, I went to go see Mrs.Byers. She was refusing to believe that Will is dead. She kept telling Hopper he was talking to her through the lights and said a tall, faceless creature came out of the wall. At first, it sounded crazy, but then he said he was hiding," I explain.

"What do you mean?" asks Mike.

"Remember when El flipped over the board and set Will's piece down and said he was hiding?"

"Yeah," says Dustin standing up.

"Well I thought about it for a while and then when I heard what Will said, it all clicked," I say.

"Upside down," says El sleepily.

"Yes. Of course. Upside down," I say. The boys turn to me. 

"I don't get it," says Lucas. I sigh.

"El flipped the board upside down right? It's dark and cold but just like the other side. And when El took us to find Will, she took us to his house. But he wasn't there. What if he was there but we couldn't see him. What if Will went upside down?"

"Like in another dimension?" asked Lucas. 

"Yes, say this is Hawkins," I say flipping the board to its normal side, "and this is where Will is. The upside-down." I say flipping the board over. "And that night after I saw Joyce, I started looking at everything. I didn't think much of it at first, but now it all makes sense." I rush over to Mike's bookcase and pull out his D&D guide. I set it on the table and the boys crowd around me as I flip through the pages.

"The Vale of Shadows is a dimension that is a dark reflection, or echo of our world. It is a place of decay and death. A plane out of phase. A place of monsters. It's right next to you and you don't even see it," I say. My heart is pounding out of my chest and everyone is breathing hard.

"An alternate dimension?" asks Mike in shock.

"But.... how do we even get there?" Lucas asks.

"You cast shadow walk," Dustin says.

"In real life dummy," sighs Lucas.

"We can't cast shadow walk, but," I look at El and her eyes meet mine. "Maybe she can."

"Do you know how we get there? To the Upside down?" Mike asks El. El slowly shakes her head.

"Oh my God," sighs Lucas. We all sigh and turn away from El. I look at the Vale of Shadows picture and turn back to El. Her face is sad and she looks at me straight in the eyes. She gives me a small, discreet nod.

My heart sinks. El does know. She knows how to get to The Upside down. From the look in her eyes, I can tell, that it's not a good thing.

~ ~

The next morning is Will's funeral. I act upset as me and Aunt Sharron are getting ready. I put on a pretty black dress and curl my hair.