Her Perfect Mistake // Max Mayfield

25. Welcome Home

Annabelle...

When Bella opened her eyes, she was laying flat on the ground. The sky above her was red, like someone spilled blood all over it. She couldn't feel pain, nor locate any of her wounds. On the contrary, physically, she felt better than ever.

Standing up, she inhaled deeply, before coughing. She noticed the white particles surrounding her. Acting quickly, she put her hand on her mouth to prevent breathing any more of the snow-like flakes.

It was clear to her that she was in the Upside Down. But how would that be possible if Hopper closed the gate? Wasn't everything supposed to come to an end? Did he fail to close it? No, if that was the case, then the Mind Flayer would still be alive.

Annabelle...

"Huh?" the girl hummed and turned around, just to be met with nothingness. Bella could swear she heard her name, but there was no one around. Trying to ignore the disembodied "voice", she quickly removed her shirt to see if she had any wounds or scars. There was nothing. Not even the scar from the Demo-dog was there.

"What the fuck?" Bella whispered under her breath, trying to process everything that was going on. Is this what hell is like? Is she dead?

The blue-eyed girl turned around to look at her surroundings. Although every time she was in the Upside Down, she was in Hawkins, this time the area was completely new and unfamiliar to her.

There were the vines, but they would always be there. Other than that, she was on a single paved road, leading to a mansion. There were no signs, nor mailboxes. It would be actually quite peaceful, if it wasn't covered in vines and white particles weren't flying around. Huge trees were surrounding the road, and didn't help make it any less creepy.

From all of this, she came to the conclusion that she was in a forest, but why would she be here? Her steps echoed around her as she slowly made her way to the mansion. Being closer, she saw that the house was much bigger than she originally thought. It was wooden and had a big porch with a single table and a chair. A shotgun was laying in front of the door.

Most of the windows were broken, either from the vines or some kids broke it with stones before the Upside Down was created. One, however, was standing out from the rest. The window on the door was painted in a strange way, like someone painted it with blood. It almost glowed and looked brand new, unlike pretty much everything in this dimension.

The painted glass represented a rose with 6 leaves and no thorns. The rose itself looked normal, but something else was off about it. Bella felt like this specific window held a significant purpose, and perhaps that's the reason why it's not shattered to pieces like the rest.

She held her arm and twisted the golden handle. The door creaked as it opened, revealing a long corridor. The vines moved every time Bella made a step, like they were afraid of her.

Annabelle...

"Who the fuck is here?" Bella yelled, paranoia filling her. She knew that someone must be there, unless she had totally lost it and now also hears voices, "I said, who is here?" the girl yelled again and saw the pattern on the wall.

It was almost as if the vines were moving in a specific direction, telling her to go there. Shaking away the fear that build up inside her, she made small steps while following the vines. She went to the second floor, trying her best to stick to the pattern. Eventually, she found her way to hidden stairs.

She inspected the surrounding vines. She held up her arm to touch one, but it immediately retracted. Sighing, she went up the stairs and revealed an attic with more than one room.