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(TW: mention of self harm scars)
AS KALI WAS FLIPPED THROUGH the gate, her entire body went into a shiver. She always seemed to forget how cold it was in the Upside Down, and her shirt had fallen off after being trapped in the slime beside her. She rolled over on the dry ground, coughing up the salty, dirty water she'd inhaled on her way down, taking a moment to catch her breath.
Suddenly, she felt something wrap around her ankle. It was burning hot and singed straight through her skin, the contrast between this heat and the icy air around her feeling unbareable. Kali squeezed her toes through her sneakers, clenching her jaw and fighting it off through her veins. After a moment, the growing tendril flinched, releasing the girl from its grip with a squeal of pain when it was hit by a jolt of electricity.
"KALI!"
Hearing the tortured cry, the girl was immediately reminded of why she risked her life to come here in the first place. To save Steve Harrington. The boy was on the floor, being attacked by what seemed to be blood-sucking bats, his entire body being strapped to the ground and restrained by the tendrils. He held onto his neck, trying to yank away one of the bats, which had wrapped its tail around Steve to suffocate him.
Kali ran forwards to help out, grabbing the creatures with her bare hand and squeezing them tightly, making them sizzle to death. Once they were all gone, she held out her hand for Steve to take, not offering him a smile.
"You saved me," he said, slightly shocked and shaken up, as he jumped back onto his feet, covered in blood and obvious infection.
Kali shrugged. "I want to be the one to kill you."
Steve smiled and nodded.
"Oh, my God! You two are the biggest idiots I know!"
This time, when Kali turned to face somebody, she smiled. Because this somebody was her somebody, and she simply couldn't look at her with a straight face anymore.
The girl standing opposite her grinned back. Nancy Wheeler was going to have a heart attack one day over Kali and her impulsive behaviour. She had to take a couple of moments gain her breath after the madness that had just gone on in the space of three minutes.
"Holy shit," Robin Buckley whispered, breaking up the moment, talking her very first steps into the Upside Down, along with Riley and Eddie, none of them having ever experienced the world here before.
Eddieʼs eyes widened at the sight of Kali. "Nice tats!" he exclaimed, looking over her arms, impressed. "You've got more than me."
Kali shrugged.
Nancy had to bite her lip to stop herself from smiling way too much. There wasn't even anything to smile about, but she felt so unbelievably giddy at the appearance of her ex right now. Kali always wore long shirts over her outfits, so you could only ever see the multiple tattoos on her hands, but Nancy loved seeing all of them. Nancy loved the art on Kaliʼs body, because every mark told a different story. And, now, as the girl stood in a thin tank top, Nancy was able to re-read the entirety of her favourite book, along with a few brand new sequels.
