TW: Descriptions of blood and wounds
Joyce and Hopper looked over at each other through the glass of their hazmat suits before facing forward again and walking through the gate, into the Upside Down.
Inside, it was cold and gray, particles floated around the air, and it was dimly lit as if by a moon covered by clouds, making it hard for them to see anything outside of the beams of their flashlights.
Joyce's breathing started getting heavy as she realized what Will and Kitty had been living like for the past week.
Hopper glanced over at her, concerned. "Hey, are you alright?"
"Yeah," Joyce said, but it came out forced and breathy.
"I need you to relax, okay? I want you to slow down your breathing, take deep breaths. In and out. Deep breath in... and out. In... and out. In... and out."
Joyce took his guidance and slowed down her breathing, taking deeper breaths.
"You okay?" Hopper asked after a minute.
"Yeah... yeah." Joyce nodded, and he gave her a thumbs up as they walked deeper into the Upside Down, and approached the woods.
They were walking for about 20 minutes when they finally got to the area of the woods near Castle Byers.
Hopper stopped to inspect some kind of weird eggshell. Joyce, now recognizing the area, picked up her pace in walking to the fort, only to find it in pieces. The rotting wood planks strewn all over and drops of blood were all over the sheets and bedding.
"Will!! Will!!!" She shouted spinning around desperately pointing her flashlight around the wreckage looking for some sign of either of them.
Hopper looked up from the egg upon hearing her screams and ran over, pointing his own flashlight over the wreckage and stopping over the stuffed lion for a minute, falling off into his thoughts.
"Will!! Katherine! Will!! Will!!!"
Joyce's screams snapped Hopper out of his thoughts and he looked up, and started sweeping the ground with his flashlight, starting to call out the kids' names too in hopes of a response, "Katherine! Katherine!! Will!"
Then, they heard screeching in the distance, they shared a glance before starting off in the direction the sound came from walking quickly.
Before long they were approaching the Byer's house from around the back. Joyce looked over at Hopper but he just continued ahead, up the back stairs and then holding the back door open for Joyce as they walked inside.
They scanned the room with their flashlights before walking further into the house, Hopper passed by the hall and pointed his flashlight at a big stain and burn mark in the middle of the floor.
"It was hurt." He said and Joyce came to look.
They turned and followed a trail of black blood back out of the hallway and through the living room up to the front door.
"Mom." A faint whisper came from somewhere above. "Is that you? Mom."
Joyce stopped in her tracks and looked around her. "Johnathan?" She muttered to herself.
"Joyce, come on," Hopper called from the front door.
Joyce sighed and turned around following him out of the house and down the driveway.
"Hey, Look," Hopper said, pointing with his flashlight to a line of droplets of blood coming out of the woods and following along the road.
"Oh..." Joyce whimpered. "Oh, Will..."
YOU ARE READING
F*ck You Flowerpod From Hell - Stranger Things
FanfictionWill Byers wasn't the only one in the Upside Down. Katherine "Kitty" Lance was with him. Follow their story as they fight to survive and reunite with their friends and family, and in the aftermath as Kitty comes to find herself with a horde of adopt...
