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UNTIL NOW, THE UPSIDE DOWN HAD MERELY been a concept to Amara. It was the expanse where Will had gone missing for a week, the crumpled-up drawing from when Nancy had ventured into the otherworldly realm, the dwelling of supernatural monsters that had slaughtered dozens of their own, a domain that kept coming back for more no matter how many blows it suffered. It lurked beneath the veil of toxic chemical leaks and mall fires and Satanic rituals, a world so similar yet different from their own. A plane no more than an interdimensional portal away from theirs, one that Amara hadn't stepped foot in until now.
When she broke through the fissure, gasping as stale air flooded her lungs, she barely had the mind to focus on what she could see when every molecule of her being was pointing her toward what she could hear. The strangled cry, one that belonged to the boy who had endured far too many beatings and yet refused to give up his position as the designated punching bag, came just beyond her field of view, the very same anguish that until a point in time would render Amara too paralyzed to move. A battered oar not dissimilar from the one Steve had utilized to determine Eddie's presence beneath the tarp of the boat she'd left behind along with her friends caught her eye and she armed herself with it, readying herself for anything. It wasn't her crowbar nor a cattle prod, but it was the best she could find considering their circumstances.
"Amara!"
Before her, Steve was wailing in agony as he fought off whatever had prevented him from coming back to her as he had promised. Behind her were her Robin, Nancy, and Eddie, who had followed her without hesitation in the event that she wouldn't have been able to rescue him on her own. It was a reminder that she had never been alone in saving Steve – Max had injected the syringe into Billy Hargrove's jugular. Dustin and Erica had helped her drag Steve and Robin out of the Russian bunker. And now her friends had risked their lives by joining her because they were a team.
Hoping that the slight jerk of her chin conveyed how immensely grateful she was to the three of them, Amara sprinted as best as she could on the gelatinous terrain until she found him, her breath catching in her throat at the sight below her. A batlike creature had constricted itself around Steve's throat, cutting off his air supply as he feebly attempted to thwart two others from mauling the skin of his abdomen. The discarded oar by his side suggested that he had fought them off until they resorted to expanding their numbers, but there were enough paddles in the vicinity to level the playing field.
Amara swung her oar at one of the critters – while slightly rusty from not having used her crowbar in over a year, her aim was forceful enough to dislodge it from Steve's stomach. She made quick work of the other one, wincing at the flesh wounds left behind in their wake. She had no idea what these creatures were or why they hadn't materialized until now, but they could deal with that after they got rid of the final one stubbornly clinging to Steve's neck.
"Quick! Hold it, Robin!" On Amara's command, Robin planted her foot on the bat's tail and she thrashed her paddle at it with all her might, willing it to loosen its hold on Steve. Their commotion drew other bats into the fray that Nancy and Eddie were all too keen to vanquish, giving Amara and Robin the chance to concentrate solely on freeing Steve. Except the creature wasn't budging, and Steve's breathing was becoming increasingly shallow, and more bats were approaching with every passing second –
