The Overcomer, Stranger Things

Separated

Gwen had her arm tightly wrapped around Will's as they explored the world they were visiting QUITE unwillingly. There were grisly vines wrapped around every tree. The toxic air, filled with spores, made it hard for the girl to breathe without going into a coughing fit. A loud rumble erupted from Will's stomach, echoing around the empty forest. The last time the kids had eaten was at their friend Mike's house. That was four days ago. All the food here was spoiled and rotten. And it wasn't like the kids could go kill a deer for food when they had to constantly hide from a savage monster--otherwise known as the Demogorgon. Gwen now slept with her blowtorch. 

When she slept, the young girl seemed to be transported to this void of sorts. The place appeared as a vast, endless expanse blanketed in darkness. The floor is covered in a thin layer of water. Besides Gwen, the mysterious void seemed to be completely empty. However, this changed last night. 

~:~

Gwen sighed as she woke up, yet again to be greeted by black nothingness. This place was desolate, gloomy, and so, so lonely. The Byers girl hated it. 

"Hello?" she yelled, not expecting an answer. 

"Is anyone here?!" she tried again, her voice echoing through the darkness.

"Hi," a monotone voice said from behind her, making the girl jump. 

Gwen whirled around to be greeted with a girl that looked about Will's age. She had big brown doe-eyes, giving the girl a look of innocence. She was wearing a pink dress, that Gwen knew belonged to Nancy, paired with one of Mike's jackets. But this wasn't even what confused the 7-year-old the most about the mysterious girl. It was the fact that the girl seemed to be bald. The Byers girl blurted out the first question that came to her mind. 

"Do you have cancer?"

Once Gwen realized what she had just said, she slapped a hand over her mouth. What a horrible first impression! The bald girl just gave her a bewildered look in response, making Gwen's face heat up in embarrassment. 

"Hi, I'm Gwen," the younger girl stated, with a sweet please-forgive-me-for-being-an-idiot smile, holding out her hand. 

At this sentence, the strange girl's eyes widened. She took a step closer to Gwen, making the 7-year-old give her a slightly startled look. Gwen slowly put her hand down as the girl raised a finger to point at her. 

"Gwen. You're Mike's sister," the girl exclaimed, making Gwen furrow her eyebrows in confusion. Who was this girl?

The whole party--consisting of Dustin, Mike, Lucas, and Will--had adopted Gwen as their "honorary little sister." They always referred to each other as siblings. In the party, Gwen played the princess role. She took it very seriously. 

"You know Mike?" Gwen questioned. 

"He is my friend," the girl responded quietly.

"What's your name?" Gwen asked.

After a beat of silence, the girl responded with a barely audible, "El." 

~:~

Gwen came back to reality when she felt Will poke her side. The Byers girl looked over to see him pointing excitedly at a tree. At first, she was confused why he was so giddy about that particular tree until she realized that the tree seemed to have an opening.  

"Portal," she whispered, hope filling her eyes for the first time since they entered this dreadful place. 

Gwen started to walk over to the portal only to be pulled back by Will. She gave him a puzzled look in response. Will slowly lifted a shaky finger to point at something a few feet away from them. Gwen's breath hitched when she spotted the Demogorgon feeding on some poor animal grotesquely. The Byers siblings sneakily crept around the beast and towards the portal. 

The pair quickened their pace when they saw that the portal was about to close. Gwen turned her head to check that the monster hadn't spotted them. The girl squinted her eyes when she saw a familiar ball of white fluffy hair, now dripping with blood, under the Demagorgon. No... it couldn't be. He was supposed to be at home. The girl covered her mouth as the animal's face came into view. It was her dog. Something seemed to snap in Gwen, causing her to let out a livid, guttural yell. 

"CHESTER!!"

Gwen's anguish quickly was replaced by terror when the ghastly beast's head snapped in her direction. Oh crap. She was gonna be the next Chester. 

"RUN!" Gwen bellowed, as she grabbed her brother's hand and drag him toward the portal. 

The Byers siblings could hear the Demogorgon's snarls behind them, causing both of them to break into a sprint. 

"Faster Will! He's gaining on us!" Gwen yelled as she pulled her brother closer to her. 

They were just a few feet away from the portal when Gwen felt something slimy wrap around her ankle. She looked down to see a large, snake-like vine crawling up her calf. Gwen looked up to see that Will was in front of the portal. It was almost closed. Only one person could fit in there, and it was not going to be her. Gwen gave a sad smile to Will, who was wildly gesturing for her to come over there. He had no idea. 

"You go ahead, Will! I'll be right behind you!" Gwen yelled, her voice cracking slightly. The Demogorgon's screeches were getting louder from behind her. It was almost here. 

Due to Will's excitement to get home, he didn't take notice of the sad smile painted on his sister's lips. He didn't see the tears in her eyes. And, most importantly, he didn't realize that Gwen had made no move towards the portal. Will crawled through the opening right before it closed, separating the two worlds. One Byers was in Hawkins, Indiana, while the other was trapped in the Upside Down. A single tear slipped down Gwen's cheek and then everything went black.