The Overcomer, Stranger Things

Gwen, can you hear us?

At Hawkins Middle School in the AV room, sit five kids: Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, Dustin Henderson, Will Byers, and--the newest recruit--Eleven or El. Mike is the head of the group; Lucas is the hotheaded fighter; Dustin is the communicator; Will is the peacemaker; and Eleven is the mage. All of these kids have one goal: find Gwen and bring her home. 

This is why the kids are all surrounding El waiting for her to find Gwen through her, as Dustin likes to call it, "superpowers." El has her eyes closed, straining to find the girl. Unintentionally, Eleven not only connects the AV room radio to Gwen but also to Joyce Byers' stereo. The woman is pacing around her living room, desperate to find her daughter who was declared dead last night. Joyce didn't believe that for a second. Her little girl was still out there, and she was going to bring her home. 

The light in the AV room burst at the same time that Joyce's Christmas lights started blinking rapidly. And then loud, labored breathing could be heard through the speakers, followed by a deafening, blood-curdling screech. They found Gwen, but she wasn't alone. 

Gwen Byers panted heavily, on the brink of hyperventilating, as she ran away from the terrifying creature known as the Demogorgon. The young girl had no idea that her loved ones could hear everything going on around her as the girl let out a broken sob. Gwen's head started pounding as several familiar voices filled her head.

"Gwen!"

"Gwen, can you hear me?"

"Gwen!"

"Gwen, it's us! Can you hear us?!"

The girl put her hands over her ears, trying to block out the sounds, as she tried to lose the beast chasing her. Gwen took a sharp turn and hid behind a tree. The terrified girl clamped a hand over her mouth, silent tears streaming down her face, as she heard the monster's booming steps approach her. Gwen held her breath as the monster walked by her. It stopped right beside her, before turning its head slowly. Right as the beast is about to spot the Byers girl, a twig snapped a few feet away from them. The monster snarled before bounding after its new prey. Gwen made sure the monster was out of sight before spinning around and sprinting in the other direction, toward the Byers' household.

~:~

The voices in Gwen's head grew louder as she reached the Byers' house in the Upside Down. One voice, in particular, stood out from the rest. 

"Gwen! Gwen, baby, it's me. It's Mom!"

"Mom?" she whimpered, sobs tearing through her tiny body. 

"Gwen! Oh, Gwen" Joyce cried, as she pressed her forehead against the wall.

"Mom!" Gwen sobbed as she searched desperately for the source. 

"Gwen!" Joyce yelled, before running out of the house to look for her, thinking she might be outside. 

The woman was bewildered when she didn't see anyone. Joyce ran back inside when she heard Gwen calling for her again. At the same time, the mother-daughter duo realized that the source of the voices seemed to be coming from the other side of the wall. Both Byers girls dug their fingernails into the pattered wallpaper and tore it from the wall, revealing a reddish, translucent barrier. Joyce let out a sob as she could faintly see Gwen through the wall. The small girl was helplessly banging her tiny fists against the blockade, trying to get to her mom. 

"Gwen!" Joyce cried, also desperately beating on the wall, "Oh baby."

"Mom, I miss you," Gwen whimpered, her voice hoarse and quiet, the complete opposite of her normally bubbly and friendly voice.

"I miss you so much, my angel, so so much," Joyce sobbed. "I love you so much." 

"I love you, too," Gwen sighed as she tiredly rested her head against the wall. 

Gwen was so exhausted. Exhausted from constantly having to fight for her life and other people's. Exhausted from losing the people she loved. Exhausted of being stuck in this god-forsaken dimension. She wanted to go home. Joyce pressed her head against the wall, laying her hand next to it. On the other side of the wall, Gwen closed her eyes and laid her hand near her mother's. The young girl let a single tear fall, wanting nothing more than to hold her mom's hand. 

Joyce gasped when she saw a tiny, pale hand break through the barrier. Knowing that the hand belonged to her daughter, the desperate mother latched onto the hand for dear life. Gwen's eyes snapped open in shock when he felt a warm hand interlock with her freezing one. Joyce's tears were falling freely as she brought the tiny hand to her face, kissing the back of it tenderly. 

"Oh, Gwen," Joyce wailed, as she wrapped both her hands tightly around her daughter's. 

Their moment was interrupted when a loud bang resonated from the door in the Byers' home, Upside Down edition. Gwen's blood runs cold as she sees the wooden door splintering from the inside. Joyce gasped when she heard demonic growls coming from Gwen's side of the wall. Was that the "thing" chasing after her daughter?

"Mom, Mom it's coming" Gwen exclamied, her voice cracking from fear.

"Tell me where you are! How do I get to you?" Joyce yelled.

Gwen screamed as she spotted a scrawny hand, with demon-like claws, burst through the wooden door. Joyce's grip tightened on the girl's hand instinctively. 

"Gwen, what's going on?!" Joyce shouted.

The Demogorgon's head, followed by the rest of it's elongated body slithered through the hole in the door. Gwen's face was deathly pale, her entire body quivering with fear. The girl whimpered as the monster clambered towards her. Gwen backed into a wall, ignoring her mother's yells. She froze in fear as the monster loomed over her. The monster swiped its jagged claws at Gwen, but the girl ducked just in time. Instead of scratching the girl the Demogogron tore a rift through the wall, creating a portal to where Joyce Byers was--home. Gwen wasted no time jumping through the tear, away from the monster, and into her mother's arms. The loving mother held onto her daughter tightly, never planning on letting her go again. 

But when has anything ever gone according to plan for the Byers? 

Joyce screamed when she saw a tentacle come out of the wall, where Gwen came through and wrap around her daughter's tiny waist. Gwen gasped in pain as she felt a large vine wrap around her waist tightly, making it difficult for the girl to breathe. Both girls screamed as the tentacle pulled backwards, yanking an unwilling Gwen with it. Without hesitation, Joyce grabbed her daughter's hands, completely willing to go wherever the vine was taking her. However, Gwen knew where the tentacle was taking them. And she was not going to let her mom get stuck in the Upside Down with her. 

"I'm so sorry," Gwen whispered, making Joyce's face fall.

"Gwen, no! Don't you dare--" Joyce started, before being cut off by Gwen's hands pulling away from her. 

The mother-daughter duo let out wails of agony as they were torn away from each other, again. Gwen dissapeared through the wall leaving no evidence that she was ever there--except for the sobbing, heartbroken, mess of a mother that she left behind. In the AV room at Hawkins Middle School, the radio burst into flames.