Into The Void

Chapter 5- The Flea and the Acrobat

"What was Will saying? Like home, like home, but dark?" Mike brainstormed in the basement with Lucas and Dustin with Eleven laying on the couch resting.

"And empty." Lucas added.

"Empty and cold-wait did he say cold?" Dustin piped up looking at Lucas who shrugged.

"I don't know. The stupid radio kept going in and out." Lucas sighed.

"Like home. Like his house?"

"Or maybe like Hawkins." Lucas

"Upside down? Isn't that what Carter said?" Mike asked and the boys eyes widened.

"She did." Dustin confirmed with a nod.

"Upside down..." Mike thought as he walked over to their game board that was still upside down.

"When El showed us where Will was she flipped the board over remember?" Mike asked as the boys crowded around him.

"Upside down. Dark, empty." He tried to explain.

"Do you understand what he's talking about?" Lucas asked Dustin shook his head.

"No."

"Guys come on just think about it." Mike tried. "When El took us to find Will and Carter, she took us to his house right?"

"Yeah, and he wasn't there." Lucas said.

"But what if he was there? What if we just couldn't see him? What if him and Carter were on the other side?" Mike questioned as they thought.

"What if," He started flipping the board right side up. "This is Hawkins, where we are, and this," He flipped the black side of the board up. "Is where they are? The upside down." Mike explained.

"Like the vail of shadows." Dustin spoke and they rushed to open the D.N.D manual.

"The Vail of Shadows is a dark reflection, or echo of our world." Dustin read looking at his friends.

"It is a place, of decay, and death."

"Its a plain without a phase, filled with monsters. It is right next to you and you don't even see it."

"An alternate dimension." Mike voiced.

"But, h-how do we get there?" Lucas questioned his nerves on edge.

"We cast Shadow Walking." Dustin said and Lucas rolled his eyes.

"In real life dummy." Lucas bit back.

"We can't shadow walk, but, maybe she can." Dustin nodded toward the exhausted girl laying on the couch watching and listening.

"Do you know how we get there? To the upside down?" Mike asked her and El shook her head no at them. They just have to figure it out.

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The next day all the friends and family of Carter Henderson and Will byers got ready for the funeral. The city raised money to make a big headstone holding both their names side by side where their caskets would be placed. Johnathan had agreed with Hopper and the citizens it was a great idea putting them next to each other, well, when he thought Will was dead. After hearing Nancy's account of seeing the same creature his mom did, and finding that he actually took a picture of it because of Nancy.

The majority of the people at their funeral were crying, and most of them didn't really know them. Steve showed up with puffy eyes and a guilt ridden heart. He never even looked for her, Carter. She was one of his only friends before popularity and when he went up in the high school chain he left her in the dust. Eddie Munson even showed up with red eyes along with his uncle who both spent alot of time looking for her, he checked all their favorite places. Lover's lake, a place hidden behind the pumpkin patches, the rolling hills that stood tall over Hawkins, and nothing. Carter's mother didn't even show up, only her closest friends, which were Will's friends. On Will's casket, everyone dropped yellow and white roses, but on Carters everyone put Daisies on hers except Eddie, who had painted a red rose black and tossed it perfectly on her casket. She always loved painting Roses.