Over the years nightmares have been a frequent friend in the Hopper house. Chills and a scream lodged in the back of her throat is the only way that Christine Hopper knows how to wake up. Her father tries hard to believe his daughter has a handle on...
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A plan is in action. One that keeps Chris away from all of it, with Steve ushering her out of everyone's way. Chris protests slightly, as the two of them sit on the front porch of the Byers' house, trying to cool her down.
"I can't just sit out here while they're doing everything in there," she mumbles, putting her elbows on her knees. Her voice is filled with achy pain. She sounds weak and uncomfortable.
Steve gently rubs her back between her shoulder blades. He's struggling to find more ways to cool her down, pull her back from the edge of whatever is causing her to overheat, feel exhausted and sick.
"You need your strength. We don't know what to expect." Steve stares at the gravel road. "I can't risk you getting hurt."
Chris huffs, turning her attention to him. Her green eyes are filled with pain and exhaustion. "You don't have a choice."
Shaking his head, Steve removes his hand from her back. "Chris, you are the only one that has some sort of power here, all right? El is...El is dead," he swallows, blinking hurriedly at the thought of little El dying, and Chris being next. "And without her, you're our best bet at understanding what the hell is going on. You can't put yourself on the line anymore. You can't play the hero right now."
"I have this ability for a reason," she says quietly.
"I—I know," he sighs heavily. "I'm not saying don't use it, I'm just saying don't be reckless. You can't die on me, Hopper."
Chris suddenly looks at her boyfriend again, furrowing her eyebrows. "I...I won't, Stevie," she whispers, emotion tugging at her heart.
"You don't know that," he replies, his voice rising slightly. Steve picks up a fallen leaf, ripping it into pieces in frustration. Steve inhales sharply, silence following. He stares at Chris, refusing to look away. She stares back, wondering what he might be thinking. Steve opens his mouth slightly, like he's about to say something. There's a look on his face that Chris can't quite make out. He's torn.
"Steve?" she wonders, her voice soft and gentle, caring.
"Chris—"
Max and Dustin slam the front door open, peeking out to greet Steve and Chris.
"They're ready," Max says, her voice firm, but her hand shaking against the door frame. Dustin gives Steve a grim look as Chris, with much more effort than it requires, gets back on her feet. Steve huffs out in bitterness, looking away from the sight. Chris reaches Max, who stares up at her worriedly. Chris gives a smile of reassurance.
"Let's go save Will," says Chris, heading for the shed in the back.
Will is tied up, awake and struggling. He's duct taped to a chair, strapped down tight. The shed is a completely different place than it was before. Emptied out, covered in bright flood lights and sheets along the walls. He is greeted by the faces of Joyce, Hopper, Jonathan, Chris, and Mike. He stares at all of them with wide eyes, like an animal caught in a trap: anxious and terrified.
"What is this? Why am I tied up?"
Joyce crouches down in front of him, her voice soft. "Will, we just wanna talk to you. We're not gonna hurt you."
"Where am I?"
Will looks at Hopper, who shows him the drawing of the Mind Flayer Will did himself. Hopper frowns, asking, "You recognize this? Do you recognize this?"
Shaking his head, the boy looks back at his mother, confused. He's sweating, uncomfortable. Chris eyes him closely. Joyce locks eyes with her son. "Hey. We wanna help you. But to do that, we have to understand how to kill it."
At this statement, Will is sent into a frenzy. "Why am I tied up?" he shouts, startling all of them. "Why am I tied up? Why am I tied up? Why am I tied up?" Hopper reaches for the boy's chest, holding him steady so he doesn't escape or hurt himself. The lights begin to flicker, Will gets louder, and his voice deeper, darker, more sinister. "Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!"
Chris pushes herself between Hopper and Joyce. She closes her eyes and places a hand on Will. Jonathan moves next to her, holding her up. Hopper and Joyce continue as planned. With a gasp, Chris slumps to her knees, going into some sort of trance.
"Chris?" Jonathan's voice echoes in Chris's mind. Chris is standing at the opening of Castle Byers. It is dark. The trees, the fort, the ground, and sky are reflected in the red horizon. Everything is glowing with this red hue. It looks as if the sky is bleeding, and the lightning that glows every few seconds is opening a new wound.
Chris slowly moves past Castle Byers, toward the edge of the forest, closer to the bleeding sky. She doesn't recognize this place. This is different from the Upside Down. Much different than the Void. She hasn't been to this place yet. This star in the galaxy of possible dreamscapes that she can go to has not been explored yet.
She isn't afraid yet, only curious. She can hear the sound of something breathing, like a deep slumber, the sound of thunder rumbling. This place is alive, swarming with the sound of lightning breaking the sky, thunder. Drumming and breathing deeply in a pattern she cannot quite make out. Chris breaks through the trees, her vision opening up to the landscape in front of her. A vast space full of death. Dried and hollow earth. Large mountains in the distance, sharp and threatening, encompassing Chris in this place that she can only imagine as Hawkins' purgatory. A storm of black smoke moves across the sky menacingly, not close, but not far enough for Chris to feel comforted.
