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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The odd group of five have surrounded one of the boxes stamped 'Imperial Panda'. Steve opens the box, revealing metal crates custom made to fit something fragile. He grips the handle that's on top of the metal box, giving the others a brief look. He pops open the lid, compressed air hisses out, revealing four large handles similar to the one he just gripped.
"That's definitely not Chinese food." He reaches for one of the four handles before glancing at the others. "Uh, maybe you guys should, you know, stand back."
The three girls do so without question, but Dustin does not. Steve gestures for him to back away. "No."
"Just...Just step back, okay?"
"No."
"Step back. Seriously."
"No! No!" Dusting shoves Steve's arm away. "If you die, I die."
Nonplussed, Steve shrugs. "Okay."
Steve turns the handle, pulling out a capsule. The air hisses again as Steve lifts it high enough to reveal a bright, neon green liquid inside the capsule. It's bubbling. "What the hell?"
"What is that?" Robin wonders.
In response, the room they're in rumbles as if it's being moved. They all freeze in response, looking around. Dustin peers between Steve and Ronda. "Was that just me, or did the room move?"
Erica whispers nervously, "Booby traps."
A mechanical whirling sound surrounds them. The room shifts again. Ronda leans forward, snatching the capsule out of Steve's hand. "You know what? Let's just grab that and go."
The sky breathes anew, alive with a restless pulse that sends a shiver down Chris's spine. She knows, with gut-wrenching certainty, that this is the Upside Down, yet it's different. It feels unsettling, wrong, like she shouldn't be here at all. This place is sacred, a whispered secret she's not meant to uncover. Heart pounding, she moves forward with deliberate, cautious steps across the haunting landscape. Before her, the blood-red sky stretches endlessly, an ominous invitation that beckons her closer, whispering promises of danger and despair. Is this some cruel trap? An icy silence hangs thick in the air, deafening in its emptiness. Somewhere deep beneath the surface, something slumbers, dormant—just like the last time she was here, caught between fear and hope. The trees grow sparse and frail, giving way to jagged, black spikes that pierce the sky, strange and terrifying in their unrecognizable menace. A faint incline rises ahead, silent and ominous. And yet, despite the silence and stillness, an unshakable feeling lingers; that something awaits just beyond her reach, watching, waiting to strike again.
Chris closes her eyes, taking a deep breath, and the sky does the same.
"Who are you?"
A deep rumbling voice breaks the sky open, lightening flashes along the distant horizon and thunder rolls, shaking Chris. She lets out a shaky breath, but refuses to answer. Her instincts are telling her to run and hide. She shouldn't be here.
