Underworld ↠ Stranger Things ³

introduction

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UNDERWORLD
stranger things III.
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❝One summer can change everything...❞

— The 'Hawkins Rejects' Series,
Book Three

     SUMMER of 1985 is rife in Hawkins, Indiana. It brings a warmth, excitement and freedom that the town sorely needs after a harrowing two years gone by. Underneath the shining sun, the townspeople try and look to the future...

     CATH is fitting into her new friendship group... almost.

     School's out and she thinks she's happier than ever, finding her kindred spirits in Will and the others. Fun in the sun, ice cream days and the freedom of youth releases her after the darker years. It is nearly perfect — except there is someone missing. Her lost friendship with Andrea still remains a question mark, neither of them sure how to come back. Of course, that's not the only thing on her mind. Cath counts the days before Daphne goes to college with dread. Existing with her is all she's ever known, so how can she live any different? Then the cherry on the cake is the strange rollercoaster of puberty and new feelings — both parts exciting and confusing — as the fourteen year-old looks to the terrifying prospect of growing up.

     Everything is changing, and Cath can't do anything to stop it. It scares her. But as if the turning tides of growing up weren't enough, some strange activity overcoming the residents of Hawkins inevitably drags Cath and her friends into the mix. Will they ever be free of this evil?

     DAPHNE is two steps away from cashing in her golden ticket out of here.

     So why is she feeling a sudden pull of nostalgia now? What has Hawkins given her, other than pain and loss? While working two summer jobs to rake in extra money, Daphne finds herself reflecting in the last months before she moves out. Everything from the innocent desire to stay young, to the feelings she's developing for a certain ice-cream slinging boy across the mall — she thought the whole point was to get out, not to yearn for this hellhole she calls home. Maybe it's because Hawkins feels somewhat free for once. She's rekindled her closeness with Felix and Amy, and the Lab has been shut down. It is over. Perhaps she can finally enjoy things for what they are, without anticipating the darker layers hidden beneath.

     Therefore when Dustin Henderson intercepts a 'secret Russian communication' and implores Daphne to help, she goes along with it. What could it possibly lead to that's worse than what she has already endured? In a few days, it turns out she spoke much too soon; her life is in fact about to change forever...