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The Vale of Shadows

Jim made his way inside Hawkins Lab. Rather breaking his way in. He made sure to stay low. As he tried to open a door. He looked beside him to see what looks like a key card? "Hands up." A man said behind him. Jim made up an excuse and punched the man as he was distracted by the walkie. The guard next to him was intimidated by Hop as he charged at him with his revolver. He took the gun from him. He grabbed the key card and walked to where the door led. He shattered the camera.

"Drink." Lonnie told Joyce as he poured alcohol into a glass. "It'll calm your nerves."

"I don't know what to do."

"I know. I know."

Joyce's voice breaks, "This whole time..I could feel them. He was..They were so close. They were right there. I knew he was alive. I knew that she was too. Our hands were almost touching. God, it's like can't feel him anymore." Joyce sobs as Lonnie just looks at her. "Don't look at me like that." "Like what?"

"Like how everybody is looking at me. Like I'm out of my damn mind."

"Hey. You're not gonna like this, but I think you need to seriously consider the possibility that all this.. It's in your head. You remember your Aunt Darlene?"

"No. No, this is not that."

"I mean, when something like this happens, your mind makes up stuff for you to cope, you know? I mean, Jesus, there's a funeral tomorrow for our little boy and you're saying his body is fake. He's in the wall. I mean, how do you explain that? It just doesn't make sense. It doesn't. It doesn't make sense that our little girl would survive, she was only six. At least go talk to a shrink or.. What about Pastor Charles or someone--"

Joyce sighs. "I don't-Well, they can't help."

"Joyce, you just told me that Will is gone. Rene is too. What else is there to do?"

The crying woman rubs her face and drinks.

˵

"Like home..Like home." Mike repeated. "But dark?"

"And empty." Lucas added.

"Empty and cold. Wait, did he say cold?" Dustin asked.

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

"Like home. Like his house?" Mike suggests. "Or maybe like Hawkins." Lucas adds.

"Upside down." El chimes in.

"What'd she say?" Lucas asks confused. "Upside down." Mike says. He walked over to table that had the DnD board on it. "When El showed us where Will was, she flipped the board over, remember? Upside down. Dark. Empty."

"Do you understand what he's talking about?"

"No."

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

"Yeah. And he wasn't there."

"But what if he was there? What if we just couldn't see him? What if he was on the other side? What if this is Hawkins and this is where Will is? The Upside Down." Mike flips the board over as he explains.

"Like the Vale of Shadows." Dustin chimes. The curly haired boy flipped through the pages of a book based on Dungeons and Dragons. "The Vale of Shadows is a dimension that is a dark reflection or echo of our world."