He hadn't realized how gross he felt until he got home. Home being his own dimension of course. When he was carried through the gate, an oxygen mask still over his face, he felt the warm air of the laboratory. Then he felt the soaked clothing plastering his skin. His socks were torn at the toes from running and every piece of apparel was drenched from the atmosphere and the numerous amount of falls. His hair felt heavy on his scalp. He shivered and groaned.

"You alright, kid?," he heard a low voice rumble from miles away. Will Byers looked at the Hawkins Police Chief through the non-fogged up portion of the mask. The Chief had made his way to the disinfecting chamber with Will in his arms and was working to get to the other side, the Hawkins side.

"Of course he's not alright, Hopper!," the woman next to him nearly shrieked. She was wearing a hazmat suit, much like the yellow material on Hopper, nervously stepping through the once-barrier and throwing the two "helmets" aside.

"You know what I meant, Joyce..." Hopper said softly, coughing over his shoulder as to avoid the twelve-year-old boy. He walked steadily toward the exit, as to not completely leave behind the raven haired woman. Her hip swiftly slammed into a destroyed desk, but she only grunted in acknowledgment and kept walking. Just then, the last of Will's adrenaline worn away while looking at Hopper's mustache, and he past out with a giggle.

When he started to feel the outside world again, he was dry. He felt clean and soft and dry. He opened his eyes to a very bright room. His attention was caught by the only two things that weren't blindingly white. And he was greeted with smiles and tears and his whole family, the ones that mattered to him anyway. His friends had came in with an excited aura and he felt it too as they tried to catch him up with what happened. He almost felt a bit overwhelmed with joy, and started choking on his own air. He felt himself hack something cold up into his mouth and swallowed the slimy substance back down, assuming it was mucus... he hoped it was mucus. His friends were silent when he looked back up.

"It got me... the Demagorgon..." The roar, the tumbling wood, the long, disgusting hand.

"We know. It's gone now. We made a new friend... she stopped it."

Eleven

"Like the number?"

"We call her El for short."

GONE!

"She's basically a wizard."

"More like a Yoda."

Will felt lightheaded all of a sudden and groaned, "Mike."

"Yeah, bud?," Mike responded concerned. His friend had sounded so weak that Mike's motherly side threatened to appear.

Will didn't really register that he called out to Mike but caught himself before the silence became too weird. "Hi."

Mike chuckled and shook his head, "Hello, Will."

"Hi," he said again but this time bursted into a fit of giggles. And so did his friends.

His mother returned after a while of story telling, ushering them out, saying "Will needs his rest."

She was right of course... mother's always right...

Will drifted out of consciousness some point after that, not really caring then what happened around him. It didn't matter, he was home.

Somehow, he actually realized his dream world. It was black at first, then he started feeling small things. Specific things. The dream started, but it wasn't a dream.

Definitely not a dream.

He felt his insides grow cold and slick and not being able to do a thing. Not even breathe. He felt the thing stomp away and the "wall" around him breathing. Then it all faded away, back to darkness. He felt the water between his toes.

"Will?"

He stayed still, hearing his name echo throughout his mind.

"Will."

He knew that voice.

"Will~"

'What?'

"Will," a woman said sternly and with a shake to his shoulder, Will returned to his hospital bed. He woke up alarmed rather than sleepy, seemingly panicked.

"What? What?"

"Honey... you wet yourself," Joyce whispered, rubbing her son's shoulder tentatively.

"What? No I didn't!"

His mother lifted up the thin blankets so Will could see clearly for himself.

"What...," he muttered to himself.

AN: Guess who's alive! Yeah, it's me. Been kinda drifting off to everywhere imaginable. I've written multiple chapters for this one already so... hehe. I won't abandon this anytime soon. Goal is to write short chapters and to confuse y'all. ;)