'...In 1905, Albert Einstein published his theory of special relativity. Who can tell me what exactly this theory entails?'

Mike wasn't hearing any of Mr. Clarke's words. It had been three months since Will had come back from the upside down, and he hadn't been back to school since.

The last time they had spoken, he had refused to talk about what he had seen there. Later, El had said that the place was 'rotten' in typical, cryptic fashion, but the only other thing that he could get out of her were the same words she had used to describe the fake DOE facility where she had been held:

'Bad place'.

Deep down in the pit of his stomach, Mike had the awful, sinking feeling that Will had suffered terribly...and a fear that said suffering had changed his friend irrevocably.

Lucas and Dustin sat beside him, both looking equally distracted by their 'own' glumness.

Ding!

The bell finally rang, and the class began to stampede out the door, laughing and yelling in a dense cacophony of voices.

'Alright guys: remember my question! There 'will' be a quiz on it tomorrow...'


'Maybe we should go by his house' said Lucas hopefully, as the boys stood by their bikes.

'Yeah!' said Dustin. 'Maybe his Mom'll have more chocolate cake this- Owe!'

Lucas had hit him in the shoulder.

'I don't really think he wants to be around anybody right now' said Mike, sadly. 'He wouldn't even tell 'me' what happened to him when he was...'

The three were silent for a moment, both saddened and frustrated at their inability to help their friend.

'Let's just meet up later' said Mike. 'I'm going home'


The massive energy signature was moving fast. Faster than El could physically keep up with.

Luckily, the powerful psychic didn't 'need' to keep pace with her target: her evolved senses could track anyone for miles, and judging by the direction it was taking, she doubted that it was going very far.

In fact, it seemed to be headed towards town.

The young girl took a breath, closed her eyes, and exhaled slowly: a calming technique which, as she had discovered years ago, helped passively amplify her abilities for a time.

This thing was from the 'upside down', as Mike had called it, and nothing good came from that place.

Furthermore, it obviously had a purpose in Hawkins, and that wasn't something she could allow.

Not when it posed a potential risk to Mike and his friends, and not when the lives of so many others were at stake.

Finally making it out of the woods, El spotted a bicycle, leaned up against the side of a house.

After checking to see that the coast was clear, she quickly made a beeline for it, jumped on, and began peddling, silently thanking Mike for having taught her to ride.

Now she could follow the monster in earnest: and kill it before it could carry out its mission.