"Where.. W-Where are you from?"
The air was still, despite the entire area looking all dusty, the wind wasn't blowing hard. Thomas stared at the kid. "W-Where I'm from?" He asked. They nodded. "I-I heard you said something about Sodor, before?" They tilted their head. They looked serious like they needed to know. Thomas, on the other hand, didn't trust them. Too much weird crap was happening, for him to trust this random person, who showed up out of nowhere, twice. Steam blew out of Thomas's pistons, as he reversed slowly. "I-I don't know who you are," Thomas told them. He reversed right back into the sheds, despite the sheds having all of those black vines all over the walls, support beams, and tracks. Thomas felt nervous when he saw the kid slowly walking toward him. "I am not going to hurt you..." They said. "I want to help you."
"Help me?" Thomas asked. "Help me how?"
The kid stopped walking when Thomas's back buffers slammed into the buffers at the end of the track. "Shit" Thomas quietly said as he slightly jerked on the rails. He looked up. "Please tell me... Where are you from?"
Thomas blinked. He wasn't sure what to say. Plus, didn't she know that he have said Sodor already?
"Don't you know where I am already? You said before." Thomas said to them. "But I need more information. I... want to help you. I know where you're stuck, but I don't know what's on the other side."
"Stuck? Stuck where?" Thomas asked.
The kid looked directly at his face. "The Upside Down." They said.
"T-The what?" Thomas asked. "W-What is that?"
"Do you see vines all over?"
Thomas looked around. They were taking over the sheds. He looked back at the kid, who was looking at him concerned. "Y-Yes... can't you see that?"
The kid didn't answer. "I need you to-"
There was a loud sneering sound.
"CINDERS AND ASHES, NOT THAT AGAIN!" Thomas screamed, as he quickly jumped back, but accidentally slammed into the buffers again. "OW!" He yelled out. "Hey, be careful!" The girl said. Then, after she said that- "Everything is fine Mike, don't distract me!"
Mike?
Who's Mike?
"What? Who are you talking to? Who else is here with you?" Thomas asked. They gasped and turned their head quickly over Thomas's way. "N-No one!"
Thomas-
Thomas looked around. "Huh?"
Thomas...
"Who?"
"THOMAS!"
Thomas gasped, and quickly opened his eyes. His eyes burned by the sunlight. The shed doors were open. They were all open for the morning. All of the other engines were gone, all except a certain green saddle tank. "Oh, my freaking god! Thomas! You're ok!"
"Huh? What..." Thomas was looking around frantically. Where had all the vines gone? Why wasn't it dark? 'No way that was a dream...' He thought to himself. No way he'd be able to have the same dream twice on the same night like that.
"Thomas! Answer me!"
"W-Wha?" Thomas looked over at his friend. "What happened?! Your eyes were closed, and you were frozen in place, but then you moved backward, then bumped into the buffers, then you mumbled something!"
Thomas was too confused. This was too much for him right now. "Not now Percy, but.. I'm fine, alright? See you at work."
Steam gushed out of Thomas, as he puffed off. "T-Thomas? W-Wait!" Thomas puffed onto the turn table, then out of Tidmouth.
It was 8am, as Thomas reached Knapford Station. The main station, is one of the busiest on Sodor. Not the busiest, Vickerstown take that spot, for being a station almost nearly as big as Kings Cross, and it also being the last station, before heading onto a bridge, and heading out of Sodor, and onto the United Kingdom. Knapford, holds a few train lines. Thomas, usually being the engine to run the local line, that goes up into Ffarquhar, on the Ffarquhar Branch. The Brendam Branch, which goes to Brendam Docks, that run by an engine named Edward, a Furness Railway K2 class. Other lines include commuter rail, and an express line, that all ends at Vickerstown. The express line is run by Gordon, and the commuter rail is often run by James, a red modified L&YR Class 27.
All of these train lines run up and down Sodor, being served by these young and old locomotives. Some, find it therapeutic. Especially Thomas, who loves working on his branch line. He hopes that whatever he's going through right now, will all go away once he starts on his branch.
But, when he arrived to collect his coaches, he didn't get a calm welcome.
His two coaches, are both called Annie and Clarabel. Since he's such a small engine, and looking at his old problems, that he still somewhat has this was all he was assigned to do. He can't pull a passenger train, any longer than 7 cars without bawling out for water. He once had to take the Sodor Commuter, and he was nearly dead by the end of it. So now, he's only limited to using only two couches and doing a short passenger service with plenty of water towers along the way. He loves his two coaches. They both act like mothers to him. But, sometimes they can act a little too protective of Thomas, and a little too strict, to the point where Thomas wishes he didn't have ears.
"Thomas?!" Clarabel yelled out when she saw Thomas was puffing into the station. They were in the train yard, just right of the station waiting for him. "Woah, why that tone?" Thomas asked as he puffed past them to get to the track switch. "Why that tone?! Thomas, you were supposed to be here at 5 am!"
"Yeah, it's 8 am now! You're 3 hours late!" Annie yelled.
Thomas rolled past the track switch, it turned, and then he reversed. "Look, I'm not in the mood you two," Thomas said, then bumped into them. "Oof!" They both grunted. "Thomas, careful!" Clarabel yelled. Thomas blew steam out. "Thomas? What's wrong with you? You seem on edge."
"I'm fine ok!" Thomas started off after him and the coaches were coupled.
Thomas didn't say much to his couches as they ran the service. And they, also didn't say much to Thomas. Thomas was just to busy thinking about that girl. They looked like a girl, they didn't sound like a boy either. Although, anyone can sound like anything, no matter what they are, but he knows that wasn't a guy. He was coming up to the next station. 'Just a few more and I take a small break at Ffarquhar.
He stopped at the station.
Toryreck.
He waited for the passengers to get on, and get off. He had his blower on, to inject more pressure into his boiler. Thomas kept on thinking about the girl, so much, that didn't even hear the station master's whistle.
"Thomas! Go!" Clarabel snapped.
"H-Huh? Oh!" Thomas puffed away, but so roughly, that Annie and Clarabel both jerked. "Ow! Thomas! What's gotten into you!"
Thomas just sighed.
Thomas was just one station away from Ffarquhar. He was just leaving Hackenbeck. As he was chuffing along the tracks, he started to feel weird. He didn't say anything though, and continued to move. But what he didn't know, was that his couches started to notice, because Thomas's speed was decreasing. "Thomas? Why are you slowing?"
Chug..chug..chug...chug..chugg
There was a two-second interval in-between the chugging. And then, it slowed even more.
Chug...chug...chug...chugg...
Thomas started to slow drastically.
"What's going on?" Annie asked. "Fireman! Is your engine ok?!"
But that's the problem.
There was no fireman inside Thomas's cab.
Thomas was so stressed this morning, that he left and forgot his fireman.
Now, he had no one inside his cab to keep his firebox burning, and he couldn't pick up speed.
But Thomas was feeling weak, and tired. Even though he was losing steam, an engine isn't supposed to feel tired when that happens. "I don't feel so good..." Then Thomas's eyes closed, and he started to move along the rails unconscious.
Hawkins, Indiana
"BAM! The blood-curdling dragon! It lurks within! Waiting... it could be around the corner! What... do you choose?"
"Uh... Um... Oh shit, I don't know... Uh, Mike, do something-"
"What!? Why me? You're the one with the freaking armor and weapons!"
"Yeah, but you have magic!"
"You all are being stupid, just do something already!"
"Lucas shut up I'm trying to think!"
"Can... Can you all just... do something? Seriously." The boy in the wizards' outfit just shook his head. "Yeah, but... Dustin always takes so freaking long to do something in these situations! Like, how slow would you be this if this was a situation?!" Mike yelled. "Hey!" Dustin slammed his fist on the table. "In case you didn't know, I was in a situation like this... well, kind of."
"We all were," Lucas said.
"Can you ALL JUST DO SOMETHING?!" Will snapped. "Geez! Ok fine! God damn it..." Dustin said, rolling his eyes. This group of teens loves to play Dungeon and Dragons together. 4 boys, Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, Will Byers, and Lucas Sinclair.
They have two other friends, Max Mayfield and Jane Hopper. Jane, also goes by Eleven, or Ele, she has multiple names, but, El, is a nickname, that is very valuable to her given to her by a special someone.
But at the moment, neither Max nor Jane was here. Just the four boys, busy playing Dungeons and Dragons.
"Dude! Are you serious! Will! You never said the dragon had something that was gonna burn through titanium!" Dustin yelled, slamming his head on the table. "Welp, you dead," Lucas said with a snort. "What do you mean I never told you?! I literally said like 5 times, and hinted that you should have looted the other chest!" Will yelled, shaking his head. "Man, you can be impossible!"
There was a knock at the door. "Huh? Who's that?" Lucas asked. "I'll go see," Mike said, then he got up. "Maybe it's Max or something?" Dustin asked.
He wasn't to far off. When Mike opened the door, he was surprised to see El. "...EL?!" Mike said surprised.
Dustin and the rest couldn't see them, but they heard the urgency in Mike's voice. "Damn, calm down Wheeler, you haven't seen her for 2 days, not 2 months," Dustin said, shaking his head after hearing Mike, that caused Will and Lucas to laugh.
"Guys! Stop joking for one minute! El looks... sick!"
"What?!" Dustin yelled, he looked back at Lucas and Will who both looked concerned. They all quickly got up from the table, and ran around the wall, into the hallway, and saw El leaning next to Mike. "What's wrong?" Dustin asked. "I don't know.." Mike said. He was holding onto El, bringing her over to the couch. "Will, close the door." Will went and shut the door just after they both walked away to the living room. "Oh geez, what's wrong with her?" Will asked.
He brought El over to the couch, and sat her down onto it. "I don't know," Mike said. Dustin and Will crowded around her, but Mike pushed them both away "Give her some space."
"O-Oh, I see. So only you can be around her, because you're her boyfriend." Dustin said. "W-What?! Ugh, Dustin shut up!" Mike yelled.
"Guys! She's awake!" Will said. "Well, that didn't take long," Dustin said.
Mike quickly turned his head back around when he heard El making sounds. "El? El? Are you ok?" He touched her face. El looked out of it. She didn't look alright at all. El touched Mike's hand. "It's back... It's... It's all back..." She said.
Mike arched an eyebrow at what she was saying. "All back? What's all back?" He looked back at Dustin, Will and Lucas who just shrugged.
"...The Upside Down... It's open..."
Mike's eyes widen, and he looked back at his friends, who looked just as surprised.
El had a cover around her shoulder, sipping on some water, as Mike rubbed her back to try and comfort her. "El, it's gonna be alright..."
"Alright?!" Dustin yelled. "How?! We've been through hell and back with that shit, thought it was gone, and now it's back, and THAT'S SOMEHOW ALRIGHT?!"
"Dustin, calm down!"
"No! I won't calm down! When the hell are we ever going to get a break from this shit?!"
"Guys... El says it's open... But... But I don't feel its presence. Like, at all." Will said. Dustin looked at him. "What? You don't?" He asked. Will shook his head. "For once in my life, I feel calm. Like... there is nothing to worry."
Dustin clapped his hands once. "Yep, ok... well, there is nothing to worry about!"
"But El said-"
But Dustin cut Mike off- "El might have powers, but Will has a personal connection with The Upside Down, if he doesn't feel anything, it isn't here."
Mike sighed. "El? Do you think... You can still find it?"
"Why waste our time?" Dustin asked. "Better safe than sorry," Lucas said. Mike nodded. "Exactly."
Dustin rolled his eyes. "Fine..."
They set everything up. Giving El a shirt to put over her eyes, because Mike didn't have any bandanas. El looked at it scrunching up her face. "This... better be clean..."
"Ugh, it is! Just put it on!" Mike said, turning the TV to static.
Mike went and sat on the couch. Will and the rest sat on the floor close to El. "Do you think she'll find out where the opening is?" Lucas asked. "Yeah, when was the last time she's done th-"
"SHHH!" Both Mike, Will, and El said at the same time. "Ok!... Shit..." Dustin said looking away.
They waited for a while. And El hasn't said anything. "Sorry to interrupt El... but... have you found it yet?" Lucas asked. They saw her shake her head. "The heck? It's been five minutes..." Dustin whispered. "Shhh!" Mike said, signaling Dustin to shut up. He only just rolled his eyes.
Then, they saw El's nose start to bleed. "She found it." Mike said. "But how? I-I still don't feel anything at all..." Will said.
"El... What do you see?" Mike asked.
"Uh... I'm not sure if it's the upside down... I can't see where I am exactly..."
Will was confused. "Huh?"
"Wait..." Dustin said. "Doesn't she end up in this water... place when she does this?"
El nodded.
"Right... she wouldn't be able to really see what's arou-"
"Wait... I see something..."
In El's vision, she was standing next to something. A tunnel. Vines where all over inside. "I.. I see a tunnel. And, it doesn't look like a normal, ordinary tunnel."
"What? What do you mean not an ordinary tunnel?" Mike asked. "The tunnel seems like... it's a tunnel on the other side." She said.
"Other side?" Mike repeated what she said, looking up at the boys, but then they all realized. "The Upside Down!" They all gasped, but El reacted to the sudden noise. "S-Sorry-" Mike said.
"What else to do you see?"
"I don't know... I see... I see... um... metal... bars on... wood?"
"Metal bars on wood?" Mike looked at his friends, who all shrugged. "The hell?" Dustin said quietly. "Metal bars on wood?"
"El, is there any way you can describe that better?" Mike asked.
El looked at it. "Uh... it's... like Iron? I guess? On wood planks?"
Dustin placed his hands to his chin. "Iron on wood planks? Why... Why does it ring a bell?"
"It kinda does," Will said.
Then, they heard a snap. "I know what it is," Lucas said.
Mike looked at him. "What is it?"
"Train tracks."
"Ohhhh! Yeah, that makes sense." Dustin said, with Will agreeing.
"Train tracks and tunnels? Where is that exactly in Hawkins?" Mike asked.
"M-Mike..." They heard El say. "Huh? What is it?" Mike quickly turned his head back to her. "A train is coming."
All of them were confused at that. Nothing works in The Upside Down. "A-A Train? In The Upside Down?" Lucas asked. El nodded. "A-And it's going to-"
They saw El gasp. "What? W-What happen?!" Dustin asked. El was just frozen. "Uhhh... El?"
"It crashed into the vines..."
"Oh... o-oh?" Mike said. "What else happened?"
El didn't answer.
What she saw didn't look right. "The... thing that's in front...that powers it all"
"The Train?" Dustin asked. "No, you idiot, she means the engine," Will said. "O-Oh right! Forgot!"
"Whatever it's called... it's bright blue... and... and..."
"And what El?"
"It has... a face..."
Mike just turned his head slowly over to Dustin, Will, and Lucas. "A locomotive with a face?" Will asked. "What? Where the hell are you?" Lucas asked. "Is it creepy?" Dustin asked. El shook her head. "...No.. it looks harmless..."
"What are you?" They heard El say.
"Wait... when can you talk to things in this vision thingy?" Mike asked.
El made no answer, and there was a while before she said something else. "You're... a train with a face..."
"Engine..." Will whispered. El tried to push him away, but then she froze. "What?! What happened?!" Mike asked. "The... 'engine' just corrected me...' She said. What she saw, was that then the engine was stuck, and couldn't move. She stuck her arms out. She was trying to place him back on the rails, but then, the engine disappeared. She gasped, then took off the blindfold.
Mike and the rest were just staring at her. She looked around, then, at Mike, scrunching up her face. "I have no idea what the hell just happened..." She said. All they could could of done, was just laugh. "What the shit?! A locomotive with a face?!" Mike asked. "What was it? A diesel or steam?" Lucas asked.
El shrugged. "I don't know... it had some... black stick on it's head area..."
"Black stick?" Dustin asked, confused. "Funnel! It has to be a funnel! It's a steam!"
"But... this makes no sense! There are no steam trains in Hawkins. Well, at least not anymore. And a steam engine with a face? That's some sci-fi bullshit!" Mike yelled. "Well, to be fair, our entire lives is a sci-fi bullshit, just look at how we got this information in the first place," Dustin said, leaning his head to El.
"And I still don't understand how Will can't pickup the feeling."
Will just shrugged. "Maybe... it's not in this area?"
"It's... wait but how? This is bizarre, but I'm sure as long as it's here in our world, you'll know?" Lucas asked.
Mike was thinking about what Lucas said. "Wait a minute, Lucas what did you say?" Lucas looked at him. "Um.. this is bizarre?" He asked. "No, no! After that!" Mike yelled. Lucas nodded, "Oh! As long as it's here in our world?"
"Exactly!" Mike said. "Huh? What are you on about Mike?"
"Our world! Maybe The Upside Down isn't in our world! It could be in an entirely different dimension! This would explain why Will can't feel it!" Mike said smiling because he figured it out. "Ok, ok.. hold on. A different dimension?" Will asked.
"No... He's right.." Dustin said. "We should expect anything by this point. I mean, The Upside Down is a dimension already on its own. What's there to believe there could be more?"
"And according to El, she saw a train with a face right?"
El nodded.
"Right! That doesn't exist in our reality at all! This is a whole entirely new dimension! A dimension with trains with faces!"
Lucas just shook his head. "All of this just sounds ridiculous..."
"Dude! Our entire lives were ridiculous. I wouldn't even be fazed if I saw a walking and talking tree, for God damn's sake!" Mike yelled, shaking Lucas. "Let's say this does exist... Why did El know?"
"Hello? She has powers! All Will has is a connection with The Upside Down, El can probably dab into other worlds!"
"Well... How are we gonna do this again?" Lucas asked. "If... El wants to, she can dwell more into this, and try to see what dimension this exactly is, and why The Upside Down has gone to it."
