The pressure was heavy on Lillian's ears as they started to descend down the mountain, until finally, they popped. It was a somewhat alarming sensation, but apparently it was normal for those who lived in the Blue Ridge region. She had to drive cautiously. The roads were serpentine by nature, and though almost no one else was on them, it was still easy to hit a guard rail or go flying off the side if she didn't control her speed.

It was only when she saw the signs for the Angel's Reach Caverns that she made an abrupt turn, and even Eddie seemed perplexed by this unannounced decision.

Evening was approaching now, and there were no street lamps except for in the parking lot that lit the way. Lillian didn't really feel comfortable trying to navigate these twisty trails in the darkness.

"We might need to set up camp somewhere."

"In the caverns?" Eddie questioned, but Lillian was already pulling into the deserted lot. Some of the windows to the gift shop were closed up, and all the lights inside were off. "Oh, I get it." He grinned at her now. "I'm rubbing off on you, aren't I?"

She untwisted the engine and battery wires to the truck, trying not to pay much attention to the silence that now loomed over them once the vehicle cut off. It was so quiet, compared to the city life of Hawkins. All she heard were crickets and frogs, all singing somewhere in the woods. Hopefully, that was all that was out there.

Getting into the tourist shop was easy enough, using a hammer that was in the back of the truck to dislodge the front door handle. Once inside, they found a heavy table to drag across the floor and barricade the door.

"Shit, we should have checked for a generator," Lillian muttered.

"No way. The noise would have those demogorgons on us like flies on shit."

"Good point."

With little light of the sunset left, they sought out a light source in the shop. Among the wooden shelves were all sorts of knick-knacks: geodes, keychains, coasters, hats, animal figurines... Nothing that helped them at all, really.

Then, Lillian looked behind the cash register, feeling somewhat guilty when the thought crossed her mind to see what kind of money might be in the drawer. She resisted when she saw a couple of hand-crank flashlights.

By now, a tangerine hue colored the sky that gave little light to the gloom of the shop. Using the handle on the flashlight to wind it to life, Lillian momentarily cringed at the grinding sound that it made as it powered up. This definitely wasn't the kind of mechanism she was used to, but as long as it served its purpose.

When the light gave way, Lillian was relieved to see that it worked. However, as she went to hand Eddie the other one, she noticed she couldn't find him. Had he wandered off already? She turned her body in almost a full circle until she heard his footsteps on the far side of the room. In the small circle of light that jetted across to the opposite wall and through an open door, Eddie waved his hand to usher her to come over.

"Come check this out," he said, his voice low, but considering how quiet everything else was, it was impossible not to hear him.

Lillian took her time crossing the room, still observing the merchandise on the shelves. She passed by a figurine of a wolf that was almost life-like, advertised to be made of rabbit fur and real greenery. Had she not seen that it was standing in exactly the same, hunting hose as it was when they walked in, she might have thought it was the real thing.

In the next room that Eddie stood in, there was not much at all to look at. The door leading into it had a yellow sign that said Employees Only. She imagined he had to have broken into it, or maybe he just found the key. This room was much smaller, about half the size of her bedroom. On the right, there was a giant cubicle bordered by wrought-iron grating. On one side of it were two buttons - one that was an arrow pointing up, and the other pointing down.

It was an elevator.

"Do you think this goes down to the caverns?" Lillian asked, failing to hide the excitement in her voice. Eddie was smiling at her, ready to assuage her curiosity.

"We can go find out." Once again persuaded by her boyfriend's mischievous ways, she gave in. It had been so long since they went on one of their little adventures, that despite all of the dangers they faced since they got back, she somehow did not want this one to end.

...But what else were they going to do while they camped out for the night?

After all, she did say she had always wanted to go see the caverns. She would kick herself if she passed up on this opportunity.

They tested the elevator first, sending it down and waiting for it to reach the bottom before they would send it back up again.

It was only a little noisy, but it seemed sturdy enough for them to take down without any risk of injury. So, they both stepped into the cubicle, and Eddie would push the down button that was on the inside. Lillian felt her stomach do a strange flip as the elevator began its descent. She even had stumbled a bit, the turbulence throwing her balance off track. Eddie's arm encircled her waist.

"Old, rickety thing," she murmured.

"I don't mind," she heard Eddie say. She peered up at him, timidly biting her lip as she shifted against him. Unable to resist, she leaned up to kiss him, and he met her halfway. Come to think of it, with everything that had been going on, this was the first time she had tasted his lips since, well, for what felt like forever. Realizing this made her heart beat like wings of a hummingbird.

The elevator gave another jerk, and again, Lillian's footing got clumsy. She dropped the flashlight, and it made a loud, clattering sound as it hit the floor. What was actually a stumble she was able to rather luckily pass off as pushing him into the nearest wall. Their kiss was unbroken, and like it, the exchange of their hands became more fervent. She was literally unable to stop, a forest fire inside of her that started the moment he touched her.

Her hands grabbed his open jacket, and in turn, she felt his fingers glide underneath the back of her sweater, brushing against the skin of her back. She wanted to do everything to him right here on this elevator, but it was only when they finally came to a screechy stop at the bottom that she reluctantly pulled back.

But Eddie was having no parts of that.

He pulled her back in by her wrist, kissing her once again. Lillian melted into him. Then, he pulled back, but only by a fraction.

"I missed you so much, it hurt like hell." She could feel his whisper on her lips. She smiled, stroking his dark hair.

"Me, too." She wished she could understand what happened that night that took her away from him, but even after all of this time, it didn't make sense to her that she would just abruptly drown herself to end up in the Upside Down.

A crimson mist emanated at their feet. At first, it was left with nowhere to go, but as the doors finally opened in front of them, the cloud of red spilled out into the open, pouring over a strange, rocky terrain.

Cautiously, they stepped out. Lillian imagined they had to be in the caverns, but the ceiling seemed to be nowhere in sight. Pillars of a peculiar, almost crystalline rock seemed to indicate they were in Angel's Reach Caverns, but above them was a shroud of purple and vermilion, much like the skies Lillian had started to get accustomed to in the Second Circle. She gulped, gazing at the bluish specks of light that imitated stars in the false sky.

"Where the hell are we?" Eddie murmured, looking awestruck as he took everything in. His mouth was agape in wonder at the ethereality, but she was more concerned as to why and how they had gotten here. The elevator went so far down beneath the earth.

Lillian made the connection, suddenly. That turbulence... it shook the elevator twice. Was it possible that somehow, it had been so conveniently placed to ascend and descend through two, parallel portals?

What they were looking at was like something only seen in concept art. It was beautiful, truth be told, but also completely otherworldly. Their surroundings hardly resembled a cavern, seeming far too spacious. It was almost as if they were outside, underneath one, giant nebula of a sky.

Lillian, knowing they should turn right back around and take the elevator back up, instead followed the fog. It kept low to the ground, billowing over and around crystal pillars. Where was it going? Was it leading them somewhere?

Ahead was a cave, the rock stretching so far up she had to crane her neck, and even still, she couldn't see the top of it. Something was drawing her into the mouth of the cave. As she stepped into the entrance, she continued to follow the red mist, which now seemed to give off its own light to show the way.

"Eddie, you can tell me to stop any time," she said, her voice echoing through the chasm, but she was given no response. She turned around, but she was beginning to realize she was alone, and her statement would continue to go unanswered.

What worse, the entrance was supposed to be right behind her, but now, it was as if she had been dropped right in the middle of a darkening labyrinth.

"Eddie?"

It also just dawned on her that her flashlight was still on the floor of the elevator.

"Shit..."

She looked back to the fog, which was getting further and further away, along with its rosy luminescence. She was forced to catch up with it now.