Barb woke up in an unfamiliar environment. She was standing in what looked like Steve's pool, but it wasn't. It was empty, filled with vines instead of water.
Barb heard a noise and turned behind her. That creature that she saw grab her was right there. She screamed as she ran for the ladder. She climbed up to the top, but right as she reached the top, she felt something grab her leg. She held onto the bars as tightly as she could, but she was pulled back down.
Barb laid on the ground, unable to move. The creature stared at her, menacingly. It opened its face and roared loudly. Barb closed her eyes and prepared for the worst.
Eventually, the creature's roars were replaced by the sound of a boy screaming. Barb opened her eyes and saw the creature being held against the wall. Barb quickly turned back and climbed the ladder to safety.
Stranger Things
Chapter 3
Holly Jolly
Steve had fallen asleep while Nancy remained awake.
"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Nancy whispered into her boyfriend's ear.
Nancy walked out of the house and past the pool.
She went back to her house when the light turned on. Karen came down and glared at her daughter.
"Jesus, you scared me," said Nancy.
"I scared you?" Karen retorted. "Where have you been? We agreed on 10."
"After the assembly, some people wanted to get something to eat," Nancy lied. "I didn't think it'd be a big deal."
"You didn't think to call?" asked Karen.
"I didn't realize how late it was," Nancy replied. "What more do you want from me?"
Nancy was about to head up to her room when Karen stopped her.
"Who's sweatshirt are you wearing?" she asked.
"Steve's," Nancy replied.
"So, Steve's your boyfriend now?" asked Karen.
"No," Nancy lied. "It was cold, so I borrowed his sweatshirt. It's no big deal."
Nancy continued walking upstairs when Karen called her.
"You can talk to me," she assured. "Whatever happened."
"Nothing happened," Nancy lied. "Can I please go?"
Nancy didn't wait for an answer, and walked upstairs.
Meanwhile, in the Byers, Jonathan woke up to the sounds of his mother speaking. The voice came from Will's room.
Jonathan went into Will's room to see Joyce sitting on Will's bed repeating, "Talk to me, just say something."
"Mom?" Jon asked.
Joyce finally saw Jon standing there and said "Come here. It's Will. He's trying to talk to me. Through the lights. I know, but just watch. Will, your brother's here. Can you show him what you showed me?"
The light flickered, but Jonathan wasn't buying it.
"It's just the electricity," he assumed. "It's acting up. It's the same thing that fried the phone."
"It's not the electricity," Joyce assured. "Something is going on here. Yesterday, the wall, I don't know. I just know that Will's here. Maybe if I get more lamps."
"No, you don't need more lamps," said Jon. "You need to stop, okay?He's lost. People are looking for him, and they will find him."
"I'm sorry," Joyce apologized.
"Let me ask you a favor," said Jon. "Can you try and get some rest for me?"
"I will," Joyce replied. "I just need to sit here a minute."
Jon left the room to start cooking breakfast.
Meanwhile, the boys were devising a plan in Mike's basement.
"Remember, tell your parents we have an after-school AV Club meeting," said Mike. "That'll give us at least a few hours for Operation Mirkwood."
"Do you seriously think that the weirdos know where Will is?" asked Lucas.
"Just trust me, okay?" said Mike. "You got the supplies?"
Lucas listed off what he got. "Binoculars, arm knife, hammer, camouflage bandana, and the wrist rocket."
"You gonna take out the Demogorgon with a slingshot?" asked Dustin.
"It's a wrist rocket," Lucas corrected. "And the Demogorgon's made up. If there is something out there, I'll shoot it in the eye and blind it."
"What do you have, Dustin?" asked Mike.
Dustin emptied his bag revealing… snacks.
Mike and Lucas glared at Dustin with a "Seriously?" expression.
"We'll need energy," Dustin defended. "For stamina. And besides, what do we need weapons for anyway? We have them." He was referring to Elle and Elvis.
"She shut one door," Lucas retorted.
"With her mind," Dustin retorted back. "That's insane. Imagine all the cool stuff both of them can do. Like, maybe the boy can fly." He turned to Elvis. "Hey, can you fly?"
Elvis just stared at Dustin with a confused face.
"They're not dogs," said Mike.
"Boys!" Karen called from upstairs. "Time for School!"
As the boys went upstairs, Mike talked to Elle and Elvis.
"Stay here and make no noise," he ordered. "If either of you get hungry, eat Dustin's snacks, okay?"
"Micheal," Karen called.
"Coming!" Mike called back, before turning back to Elle and Elvis. "Do you know power lines?"
"Power lines?" asked Elle.
"The cords behind the house?" Mike clarified.
"Yes," Elle replied.
"Meet us there after school," Mike ordered. "3:15." Mike handed Elle his digital watch. "When the numbers read '315', meet us there."
Mike grabbed his backpack and ran upstairs.
Nancy walked through the halls of the High School, just to find no sign of Barb. She went to her locker when she was met by Steve.
"Everything okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," Nancy replied. "I just feel like everyone's staring."
"I didn't tell anyone," Steve assured.
"I know you didn't," said Nancy. "But what about Tommy, and Carol, and them?"
"You're being paranoid, it's cute," said Steve. "Hey, I had a good time."
The two lovebirds kissed.
Nancy walked to class and sat down, just to see Barb wasn't next to her. She turned to the classmate in front of her.
"Ally, where's Barb?" she asked.
"Shouldn't you know?" Ally asked back.
"You haven't seen her?" asked Nancy.
Ally just shook her head.
Meanwhile, Hopper, Callahan, and Powell drove over to Hawkins Lab.
"There she is," said Powell. "Emerald City."
"I heard they make space weapons there," said Callahan.
Once they reached the front gate, they were approached by a security guard.
"How may I help you?" asked the guard.
"We're here for a tour," said Hopper.
"We don't give tours," said the guard.
"A quick look around, then," said Hopper. "Maybe you saw it on TV. We got a local kid that's missing. We have reason to believe he's here."
"You'll need clearance for that," said the guard. "You can call Mr. Schaeffer for that."
"Sir, I have a panicked mayor and reporters breathing down my neck," said Hopper. "And I have a very upset mom. I know the kid's not in there, but I gotta check off the box. Would you do me a favor and speak to the boss, see what he can do for us? I'm talking ten minutes."
Meanwhile, Elle and Elvis were relaxing in the basement. Elvis was just floating while Elle was making a toy Millenium Falcon float. Eventually, they got bored and decided to leave the basement.
Elvis sat on the recliner chair and pulled the lever. He loved the feeling just as much as Elle did.
Elle approached the TV and turned it on. She pushed random buttons and flipped through random channels, coming across stuff more interesting than the last. She eventually came across a Diet Coke commercial. This brought out some traumatic memories.
Flashback
Elle was in a room monitored by "Papa" and a few others.
Elle focused on using her brain to crush the empty can of coke, and she succeeded. It made her nose bleed but she succeeded.
End of Flashback
Meanwhile, Joyce went to her box of Christmas supplies and grabbed the lights. She used nails to hang them all over the wall. She eventually ran out of lights. She went to the store and bought as much as she could.
"Just ring me up, Donald," was all she said.
Meanwhile, Hopper was searching the other side of the tunnel he found.
"So you think this missing boy may have crawled through there?" a scientist asked.
"That was the idea," Hopper replied.
"I don't see how that's possible," said the scientist. "We have cameras covering every square inch, plus all my guys. No one breaks in here, certainly not some kid."
"Do you keep the tapes?" asked Hopper.
The scientist led Hopper into the lab.
"What do you do here?" asked Hopper.
"You're asking the wrong person," the scientist replied.
"Who's in charge here?" asked Hopper.
"That'd be Doctor Brenner," the scientist replied.
The scientist showed Hopper the security footage of the sixth and seventh, around the time Will disappeared. The footage did go staticy at one moment, something Hopper noticed. Eventually, the tape ended.
"That's it?" asked Hopper.
"Like I said, we would've seen him," the scientist replied.
Hopper and his fellows left the lab and returned to the car.
"Remember the search party on the seventh?" Hopper asked.
"Not much," Callahan replied. "We called off the search party because of the storm."
"You see any rain on that tape?" asked Hopper.
"What are you thinking?" asked Powell.
Hopper looked back at the lab and replied, "I don't know. But I do know one thing. They're lying."
Meanwhile, Nancy met up with Steve at lunch.
"Hey, Tommy, Carol?" said Nancy. "Did either of you see Barb last night?"
"I don't know who you're talking about," Tommy replied.
"Don't be an dick," said Steve. "Did you see Barb or not?"
"She was gone when we left," Tommy replied.
"Probably couldn't stand listening to all that moaning," Carol teased.
"I'm sure she's fine," Steve assured his girlfriend. "She's probably just skipping."
Nancy turned and saw Jonathan walking by. He stopped to look at her but walked off.
Meanwhile, the boys were outside the school looking around for stones that Lucas can launch with his wrist rocket.
"Do you think Eleven was born with her powers or do you think she acquired them?" asked Dustin.
"She's not a superhero, she's a weirdo," said Lucas. "And so is that boy."
"Why does that matter?" asked Mike. "The X-Men were considered weirdos."
"If you love them so much, why don't you marry them?" Lucas teased.
"What are you talking about?" asked Mike.
"You look at the girl all like, 'Hi Elle, Elle I love you so much.'," Lucas teased. "How do I know you don't act the same way around the boy?"
"Shut up, Lucas, it's not like that!" Mike retorted.
That's when Troy and his crony showed up.
"What are you doing here?" Troy teased. "Looking for your missing friend?"
"That's not funny, he's in danger," Dustin retorted.
"I hate to break it to you, but he's dead," said Troy. ""That's what my dad said. He was probably killed by some other queer."
"Just ignore them," Mike told Dustin before trying to walk by.
Troy tripped Mike.
"Watch where you're going, Frogface," he teased as he high-fived his friend.
Mike got up, but his nose was bleeding. He simply wiped the blood away.
Dustin found a stone and offered it to Lucas. "Good enough?"
"Yeah, this is it," said Lucas. "This is the monster killer."
Meanwhile, Jonathan was using red light and water to brighten the photos he printed out. The photos he took of Steve's party. He was seen by a girl.
Meanwhile, Joyce finished wrapping the Christmas lights around her house. She heard a knock on the door. She answered. It was Karen and her daughter, Holly.
"Hi, I brought a casserole," said Karen.
Meanwhile, Hopper went to the town library.
"You got a nerve showing up here," said the librarian, Marissa. "You could've at least called."
"You got newspapers around here?" asked Hopper.
Marissa showed them the newspaper section of the library.
"We're looking for something about Hawkins National Lab," said Hopper.
"Shouldn't you be searching for that missing kid?" asked Marissa.
"We are," Hopper replied. "Why don't you start with the times? We'll check out the post."
Hopper and Powell started searching whatever they could about Hawkins Lab. They came across rumors of alleged experiments happening in the lab. Something called "MKUltra". Stuff about the head scientist, Martin Brenner, being sued by a woman named Terry Ives for stealing her daughter.
Meanwhile, back at the Byers', Joyce lied to Karen about why she hung the lights. "Will always loved Christmas. I hung the lights 'cause I thought I'd feel like he's home. I know, it's stupid."
"It's not stupid," Karen assured. "How's Jonathan holding up?"
"He's good at taking care of himself," Joyce replied. "He thinks I'm losing my mind."
"I want you to know something," said Karen. "If you need something, Ted and I are here for you."
Meanwhile, Holly saw the lights acting up. She got curious and followed the lights. She followed them to Will's room, as the lamps started acting up. The lights mesmerized her, but they eventually cut out. Holly went to the wall. A hand emerged from the wall.
Joyce grabbed Holly, not seeing the hand.
"She shouldn't be here," said Joyce.
"Sorry, she's quite an explorer," Karen apologized.
"Wait, what did you see?" Joyce asked Holly, not knowing she was scaring her.
"Joyce!" Karen snapped.
"Karen, thanks for the casserole," said Joyce. "But I need you to leave."
Back at Hawkins High, Nancy used the payphone to call Barb's parents. Eventually, Barb's mom answered.
"Ms. Holland, it's Nancy," said Nancy. "Good. I'm just wondering, is Barb home? She did come home, right? After the vigil? Right, yes. She did, sorry. I meant, did she come home this morning? You know what? I just remembered, she's at the library. Yeah, I will. Sorry to bother you."
Meanwhile, Jonathan was walking to his car when he was approached by Steve and his buddies.
"Nicole told us about your work," said Steve. "We've heard great things. We'd love to take a look as connoisseurs of art."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Jonathan.
Jonathan tried to leave, but Tommy grabbed his bag.
"Give that back!" Jonathan demanded.
"He must be really trembling," Tommy teased. "He must really have something to hide."
Tommy opened the bag to reveal the photos. He shared them with Steve and Carol.
"I was looking for my brother," Jonathan defended.
"No, this is stalking," Tommy retorted.
Nancy showed up.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"This creep was stalking us last night," said Tommy.
"He was probably saving this for later," Carol added, as she handed a photo to Nancy.
Nancy looked at the photo. It was a picture of when she and Steve, got down, in Steve's room.
"That's the thing about perverts," said Tommy. "They can't help themselves, so you have to take away his toys."
Tommy tore up the photos. He then grabbed the camera.
"Tommy, isn't this a bit much?" asked Steve.
"I think it's just enough," Tommy replied as he grabbed a hammer and smashed the camera. Once he was done, he said, "Let's go, the game's about to start."
Tommy and Carol walked off, leaving Jonathan to pick up what's left of his photos. Nancy and Steve stood there feeling guilty.
"Steve, Nance, you coming?" asked Carol.
"We'll be right there," Steve replied.
Nancy looked down at a piece of a photo with Barb in it. She started picking up the pieces and Steve helped her. Once they were done, they walked to join their "friends".
Meanwhile, Elle and Elvis were at the phone line waiting for the clock to say "315". That's when they saw a cat on the other side of a fence. This brought back a traumatic memory for Elvis.
Flashback
Elvis was tasked with lifting himself into the air while holding an object, and then dropping it. The object in question was a live cat. In the end, he couldn't bring himself to hurt such an innocent creature, so he softly said it back down.
As punishment, "Papa" had him locked in the room again. Before the scientists could throw him in, though, Elvis released himself and levitated. He grabbed the scientists by the ears and lifted them up. He bashed their heads together, knocking them out, before floating back down.
Brenner approached Elvis, and held him.
"Incredible," he muttered.
Brenner picked Elvis up and carried him away.
End of Flashback
Elvis woke up from his daydream, uh, day-nightmare, right as Mike, Lucas, and Dustin showed up.
"Hop on," said Mike. "We only have a few hours."
Elle got onto Mike's bike while Elvis got onto Dustin's bike.
Once they made it to the woods, they stopped riding the bikes and started walking.
Elle noticed Mike's nose, which was still bleeding. "Did they hurt you?"
"No, I just tripped," Mike lied.
"Friends don't lie," Elle reminded Mike.
Mike sighed. "I was tripped by this mouth breather, Troy. He's a knucklehead, a dumb person. I don't know why I didn't tell you. Everyone at school knows. I just didn't want you to think I was a wastoid."
"I understand," said Elle.
Mike smiled at Elle, and blushed a little.
Meanwhile, Steve, Tommy, and Carol were sitting in the school hallway waiting for a game to begin.
"That boy will need a lot of aspirin when we're done," said Tommy.
"If the grief ever gets out," Carol added. "The cops should lock him up for stalking."
"Carol, for once in your life, shut your god damn mouth!" Steve shouted.
"Dude, what's your problem?" asked Tommy.
"You're both dickheads, that's what," Steve replied. "I'm serious, you shouldn't have done that!"
"You mean smash that camera?" asked Tommy. "I don't remember you asking me to stop."
"I did, though," Steve replied. "I shouldn't have stood there. I should've took that hammer and smashed your hand with that."
"What the hell, Steve!" Carol yelled.
"Neither of you ever cared about Nancy," said Steve. "Because she isn't a bully. She actually cares about other people."
"A slut with a heart of gold," Carol teased.
"Watch your mouth!" Steve shouted.
"I don't know what's gotten into you man," said Tommy, as he shoved Steve against the wall. "But you don't talk to her like that."
"Get the hell out of my face!" Steve shouted.
"Or what?" asked Tommy. "You gonna fight me too?"
Steve just forced Tommy off of him and walked away.
"That's right, you better run, Harrington!" Tommy called out. "That girl made you a big pussy!"
Nancy searched around where Barb parked. They saw that her car was still there, but not Barb.
Nancy went over to Steve's and towards the pool, Barb wasn't there.
Nancy heard rustling and went to check it out. She saw something, but whatever it was, it wasn't Barb. It wasn't even human. This scared Nancy and she made a run for it.
Back at the Byers', the lights started acting weird again. She followed the lights to a cupboard. She went into it with some wrapped up lights.
"Will, are you here?" she asked.
The lights blinked once.
"Blink once for yes, twice for no," said Joyce. "Can you do that for me?"
The lights blinked once.
"I need to know," said Joyce. "Are you alive?"
The lights blinked once.
"Is anyone with you?" asked Joyce.
The lights blinked once.
"Are you safe?" asked Joyce.
The lights blinked twice.
"Can you tell me where you are?" asked Joyce. "Tell me what to do to find you. Please, just… Will."
The lights didn't blink.
Joyce formed a new plan. She started painting every letter of the alphabet under a light.
Meanwhile, Nancy returned home, sad.
"Nancy, what's wrong?" asked Karen.
"Something happened," Nancy explained. "Something terrible."
Meanwhile, Hopper and Powell were still at the library.
"I don't know, Jim," said Powell. "Terry Ives sounds like a nut. Her kid was taken for LSD mind control experiments? She's been discredited."
"Forget about her," said Hopper, showing another newspaper. "Look at this. Doctor Martin Brenner. He runs the lab. You don't think that's interesting?"
"He was involved in some hippie crap back in the day, so what?" asked Powell.
"This isn't hippie crap," Hopper retorted. "This is CIA-sanctioned research. Look at that. Hospital gowns, like that fabric the teacher found."
"I don't know," said Powell.
"Work with me," said Hopper. "It's not like there's some grand conspiracy. Maybe something happened. Maybe Will was in the wrong place at the wrong time and saw something he shouldn't have."
That's when they heard someone call Powell through his walkie, "Powell, is the chief with you?"
Hopper answered, "I'm here, what do you have?"
Hopper and Powell left the library and got in the car. Hopper turned on the sirens and started driving.
That night, Mike and his group continued searching the woods until they reached the Byers'.
"He's here, hiding," said Elle.
"This is where he lives," said Mike. "He's missing from here, understand?"
"I swear if we walked all the way out here for nothing," said Dustin.
"That's what we just did," said Lucas. "I swear this bitch has no idea what the hell she's talking about. Mike, don't waste your time with her."
"What do you want to do, then?" asked Mike.
"Call the cops like we should've done," Lucas replied.
That's when Dustin heard sirens.
"Guys!" he shouted, getting their attention.
The kids saw as police cars and ambulances passed by. They got on the bikes and biked after the emergency vehicles.
Meanwhile, Joyce just finished painting the alphabet on the wall. It took her much longer than it should have.
"Baby, talk to me, where are you?" said Joyce.
The lights flashed, spelling out, " E"
"Who's with you?" asked Joyce.
The lights spelled out " D"
"I don't know what this is," said Joyce. "Tell me what to do."
The lights spelled out "R U N"
The lights all started flickering as something tore through the wallpaper. Whatever it was, it wasn't human. Its face split open as it let out a loud roar. Joyce made a run for it.
Meanwhile, Mike and his group followed the emergency vehicle through the woods until they reached a nearby lake.
Hopper got out of his car and met up with Callahan.
"Tell me it's not the kid, please," he said.
The kids hid behind a nearby fire truck as horror awaited them.
Play "Heroes" by Peter Gabriel
I, I will be king
The cops carried a dead body out of the lake.
And you, you will be queen
"It's not Will," said Mike. "It can't be."
Though nothing will drive them away
The kid's worst fear was true. The body they found was Will.
We can beat them, just for one day
"Mike," said Elle.
Mike slapped Elle's hand. "'Mike' what? You're supposed to help us find him alive. You said he was alive. Why did you lie? What's wrong with you?"
Mike ran off.
"Mike, where are you going?" asked Lucas.
"Mike!" Dustin called out.
Mike biked away.
We can be heroes. Just for one day
Joyce ran as far away from her house as possible.
I, I can remember
A car almost ran Joyce over but stopped. It was Jonathan.
Standing, standing by the wall
Mike ran into his house and slammed the front door.
And the guns, shot above our heads
"Mike, what's wrong?" asked Karen.
And we kissed, as though nothing could fall
Mike cried as he hugged his mom.
And the shame, was on the other side
Meanwhile, Joyce and Jonathan hugged each other, as some police cars showed up.
And we could be heroes, just for one day
End "Heroes"
A.N.
Now this was a wild ride.
Firstly, someone saved Barb from the demogorgon in this universe. Who saved her? We'll just have to see.
It seems that Barb managed to find Will, and now they're both hiding together. It should make things in the Upside-Down a bit better for them now that they're both with a familiar face.
Another thing I felt needed changing was Steve's character in Season 1. Looking back, he was kind of a dick, so I made him less of a dick.
Anyway, next time, I'll return to Amphibia, write a chapter of that fanfic, before heading back to this.
See you later.