Stranger Things

Date: 8/2/2019

Stranger Things world. All the teens are hurt and crippled. Jonathan has two crutches, and is moping around the living room. Today's his last day here; tomorrow, he moves across the country. Will is frozen stuck watching TV. It's been days since anyone saw him move from the TV. Joyce walks in, heading straight over to Will. "Your brother's leaving for New York tomorrow. Isn't that exciting?" She runs her hands through his hair. She freezes, her happy facade smile drops from her face. She looks up. The big flatscreen TV is frozen the white of the Underside. Nothing is being watched. She looks in the mirror next to the TV. She only sees herself. She walks forward, tentatively at first, arms outstretched, slowly swiping through the air. "There's no kid here," she quietly announces. The frozen, white Underside furniture disappears as she moves through them. "There's no kid here!" She repeats emphatically. She continues moving forward as the rest of the illusion falls away as she walks through it. A thin, small staircase is revealed in this process. Joyce descends. Jon is left standing alone in the empty room, staring at the cramped staircase entrance that swallowed his mom. His loved ones are in the dangerous Underside. Again. All he'd wanted was to move away from this shit. He picks up the yellowing wall phone calls Nancy. She sits as they talk, her own crutch leaning on the side of the chair. Jon leans his head on the wall, doing reverse pushups/tricep dips as they talk. She tells him there's nothing they can do, they're all too hurt to help. It would only cause more trouble. All of a sudden, a strange rumbling noise consumes the room. Will is tossed in from the top of the staircase. "Mom tried to push me out," he says. 'Will!" Jon drops the phone in disbelief, letting the cord clamber to catch the reciever, favoring a hit to the wall to a hit to the ground. "Where's mom?" "She's still in there. Running." "Why? Running.. running from what?" "Him."