THAT'S TROUBLING !

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IN THE WOODS, THEY HAD WALKED WITH ONE ANOTHER FOR QUITE SOME TIME. It was only a matter of time before the sun had set and the moon had risen above them. Through the tops of the trees, it had barely shined through, a very small glimmer in the night. In their hands, they held on to flashlights, watching their step and for any sudden movements in the trees for anything lurking before them.

This had carried on for some time in silence. After Jonathan and Nancy had fought over Steve Harrington's type of character and attempted to drag Alex into their debate, they had grown quiet. Alex had appreciated the silence much more than the bickering, that way she could listen for even the smallest of sounds out in the woods.

"Did you hear that?" Alex stopped in her tracks, listening to the sound of clicking off to her left. She shined her flashlight in that direction but saw nothing. Still, her heart raced, fearful of what the monster could do if it had been out there.

"Heard what?" Jonathan whispered, he and Nancy coming up to Alex's side.

"I've heard it before," Alex said quietly, straining her ears to hear it again but now there was silence. The silence had only felt as if it had been mocking her, possibly playing tricks so that she could have a moment of fear.

"That's troubling," Nancy whispered, looking around them. She had believed that Alex had heard something, but she wasn't sure that she wanted to believe that it was what they had feared. Turning her flashlight off from the left, she scanned the woods before them in case something had been hidden before them. Before she knew it, the sound of whimpering had come from the other direction. "Wait, I hear something!"

Following Nancy's lead, they had listened carefully for the whimpering animal lost out in the woods. Even if it had not been the monster, it was an animal in pain. One thing that could've caused it was the monster. So they had all held on tight to their weapons as they headed through the forest.

As the three grew closer to the sound of the dying animal, they had shined a light on a deer laying in the woods. Frowns had appeared on their faces at the thought of something horrible happening to something that looked so innocent. All had kneeled down for a better look, but it had only hurt them more to see it in such pain.

"We can't just let it suffer," Nancy said sadly, looking at Jonathan. She slowly held the gun up towards the deer with a frown deepening on her face. It was best to put it out of its misery than to leave it laying, scared and helpless as it had died.

"I'll do it," Jonathan said softly, holding his hand out for the gun. Nancy passed it over hesitantly. All had stood up, taking a few steps back as they watched Jonathan nervously raise the gun in his hands. When Jonathan pointed it down at the dying animal, Nancy grabbed onto Alex's arm, both turning their heads slightly to not see him shoot the poor deer.

Before Jonathan could even think about pulling the trigger, the deer was snatched out of view by something they couldn't see. A short screech and the sound of clicking had replaced the whimpering for a brief moment. All three of them jumped back in fear, Nancy accidentally elbowing Alex in the jaw. Releasing her hold on Nancy, Alex had held her jaw in surprise, unsure if any had caught a glimpse of what had taken it. But now, her fear had seemed to be replaced with determination. Whatever had taken the deer had taken Will and Barb-- two people she had cared for. It was only a matter of time before it had taken another that was not a deer.

Attempting to collect themselves and regain control of their breathing, they went on a search for the deer. It hadn't been difficult to find a trail of blood left behind. They had chosen to follow it, wondering if it would lead them to something else that would give them answers to what had been happening in Hawkins.

Breaking apart from her friends, Alex had looked around for the deer, expecting it to be close by. As the flashlight had scanned the woods Alex was the first to have her eye catch something odd that came from a tree. Curiosity got the best of her as she approached it, gently falling to her knees as she looked down in disgust. In the tree had been a hole towards the bottom, held together by a sickening goo.

The nasty substance had prevented her from looking much deeper into the hole. As she had leaned in closer, a pungent smell had caused her to slightly sit back in disgust. Whatever had been living in there had been dark, able to handle such horrors inside.

"This is such a bad idea," she whispered to herself before digging her hand into the hole. Had it not been for Will Byers, she would've turned her back to the hole the moment she saw it and moved on. But there had been an alternate dimension-- the Upside Down as the boys would call it. If there was a chance that this horrific nightmare before her was an opening to that world, she would have to risk it. Already she could hear the demands of the boys, instructing her to at least touch the stuff to see what it had been about.

However, her hand had never reached an end. By now she had been elbow deep, and her hand had felt as if it had reached the open air. Her fingers were able to wiggle freely on what had been on the other side, so she took her chances and pushed her arm in deeper. If this had reached beyond the tree, then it had meant there was more to learn. For a moment, she had thought that there was a chance she could bring Will Byers home.

That thought had taken away any logic to what she was dealing with. She had closed her eyes, holding her breath as she allowed herself to be taken in by the hole, reaching for this alternate dimension. Her disappearance had not gone unnoticed, however.

Nancy Wheeler had been trying to find either her or Jonathan to discuss what to possibly do next. Her flashlight had turned every which way as she had quietly called out their names. Then she had approached that very tree. Shining her flashlight down, she had seen Alex's very foot disappear into the hole that had sat towards the bottom of the tree. Her nose had scrunched up from the smell that had come from it, but she had seen that it was safe if Alex had gone through it. Knowing she would need someone by her side in this mysterious hole, Nancy held herself together as she got to her hands and knees. Swallowing hard, she sucked in her breath and went right in after her.

Emerging in a strange new world, Nancy had been covered head to toe in the goo that had filled the hole. Attempting to flick it off of herself, she had looked around what had seemed like a forest. But this was nothing compared to the one that they had left behind. This was had reeked and the sounds coming from it were anything but animal-like. Still, there was no sign of Alex anywhere in sight.

"Alex? Where are you?" Nancy whispered loudly, using her flashlight to look around, taking a few steps out. The flicker of the flashlight eventually landed on Alex who was hiding behind a tree trunk with her finger pressed to her lips in a warning. She had looked as if she had remained calm, but she had only appeared that way for Nancy. If Nancy had seen that fear in her eyes, there was a chance she would run, or possibly even call out her name-- all that would get her killed.

Slowly, Alex's finger had fallen from her lips as she had used it to direct Nancy to what she had been seeing. Nancy looked up further ahead to see what horror could possibly allow Alex to hide away behind a tree. Further ahead, a monster was crouched over the dead body of a deer, gnawing away at it, unaware of the two. This had been the very thing that Jonathan had captured on his camera, what Joyce Byers had been seeing, and the monster that Alex had caught sight of in the woods after Steve's party.

Feeling her fear begin to rise, Nancy looked back to Alex with wide eyes that had been filled with terror. All she had wanted was someone to be at her side just in case that monster had turned back around. Holding her breath, she took a step forward in complete silence. Slowly raising her other foot, she had gone to take another step, only for it to land right onto a small twig. The snap of it was just loud enough. The monster had whipped its head around, opening up its face as it had screeched at the sight of Nancy.

There was not much thought to it as each girl had taken off into a sprint. All that had been on their minds was to get back to where they had come out of. At least being out of the alternate dimension, they would be somewhere more familiar, possibly able to find somewhere to run.

In the woods of the alternate dimension, it was impossible for either of them to figure out where they were going or where they came from. All that mattered to them was getting away from the monster and getting to Jonathan.

Jonathan's voice came to them but from what it sounded like, it was as if he was a lot farther away. Nancy held her hand out to Alex, stopping her from rushing off again, both trying to listen for Jonathan. Those crucial few seconds they stopped running, and the monster was able to catch up. Alex whipped her head to the side to see it standing there and as soon as she made eye contact, the Demogorgon let out the loudest screech it could manage. Without a thought, Alex grabbed Nancy and pulled her off into a sprint.

Each girl ended up hiding behind two different trees, holding their breath, hoping the monster wouldn't find them.

"Nancy! Alex! Follow my voice!" Jonathan's voice was a lot closer. But that monster was still out there. Nancy tried to make a run for it to where she heard Jonathan's voice come from. Alex took off after her but with the surprise of her running off, she was a lot slower and very behind.

Fear coursed through her body the closer the sounds of the growling came behind her. She called out Nancy's name just before she was tackled to the ground by the Demogorgon. These few moments that it loomed over her, felt like her very last. All that she could hope for was that Nancy got out alive to Jonathan.

The clicking of the Demogorgon deafened her as it brought its flower-like mouth closer to hers. She tried to scream out but the sounds of the clicking in her head made it impossible for her to even hear herself.

Her hands covered her ears and she shut her eyes as tightly as she could. She refused to think of the monster that stood over her, a disgusting tube slowly emerging from its mouth towards her. Instead, she thought of the one person she didn't want to leave behind. Dustin was burned into her mind as she was choked by the tube now going deep into her throat. Logically it felt like it had made its way into her stomach but she felt it everywhere in her body like something evil was being poured inside of her.

Remembering how strong she knew Dustin was, how he fought for Will and would die for any of his friends, she forced her eyes open, abandoning the images of Dustin to pry her hands off her ears and rip the tube in her mouth out. She rolled out from underneath the monster. Confused by her sudden actions, it took a few seconds to register what was happening and what she had done. She sat herself up, looking around in a daze, still taking in what the Demogorgon had done. Her mouth bled from the tube being forced down her throat and her eyes grew a sickly red and yellow, her whole body taking in what the Demogorgon did. Before the Demogorgon could leap at her once more, she noticed the hole that she saw Nancy disappear out of.

Practically throwing herself into the hole again, Alex fell out into the world she's known, right in front of Nancy and Jonathan's feet. Jonathan released his grip from Nancy and helped the girl stand up. They both had noticed she was a lot more shaken up than Nancy had when she came out but not knowing why. They all turned back to the hole in the tree to see it close itself back up. Not noticing that Alex's eyes changed back into her natural state and that she quickly wiped the blood from her mouth with the end of her sleeve.

The evil within the alternate dimension was at bay for the time being, but it had been far from over.