Act 9: The upside down [Ep2]

Twelve whimpered in fear when he realised where he was, He quickly took a few steps back until his back was firmly pressed against the wall, His breathing started getting heavier and heavier as he eyes darted around the house, His heart began pounding in his chest, Filling his ears, Eyes blurring everything together, He felt like he was suffocating. His lunges wouldn't take in any more oxygen. He was practically wheezing, trying to force air into his lungs. 

His hand yanked at the clothing he was wearing, Desperately wanting to scream out loud, to do anything that would make this feeling stop, to allow him to breathe again. But he knew the consequences of his voice created, He knew what it could do. So he covered his mouth with his hand, remembering what Papa told him before. His hand was shaking as he used both of his hands to clamp his mouth shut. 

When he felt like he was about to stop breathing any second However, He remembered something Eleven told him. That they were safe here. Papa couldn't get to them. He didn't have to follow Papa's rules anymore. So he snapped. All the pent up rage, sadness, irritation, everything . . . Just came pouring out in a loud, thunderous shriek that shook the house, the ground, the sky. Twelve seemed to forget everything in that moment, Eleven, Mike, His fears . . . Everything. He fell hard to his knees, not feeling the pain at all. 

Suddenly, cracks started appearing on the walls, floor, and furniture. As Twelve continued to scream and shout, more and more cracks started spreading. After a few more loud and thunderous shouts, his voice started dying down before stopping all together. He let out a few choked sobs before calming down. 

Twelve was left panting heavily, gasping harshly as he began to notice the cracks healing themselves as soon as he finished his "Tantrum" Twelve was going to question what was happening when he heard a loud, guttural shriek coming from far away. Twelve wiped his head up, looking at the direction he heard the sound coming from. He wiped his tears away as he stood up from the ground, wondering if he was just hearing things. 

However, Just to be sure Twelve focused on the sound, Enhancing his ears so he could hear farther. He finally pin-pointed the sound . . . . but instead of one voice- - -If he could call it that- - - he heard another, softer voice shouting- - - Though it was drowned out by the louder, inhumane shriek. It sounded like a young boy's voice that was hoarse after yelling and screaming for hours. Twelve was trying to tell who the voice belonged to when . . .  A name suddenly popped into his head . . . . Will . . . 

Twelve found himself quickly rushing towards the Wheeler's front door, he swung it open and stepped out. He turned his head to the right and to the left, searching for the direction where he heard Will's voice coming from. He couldn't pin-point an exact location but he could tell the general direction. So he ran, ran as fast as his legs would take him. As far as his legs would carry him, getting closer and closer to where Will was. 

Soon he came to an old, messy house. Twelve could feel Will and the shadow monster from before both inside the house- - - It worried Twelve because he could feel the shadow monster searching For Will, " Will? . . .  Will!? " He called out, panting heavily while coughing a few times as he rested his hands on his trembling knees as he rested for a second before rushing up to the house. He knocked on the door a few times before slamming his shoulder into it - - - Much like he used to back at the Lab when he was put in the Dark room- - -as he and El called it, bursting it open and rushing inside. 

He made his way into the Living room, Twelve spotted a woman inside the messy house, she looked like she really needed sleep. She was sitting on her couch, mumbling to herself, not noticing Twelve. Twelve looked around the house- - - Both physically and mentally but he didn't see Will or the Shadow monster anywhere and that was beginning to worry him. He could feel them but he just couldn't find them. Harsh words began echoing in his head, calling him a failure for no being able to help Will or stop the shadow monster. 

The whispers and voices started to become too much Twelve. He started whimpering, fearing he had lost the only clue to finding Will. He decided the search the house once more, but found nothing. No Will, No shadow monster, Nothing. He began curling into himself as he started losing hope, believing that the Monster had eaten Will or something worse than that. 

" Will? . . . Will Byers? " Twelve timidly called out, tears pooling in eyes. He quickly wiped them away before allowing the tears to fall, Knowing he couldn't hold them abc any longer. He sniffled a little bit as he fell to his knees onto the floor. His knees hitting the patterned wood floor with force, This time- - - though- - - Twelve felt it. He winced as his knees stung slightly from the fall before and Now. 

However, he ignored the pain and continued to try calling out to Will, Hoping for something. A clue, A . . . hint as to where he was . . . anything . . . " Will?! P-Please . . .  Know Mike . . . Help f-find Will . . . Please . . . Not s-safe h-here . . . " Twelve began rambling loudly as tear after tear rolled his cheeks until he was full on sobbing. He felt like he had somehow disappointed Mike, he could feel how upset and sad the boys felt after Will disappeared. He wanted to help but he lost his only chance to. He held his face in his hands as he wailed, disappointment and sadness filling him to the brim. 

While Twelve was crying his eyes out, He didn't notice the cupboard doors in the living room slowly swing open. Once they were open just enough so whoever was in there could see Twelve, they quickly assessed that he seemed harmless. So they quietly crawled out of their hiding space and walked over to the boy sobbing on his knees.

This person. . .  Is Will. He kneeled on the ground by Twelve's side, He softly tapped Lev on the shoulder- - - Which quickly gained Twelve's attention- - - Twelve gasped, turning his head to look at his side. Twelve started sobbing even harder when he realised it was Will, who was by his side. 

" W-Will? " Twelve hesitantly asked, wanting to make sure he was correct before assuming things. Will looked at Twelve with wide eyes,

" How . . . How do you know my name? " He questioned the crying boy as he awkwardly tried to comfort him by rubbing his arm gently. 

" Um . . .  M-Mike . . . Know Mike. . .  D-Dusin . . .  Lu-Lucas . . .  Look. . .Looking for you  . . . St-Staying . . . . Base-Basement . . .  " Twelve stammered as he searched for the right words to use, Will seemed to understand him though even with his broken english. Will felt his eyes widen when he processed what Twelve told him. 

" You know Mike, Dustin and Lucas? They. . .They were looking for me?" Will inquired, helping the boy stand up. Twelve's knees almost buckled under him as they were half-asleep from sitting on them, Luckily Will had a hold of him and didn't let him fall, Twelve nodded his head when his head processed what Will asked him. Twelve felt the stinging in his knees worsen, He frowned when he saw a bit of blood start staining to pants he was wearing.  

" Yes . . .  . . . " Twelve suddenly fell silent, his hand gripping Will's forearm as he steadied himself. One of the few things his knew about the monster he saw earlier was that . . . .  It was attracted to the smell of blood. Twelve suddenly felt something coming closer to the pair, He looked over Will's shoulder. His eyes went wide with shock and fear. It was already here and ready to hunt. Will noticed him trembling, he felt something behind him- - -  Which the boy was staring at- - - and slowly turned his head until he was facing the same direction as Twelve. 

" The Demogorgon . . . " Will whispered, His voice shaking ever so slightly as his eyes began filling with tears. He was frozen, He couldn't move and Twelve felt the same way. He always hated facing the monster that Papa made him look for every time he went into the bath alone. However, Twelve also knew that they needed to leave before the monster got them. Eleven always told him that if the monster got a hold of him then he would be gone, like the cat's he and Eleven had kill with their powers. So Twelve controled his fear, pushed it down and glared at the monster behind them that was slowly advancing towards them before pulling them both out the front door, Will was a trembling mess but moved his legs nonetheless.Twelve didn't stop nor slow down once until the two were in a junkyard filled with old buses and old metal. 

Twelve and Will hid in an old bus, they were in the corner as they hid from the shadow monster - - - Which Will explained was called the Demogorgon. Twelve still had his hand wrapped around Will's wrist, He wouldn't let go until he was sure they were safe. Twelve had his eyes glued to the door at the front of the bus, not looking away or feeling uncomfortable in the silence between the two boys. 

However, Will was a different story. He needed something to focus on to keep his mind away from falling into a deep rabbithole of dark and terrifying thoughts. " Um . . . Can I ask for your name?" Will tried to lighten the atmosphere by starting a conversation with the smaller boy, He watched Twelve turn back to him with a slightly parted mouth. However, just before he could answer there was a lud, high-pitched shriek coming closer to the two boys When Twelve felt himself slipping back to the real world. Twelve then remembered that his knee was still bleeding and hated himself for being so thoughtless. 

He quickly turned to Will, who had begun to panic again, " Run, Will. Hide! " He yelled at him as he stood up from crouching behind the bus seats. He hoped that he could buy some time for Will to get out there, Just before he could run off though, Will grabbed onto his arm, " Wait! Where are you going? " He questioned him, worried about Twelve being out there alone with the Demogorgon. 

" Don't worry . . . I stay s-safe . . . yo-you stay safe . . w-will find you . . . Promise . . . c-can't break promises " Twelve smiled reassuringly at Will before he ran out of the bus, hoping for his plan to buy the boy some more time to work. Unfortunately before he could even spot the monster outside, He was shaken awake by Mike. Twelve Gasped coming back to reality, He had tears streaming down his face as he was huddled into a corner under Mike's top bunk. His knees were to his chest, holding Rory in his lap, His fingers turning white because of how hard he was squeezing the toy Dinosaur.

" Lev! Are you alright? Y-You looked like you were in a trance - - - " Mike let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when he saw Twelve look up at him, Twelve didn't answer at first, Which worried Mike quite a bit. He looked around the room, The walls had returned to their normal size, there were no more shadows, No more echo's, No more monster . . . No more Will. 

Twelve let out a muffled sob as he quietly mumbled apologies to Mike, who couldn't understand what he was saying. Mike pulled the boy close to his chest, " Hey, Lev, Calm down. Take a deep breath, okay? I can't understand you right now " He rubbed Twelve's back, hoping to calm the boy down a little bit. Twelve held onto Mike's shirt, taking a few deep breaths- - - Like Eleven had taught him- - - before moving away from Mike's chest. 

" Mike - - - " Twelve choked out through his sobs,  Mike nodded for him to continue speaking, "- - - Will, Not s-safe . . . in dan-danger . . . Demogorgon . . . " Twelve whispered to Mike, who understood instantly what he was saying. His eyes widened as he stared at Twelve, who continually wiped his tears away. Mike wanted to ask more questions but he knew that Dustin and Lucas should hear all of this too. 

" Lets go to the basement, Okay? We'll talk with the others down there, Alright? " Mike decided, Helping Twelve to his feet. Twelve nodded his head, sniffling a bit as he let Mike lead him out of his bedroom, down the stairs and quickly down into the basement before anyone saw them. Mike holding onto Twelve's wrist the entire time to reassure him that he was alright. 

At Woods. Time: Afternoon . . . . 

The search party was still looking for Will, " Will, Come on out Buddy" Hopper shouted, walking ahead of the group as Callahan walked next to him, " Will, Where are ya?! " Hopper shouted some more as he and the others walked around trees and bushes. 

" Hey, You think Earl really saw Will? I mean what's he doin' with a shaved head? And stealing food from Benny? Also, Who do you think the other kid with him was? " Callahan doubted, earning a sigh and sarcastic remark from Hopper, " Tell you what, When we find them, We'll ask. Can't ask a corpse questions" Hopper said dryly, when they suddenly heard a whistle going off. 

Hopper and Callahan hurried over to where Mr. Clarke ws kneeling on the ground, " Hey, What do you got?" Hopper questioned him, watching Mr. Clarke hold up two different pieces of cloth, " Not sure, Maybe nothing. I found these, in there  " Mr. Clarke answered, handing the cloth's to Hopper. 

Hopper, Callahan and Powell looked at the cramped tunnel before them, " No way a Kid crawls through there " Powell doubted, staring into the tunnel, Hopper shrugged his shoulders,

" I don't know . . . A scared enough one might. His brother said he was good at hiding plus if he was with something, they could have assisted him " Hopper explained, his gaze rested on the tunnel too. 

At The Wheeler's house, Basement. Time: Night . . .  

As soon as Twelve had gotten down the stairs, He rushed over to Eleven- - - Who was messing with the Supercomm in their fort- - - He plunged into her arms before he started wailing loudly, gaining Lucas's and Dustin's attention. 

" What happened to him, Mike?" Dustin inquired as he moved over to Mike's side as they watched Eleven hug Twelve and whisper in his ear, trying to calm him down. " I don't know. I found him curled in a corner under my top bunk. He had tears streaming down his face and He . . . He looked like he was in a trance or something . . . like he was here but not here . . . I don't know . . ." Mike tried explaining but it only made Dustin more confused so he gave up on asking anything. 

Meanwhile, Eleven was confused but hugged Twelve back when he launched himself at her. She waited till he had calmed down a bit before asking him anything, She helped him wipe away his tears and move his hair out the way of his face. 

" Lev . . . What happened . . .? " Eleven softly questioned him, rubbing his back as he laid on her chest. He stayed still for a second before shooting up to a sitting position, He looked like he had been burned or something as he left fear cloud his eyes as he began trembling. 

" El . . .  " He started, pausing a second as he chose his next words in his head, Eleven waited patiently because she knew that he often had trouble thinking of the words he wanted to say. She smiled softly at him, but her smile fell when he told her about what happened, " . . . S-Saw Will . . . In trouble . . .  Mon-Monster a-after . . .  Him . . . Hi-Hiding . . . .  at H-House . . . N-Not safe . . . . D-Danger . . . " He couldn't help his tutter. He has had it ever since he was young. Papa (Brenner) used to tell him that it was because he wasn't used to speaking but never delved any deeper than that, making Twelve question if thats really why. 

Eleven nodded her head, Understanding what happened now. She knew what her brother could do, She knew how he could make contact with . . . the other side, She knew how he could unconsciously appear there at random times- - - though mostly when he was alone- - - She knew how Papa always forced him to go there, She knew how much he hated that place. How he had multiple nightmares about it and the monster he always saw. She had seen the monster on a few occasions and she was terrified, So she knew what he was feeling now. Twelve had always felt like he needed to protect others, even if they were older and taller then him. It was just a natural response, So seeing in trouble and in danger, He felt an urge to Protect Will. Eleven knew this. She always knew what her brother wanted, felt, and thought. 

" It's . . .  Okay, We find Will, Protect him. Keep him safe. Promise " Eleven smiled down at Twelve, Pulling him into another Hug as he forced himself to calm down. Will would be fine, He had survive uptill now. They'll find him soon and He'll be safe and sound. El promised and Promises can't be broken. Ever. 

Finally, Twelve calmed down and took attention away from Eleven and onto Dustin and Lucas - - - Who were talking to Mike. They seemed to have felt his gaze though as they turned to look at him Eleven. Mike walked over to Twelve and Eleven, noticing their tense shoulders, " Don't worry. They won't tell anyone about you. They promise, Right?" Mike looked over his shoulder at Lucas and Dustin, " We never would've upset you if we knew you had superpowers " Dustin smiled, Mike kicked his leg with an Eye-roll. 

" What Dustin is trying to say is that they were just scared . . . . Earlier, Thats all " Mike explained to the pair, who stiffly nodded their heads, " We just wanted to find our friend " Lucas added, letting his arms hang at his sides as he sighed a little. 

Eleven and Twelve frowned slightly, looking at each other before looking at the boys, " Friend?" They repeated in unison. Mike and his friends also frowned, " Yeah, Friend. Will? " Mike clarified for them but it still didn't clear up the pair's confusion. Eleven had heard the word a few times when she was forced to look for people in the bath but Twelve had ever heard the word before, " W-What is . . .  F-Friend . . .? " He asked Mike, who was speechless. 

" Is he serious?" Lucas asked aloud before trying to explain, " Um - -  A friend - - " Mike cut him off before he could start rambling, " Is someone that you'd do anything for " He said, watching El and Lev nod their heads slightly. 

" You lend them your cool stuff, Like comic books and trading cards " Dustin added with a smile on his face, " And they never break a promise " Mike told them, taking their attention away from the weird word Dustin had said,

" N-Never?" Twelve mumbled, leaning his head on El's shoulder, eyeing the boys curiously. 

"Never " Mike reassure him, nodding his head slightly, " Yeah, Especially when there's spit " Lucas added, " Spit?" Eleven grimaced as her left hand rested on Lev's shoulder, holding him close to her. Lucas hummed before spitting on his hand, " A spit swear means . . . You never break your word. Its a bond " He shook hands with a hesitant and disgusted Henderson, who quickly wiped his hand on his shirt as soon as their handshake was over. 

" That's super important because friends. . . . They tell each other things. Things that parents don't know " Mike told them, smiling softly at them. Twelve understood what he meant, to a certain degree. There were things he never told Papa about and kept them a secret, even till now. Eleven and Twelve nodded their heads, understanding the three boys. They should tell them. That they knew where Will was. They deserved that, at least.