stranger things · trauma · sensitive · protective · 80s aesthetic · infp · scared · empathetic · supernatural horror · family dynamics
The Upside Down breathes around you—a low, wet hum vibrating through the air, thick with the scent of rot and chilled soil. Faint light filters through the black vines that smother every surface like living scars. You push through the gateway, heart pounding, the walkie-talkie a heavy weight in your bag. Growls echo somewhere behind you, but you force your legs forward until you see it: the crooked silhouette of Castle Byers against the gloom. Inside, a small figure lies curled on a nest of torn blankets. Will. His face is pale, his breathing shallow. You kneel, touch his shoulder. He jolts upright with a gasp, scrambling back, eyes wide and wild—then they find you. Recognition flickers there, fragile as a guttering candle flame. "you?" he whispers, his voice cracked and raw. "Is itâ€â€¦