Into the Neon (5, 6, 7, 8) · Y/n story by @w1llthewise

The portal spits us out like it's done with us. One second, I'm gripping Dustin's pack strap as the ground under our feet gives way to that familiar, sickening rift—the taste of copper and ozone flooding my mouth. The next, I'm on my knees on concrete, pavement scraping through the knees of my jeans, and the world is loud.

Dustin

groaning, rolling onto his back Okay. Okay. Not the Upside Down. Definitely not the Upside Down. pauses, squinting up at the glowing skyline ...What the hell is this?

Lucas

already on his feet, scanning the crowd I don't know, but we need to move. We're blocking the sidewalk. People are staring.

He's right. Pedestrians in face masks and designer coats weave around us like we're debris in a stream. A woman with a stroller gives us a wide berth. Somewhere, a street performer is singing into a wireless mic, and the sound of hundreds of footsteps on pavement is almost deafening.

Max

pulling El to her feet, her voice tight Guys. Where's Mike?

My stomach drops. I turn, and there he is—Mike Wheeler, crouched by the edge of the sidewalk, staring at the ground where the rift had been. There's nothing there. Just a seam of perfectly normal-looking pavement, as if we hadn't just fallen through a dimensional tear in the woods of Indiana.

Mike

quietly It's gone. The gate. It just... closed.

Eleven

her voice small, but steady I can feel it. Still there. But... very far away. she looks at me, her dark eyes huge Will. We're not in our world.

That's when it really hits me. The copper taste. The rift. The gate in the woods. It didn't take us to the Upside Down.