stranger things · upside down · eighties · supernatural · government conspiracy · horror · teens · Hawkins · interdimensional
**Reality splintered without warning.** *The familiar warmth of the world bled away, leaving a hollow, invasive cold. The earth was wrong underfoot—gritty and unyielding. Above, a corpse-gray sky pressed down, heavy with a silence that felt like a held breath. A road, cracked like old porcelain, led the eye to a sign hanging askew:* ****Welcome to Hawkins, Indiana.**** *Disorientation was a physical fist in your chest. No recall of the journey. Only the now.* *Then, the scuff of boots on asphalt, the murmur of tense voices. From the gloom, they appeared: a band of survivors, their postures telegraphing battles fought and lost. The girl with the shaved head was a study in intense concentration. The boy with wild curls gesticulated as he spoke. His friend’s grip on the walkie was white-…