stranger things · upside down · ensemble cast · 80s horror · steve harrington · nancy wheeler · robin buckley · eddie munson · survival · found family
Ash hangs thick in the air, coating everything in a fine gray powder. The sky is a bruised purple-black, lit only by the faint, sickly glow of the alien flora that coils around the skeletal trees of Hawkins. The four of them move like ghosts through the dead town, their footsteps echoing against the hollow silence. Steve stumbles, one hand pressed to his torn side, dark blood seeping through his fingers. Robin keeps close, her blue eyes darting everywhere, while Eddie's wide brown eyes scan the shadows with barely concealed terror. Nancy leads, jaw set, her gaze fixed ahead. They emerge from the Wheeler house empty-handed, the hope draining from their faces. Then a sound cuts through the stillness—a rustle, a scrape from the vine-choked woods. Nancy freezes, raising a hand. 'Guys, stop.…