In the Upside Down*
The group followed closely behind Raven, their footsteps echoing through the cold, eerie landscape. Suddenly, Steve stopped.
"Hey—wait. If we leave now, then what's gonna happen to her?"
Jonathan frowned. "Happen to who?"
"My car!" Steve exclaimed. "We can't just leave her stuck here."
Nancy shot him an irritated look. "Steve, we're in enough trouble. We can't even be sure we're making it home alive. This is not the time for your car jokes."
Steve's shoulders fell, and he stayed quiet.
After a few minutes of tense walking, Raven suddenly stopped. The rest of the group halted behind her.
"Well, well…" Raven said quietly, "let's see what happens to you now."
Dustin blinked in confusion and looked around.
Steve asked, "What do you mean?"
Raven simply pointed ahead.
The group froze.
Three demogorgons stood together, their bodies twitching, their faces opening into monstrous petals.
Nancy whispered, "What do we do now?"
Dustin stammered, "W-what? We shoot them! Right?"
Raven shrugged. "Sure. I can shoot one, but while I'm dealing with it, the other two will divide the four of you for dinner."
Steve's voice trembled. "So… what happens now?"
Raven reached into her large bag.
And pulled out a chainsaw.
She gripped it firmly. A shadow flickered across her eyes.
"Don't worry," she said , "I'm much faster than a gun."
In the next instant—before any of them could blink—Raven launched forward like a bullet.
The first demogorgon didn't even realize what happened before she sliced straight through its stomach.
The second lunged, but Raven leapt so high the chainsaw ripped through its neck mid-air.
The third roared and raised its claws to tear her apart. Raven raised the chainsaw too, and the two forces collided—her blade overpowering it in a single, brutal strike.
While Raven tore through the monsters, the entire group stared in pure horror.
Dustin whispered, "Am I dreaming… or is she actually stronger than a demogorgon? No wonder she's always covered in blood."
Nancy muttered, "Well, Steve… she handles a chainsaw better than you."
She waited for his usual comeback.
But Steve said nothing—his eyes were glued to the fight.
"Steve?" Nancy tried again.
"She is… so cool."
The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them.
Everyone turned to stare at him.
Realizing what he said, Steve quickly corrected himself, flustered, "I mean—she's cruel! Scary! Terrifying. I'm terrified."
The three demogorgons lay in shredded pieces across the ground. Raven walked back toward the group slowly, her boots crunching through the remains.
"You all look a little afraid," she said casually. "Relax. This is a modified chainsaw—perfect for dealing with demogorgons."
No one responded. They were still processing the carnage.
The journey continued in uneasy silence.
After some time, a massive mansion came into view—standing eerily beside a warped, pulsing wall of the Upside Down. It looked out of place in a world where nothing human survived.
"We've reached," Raven said. "Come on."
Dustin's eyes widened. "You live here?"
"Yeah. I told you—I was adopted by the military," Raven replied.
Steve looked up in awe. "I didn't even know a mansion like this existed in Hawkins…"
"That's the point," Raven said. "My whereabouts aren't supposed to be public."
They stepped inside.
Though the mansion was covered in dark, twisting veins of the Upside Down, the original beauty still showed through—grand hallways, wide staircases, and elegant walls now distorted by the otherworldly growths. They climbed the stairs, glancing around in hesitant admiration.
On the second floor, Raven pointed to a door.
"Well… this is it."
The group stepped inside.
The room was a surprise. Instead of something terrifying, it was filled with posters—male singers, actors plastered all over the walls like a teenager's bedroom frozen in time.
But none of that held their attention for long.
Because at the far end of the room…
was the thing they'd been desperate to find—
their doorway back home.