Chapter 8 – The blockade
Will sat on the tree stump in front of Hopper's cabin trying to get his blood pressure back to its normal state. He was fuming. About being brought in this embarrassing situation, but mostly about himself. He didn't know why he hadn't been able to use his healing abilities on Dustin or Mike – which just made it even more unbearable. How in the world could he be of any help fighting Vecna and his minions if he couldn't even activate the powers in him.
The longer he thought about it the more Will started to doubt that there were powers at all. Perhaps it just had been wishful thinking. Not to be the weak one, for once. But obviously, he was.
Half an hour had passed since he left the cabin, and the group had been considerate enough to let him calm down. He knew he had to go back inside, but he was too ashamed about everything.
When he heard the door open behind him, he turned around. It was Mike. His best friend trotted over to him, his head and shoulders hanging low. His right hand was wrapped in a heavy bandage. Without saying a word, he just let himself plump into the grass beside Will.
"I'm such an idiot…", Mike finally mumbled, not daring to look him in the eyes.
"Yes, you are", Will replied, managing to put on a weak smile. "But tell me news..."
Mike grinned shortly.
"How's your hand?"
"I think I'll survive."
Mike took a deep breath. "Will, I'm sorry. It was stupid."
"Yeah, it was…"
"You know, I thought it would… motivate you to have a more…", he hesitated, "...realistic scenario."
"And so, you just decided to mutilate yourself…"
"I thought it would help you activate your powers." Mike sighed loudly. "Will, please don't doubt yourself now, we all know what you're capable of."
Will grabbed a small stone from the ground and threw it into the bushes. "Yeah?" He laughed bitterly. "Then you know more than me."
When Mike spoke the next time, his voice sounded almost pleading. "Please don't be like that…"
"Like what, Mike?", he snapped. "Like someone who is expected to make miracles happen and fails tremendously at the sight of a stupid blister?"
He realized that his tone had been much harsher than he had intended and quickly regained his composure.
"I'm sorry, Mike", he said looking at his best friend. "I'm not mad at you or something, but…", he desperately ran a hand through his brown hair, "…it's just so frustrating."
Mike nodded. "Yeah, I understand. But you have to be patient. If you push too hard, it won't make things any better."
Will shook his head. "But you heard Owens. We can't afford to be patient right now. What if He attacks tomorrow and I'm still clueless…"
As if he fed him a line, the front door of the cabin swung open and Owens appeared in the doorway. "Will, do you have a minute? I'm afraid, time to cool down is over. We need to continue."
Back in the house the doctor told him it was time to run some tests now. He opened his suitcase and pulled out some scientific looking objects, including a portable computer and a headband with electrodes attached to it. He asked Will to put it on and lay down on his bed. When he saw the tiny drops of sweat on his forehead, Owens patted his arm. "Nothing to worry about, I promise. I just want to have a look at your cerebral activity while you're in the void."
Will frowned. "In the void? But I don't even know how to get there on my own."
Owens' mouth twitched as he gave him a wink. "Who said you're going to be on your own?"
He waved someone over and a moment later El's face appeared over Will.
"Like last time" she said, smiling warmly.
"Only without the tub", Owens added. "When you were looking after me, I was hundreds of miles away. This time the rustle of a radio will suffice, I'm sure. You won't go very far."
"And what exactly are we going to do?", Will asked.
"Well, the same thing you did before. You try to heal your friend's wounds. But this time, you try it from another perspective."
He wanted to respond, to protest, but then he saw El putting on a blindfold before she sat down beside him on the bed. She inhaled deeply and grabbed his hand.
And just like that, once more, they travelled to the darkness.
But unlike Will's first two trips, this one was nothing more than sobering.
They found Mike and Dustin immediately - who, in the real world, were sitting in Hopper's bedroom. And yes, being touched by an invisible hand of someone who walked through an unknown world between dimensions, surely must have been quite an experience for the two boys. But his goal remained unobtained. Will tried as hard as he could, he tried to focus, to concentrate, even to imagine some good or bad moments from his past – like El had suggested – but he couldn't force his body to release the powers within him.
When they returned, the first thing Will did was to rip the headband with the electrodes off his head and throw it in the corner of the room.
"What the hell is wrong with me?", he just cried out in anger. He had to pull himself together not to break down into tears right there on the spot. He wiped the blood from his nose and closed his eyes to calm down – again.
"Well, this is interesting", Dr. Owens mumbled while inspecting some printouts of Will's brain waves. Just as Dustin, Mike, Lucas and Max entered the room, he ripped of another piece of paper the computer spat out. "Very interesting…"
He compared the lines to each other, trailed his finger across them, seemed to do some mental arithmetic. And finally, he seemed to have drawn a conclusion. When he turned to Will, his facial expression was unreadable.
Will felt his palms getting sweaty. "What did you see?"
"Well, I have some good news and some bad news", Owens said pensively. Then he smiled. "The good news is that I'm pretty sure that there is indeed some kind of power in you. A power which is, based on our measurement results, at least similar to the abilities of Eleven, One and the other kids. Because your brain shows exactly those reactions we know from the countless experiments in the lab. Reactions indicating the accumulation of a great amount of psychic energy."
Will felt a wave of happiness spreading in his body. At least. At least he wasn't completely useless.
"And the bad news?"
Owens frowned. "Well, it seems that just before reaching its peak, which is the point the powers are released, the activity just breaks off abruptly. And that's highly unusual."
"But what about the other kids?", Dustin asked confused. "They've failed to use their power too."
Owens nodded. "That's correct. But when they failed the curve of their brain activity flattened out slowly and evenly. But Will's curve…", he pointed on a line which fell down almost perpendicularly.
"It almost seems like there is some kind of blockade in your mind preventing you from using your gift."
"Vecna?", Mike asked.
Owens shrugged his shoulders. "Possibly."
"But if there's that blockade you speak of", Dustin wanted to know, "how was Will able to save Max then?"
"That's the riddle we have to solve", Owens replied. "Somehow it must have been opened temporarily." He looked at Will. "Do you have any idea what could have triggered that? Perhaps something extraordinary that had happened?"
Will laughed humourlessly. "You mean more extraordinary than having a part of an evil creature in you? More than the earth ripping open and revealing the gates of hell? More than one of your friends dying in the hospital? Well let me think", he said sarcastically and put on a faked thoughtful face, "no, I don't think so."
Luckily, Dr. Owens just ignored his aggressive tone. "Ok, then we're done here for now. But do me a favour and think about my question again. Perhaps it's just something you don't realize to be important right now."
Will just nodded, then left the room together with his friends.
When he saw the distressed look on Will's face, Mike gave him a friendly bump on the arm. "Well, why don't we just hold on to the good news, hm? So, you are a superhero." He grinned at Will.
"Not yet", Dustin threw in. "Actually, right now, you're more of a S.H.I.T!"
Will, Mike and El looked at their friend in disbelief. "What did you just call me?", Will asked irritated.
"S.H.I.T.", Dustin repeated. "Come on, guys", he looked at them, eyes widened as though he expected them to understand. "Superhero in Training? S. H. I. T.?" He made that gurgling sound like he always did when he was sure to have made a good joke.
Will couldn't suppress a smile. "Yeah, since I feel like shit after all, that fits."
For a split second, they just looked at each other, then everyone broke out in laughter.
It was a relieving moment, a moment of goofiness, carefree. A moment they all needed so much. And it was no surprise at all that it was Dustin who created it. Dustin, the bard. In that moment, Will simply felt deep and honest affection for his friend.
They spent the following hours working in the cabin. Hopper had brought some more furniture and a lot of stuff to renovate the interior of the wooden house. They had agreed that from now on the cabin wasn't only the headquarter of the group but also served as the interim home for the kids. Only Steve and Robin, Jonathan and Nancy were free to leave and even to stay elsewhere overnight.
After a while, Dr. Owens came in and asked Max to let him run some tests on her too. He wanted to check if there was any part of Vecna or the Upside Down left in her. When he was done (after having found absolutely nothing) he continued his research with El. He still wanted to find out if there was more power in her, waiting to be released. Like Dr. Brenner had assumed.
It was late afternoon when they heard a car stopping in front of the house. A few seconds later, Jonathan and Nancy appeared in the doorway. Will noticed Mike, Dustin and Lucas looking at each other conspiratorially, then his best friend asked with noticeable excitement in his voice: "Did you bring it?"
Nancy nodded. "Yeah, you nerd. It's in the car."
"Yes!" Dustin and Lucas high fived.
And Will was confused. Questioningly, he looked from one of his friends to the other, hoping to get informed about what was going on. Instead, Lucas turned to his girlfriend. "Hey Max, why don't you take Will for a walk?", he said and gave her a wink. "He surely needs some fresh air."
Max nodded and just grabbed his hand. Slowly, she pulled him out of the cabin.
"Guys, what's going on?", he asked desperately as they reached the door.
Mike grinned widely. "Just a little surprise. You'll see!"
Before he could probe for more details, the boys closed the door in front of his nose. He turned around to face Max. "Would you please tell me what they're up to?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea, Will", she said obviously acting innocent. Then she pointed on a small path between the trees. "Shall we?"
They wandered through the woods for a while with Max consequently ignoring Will's efforts to wring information out of her about what his friends had plotted. Finally, he gave it up.
They stepped over some rotten branches when Will turned to the red-haired girl.
"I never asked if you…", he took a moment to find the right words, "…felt Him since you came back".
Max shook her head. "No, there's nothing." She kicked a small branch to the side. "It's as if he's done with me. And it makes sense. He achieved what he wanted."
For quite some time they walked silently beside each other. Every now and then, Will threw a glance over to Max, obviously thinking about something.
After a few minutes more, Max couldn't take it anymore.
"Will, I know you want to ask something since we started walking." She looked at him, then rolled her eyes. "So, why don't you just ask?"
Will felt his spit slowly disappear. His heartbeat was already faster than usual – and it was not because of their little hiking adventure. Once more, he was impressed by her level of attention. It was like she could notice even the slightest sign and draw the right conclusion out of it. And of course, this time, she was right too. He wanted to ask her. But he was also scared to.
Will picked up a fir cone and turned it in his hand a few times. He felt the blood rushing to his cheeks.
"I-, well, I-, um...", he stuttered, suddenly seeming very interested in the object he held.
Max laughed. It wasn't a mocking laughter but a warm and affectionate one. Then she grabbed the cone and threw it somewhere between the trees. "You want to know what I suspect to be haunting you, you idiot, am I right?"
Will looked up to her shyly. "Maybe…"
Max chuckled. "You boys are so obvious."
"So?" Will asked and couldn't hide his anxiousness.
"Well, what do you think I suspect?"
"Wait, no, no, no. I asked you first! You can't turn it around!"
Max seemed to enjoy his indignation, at least the wide grin on her face indicated that she did.
"Relax, nervous wreck! You're even worse than Lucas." Then she sighed theatrically. "Well, okay then. But I won't tell you right away."
"Why not?", Will asked impatiently.
"What do you think?" She shook her head. "Because it would be pretty embarrassing if I'm wrong. So, I suggest I try to slowly move forward, ok?"
Will just nodded. His heart was hammering in his chest now.
Max thought about it for a moment, then said: "Well, I think what's haunting you has something to do with other people."
"Yeah." Max made a victorious fist.
"Oh, come on", Will said and couldn't help but laugh. "That's obvious! Almost everything has to do with other people."
She put one finger over her mouth, commanding him to be quiet.
"It's something that's haunting you for quite some time now, maybe years."
"Yeah, true."
"It's something you're sure to make you an outsider."
Will nodded. He wasn't only sure. He knew it.
Max smiled. "It has something to do with love."
"Yes…", Will whispered and suddenly felt this stinging in his eyes.
When Max noticed that his hands began to tremble, she just grabbed them and wrapped her fingers around.
"And you think you're feeling something you shouldn't feel at all", she guessed.
He just nodded, trying to hold back his tears.
She grabbed his hands a little tighter and forced him to look at her.
"So, if I'm putting everything together it means that you're attracted to…", she smiled at him. "Will, why don't you say it yourself?"
He swallowed hard.
There he stood.
William Byers, 14 year old teenage boy from Hawkins, Indiana. Eyes watery, heartbeat racing, body shaking, big lump in his throat, scared like hell. Because of this one stupid word. Those four letters that could make his world crumble in an instant. That could change everything.
And then Will closed his eyes.
"…boys."
He took a long and deep breath, his lids still shut tightly, not daring to open them.
A picture appeared in front of his inner eye. A disfigured person, more creature than human being, more monster than man. Burned, wounded. Hurting. Weakened.
"Earth to Will! Hey, I'm still there. Can you please look at me?"
When he finally opened his eyes, he saw that Max was still smiling – and frowned.
"What? Did you expect me to freak out or slap you or something?", she asked.
Will looked at her sceptically. "You don't think it's strange or disgusting?"
Max laughed. "Oh Will, sometimes you're so stupid. You do realize that you're talking to a girl who likes skateboarding, do you? Did you really think I give a shit about what other people think to be right or wrong?" She shook her head. "Believe me, my racist and homophobe stepdad and half-brother unwillingly did a very good job in showing me what kind of person I don't want to be."
Will shuddered when he thought about Billy and how he would have reacted to a message like that. He didn't really want to imagine.
"So, you're cool with it?", he asked quietly.
"Will Byers", Max said, giving him a friendly shove to the chest, "being gay neither makes you a better nor a worse friend. It's just who you are. Nothing more, nothing less." Then she looked him straight in the eye, smiling again. "So, yeah, I'm cool with it."
The wave of relief that rushed through his body made it impossible for Will to control himself anymore. And the floodgates opened, tears flowing out of his eyes like a waterfall. He sank to the ground, overwhelmed by his emotions. Soon, he felt Max' hands on his back and heard her sit down beside him.
"I was so scared…", he managed to say between two sobs.
"Am I the first to know?", she asked quietly.
"Jonathan knows too."
"And let me guess. He took it well."
Will nodded.
Max chuckled. "So, two out of two then. Not that bad."
When the tears had subsided, he looked up to his friend. "What are you getting at?"
"Well, you opened up two times now, and two times you didn't get the reaction you expected. Maybe, just maybe", she gave him a wink, "the world isn't that cruel and fucked up as you think it is".
Absently, he let his index finger wander along his sleeve. "Yeah, but…", he shrugged his shoulders, "what if the others reject me after telling them the truth?"
Max shook her head. "Will, are you serious? Just look at us. We're a bunch of misfits. We know how it's like to be judged by others for what we are. To be bullied. If you don't find sympathy here…"
"Yeah, but there's no guaranty for it", Will replied.
"Of course not. But I would bet all the money I have – which admittingly isn't much – that they wouldn't drop you. Fuck, after all we've endured together, that would be pretty shitty."
They walked on for a while, both lost in their thoughts until Max turned to Will again.
"So, how does it feel? Talking about it…"
Will smiled insecurely. "Weird." He sighed.
"I mean, it's so relieving, but…" He hesitated. "But it's still feeling like something forbidden, something dirty…"
Max' expression darkened. "That's because you're telling yourself all the time that it is!", she said harshly. "You need to stop it!"
Will looked at her blankly, surprised at the sudden outburst of his friend.
And Max went on. "You shouldn't give a shit about some ignorant idiots with a rotten childhood and a pathetic life looking for someone they could blame. They mean nothing!" She almost yelled now. "The only people that matter are those around you, those who care. And if they don't appreciate you for what you are, get rid of them!"
Will put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Max, calm down. I got it."
And indeed, his touch seemed to help her to get back control over her temper. Finally, she managed to show a smile. "I mean, you're freakin' Will the Wise who brings people back from the dead."
Will chuckled, mostly to lighten up the mood. And it worked.
"I'm sorry, Will, I shouldn't have let it crawl under my skin."
He shook his head. "Don't worry, you're right in every aspect." He smirked. "And I'm happy having you yell at me. If someone would have told me two days ago..."
She laughed. "Idiot. And now tell me if there's someone you have an eye on."
"Whoa, Max", Will held up his hands in a defensive gesture. "I just told you about the biggest secret of my life. That's got to be enough for now."
But Max wouldn't be Max if she just gave up.
"So, there is someone…"
"Well, you know, I, um,… ", he hum and hawed, finally deciding that it was okay to use a white lie. "No, not really. It's…", he blushed, "well, you know, it's not easy to identify other guys of my kind. It's not like we all wear shirts with rainbows on them or something."
He saw in an instant that she didn't believe a word. And then he realized – and his eyes widened.
"Oh, Max, no, no! I know what you think, but Lucas isn't really my kind of… and I would never… since you are together… no, not Lucas, I swear I'm not…"
"Lucas?", Max snorted before bursting in laughter. "Oh my god, Will, relax!" She pulled him into a quick hug, still giggling and chuckling. "I never thought anything like that."
Will looked at her sheepishly. "Oh…"
Max wiped a tear out of her eye. "There can only be one human being stupid enough to fall in love with that jerk. And unfortunately, that's me."
Now Will laughed too. With his right hand he pretended to wipe the sweat of his forehead. "Phew, and I thought…"
"You really need to acquire some calmness. Only because you're gay that doesn't mean automatically that you fell in love with one of your best friends."
Will had to gather all his composure not to wince.
If she only knew…
But luckily, Max seemed to have decided not to probe him any longer and so they turned around and walked back to the cabin.
Every now and then, he glanced over to Max, smiling inside, truly happy about having her as a friend.
When they arrived back at Hopper's, they were greeted by Mike, Dustin and Lucas who seemed to be more than excited.
"What the hell is wrong with you?", Will asked his best friend, smirking.
"You'll see", Mike just said. Then he led him into the house. Inside, he just pointed on the table.
And Will's eyes seemed to fall out of his head.
"Guys, you have to be kidding me…"