Enjoy!

NOME, ALASKA, 2019

The snow at his feet was fresh and the wind was bitter. Despite this, Will felt happiness. It was the first time, in a while, that a trip made him feel young again. He knew his next article was bound to sell, being that the people were practically begging to hear what Alaska was like. His fans were sending places from all over the world, and, after a hot visit to Dallas, he felt as though he and his family could use a little bit of cold.

Though Will spent his days traveling, his mind was back home. He frequently called his mom to make sure she was doing well. Daily texts to his step-dad came through and his friends were always making group chats. But it wasn't just the people that were on his mind. Every incident back in Indiana was always making their way back into his mind. Not a day went by that the Byers boy did not think about how he was trapped in another world. How creatures took his childhood and growing up ruined almost everything he had. In a way, he hated the past, but there were all those good contributions that brought joy to his life. And he tried to relax in his travels. Sometimes, however, it didn't work.

While Will was documenting his thoughts, he froze. He felt as though he had a creature crawl on the back of his neck. He shivered as he remembered how much the creature loved the cold. Will touched the back of his neck in fear. It was with him again, wasn't it? It somehow came back and followed him to Alaska. It was hiding for so long and now it was slowly taking over his body. He started to breathe heavily and felt the weight on his shoulders until a hand was placed on his back.

"How's the article coming?" Alexandria asked.

His wife snapped him away from another deep thought. She looked into his eyes and understood that he was having another 'episode'. Will put a hand on her shoulder and kissed her temple.

"Thank you."

"Did you feel it again?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, yeah," he nodded," I felt like it was crawling on the back of my neck."

Alexa completely understood what her husband was going through. When she studied Hawkins, she recalled all of the stories that were filed. When the two met, she was eager to learn about his hometown. Will loved how much she knew about Hawkins and how she believed everything he told her. Deep down, she really knew.

"Do you think it came back?" she asked.

"Oh, no," he said," I know it wouldn't be back. I guess it's just the extreme cold that makes it act up. It liked the extreme cold, you know. I remember when it took over my body, after I got out of the Upside Down. I was so cold afterwards. That feeling was a lot stronger than it was right now. I think I just had a bad memory."

"Why don't we go inside and get something warm to eat?"

Will agreed as he kissed his wife again. They went inside and Jane, their daughter,was waiting for them. The family had dinner and, soon after, they went to bed. Will was tossing and turning in his sleep. He felt like he was being trapped. The nightmare came quickly. He was a kid again and he was standing by Fort Byers. He felt a weight on his chest as he walked towards it. But, as he did, it went up in flames. He stepped back and nervously watched, turning around. As he turned, he found himself surrounded by old faces. There were all those that died in 1985, there were others that watched, and the Hollands' daughter, and everyone had fell victim to the events. Will looked around nervously, and as they approached, he began to scream.

"Will!" His wife yelped.

The man sat up in bed, realizing that he had a nightmare,. He looked to his wife, who gave a sympathetic nod of understanding. She knew what was coming next. He grabbed his cellphone and walked to a quiet part of the house. He waited for someone to pick up the phone and then…

"Will?" Dustin asked, "Did you have another nightmare?"

"Yeah, yeah," Will sat on the couch," it was just everyone surrounding me. They were circling me, Fort Byers was on fire…"

"Take a deep breath," Mike answered," Just block everything else out. We're all right here."

"I just don't understand why I'm still having these dreams. These nightmares are coming and going and I don't know.."

"Nothing will happen," Eleven spoke up," There's nothing that's gonna happen again...they can't get back."

Will and the others continued to talk. Lucas and Max were on the other end too. They were all talking, straying away from the past. The whole crew went on about their day and asked Will about his article. All the while, Will was finally calming down. He smiled as the night sky shone and their conversation was coming to a close.

"Guys," he yawned," I want to thank you for everything. All these years and, no matter where we've been, we're still together."

"We're family," Eleven said," we stay together."

"Hawkins for life," Lucas laughed.

As they ended the call, Will looked back up at the sky. It was the same one that Murray was looking at as he edited his episode. It was the same one Dustin and Suzie and their families ate underneath. It was the same one that Erica was playing DnD under, or Robin and Mandy were video calling their daughter's long lost grandparents. Underneath the sky, Lucas and Max were laughing with their kids about their big move back to Cali. And Dean and Lily were finishing up their filming as they prepared to go for dinner. Steve and Deb were dancing together while looking at the stars, Nancy and Jon were at the end of their interview, Rudy was also under his roof, his husband snoring away. His mom and step-dad were lying on the front porch while watching the sky and Mike and Eleven were getting ready for the book to go out into the world. Will felt some sense of calmness as he walked back inside and laid back down.

In his dream, he saw Bob smiling to him. He was standing next to a man with curly hair and big glasses, who was drinking a slushie. Then, Will saw Billy, who gave a sad smile. And as Will had the best dream he'd had in a while, the whole world fell silent. And all of those strange things had been pushed out of his mind.

Thank you guys for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!