Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from Stranger Things or its plots or characters.

CHAPTER 6: THE SPY

Mike was in a stupor. He had no idea how he arrived at the lab, but he must have gotten in the car with Bob because Mrs. Byers had ridden in the van with Will. Even as they wheeled one of his best friends down the halls, all Mike could do was follow in stunned silence, watching his friend writhe in agony until one of the nurses stuck a needle in his arm to sedate him.

After that Will collapsed against the gurney, unconscious. Controlled chaos ensued from there. In a flurry of activity nurses and other staff transferred Will to an actual bed in one of the numerous rooms. Things began to settle down after that and it was just a waiting game to see when Will would wake up.

It was a good thing it was a Sunday and his parents didn't ask too many questions when Mike told them he was going to be staying at the Byers' again. His parents were the most clueless people in the universe. Mike was pretty sure that the beeping of the monitors would have given him away, but his mom just told him to 'have fun.' And they wondered why he didn't tell them anything.

Mike hadn't had a chance to take a shower or change his clothes in a couple days. There had just been too much going on, and now he was sitting next to Will's bed, terrified, wondering if his friend was going to be okay, he couldn't possibly leave his side.

The doctors in this stupid lab didn't seem to have any idea what was going on with Will. But then again, there was only one person who could help… and she wasn't here.

So, when Bob and Mrs. Byers stepped out of the room to talk to the doctors, Mike scooted his chair closer to the bed and clasped Will's hands with both of his. He didn't have his Supercomm, but it didn't matter anymore. It was a long shot anyway, but he had to at least try.

Mike crushed his eyelids closed and leaned his head forward on their joined hands, almost as if he were about to pray, something he never did until now. He focused every ounce of his brain power on El, as if he had powers too and could somehow find her with his mind. He pictured her face with her soft features and her chocolate brown eyes, her shaved head, and even the slight dimple in her cheek when she smiled.

Taking a sharp inhale against the stabbing pain in his chest, Mike whispered into quiet room, only the sound of his voice and the heartrate monitor disrupting the silence.

"El… it's Mike It's Day 356…," he began, his voice breaking a little, but he forced himself not to cry. He swallowed hard against the lump in his throat and continued, "Please, El, I know you're out there..."

Mike paused as he struggled to find the words. He had done this for 355 other days. Why couldn't he do it now?

"Please come back…If not for me then for Will. He needs you. I need you. Please come home," Mike begged. He lost the battle against his tears, they streaked down his cheeks and his shoulders shook with muffled sobs.

Day 357.

Mike fell asleep in the chair next to Will's bed, a thick wool blanket draped over him. It wasn't the most comfortable position in the world, but it would have to do because Mike wasn't going to leave his friend.

"Is there a doctor?! We need a doctor!"

Mike had actually been able to fall asleep but was abruptly awoken by Bob shouting for a doctor. His pulse picked up in fear but then he sat up and saw that Will had just woken up and didn't appear to be in immediate distress. His view was partially obscured by Mrs. Byers rushing to Will's side, but he could tell that Will was still pale and looked weak.

"Hey Sweetie, how're you feeling? You okay?" she asked, her eyes full of concern and tired relief. Mike just watched from his spot on the chair, letting them have their moment.

"They're on their way," Bob came back in the room and reported to Mrs. Byers before turning to Will. "Hey."

Will's eyes slid over to Bob and there was no recognition there, much to Mike's confusion.

"Who is that?" Will asked his mom, who looked just as taken aback as Mike felt. Bob had been dating his mom for most of the year, so why wouldn't he all of a sudden not recognize him?

"What?"

"It's me, big guy. It's Bob," Bob said with a slight smile as he reached out to touch Will's hand but Will yanked his away as if it had been burned, still looking at Bob as if he had never seen him before.

"Are you a…doctor?" Will asked slowly, clearly sensing that he was supposed to know who this person was but he just had no idea.

"No, it's just me, just Bob," the older man said, glancing to Mrs. Byers for a moment.

Something definitely wasn't right with Will. His eyes were completely flat, devoid of all emotion, nothing like his usual warm, friendly ones that made everyone feel like he care about them.

Shortly after that Dr. Owens appeared, as he introduced himself last night. He seemed like a nice guy but Mike had learned that trusting anyone from the lab was a bad idea. After all, these were the scum bags that had hurt El. The familiar fire burned in his chest whenever he thought about what they had done to her, particularly her so-called Papa. Good thing that bastard was dead or Mike would kill him. At the moment, it seemed they had no other option but to hear what this new doctor had to say, for now.

There were a lot of people in the room now, several doctors, along with Dr. Owens, Hopper, Mrs. Byers, Bob, and himself, all surrounding Will's bed.

"Do you know your name?" Dr. Owens asked Will, shining a pen light in one eye and then the other. Mike watched as he clicked the light off and stuck it in his pocket, a serious look on his face.

"Will," his friend replied, his face stoic. They had put some sensors on his forehead, so his hair was pushed back and more of his pale skin was visible.

"Your full name?" the doctor clarified.

"William Byers," Will replied flatly.

"Do you- Do you know who I am?" Dr. Owens continued with his questions.

"A…doctor," Will had to think about that one, closing his eyes and searching his mind.

Mike watched all of this from his spot across the room, unable to shake this sense that this wasn't his friend. There was something off about him, more than just his memory being impaired.

"Have we met before?"

"I don't remember," Will answered honestly.

"You don't remember me?" Dr. Owens continued, "Okay… how about this guy here? You know who that is?""

The doctor pointed at Mike and he could feel himself getting his hopes up. He and Will had been friends since kindergarten, so of course he should remember him. But what if he didn't?

Will slowly turned his head in the direction the doctor had pointed and eventually his eyes fell on Mike, who waved and gave Will a small encouraging smile, but Will's face remained a mask.

It was taking a little while for Will to respond, so the doctor put a hand on Will's shoulder and told him, "It's all right, take your time."

Mike just stood there, unmoving, waiting to hear his response with bated breath.

"That's my friend…," Will began, and then, "Mike."

Mike breathed a sigh of relief and smiled to himself, giving Mrs. Byers a sideways glance He felt bad for Bob but happy that Will was able to remember him.

"What about me, kid, you remember me?" Hopper chimed in, a smile on his face, but as Will turned to look at him and shake his head slowly, the smile faltered. "They told me you helped save me last night, you remember that?"

Again, Will shook his head.

"Do you remember anything about last night? About what happened?" Dr. Owens asked. Even from where Mike was standing across the room he got the sense that Will was becoming annoyed with all of the questions, something Will would never do.

"I remember they hurt me," Will replied, his voice even. Mike's heart ached to be reminded of the agony that Will had been going through. Mrs. Byers had a stronger reaction to the memory and had to look away from her son for a moment.

"You mean the doctors," Dr. Owens clarified, but Will gave a curt shake of his head.

"No. The soldiers," he corrected, his eyes staring unblinking at the doctor.

"The soldiers hurt you?"

"They shouldn't have done that. It upset him." It was the first time since waking up that Will had shown any emotion, but it wasn't an emotion they had been expecting. Will practically growled this at Dr. Owens, his eyes cold and angry.

Mike's mind was racing. It upset him? Was the shadow monster taking over now?

"You say it upset him," the doctor pulled out a photo of Will's drawing and asked, "Is that him?"

Will looked down at the photograph before raising his eyes to the doctor and giving him a slight nod.

"Okay, I want to try something. It's gonna seem a little odd at first, but I really think it's gonna help us understand what's going on here. Is that okay?" Dr. Owens said the last part to Will, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder once more.

Mike shifted uncomfortably and glanced around the room briefly. He still didn't like the idea of trusting these doctors. They worked here in the lab and El had called the people who were here bad men. These might not be the same bad men but were they any better? That was yet to be determined.

"Okay," Will agreed.

They got somewhat comfortable while they waited, Hopper jumped up to sit on one of the counters, Bob and Mrs. Byers stayed in their spot, so Mike decided to hop up on the counter next to the Chief.

Another man in white lab coat, presumably another doctor, wheeled in a cart with a glass tank on it. Mike couldn't really make out what was exactly in there but he swore it looked like a giant slug.

"Now, Will, I just want you to let us know if you feel anything, okay?" Dr. Owens told him, before nodding to the new doctor. The doctor, turned on a blow torch and held it above the slug thing and then moved it downwards, closer to the creature. The thing started to make a noise of pain that Mike thought sounded strangely familiar. It sent a shiver down his spine, but his gaze remained fixed on his friend.

"Do you feel anything?" Dr. Owens asked, turning back to study Will's reaction.

Mike wasn't sure how all this was going to figure out what was going on with Will but he stayed silent, watching.

"It-little sting," Will reported with some difficulty, his brow creasing slightly.

"Stings where?"

Will lifted his hand to his heart, seemingly struggling to breathe as he said in a strained voice, "My chest."

"Okay," Dr. Owens said, giving the doctor a subtle nod. The doctor lowered the blow torch closer to the creature and it screamed out in pain, or at least that's the only way Mike could think to describe that awful sound. "How about now?"

"It burns! It burns!" Will shouted, sitting up in the bed and holding himself as straight as possible. His monitors were beeping rapidly as his heart began to race.

"Where?" Dr. Owens asked calmly.

"Everywhere!" Will yelled in response, his eyes going wide with pain.

"Now that's enough!" Mrs. Byers demanded, but the doctor didn't stop. The slug thing writhed in pain and shattered the glass of it's tank in the process.

Seeing at how much pain Will was in and that they weren't stopping, Hopper jumped down and yelled, "Knock it off! You heard her, that's enough! You're done!"

"Okay," Dr. Owens said, and Hopper stepped back a little as Will settled back into the bed. The monitors were slowly returning to normal rhythm.

"It's okay, Sweetie. It's okay," Mrs. Byers comforted him, but they needed to speak to the doctor out of the room. Hopper went with her, leaving Will with Bob and Mike for a little while.

Mike tried to strike up conversation with Will a few times, but it was clear that his friend didn't want to talk. So, Mike chose to just sit next to his bed and be there for his friend.

It was hours and hours they sat there. Hopper stepped out for a little while, leaving the rest of them. Mrs. Byers was beginning to get antsy.

"What the hell is taking so long?" she hissed, not really at any of them, just at the situation itself.

"Hey, doctors take forever always. Just try and relax, try and be patient," Bob told her soothingly, placing a hand on her knee briefly, but she continued to fidget anxiously in her seat.

Mrs. Byers slipped the blanket off her shoulders and stood suddenly, unable to formulate a coherent sentence she just said, "You know- I just-."

Bob followed her quickly and Mike could hear raised voices in the hallway. Mike stayed in the room with Will and eventually he began to notice that the beeping of the heart rate monitor was picking up speed again, while Will's face remained slack. But it was his eyes. Mike could see so much anger and hate in those cold eyes.

So, Mike leaned forward with concern and shook his friend's shoulder slightly and called his name until he got his attention, "Will? Will? What's wrong?" At his touch, Will startled and turned to Mike, breathing hard, even as Mike asked, "Are you hurting again?"

"I- I saw something," Will managed, trying to sit up. Mike couldn't help but notice there was just something in Will's demeanor that just wasn't right. This was nothing like his friend, but he chalked it up to the pain and the medications.

"In your now memories?" Mike asked.

"The shadow monster… I think I know how to stop him," Will said.

So, when Mrs. Byers and Bob got back Mike convinced Will to tell them what he told him, that there was a specific place that they could burn and it would stop him. In turn, Mrs. Byers told Dr. Owens, who in turn told the other doctors and they fanned out all of the pictures they had taken of Will's drawings of Hawkins. Mrs. Byers was a little miffed that they had gone into her house and took pictures without her permission, but hopefully it would come in handy.

All the doctors crowded around Will and Mike as Will stared down at the pictures they had taken of his drawings, all laid out on a long table.

"Sam, this is ludicrous," one doctor said as Will seemingly searched the map for what he was looking for. Mike just threw a glare over at the doctor who had spoken.

"Just give him a moment, okay," Dr. Owens shooed him off with a wave of his hand, but the dark-haired doctor was impatient.

"We don't have time-."

But he never got to finish because Hopper cut him off abruptly, "Hey Jackass, why don't you do us all a favor and shut up, okay?"

All the while Will was completely focused on the task at hand, standing up to look at the pictures further down the table. Mike remained in his chair just watching his friend but Dr. Owens followed him, holding his arm out to get the other doctors out of Will's way.

"That's it," Will stated flatly, pointing to one of the pictures.

"That's it- that's what, Will?" Dr. Owens asked with nervous excitement. Hopper and Mrs. Byers leaned over to see the picture as well.

"I don't know. I just know that he doesn't want me to see there. I think it's important," Will told them, his hand not leaving the picture. Hopper and Dr. Owens shared a glance.

After that there was a flurry of activity. The doctors and Hopper leaving, while Will, Mrs. Byers, Bob, and Mike were ushered back into Will's room. From the snippets of conversation Mike could hear from the doctors it seemed like they were going to send the soldiers to that spot and start another "burn" as they called it.

Again, Mike sat at Will's bedside, wordlessly providing whatever support he could to his friend.

"I-I'm sorry," Will said suddenly and Mike glanced up at him in confusion. Mrs. Byers beat him to a response though,

"What? What do you mean, Sweetie?"

Mike could see how upset Will was as he turned to his mother, pale and on the verge of tears.

"He made me do it," Will's strained voice answered, and Mike could feel his heart plummet to his stomach. His mind was putting together all of the pieces and he slowly realized with dread that the shadow monster had done just what Will had been afraid of it doing.

"Who? Who made you do what?" Mrs. Byers questioned him in a panicky voice.

"I told you they upset him," Will croaked but his mom still didn't understand. "They shouldn't have done that. They shouldn't have upset him."

Then Mike's heart stopped all together because he knew.

He looked up at Will, eyes wide, as he breathed, "The spy." Mike immediately shot up from his chair shouting again, "The spy!"

He sprinted out of the room, hoping he could stop them before it was too late. As he approached the soldiers, Mike ran right at them trying to get to the door where he knew Hopper and Dr. Owens were, but the soldiers made an impenetrable wall and held him back.

He couldn't explain it but it felt as though there was something, or maybe someone, there with him. If he didn't know any better he'd say El was there giving him the courage to try and save these men, even if they were the bad men. She wouldn't want them to die at the hands of the shadow monster either, so Mike did everything in his power to get to them, to save them.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" one of the soldiers yelled at him, clearly surprised at his sudden outburst.

"I need to get through! It's a trap! I need to warn them! IT'S A TRAP!" Mike kept yelling, even as Bob pulled him back, bear hugging him from behind so he couldn't escape.

"Mike!" Bob called his name, trying to get him to calm down, but it didn't matter anymore. There was no saving them. They were all dead by now.

A/N: Worlds shortest chapter! Sorry! But you all know it's gonna get really good here soon! I'm dying to get there myself. Thank you all so much for your support of my fics. You guys make me so happy.