Hello! Welcome to the second installment of: What Could Have Been! I hope everyone enjoyed Chapter 1.
I don't know why but it's actually feeling great to write things that aren't college papers! Anyways, I'm still on the fence about how long I should make this story...I'm thinking around 10 chapters, but that's definitely not set in stone. I'll keep you guys updated about that whole situation.
I actually wrote out my general plot line for this, which is a first! Super exciting stuff. Also, due to request I am going to do my absolute best to make the chapters a lot longer than Chapter 1 was.
I meant for this to be around 1,500 words...oops?
Hope everyone is having a nice December!
Will was still shaking violently, both from fear and the extreme cold that was the Upside Down. He thought he was still hallucinating for a second, because Eleven took a moment to answer his question.
"Yes." She replied, looking down. Her curly hair was just long enough to shield her eyes from his field of vision.
"What are you-" Will stammered, "How are you-"
He was interrupted by the sound of someone yelling his name.
"Will! Will where are you?" Looking back at the middle school, Will could see Mike making his way towards the woods where he and Eleven were just hidden by the trees. He looked like he was really worried. Eleven's eyes widened as she saw Mike, and she looked back at Will with a panicked expression.
"Have to go."
"What? Why?" Will was so confused by everything going on. It felt like someone had taken a VHS tape of everything that was going on and placed it on fast forward. He couldn't keep up.
"Mike can't see me. Too dangerous."
"Eleven-"
"Don't tell anyone. Please?" She looked at him pleadingly. "Between us. I'll come back and explain, later. Promise."
Will looked from her back to Mike, who was getting closer with every second.
"Okay, but I really do have a lot of questions-" Will had barely agreed when she cut him off.
"Thank you." With that, she took off running, deeper into the forest. Soon, all that was left of her was an fading crunch made by her feet as they smashed down dry leaves. Will looked after her, still in shock. He had so many questions. Why did he agree to do that? How was she still alive? How had she saved him? Where had she been?
"Will!" Mike had spotted him, and was now running towards him. Will's legs couldn't take it anymore, and he slowly sank to the ground, his mouth wide open and his face frozen in shock. Mike skidded to a stop and knelt down beside Will as he reached him.
"Shit, what happened? Are you okay? Was it the shadow monster again?" Mike fired off all of these questions in the span of a second.
"I- I don't-" He stopped. He had promised Eleven he wouldn't say anything. He took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself. It didn't really work.
"It was the shadow monster." He told Mike. Mike's eyes grew wide with concern.
"Did it get you?" He asked.
"No, I only just got away, I don't know how."
Mike shuddered. "Are you okay?"
Will took another deep breath, attempting to calm himself down again.
"Yeah, I think so, but I'm worried. If this keeps happening, it's going to get me soon." Will shuddered at the thought. "I wish I knew what it wants."
Mike looked at him with worry. "Me, too. I don't think these are in your head. They can't be." Will nodded slowly in agreement. If Eleven had pulled him out of it, they definitely couldn't just be in his head.
"I think you're right."
"Will! Will!" Lucas, Dustin, Max, and his mom had all come were all outside, standing in the field.
"Over here!" Mike shouted, standing up and running towards the tree line. He waved his arms so they could see him. "In the woods!"
Immediately, all four of them broke into a run. They made it to Mike in record time. Ms. Byers was the first to speak. "Where is he?"
"Over here." Will called, weakly waving from his position on the ground.
"Will! What happened? Are you okay?" His mom was at his side within seconds.
"I'm fine, Mom." He looked over towards Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Max, who were all staring at him with unease, and in Max's case, a little bit of confusion. It made him a little uncomfortable. He needed to leave, so he could try to catch up with everything that had happened. It felt like it had been hours since he found Dart, but in reality he knew it had only been a few minutes.
Will looked up at his mom solemnly. "I think we should go home."
Mike had been having a rough year.
Between Will's problems, the annoying new girl, and Eleven being gone for so long, he felt that soon his head might actually explode. Other times, he felt like he might have hallucinated last year and made Eleven up. She almost felt like a dream now. He knew it was crazy, but sometimes he really felt that she was there. He could feel her presence, like she was giving him a hug.
He had had a feeling last night, too. When he was trick or treating, he turned around and Will was nowhere to be seen. Immediately, he felt a sense of foreboding, and that he needed to be somewhere. Something terrible was going to happen if he didn't act fast.
Somehow, he could feel where he was supposed to go, like a weak magnet was pulling him. He took off in that direction, and he ended up finding Will, curled in a ball and shaking like a leaf. And not a moment too soon, apparently. The shadow monster had almost gotten him.
Today, he had that same awful feeling as soon as they couldn't find Will after looking for Dart. When they split up to look for him, Mike felt an inexplicable pull that drew him to the field outside, to the woods. He followed it, knowing that it would help him. Somehow, Mike knew now that these episodes were real. Will was really seeing the Upside Down, and that shadow monster was really after him.
When Will told him about the shadow monster, and how it had almost gotten him, his worry turned into anxiety, and anger at his helplessness. His friend was in danger, and he couldn't do anything to help him. He was useless.
Mike stood with the rest of the party, not including Max, he stubbornly insisted to himself, and watched as Mrs. Byers walked Will to their car.
"Okay, that totally freaked me out. Did that not freak you guys out?" Max asked as she watched Will open the door to the passenger's side.
"Two episodes in two days." Lucas said.
"It's getting worse." Mike agreed.
"You think it's true sight?" Mike looked at Lucas and shook his head. Not here.
"What's true sight?"
Lucas came to his senses. "It's nothing." That ended their conversation rather abruptly. Mike stared after the car as it made its way towards the main road.
Tomorrow. He told himself. Whatever this is, we can talk to Will tomorrow and get to the bottom of this and figure out how to stop it. Whatever this bastard is, it's not gonna get Will. We won't let it.
"We'll talk tomorrow." Mike said pointedly. "I need to get home." He wouldn't betray Will's secret about the shadow monster he had been seeing to the others, yet. First he wanted to talk to Will about it. First thing in the morning, before he told anyone else about it. He sighed, wishing he could get a second opinion on his decision. If only Eleven were here. She would be able to help and then some.
She always knew what to do.
Joyce Byers sat her son down at the dining room table.
"Alright, talk to me, sweetie." She said once they had gotten themselves situated. "What happened in the field? Did you have another episode?"
Will looked at her for a moment, gauging her facial expression. She looked concerned, but there was something else. Fear. Maybe she had realized that these episodes weren't fake too. Maybe he could tell her the truth.
"Yes. I had another episode."
His mom drew in a breath, as if she had been expecting that to be his answer, but she had hoped with all her heart that it wasn't.
"What happened?"
In a shaky tone, he told her about running out of the school after he had flashed into the Upside Down, and how he had turned around to see the shadow monster. How he had just gotten away, right before it got him. He didn't mention Eleven, even though he wanted to. Oh, did he want to. But he had promised her.
His mom had been listening to his story with wide eyes, and the look of concern that was first on her face had changed to a look of horror. When he finished, she didn't say anything. She just sat for a moment, and then she got up and walked into the kitchen.
"Mom?"
She was back a second later, with his drawing of the shadow monster from the night before Halloween and a piece of translucent paper with a crayon rendering. She slapped them down in front of him.
"I was looking through the Halloween tape today, and this shape was outlined on it. I don't think that these episodes are in your head at all. I think they're real. I think Dr. Owens is wrong."
The crayon drawing and his own were almost identical. The same shape.
Will had never been more relieved that someone believed him in his life. All his thoughts and things he had been wanting to say came pouring out, all at once.
"Mom, I think you're right. I don't think they are in my head at all. But that means-" He took a shaky breath."That that thing is after me, and I don't know how to stop myself from going back to the Upside Down and I know next time I go back it's going to get me, I mean it was so close today and-" He didn't exactly know when he had begun to cry, but now there were tears streaming down his face.
"Hey, hey!" His mom said softly, pulling him into a hug. "Sweetie, it's gonna be okay. The shadow monster isn't gonna get you, alright? I'm not going to let it." She pulled back and cradled his head in her hands, brushing away a few tears. She looked into his eyes. "I will never, ever, let anything bad happen to you again, okay? I promise."
Will put his head back on her shoulder. "I just want this to be over."
She held him for a while, until he finally felt like he was strong enough to stand up and move to the couch. His mom went to the kitchen to make him dinner and a mug of tea, which had always been the key for calming him in the past.
Later, when it had begun to get dark out and Will had brushed his teeth in preparation for bed, his mom turned to him.
"Do you want me to sleep in your room tonight, sweetie? It might help those nightmares you keep having stay away." She didn't voice her other reasoning, which was that she felt more like she would be able to protect him if she was there while he slept.
Will couldn't risk it, when he thought about Eleven and her promise to return. So even though he desperately wanted her company, he was forced to say, "That's alright, Mom. I'll be fine."
She smiled at him, a little wistfully, and told him to come get her if he needed anything. He nodded, trying to seem nonchalant. It was time to see if Eleven really did keep her promises.
Will was sitting on his bed a few hours later, wrapped up in his thoughts. Usually he would be drawing right about now, but he was to anxious to even do that. There had been no sign of Eleven.
He was thinking about how he could possibly stop himself from having another episode, when he heard what he was convinced he would never hear.
A soft knock.
His head snapped around to look at his window, and he gasped in shock. It was Eleven. She was looking into his room curiously, eyes scanning over all of the drawings plastered across his walls. A flashlight was clutched in one of her hands.
He rushed over and threw the window open.
"Eleven?" Her eyes focused on him.
"Shh. Quiet." She beckoned for him to come out of the window. He did, clambering out as quietly as possible. Hopefully his mom wouldn't notice he was gone.
Eleven began walking towards the woods that surrounded his house, in the back. Will stood on his porch, watching her hesitantly.
She turned around and beckoned towards him again. "Come."
He was going to be in so much trouble for this.
Sighing, he stepped off his porch and followed Eleven into the woods, shivering a bit from the frosty air. They walked side by side in silence for a few minutes, the forest just barely illuminated by the light from Eleven's flashlight, until they reached the place Will realized Eleven must have intended to go all along. Castle Byers.
They hurried inside, and quickly Will situated himself on one side of the little bed of blankets that he always kept here. Eleven sat across from him. She put the flashlight in between them, pointing up, so they could see each other's faces. He looked at her for a few moments, not having any idea where to begin. He got the feeling that she wasn't all that sure, either.
He broke the silence first.
"I wanted to thank you." Eleven's eyebrows raised, like she wasn't expecting that to be the first thing out of his mouth.
"What?" She asked.
"For saving me last year. I had almost given up hope when you came to me. And then, after that you killed the Demogorgon, and saved Mike, Dustin, and Lucas. You sacrificed yourself for them, and you saved me. Not to mention saving me from that thing in the field today." Will still couldn't believe she had been selfless enough to do all those things.
"Friends would do anything for each other." She said softly, smiling just a little bit.
"Still, you sacrificed yourself for them, and that's huge. I just wanted to say thanks."
Eleven looked at him seriously. "Would do it again."
Will stared at her. "You really are just like Mike said, incredible."
At the mention of Mike, Eleven's face fell. She became very interested in playing with the hem of her jacket. "Miss him." She admitted.
Will was still confused about why she had not revealed herself to anyone, especially Mike. Wasn't he supposed to be her closest friend?
"Why haven't you talked to him? To anyone? Everyone, especially Mike, has been worrying about you since the night you disappeared. Where have you been?"
"It's not safe. Not allowed to talk to him. The Bad Men are still at the lab. I talk to Mike, they will hurt him." Eleven looked positively depressed as she said this, like it was the last thing in the world she wanted to do. "I talk to anyone, the Bad Men will find out and hurt them."
Will guessed he could understand this, although he didn't like it. He had seen all the doctors and the general creepiness that was Hawkins Lab firsthand. That place was never fun to visit.
"So where have you been living all this time? The woods?" He honestly didn't understand how she had survived the winter out there. Will could remember that last winter it had snowed, a lot. Almost every day.
Eleven took a moment to speak, collecting her thoughts. Her explanation was going to be a long one.
"After the Demogorgon, I woke up in the Upside Down, in the school." She told Will. "Found a hole in the school, a gate that I used. Made it back to the real school, but no one was there. I went to Mike's house, but when I got there the Bad Men were everywhere." Eleven sighed, saddened by this. "Realized talking to Mike would put him in danger, so I hid in woods for a while. Many days. Was cold, lots of snow. Then I found a box in the woods, with Eggos inside. Found out Hopper was leaving them for me, so I showed myself to him. Been living with him since, in a cabin in woods."
Will listened with a sense of disbelief. She had been with Hopper? This entire time? That was something difficult to wrap his head around.
"So this entire time, while everyone thought you were dead, Hopper has been taking care of you?"
Eleven nodded. "Didn't want to stay away, but too dangerous to let out the secret."
Now Will had even more questions than before, if that were possible. "So what were you doing at Hawkins Middle today?"
Now Eleven looked embarrassed. "Got angry that I couldn't leave. Nothing ever happens in cabin. Broke the rules. Wanted to visit Mike, but ended up seeing you instead. Realized you were in trouble."
"How did you know that?"
"Hopper told me about episodes, and thought you must be having one when I saw you running. I touched your mind so I could pull mine to see what you were seeing. Saw the shadow, and knew that I needed to get you out."
Will was eternally grateful Eleven had gotten stir-crazy enough to leave the cabin that day. "What is the shadow?" He asked. "I thought for a while that it wasn't real, but my mom got a shape of it on the video tape recording I made from Halloween."
Eleven looked solemn. "It's real. I can feel it. It's watching us, from the Upside Down. Knows we're here."
Will stiffened at that revelation. Suddenly, sitting in the middle of the woods at night time didn't feel like the safest idea.
"Can- Can it get us here?" He was almost too afraid to ask the question.
Eleven looked determined. "No. I will keep your mind here. No more episodes." Will breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god."
Shifting his thoughts, he had another realization. They had no idea what was going on, but something was obviously happening in Hawkins again, something to do with the Upside Down. And that meant that they needed to talk to the idea guy, to see if he could help them come up with some strategies for how to deal with this. They needed Mike, before anyone else. They needed his brain.
"We need to figure out what's happening. Why the shadow monster wants me, and why it has shown up to Hawkins only now." Will stated. After a moment's hesitation, Eleven nodded her head in agreement. "You have ideas?" She asked.
"No." Will smiled. "But I know someone who will. We need to talk to Mike."
Alrighty, hope you enjoyed Chapter 2! I will make my best effort to get Chapter 3 out soon. As always, constructive criticism is much appreciated! Any thoughts on what you liked and didn't like are also great!