Chapter Text
March 22nd
1994
Rec.0:00:01
Footage recovered from ground zero, content has been authenticated and proven unedited. All persons named in footage are accounted for. We offer condolences to the victims and their families.
Viewer discretion advised.
The camera whirred to life. Sunlight flaring a kaleidoscope of color over a man’s face. Soft brown bangs ghosted over thick brows. The camera zoomed in on his face, serene and quiet.
The camera glitches in that moment, the bright morning interrupted by screams and hazy scenery. Voices overlapping in panic and fear as dust settles in sheets. The camera glitches once again, a soft breeze rustling a wind chime off screen, the calm morning back. A quiet chuckle filters in from behind the camera.
“Hey, Will,” a hand reached out to brush the other man’s cheek. His eyes parted, bright green turned gold in the morning light. “Good morning,” a smile painted the phrase. A flash of chaos bleeding over the screen, not much can be made out though.
The man, Will, smiled back, “good morning, what’s with the camera?”
“Where’s the fucking camera?” The voice from behind the camera echoed hauntingly, he sounded winded and distant. The camera faced grainy dark, inhuman shrills could be heard overlapping one another from the other side of the frame.
The man behind the camera, stark leisure to the previous clip, pulled the camera up to lean into frame. He had short black hair, a spray of freckles dusting pale skin, like a galaxy of stars.
“Don’t you remember?” The man fiddled with the camera. Presumably flipping the visor around and tapping the screen. Will sighed to himself, “come on Mike, I said I didn’t want to do anything big,” Will smiled, tilting his head to the side.
“I know, I know, nothing big, but I figured we could document the day?”
“You’ve got an entire day planned don’t you,” Mike looked sheepishly at the camera before clicking it off.
Rec. 0:13:06
The camera clicks back on during a conversation. Mike and Will stood in their kitchen. Will leaned against the island, elbows crossed in front of him. The camera was angled toward the fridge, framing the two of them perfectly. Mike had his back to Will, a spatula in hand as he stirred in fresh veggies into a pan of eggs. Mike had on a deep blue sweater, his hair sticking at odd angles.
“-God, why does she always take the F train?” Will picked at his shirt sleeve. Grey fabric fraying where he fidgets.
“Because it’s the closest line to her apartment and it runs right by ours,” Mike reaches up into a cabinet and pulls two plates down, setting them side by side on the counter.
“But it’s gross,” Will whined but the complaint held no conviction. Nothing more than a childish distaste.
Mike dished up the eggs, a wet plunk audible even on camera. Mike fished for silverware in the dishwasher before facing Will. The eggs looked worse up close, soggy yellow with hard vegetables littered throughout. “You know I love you,” it’s a statement, “there’s no way in hell I’m eating that,” Will pointed bleakly at the food. Mike studied it for a moment before shrugging and giggling in agreement. He reached out towards the camera and clicked it off.
Rec. 1:24:54
The subway station was too bright for the lenses, washing out the finer details. The camera zoomed in on the arrival board.
“Would you look at that,” Will's voice was behind the camera, “this just in, the F train is late,” he panned over to Mike, a crooked smile meeting him.
“No way seriously?” Mike slapped his face playfully, he shook his head and held it low, “my trust has been shattered.”
Will’s laugh was smaller than Mike’s, an edge of tension to it. The camera moved back and forth the dark tunnel, lens jittering as it attempted to focus on the emptiness. There were lots of people waiting for the train, the platform was sufficiently packed, with trails of more people snaking up the stairs.
“When we see Jane, let’s grab her, and get the hell up,” Mike leaned forward, careening over the bold yellow line on the ground. Will huffed in agreement, zooming back out to get all of Mike's face in frame. The sterile white cast an eerie halo around him, train headlights adding to it until Mike's face is washed out. They both stumbled back, probably an overreaction and definitely pissed off the people behind them.
“Please don’t get your head smashed in front of me,” Will chided.
“Oh come on I wasn’t that close,” Mike talked big but his eyes were wide with shock. “Okay, look for Jane,” he changed the topic, back to the mission at hand. Will panned the train cars, faces blurring together until they land on a fairly plain looking woman. She had the same soft brown hair as Will, but hers was wavy and went down to her collar bones; a pair of orange headphones peeking out. Straight bangs rest atop thin brows in contrast to wills.
“Bingo,” Will pointed Jane out, her eyes following the motion and meeting theirs. A bright smile lit her face up as she waved. Will focused on her, the background a blur of faceless motion. Jane rushed to the train doors, slipping out the first chance she got and running to them.
“Will!” She pulled him into a quick hug, jostling the camera, “happy birthday!” Her smile was brighter than the sterile overhead lights, a warm, secure aura bleeding from her every poor. She didn’t wait for a replay, instead grabbing Will's free hand and tugging them through the crowd and towards the stairs.
The camera caught flashes of Jane’s bright yellow and black top as the three of them snaked towards the surface.
Rec. 1:43:34
The three of them stood in a grand entrance, deep mahogany walls lined with scarlet details. They stood out starkly against the rich backdrop, Mike was slightly ahead of the other two, hands wrapped loosely around a wooden podium, the host behind looking tensely at him.
“Come on man, just do us a solid will ya’?” Mike’s voice was light, though his back was rigid and impatient. The camera was held low and pushed between Will and Jane, muffling the sound slightly.
“You realize I could lose my job if I got caught letting you dumbasses up there right?” The man leaned back on his heels, arms crossed in disapproval.
Mike leaned forward to counter, “Please? Come on, it's Will’s birthday, you’re really gonna deprive him of his one birthday wish?” Mike made a show of his plea.
The host huffed, “Yeah, his one dream of having private access to one of the most prestigious lounges in New York,” The man tipped his head to the side eyeing the others.
“And unlimited moose,” Will added, a small chuckle accompanying it.
“You-,” The host stuttered a moment before throwing his head back, “God I hate you all so much, fine take the back elevator,” he raises his voice over their excitement, “And for the love of god don't make a mess!” Mike was already leading the group over to a side hall leading deeper into the restaurant before stopping at a dingy back elevator.
“Did you see, I think there was actual smoke coming out of his ears,” Will points the camera over to Mike.
“Yeah, wait till the others show up,” Mike cracked a sideways grin as the doors parted.
“Mike,” Will started but Mike stuck his hands up in defense, slinking into the elevator.
“Just the party, promise,” Mike crossed his finger over his chest in an X.
Jane laughed as she hit the private access button, “Who else would it be?” The elevator shuddered under their weight as it rose weakly.
The camera glitched once again, though this time it appeared to only skip a few seconds, the group now gathered on the rooftop patio. Fake walls were put up to the right, mimicking a backyard fence. They even had string lights lacing across each panel. The group chattered amongst themselves as they spread out, taking in the whole place. There was enough space for a small banquet, no doubt a single group of friends. The camera took a slow pan of the whole horizon. Sun high in the sky, bright white clouds paint a picturesque image. The tables are dark to match the interior, and the overhang only covers a portion of the roof allowing the sun to heat them up far too much. The patio was one of those prestigious, weekend only night bars only rich and famous people go to.
The camera settles on Will, no longer behind the camera, the sun once again casts another worldly aura around him. A soft exhale can be heard off screen, lens zooming in, singling him out more.
“I’m gonna marry him,” Mike’s voice was soft, barely a whisper. A muffled squeak pulls the camera and Mike’s attention away from Will, instead landing on a young woman with shoulder length hair. Her eyes were wide and a hand pressed firmly to her mouth. Mike stood silently with the camera trained on the woman.
“Oh my god,” She pulled her hand down to speak before quickly replacing it.
“Ro- I- How much did you-?” Mike began twisting dials on the camera, the focus drifting in and out.
“Oh enough.”
“Jesus, Robin you can not, under any circumstances whatsoever, tell anyone what you just heard. Do you understand me?” His voice was like a school boy who got confronted about his playground crush.
“Absolutely 100 percent,” Robin starts, the camera falling back into focus, “However, I do feel that it is important to tell you that I am notorious for giving away secrets, and obviously Steve is gonna find out regardless of if I tell him anyways because that's how he is, but,” She took a breath, finally, “I promise I will do everything I can not to,” a sly smile spread across her face but her rambling was cut short by the ding of the elevator.
Three more people stepped out of the elevator, two men and one woman. One of the men had long curly hair and rings while the other wore a letterman jacket with the letters NYU sprawled across the back. The woman had bright red hair falling in loose curls, two small braids circled her head.
The camera glitched hard, no sound accompanied this shot. It was shot on the ground, pointing high into the sky. Rubble and ash rained down from a massive fire roaring above. A portion of the building collapses, careening into the neighboring building. The camera is torn violently away from the fire, thrown instead into a haze of dark pixelated destruction. Flashes of dead bodies linger a second longer than the rest of the horror.
Rec.3:00:16
“-And today, we celebrate the one and only Will The Wise Byers!” The nickname slid easily off Mike’s tongue. A beer bottle swung with his hands as he spoke. The sun was now behind the skyline, a deep orange hue bleeding into a dark purple. The group cheered and drank; the camera sat next to Will, angled to catch the whole group.
“Wait wait, Dustin what did you say that girl’s name was?” The man with the letterman jacket asked.
“That girl’s named Suzie and she is the love of my life Lucas so learn to accept it,” Dustin crossed his arms, a cheeky smile highlighting a bright blush across his cheeks.
The group laughed and chatted as the camera’s auto focus began to readjust. At first it doesn’t seem to be focusing on anything important. The dark sky off to the east, growing darker. Mike, in the middle of a story, had wandered a bit away from the group. Not far enough, however, to lose his facial expression when his eyes locked over the horizon.
The sky had grown impossibly dark, all orange seeping into the fissures of this growing void. Eerie groans doing nothing to warn of the dangers. Will grabs the camera and walks towards Mike, the others standing too. A deafening boom glitching the audio momentarily. The sound had hardly stopped when a large, strong gust of wind threw Will back against the table.