Chapter Text
“So c’mon and let me know.. Should I stay or should I go?”
Shivering, the unpleasant chattering of teeth.
Cold. The sickly sort that made even your bones feel iced over.
Noise. Growling and bellowing through the air.
Fear. He gripped the rifle.
A crash. The beast threw itself through the wall. Will pulled the trigger with trembling hands.
BANG! The creature let out a spine-chilling roar. Rushing out of Castle Byers, he sprinted to a nearby tree.
He scrambled up it, desperately grasping at each branch. Now, standing at the top, catching his breath, all Will could hear was the hammering of his heartbeat.
He only hoped the monster couldn’t hear it too. He scoured the ground below. Maybe it had lost him?
Movement. The next second, it lunged out of the darkness, scaling the tree so quickly Will barely had time to decide his escape.
It was dumb to jump. Yet he did anyway.
He slammed into a branch and clambered to keep hold of it. The force of the initial impact had swung him forward, tearing his grip from it.
Falling. Falling backward, every branch knocking more wind out of his lungs.
Finally, he collided with the ground with a painful thud.
Will gasped. He sat straight up in a cold sweat. Still trying to catch his breath. Another nightmare, he thought. Will surveyed his surroundings. He was still in the Wheelers' basement. Not the frigid darkness of the Upside-Down. Nothing was chasing him. There were board games stacked around haphazardly, some of Mike's old DND figures were sitting on a nearby shelf. A warm sunlight poured in through the windows, and it sort of smelled like pancakes. He glanced at the couch next to him. Jonathan was still asleep. Will heard the creak of the basement door.
“BREAKFAST!!!” Holly shouted.
Jonathan groggily sat up in his make-shift bed.
“Oh, Shit, dude, we overslept!” He grumbled before looking at Will to notice he was already awake.
“Will, why didn’t you wake me up??” Jonathan sighed.
“I-I don’t know, I just got up. I thought you set an alarm?” Will stammered, still shaken.
“I thought you did!”
Will groaned, standing up and rushing to go get changed.
Will poured himself a glass of orange juice, spilling a drop onto the smooth wooden table. He was still stuck in that uneasy feeling, the one that made his hands shake. Usually, it wouldn’t take so long to regain his footing, but recently, the nightmares had gotten worse. It was probably just because the anniversary of the day he was taken was soon. He shook the thought off, reaching for the fruit bowl in the middle of the table. The trembling of his hands caused an apple to escape the bowl.
“Hey,” Mike gently nudged Will with his elbow. “Are you alright?”
“Huh? Uh.. yeah. I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? You look tired... Not that that’s bad or anything, you don’t look bad-”
“Yeah, just…” He paused to take a piece of bacon from the plate Nancy passed him. “Didn’t sleep well.” Will sighed before handing the bacon over to Jonathan.
“Shit, it's not the basement, is it? Is it too cold down there?”
“No! No, it’s warm, you can leave it now, I’m fine.”
Mike nodded, still worried, but respecting Will. He tuned back into the chatter around the table, hearing Holly say something about that “Mr.Whatsit” guy she keeps mentioning. Probably just someone from that book she likes.
Soon enough, everybody finished eating and then ran out the door in quick succession. Mike, Will, and Holly hopped on their bikes, listening to The Morning Squawk on the way to school, another likely boring day ahead.