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November 6th - The Day Will Byers Disappeared. The day the chaos began, robbing the peaceful residents of Hawkins of a quiet life. The day when, in an ordinary town, vile creatures emerged from the earth, ready to devour anyone and anything in their path. The day Vecna discovered his true power. The day it all began and the day it will all end.
The day before, the radio station was unnervingly quiet. Gone was the mindless chatter of Robin Buckley, who insisted on being called Rockin' Robin. Gone was Steve Harrington constantly scurrying around, trying to keep up with his colleague's speech to insert simple, funny sound effects. Gone was the irritatingly persistent buzz of the switch that, before, seemed never to shut up and had always grated on the staff's nerves.
Not a trace remained of the old, comfortable, homely atmosphere. Instead, the station was filled by a small crowd of teenagers and adults, finally desperate to put an end to all the problems and sufferings that had been dogging their every step.
The exhaustion that had been building up all these days weighed heavily on everyone like a massive burden, clouding judgment and stifling new ideas. It clung to every single person present without mercy. By the window, on the couch, sat Joyce with a pensive expression—the recent days of excursions had taken their toll on her, both mentally and physically, evident from the huge bags under her eyes and her slightly stiff (or perhaps nervous?) movements, making one wonder if she slept at all. To her right was an equally exhausted Rockin' Robin Buckley—though, looking at her now, perhaps the "Rockin'" part should be dropped, as there wasn't a trace of that rock 'n' roll energy left. The perpetually lively and sharp-tongued girl had unexpectedly frozen in one position, which clearly boded no good. The only thing betraying the fact she was still alive was a barely perceptible tremor in her hands and the nervous, quiet tapping of her fingers on the armrest of the old sofa. On the opposite side of the room, Mike had deliberately moved away from their small group, apparently not to further unnerve the company with his extreme nervousness. He paced in small circles along the same trajectory—a habit that seemed to be inherited by the entire Wheeler family. Not that it helped him cope with the stress, but at least it provided a slight distraction from their predicament.
Will, sitting across from his mother, was looking out the window. Or rather, not at the window. His gaze, seemingly fixed on it, was actually looking at nothing. The full realization of what was happening had landed on his shoulders only recently—too soon for Will, who wasn't mentally prepared to face the source of all his problems again, but too late for the others, who had adapted much faster. An unprecedented sense of responsibility for the lives lost right before his eyes pressed down on him more and more. Yes, technically, it wasn't his fault. That's what he tried to cement deep in his mind, but an echo of an inner voice insisted that those deaths lay on their conscience, and on Will Byers' conscience too.
Even the soldiers, who had fiercely opposed their ideas and plans, were still people who didn't deserve to have their heads impaled, skulls crushed, or be eaten alive by Demogorgons and Demodogs. The stark realization of what was happening was stealing the already scarce crumbs of hope for a bright, happy future with no Upside Down, no Vecna, no military—just peace and friendship, maybe with "Three Waterfalls" playing.
He didn't want to remember all the events again, but his own mind seemed to disagree. Recent scenes of death kept repeating, completely fogging his brain. And his thoughts drifted further and further, straight to Holly's disappearance. Holly. It was even scary and disgusting to think about what might be happening to her, because Vecna was getting stronger with every damn day, and his tortures were becoming more and more sophisticated. They couldn't just leave her there. They had no right to just sit in one place and wait for the others. To hell with the plan when a child was going through the same thing he had.
But common sense, along with emotional impulses, put him back in his place.
Nervously fidgeting with his fingers over and over again, his mind plunged back into an endless, vicious cycle of thought processes from which Will doubted he would ever find a way out. Sinking to the bottom again... if only... A sudden idea appeared like a burning lightbulb, the kind people often compare ideas to.
Vecna can visit his mind at any moment, and the strong connection between him and Will had remained since the disappearance, because of which he had more than once become an unwitting spy. But by discovering his abilities, the boy could see everything through the hive mind. That means it worked the other way too! If he quietly connected to him, he could find Holly, or at least get a rough idea of her situation.
Will abruptly jumped up, his head even spinning a little from the sudden movement, which caused a slight fright in the girls opposite him.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," the boy said, looking at them with an apologetic smile. Joyce smiled back.
"Oh no, honey, it's okay. You... thought of something?" the woman asked, trying to pry her sticky eyelids apart. She really needed a good rest.
"Oh... No, no. Just... thought I'd go double-check the plan. We still have time, right? Taking another look wouldn't hurt, right?" Will blurted out, coming up with an excuse on the spot. In theory, it wasn't a lie, just a tiny omission. He really was going to check everything over, right? Just a little test of his abilities, and along with that, Holly's location—that certainly wouldn't be superfluous.
Oh God, this was probably recklessness.
Already on autopilot, approaching the familiar little room and moving the shelf aside, he almost managed to close it behind him if not for a warm hand stopping him by the wrist.
Mike.
Mike Wheeler.
"Stop. I'm coming with you. I want to... refresh the details. You don't mind company, do you?" the boy said quietly, afraid to break the silence enveloping the radio station. For a moment, everything fell completely silent, although it seemed impossible to get any quieter. In the utter silence, the frantic pounding of his heart sounded far too loud, echoing with heavy beats against his skull, making Byers wonder for a second if Mike could hear it.
After hesitating for a couple of seconds in the awkward atmosphere, Will finally managed to tear himself away from his thoughts and his gaze from the lips opposite him.
"Yeah..." Will's voice came out. "Yeah, sure, let's go," he said more confidently and headed down the stairs, not waiting for Mike to go through their makeshift secret passage.
Standing before the table and holding sheets with a fully hand-drawn and written plan of the military base along with an identical map of the entire town, Will ran his eyes over the old papers again, studying everything over and over. Trying to absorb all the information completely. However, thoughts of infiltrating the hive mind, which weren't part of the plan, wouldn't leave him. He could help. Surely, for once, the curse should do him a favor in return.
Mike, who had approached after a while, settled on the right and examined the papers right from Will's hands, not daring to take them himself. For a few seconds, he seemed to examine the already worn and tattered sheet with some interest, but soon Byers felt a gaze on him. He only had time to open his mouth to ask what was wrong, but the words didn't have time to fly out, instead getting stuck like a lump in his throat.
"Will, are you okay?" Wheeler couldn't hold back, looking at his friend with genuine concern.
"Yeah, completely," he quickly mumbled. "Well... as much as possible in our situation." Will tried to lighten the awkward silence between them and smile sweetly, but frankly, it came out poorly, and he knew it even without a mirror. Too nervous, too weak a smile appeared on his face.
It didn't help the situation at all. Fuck. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah... Just. Um... You've been really quiet? No, you're always quiet... But today it's something different... Don't get me wrong, I'm not pressuring you or anything. Just... What's happening around us now is really awful and... Your brother is in the Upside Down with no contact... Like my sisters... and... I thought maybe you're feeling bad about it... And after what happened at the military base with the kids... And I thought maybe..." Mike rattled off quickly, not trying to look his friend in the eye and, as per tradition, pacing circles around the room. It came out too personal and unexpected, even for Wheeler himself. "...and... Oh God, what am I even saying," Mike added more quietly and dropped his head into his hands on the same table. "Just... forget everything I said, it was stupid."
His brain couldn't come up with anything worthwhile in response to such an admission, while his heart decided to go its own way. "Well, why stupid? Not at all." Mike turned his head towards him, and now, looking at his friend from above, Will's thoughts began to tangle again.
Oh Lord, he definitely needed to do something about this.
"I mean that now, when we're all vulnerable and Henry can get to us at any moment, we need to share everything. I mean, you don't have to keep it all inside," he carefully placed his hand on Will's shoulder. "Especially you. You're the heart of the party, remember?" Mike smiled awkwardly into his elbow, probably remembering that dialogue, that year, that painting, and that Jane, but still didn't dare lift his head. "Too much has been dumped on you. First your parents, then Holly, and now Nancy too..." At these words, Will paused briefly, seeing a faint sadness in Mike's eyes. "But you can't give Henry what he's after. Hear me? You still have all of us..." You still have me. The phrase was on the tip of his tongue, eager to be announced, but it was not meant to be heard. Ambiguous. Too ambiguous.
Again, a drawn-out silence.
How long did it last? A couple of seconds? A couple of minutes? Several hours, days? Time must have stopped; otherwise, Will couldn't explain this state, this atmosphere.
"When Holly disappeared... I felt like I'd messed up again... Like with you. Just... God, it all came crashing down again, like an avalanche, only with a doubled sense of déjà vu..." Wheeler paused, trying to find words to describe his state. Putting feelings into words was never his strong suit. "...and remembering what you went through back then in the Upside Down... I'm scared. Truly..." His gaze returned to his hands. He didn't want to show weakness at such an important and responsible moment, but the burden of Holly's disappearance was getting heavier and heavier, until it made Wheeler bury his nose in the sleeve of his own sweater and pour out all his worries to his friend in the damn basement, while the others might be dying. Bravo.
Mike expected some reaction to his monologue: pity, sympathy, irritation, weariness—anything, just not awkward silence. He waited for any reaction. Any words that would soothe his conscience and soul.
But Will was silent. For a long time. Uncomfortably long. Losing track of time overtook Wheeler too.
"You know... I... might be able to find out something about Holly..." Byers' voice cut through the silence, while Mike tilted his head questioningly, waiting for a continuation. "I mean, I managed to connect to the Demogorgons there at the military base. And I saw everything from their perspective. From all of them at once. So there's something that connects them..."
"The hive mind," Mike finished for him with a stunned face. The realization came to both simultaneously. Without wasting a second, Will grabbed the recently sharpened pencil and the first clean white sheet they had plenty of after their excursions. Hastily sketching a fairly simple diagram on the paper, he quickly handed it to the boy standing beside him.
"If he has a hive mind, then in theory I can connect to it just like he did to me once. At the military base, I stopped the Demogorgons because they were the main target, but if I shift my focus solely to Henry..." Will made a few lines and notes on the sheet, explaining what he was writing. "If I don't try to stop him, but just slip into his mind, I can track what he's doing. Even if Henry isn't near Holly, there will surely be someone or something near her that's watching her. Then through Henry, I can connect to that too. If I don't do anything, just watch, it might work. Understand? I can find Holly." Will tosses the pencil to the edge of the table, just as he tosses anxious thoughts into the farthest corner of his mind. If this can really help the Wheelers, he simply has to do it. Well, or at least try.
Perhaps he shouldn't have said it so enthusiastically, but Mike's simultaneously thrilled and surprised face was a worthy enough reward.
Will... Have I ever told you you're incredible?" the boy said almost inaudibly, seemingly still recovering from the shock, looking at Will as if he were something unreal. Maybe in a few moments?
"More than once," the boy smiled, slightly embarrassed. It was impossible to hide such a reaction to his friend, and it was driving him crazy, irritating him. But Mike went further.
Wheeler covered Will's hand with his own, speaking with a special tenderness. "A wizard. A real wizard," he uttered disbelievingly, still trying to comprehend what was happening, while Will was being overwhelmed more and more. He wanted to push this painfully familiar palm far away and focus on finding Holly, but at the same time, it seemed impossible. Impossible to discard the warmth emanating from his friend's hand. Impossible to push away. Everything was too impossible. And just one word, "wizard," spoken in a quiet, hoarse whisper, seemed to truly drive him crazy. Well, at least he had kept his part of the promise to go crazy.
"Will, but... how will you get into the mind? Do you need any devices like for El...?" Only then did Will seriously ponder this problem. Last time, he hadn't needed anything but the desire to save, happy memories, and Mike. But there was no direct danger then, so no automatic need to delve into consciousness.
"El... That's right, El," Mike exclaimed. Now it was Will's turn to be surprised. "You don't have your own powers, you're essentially borrowing them from Vecna. El once mentioned that her abilities are very different from his, but there are similarities. What if we try to connect through the noise and the dark?" Mike explained. "Could that help?
"I don't know... But... It's worth a try."
Okay, this was a terrible idea. The worst of all that had come into their heads. It was insane, impulsive, emotional.
Watching how Eleven entered the minds of others, Will's breath was always taken away. Her extremely calm expression. The boy couldn't understand how she could do it all so calmly in pitch darkness. She cut herself off from the outside world.
But he could never have imagined he'd be in her place. It was strange even to picture in his head. Unreal. Well, he'd apparently have to learn to stop dividing things into real and impossible. Anything is possible.
But looking at the makeshift blindfold for complete immersion lying before him and the old radio on which Mike was diligently trying to catch white noise, anxiety gripped him. Just a little anxiety. No big deal, just the first conscious intrusion into someone else's mind. Into Henry's mind. He just needed to look and leave, that's all. El had pulled off scarier things and came out alive. He couldn't harm him through the mind. Well, at least not physically, and he'd deal with moral trauma later.
"Wizard, everything's ready!" Mike exclaimed with a slight tremor in his voice and sat down next to Will, nodding slightly towards the tape recorder, which in turn was emitting an irritating "white noise."
So, the time had come.
Will looked around one last time, trying to assure himself he was in the secret basement of the radio station and not in the Upside Down or somewhere worse, then reached for the white blindfold and tied it over his head.
Everything instantly plunged into darkness. The only thing indicating he was still in the world was the permanent noise, which was seriously grating on his already frayed nerves. How did El manage to enter minds instantly? It's unreal, irritating. He sat there distractedly for a minute before delivering his disappointed verdict. "It's not working." He already reached to take off the blindfold, but a sudden gentle grip of someone else's palms on his wrist stopped him and killed any desire to resist.
"Wait, wait! Please... I beg you, don't give up so soon. Please. El said she always concentrated on the white noise, drifted away from thoughts. But you're not her. Your powers are different from hers. Try thinking about something good. Remember something that helped you back then. Please." The once strong speech at the beginning faded into a barely audible whisper, which was impossible to oppose. Funny how, of all the monsters they'd encountered on their path, the unreal thing became resisting Mike Wheeler's plea.
Sighing heavily, Will finally understood he was utterly helpless before him. Understood he was willing to do something that could cost him his life, for him. He was helpless. Completely.
He lowered his hands onto his knees, but the warmth of the palms of the person opposite didn't go away. On the contrary, it moved lower, to Byers' palms. He felt a gentle, barely perceptible touch of fingertips, then felt gentle, supportive strokes on the back of his hand.
This time, he followed Mike's advice.
A picture of their meeting appeared before his eyes: a little boy extending his hand to his new friend on the swings. Several years ago, under the control of a mind-tormentor, he would never tell anyone that he remembered Wheeler crying beside him, telling the story of their first meeting. Immediately after that came the ruined Halloween. How after a new vision, Mike was again and again by his side and was even ready to leave his favorite holiday for him. For his safety. Remembered that promise to go crazy together. Two crazy freaks. Then memories of the old good parties. Even with a rather clichéd and banal ending, but at least good and fun for everyone. Heartfelt conversations with Robin surfaced. Memories of Buckley kissing her girlfriend, of the conversation about signals. Doubtful, impulsive escapes from the radio station. Fragments of memories about his brother weren't left unattended. A separate mixtape with songs personally collected by Jonathan for Will was playing somewhere far, far in the background.
But the music stopped just as abruptly as it had started. The quietly lowered head suddenly lifted. Severe dizziness washed over his head, leaving no hope for rational thoughts, which seemed to have gotten tangled long before this moment. From the unfamiliar sensation, nausea rose in his throat. How did El handle this every time? However, he wasn't given time to ponder this long due to his unfocused vision. A dark-red film seemed to appear over his eyes, slightly distorting his sight. After a couple of seconds, his vision cleared a bit more, but not completely, stubbornly refusing to give greater visibility to the new owner of the body. Will tried to look around without turning his head, but he didn't even have to try, because the creature itself turned its head first to the right, then to the left, then returned to its business. Perhaps Byers should have prepared a little for the chance of ending up in a Demodog's body. He knew it could happen, yes. But he didn't expect to be in one at the very moment it was busy eating a person. The loud sounds of flesh being torn from the body induced vomiting, and the bloody picture right before his eyes didn't calm him down at all. But it got even worse when he realized he was technically eating it too. The maw opened in all its glory like a red-bloody flower, showing all its sharp teeth, which Will, to his great fortune, couldn't see. At the same moment, the creature lowered its muzzle to the corpse again and began eating.
"Did you find him?" a voice came from somewhere far away. Somewhere beyond his consciousness. Beyond the boundaries. The only thing connecting him to the real world was Mike's hand. A barely perceptible warm touch serving as a conduit between his worst nightmare and the real world.
"Not exactly," Will responded quietly, not recognizing his own hoarse voice, which had turned into a quiet whisper. "I'm in a Demodog's body. It... is eating someone..."
"Someone is...?" Mike asked again, clearly tensing. Well, of course. Yes, the fact that Byers had managed to enter the hive mind was undoubtedly encouraging, but the realization that his friends and sisters were still in the Upside Down wasn't comforting. Nancy, Holly. That Holly was alive, Will was unconditionally sure. She was special. She was needed by Henry. Yes, maybe she was in the worst conditions, but she was still alive. However, things with Nancy were much worse. For several hours now, there had been no news from her or the other team members. None at all. The connection didn't work at all, which couldn't help but cause concern.
"It's definitely not any of them." It seemed even through the foggy film, Byers heard Mike's relieved sigh. "It's... a man. Older... Not much face left... but doesn't look like Hopper," Byers finished.
"Wait, he has no face? You examined a half-eaten corpse?" the boy remarked with disgust.
"Well, you know, it's hard not to look when you're eating it from a first-person perspective. I'm not exactly comfortable with it either, incidentally," Will would have rolled his eyes if he could. Somewhere in the distance, he heard a weak "Oh my God" from Mike. He closed his eyelids again, trying to focus on where exactly he wanted to go. Henry. Vecna. One. Lord, what else could he call him to definitely get into his mind? Or rather, into their mind.
He missed a few more times, ending up in the bodies of peacefully wandering Demodogs and Demogorgons that had run into a squad of soldiers, who as always headed towards the walls of the Upside Down for reconnaissance. He didn't want to give up. Not now. Not when he was so close to the goal. Only on the fourth try did he manage to get as close to him as Will had never been before.
Suddenly, along with the oppressive and heavy atmosphere of the Upside Down, a light blue house appeared. A huge house with white columns, neat lawns. Straight out of a fairy tale. The boy had read about such houses in books long, long ago. Only it was too far from the reality he lived in. There were no monsters, no toxic air, no sticky, disgusting grime, no Hawkins turned upside down. None of that. In the place where Byers found himself, he had never been and seemed to be learning of its existence for the first time. But a strange feeling of déjà vu appeared along with the new house.
Henry.
He didn't have to think about whose body he was in this time. No vile-looking monster from the other dimension could be in this perfect and beautiful place. Although, Henry had somehow managed it. Will never understood what was going on in his head. Never understood his goals, his chosen path paved with human corpses. Never understood his decisions, his plans. Just as he didn't understand now what Henry was doing, standing here in one position, like an ice statue, not taking his eyes off the house. The position, of course, wasn't the best, but still better than nothing.
Nothing changed, and Will began to think he had made a mistake and hadn't gotten there at all, until deafening music started coming from the house. The quiet, rhythmic beginning of the song soon became audible outside the house. Hearing, being in someone else's body, was frankly poor and heavily distorted, but even with it, Byers caught snippets of a song all too familiar to him. Painfully familiar.
"—I think we're alone now..." a grown woman's voice screamed from the song. The boy was never a fan or even a lover of Tiffany, but he knew her songs by heart. All because of Mike's younger sister, who only needed a tape recorder in her hands for Tiffany's music to pour out. Despite reprimands from parents and older kids, all the songs constantly blared in her room, audible even from the damn Wheeler basement. Well, at least he wasn't hearing it as loudly as the people living on the same floor with her. Will could only sympathize with them.
But now, looking at the house, the boy wanted that music to be from Holly. Wanted her to be in unreal comfort, even if in an illusion. At least that. The main thing was that she didn't see the real horrors happening to her. Goosebumps ran down his body from the flood of memories associated with the Upside Down. His hands suddenly tensed, and the faint sensation of Mike's hands on his disappeared. Will would have liked to say something, would have liked his friend's hands to return to their rightful place—on Byers' hands—but he didn't have to say anything. A moment later, Wheeler, as if sensing a sharp change in his friend, grabbed his hands even tighter. So tight they were no longer a ghostly touch but quite real and tangible. So tight Will simply couldn't help but shudder from the sudden tenderness. So tight he couldn't restrain his reaction after the quiet—"Did you find her?... Did you find Holly?"—from Wheeler, whose voice now leaked unconcealed plea and anxiety. So tight he could no longer endure it only in his head. So tight that not only he, but Henry flinched.
This was a failure. Complete.
Creel simply couldn't help but notice the sharp movement of his head, which was definitely not made by himself. But what were the chances he would just ignore this small movement and blame it on some, I don't know, nervous tic? Every person gets them after difficult life events, and Henry had plenty. He commanded an entire army, an entire dimension of vile, bloodthirsty monsters erasing everything in their path. Although it was hardly possible to call him human now.
Creel froze again, just like Will, who in turn was afraid even to breathe, doubting that Henry couldn't hear his breathing. Mike, who sensed Byers' tension, also fell silent, not daring to make a single movement. Will even worried he might die from lack of air, but suddenly Creel stirred. The boy couldn't see his face but knew the usual insincere smile was hanging there as always.
He chuckled softly.
Need to get out. Urgently. Right now.
Through the thick layer of unreality in his eyes, Will, who still felt Mike's touch, tried to find his way out only through it. With a quick movement, the boy tore off the blindfold, but the darkness didn't leave his eyes. Even more, nothing changed at all. The picture of the perfect house still hung before his eyes, and Henry's face still felt that "sweet" smile. His hands reached for his eyes in an attempt to open them as wide as possible. He pulled, closed his eyes, rubbed them so hard it seemed they would soon fall out of their sockets and roll right to Byers' feet, forced them open, hoping that at least that would erase this already hateful picture, which no longer seemed so good.
"Will. Will! W-what... is happening?" came Mike's worried voice somewhere right by his ear.
"I... I don't know! I'm still in Henry's body. I-I... I can't get out..." Will whispered quietly, as if still afraid of being noticed by Creel. "Mike... He figured it out..." The boy couldn't make out what Wheeler said next. Maybe he continued screaming his name, his voice breaking, calling for help from Robin and Joyce. Byers strongly doubted they hadn't heard Mike's desperate cry by now. But he wouldn't hear it anymore. All sounds faded. He was completely detached from reality.
"You know, William. I didn't think you'd choose such a sneaky way of using your 'new' powers." A low male voice spoke from all sides simultaneously. It was everywhere. Enveloped the entire atmosphere with its weight. Even Will himself spoke with his voice.
"Of all the options, such a sneaky and simple one. I... am somewhat even disappointed." He paused for a moment. "My first vessel with powers, but with such a limited mind to come up with something of his own. It's rather sad."
"Well, it's not my fault your powers are so weak they're only good for spying and killing," the boy quipped quietly. Naturally, he was exaggerating greatly. Who if not him knew what Henry was capable of with his powers at full energy and with vessels in the form of people. He knew it wouldn't end well. But at least even if he died—something Will no longer doubted and was tormented trying to come to terms with his fate—it would be, if stupid, at least heroic.
A sudden silence after Will's words dragged on too long. But soon Vecna's voice appeared not only outside, around Will, but inside. Right in his head. "Don't confuse your inability to figure out what's going on inside you with the power of our abilities," he chuckled softly. "Came looking for your friend's little sister, correct?" He fell silent for a second. "Well, of course. How else. But you don't have to worry so much, she's perfectly fine. See for yourself." Henry turned his head towards the luxurious house from which, albeit muffled, the same music still came. "I don't think anyone else could have created such beauty." He chuckled quietly, causing only greater anxiety. "I don't think little Holly would want to leave here on her own," Henry said with a smile, surveying his domain.
"Did you really figure out that children don't run from your vile clutches when you build a perfect illusion before them?" Byers retorted, expecting a reaction in the form of instant death, which didn't come.
"Learned from experience. She's not in the Upside Down, aren't you satisfied with that? Or would you prefer a worse life for Holly? Don't worry, that can certainly be arranged." Will froze. This was going completely differently than he had assumed.
"I doubt you could kill a girl so similar to your own sister," Byers remarked quietly. He would probably regret his words later, but he had to get back at him at least in conversation. Henry's voice fell silent. "Would you really kill her a second time?" Will asked more confidently. He was playing with fire ready to explode and kill him in one of the worst deaths, but he couldn't stop. "Make another trophy out of her? Seems you'll never change, Henry." The words just flowed from Byers' mouth. He wanted to talk more and more. He knew Vecna was already boiling with anger or at least irritation from such audacity. The real name was the cherry on top.
No trace remained of the former friendly smile. There was nothing. Just an empty face, which was several times more terrifying. "You're one to talk about family, William. You know, since you so wanted to master spying, I don't mind showing you how to do it correctly." That's all Will heard before Henry lowered his gaze to his right hand, from which vile growths instantly began to slowly emerge, layering on top of each other and completely covering the arm. Within seconds, huge long claws also manifested, from which some black foreign substance was already dripping.
"Watch with me and remember." The last thing echoed in his mind. Creel clenched his fist. His eyes, along with Will's, rolled back, revealing nothing but whites to the terrified Wheeler sitting nearby. The boy wouldn't want Mike to see such a stupid death.
Before his eyes, recent memories of secret excursions, time spent with the newly found team, with the party began to flash. His head was cracking at the seams. He was sure he was screaming desperately in the real world right now. But not here. Here, his voice was drowned out by millions of memories from the past and present. Too much personal. Too many thoughts connected to family. Too much inappropriate connected to Mike. Will wanted to end his suffering quickly. He was ready to tear out his eyes, his head, which he was so desperately grabbing with his hands, trying to preserve at least fragments of thoughts. Trying to hide them from him. But Vecna went further and deeper. Exposed all memories, thoughts. Reached what he shouldn't know.
El.
No, no, no. Byers wanted to take back his words. He was ready to turn all his dirty deeds and secrets inside out. Ready for any condemnation and rejection. But not memories concerning El. Not her. Will knew too much about her. Knew where she went. Knew for what purpose. Knew her mindset. Knew practically everything. They had lived side by side for so many years. Surrendering memories of her meant El's automatic death.
"No... No, no, no. Please... Not her," Will curled into a ball, tucking his hands and feet, trying to hold everything in his head. And Henry kept pressing. More and more. So much that it was impossible to bear. God, he was ready for a quick death, but not for the continuation of new torments.
His hands continued to wander over his face. Continued to cling to his eyes, ears, mouth. In hopes of hiding. But suddenly, his vision cleared a little. A desperate, foggy gaze ran over all those present—over his mother, screaming, begging him to wake up, who was convulsively either shaking or holding his shoulders; over nervous Robin with huge eyes, who seemed to be in a stupor and didn't understand how she could help; over the frightened Mike, who seemed to be screaming for him to keep fighting and not give up, trying to grab his shoulder or head.
But then his gaze fell on a thing on the corner of the table. Something sharp, practically gleaming in a light that shouldn't be in the basement at all. A crazy thought flashed through his head. Just for a second. For an instant. An instant long enough for Byers to reach for the object with his hand and put it to his eye.
Suddenly everything stopped. His friends' voices were no longer audible. Just like the house, and Vecna, and the basement. Only an ear-splitting cry of pain, emitted either by himself or by Henry. How could he have forgotten that their pain was transmitted to each other. Probably somewhere not far from him, some Demogorgons felt hellish pain, holding their heads in huge paws, and Demodogs howled from the sensation in their heads.
And then something ceased. Will gasped sharply, as if he hadn't been breathing all this time. His lungs filled with too much air, making them feel like they were burning inside. But immediately after the relief came a dull pain somewhere in his head. The boy didn't quite understand where exactly, but knew it was burning inside and knew the pain was growing with every moment as he woke from his journey into the hive mind. Dull pain changed to sharp, burning. From which he wanted to howl, wanted to cover it with his palm hoping it would pass. Wanted to simply remove the source of pain. The sensation of emptiness in his left eye was truly frightening. As if... he had lost something, but didn't understand what exactly due to the pain that had already seized his entire body. The left eye wouldn't open, making his vision with the right eye become blurry. But through the thick veil of welling tears and... blood?
He didn't understand where the blood came from. Didn't understand why the hand he had just brought to his eye was stained with a bright-red liquid slowly dripping from his hand onto the white blindfold, dyeing it burgundy. He couldn't feel his left eye. The realization came along with even greater pain, now mixed with a disgusting feeling of nausea.
Somewhere in the distance, he heard his mother's scream, begging Buckley to bring at least some medical supplies and hugging him, Will, trying to shield him from the pain, while Robin in turn was dropping everything from her trembling hands; heard the trembling voice of Wheeler, into whose hands that damned cause of his eye loss had fallen. It seemed... it was a pencil? Byers even recognized it. That very pencil he had used just recently to sketch the approximate plan and structure of the hive mind, that very pencil he had so unreasonably tossed aside.
But his right, still unharmed eye began to gradually close. Black circles appeared before his already foggy eyes, threatening to close them once and possibly forever. Maybe Will would have been happy with that opportunity.
Taking a last look at those present, it turned out it wouldn't be bad to die here, by his own hand, among friends and family. A quite worthy death for him, right?