Chapter Text
"Aim to the heart..." Will Byers whispered under his breath, the wooden stake clutched tightly in his hands.
"And attack." he lunged towards the makeshift dummy, impaling its inexistent heart instantly. He was moving at such speed and precision that it seemed he had superpowers. He sighed and started breathing rapidly after using most of the strength he had left.
The unusual cold bit into his fingers, numbing them despite the tight grip he kept on the stake. His muscles burned, his shoulders aching with every movement, yet he refused to stop. Will forced himself to strike again, adjusting his stance the way Jonathan had shown him. If he hesitated, even for a second, he knew what would happen in the Upside Down. He swallowed hard, breath coming out in shaky clouds, and tried to ignore the fear crawling up his spine.
But he didn't have superpowers. And that was his weakness.
***
He was always praised for 'being a hero', but he surely wasn't. He didn't have powers. He's not a 'zombie boy'. He didn't resurrect after being presumed dead for weeks. He was just a weak, innocent child whom the Mind Flayer had taken control of, and somehow he had enough luck to survive deadly monsters in a dimension he never expected to exist. And he still is.
People spoke his name like it meant something powerful, like surviving made him special. But Will didn't feel special. He knew no one actually cared. He felt breakable, like glass stretched too thin. Every time someone called him brave, it sounded too wrong in his ears, because bravery was supposed to mean fearlessness, and he had never stopped being afraid. He had just learned how to endure it.
He just fought to survive.
***
The air was filled with a thick nature scent. Tall snowy trees were scattered here and there across the deep forest surrounding Hawkins. That's where Will was training—he was training to become a vampire hunter and battle the demibats and vampires in the Upside Down.
It's the middle of winter, it's extremely cold outside, yet there's Will. Alone like he always is, in the freezing atmosphere. He doesn't even care anymore. He's always seen as an outcast, a freak, a weirdo in 'his own world'. At least that's what he thinks.
Will's self-esteem has always been this low. Being bullied also added to that fact, and although he tried to overcome his negative thoughts so many times, he eventually gave up.
"Will likes boys! What a fucking loser fag!" That flashback of when his classmates found out that he's gay lingered in his head rent-free and came back each time he felt sad.
Why was he like this? Why couldn't he just be like everyone else?
***
A sudden noise startled Will and got him out of the defocused state he was in. He jumped for a second and held tighter onto the stake that was retrieved from the dummy earlier. They were footsteps. Not animal-like, it clearly sounded like human footsteps.
The boy looked around, but in vain.
The noise got closer to him, yet nothing was making itself known. It was starting to get suspicious, even threatening to Will.
It now came to his surprise that it was Jonathan. His brother came to pick him up to go home and that's the noise that was scaring him a little.
"Oh, hi Jonathan! How long have I been here..." he waved at his brother and started to pack up his backpack and belongings.
"You've been out for a while here, Will... we were starting to get a bit worried," Jonathan replied in return.
However, something was going on... Will doesn't know what exactly, but it's most likely Jon's face that gives it away. Not only did he look tired from probably working all day, but he was actually fueled by fear.
The older brother sighed and signalled for Will to start walking with him along the trail that led to the Byers' home.
As they continued walking across the trail, Will noticed the fear in his brother's eyes growing, and his curiosity couldn′t hold him back from asking what was going on anymore.
"...is something wrong?" he hesitated to ask at first, but eventually gave up and spoke.
"We have to team up and go to the Upside Down right about now. I'm afraid we don't have enough weapons, and..." the brother paused for a split second, "Vecna's threatening our group again."
Fear. Fear was now spreading across Will's eyes too. He started breathing more rapidly and—for a moment—it seemed like he was sobbing, tears forming in his eyes. But they didn't. He was now angry.
"That son of a fucking bitch." William cursed. He cursed because he knew how much pain he went through when he was just 12, when Vecna channelled the Mind Flayer and possessed him, leaving him in the Upside Down, alone, starving and being hunted by monstrous creatures. That motherfucking demogorgon. That motherfucking Vecna.
"I know, buddy... I know. I'm sorry I didn't teach you how to hunt earlier. I should've. I wish I knew.." Jonathan started to apologise. Will didn't expect that reaction. His brother isn't the kind of person to start bawling after a small inconvenience. Well, it quite is tho, since the Upside Down is a pain in the ass.
As they reached the Byers' home, Will noticed that the gang had already gathered on the front porch, planning something. Murray's truck was parked nearby, already unloading the small amount of weapons to hand out to everyone. The air was colder than usual, it felt like something wrong was about to happen. And Will usually trusts his gut feelings.
"Hey, we're back." Jonathan slightly waved at everyone, his gaze fixed on nothing. Will deeply sighed and looked around nervously.
"Holy shit, you've been out for a while, William. I thought we were going to deem you as missing." Max tried to joke and maybe cheer him up, but it really wasn't the time. This was a life-threatening situation. Fortunately, they planned something that might help.
As Will was scanning the mesmerising view, he was suddenly awoken from his unfocused state by the sight someone's eyes.
***
"Alright, I think we're set. Let's team up." Nancy broke the awkward silence.
"Eleven, you'll go with Max," she looked at both of them, "but please protect her." she continued, feeling worried for Max as she was still recovering from her coma and needing some reassurance. At this point, Max is stable and can walk on her own, but it's better for her to still have some extra security on the other hand.
Nancy paired others up too. Dustin with Lucas, her with Robin, Hopper and Joyce, and...
"Will, you'll go with Mike."