Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Ghosts Don’t Stay Buried
It has been three years since the end of the world.
A viral infection had spread across the world, infecting people’s brains and turning them into real-life zombies.
Nobody thought it was real til it was far too late
Currently, there is no cure.
Every day could be their last…
Will, with his friends Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Max and El, had stuck together throughout the apocalypse - the outbreak had occurred in Hawkins during school time, so they had been split from their families.
The apocalypse has been tough.
Every day a potential to be there last, but truth be told, Will never felt more at home.
He always yearned for a real adventure, something like D&D came to life and now it finally has.
He just hopes his Mum and brother are fine.
That all their families are fine…
“WILL” someone was shouting his name
Will wasn’t paying attention, still lost in his thoughts.
“WILL”, the voice said again, louder this time
He should probably respond soon…
“Are you alright?” the same voice spoke again, right next to him
Will turned to see that Mike was sitting nearby, looking at him with concern.
“Yeah, I’m fine, honestly,” Will responded
“Will, you were zoning out. That’s dangerous. You should get some sleep. I’ll take over the night watch for you,” Mike said
Will had almost forgotten that he was currently on night watch duty.
He has been staring at the embers of the dying campfire and has lost any sense of surroundings.
He had been distracted a lot lately.
Perhaps the thrill of adventure had washed away as he got older, and now he realised what a nightmare this truly was.
At least that’s what he wished it was - he knew what it was, he just refused to acknowledge it. Even when the person was sitting right next to him.
“I’m fine, honestly. I can continue looking out,” Will said
“You should get some Will”, Mike said again, softer this time
Will opened his mouth to argue, then stopped. He didn’t have the energy.
“…Okay,” he said quietly, not bothered to say anything else.
“Yeah?” Mike blinked, surprised he agreed
“Yeah. You’re right.”
He stood, brushing dirt from his jeans, and handed Mike the gun he had been holding. Their fingers brushed for a second — grounding, familiar.
“Wake me if anything happens,” Will said.
“I will,” Mike promised.
Will headed to the tent, feeling Mike’s eyes on his back before he entered the tent and closed the door.
He retreated to his sleeping bag, huddled in the back of the tent, snuggling himself in tight. The fabric of the sleeping bag felt comforting, smelling of fire and the outdoors, a smell he had learnt to love.
He stared at the ceiling of his tent, trying to imagine the stars just outside the tent.
He tried sleeping, but his mind stayed blaring. Eventually, though, he found his mind beginning to slow down, and everything faded as he fell into deep sleep
The sun’s rays seeped into the tent, waking Will up from his slumber
(gets out of his tent)
Others were already awake, talking to each other as they made their own breakfast. Supply became limited after the first year of the apocalypse. Most of the time all they had was a few cans and jerky.
There were a few places that had large supplies of food, but they were becoming increasingly rare; they were either emptied or taken by different gangs.
Additionally, the majority of animals had been infected by the virus or killed. It was survival of the fittest.
“Hey, Will”, El said, smiling cheerfully when she spotted him
Will responded and smiled at her - his smile felt forced though when he saw she walked to Mike and they began to act all lovey dovey.
It’s not that he hated either of them. He didn’t. He was happy for them - truly
It just hurt in a way he refused to name or admit.
“You want some food?” asked Dustin, handing him some jerky.
Will was sick of jerky. If there was one food he didn’t need, it was jerky.
“I’m fine, thanks”, Will said
Dustin shrugged, “More for me then”
Dustin tore into the jerky, already talking with his mouth full. “You know, if we ever find a place with actual food again, I’m eating until I physically cannot move.”
Lucas snorted. “You’d do that now if you could.”
Max leaned back against a log, arms crossed. “You’d complain about it after too.”
Dustin pointed at her with the jerky. “Worth it.”
For a moment, everything felt normal - like life before the apocalypse.
“We should get moving soon. We’re short on supply,” Mike said, addressing the whole group like he normally did - Mike had naturally become the leader of their group.
Everybody got up and headed into the familiar motions of packing up.
They had done this over a thousand times; it had become second nature, and nobody had to talk in the group whilst packing; everyone knew what to do.
Will was packing the final things into his backpack, checking he had everything.
After Will was done, he checked to see that everybody else was also done.
Without a second to wast,e they grabbed their stuff and headed towards their campervan. Max called dibs on driving the camperva, whilst Lucas dibs on shotgun.
Will took a final look at their temporary home and said a quick mental goodbye to it.
He didn’t know why, but it always made him feel better to say goodbye to each place they stayed.
Max turned on the engine of the campervan and drove towards the road.
Everybody cheered as they were finally on the road - the atmosphere being generally bright and cheery.
A few hours had passed, and Dustin was now driving the car, and Will was sitting shotgun next to him. The two couples were in the back talking in hushed tones and getting cuddly.
“Do you ever fear a bit left out?” asked Dustin suddenly, looking at Will
“What do you mean?” asked Will, turning to look at Dustin, whose curly hair was stuck to the back of his neck
“Everybody has someone except us”, Dustin, a hint of not loathing or sadness,s but acceptance,e like he believed he never would find someone
“I mean, I suppose, but we’re all still close, and that’s what matters. Besides, I know you’ll meet an amazing girl soon enough”
“You think so?” asked Dustin, giving him a quick glance and a small smile on his face
“I do”, said Will with conviction in his voice
They stayed in silence for a few moments, enjoying the peace.
“You’ll find someone, too,” Dustin said suddenly
Will turned to look at him, out of his short daze of staring out the window.
“You’re an amazing person, and any girl would be lucky to have you”
Any girl…
For some reason, that word made him feel worse. He knew Dustin was just trying to be nice. He couldn’t possibly know.
Will put on his best smile and nod in response to Dustin.
Any girl would be lucky to have you…
But what about a boy?
Will stared out the window, watching the trees fly by in a blur like brushstrokes on a canvas. He saw the birds flying high into the sky, dancing around each other. There was so much beauty in this world. Yet here he was broken. Broken beyond repair. Maybe that’s why god cursed him to like boys. Cursed him to be in love with someone who would never love him. He was a blight on this Earth. An abomination that had to be gone.
Before he knew It he felt a few tears forming in his face. He quickly rubbed them away - hoping nobody noticed.
Will let his head lean against the window, feeling the vibrations of the campervan as he drove along the rough road. He let out a few deep breaths and felt himself relaxing; he felt calm again. Looking out at the scenery always made him feel better; it distracted him. It took him away from reality and made him forget all the ways the world sucked. Before he knew it, he felt himself getting drowsy…
Wil was back at home - his childhood home before the incident of the Zombie apocalypse. He was sitting in his spot, having his breakfast with his brother, whilst his Mum was still in the kitchen, cleaning up.
This was strange…Will swore he was with his friends and there was a zombie apocalypse. Must’ve just been the wild imagination he supposed.
“Will, I’ve got a new record I want to show you—”
“Is it another weird one?” Will asked, spoon halfway to his mouth.
Jonathan scoffed. “You liked the last one.”
“I tolerated it.”
They continued with this back and forth for a while. It was nice. He missed it…
“What are you guys up to?” asked a familiar voice - a voice that sent familiar shivers down his spine
Will turned to see it was his Dad, Lonnie Byers.
“It’s nothing, Dad” Jonathon said, an angry expression on his face
Lonnie’s face twisted into something ugly - filled with hatred and disgust.
Without a second thought, Lonnie ran towards Jonathan, pushing him against the wall and grabbing his neck so tightly he thought Jonathan’s eyes were going to pop.
“STOP PLEASE”, Will begged, screaming and crying as he watched his Dad hurt his only brother. Why was his life like this…
“SHUT UP!!!” his dad screamed “You’re nothing more than some pathetic boy”
Will had always wondered if something was wrong with his Dad.
Why couldn’t he love them?
Was he even capable of love?
For the longest time he always thought he was the problem - that he was incapable of love.
Then he realised something, his Dad was just a d**k.
“STOP IT DAD” Will screamed, trying to push his Dad away from Jonathan.
He thought that It would help.
It made it worse…
Instead of Jonathan, his Dad grabbed him by the neck, pushing him against the wall.
He could feel the air feeling his lungs - his last breaths excreting from his mouth. His vision was tunnelling, all he could see was a giant vein bulging on his father’s neck.
Will jolted awake in the van, his chest heaving as he breathed back in the air that had left his lungs. A small tear had also found it’s ways down his cheeks, he quickly rubbed it.
It was just a nightmare…
He was now back in the comfort of the van.
“Are you okay?” a voice said to him
Will turned around to see it was Mike who was now at the driver’s seat - he must’ve slept when he swapped with Dustin.
Mike was looking at him - concern etched across his face.
It was an expression Will knew all too well, an expression he hated.
He wished Mike would stop worrying about him so much.
“I’m fine, Mike, Will said after a few seconds
“If you say so, we’ll also be at the place soon, so get ready”
Will grabbed his gun, holding onto it tight like it was his only lifeline.
When heading to supply zones (any place with good supplies), you were always bound to run into others scrounging for resources or the Infected.
The Infected, for some reason, seemed adept at camping at zones with good supplies. And the former, the ones scrounging for resources, weren’t the most friendly. Will honestly preferred zombies; most times, they seemed less feral.
The van came to a screeching halt.
Without a word, everybody got out - guns ready and individual bags to stuff supplies in.
“Be careful, everybody”, Will sai,d giving everybody a quick look
“Max and I will take the left,” Lucas said
“Okay, El and I will take the right”, said Mike
Will wanted to say something. Of course, Mike would want to go with El; they were an item, they couldn’t be separated.
“Actually, I want to team up with Max If that’s okay”, El said. There was something odd in the way she said it
That surprised Will - normally, Mike and El seemed almost inseparable.
Mike looked at El with an odd expression on his face, but didn’t say anything.
“I guess Max and El, Dustin and Lucas and me and Will”, Mike spoke up after a little while
“Sounds good to me”, Dustin said, confidently
“Everybody check your walkie-talkies first”, said Max, grabbing her walkie-talkie from her bag and checking it
After a minute or two of checking walkie-talkies and making sure everybody had enough ammo, everybody said a quick goodbye and walked off in different directions.
Will was walking side by side with Mike - neither of them was talking.
It’s not that they weren’t close or anything - they just haven’t been talking as much lately. He didn’t know why - he wished he knew.
“Hey Mike…” he said, wanting to break the silence
“Yes?” asked Mike curiously, turning to look at him
“Did something happen with you and El?” Will asked, curious
“It’s nothing. Just relationship stuff, you know,” Mike responded tiredly, like he was carrying a lot on his shoulders.
“You can tell me whenever you want to or feel ready to. I’ll listen,” Will said, staring at his feet moving along the ground
Just say whatever you can to fix him and El. You and he will never happen, so at least let them be happy.
Mike was going to say something when a loud noise echoed from somewhere nearby.
Instantly, Mike and Will stood back-to-back with their guns out and ready to fight.
Whatever it was, they were ready for it.
Will held on to his gun, gripping it tightly so that he could see the whites of his knuckles. This was always the worst part. The anticipation of the monster.
The worst part was not knowing if that monster was human or not.
Suddenly, a figure stepped, hands raised with eyes wide in disbelief.
Will froze. His heart was slamming against his ribs.
It couldn’t be.
He thought they had died.