𝟎𝟏𝟎 ᵐⁱᵏᵉ ʷʰᵉᵉˡᵉʳ ˣ ᵒᶜ

012

"AND WE CAN HELP WILL"

Will stood out on the field, his eyes were rolling into the back of his head and he was unresponsive. Mike and Delilah stood at either side of him.

Max, Dustin, Lucas and Joyce ran out of the building joining them.

"Mom" Delilah called out in a mixture of confusion and relief.

"We just found him like this. I think he's having another episode" Mike told her in worry.

"Sweetie, wake up! It's Mom. Will" Joyce shook her son's shoulder but he remained unresponsive.

Will made some choking noises before gasping for air and coming back.

Delilah, Joyce and Will were sat around the table. Joyce had tried convincing Delilah to go to her room but the girl was worried about her brother and stubbornly refused.

"I can't remember" Will stuttered.

Joyce sighed in frustration "I need you to try".

"I... I was on the field and then it... it all just went blank, and... and then you were there" he explained.

"Will, I need you to tell me the truth" she told him.

She got up for second grabbing a drawing on some tracing paper, Will's eyes widened in shock when he saw it "This shape, I saw it on the video tape from Halloween night. It's the same shape as your drawing".

"Doctor Owens is wrong" Delilah breathed "they're not flashbacks, they're real".

Joyce nodded "I think so, but i need the truth. Did you see this thing again on the field?".

"Yes" Will admitted.

"What is it?" Delilah asked.

"I don't know. It's almost more like a feeling" he told them.

"Like the one you had at the arcade?"

"Yes"

"What does it want?" Joyce questioned

"I don't know. It came for me, and I tried. I tried to make it go away. But it got me, Mom" Will looked at the floor his eyes going glassy with tears.

"Well, what does that mean?" Delilah looked at him with worry

"I felt it... everywhere. Everywhere. I... I still feel it" Will began to cry "I just want this to be over".

Joyce took her son's face in her hands and Delilah held his hand in her own.

"Listen. Look, look at me. I will never, ever let anything bad happen to you ever again. Whatever's going on in you, we're gonna fix it. I promise" Joyce told him.

"Stop being a baby and do it already" Mike told Lucas who was digging through the trash.

"This is so disgusting. Is this really necessary?" Max asked.

"What the hell's going on?" Dustin asked, joining them.

"What do you think? We're looking for Dart" Delilah asked him, she was still suspicious.

"Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to show up. After I drew the short straw. Real convenient" Lucas angrily eyed Dustin.

"You stink!" Max moved from Lucas' side to Dustin's making him smile at her.

"Hi, Max" he said happily.

"Hi?" She raised an eyebrow.

Mike turned to Delilah and asked her quietly "Where's Will?"

"He's.." she struggled for words "sick..kind of".

Mike looked at the girl confused and let her explain what had happened the night before.

"We need to talk. AV room. Right now" Mike told the others but stopped when he saw Max was following "Party members only".

"Come on, Mike" Dustin pleaded.

"No! This is non-negotiable" he shook his head.

"Will didn't want us to tell anyone, but on Halloween night he saw a sort of shadow in the sky" Mike explained.

"What kind of shadow?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know. But the camera he was using that night picked it up, enough that my mom could trace it" Delilah took over.

"And if Will really has True Sight... I mean, if he can really see into the Upside Down, he saw that
shadow again yesterday" Mike nodded.

"Can it hurt him? I mean, if this shadow thing isn't from our world..." Lucas asked.

"Well, if you're in another plane, you can't interact
with the material plane,so theoretically, no, the shadow can't hurt him" Dustin shrugged.

"Yeah, if that's even what's happening. This isn't D & D. This is real life" Mike sighed.

"So what do we do?" Dustin asked.

"We acquire more knowledge. I'll go to Will and Del's after school. See what's going on. You guys stay here and find Dart" Mike told them.

"Dart? What's he gotta do with this?" Dustin got defensive again.

"Will heard him in the Upside Down. I don't know how yet, but he's gotta be connected to all this. If we find Dart, maybe we can solve this thing" Mike explained and Dustin was in no position to argue.

"And we can help Will" Delilah agreed.