sh; it started with a cigarette

xix|two-man army.

I close my eyes tight, intaking deep labored breaths. I see Will in my head, sleeping in a hospital bed. Mike is slumped over in the chair next to the bed, half asleep. The faded image of them becomes clearer, surrounding me until I am a part of it. I stand inside the hospital room with the boys. 

"Will?" My voice echoes all around me. "What's wrong with him?" I ask Mike. Mike and Will do not respond. "Will?" I say again, louder this time. "WILL!" 

It feels as though someone has punched me in the chest. I'm thrown backward and sucked into a vortex that throws my body about like a ragdoll. I am thrust back into reality violently. My head spins and I stumble to regain composure by squatting to the ground. I feel around, utilizing the textures of the earth to anchor me. 

"Y/N, Jesus, are you okay?" Steve asks, gripping my shoulders. 

Dustin dashes towards us, a look of horror on his face. 

"Something's wrong with Will. I saw him," I pant. 

"Alright, take it easy, deep breaths. Shit, you're bleeding," Steve fumbles through his pockets, then looks up at Dustin. "Do you have a napkin or anything?" 

Dustin digs through his back pocket, pulling out a wadded-up handkerchief. He squats in front of me next to Steve and hands me the cloth. I shove the handkerchief under my bloody nose and hold it there. 

A screech ripples through the night, rattling me to the core. I shudder a bit. My hair is everywhere, sticking to my sweaty skin. My labored breathing blows rouge strands about. 

Steve moves to tuck the hair behind my ears, careful to be slow and not startle me. 

"We need to get out of here," Steve says quietly. I stare in the direction of the scream, knowing the monsters are near. They are headed somewhere, their screams linear in direction. 

"No," I pant. Steve cups my face with one of his hands. They are calloused, but I welcome the warmth. "They need us," I tell him. 

"Who?" Dustin asks. 

"Okay, calm down. C'mon," Steve huffs, pulling me up. He drapes one of my arms over his shoulders and Dustin holds onto my torso to steady me. Together the three of us hobble down the path. 

We creep closer to the lab, turning our flashlights off to avoid attracting attention. The cold, coupled with the visions, has plagued my body with an intense ache and fatigue. I force myself to continue moving, even though my vision begins to fade into black and my legs grow numb. I refuse to admit I'm not up for the challenge. 

I can do this. 

I'm the only one that can do this. 

"Are you sure they're here?" Max asks skeptically as we trudge through the forest. The sight of the lab begins to peek through the spaces between the trees.

"Yeah," I answer, trying not to sound breathless. "They're in there."

My ears ring. I silently will myself not to gag due to the overwhelming nausea that assaults me.

We stumble through the woods, out of the tree line, and towards a gravel road.

A voice shouts from a distance, but I'm too preoccupied to determine what they say. I focus on watching my feet and picking them up just enough, so I don't fall right on my face. I walk behind Steve, hopeful that if I fall forward, I'll land on him and soften the blow.

"STEVE?!" two familiar voices shout. This captures my attention. I sneak a look over Steve's shoulder to get a look at the new company.

"Y/N?!" Nancy and Jonathan shout again.

"Nancy?" Steve counters.

"Jonathan?" I add. 

"What are you doing here?" Nancy interrogates. 

"What are you doing here?" Steve retorts.

"Babysitting," my words barely come out of my tingling lips. I haphazardly gesture to the ever-growing gang of children we somehow ended up responsible for.

"You look like Hell, Y/N. What happened?" Jonathan expresses, face drooping with concern.

I shrug, unwilling to sacrifice the energy to explain.

"Something's got her powers going haywire," Dustin butts in, coming to my right side to prop me up. He wraps his small arms around my torso and hugs me tight.

"If she's weak, she can't be here. It's dangerous," Nancy says, her voice getting higher.

"I'm taking care of it, alright. Just calm down," Steve dismisses.

I don't want your help, I want to tell him. I don't want your protection.

But honestly, do I have a choice now? Am I willing to die this young over a grudge?

"Oh, you're taking care of it?" Nancy snipes. She crosses her arms and gives Steve a nasty glare. 

"We're looking for Mike and Will," Jonathan tells Dustin. "Have you seen them?"

Dustin frowns, looking at the lab. "They're in there," he says quietly, looking up at me. "she saw them." 

I feel tears brim my eyes. I wipe them with my thumbs, and my stomach flips inside out when a red liquid coats my fingers. I turn away from the group sharply, wiping furiously. But the blood keeps spilling, and it isn't long until Dustin notices and comes to my side. 

"What's wrong?" he asks quietly. 

"I'm... bleeding?" I stutter. 

"Shit," it comes out a little too loud. 

Nancy rushes over, using the sleeve of her jacket to wipe the blood off my face. 

My eyes burn furiously. 

Steve follows behind Nancy, offering the handkerchief Dustin gave him. She takes it from him, blotting what remains from my lash line. 

"I might've overdone it this time, Nance," I joke to lighten the mood. 

She gives a wide-toothed grin. "You think so?" the blood finally ceases. "What were you guys doing anyways?" 

"Babysitting," I groan. I look at the cuts and scrapes on my arms. "Aggressively." 

"They kicked the Demogorgon's ass!" Dustin shouts so suddenly that his prepubescent voice squeaks. "like a two-man army!" 

I laugh, sweeping my arm across his shoulders and pulling him to my side. I squeeze him lovingly. Nancy urges me to sit down, ushering me towards the booth and pushing me until I slide my back against it and plop onto the dirt. She takes a seat next to me, gesturing for me to lay my head on her shoulder. 

I lay limp against her, fighting sleep, images of Will and Mike in a white room tinkling through my mind.