Byler- The Unwanted Return of Everything (And How It Finally Ends)

The Biggest Problem

Will stared blankly across the room, barely in the conversation anymore. "Yeah, definitely. He's awesome."

"Is everything okay?"

NO! Nothing's okay, mom! "Yeah, everything's fine. Thanks." Will got up and went over to give his mother a hug. "I love you."

She squeezed his hand. "You too, baby. Now go hang out with your friends so I can finish your lunch, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

Will left the kitchen, a million things running through his mind but he couldn't grasp a single one.

I think you should stay with him forever.

I was a dumb kid, Will.

I was black-out drunk, Will, believe me.

Like, are you getting-married-serious?

And he always had that god-awful drinking problem too.

You know who he reminds me of?

Try as he could, Will couldn't comprehend anything. He found himself holding onto the wall as he walked through the hallway, trying not to stumble.

You know who he reminds me of, Will? You really wanna know?

He heard voices in the living room. More specifically, he heard Brad. Brad was talking to Jane about some football game. He always talked about football. Will knew he liked it. He bet Brad couldn't name a single one of his hobbies.

You wanna know? Come on. You wanna know?

Was his vision blurring? Will wasn't even drunk anymore. What was going on with him? Why was everything so confusing?

YOU WANNA KNOW WHO HE REMINDS ME OF? It was a shriek in his brain, a sharp piercing. Worse than the Mind Flayer. He felt it everywhere. His chest, his head, his bruise.

YOU KNOW WHO HE REMINDS ME OF?

"Will? Are you okay?" That voice...

Your dad. He reminds me of Lonnie.

Everything went black.

Mike caught Will before his head hit the ground. He had been, ironically, looking for Will when he found him standing with his back arched in the hallway. Fingers trying desperately to grip onto wallpaper. Eyes wide and terrified. There was a slight scratch mark left over.

Mike wondered if it had something to do with one of his visions. But, of course, the visions didn't work like that, so Mike wasn't really sure what was going on. The best he could do was scoop up his limp friend and bring him to his room. He decided not to alert the entire household of the problem. Will didn't like attention anyway.

Mike walked quietly through the house, trying not to be heard by the two people in the next room: Jane and Brad. The last person Mike wanted to be involved in this was Brad. He walked into Will's old room, pushing the door open with his hip. Everything looked as it was when Will had used it last. He gently laid him out on the bed and checked his forehead for a temperature. Normal.

"Maybe you need water. Hold on, I'll be right back," Mike said to the unconscious boy. He left the room and went to the kitchen, filling up a glass of water beside Joyce, who was assembling a plate of sandwiches. It was a little late for lunch.

"Hello, Mike," she said. She looked over at him and studied as he got a glass and filled it up in the sink. "Hey, do you know if Will's alright? He came in here and he looked... unwell."