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

Too Fast

"We will," he said. "Me and Dustin and Lucas are going to look for him. You and Max can do what you want, but I feel like we specifically need to do this... you know?"

Jane paused, looking Mike in the eyes. She nodded eventually, relieving Mike since she understood. "I get it. Max and I will make up some sort of plan to get that thing out of him while you're gone... Are you leaving now?"

Mike looked to Lucas and Dustin, confirming their thoughts on the matter. They both nodded, if not somewhat reluctantly. "Yeah, we're leaving now."

"Good luck," Jane sighed, shaking her head. "Please bring him back... I'll... I'll try to contact him and make sure he's okay. I don't know if that's possible. I'll tell you if I find something wrong."

"Thank you," said Mike, giving Jane a tight hug. She was a wonderful friend, not to mention helpful. Mike had no idea where they'd be without her powers and quick wit. She'd come very far from when they first found her in the woods so many years ago.

Mike let go of Jane and motioned for Dustin and Lucas to follow him. There was no time to prepare or grab supplies. They needed to find Will now.

"Not even gonna let me grab a jacket?" Dustin grumbled as he climbed into the passenger seat of Mike's car. "I'm gonna catch hypothermia and then we're gonna have another problem."

"It's not even that cold," Mike argued, still shivering. He turned the car on and backed out of the driveway, no chance of getting warm layers from the house now.

"Don't lie to yourself," Dustin groaned. "It's raining ice water... God, at least turn the heater on!"

Mike gave in and took a second to turn up the temperature in the car. It made him think of after their demogorgon hunt, when Will had driven him and Jonathan home. Jonathan insisted they didn't turn on the heater. Mike's grip on the wheel tightened. He wanted it cold. He should've noticed earlier, then maybe everything could have been avoided. It was obvious looking back.

"I can't believe you're trying to kill us," Dustin said again, continuing to complain about the cold.

"Imagine what Will feels like," Mike snapped. "He's out in the rain somewhere and he doesn't even have a car. I bet he's doing so much worse than we are. That's why we need to find him."

"The Mind Flayer likes it cold!" Lucas argued, crossing his arms.

"But Will doesn't," said Mike quietly. "And here's there too. Here's there too." Mike stared ahead at the road, trying desperately to think of where the Mind Flayer would have gone. He had to be somewhere close to the direction he'd run, although he was pretty fast, so there was all the chance he wasn't. He could be anywhere. Maybe somewhere important to the Upside Down. Or maybe a place Will liked. Whatever it was, there had to be a way to find it. Mike was going to find Will. He was going to find him. He had to find him. He had to–

"AHHH, MIKE WHAT THE HELL!" Dustin shrieked, pointing at the deer standing in the road a few feet from the front of the car. Mike braced himself and slammed on the brakes as fast as he could, jolting his friends forward as they yelled profanities at him. The car skidded a few feet to the left, spinning slightly. When it stopped, Mike still has his hands on the wheel, breathing heavily.

"Sorry about that," he said, looking around to make sure his friends weren't injured. They only seemed shaken. "I guess I got lost in thought for a second, but we should get going. I-"

" Mike," Lucas said sternly. "Look, we all want to find Will just as much as you do, but seriously! You could've killed us! You have to calm down."