Stranger Things One-shots :)

Memories and Fear

{Hawkins, Indiana. 1987}

Third Person POV:

Will's eyes widened in fear. No, not fear, terror.

"Don't move, or I'll gut your friend here," Vecna murmurs. Mike took in a shaky breath, eyes wide with nervousness. His arms, legs, and neck were all wrapped in vines, holding him against the wall. Vecna's long hand, his claws, were right in front of Mike's stomach, ready to tear him apart.

Eleven grit her teeth. The whole group had rushed in the moment they heard Mike's cry for help, caused by the scratch on his face.

More vines moved closer to Mike's face, and he choked on a gasp as the vine on his throat tightened.

"Let him go," Will says, eyes almost red with rage.

Vecna sighs. "Memories are strange things, aren't they?" He says, his voice echoing through the large escape. "If you lose your memories, you lose yourself."

A vine next to Mike's face slowly crawled up his temple. "No, shut up and let him go," Nancy says.

"If someone forcefully takes your memories," Vecna continues, moving his claw closer to Mike's face. The vine around Mike's neck tightens even closer, and Mike gags, struggling.

Eleven raises her hand, but Vecna glared at her, slowly pushing his claw in Mike's chest.

She immediately lowers her hand when Mike lets out a soft gasp, struggling more against the vines. But they wouldn't move, and the vine on his face slowly covers one of his eyes, moving toward the other.

"You become powerless, just like you all here," Vecna finishes.

Mike suddenly tenses, letting out a whimper over pain. Will takes a step forward, but Joyce's arm grabs him before he can rush to his friend.

"No! Stop!" Mike yells, shaking his head as best he can.

"Let him go!" Nancy says, clicking back the safety of the gun she was holding. But she didn't fire. One bullet couldn't kill Vecna, but one wrong move could kill Mike.

Vecna slowly sinks his claw into Mike's chest as the boy writhes around helplessly.

The vine covers Mike's other eyes, and the boy lets out a whine. Will flinches away, and Nancy has had enough. She aims the gun to Vecna's head, immediately pulling the trigger.

Multiple things happen at once after that, in this order:

Vecna shouts out in pain, pulling his hand to his head as if to block the attack from actually hurting him.

The vines around Mike move out of control, pulling him in separate directions until one finally gets the upper hand and throws Mike across the room. He lands in piles of more debris and vines, shaking and unconscious.

Nancy and Hopper move forward simultaneously to finish Vecna as Will and Lucas run over to Mike, pulling him away from the vines.

Will takes Mike's face in his hands, eyes desperate. The ravenette's eyes were white and rolled back, and his fingers and arms were twitching. "Mike! Wake up!" Will screams. Lucas shouts at the other group to get music or something, but that was unnecessary.

Because Mike's eyes rolled back to normal, droop and close. He slumps against Will's chest as the latter boy clutches onto him for dear life.

The building started shuddering, cracking and parts of it were falling down.

Will picks Mike up bridal style and stands up, running after Lucas as his friend directs the group around the debris and out of the house.

There was one last shout from Vecna, weak and not important.