Bound By Shadows 3 | Will Byers x Reader (Fem)

~ 30 ~

The air in Starcourt felt heavier than before, like the whole building was holding its breath. The flickering blue and pink lights above cast strange shapes over everyone's faces as we circled around the broken fountain.

Hopper sat with El leaned against him, her face pale and drawn, while Joyce crouched beside them, worry etched into every line on her face. 

Everyone else—Nancy, Jonathan, Mike, Lucas, Max, Will, Steve, Robin, Dustin, and Erica—stood scattered around in a rough ring. Dust and smoke still hung in the air, thick and sour.

For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Mike did.
"The Mind Flayer... it built this monster in Hawkins—to stop El and Y/N. To kill them and pave a way into our world."

The words came out quiet but sure, like he'd been holding them in for hours.

"And it almost did," Nancy added grimly. "That was just one tiny piece of it."

Hopper's brows furrowed. "How big is this thing?"

Murmurs followed.

"It's big," Jonathan said. "Thirty feet, at least."

"Yeah," Lucas added quickly, "it sorta destroyed your cabin. Sorry."

Steve rubbed his temple. "Okay, so just to be clear—this big fleshy spider thing that hurt El—it's some kind of gigantic... weapon?"

"Yes," Nancy confirmed.

"But instead of screws and metal, the Mind Flayer made its weapon with... melted people."

"Yes, exactly," Nancy said.

"Yeah, okay," Steve muttered, half-nervous laugh. "I—yeah, I'm just making sure."

Joyce looked up, voice shaking slightly. "Are we sure this thing is still out there? Still alive?"

"El beat the shit out of it, but, yeah," Max said softly. "It's still alive."

Will spoke, his tone steady. "But if we close the gate again—"

"We cut the brain off from the body," Max finished.

"And kill it," Lucas added. "Theoretically."

Silence settled again. The hum of a broken fluorescent bulb filled the gap.

Then Nancy looked toward Hopper and Joyce, expression tightening. "You guys need to know something. It's about Y/N."

I froze. "Nancy—"

She shook her head. "They need to hear it."

Joyce's eyes flicked between us. "Hear what?"

"The vortex," Jonathan said quietly.

Hopper's head snapped toward him. "The what?"

Joyce inhaled sharply, recognition dawning. "That thing from last year..."

"Yeah," Nancy said. "When Y/N was... infected. We all thought it disappeared when the gate closed. But it didn't."

Joyce turned to me, worried. "Y/N... is that true?"

I hesitated, every muscle in my body tightening. "It came back," I admitted, barely above a whisper.

Steve blinked. "Came back from where?"

"When she touched Billy," Mike said quickly, filling the gap.

Joyce's hand went through her hair. "Oh God."

"He's a host," Max added quietly, her voice small. "The Mind Flayer's using him."

I nodded, the memory clawing up my throat. "When he grabbed me... I felt it. That thing inside me—it woke up again. Like it recognized him. It only ever shows up when something connected to the Mind Flayer touches me."