Worlds Turned Upside Down: Will Byers x Reader

Chapter Five: The Shed of Dread

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The feeling of being scared is tiring. That's all that Will and (Y/N) have felt for the past hour. Blood is frozen in their veins. The hair on the napes of the necks are standing on end. Stones have piled in their throats, the threat of tears very present. They walk slowly and cautiously. Extremely cautiously. They prepare to take cover at the slightest of noises. Their fight or flight responses are active and they absolutely will choose the path of flight. The two clearly do not want to battle an eight foot tall monster.
The distorted version of Will's house reaches into the children's view. (Y/N) has the sudden urge to break down and cry. Roll up into a ball and sob her hardest. But, she can't and she knows it. Not in front of Will. Besides she can't be too loud, the monster could hear her and she could get them both killed.
This emotion was triggered by realization. This is Will's house but it isn't. So, her and Will really are gone. Lost. Trapped?
Will swallows hard, trying to move the boulder in his throat. No tears. He pulls at the arm of his dazed friend. Her feet seem to be glued to the ground. She looks at him with eyes full of sorrow. Will isn't sure how to cheer her up because he himself feels the same way. He can't bear the recognition that (Y/N) must feel so petrified. Therefore, he does the only thing he knows of that can really comfort a person without much consoling.
Will wraps his arms around (Y/N)'s, his chin rests on her shoulder. (Y/N) isn't sure where this gesture came from. But, she doesn't mind. She likes it. She returns the embrace and places her arms around Will's shoulders. The body heat from each other isn't much but it's somewhat soothing.
(Y/N) doesn't want to hold in her pain. Her shoulders start to heave up and down. Her cries before were just that, cries. These are sobs, born of pure pain and the awareness of the harsh truth. These tears are liquid agony. She tries to keep the wheezing of her breath silent but some gasps can be heard as she chokes on the sobs.
Will buries his face into her shoulder. The fabric of her sweater is soft and warm. He rubs his face back and forth on the fabric. It smells nice too. He rocks slightly. It was something his mom had done when he cried as a small child. Maybe it is an instinct for a mother to do this. An instinct to protect them. And right now, that is Will's job. To protect.
After a few, lengthy minutes, (Y/N)'s whimpering slows. The jolting of her shoulders stills and her breath becomes calmer. Will notices this and gradually releases his grip.
He looks down at (Y/N)'s face. Tear stains glitter down her cheeks. She looks up, bashfully, and manages to twist her lips into a smile of gratitude for Will. He returns this with a look of compassion that glows in his eyes. No words are needed to express their feelings in this moment. Looks are enough.
Will turns his head slightly to look at the shed. He nods his head towards it and the children make their way over.
It's extremely dark. Will is the first to peek over the side of the shed. He stays up against it as he turns the corner. (Y/N) follows smoothly behind him. Will pauses and puts his hand to the shed's door. It's open slightly because of the way they ran out of it earlier. Will builds up his courage and starts to walk over to look into the shed.
Suddenly, (Y/N) grabs his hand and joins him. She doesn't want Will to have to look into the shed by himself.
This motion startles Will for a split second. He looks back at his friend, fear is very evident on his face. However, this gesture causes his expression to soften. Will takes a deep breath. The children hold the edge of the door. It's wood is splintered slightly. Will tightens his grasp on the door and uses his arms to guide (Y/N) directly behind him.
Will exhales and he forcefully swings the door open. (Y/N) and Will prepare to run for their lives once again but to their pleasure, no monster is awaiting them in the shed. They both feel their muscles release a bit of tension and they creep their way into the shed. (Y/N) observes the scenery around her. Something is missing.
"Where's the gun?" (Y/N) asks Will. In Will's panic, he had dropped the gun in the shed before he and (Y/N) booked it for the woods. Now, there was no gun to be seen anywhere. Will goes pale.
"I-I don't know," his voice is very delicate. It sounds as if one more stressor could shatter him into a million pieces like a fragile China plate. (Y/N) didn't mean to make Will feel this way.
"Maybe it just," (Y/N) is trying to think of an explanation as to where the gun could have gone, "Maybe it's on the o-other side," (Y/N) trys to comfort Will with some kind of answer.
"Other side?" Will seems to be confused by how (Y/N) worded her last answer.
"Umm...yeah," (Y/N) swallows, her mouth is dry, she isn't the best at expressing what she wants to say. That's the reason why she doesn't raise her hand in school. That and she's painfully shy. "Well, I thought...we're here. Somewhere that looks like our world but it isn't our world," (Y/N) twists a strand of hair around her finger, a habit she's developed. She does this in situations of social anxiety or nervousness.
"Yeah, I understand," Will gets what (Y/N) is trying to say, "But, where is here?"
"I...I don't know," (Y/N) looks down to her shoes and knits her eyebrows together. She really has no clue where this place is.
Suddenly, there's a crash. As if something has fallen against the side of the house. The children's heads snap towards the noise. They go dead silent. Their brains are going a mile a minute. A shifting of the thin grass can be heard. Then, that familiar growl from before rumbles nearby.
Will and (Y/N)'s frightened eyes meet each other's. They cannot get trapped in this shed again. The two creep towards the door and glance out into the darkness.
An eight-foot tall shadow can be seen against the "Byer's house". The two shrink back into the shed.
"What do we do?" (Y/N) asks Will, who is looking at the ceiling as if that's where the answer will be written.
"We have to run," Will answers with certainty.
"What? What if we get caught?" (Y/N) raises her eyebrows, questioning Will's plan.
"We have to. We either maybe get caught out there or we definitely get trapped in here," Will is in an alarmed state of mind but he seems positive with his rationale. (Y/N) has a deep trust in her friend. She closes her eyes and nods. When she opens her eyes back up, a tear slips out. This could be the end. Why did they come back here? "Hey, we'll be okay," Will touches (Y/N)'s hand gently. He then boldly grasps it, "Ready, we'll go on three," (Y/N) nods again, afraid that more tears will escape her eyes if she speaks again.
"One," Will is focused on the shadow, his eyes are locked on the spot where the monster may appear. "Two," (Y/N) breathes in deeply, trying to gather as much oxygen as possible for the trip ahead of her. Will's eyes shift to the spot where he plans for him and (Y/N) to escape past the monster to. Will takes a second to close his eyes and try to gain some composure. He could be leading his friend right into the mouth of the monster. He looks back at (Y/N), just in case it would be the last time he got to do so.
"Three."

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Hello readers! I appreciate every read and vote that I've gotten so far! Hopefully you're all engaged in the story, I love to make you all feel the pain of cliffhangers muahaha! I hope that you all have a great week! ~WoodCeiling xx

*THE CHARACTERS, THEME, AND SOME DIALOGUE BELONG TO STRANGER THINGS AND THE DUFFER BROTHERS*