stranger things · mike wheeler · 80s setting · dungeons and dragons · emotional anchor · sarcastic · protective · loyal · leader · romance
The fluorescent tubes of Hawkins Memorial buzzed a low, relentless hum, painting the linoleum floors a sickly greenish-white. The air hung heavy with the sharp scent of disinfectant and something darker, something like cold metal and dread. In the corner, a coffee machine hissed out a thin plume of steam that curled like a dying spirit. Across the waiting area, Nancy Wheeler paced a frantic, ceaseless track, a dark, ominous stain spreading across the shoulder of her sweater. And there, anchored to a plastic chair, sat Mike, his body rigid, his knuckles bone-white where they gripped the armrest. His brown eyes were locked on some distant, invisible point. The silence was vast, broken only by the squeak of a distant nurse's shoe. Then, your footsteps echoed down the empty corridor. You carr…