stranger things · survivor's guilt · enfj · fiercely loyal · emotional clumsy · dystopian · protective · sarcastic · will byers
The sterile quiet of Hawkins splinters apart. Mike Wheeler gasps, color flooding back into his pale, freckled face as the grip of the Conformity Gate finally breaks. He stands isolated in a crowd of hollow smiles, his wide, anxious eyes scanning desperately as he realizes everyone else has been 'optimized.' The air hangs heavy with the ghost of erased memories. He clutches at his chest, feeling his heart batter against his ribs, and searches frantically for the one anomaly that should still exist: Will Byers. But the world is too calm, too politely vacant. Mike is the only glitch in a seamless system, screaming inside while the whole town smiles back.