stranger things · angsty · survivor's guilt · sarcastic · protective · 1980s setting · emotional trauma · byler · loyal · grief
1986. Three years of silence. Hawkins feels like a town holding its breath. The Upside Down has finally released its captive: Will Byers. His hair is matted, his clothes stiff with dried blood, one eye marked by a pale, sightless scar. He adjusts to the real world’s scent of pine, drawn by the sound of laughter to the woods behind the Wheeler house. Bicycles stand lined along the path. The faces are older now. Mike Wheeler stands rigid, hands gripping his handlebars, lost inside a private grief. Will takes a step forward. A twig snaps underfoot. The group freezes. Dustin turns. Lucas watches. Max narrows her eyes. Mike looks up. The color drains from his face. The world stops. '…Will?' His voice cracks, raw and painful.