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Red mist. That’s all that Will saw surrounding him. Thunder rumbled in the distance like a hungry monster awaiting its next meal. All he could do was to stare aimlessly into the dark realm of the Upside Down. He thought he had escaped it, but alas he never truly left. This was his Hell one that he could never run from no matter how hard he tried.
Behind him, he could hear the dark rumbling of the native creatures, the Demogorgans, creeping up behind him. Here, he was a gazelle surrounded by hungry lions. Knowing he couldn’t fight back against the vile beings, all he could do was cry for help. Cry for someone to save him from this terrible fate. A dark, grizzly voice whispered into his mind, taunting him. “You did your best, but it was all futile in the end. You cannot fight something that is vastly superior. Good night, Host....”
Before the beasts could tear him to shreds, Will suddenly felt someone shaking him. Reality returned and the boy slowly opened his eyes to see his best friend, Mike Wheeler, shaking his shoulders lightly. A concerned look was engraved on his face as he spoke in the typical dramatic manner of a young preteen. “Will! Wake up! Wake up!”
Wiping the sleep from his eyes, Will sat up in his spot on the couch. “I’m awake. I’m awake, Mike.” He spoke groggily, still exhausted. After the events with the Demogorgan, the little friend group decided to have a sleepover to get the trauma off of their mind. They had promised to eat pizza and watch TV all night long, but they only got through two made for TV movies before they crashed. Dustin and Lucas slept on the floor, willing to give up the couch for WIll after everything he had been through. MIke, of course, slept in the recliner. This was his house after all.
Still, the boy was quite acute to his friend’s emotions and newly formed trauma, so he clearly knew Will was upset. Mike sighed softly and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. “Sorry, but you were crying in your sleep. It sounded like you were even saying my name.” Will looked at him with a befuddled look, raising an eyebrow in confusion. “I was crying in my sleep?” He asked with a much softer voice, which made Mike nod. “Yeah. Was it a nightmare?”
Will hesitated with his answer. He really didn’t want to. The poor boy already felt so defenseless and weak and admitting that he was suffering from nightmares would only make those negative feelings worse. So, he looked straight to the ground, not saying anything. Mike sighed and his shoulders slumped, scooting closer to Will. “Come on, Will. You can tell me. I’m not gonna make fun of you.”
Looking up at Mike, Will could feel a few tears welling up in his eyes. It all felt like yesterday. He nodded and spoke quietly, as if he didn’t want the world to know. “Y-Yeah….I’ve been having them for a while now.” His soft voice and seriousness told Mike that this was probably an every night occurrence. Mike’s face scrunched up with thought before continuing with another questions. “Does your mom know?”
Will shrugged, wrapping his arms around his knees, which were now at his chest. “I don’t know. I haven’t told her, but she’s probably figured it out.” Mike blinked for a moment, somewhat surprised, but not shocked. “Why haven’t you said anything? We’re here to help you, you know.”Will nodded his head, but didn’t dare to face Mike. “It’s just…I’ve always been seen as weak. I mean all I was in there was a victim to be saved. A damsel in distress. Of course I was the one taken….”
Hearing this made Mike’s heart drop. He knew that dealing with the aftermath would be incredibly difficult for Will to bear, but seeing him practically blame himself for what happened was heartbreaking. So, he put an arm around Will and sighed. “Weak? Please! You survived in there longer than most adults did. Besides, from what you told me, you did everything you could to fight off whatever took you. You couldn't have predicted what happened.”
Despite Mike’s encouragement, Will still didn’t face him, looking at the ground in shame. So, Mike added on something else. “You were strong to me, WIll.” The other boy finally returned the other’s gaze, a lone tear falling down his right cheek. “Really? I was strong to you?” A warm grin formed on Mike’s face as he nodded. “Of course! Not everyone can say they’ve survived going into an alternate dimension!” Finally, WIll smiled at Mike, a small, light-hearted one. “Yeah, I suppose that’s true. I just hope this won’t keep bugging me for the rest of my life.”
MIke shook his head as he grabbed the blanket that Will was using and wrapped it around the boy, a means of comfort. “I’m sure it won’t/ Even if whatever the thing was comes back….” Miles grinned as he raised his fist. “I’ll be by your side.” The smile on Will’s face grew at the encouragement, gently taking a hold of the blanket. “Thank you, MIke.” He said softly, making Mike nod. “Of course. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it. Now get some sleep. We’re gonna go to the arcade tomorrow.”
The thought of the arcade was promising for Will. Especially thinking about trying to beat Dragon’s Lair made the trip exhilarating. “Yeah. You’re right. I need some sleep.” With a firm pat to the back Mike stood up and turned back to the recliner. Then, he paused and turned back. “Just promise me that you’ll tell someone if you need help, okay?” A shy smile played on WIll’s lips as he nodded. “I promise, Mike. Good night.” Now feeling completely reassured about Will’s safety Mike walked back to the recliner. “Night, WIll.” With that, the two fell asleep, feeling more secure than they had been before.