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The silence ripped through the group like a chill. The space where the gate —where El—had been, was now nothing more than rubble and debris of the Hawkins public library.
Mike shook in silent grief as the soldiers on his flanks took hold of his arms once more. He was turned around to witness the pure devastation on everyone’s face.
Hopper was on his knees, sobs wracking his huge frame, mourning his daughter. Lucas and Dustin sat on the floor clinging to one another, their faces stony and horrified. The older kids: Johnathan, Nancy, Steve and Robin, stood infront of the ambushed truck, in paralysing distress, shielding the twelve young children who stood in terrified silence, clinging to one another. Joyce fell back into the arms of the soldiers, a look of anguish overcoming her small figure at the sight of her honorary daughter’s death.
Finally, he saw Will. The boy was shaking subtly as tears streamed down his face, his face a mask a grief and pain as he stared aimlessly at the spot where Eleven had once been.
Dr. Kay stood from where she had been knocked to the floor and began barking orders to her remaining men. Mike watched as everyone was rounded up and moved by brutish soldiers, however he couldn’t find it in himself to fight and simply allowed the men to lead him away.
When the ringing in Mike’s ears finally subsided, he took in the blank room he had been placed in, the bare, grimy bed and toilet filled him with unease.
Questions suddenly filled his mind. Why was he here? What do the military want with him? Was everyone else okay? Was El really dead? Where was Will?
The thunk of the heavy door opening pulled him from his worries. “What’s going on? What do you want!”, Mike sounded less stern than he wanted to, his lip wobbling. The soldier at the entrance simply entered, grabbing Mike’s collar and pulling him to his feet. “Who are you? Where am I? W-What are you going to do?”, Mike’s brave persona clicked into place as he berated the man, a facade of calm and collectiveness. No answers again.
He resigned himself to taking in his surroundings, the fluorescent lights in the cramped hallway revealed nothing to him. He saw rows of metal door, grimy and dirty with a slot in the centre, possibly for food to be passed through.
Before he could ask more useless questions, he was roughly shoved into a small interrogation room. He was pushed into a small chair and swiftly handcuffed and tied to the metal furniture.
“What do you bastards want.” Again, there was no response, the soldier shot Mike a sly grin before leaving the room. He turned and twisted in his bondage, hoping to break free, with no results. He resigned to observing the room. It was quite boring, blank white walls, a floor of simple linoleum and a mirror on the wall to his left.
The only thing of interest was the presence of a second chair, similar to his own, with handcuffs and rope, ready for someone else. His curiosity and subsequent fear of who would join him was extinguished as the door opened again.
A different soldier entered, dragging in Will. “Will! Are you okay?” Mike blurted out the questions to the other boy as he was also bound to the other chair. Will turned to Mike, a quiet, unconvincing smile on his face,” I’m fine, Mike.”
The taller boy quickly took in Will’s scratched and soiled face and his large, sad eyes. “We’re going to be okay; it’ll all be okay.” Mike wasn’t quite sure if he was trying to convince himself or Will, but the smaller boy’s quiet nod eased his mind slightly.
“They’re gonna want to know where El is…” Will mumbled into the suffocatingly quiet room, “They want answers and they want her.” Mike thought for a moment before answering, “but we don’t know if she’s even alive let alone where she might be…” “They won’t care.” Will’s response sent an anticipatory shiver down Mike’s spine at the connotation.
“It will be okay; we’ll explain what Henry did and that we don’t know where El is and they’ll let us go.” Mike watched as Will slowly turned away from him. However, he didn’t miss the slow journey of a lone tear down the boy’s cheek. “Hey… it’s okay. If El is alive then she’s most definitely safe. We just have to… hope she might come back.”
Jesus, way to go Michael. That’s so convincing, telling a miserable boy that his sister might be alive and might return some day. Alright Wheeler, time to man up. “Hey, Will. I know a lot has happened, and I haven’t been that good at checking in recently… but you can talk to me. There’s a lot we need to talk about, and we will, but we can get through this,” Mike took a deep breath before continuing, “I know that since Lenora you’ve been pissed at me, and rightfully so! You’ve been so brave these last few days, facing Vecna, coming out to everyone and going back to the Upside Down. Truth is… you’re so much braver than me.”
Will chuckled softly, “not true.” “It is!” Mike retorted. “After what you said, it made me start thinking - maybe too much - about the… past. Will I-.” Mike’s statement was cut off as Dr. Kay slammed open the metal door. “Hello, boys.”
“What the fuck do you want,” Mike spat.
“Careful now, boy. I want to know what you little shits did.” Dr. Kay sneered down at the two boys as she closed the door behind her.
“Ha! Like we’ll tell you!” Mike’s confidence quickly dissipated as Dr. Kay walked up to him, coming face to face with the 16-year-old. “If you care about your little friends, you will.” Mike’s eyes widened in fear, Holly.
Will spoke up beside him, “we’ll explain, but if you want to know where Eleven or Eight are, they’re gone and we’re not sure if they’re dead or alive.” Dr. Kay gave an acknowledgment in a slight nod in the brunette’s direction.
Mike and Will shared a glance in which they said both everything, and nothing. A silent message to go along to keep the others safe. So, Will proceeded to explain the past four year’s worth of experience and events to the cold doctor.
There were moments where Mike had to pick up as Will struggled to describe his personal experience with possession and being used by Vecna. Details were certainly held back, such as Will’s Hive-mind superpowers, but in order to make Dr. Kay free them, they had to tell her almost everything.
“And… then Eleven went back into the upside down as the Exotic matter was destroyed. We can’t be certain that she’s… dead, but it’s fairly certain that she is.” Will turned to wipe his teary eyes on his shoulder as Mike watched. “Well then, thank you for your cooperation boys,” Dr. Kay moved to leave.
“Wait! Does this mean we’re all free to go?” Mike’s hopeful question was met with a bitter laugh. “Leave? Of course not! You little brats killed my men and destroyed a government project, you’re never going to be rid of the consequences.” With that sickening statement, Dr. Kay left the small room.
Mike heard a small sniffle from beside him and turned to see Will hunched over in his restraints. He shook subtly and slow sobs and sniffs came from his as he fought to not be seen be Mike, a fairly impossible task given the state they were in.
“Will, hey don’t cry. We- we’ll figure something out, I’m sure.” Mike’s reassurance felt hollow and fake, even to him. Will slowly turned and Mike’s breath left him.
Despite his red eyes and scruffy appearance, Will looked tragically beautiful. Like a heartbroken actor, expertly orchestrated emotions lending to the feeling of sympathy and affection Mike felt looking at him. He hadn’t thought about Will in such a way in years. Emotions he had pushed down and covered, bubbling to the surface as he watched the boy’s lip quiver and fresh tears fall down his cheeks.
Stop, Michael. He quickly removed the thoughts from his mind in lieu of comforting Will. “Hey, it’s okay Will, t-there’s nothing to worry about. We’re going to be okay.”
Will shook his head solemnly before turning to the door. The large metal barrier soon opened and two soldiers entered, freeing him and Will before removing them from the room.
“It’s okay Will I promise,” Mike said as he was pushed back into the room he had began in, the barren room clearly for him to sleep in. Mike sighed, a bone tired and miserable sound, as he climbed onto the damp and moth-eaten mattress. He lay in the choking quiet, willing himself to be swallowed by unconsciousness.
Mike woke to pounding on the heavy metal door of his room. With no windows, he wasn’t sure what time it was, so he stumbled out of bed, still in his clothes from the battle, as the door swung open.
Dr. Kay stood in the entrance and personally grabbed Mike by the scruff, leading him away. He felt an exhaustion deep in his core, from the battle, losing El and the fear of what to happen.
He was brought to a new room and tied to another metal chair. He glared at the doctor’s smug face as she twisted the chair around for him to see-
Shit.
Will was sat on the opposite side of a panel of glass, tied to a chair and faced with a unit of a soldier, impossibly big and terrifyingly strong. Will stared at the man with pure hatred and disgust. “You’re going to tell me exactly what you left out yesterday. Because if you don’t… the little boy there will be in a lot of pain.” Dr. Kay purred in Mike’s ear as pure horror clutched his heart.
Before he could respond, or come up with a plan, the soldier raised his arm. He couldn’t hear the impact through the glass, but Mike felt it in his soul.
He watched as Will’s expression morphed from one of shock to that of pain. “What…”. Mike flinched in his seat as another strike was inflicted. “Stop it…”. Another. “Stop.” Another. “STOP!” Another. “I’LL TELL YOU JUST STOP IT!”
Dr. Kay pressed a button and told the man to stop. She moved until she faced Mike before lowering slowly to eye level. Tears streak down the boy’s face, when did that start?
“What we told you is true, but…”.
After an hour of Mike talking inbetween encouragement through Will’s suffering there was one last piece of the puzzle he couldn’t say.
Will’s powers.
If he tells Dr. Kay, he’ll be used for experiments. If he doesn’t tell her, Will could be beaten so bad that he might not make it. While Mike fought this internal battle he saw that Will kept saying something to the soldier, something he couldn’t make out but he was smiling in between hits.
“W-what’s he… saying?” Dr. Kay quirked an eyebrow bit hit a button, allowing them to hear the conversation occurring behind the glass.
“Ha! You call that a hit?” Will smirked cheekily. What is he doing? Another punch to his chest.
“C’mon buddy! My dad hit me harder than that when I was eight!” A chill ran through Mike’s blood.
Lonnie had hit him?
This hard?
He heard the smack as the soldier made contact with Will’s temple. “You know it takes a lot more than that to take me down. I survived a week in the Upside Side down when I was twelve! Longer than you and your friends who didn’t have to inhale spores while those things hunted you.” He took a shallow breath before spitting out some blood.
“I survived that. I survived being hunted, being attacked, being captured and used as a vessel. So sorry bud but you’ll have to hit harder than that!” He grinned wickedly at the soldier who turned, uncertain to the glass.
Mike screamed, throat scratching “WILL STOP. DON’T DO THAT, YOU’LL BE OKAY!” He was silenced with a sharp hit from Dr. Kay who spoke over the intercom once again “take him out.”
Mike watched as the soldier placed a final blow to Will’s head before the boy slumped over, unconscious. A fresh scream was ripped from Mike’s throat at the sight.
Tears streamed down his face and sobs wracked his frame. “He’ll be okay. Only if you tell me more.” Mike stared at Will’s crumpled form, pain blooming from his chest at the fear of losing someone else, someone else who he…
Will stirred slowly, his head lifting as his eyes locked on the soldier. Suddenly the soldier’s form began to float into the air as Will freed himself from his restraints, before standing with an arm outstretched.
With a simple movement the man’s limbs broke with a sickening crunch and his eyes disappeared, blood flowing from the sockets. His body suddenly hurtled towards the glass, breaking the barrier and hitting Dr. Kay at full force, knocking her to the ground.
Through the rain of glass, Mike turned to see Will calmly climb through the one-way mirror’s frame. His eyes were white, just as they’d been when he killed the demogorgans, frighteningly beautiful.
Dr. Kay shakily drew her gun, aiming it towards the new aggressor. Will quickly raised his arm, using his powers to paralyse the woman, lifting her slowly into the air as she struggled and feared for her life. “I can help you, boy. We could help the world, with your powers! We could-“
A disgusting snap cut her off as her limbs all broke. A cry of agony escaped her throat as her eyes imploded, blood moving like syrup down her face before her form crumpled to the floor, on top of the deceased soldier.
Immediately, Will’s eyes returned to their usual pretty, hazel colour. He slumped slightly, clinging to Mike’s chair for stability as he caught his breath.
“Will! Are you okay? Holy shit, how did you do that?” Mike due to his limited motion, tied to the chair, turned his head to look at Will, a slow flutter in his stomach after the display of power. “Yeah… m’okay”,
Will huffed before he began to free Mike. The tall boy rose to his feet unsteadily. He quickly turned, catching Will by his shirt, and pulling him into a tight embrace.
Mike felt the boy sigh into the hold, relaxing for a moment. They pulled apart after a beat, awkwardly standing infront of one another.
Will was the first to break the silence. “Alright we need to get everyone and get out of here,” he hopped back through the mirror frame and produced a gun that Mike hadn’t noticed, presumably the fallen soldier’s.
“Everyone should be close enough together if I’m right,” he bent down over Dr. Kay’s body as Mike caught up mentally.
“Wait what? If you’re right about what? Also, how on earth did you-“he was cut off as Will tosses Will a small revolver, Dr. Kay’s. “Stop asking questions please,” Will begged.
“I think the kids, the ones Vecna took, were let go, but all our friends are still here. They should all be in that corridor of doors, the one you and I came from. All we needed was this,” Will plucked a keycard off the dead soldier, “to get access.”
Will stood up to face Mike, a truly absurd sight before the taller boy, his best friend wielding a M16A2, looted ammo and a keycard.
“C’mon let’s go find everyone,” Will began to walk past Mike before he reached out and grabbed his sleeve.
“Wait. I-um,” he stared blankly at the boy before him, who he’d know since a child. Who he felt far too much for.
Man up Wheeler.
“I want to talk, before we… go out there. I should have said it before we went to fight Vecna but… I-I got scared. But now, I feel like I could maybe be brave like you…”
Mike swallowed nervously under Will’s attention. “I shouldn’t have ever dated Eleven. She didn’t know who she was when I kissed her. And I think that… might have been why I did it. She didn’t know it was wrong; she was the first girl who actually liked me, a-and didn’t think I was gross! I thought it was what I was meant to do. That if I did it that I would… fix… me.”
He glanced up nervously. “But nothing was wrong with me, I know that now. I’d just spent so long trying to ignore it and change myself that… I almost forgot it was a lie. I let myself believe it. And it wasn’t fair on El. It wasn’t fair on me and most of all it wasn’t fair on you.”
He looked at Will, took in the tears gathering in his eyes and realised his own had begun to spill. “I couldn’t understand how I felt and it hurt you, Will. But I’m sick of lying and pretending I don’t feel this way. I think why I couldn’t tell El I love her was because I would be saying it to the wrong person. Will, I love you. I have for so long but only let myself realise it now. I don’t want to be best friends, I want to be more.”
He reached out and took Will’s hand in his own, squeezing affectionately. “Will, I love you! And I think I always have…”
A quiet sob broke out of Will as he looked at Mike through watery eyes. Will’s hand reaching up to the side of Mike’s face, his thumb rubbing along his jaw.
“I loved you from the moment I met you Mike, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop.”
Twin smiles broke out on the two boys’ faces as they laughed quietly in their shared space. As the emotions died down, their eyes met hesitantly.
Mike’s eyes subtly flicked down to Will’s parted lips. He heard Will’s breath hitch as he moved closer until their lips finally crashed together. They moved in unison, lips sliding together as hands moved.
Mike’s hands landed on Will’s waist as Will’s wound their way into his hair and around his neck. After a moment they broke apart, taking short breathes as they stared into each other’s eyes.
A feeling of giddiness welled in Mike’s heart as he thumped his forehead to Will’s, exchanging air for a blissful minute.
“Okay, more than best friends,” Will whispered before taking Mike’s hand and exiting the small room.