"MATERIAL GIRL" // Will Byers x Reader

He Knows //CHAPTER 18

LISTEN TO THE SOUND OF THE FOREST...AND OTHER THINGS

I gasp, the floor settling underneath me for a second time. 

My eyes open and I nearly collapse backwards onto the ground. A thin trail of blood stains the frotn of my shirt. I grab a tissue to blot at the remaining blood on my nose, most of which has already dried. 

'Y/N, are you okay?' Will asks, jumping down from the couch to study me. 'What happened?' 

'Yeah,' I say, locking eyes briefly with Max. 'I'm okay. And...it's kinda a long story. El's still in there?' 

'We can't get her to come out,' Mike says worriedly. 'Something's wrong. Weren't you in there with her?' 

'I was,' I say. 'But I think something's stopping her from leaving.' I turn to look at Will. 'How long was I there for?' 

'About fifteen minutes,' he says. 

I move closer to El, covering her hand with mine and closing my eyes. All I see is darkness, and not the usual kind. Not a single thought or vision pops into my head. I can't even get back into the Void. 

'It's not working,' I say, frowning. 

Mike places his hands on El's shoulders. 'El, can you hear me? El?' 

'Don't try to wake her up, Mike,' I say. 'That could be dangerous.' 

She remains rooted to the ground, her arms tensed and expression unfathomable. 

Then she jolts. 

Eleven rips of the blindfold, panting. Tears stream down her face and she instinctively leans back onto Mike, grabbing his arm. 

'It's okay,' Mike says, wrapping his arms around her. 'It's okay. You're okay.' 

She sniffles and I hand her a tissue. 'What happened in there?' 

Max gives her a glass of water. 

'I saw Billy,' I say, because El doesn't seem ready to talk yet. 'He told me that the Mind Flayer had taken control of him. And uh, he wanted me to tell you something,' I say, looking at Max. 

She blinks. 'What?' 

'He wanted me to tell you that he's sorry,' I say, sighing. 'He thinks he won't make it.' 

'Well, he will,' Max says, hiding her expression by turning to the side. 'He's going to make it.' 

'I saw Billy too,' El whispers. 'But it wasn't him. It was the Mind Flayer. He said he was building something.' She shakes her head. 'That it was all for me.' 

'Building something...' I trail off, thinking. 

'Is he talking about the flayed?' Mike raises his eyebrows, keeping his grip on El. 

I have to admit, he's pretty sweet with her. 

When he's not being a jealous prick. 

'He must be,' Will says. 

'So, he's building an army, just like we thought,' Nancy adds. 

'Yeah, but he's not building this army to spread,' Lucas says. 

'He's building it to stop Eleven and Y/N,' Max sighs. 

'Last year, they closed the gate on him. I have a feeling that really pissed him off,' Mike says. 

'Like, royally.' Lucas nods. 

'And the Mind Flayer now knows that they're the only thing that can stop him,' Nancy says. 

'But if they're both out of the way...' Jonathan looks at us. 

'Game over,' I blow out a long breath. 

'He also said he was gonna kill all of you,' El adds, sighing. 

'Yeah, well, that's nice,' Max huffs. 'Jesus, Billy..' she says under her breath. 

Nancy stands up suddenly, walking over to the window. 

'What is it?' I ask, turning my head to look at her. 

'Do you guys hear that?' Nancy leans forward towards the window, peering into the dark expanse of trees. 

'It's just the fireworks,' Will says uncertainly. 

'Billy...' Nancy turns back to face us, frowning. 'When he told you this, it was here, in this room?' 

Mike stares at his sister, listening intently. 

The sound is faint, but it's there. Coming from the other side of the woods, is a loud thumping noise, like a large animal walking. 

Will slowly brings his hand up to the back of his neck. 

'He knows we're here.'