Lost in Mind || Will Byers {DISCONTINUED}

|R4| - The Discovery

Mike stared at Dustin in confusion, his eyes furrowed as he shook his head.

"What are you talking about Mike? I don't have a sister."

---

[HAWKINS: EARLIER THIS MORNING]

"Go brush your teeth, Mike! You're going to be late!" Mrs. Wheeler pushed Mike towards the stairs as Nancy chuckled into her glass.

"I'm going, I'm going!" Mike rolled his eyes as he walked up the stairs and into the bathroom.

He could hear the television flicking between channels as he turned on the water. His dad put on the news as they ate breakfast. Mike ignored it, choosing to think about El and her last letter. The nerves in his system flared as he thought of how she always ended the letter. 

'With Love.'

He spat into the sink, before turning off the water and heading back downstairs. He froze at the landing, looking at his family who had frozen in place.

"Mom? Are you alright?" He asked, stepping closer and noticing her hazed-over eyes.

She blinked before she came back to life and smiled. "What did you say, Mike? I couldn't hear you."

He frowned as he turned to Nancy, who raised a brow at him.

"Nothing Mom. Just thought I saw something." He muttered before sitting down next to Nancy. "Has there been any news on YN? Dustin's been wanting to know."

Nancy frowned and shook her head. "Who's YN?"

Mike paused, turning towards her. "YN, you remember Dustin's sister?"

Nancy chuckled and shook her head. "Dustin doesn't have a sister Mike."

---

[HAWKINS: PRESENT TIME]

Zack held a tissue to his nose as he leaned his head back against the brick wall of the school building. He had done what they had wanted, and they haven't shown any proof that his brother was alive. He knew that his brother would cause trouble to make sure he was okay. He just hoped they hadn't killed him.

"Hey, new kid!"

Zack turned his head, watching with narrowed eyes as a man approached him wearing a denim jacket.

"Yeah?" Zack asked, raising his brow as they sat down beside him.

"I noticed the bloody tissue and the distant look, thought you could use some ice." He said, offering a bottle of water that had ice inside it.

Zack frowned and lifted the tissue off his nose. "Just a nose bleed, I didn't get punched."

The guy chuckled as he slowly took the bottle away, realizing his mistake. "Right-"

"But, I'll take it. Thanks." Zack said as he lifted his hand towards him. 

He smiled as he placed the bottle in his hand. "Names Eddie kid. You?"

Zack scoffed as he felt a tickle beneath his nose, lifting the napkin towards his nose again. "Zackery, but just Zack. Thanks."

Eddie nodded as he looked away, hearing the bell ringing. "Guess this snooze fest is about to begin. You alright to go to class?" 

Zack waved his hand and nodded. "I'll be fine-" He slowly stood up before nearly tumbling over, Eddie thankfully having caught him before he could fall. 

"I'll take ya to the nurse, you don't look too good," Eddie said as he lifted Zack's arm over his shoulder.

Zack blinked sluggishly as he felt lightheaded, his napkin falling out of his hand.

"Hey, Wheeler! A little help here!" He heard Eddie distantly call out before his vision faded to black.

---

JD coughed as he spat out what was left of his lunch.

"You lived like this? Lived in this, for how long?" He asked, sitting back down in front of YN.

YN sighed and leaned forward, towards the fire she had made. "I lived in this for two years, back when I was eleven years old. I had been kidnapped, and this was my only escape from them."

JD stared at her in horror before shaking his head. "What the hell."

YN hummed, fingers brushing the tips of the flames. "I should thank them for helping me get my powers working. It would've been difficult with everything that happened."

JD glanced at her, watching her play with the fire.

"It was my fault," he blurted out, rubbing his hands together. "That you were brought here."

YN fell quiet as she looked at him. "What do you-"

"I have powers, mind control. Not telekinesis, but the ability to make people do what I want them to do." JD rambled. "It was my fault your Mother crashed the car, I'm the reason you were brought to Russia."

YN stared at him in horror, and anger as she thought back to how happy she had been before her mother had called for her.

"But I had to do it!" His words broke through her thoughts, she looked at him again. "They were going to hurt my brother, Zack. They couldn't find out about his power, his real power. So I had to do what they told me to do."

They stared at each other, silence passing them. Her mind bounced between thoughts, her heart beating heavily in her chest.

"I forgive you." She whispered as she stood up, him following in suit. 

"Why?" He asked as she walked around the fire pit.

She paused next to him, sighing as she looked at him. "It wasn't your choice. You were doing it for your brother. I get that."

He sighed and nodded, but before he could say anything, her fist collided with his cheek. He stumbled back over the fallen log he had used as a bench, falling onto his back. He groaned as he lifted his hand to his face, looking back at her.

"Why'd you do that?"

She glared at him. "I may have forgiven you, but I was taken from what I loved. And I wanted to punch you for doing that."

He stared at her before sighing while nodding his head. "I guess I did deserve that. I'm sorry."

She sighed before leaning down, reaching her hand out. "Come on, we need to get moving. Those bat things will be back soon, and I'd prefer to not have a swarm following us again."

He grumbled but took her hand, going onto his feet again. "I think I prefer the bats over the mouth monster thing back in Russia."

"The what?"

---

Mike glared down at his notebook, his thoughts swarming as he theorized how the town had miraculously forgotten about YN Henderson.

His eyes drifted towards the empty seat in the next row, where Zack would be sitting. But he was absent, in the nurse's office for a bad nosebleed.

He figured that it wasn't such a long shot. The day he gets a nose bleed to the point he passes out, and the day the whole town forgets a person, makes him suspicious.

He tapped his pencil against his desk, looking back at Dustin for a moment before looking back at the teacher. He had made up his mind, deciding to question him the moment he could. He paused for a moment before his eyes widened and he glanced at Max who sat in the back. Max looked at him, a questioning look passing on her face. 

'Do you remember YN?' he quickly scribbled into his book, lifting it so she could read it.

'Who?' she mouthed before he felt his hope deflate. 

No one but him had remembered her.