No Surrender | Eddie Munson

Chapter Twenty-One: Remember

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: REMEMBER

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO — THE CLASH

This indecision's buggin' me
If you don't want me, set me free
Exactly whom I'm supposed to be
Don't you know which clothes even fit me?

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The others make a start on the shed, covering every surface until the place should be completely unrecognisable. I stay by Will on the couch, my hand gripped tightly in Joyce's. Each fleeting moment of eye contact, she does her best to form a reassuring smile but it doesn't come.

Finally, as Jonathan prepares his brother, I speak up, "You know, I could try something."

"Like what?"

I shrug, looking back to the boy in his arms. "I don't know if I can do it — I mean, I sorta tried it on a demodog before and I got this nasty scratch — but I could try to hijack him." Their attention snaps over to me, bewildered. I search for a better explanation, awkwardly shifting from foot to foot. "My powers are emotion based. If I can find some calm, focus on the symptoms or whatever... maybe I can transfer it to him. That way, Will won't be as scared."

Joyce's lips twitch into a weak grimace and she leans forwards, enveloping me in a tight embrace. The tension holding my body captive eases a little. I've missed this. "Thank you, Honey. Thank you so much."

"It's the least I could do."

My hold on her does not break, not even when we arrive at the shed and Jonathan sets him down on a chair. Strong ropes wrap around the boy's chest and arms, tying him to the support post behind him.

When I do finally let go, I walk right past Hopper and rest my hands on Will's shoulders. He sends me a pointed look. "Are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure."

A brief whiff of the ammonia-soaked cloth held under his nose and Will is awake. He squints up at the faces around us, weakly pulling against his restraints.

I take a deep breath in and exhale. My mind clears, pushing back all of the stress and fear until everything is blank and heavy — numb. The pounding in my ears gradually slows. I can feel the calm rippling through my veins, warm and soothing. It nears like the foamy tide ebbing and flowing up a beach. In the darkness, I can feel it start to grow until it surrounds me like an aura, travelling in streams of energy through my fingertips and into Will. Calm. Utter calm. My eyes open to the bright lights but they no longer hurt.

His movements still. "What is this? Why am I tied up?" he quietly asks, his words slightly slurred. I don't let up.

Carefully approaching, Joyce crouches in front of him. "Will, we just wanna talk to you. We're not gonna hurt you."

A pang of fear. The energy tries to smooth it over. "Where am I?"

Hopper joins her, holding up the drawing of the Mind Flayer for him to see. His hand comes down on Will's shoulder, on top of mine. A brief spark breaks through and he recoils. I close my eyes again, hoping to block out my surroundings. "You recognise this?" He tries again, more pronounced this time, "Do you recognise this?"

Slowly, very slowly, he shakes his head. His breathing picks up. I hush him, my fingers squeezing a little tighter but not enough to cause pain.

"Hey," Joyce sighs, "we wanna help you... but to do that, we have to understand how to kill it."

All of a sudden, the warmth fades a little and ice pricks my fingertips. "Why am I tied up?" the boy yells. "Why am I tied up? Why am I tied up? Why am I tied up? Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!"