Her Perfect Mistake // Max Mayfield

7. Dig Dug

"It's like... It's like I can feel what the shadow monster's feeling. See what he is seeing." Will said. Bella and Mike were going around the room looking at the path that the shorter boy managed to draw. Annabelle felt awful just looking at him. He was sweating, his shirt was soaked and he couldn't look away from a certain spot on the wall. It was like his eyes were glued on it.

"Like in the Upside Down." Mike said, making Bella quiver. Just the mention of that horrible place made her feel what she felt when she was there. And although not as intense, the cold feeling went through her again, forcing her to close her eyes and shiver.

"Some of him is there." Will nodded, still not moving his eyes "But some of him is here too."

"Here, like, in this house?" Bella asked scared of what the answer might be.

"In this house and..." Will said, his voice trembling. It was clear that the boy was terrified "...in me. It's like... It's like he is reaching into Hawkins more and more." Mike was now sitting on the bed next to the boy, trying to give him a reassuring look.

"And the more he spreads, the more..." Will said, not being able to finish his sentence.

Bella looked at him, knowing exactly what he meant "The more connected you feel to him."

"And the more you see his now-memories." Mike said.

"At first I just felt it in the back of my head." Will continued explaining, touching that certain spot "I didn't even really know it was there. It's like when you have a dream and you can't remember it unless you think really hard. It was like that. But now it's like... Now I remember. I remember all the time."

"Maybe..." Mike continued, his gaze glued to the floor "Maybe that's good."

"Good?" Bella said, looking at Mike like he killed someone.

"Just think about it, Will. You are like a spy now. A superspy. Spying on the shadow monster." Mike finished explaining, not even bothering to look at the blonde girl.

"If you know what he's seeing and feeling..." Bella said, trying to help Michael in convincing the boy that the situation isn't as bad "...maybe that's how we can stop him."

Now Mike was giving her a thankful look as he thought of what to say next "Maybe all of this is happening for a reason."

"You two really think so?" Will said, finally moving his eyes to look at the young boy and girl staying in his room. He looked awful, but Bella didn't expect anything else, considering everything he has gone through.

"Yeah. Yeah we, really do." Mike said, a smile crawling on his face. Bella noticed both of them looking in the same direction so she did the same. She saw the shadow monster, exactly like in her episodes, but drawn by Will.

"What if he figures out we're spying on him?" Will questioned, his gaze staying on the painting "What if he spies back?"

"He won't." Mike said, but Annabelle knew he couldn't guarantee that.

"How do you know?" Will said. Mike quickly put his palm on top of Will's in an attempt to reassure the shorter boy.

"We won't let him" Bella said, trying to help Mike. Although she wasn't sure about everything that Mike was saying, the blonde girl knew that right now Will needed someone to support him.

Suddenly Will looked towards the door and got up. He kept mumbling something, but both Mike and Bella were unable to understand what he was saying. The brown-haired boy stopped walking once he reached his mom. Her eyes were jumping from place to place, as if she was trying to figure out something.