PATIENT ZERO «1» Will Byers x Male Reader

-The Monster - PT. 2-

❗️TW: Vulgar insulting language, implied homophobia, and violence❗️
⚠️ - Start/End of triggering scene

Joyce and Hopper sat around the unfamiliar table. The room smelt like cigarette smoke mixed with old wood and dusty books, similar to a library. On the opposite side of the table was Becky Ives. The sister of Terry Ives was a wreck, much like the other 2 adults in the room, but she was their best start to finding out who exactly they had been searching for all this time.

"She was a part of some study in college."

Becky referred to her sister, who sat in the living room staring blankly at the noisy TV. The most Terry moved since they've been there was adjusting her head to face the TV, she hadn't spoken once.

"MK Ultra?"

"Yeah, that's the one. Was started in the '50s. By the time Terry got involved, it was supposed to be ramping down, but the drugs just got crazier. Messed her up good."

"This was the CIA that ran this?"

Hopper had been asking the most questions, Joyce could barely fathom what this woman was saying. Although, her mind has been all over the place for the past week, so this wasn't entirely out of the ordinary.
Becky smiled at Hopper's question, his attitude reminded her of her sister,

"You and Terry would've gotten along. 'The Man,' with a big capital 'M'. They'd pay a couple hundred bucks to people like my sister, give 'em drugs, psychedelics. LSD, mostly. And then they'd strip her naked and put her into these isolation tanks."

"Isolation tanks?"

Joyce spoke up,

"Yeah. These big bathtubs, basically, filled with salt water, so you can float around in there. You lose any sense of, uh, sense and feel nothing, see nothing. They wanted to expand the boundaries of the mind. I mean, it's not like they were forcing her to do any of this stuff. The thing is, though, she didn't know she was pregnant at the time."

"Jane."

Becky nodded her head, putting the cigarette in her mouth as the guests looked to each other. Joyce leaned forward slightly,

"Do you have any pictures of her? Of Jane?"

Becky looked between the two, a bit surprised they hadn't figured things out yet,

"I don't think you understand, Terry miscarried in the third trimester."

Hopper and Joyce exchanged looks. Becky sighed and got up from the table, motioning for the two to follow her. She led them through a hallway, opening a door and letting them inside. The room was filled with children's toys, a crib, a rocking chair, but with the pristine condition of the room, it was obvious no one had ever actually used this room.

"She keeps all of this up. Been doing it for 12 years." Becky stepped aside, leaning against the rocking chair as she let the two inspect the child's room, "Terry, uh, pretends like Jane is real, like she's gonna come home someday."

Joyce lightly spun the mobile that hung above the crib, a soft lullaby beginning to play,

"Says she's 'special.' Born with 'abilities.'"