The other Mayfield (Will Byers X Reader)

006. Thinking of her

~Will POV~

The tunnel pressed close around us, the low ceiling brushing the tops of our heads, flashlights scattering shaky halos along the dirt walls. Every step sent loose dirt crunching beneath our shoes, the sound louder than it should've been in the cramped space.

The air was damp and stale, heavy enough that it felt like it settled in my lungs every time I breathed in.

Lucas, Joyce, and Mike were somewhere ahead with the surveyor's wheel and breaking bar, their voices echoing faintly through the twisting tunnels.

Every so often, the metal wheel clicked against the ground, followed by a low murmur between them, like they were trying not to disturb something sleeping beneath the earth.

Behind them, Robin walked, her flashlight flickering slightly as she adjusted her grip. The beam bounced nervously along the walls, catching on roots that pushed through the dirt like veins, stretching across the ceiling and disappearing into darkness.

And I stayed at the very back.

I wasn't sure why.

Maybe it was because I kept slowing down without realizing.

Maybe it was because my mind wasn't here... not really.

I tightened my grip on the flashlight, my fingers cold despite the humid air. The beam shook slightly as I walked, and I forced myself to steady it, focusing on the narrow path ahead.

But all I could see was her.

Y/N.

The last time I'd seen her was at that horrible hospital. She'd been too still, too quiet, lying in that hospital bed like she was somewhere far away. Machines hummed softly around her, the steady beeping filling the room in a way that made my chest feel tight.

I remembered sitting beside her, my hand wrapped around hers, waiting for something, anything, a twitch, a squeeze, even just her breathing changing. But nothing happened.

She just... stayed like that.

And I didn't know if she could hear me.

I didn't know if she even knew I was there.

I didn't even know how comas worked.

If she was still... inside somewhere.
If she could hear me when I talked to her.
If she could feel me holding her hand.

Or if it was just nothing.

If she was stuck in her own body, trying to move, trying to open her eyes, and just... couldn't.

The thought made my chest tighten.

Because if she was still in there... then she was alone.

She hated being alone.

I remembered the way she'd always reach for my hand without thinking, like it was the most natural thing in the world. The way she'd lean into me when things got quiet, when the world felt too heavy.

And now I couldn't even be there with her. I didn't know if she was scared.

I didn't know if she was fighting.

I didn't even know if she was still... there.

I slowed again without realizing, my flashlight dipping toward the ground.

Ahead, the sound of the surveyor's wheel clicked again, echoing faintly.

I forced myself to keep moving.

I held onto the thought of her being with me as I walked deeper into the tunnel, the darkness pressing in around us.

Because right now... it was the only thing keeping me moving forward.