Stranger Things: Beyond the Silver Rainbow

[14] (Mike)

When Nancy flew back to Nicole's house, an invisible string pulled Steve along behind her. Steve had a string too. It pulled Will. Will's string pulled Mike.

Mike wasn't quite ready for a sprint: a handful of strides revived his drowner's cough. As he waited for the fit to pass Will returned to him, a solid shadow muting the distant glow from the car. His hair was as shiny as ever, like laquered wood, his face white-blue in the moonlight. It was good to have him back. Would it ever be normal, that he was back?

"Are you okay?"

Mike would have answered but his throat caught in a weird way. He doubled over and put all his energy into hacking out what felt like the last drop.

Will patted him with a light hand. "You're n-not coughing up slugs too, are you?"

"Nuh-uh." Mike pushed Will's hand away. "No leeches here, just water from the pool. Inhaled some." He coughed and coughed.

"Why do you keep calling them leeches?"

"Because that's what they are." Mike spat onto the ground in finality, ordering the cough to go away and stay there. "Black blobby blood-clotty... leech-looking things."

"Uhm. You mean black bumpy yellow-spotty slug-looking things, right?"

"I definitely don't."

"You don't?"

Mike shook his head.

"Does it matter?" asked Will.

"I don't know. But we should probably tell my sister at some point. She's the―" Mike cut himself short, dismayed by what now seemed an inevitable horror. "She's kind of the DM. Today."

"No way. You're letting her boss you around?" Will was clearly thrilled by the scandal of it. "I'm gonna tell her you said that!" He ran, laughing, dragging the long dark wizard's robe of his bedspread over the frozen ground behind him, inviting Mike to give chase. Mike took him up on it even though he was pretty sure Will was bluffing. He limited himself to a jog at first, then sped up when he noticed Nancy sitting on the ground with Steve hovering over her.

Nancy was yanking at a cracked corner of the front porch's first step, trying to heave it from beneath the foot of the railing, which anchored it in place. Steve was decidedly not helping. He made a face: She's insane.

"What's up?" said Mike.

"I'm looking for stones." Nancy got up on her feet and, folding at the waist, pulled with all her might. "Big ones."