Lost boys • Will Byers

8

Danny's POV

Even though they'd only been there for three days and four hours, the two boys felt like they'd been in those woods for years.

There was food everywhere, although Will cautioned against it. They drank the water from streams, but only if absolutely necessary.

Danny was getting angry.

"I understand, Dan, but it's not like we can eat any of this stuff. Who knows how toxic it is? If you were to eat it, you could die." Will said after Danny told him for the hundredth time that he was hungry.

"Who cares?" Danny exclaimed. "It wouldn't matter if I died here. I've practically given up anyway."

"I would. I'd care."

Hopper's POV

"Our working theory right now is that Will crashed his bike, he made his way over the quarry and, uh accidentally fell in. The earth must have given way. Joyce? Joyce? Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Hopper felt like he was talking to a wall. He might as well have been. Maybe it'd listen better.

"No. Whoever you found is not my boy. It's not Will." Joyce said.

"I— I don't believe that that's Danny either... Y-you know? He's not the type to run off exploring. The quarry? Doesn't s-sound like him." Pam Burton said, playing with her necklace.

Her ex-husband stood next to her, arms crossed, the same douchebag expression he'd been wearing since high school.

"Ladies—"

"No, you don't understand. I talked to him a half hour ago.
He was— He was here." Joyce went over to the cabinet and pulled out Christmas lights, the same ones that'd been hanging around her house. Pam watched her carefully.

"He was— He was talking with these." She held up the lights.

"Talking?" Hopper asked, hoping she wasn't serious.

"Uh-huh. One blink for yes, two for no. And— And, uh And then I made this so he could talk to me. 'Cause they were hiding from tha— that thing." All eyes were on Joyce as she blabbered on about the lights.

"The thing that came out of the wall? The thing that chased you? Is that what you think they're hiding from?"

"Yeah."

"Mom, come on, please. You've gotta stop this." Jonathan Byers stepped towards his mother, grabbing ahold of her. Charlie watched the exchange silently.

"No! It's after him! - He's in danger. We have to find him!"

"What exactly was this thing? It was some kind of animal, you said?" He asked.

"Uh, no, it was—"

"It was almost human, but it wasn't. It had these long arms and it didn't have a face, right?" Pam spoke up.

"It didn't have a face? Pam..." Hopper let out a sigh.

At that point, Jonathan had already left. Nobody really seemed bothered with him though.

Hopper took a deep breath before he spoke again. "After Sarah... I saw her, too. And I heard her. I didn't know what was real. And then I figured out that it was in my mind. And I had to pack all that away.
Otherwise, I was gonna fall down a hole that I couldn't get out of." He explained, hoping maybe she'd understand. That they'd both understand.

"No, you're you're talking about grief. This is different." Pam said meekly, practically hiding behind Al.

"I'm just saying that you—"

"No, I know what you're saying, Hop. I swear to you, I know what I saw. And I'm not crazy." Joyce said loudly.

"I'm not saying that you're crazy." Hopper said, growing impatient.

"No... you are. And I understand, but God, I need you to believe me. Please."

"Listen, I think you should go to the morgue tomorrow and see them for yourselves. It'll give you the answers that you need." He told the two women.

"But tonight..."

"Oh, God." Joyce mumbled. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He'd been in her shoes.

Pam sniffled, leaning towards Al.

"I want you to try to get some sleep— if you can."

Charlie's POV

Charlie laid in bed, wide awake. Soft sobs escaped his lips every few minutes, but he muffled them with his brother's pillow.

There was no way he'd be able to sleep.

Suddenly feeling sick, he went out into the hallway.

"— we need to think about the funeral."

Al was still arguing with his mom.

"We dont need anything! I just lost my son and I need time to think!"

He shut his eyes tightly then ran to the bathroom, emptying the contents of his stomach into the toilet.

"Charlie—" Al called, jogging to help him.

"Don't touch me..." Charlie choked out, resting his head on the cool floor. "Are you okay?" He asked Charlie.

"No..."

A part of him that was always full was now empty.

"He's— gone. He's my brother, but he's gone... I never treated him right either." Charlie whispered, staring at the ceiling. "It's my fault, Al. I went to bed without waiting for him." He suddenly let out a quiet sob, shaking on the floor.

"It's not your fault. You didn't kill him."

He didn't. But why did it hurt like he did.

Pam's POV

Needless to say, she didn't get much sleep that night.

Al was asleep next to her, snoring away as if their son hadn't just died. As if they weren't even divorced.

As if Charlie wasn't sobbing in the next room over.

She felt like an awful mother. Danny was dead, Charlie was probably feeling sad and neglected. How did she even live with herself?

When she sat up and got out of bed, Al woke up immediately. He always had been a light sleeper. "What's going on?" He asked groggily. "I'm going to get some water. Just go back to sleep."

He frowned, but shut his eyes and rolled over.

Pam walked through the hallway slowly, almost afraid she might step on something.

Danny had dropped his walkie-talkie earlier in the week and it seemed to shatter into a million pieces and parts. Because he was a lazy teenage boy, he'd never cleaned it up.

She knocked once on Charlie's door.

"What?" He asked quietly. "It's mom." She whispered. "Come in."

She shut the door behind her and walked over to the bed her son was laying on: Danny's bed.

"Are you okay?" She asked him. For a minute, she thought he'd fallen asleep, but she heard the soft sound of him shaking his head no.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She felt obligated to ask.

He shook his head again.

"Do you want me to leave?"

He was quiet. So quiet that she almost got up and left, thinking he'd cried himself to sleep.

Then, quiet as a mouse, he croaked out, "Stay." 

So she did.

Short chapter but I haven't published one in a while so I figured this would be a good filler.