LACUNA | WILL BYERS ¹ ✔

The Body - [Pt.1]

I woke up, and my pillow was soaked in tears.

I felt so weak and powerless.

My mom came in the room, with a tray of breakfast.

"Hey, sweetie... how are you feeling?"

"Never better," I said, sarcastically, my voice cracking.

"Your dad and I talked, and we agreed that you could stay home today... do you?"

"Yes, please." I said, sitting up in my bed.

"I'm going to go to work, and so is your dad, and the boys are going to school. You sure you're gonna be fine all alone?"

"Yeah," I replied.

"Okay. Love you." She said, and walked out.

I reached for my water and my pill.

What the hell is this pill even for? And why do I have to take it day and night? And why do I have to take it, and my brothers don't? I was literally in about second grade when I started taking these pills.

And my parents always told me that growing up, I was a really healthy child.

Anyways, that's not what's important right now.

Then, the walkie talkie started crackling.

"Lucas, do you copy?" I heard Mike say.

"Lucas come on, I know you're there!"

No answer.

"This is urgent, I'm serious."

No answer.

"I'm not gonna stop until you answer!"

Oh boy.

"Lucas."

No answer.

"Lucas!"

Still no answer.

"Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas--"

"Go away, Mike. I'm not in the mood, all right? Over and out--"

"No, no out. I'm not messing around, okay? This is about Will. Over."

"Will?" I said, knowing they heard me.

"What about Will?" Lucas asked. "You mean about his funeral? Over."

"No, not his funeral, screw his funeral!"

"What?" Me and Lucas jinxed.

"Just get over here stat. And bring Dustin. Over and out."

Oh, shit.

-Later-

Now we were sitting once again in Mike's glorious basement, and Mike claimed that El was somehow able to channel Will through the walkie talkie with her powers.

There was a whimpering on the other side, and I didn't know how to feel.

"We keep losing the signal, but you heard it, right?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, I heard a baby." Lucas replied.

"What?"

"Mike, you obviously tapped into a baby monitor. It's probably the Blackburns' next door."

"Uh, did that sound like a baby to you?" Mike asked. "That was Will!"

"Mike..."

"Lucas, you don't understand. He spoke last night! Words! He was singing that weird song he loves, even El heard him!"

"Oh, well, if the weirdo heard him, then I guess--"

"Are you sure you're on the right channel?" Dustin butted in.

"I don't think it's about that. I think, somehow, she's channeling him."

"Like... like Professor X." Dustin referred.

"Yeah." I said.

"Are you actually believing this crap?" Lucas asked to us, annoyed.

"I don't know, I mean... Do you remember when Will fell off his bike and broke his finger? He sounded a lot like that."

"Did you guys not see what I saw? They pulled Will's body out of the water. He's dead!"

"If you couldn't already tell, Lucas, there's a ton, and I mean a TON of crazy shit already happening in this small town, like El! Right now, I'm just about ready to believe anything!" I shouted.

There was a pause in the air.

"Well, maybe it's his ghost. Maybe he's haunting us." Dustin innocently suggested.

"It's not his ghost." Mike said.

"So how do you know that?" Lucas asked.

"I just do!"

"Then what was in that water?"

"I don't know! All I know is Will is alive. Will is alive! He's out there somewhere. All we have to do is find him."

There was another pause in the air. El was fiddling with the buttons on the super comm.

"This isn't gonna work." Mike said. "We need to get El to a stronger radio."

"Mr. Clarke's Heathkit ham shack." Dustin suggested.

"Yeah," I said.

"The Heathkit's at school." Lucas said. "There is no way we're gonna get the weirdo in there without anyone noticing. I mean, look at her."

El looked so innocent.

We all then decided to help give her a makeover.

Mike was in charge of makeup.

Me, Dustin, and Lucas were in charge of finding clothes.

We were all fishing out random shit and costumes.

Dustin found a blonde medium-cut wavy wig, Lucas found a pink, frilly, long sleeve dress, and I found some socks with yellow and green stripes, and some blue shoes to go with it.

Dustin, like the goofball that he is, put the wig over his curly ass hair.

I laughed.

As we then waited for El to come out from changing, we were all chatting about a plan.

Then, I couldn't even tell that the same girl was coming out the door...

She looked so cute and pretty, oh my gosh.

"Wow," Lucas said.

"She looks--"

"Pretty," Mike said, in a way that I could define flirty... a dream like tone... "... good... you look pretty good..." He finished awkwardly. Me and the others gave each other a funky look.

"You look so good, El!" I complimented, as she looked in the mirror.

"Pretty," She murmured to herself with a smile. "Good," She finished.

Now, let's do this.