I, Will Byers, Am Not a Victim

Chapter 29: Redemption

    I came home to an empty house, which was a good thing. If school had called, my mother wouldn't have been there to answer the phone. Thankfully, they didn't follow up, and she never found out that I cut class. For once, something actually worked in my favor.

    I watched a little television, then worked on some of drawings as a distraction from my current social issues. I wanted a bigger distraction since I always found myself dwelling on it. After acouple of hours, I got that distraction, but maybe not the particular one I was looking for.

    The back of my neck began tingling. At first, I ignored it, realizing there was nothing I could do for anyone after what happened with El, but it got worse, and became increasingly difficult to ignore. I not only had that to contend with, but a dreadful feeling in the pit of my stomach. This wasn't concern for myself or my own well-being, but a feeling like somebody else might be in serious trouble.

    I walked out of the house, noticing that when I went in different directions, the tingling in my neck would get stronger or weaker. I was scared, of course, but I had to know more. I got on my bike, going wherever that feeling would take me. While I was riding it, and the sun was setting, I came to an awful realization: this was leading me to where El and I had found the portal. Every instinct I had was telling me to turn back, but I just couldn't do it. Somebody might be in trouble, and I might be the only person to help them. I tentatively pressed on.

    As it turns out, I was right. That feeling in my neck was stronger than ever when I got to the portal. Though I was hesitant to go inside last time, I dashed in as fast as I could. Maybe I was going crazy or stupid, or maybe my desire to help others made me feel brave in the moment, but I was in.

    I heard the sound of a female voice screaming, confirming my suspicions. I ran towards the voice, and saw a fully grown Demogorgonon top of a teenage girl, but not just any teenage girl, Eleven. That Demogorgon was not alone. In fact there were too many for me to count, but I was determined to do what I needed to do.

    Unlike last time, when I froze up, I quickly tapped into my powers, pushing the Demogorgon off of her and into the tree, hard. As I did that, it fell to the ground. I had no idea I had such strength, but there was no time to admire my handiwork. The others all came running towards the two of us. El had quickly looked back to see me, but that moment was short lived considering that we were in a lot of danger at that moment.

    She brushed her self off and faced the Demogorgons.

    "Stay back, Will," she said to me. "It's too dangerous." I heard her, but I wasn't about to listen. She was in danger, and I had no intention of sitting this one out. I used my powers to lift up several Demogorgons and slam them hard into the ground. I don't know if I killed them or not, but they weren't getting back up. El walked towards a couple of them, then used her powers to blow them up from the inside. I had never seen her do anything like that before, and I was impressed.

    The remaining creatures ran away, obviously scared from what they just saw. As I relished our victory, I saw El crash on the ground. Her right leg was bleeding, presumably from the fight, and she must have used practically all of her energy. I was tired, and my nose was bleeding, but I was not too tired to help her. I dashed over to her and lifted her head into my arms.

    "Will," she said weakly. "It's not... safe." As she said that, she passed out. Thankfully, she was still breathing. I needed to get both of us out of the Upside Down immediately, so I scooped her up and carried her in my arms. I was surprised that I was strong enough to do that. She's not a heavy person by any means, but I have never been all that strong before. I had never worked out, was very small for my age, and usually got picked last in gym class, but I had her in my arms, and was running towards the portal to the real world. Maybe it was adrenaline, but in that moment, I felt invincible.

    With her in my arms, we reached my bike. I had brought my backpack with me, so I sorted through it, searching for something to help her. I grabbed a water bottle, and sat down on the ground with her in my arms.

    "El, El," I said softly, trying to wake her up. After a few moments that felt like hours, her eyes fluttered open.

    "Will, it's not safe," she whispered to me, still out of it.

    "El, you're safe," I whispered back. "We got out. Here, drink this water." I opened the top of my water bottle, and gave it to her. After a couple of sips, she sat up, taking in everything that just happened.

    "You came back," she stated. "I told you, it's too dangerous. You could've gotten killed back there."

    "I know," I replied, taking in that possibility. "I felt it in my neck, and somehow, I knew that you were in trouble. I couldn't ignore it. I don't know why my powers worked this time, but I'm glad they did." She smiled back at me. I know she was a little annoyed because I did the exact opposite of what she told me to do, but it's kind of hard to be angry with someone who just saved your life.

       

"Hop on, El," I said after a brief, semi-awkward silence. "I'll take you home." She nodded as she got onto the back of my bike. I remembered how to get to Hopper's cabin, and had no trouble biking there. It was a long trip, but it wasn't a bad one. I had gotten my confidence back, and I saved El. For once, I wasn't the victim. I was the hero. Things weren't perfect, and I still had problems to deal with, but things were starting to look up.