THE PLAN WAS COMING TOGETHER.

The group had listened to what Mike had thought off, and now found themselves helping out in it.  Hopper had decided that using the backyard shed would be the best spot to try it out, as it was somewhere that Will rarely spent time in—somewhere that if they disguised it well enough, Will might not remember where he is.

So, that's exactly what Carla found herself doing.  After Hopper cleared out the shed entirely, leaving only blank wooden walls, he'd asked the three eldest—minus Jonathan, he'd stayed inside to help situate his brother—to cover the rest of the shed.  Their goal was to make as much of it as possible unrecognizable to Will.  Carla could see the loopholes in which this plan could fail—Will could  still recognize the shed, for one—but it was worth a shot anyway. This was the only plan that they had so far.

In silence, Carla helped Steve hang a black sheet on the wall to cover up the wooden walls, hiding the room even more from Will.  The Wheeler would stand with one foot on a step stool, giving her about a few more inches of height to better reach the top of the shed.   She was the taller twin, closer in height with Steve, which is why she'd been chosen to help him.   Nancy stood by the couple, sticking pieces of tape to the wood for them to use.

Noticing how uncomfortable the silence had become, Nancy spoke up, almost nervous to break the quietness.  "Hey...." Both Carla and Steve looked at her, the girl continuing to work as her sister spoke. "What you guys did, um, helping the kids....that was....really cool."  She gave a weak smile towards Steve.

"Yeah." Steve replied, stepping on the chair he'd gotten for himself a while back.  "Those shits are real trouble, y'know?"

Nancy went back to sticking tape, "Believe me, I know."  The silence fell over again, and after a moment, the Wheeler blurted out the question that had been roaming through her mind before she could stop herself. "Are you guys together?"

Steve didn't hesitate to reply, "Uh, yeah—"

"If that's okay with you...." Carla looked down at her sister.  Even if it really wasn't Nancy's decision on whether her and Steve dated, Carla would always make sure her sister was comfortable.   It was the least she could do.

"Okay with me? Why wouldn't that be okay with me?" Nancy raised a brow at her sister, sticking another piece of tape down.   It was obvious why the other Wheeler may feel weird about the couple—Nancy and Steve had just broken up, and he was with her sister—but was it really that much different then what happened a year beforehand?

If Carla could choose when to have this conversation, she would have waited for time alone with Nancy.  It was a necessary conversation, at least to Carla, which probably would have been better had before she even decided to start calling Steve her's, but it wasn't like she exactly had the time for it, did she?

So, she decided to state the obvious now, instead. "Not to state the obvious, but you two broke up a few days ago.  And, I don't want you to feel like I don't care about your feelings on the situation, Nance. If you'd rather us give you some time to adjust, or whatever....we don't have to get together so fast."

Nancy shook her head, "No, do what you want to do.  You don't have to worry about me, I've moved on.  No offense to you, Steve."

"None taken." Steve replied, nodding towards Carla afterwards, "As you can see, I've moved on too."

"So, there's nothing bad between us, right?" Nancy perked back up, giving a hopeful expression, as if she hoped her and Steve could get along after everything and try to forget about any bad blood in between them.  If it wasn't for the well being of themselves, it was for Carla—if she got with Steve, they'd be seeing each other more than enough times to still hold a grudge.

"Right." Steve slightly smiled back at her, before clicking the black sheet into place.   Watching as his girlfriend smiled at the interaction, he knew he'd made the right choice.  Whatever made Carla happy would work out just fine.

Carla didn't reply, she just continued stapling the black sheet onto the wood.  She didn't need to, the small smile on her face showed that she was indeed pleased with the two becoming at peace with one another.

As long as her sister and boyfriend could get along, everything could go more smoothly, which is just what Carla wanted in her and Steve's relationship.

The conversation must have given everyone else time to grab whatever they could find, because one after another, the kids entered the shed, beginning to tape whatever they'd found on to the shed walls, using the three taller teens for help.   Most of the pile consisted of cardboard and old newspapers, but there was some cloth and blankets in the mix too.  Anything that could cover worked.

With the help of everyone, it only took forty five minutes for everything to get fully set up.  A chair was set in the middle of the shed, another chair across from it.   Lights had been set up so they shone directly on the boy so he had no choice but to notice them.  This whole set-up reminded Carla of a crime documentary—but that wasn't really relevant, was it?

Now, all that was left was the boy himself; Will.

So, Carla made her way back inside, slowly making her way over to the unconscious boy on the couch.  He looked peaceful, but something was off about him, even if he was out of it.  His skin was the palest she'd seen it so far, bags drooped under her eyes.  He looked....dead, lifeless as he lied there on the couch.

Carla hated to see the boy she'd watched grow up, the boy she saw as a younger brother disappear like that.  He'd gone from a sweet, innocent, little boy to, well, a monster.  He could end up killing everyone in the home if something went wrong, if he somehow recognized the shed.

But, either way, Carla knelt down on the floor in front of the boy, a frown on her face. The Wheeler didn't care whether or not Will could hear her, or whether or not it was truly her Will or the Mind Flayer's version of him.  She just needed to let out a few words before everything went down, in case she never got to speak to the real Will again, in case this was indeed her final chance at connecting with whatever was left.

"Hey, Will." Carla whispered, trying her best to present a weak smile as if Will could sense it in his unconscious state of mind. "I know everything feels like shit right now, especially for you.  You don't deserve something like this to happen, whether or not you feel like it.  You should be playing D&D with your friends, enjoying the early stages of being a teenager, trying to survive eighth grade and whatever else comes with,  but instead you're lying on a couch with two different consciousnesses trying to tell you what to do."

She sighed, "Whether or not you can hear me, I just want you to know I believe in you.  I always have and always will.  I believe that you can fight against this creature taking over your mind.   Good always wins, and I know that the real you will come back....you have to try, okay?  Things are already messed up now that you're out of it and I don't know how things will end up if you don't come back.   We're gonna do whatever we can to help you, to get that thing out of you, Will.  I promise."

As if he'd been standing there the whole time—he very well could have been—Jonathan stepped into the room, hands shoved in his jean pockets.  He nodded towards his brother, "Let's get this over with."

Carla gave a short nod, and stoked her hand against Will's hair with another frown.  He felt cold—which was expected—and that caused her to feel even better about this idea.  This was a chance at saving him, at bringing the warmth back to him—metaphorically and literally.  "I'll leave you too it."

Jonathan narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean? You're coming in their with us."

"I wouldn't want to be in the way—"

The Byers boy shook his head, "No, Carla.  You're as much a sister to Will as I am his brother.  He needs you there."  The Wheeler decided it would be best not to argue with him; he had a point.  She'd been there for Will since he was born, really.  He probably saw her as a sister more than he did a friend; she was the closest thing he had to one.  If Will could choose, he'd want her there to help.

So, Carla followed after her friend, heading into the shed where everyone had dispersed.  Now, only Hopper, Mike and the Byers' family remained, everyone else had left.  Carla took a spot behind her brother, putting her hands on the boy's shoulders.  Usually, Mike would shrug her off, but he felt like a little comfort couldn't harm him.  At the moment, it felt rather nice.   Support was the one thing they could count on in uncertain times like this.

After getting approval from Joyce, Hopper poured Ammonia upon two cotton balls, placing the cotton right under Will's nose.  The moment he took a breath of the irritating gas, he let out a gasp and his eyes flew open.

The Byers' boy was silent for a few moments, brown eyes taking in all of his surroundings—the blinding lights and covered walls.  Will's silence was short lived, though, because after a moment, he began to stir, finally realizing his limited mobility. "What? What? What is this?"

When no one answered his question, his head began darting around, searching for where he was. He reiterated himself, thrusting forward as he tried to free himself from his binds. "Why am I tied up?"

At his urgent tone, Joyce knelt down in front of him, looking him straight in the eyes, trying to reach him. "Will, we just wanna talk to you.  We're not gonna hurt you."

Will ignored his mother's words and continued to make an attempt at finding out where he was, 'Where am I?"

Hopper came up beside Joyce, holding up his drawing of the Mind Flayer, "You recognize this?"  He asked again when he was met with silence, more authority in his voice. "Do you recognize this?"  The boy finally shook his head in a 'no'.

"Hey. We wanna help you. But to do that, we have to understand how to kill it—" Joyce didn't get a chance to finish her sentence as Will screamed in her face.

"Why am I tied up?!"

Despite the adults attempts at calming him down, Will screamed and kicked desperately in his chair, repeating the same sentence of, "Why am I tied up?" over and over again.   The lights began to flicker and Will's voice changed, as he demanded he was let go, causing Carla to put a hand over her mouth in shock.

This thing hadn't just taken Will over....it had totally transformed him into a monster of a boy.   If Carla was unsure about this plan before, she was a whole lot more confident in it now, knowing how bad it had become.

As Will continued to kick and scream, Mike grasped onto her, almost scared of what the boy he called his friend had become.  Jonathan was on the verge of tears beside her, as well as his mother, who still attempted to calm her son down. 

After a few more moments of screaming, the boy finally got exhausted from yelling and slowed down, leaning against Hopper's arm that had been wrapped around him to keep him in place.   As the man removed his arm, the room feel completely silent.

"Do you know what March 22nd is?" Joyce asked once Will had reserved to breathing heavily over yelling, eyes locked on his. "It's your birthday. Your birthday.  When you were eight, I gave you that huge box of crayons.  Do you remember that?  It was 120 colors.  And all your friends, they got you Star Wars toys, and Carla got you that Etch-A-Sketch, but all you wanted to do was draw with all your new colors."

Will's eyes stared directly at Joyce as she continued to speak, no emotion showing. "And you drew this big spaceship, but it wasn't from a movie. It was your spaceship.  A rainbow ship is what you called it.  And you must have used every color in the box. " Joyce's voice slightly broke, but a light smile came through as she recalled the memory, "I took that with me to Melvald's, and I put it up, and I told everyone who came in, 'my son drew this'.   And you were so embarrassed.  But I was so proud.  I was so, so proud."

Jonathan stepped up next, recalling the day their father left the house. "Do you remember the day Dad left? We stayed up all night building Castle Byers, just the way you drew it.  And it took so long because you were so bad at hammering. You'd miss the nail every time.  And then it started raining, but we stayed out there anyway.  We were both sick for like a week after that.  But we just had to finish it, didn't we? We just had to."

Carla watched as the boy's face softened with every story.  They were getting to him, slightly picking off the monster's exterior and reaching the real Will.  To help out more, Mike stepped away from his sister and closer to Will. 

"Do you remember the first day that we met?" Mike asked, a tear running down his cheek. "It was the first day of kindergarten.  I knew nobody.  I had no friends and I just felt so alone and so scared, but....I saw you on the swings, and you were alone, too. You were just swinging by yourself.  And I just walked up to you and asked. I asked if you wanted to be my friend.  And you said yes. It was the best thing I've ever done."

Will was on the verge of tears himself when Carla finally stepped forward, looking at the boy as she began to speak. "Do you remember the first day I came to your house? I mean, you were only three, so maybe not, but I still do."

Will's head snapped over to her, and she continued. "I was six, it was towards the end of my kindergarten year and Jonathan had just invited me over here. He was my first friend—my only friend, besides Nancy—so, I'd never been to anyone else's house before.  I was so nervous, I was scared that your mom wouldn't like me, or that I'd somehow say something wrong.  But, I was slightly excited to meet you.  Jonathan loved talking to me about you, and I'd wanted to meet you since day one.

"I remember walking through the door, Jonathan leading me in as if it was my house.  Your mom welcomed me in with a warm smile; she was glad her son had made a friend.  Then, I heard you.   You were in this cute overall outfit, and you were running over to us three with a bright smile.   Before I could even say anything, you'd latched on to me as if I wasn't a stranger.  You gave the best hug a three year old could give to me, welcomed me into your house without even realizing.  And I remember thinking then; I am going to love this kid."

"Then you ran away as if you hadn't even done anything, giggling as if it was the funniest thing you've ever done." Carla's smile didn't falter away, "I stayed at your house for another few hours, but you didn't show up again until my mom came to pick me up.  Before I left, you ran out with a drawing in your hand and gave it to me.  It was a whole bunch of scribbles, but it made me love you even more.  I'd known you for a mere hour, Will, but you'd already made me love you as much as I love my own brother." 

"I took that drawing home and I kept it.....it's still in my room now." Carla wiped a stray tear from her own eye, finishing her small memory.  It was silent again for a few moments before Joyce spoke again, looking at her son with a hopeful expression.

"Will, baby," Joyce muttered, voice slightly trembling at the memories of what her son used to be, of the sweet boy that he was before this Mind Flayer took him over, and destroyed him. "If you're in there, just please....please talk to us."  The boy's lip was trembling as he looked at his mother, fighting the urge to break. "Please, honey, please, can you do that for me? Please, I love you so much."

Slowly but surely, Will's face went from on the verge of tears to emotionless, as if the Mind Flayer had suddenly snapped back into control of the poor boy.  In a firm voice, he spoke three words. "Let me go."

All four of them sighed, disappointed that Will had snapped right back into the mindset he was in when they started.  Carla wiped a tear off her cheek again, a frown plastered on her face again.  The plan hadn't worked, and Will was still trapped deep down.  They'd only been able to slightly scrape the skin and their end goal was to puncture the heart.  

But, before anyone could comment, Hopper quickly noticed the repetitive tapping of Will's fingers against his chair.  Without another word, he led everyone back into the house.

He took a drawing from the wall, setting it on the counter as both parties—the group from the shed and those who'd waited inside—crowded around him, wondering what he'd found useful from the conversation with Will.

"What happened?" Dustin asked, standing behind the chief as he started to scribble onto the back side of the paper.

Hopper didn't look up from the sheet, "I think he's talking. Just not with words." As he spoke, he began to draw dashes and dots on to the sheet, dashes and dots that Carla recognized as Morse code.

Steve's eyes narrowed as he crossed around towards his girlfriend, "What is that?"

"Morse code." The four party members answered in unison.

Hopper translated the code, "H-E-R-E. Here."

Everything clicked in Carla's mind, and she spoke up with a hopeful expression plastered on her face. Whether or not he could vocally talk, he was making an attempt, just as Carla had asked of him. He was trying to ask for help. "He's still there. Will's making an attempt at communication." She paused a moment before continuing, "Maybe the memories are putting the Mind Flayer on pause....that's why Will disappeared when we stopped talking."

At her words, Jonathan was quick to grab his boombox and a cassette tape from his room, running back to the shed and pressing the play button. Should I Stay or Should I Go began to echo throughout the shed, and the Byers' was quick to recall the memory that went with it, "Do you remember the first time I played you this? Mom and Dad were both arguing in the next room. So I played you the mix tape I made you. And it was the first time you got into music. Real music."

As Jonathan spoke, Will's figures continued to tap against the chair. Hopper would closely inspect, sending the code through the walkie talkie so the teens inside could translate it into letters to—hopefully—spell something helpful out.

The plan indeed worked. Mike told a story about D&D, Joyce went on about Will's kindness and generosity when he gave a sad girl his toy, despite knowing he couldn't get another one. Carla took up time by retelling Will about the time he wanted to prank Jonathan with her, and how they'd ended up scaring the living shit out of him.

After memory after memory, they ended up getting nine letters—two words—out of Will.  Close Gate.

The sudden sound of a phone ringing—right after they'd figured out what the nine letters spelled out—caused Will to abruptly stop listening and quickly snap his head towards the direction of the house.

Shit.

The phone rang once again, and Will's eyes quickly rolled to the black of his head, his eyelids fluttering as he looked back and forth from underneath. Joyce tried to get him back, but Hopper was the one to state the obvious, "It knows.  It know's where we are."

Before Joyce could even grab the syringe, it was in Carla's fist.  She jabbed it into Will's arm, muttering a small, "I'm sorry." 

 The boy's head immediately slumped down, and he transferred back into an unconscious state. At least now the Mind Flayer couldn't see anything anymore.  But who knows how much he saw during the few minutes he had.

The three boys rushed outside to hear the screech of a monster echo throughout the woods.   Joyce and Carla gave each other a look, knowing exactly what that sound meant.  Jonathan rushed in to confirm that they were coming, but the two women had already begun untying Will's binds, rushing him inside with the help of the boys. Everyone else inside seemed to realize what had just happened too, because concern was laced within their expressions.  Their location had been revealed, the monsters were on their way.   

Hopper was the last inside, and began yelling at everyone to stay away from the windows.  As Max and Mike—who'd been leaning against the couch, looking outside—passed behind him towards the center, he held out one of the guns he'd been holding towards the elder Byers boy. "Do you know how to use this?"

Before Jonathan could fully answer, Nancy announces that she could, and Hopper didn't hesitate or question before tossing it to her with ease.  The Wheeler cocked the gun, aiming it at the window.  

Carla entered the middle of the room, a hand gun in her grasp—which she'd found in Joyce's bedroom safe.  It had always been there, but Carla was sure this was the one time it would come into use.

Taking a respective spot right in between her sister and Steve, she turned the safety off, aiming in the exact same spot as her sister.  Everyone was on the ready, palms sweaty, hearts beating faster than ever before.  This could be the end, and they all knew it. 

Carla didn't want to say goodbye to anyone, to look at anyone for what could be the last time. It didn't feel right and she couldn't really bring herself to do it. There wouldn't be enough time for her to say goodbye to everyone, to tell them what they meant in her life.

But, Steve must have felt slightly different, because he quickly pressed his lips with her temple, eyes screwed shut.  He wanted a final goodbye between the two, even if it was just him who did it.  At least she'd get to his final thoughts on her if they ended up dying.   So, he muttered against her hair, "I've always loved you, Carla."

Carla closed her eyes, trying to savor his words, the small show of affection if it was the last between the two.  Her and Steve had been so protective over each other, over their relationship, for nothing.  They were about to be ripped apart anyway.

"I love you." Carla replied in a whisper, hands gripping the gun even tighter than before.  Everyone then fell silent, the only sound being their hitched breathing, awaiting the moment the demogorgan's struck. 

After a moment of silence, there was a loud screech, causing everyone to jolt towards where the sound had come from.  Re-adjusting, Carla tried to take in breath, trying to calm down her anxiety as best she could.  The calmer she was, the easier fighting these monsters would be.

"What are they doing?" Nancy asks, though no one could give a correct answer.

There was another sudden movement—the bushes moving had gotten them more prepared this time—and everyone twisted back towards the doors, trying to be at best aim when this thing finally pounced.

Another sound is heard after, but this noise sounded more like a whimper, like the creatures were in pain, like they were getting attacked.  A few more screeches and whimpers follow before all goes silent, putting everyone on edge. 

That is until a demo-dog is flung right through the window, glass going everywhere as it limply lands on the floor.  Carla let out a yelp, as well as everyone else at the sudden noise, almost shooting at the wall at how much it had scared her.

As everyone slowly inched towards the creature—Hopper in the front, his gun aimed right at it in the case it jumped—Dustin let out a small exclaim, "Holy shit."

"Is it dead?" Max asks, getting a look at the still creature. To make sure it was indeed dead, Hopper pushed its head to the side, Carla cringing at the noise.  But, he was unable to answer her question, as the door began to creak, causing all heads to snap in it's direction.

As if someone was using magic, the lock on the door clicked undone, and the chains began to slowly slide out, causing everyone to hold up their weapons in defense.  

Let's say the last thing the group expected to see was Eleven in the doorway, the girl they'd thought to be dead for over a year now.

mara's misc

and with that, we now enter the last episode of s2!

i'm literally so excited to write for e9, like ahhh.  it's honestly one of my favorite episodes, it has so much action and iconic scenes involved.  based on the next episode, there's probably only 2-4 chapters and we're done, (i know i keep saying this, but it feels so odd to me to actually be finishing this....)

anyway, i like this chapter.  

also, i wrote the nancy/steve becoming "friends" again for the sake of stancy in s4.  i'm not about to have a love triangle between steve, nancy and carla bc no.  a) steve has picked carla, and it's going to stay her.  i'm not about to do this to my bby's ....

b) they're sisters, and that's just no.  steve can't keep hopping between them like that.   i started writing missing and somehow decided to make nancy and carla sisters, (which is kinda odd now that i realize it), but we're just gonna have to work it out.

hope you enjoyed <3 see you back with chapter fifteen!