THE TOWER ━ stranger things

05.

chapter five — scooper trooper and ahoy boy

JUNE 28, 1985

Will Byers was upset.

Irene figured that much as her black converse sloshed and squished mud underneath her as she followed behind him to the woods. The summer rain was coming down hard, pelting her skin as the two of them stopped in front of a small fort. Two panels of wood were nailed to the top: Home of Will the Wise: Castle Byers. And another one on the side that she couldn't catch in the dark. She would have smiled had Will been in a happier mood — had the entire atmosphere of the vision been different. But she felt the weight of his anger and sadness; it suffocated her.

The air was humid and Irene's clothes stuck to her body like glue, leaving no room for comfort as she followed Will into the fort. The moment felt too personal for her to be intruding on, but she knew if she was seeing it, it had to be important. She sat beside him while he tossed the comic book he was looking through to the side. He studied the entire fort and so did she; it seemed to her like a haven full of memories, from the Dungeons and Dragons guides tucked into little crevices to the fantasy-like drawings that hung on the wall. There was a dull ache that bloomed in her chest.

Her eyes scanned all around before falling back on to Will, thunder shook the ground as lightning lit up the fort. He reached for a picture; it was him, Mike, Lucas, and some other boy Irene wasn't familiar with. They were all wearing Ghostbusters costumes and she assumed it was a picture taken during a previous Halloween, she smiled sadly at the photo. They all looked so happy...so together.

"Stupid." Will whispered as he stared at the picture in his shaky hands, "So...stupid." He whimpered before angrily ripping it and throwing it to the ground. Irene stood and took a step back, watching the boy crumble in front of her. He ripped a drawing off the wall in his rage, muttering the same words over and over.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

His hands reached for an aluminum bat that was beside the cot, his cries filled Irene's ears. She watched him step out and stood stuck to her spot in the middle of the fortress. She didn't want to continue – she was overstepping too many boundaries. She hoped that maybe if she stood, she'd wake up.

Will's sobs broke her. He struck the fort, parts of the walls and ceiling were falling beside her as it continued to take blows. She still didn't wake up. She watched him destroy the safe haven, ripping it apart in deep anger and sadness. She sat with him on the muddy terrain, wishing nothing more than to give him a hug and show him someone was there.

And then suddenly the atmosphere shifted. Goosebumps ran along her arms as a cold wind blew across her neck – Will felt it too. A symphony of clicking sounds alerted the both of them; Irene looked to Will frantically as he reached for the back of his neck. She matched his actions and stood, watching as his eyes lingered toward the sea of trees.

"Will!" Two faint yells in the distance startled her but she instantly recognized the voices – Mike and Lucas. Her assumption was proven to be true when their faces came into view. She drew near them, hoping that they would clarify the noise from earlier.

Will turned slowly toward them and the words that fell from his lips made a piercing chill run up her spine, "He's back."

Irene woke with a gasp that punctured the cloak of silence looming over the Vasquez family home. She sat up and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm her racing pulse. A million questions ran through her mind as her eyes darted around her room. Who's back? Was that the same sound as the monster from my vision? Do they know the monster? Have they seen him before?