Byers Will Be Loved

The Portal

Will and Thomas hugged each other emotionally. One stroked the other's hair, and the other smoothed the other's back.

Will: "I'm so sorry Thomas! I'm so sorry for everything you've been through!"

Thomas: "No, it's fine, it's fine! I'm here, we're going to be fine!"  (Thomas wipes Will's tears away, even though he is crying too!)

Will: "Thanks Tom, thanks for caring about me! Now I know why I'm here, I know how much you need me!"

Thomas: "But one thing haunts me Will! I'm scared Will, scared!"

Will: "Hey, hey!"

Thomas: "That shadow took all of me! That thing left me feeling distressed, fragile. I was left alone with fear and panic!"

Will: "Hey, Hey! It's okay, you're not alone anymore! I'm here with you!"  (Will held Tom's face as he stared at him)

Thomas: "But Will, you have nothing to do with this!"

Will: "But I'm here, and I'm going to help you! There's something about Hawkins that haunts me, but it's not just Vecna! It's like I feel something is about to happen."  (Will spoke with tears in his eyes) "And despite everything, I feel that there is something wrong here too. But I'm staying, because I know you need me!"

A guy appeared running towards them. There were strange marks and symbols on his body. His hair was shaved like the character Eleven in the first season, but with the few hairs that were on his head, you could tell he was blond. His skin was sunburned. From the height the guy must have been around Will's age. He approached the two teenagers, snarled at them and fell to the ground. A small capsule appeared and released some shiny filaments that were attached to the subject's body. The capsule began to suck the strange energy that was in the subject, the symbols that were in his body disappeared, the object began to glow and turned into a portal. Thomas was stunned. He and Will could see what was on the other side of that portal. "I know this place!"

Will: "Do you know the place?"

Thomas: "More or less, that's where all my friends went before everything happened!"

Will: "Are they still there?"

Thomas: "In that dimension yes, but now they are other people, they have changed, evolved, they are happy! I thought that capsule would never reach me, well I never went after it!"

Will: "Really?"

Thomas: "The last time I saw this I ignored it! I was busy with other things"

Will: "So now's your chance, you can finally change your life like they did!"

Thomas: "Yes, I can!"  (Thomas was excited)

He fiddled with his smartwatch to prepare for a quick transport, when carelessly he fired a blue laser shot, closing the portal and destroying the capsule. The boy who was with him got up quickly. "No, no, what did you do? No one would ever ever pass up the opportunity to get out of here"

Thomas: "It was an accident, I forgot that my watch was programmed to reject this portal, I should have erased this programming earlier, I made a mistake! Now Will it's all over, I destroyed our only chance to escape the darkness, it's all my fault I'm sorry!"

The fellow stood looking at Will in bewilderment.  He couldn't believe that a character from the Netflix series was there in the flesh.

Will: "What are we going to do now Tom?"

Thomas: "Well first we have to ask Josh what exactly he's doing here!"

Josh: "Tom? So this is how you identify now?"

Thomas: "Always getting into trouble isn't Josh?"

Josh: "And you're always dealing with... (Josh paused, looked at Will and then turned back to Thomas) strange things" (Thomas gave Josh a hush sign)

Will: "You guys already know each other?"

Thomas: "Us? Ha yeah, Josh and I were classmates freshman year of high school, I needed to help him with a little something. Isn't it Josh?"

Josh: "Yes it is, thanks!"  (He spoke ironically)

The short-haired blonde told the two boys everything. Darkness began to attack that city. Several people were turned into creatures of darkness, others were killed. Josh was the last survivor of the small town. He was planning to escape to the countryside, but he was found by the darkness. He was being transformed into a creature of darkness. But the capsule found him. Whenever these capsules appear they need energy to open and release the portal. The strange energy that was in Josh served as a battery and Josh would be released anyway. The three boys were now in an abandoned village talking.

Josh: "You made a huge mistake destroying that Thomas portal, another opportunity like this is not going to come along!"

Thomas: "Okay, this evolution that everyone is looking for is just another illusion of the system to keep people in the matrix. It's not even a real evolution!"

Josh: "You're really weak, my father was always strict with me and demanded that I do my best both before going through the portal and after, and I just got along!"

Thomas: "Of course, that's why we found you with symbols on your body and totally out of your mind!"

Thomas noticed that Josh was wearing an engagement ring on his finger. "Finally you got over her!" Tom spoke.

Josh: "Yes, Barbara is her name!"  (Josh spoke looking at the ring with a smile on his face) "We started dating two years after I started working!"

Tom had his back against the wall with his arms crossed, apparently he was enjoying the conversation. "So you made it home?"

Josh: "Yes, I managed to get back after a girl with curly hair erased my family's memory with advanced technology." (The smile that was on Tom's face slowly disappeared) "Sorry, what am I supposed to thank you for?" Said Josh leaving the brunette thoughtful. Will noticed a tension between the two boys but preferred to keep quiet. Whatever was happening or will happen, the point was that Thomas had Will by his side now and could always count on him...

Night came, the three decided to stay in that village for a while. There was much to be done across the region. They camped in a two-story house, downstairs was the living room and kitchen, and upstairs were two bedrooms and a bathroom. Tom and Will were in a bedroom talking. It was already agreed between the two that Will would sleep on the bed and Thomas on a mattress next to the bed. Tom was sitting on the bed and Will was sitting on the mattress.

Thomas: "We can't stay in this village for long, the darkness won't take long to return in these parts and it's spreading fast in the whole region, soon it will be in everyone!"

Will: "What is this thing?"

Thomas: "My big new enemy. I can't deny that if I had taken precautions today and entered that portal we wouldn't have to go through this anymore! Only Josh but he's used to it!"

Will: "So you're reacting well to what happened today!"

Thomas: "Of course! I went through a bigger tribulation last year. Last year yes I found out what it's like to be afraid, to feel overwhelmed."

Tom looks into Will's eyes, takes his hand and says: "Hey! I know you miss home and everything is very strange for you. But it will be fine, soon you will be back with your mother, your friends, and your brother and sister!"

Will: "Thank you! I really miss Hawkins, but now I just want to help you! I... I care about you too!"

Thomas's eyes smile as much as his mouth, and he grips Will's hand tighter. The two are silent for a while. Tom realizes he's been holding the blonde's hand too long, so he lets go and says: "Well I'll let you sleep!" The two wished each other good night and went to bed.