Don't Smile || Byler ||

{4} Reunited and It Feels So Good

Third Person POV:

The group was walking silently in the forest, watching out for the Smilies.

Nancy and Dustin were up from the others, with Holly in Nancy's arms asleep. Erica was walking close to the front. Lucas and Mike were a few feet behind the others, propping a loopy Will in between them.

Every new sound made the group pause to check if a Smilie was following them, before continuing.

"That's it, Will," Mike whispers, watching the boy wobbly put one foot in front of the other. "C'mon, we have to get to El's."

Lucas gives Mike a look, which the ravenette chooses to ignore.

Will huffed something under his breath. Mike shifted Will's weight on his shoulder slightly. "How long on the trip are we?" Mike asks to the front.

Nancy glances back, which makes Holly giggle. "Maybe three or four more minutes," She says. "Not far."

A large snap made the group stop. Mike turned around, making Lucas hold Will up, and scanned around their surroundings. It was light out since it was afternoon-ish, but there were a bunch of trees and bushes so it was hard to see.

"Sad children!" A yell came from behind them, making Mike gasp.

He turns back to everyone. "Run," He says, rushing back to Will and swinging the boy's arm over his shoulder.

"I don't think Will can run fast enough," Lucas says, helping Mike pull Will towards the direction the others ran. Mike bit his lip in frustration.

The boy in question was tripping over everything in his path, and was not running fast enough at all.

"Guys!" Dustin yells, running back to them. "I can carry him, c'mon!" He pulls Will up and starts carrying him in bridal style.

Lucas runs ahead of them to get to Erica, while Mike stays with Dustin as they run away from the Smilie behind them. Speaking of them, the person was getting closer to them each second, and yelling out for them again and again.

Mike ran as fast as he could without leaving Dustin and Will. He had no idea how close they were to Hopper's, or if they were even going in the right direction.

The person behind them was still shouting, and then grabbing onto Mike's shoulder, pulling him back. Mike let out a yelp of surprise, making Dustin turn and stare in horror. The Smilie grabbed onto Mike's throat from behind, and pulled him up by his throat. They started choking Mike, making him cough and try to breathe.

"Mike!" Lucas's voice screamed.

The ravenette started feeling woozy, and he felt like he was about to faint when a loud yell followed by the release of the Smilie's grip on Mike's throat stopped him.

He fell to the ground on his hands and knees, coughing and holding his throat.

"Wheeler!" Someone yelled, rushing over to him. "Wheeler, get up! Come on!"

Someone grabbed onto Mike's shoulder and forearm, pulling him up and in a certain direction.

Mike finally opened his eyes and saw the person who was pulling him towards Hopper's cabin, thank gods they got to it, was none other than Steve Harrington. The nineteen year old practically swung Mike over and onto the porch before grabbing a baseball bat and attacking one of the Smilies.

"Mike! Are you okay?" Lucas rushed over to his friend with Eleven behind him.

The boy in question had wide eyes, and was blinking rapidly to get the stars out of his vision. He shakily grabbed onto Lucas's arm and stood up.

"Yeah," Mike said. "I'm.. okay."

"Okay," Lucas says, glancing out into the forest before pulling Mike into the house with El. "Dustin's inside with everyone else, and so is Will."

Mike nodded, but regretted it when it made his head spin.

Then none other than Joyce Byers ran up to him. "Oh!" She says, patting his face and checking him for injuries. "You're alright? That's good."

"Mrs. Byers?" Mike questioned. "You're here?"

The woman nodded. "Yes, Hopper picked me up from work, thankfully," She says. "And also Jonathan came here as well, with the fighting boy and his friends."

"Fighting boy?" Mike questioned again.

Lucas smiles. "Steve Harrington, Mrs. Byers," He says.

"Ah, yes, that boy," Joyce says with a warm smile. "Will is injured, do either of you know why?" She asks, worry on her face for her son.

"He was stuck at home with the Smilies and it got destroyed," Mike says. "He was behind a wall and it came down on him, and hit his head, so Nancy thinks he has a concussion." He finishes explaining, seeing Nancy in the corner of his eye talking with Jonathan, Robin, and two other teens he doesn't recognize.

Joyce nods, a worried but thoughtful look on her face.

"Nancy's taking care of him in El's room," Lucas says.

Steve finally comes back inside, followed by Hopper. They close the door and Steve places his baseball bat next to it.

"Alright, is everyone inside?" Hopper asks in his usual gruff but secretly caring voice.

The group looked around a moment before nodding. Hopper's eyes zeroed in on Mike, and walked toward him.

"The infected choked you," He notes.

Mike slowly nodded. The star in his vision finally had cleared, and he felt like he could stand up straight.

Hopper narrowed his eyes. "They haven't done that before," He says. "Strange."

"They set up more of their traps outside, so we have to be careful," Steve says, crossing over the room and standing next to one of the teenagers Mike doesn't recognize.

Lucas and Mike frown in unison. "What traps?" Lucas asks.

Steve's eyebrows raise in a skeptical look. "What do you mean 'what traps'?" He questions. "They're everywhere. Patches of glowing white whatever."

"We haven't seen them at all," Mike says, exchanging a glance with Lucas.

"How in the hell-" Steve rubs the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "I've given up on you guys and your dumbass luck."

Mike's frown deepens. "What do the traps do?" He asks.

"Turn," Hopper says.

Shock passes through both the boys. "Just like that?" Lucas questions.

"It's painful, obviously, and it takes a few minutes, but yes," Steve explains. "It traps you in place, so you can't get out," He purses his lips in thought.

"That sounds horrible," Lucas says.

Steve stares at him. "Trust me," He says. "It is."

<^> To Be Continued

(1k words)

wOw