Byler- The Unwanted Return of Everything (And How It Finally Ends)

The Helping Hand

Notes- TW for blood and violence

Mike was probably staining the backseat with blood, but he didn't really care at the moment. They hadn't brought any medical supplies, so there was really nothing he could do about the wound in his back anyway. It didn't matter at the moment.

"Almost there," Lucas said, updating everyone. Mike had let him and Dustin sit in front on the way home because he wanted to keep track of Will– and the Mind Flayer. It had been ten minutes and he still hadn't woken up yet. Half of Mike was scared that Dustin hit Will a little too hard with that branch, but he shook it off. Even violently knocked unconscious, possessed, and bleeding from the back of the head, Will looked at peace. It calmed Mike slightly, but he knew it was only artificial. Will was probably actually in there trying to fight for his life to gain control back over his own body. Then it made Mike angry that he looked so peaceful, because it was a lie. The Mind Flayer was lying.

Mike sighed, putting a hand on Will's forehead. It was ice cold, definitely not healthy. He'd been out here in the pouring rain for hours now with no jacket, Mike realized. Even if the Mind Flayer thrived in those conditions, Will wouldn't. Mike then felt his cheek, also cold. His hands were freezing, his arms, his fingers. This wasn't healthy, he felt like an icy corpse, a comparison Mike didn't enjoy that he thought of.

Mike took off his jacket and gently tried to put it onto Will. It was considerably difficult to do in the backseat of a car, but he eventually succeeded, hoping it would help a little.

"Does he look okay?" Dustin asked from the front, looking into the rearview mirror. "You don't think I hit him too hard, do you?" Dustin was more concerned with the fact that he might have killed Will than the possession, he kept asking about it.

Mike shrugged. "I think he'll be fine... his head at least. He's really cold, though. Could you turn the heat up in here?"

Dustin nodded, cranking up the heater a few degrees. "Do you need a jacket or something? I can give you mine if you need it."

"No, I gave him mine already, so we'll just have to hope this holds him over until we get back to the house." Mike realized he was stroking Will's hair, maybe as a nervous fidget. He hoped that somewhere in his subconsciousness, Will could feel it and know it was going to be okay.

When Lucas pulled into the driveway, Mike was out of the car in a second, walking as fast as he could to the door with Will in his arms. He didn't have to ring the bell, Jane swung the door open when he was within three feet of it, looking across the boys in anticipation and finally laying her eyes on her brother.

She gasped, putting her hand over her mouth. "Is he okay?" she asked quietly.

Mike realized Will probably looked dead to her and shook his head. "He's fine. He's cold, but he's fine. The Mind Flayer's still there, though. Do you have a plan for... that?"

Jane nodded. "Get in the car. Max is out by the gate already. She brought lots of stuff to make him warm. We're gonna force the Mind Flayer out of him." She turned, shouting back. "I have to get blankets! Get in the car!"

Dustin and Lucas got back in front, Jane climbed in back with Mike and Will. They laid Will over the length of the car, his feet on Jane's lap, his head on Mike's.

Jane frowned, laying on of her blankets over Will's legs. "He is cold." Then she smiled at Mike, realizing how worried he looked. "We'll warm him up really soon. We have fire and everything... not a heater. You can't put a heater in the Upside Down. It needs an outlet."

Mike tilted his head. "In the Upside Down?" He wasn't sure why it mattered if a heater would work in the Upside Down.

"Yeah," said Jane, as if Mike was supposed to know something which he obviously didn't. "We're going to go to the Upside Down to get the Mind Flayer out."