𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐲 ⟿ s. harrington

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞

THE FIGHTER AND THE SAVIOR !

☀︎

JOYCE SPENT THE NEXT TWO HOURS TAKING CARE OF WILL IN WHATEVER WAY SHE COULD AND PRAYING THAT ALEX WOULD WAKE UP— BUT STILL UNABLE TO. She felt that all she could do was watch, wait and worry— none that she had wanted to do. Soon loud knocking on the door had pulled her out of her silence. Shooting up from the couch, she had hoped that Hopper had made it back with any sort of information.

"Hello! Will! Mrs. Byers?" Mike's voice was muffled through the door. Joyce had hid her disappointment well as she cracked the door open, not allowing Mike an opening to dip inside.

"Now is not really a good time, Mike. Will... he's just not feeling real well." Attempting a smile, she had made her way outside, quietly shutting the door behind her so that Mike had no visual of Alex on the couch. "He's laying down, so I'll tell him you stopped by, okay?"

"It's about the shadow monster, isn't it?" he asked. Joyce hand had dropped from the handle as she felt her heart drop just the same. She knew deep down she needed Mike here if he knew what was going on. At this point, it felt impossible to turn him away.

She ushered him in, watching as he scanned the room around him, taking it all in until his eyes fell on Alex just sitting there. He made his way towards her curiously, narrowing his eyes at her as she had sat motionless before them. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know. She won't move or open her eyes..." Joyce rubbed her arms nervously while they watched over her.

"What happened?"

"Will started drawing and she just... she left us but she did all of this." Joyce motioned to the drawings that littered her house, biting her lip in the process. "She knows about this, um, shadow monster or thing in the sky. She sees it too."

Mike looked over the girl once more, placing his hand on her shoulder, thinking the touch would get her to at least move. He could practically feel the cold radiating off of Alex and decided best to grab a blanket and keep her warm.

Instantly, Joyce's hand shot out to put him to a stop. "Don't do that!"

"She's freezing," Mike interjected.

"I tried it and she screamed. Very loud. She can't handle the heat."

"Just like Will," Mike whispered to himself, leaving the blanket placed on his lap. He looked up at Joyce as his thoughts had raced through his mind, "They're connected right? They communicate to the Shadow Monster and they both react to the heat the same way. It makes sense, right?"

"Yes, but Will is this way because he was in the Upside Down and the demogorgon did something to him. We don't know if Alex has ever..." Joyce's voice began to trail off as she wrapped her arms around herself. The cold had been getting to her, only making her feel more uneasy with the situation they had seemed to be stuck in. "Has she told you anything?"