Chapter Ten
🎲
Memories

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             Olivia, Joyce, Jonathan, Mike, and Hopper were gathered together in the shed, standing with anticipation in front of Will. He was tied up to the chair, with the blinding lights shining bright on him. They managed to cover up every nook and cranny of the shed so that the shadow monster wouldn't find where Will was. When Hopper woke Will up, he started screaming as the monster was inside of him. His screams were unbearable and agonizing to hear. It hurt Olivia to see this sweet and innocent boy she knew have a monster trapped inside of him.

            "Why am I tied up?" The small boy yelled, scanning his eyes around the room.

            Joyce kneeled in front of him and spoke in her calm tone. "Will, we just want to talk to you. We're not gonna hurt you."

            "Where am I?" Will shouted.

            Hopper pulled out the shadow monster that Will had drawn and showed it to him. "Do you recognize this?" Will shook his head no.

            "Hey," Joyce said soothingly. "We wanna help you. But to do that, we have to learn how to kill it."

            Will continued his yells which made the lights start to flicker. Olivia stepped over and put a tender hand on Joyce's shoulder. It wasn't her son.

            "Do you know what March 22nd is?" Joyce asked once Hopper was able to calm him down. When Will didn't respond, she continued to talk. "It's your birthday. Your birthday. When you turned eight, I gave you that huge box of crayons. Do you remember that?" She asked gently. She started recounting about a drawing of a spaceship he had done, and told him how proud she was to have him as a son.

            After Joyce finished, Jonathan took a step forward. "Do you remember the day dad left?" He shakily asked. "We stayed up all night building Castle Byers, just the way you drew it." As Jonathan told him about Castle Byers, Olivia tried her best to not break down in tears. She needed to stay strong.

            "Do you remember the first time that we met?" Mike added in. "It was the first day of kindergarten. I knew nobody. I had no friends and... I just felt so alone and so scared but I saw you on the swings and you were alone too. I asked if you wanted to be my friend, and you said yes. It was the best thing I've ever done." His voice broke.

            "When Dustin and I first moved here, we knew nobody." Olivia spoke up, wiping the tears on her cheeks. "Dustin had been struggling to make friends. But then, you came by our house to welcome us. You immediately let Dustin into your friend group with no hesitation. When I came to Dustin's first campaign, you had given me a drawing of my D&D character titled Princess Olivia. To this day, I still treasure it. I remember thinking that this was the sweetest boy I have ever met." She smiled softly as she told the memory.

            "Will, baby... if your in there, just please... please talk to us. Please honey please, can you do that for me? Please? I love you so much." Joyce begged. Will was trembling and his eyes were red. Olivia could tell that Will was still in there, that he was trying to resist the monster, but he couldn't.

            Will's expression suddenly became serious. "Let me go."

            Olivia sighed and wrapped her arms around Joyce. Hopper was looking at Will quizzical. "What is it, Hop?" Olivia asked, still sniffing. He scrambled back to the house with Olivia, Jonathan, and Joyce following behind him.

            "What happened?" Dustin questioned once they were all back inside.

            Hopper sat down on the table and everyone huddled around him. "I think he's talking, just not with words," He answered and scribbled something down on a piece of paper.

            "What is that?" Steve asked, standing next to Olivia.

            "Morse code," The kids chorused.

            When Hopper finished writing the code, it read:

H E R E

            "Will's still in there, he's talking to us." Hopper stated.

🎲🎲🎲

The group continued to share more fond memories as it seemed to be what was helping Will. Nancy was writing down the code as they went along. Back in the shed, Jonathan blasted Will's favorite song by the Clash. He was sitting across from him. "Do you remember the first time I played this?" He asked. "Mom and dad were arguing in the next room. So I played you the mixtape I made you. And it was the first time you got into music. Real music."

            Olivia was up next. "For my birthday last year, you got me a brand new set of paint brushes. Your mom told me you had saved up money to buy them. I still use them today," She recounted through more sniffs. She looked over at Joyce and the both laughed softly at the memory. "You are filled with so much purity and kindness that this world needs more of."

            After Mike and Joyce took their turn to share more memories, Will's eyes started to roll back and forth.

            "Hey, can you hear me?" Joyce asked worriedly.

            "It knows," Hopper acknowledged. "It knows where we are."

            "Oh shit, oh shit," Olivia said under her breath. She put her hands on her forehead in distress. Joyce quickly snatched the syringe to knock Will out again. In the distance, a low growl could be heard.

            "They're coming," Jonathan announced. Olivia rushed back inside the shed with Jonathan to help get Will out of the chair.

            "Hey," Olivia put her hand on Jonathan's to stop it from shaking. "We'll get through this. Will's going to be okay."

            Jonathan looked up at her and was comforted by his best friend. "Okay," He nodded, calming down a little.

            Back in the house, everyone had their weapons ready to go. Olivia and Dustin held on to each other, with Steve standing in front of them protectively. Olivia jumped out of fear when a Demo-dog crashed into the living room.

            Dustin stepped forward. "Holy shit," He breathed.

            "Is it dead?" Max wondered.

            Everyone turned their heads when they heard the door slowly creep open. However, instead of it being another demo-dog like they thought it would be, it was someone Olivia didn't think she would ever see again. She widened her eyes in shock. Lowering her gun, her lips turned upwards.

            Eleven.