PANIC HAD SET THROUGH THEM, running through the ER's halls frantically. Will on a stretcher, screams, sobs, and groans escaping his mouth as he's pushed by doctors. Joyce, Bob, Mariella, and Mike following after it.

They turn the corner, one of the doctors pressing the elevator button over and over while Will continues to scream. "It's okay, Sweetie. Just wait," Joyce coaxes, her hand on her mouth as her eyes fill with tears.

They hurry into the empty elevator and press the second floors button, bouncing on the balls of their feet as the elevator travels upwards. Hurrying out, they push the stretcher through the halls and into an empty room where more doctors and nurses stood.

Transferring him onto a bed, Bob pulls Joyce away so he can be inspected. The nurses and doctors bustling around, asking for his vitals and where it hurt.

"All over!" Will groans in response, head falling back in pain. Skin getting paler and hair drenched with sweat.

"She says he feels like he's burning. Check for burns," A man in a white lab coat instructs them, interns cutting at his shirt and ripping it off him.

"I don't see anything," A female doctor says, observing his body for anything that looked out of the ordinary. "Where does it hurt the most, Will?" She asks him, taking hold of his shoulders.

"Everywhere! Everywhere!" He screams, lifting his head up and slamming it back down against the pillow as a doctor administers a needle filled with liquid in his arm.

Joyce sobbing into her hand as Bob holds her tightly. Mariella leaned into Mike in a daze as they watch their best friend scream and cry.

"He was fine," Mariella whispers, head falling onto his chest watching Will calm down. "He was fine," She repeats, Mike hugging her, head leaned into her hair.

♧

They had fallen asleep. Again. In hospital chairs next to Will's bed. Mariella leaned over, head on an empty spot on the side of the bed, hand holding Will's and Mike passed out leaned back in the chair.

It was a dilemma. Joyce phoning the Wheelers and DeGray's explaining to them that they were at the hospital, that Will was taken in and that their children had fallen asleep at his bedside after refusing to call them to pick them up.

The DeGray's offered to pick up Mariella, insisting that it was okay if Joyce would like for Charlie to come pick both Mariella and Mike up so she could be alone with her son. Joyce saying that it was okay and that they were fast asleep and she wouldn't want to separate the three best friends after such a time. The same went for the Wheelers. Both families expressed their worries yet understood that their children would probably refuse to leave. And so, they left them.

Both Mike and Mariella wake up at the sound of loud bustling around the room,
Their heads looking up groggily, stretching their arms as they stared at Will who sat up awake.

"Okay, they're on their way," Bob says, coming back into Will's room faster calling for a doctor. Standing next to Joyce and smiling. "Hey,".

"Who is that?" Will asks, looking to his mom blankly before looking back at Bob.

"What?" Joyce says, tilting her head while Mariella and Mike look to each other, squinting and furrowing their eyebrows. 

Bob chuckles, "It's me, big guy. It's Bob," He responds, going to touch Will's hand. Will pulls it away abruptly.

"Are you a... doctor?" He asks slowly, looking down at the scrubs Bob wore.

"No. It's just me. Just... Just Bob," Bob explains, forming his lips into a line sadly.

They all look down at Will worriedly, eyes confused and brows furrowed while Will stares blankly back at them.

♧

Some time had passed since Will woke up, Mariella and Mike stood outside the room babbling to one another about whir busied minds.

"What if he never remembers anything else? Other than what he has now?" Mariella asks, rubbing the temple of her nose. Completely and utterly forgetting the one vital part of her diagram. It gets stronger when Will becomes weaker.

Mike shakes his head, "He will. Don't worry, I'm sure he will," He responds looking away from her face, unable to lie to her. Truth was, he wasn't sure.

Mariella sighs, taking Mike's hand and lacing their fingers nervously. Mike turning to look at her once again. They stood like that for a moment, staring at each other with their fingers laced before Mariella's eyes widen.

"Oh gosh! Lucas and Dustin don't know," She says, voice shaky. "And... We don't have our walkies," She adds, trailing off.

"And even if we did, we're way out of range," Mike continues, gripping her hand tighter. "Besides, I already called their houses. No answer," He goes on, shaking his head.

"I hope they're doing better than us in figuring out what's happening," Mariella looks to him, eyes flickering around.

Mike nods. "I hope so too," He mumbles, rubbing circles around her hand. "Oh gosh, I hope they told Max too. We need all the help we can get," He adds, Mariella looking at him in shock.

"What happened to—" She starts.

He shrugs, cutting her off. "Like you would say, we're in over our heads, Mars," He says, quoting the phrase which Mariella would repeat over and over last fall. And with some miracle, Mariella found it in her to laugh.

♧

"Do you know your name?" Dr. Owen asks, inspecting Will's eyes with a flashlight.

"Will," He responds blankly.

"Your full name?" Dr. Owen presses, placing the flashlight in his lab coat pocket.

"William Byers," Will says, looking to Dr. Owen with the same empty stare he's had since he woke up.

Dr. Owen nods, everyone near the door listening intently and hanging onto every word Will uttered out. "Do you know... Do you know who I am?" He asks Will.

Will pauses, shutting his eyes for a moment before responding. "A doctor,".

"Have we met before?"

Again, pausing, Will stays still with his blank stare. "I don't remember,".

Humming, Dr. Owen nods his head. "You don't remember me? Okay. How about, uh... How about these two right here," He points to Mariella and Mike who stood in front of the hospital rooms door.

Will looks to them, eyes wide and devoid of emotion and Mariella finds herself with one of her hands on her back tracing out numbers on it. Comfort. Mike pulls his hand out of his pocket and waving it at Will.

He stays silent, staring at them. "It's alright. Take your time," Dr. Owen nods, noticing the colour begin to drain from Mariella's face as she nervously tilts her head at Will.

"Those... Are my friends," Will says, using his head to gesture towards the two of them. "Mike," He points. "That's... Mariella," He adds, directing his point to the girl who breathes out in relief quietly. "But, she hates being called that. She's  Mars," He goes on slowly.

Joyce smiling, out a hand on Mariella's shoulder, nodding in a way to say 'This is good'. Hopper smiling as well, he pipes in, "What about me, kid? You remember me?" He asks.

He looks towards him, shaking his head. Jim's smile fading before going on. "They tell me you helped save me last night. You remember that?" He asks.

Will shakes his head again, no. "Do you remember anything about last night? About what happened?" Dr. Owen adds.

"I remember they hurt me," Will replies shakily.

Joyce turning away and covering her face with her hand at the reply. "You mean the doctors?" Dr. Owen presses.

"No. The soldiers," Will shakes his head.

"The soldiers hurt you?" Dr. Owen clarifies.

Will nods. "They shouldn't have done that. It upset him," He replies, face forming a scowl.

Everyone exchanging glances confused as they begin to wonder 'Him?'. All the while, Mariella's eyes go wide. Suddenly, remembering that one part of her diagram and having to clamp her hand over her mouth to stop herself from shouting it out in the room itself. She had to wait. Wait until she wasn't with Will.

"You say, 'upset him'. Is that him?" Dr. Owen goes on, pulling out a small photograph of the drawing of the shadow monster. Will nods, holding the photo.

"Okay. Okay, I wanna try something," Dr. Owen begins. "It's gonna seem a little odd at first, but I think it's really going to help us understand what's going on," He explains before turning to Will and placing a hand in his shoulder. "Is that okay?".

Will nods. "Okay,". 

They stand quietly as Dr. Owen pages for whatever he was planning to come up. Mariella bouncing on the balls of her feet impatiently as she waits for a moment to get someone, anyone, any of the adults alone so she can explain to them what she's thinking. She can't just blurt it out. Not when she's thinking what she's thinking.

A man enters the room, wheeling a box holding a charred looking slug in it. "Now, Will. I want you to let us know if you feel anything, okay?" Dr. Owen explains as another doctor fires up a tank, blue flame igniting.

He holds it over the box, the creature beginning to squirm and screech. "Do you feel anything?" Dr. Owen asks.

Will nods. "Just a little sting," He stammers.

"It stings? Where?" Dr. Owen goes on, the creature beginning to screech loudly.

Grunting, Will leans forward. "My chest," He says, holding at his heart.

"Okay, son," Dr. Owen puts a hand in his shoulder, Joyce leaning closer and rubbing his leg comfortingly.

The doctor turns the heat higher. "What about now?".

"It... it burns," Will chokes out. The creature rolling over continuously and screeching out loudly. Mariella silent, watching with her eyes wide trying to find her voice. Trying to find a way to shout out stop. But nothing was coming out.

"Ah!" Wills groans, shifting in his bed in pain. "It burns!" He complains.

"Where?" Dr. Owen asks.

"Everywhere!" Wills screams at him.

"That's enough. That's enough!" Joyce shouts at them, the doctor continuing to raise the heat as Will's heart rate speeds up and he screams.

"Stop! You heard her! That's enough," Hopper jumps in. "That's it! We're done," He yells at them, going in between Dr. Owen and Will as the other doctor pulls the heat away.

Instantly, Will's heart rate decreases, breathing out in relief. "Sweetie... Sweetie, it's okay," Joyce coaxes him.

♧

Nervously, Mariella peers out the window into the hall. Before looking to Mike who sat on the chair next to Will. "I'll be right back," She mumbles, not giving him time to respond. Placing her hand on the doorknob and twisting it, exiting the room and seeing Joyce, Hopper, and Dr. Owens talking.

"Our best guess right now is it's some kind of virus which is causing this neurological disorder. Now, when..." She overhears Dr. Owen explain as she walks over.

"I don't think it's a virus, Dr. Owens," Mariella says, getting their attention. Their heads looking to her as her small figure stands next to Joyce.

Joyce and Hopper look down at her as she looks up at Dr. Owens with a confident look at her face. "Kid," Hopper begins, putting a hand on her shoulder and beginning to try to lead her back to the room.

Dr. Owens waves him to stop. "You must be Mariella DeGray," He says to her, smiling.

She nods. "Yes, I am, Doctor. As I was saying, I don't entirely believe that it's a virus," She goes on. Joyce already knowing where she was going with it and not interrupting. She believed in Mariella's theory more than the doctors.

"Is that so? What do you believe it is then?" Dr. Owen asks her.

Mariella shifts into her other foot before taking a breath. "Will is a host. Not the host of a virus. Part of that thing, him, is in Will and the weaker he gets, the stronger that connection between them gets," She explains, all of them looking down at her as she gestures around using her hands.

She pauses, noticing the silence in the air. "I don't think... That's really Will in there," She goes on in a hushed voice. "I think... Will's there but whatever it is is in control right now. That's why Will can't remember much," Mariella adds.

And, Dr. Owens who listened to every word she spoke in that moment, despite wanting to believe her. Had to believe in science. Not the impossible. Shaking his head, he looks at her again. "It's a good idea, DeGray. I'll give you that. But, that's not the case her," He lets her down softly.

Her hopeful eyes dropping as she shakes her head and stalks off, Joyce and Hopper watch her feet drag against the floor. They believed her. But what were they going to do when the experts didn't?