byler "Empty Eyes"

Autumn 1987. After Vecna's disappearance, everything should have ended. But Will changes again.

Will has become strange. Sometimes he freezes in the middle of a conversation, as if listening to something no one else can hear. Sometimes his eyes become empty for a second, and his voice becomes strange. He forgets things he said a moment ago, and increasingly wanders off alone.

Nobody notices.

Not Jonathan. Not Joyce. Not the guys.

Just Mike.

And it drives him crazy.

Because every time Will looked at him with that alien gaze, Mike felt fear... and something else. Something he'd been trying to ignore for too long.

He thinks too much about Will.

Worries too much.

Catches herself looking at him too often.

And maybe that's why he's the only one who sees that something is wrong with him.

Or maybe he's just going crazy.

That evening, Mike notices it again. Everyone is laughing in the basement, discussing another game, when Will suddenly stops moving.

His gaze is directed straight at Mike.

A barely noticeable smile appears on his lips.

“Mike,” he says quietly.

But the voice does not belong to him.

Nothing changes for the others. They continue to talk as if nothing happened.

Only Mike hears this voice.

Only Mike sees the shadow behind Will.

And only Mike understands that something from the Upside Down still lives inside him.

And it knows his secret.