byler "Empty Eyes"

Autumn 1987. After Vecna's disappearance, everything was supposed to be over. But Will is changing 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 go blank for a second, and his voice becomes someone else's. He forgets things he said a minute ago, and more and more often, he wanders off alone.

No one notices.

Not Jonathan. Not Joyce. Not the guys.

Only Mike.

And it's driving him crazy.

Because every time Will looks at him with that alien gaze, Mike feels fear... and something else. Something he has tried to ignore for far too long.

He thinks about Will too much.

He worries too much.

He catches himself staring at him too often.

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

Or maybe he's just losing his mind.

Tonight, Mike notices it again. Everyone is laughing in the basement, discussing their next game, when Will suddenly stops moving.

His gaze is fixed right on Mike.

A barely perceptible smile appears on his lips.

"Mike," he says softly.

But the voice isn't his.

For the others, nothing changes. They keep talking as if nothing happened.

Only Mike hears that voice.

Only Mike sees the shadow behind Will's back.

And only Mike realizes that something from the Upside Down is still living inside him.

And it knows his secret.