Chapter Text
This felt like deja vu, being in the deeply cleaned waiting room of a hospital, hoping that someone that got injured was getting better, and that he could eventually wrap his arms around the person that deserved better.
Mike slouched against the cold, worn out hospital seat. It’s light blue colour reminding him of the scrubs the doctors wore, despite the fact it reminded him of the scrubs splattered with his parents blood. The exact same blood that was running through his body, keeping him alive with the same supply, making him think how it would look if it was his blood splattered on those scrubs.
He felt almost neglected when he snapped out of his gruesome thoughts, fixing his posture out of habit by raising himself from the seat and forcefully puffing out his chest to straighten out his back. Nancy hadn’t returned. He remembered her bitter expression that weighed on her sharp face. Seeing her pace around the waiting room, with her patterned pink clothes, the type of colour that would be a blanket wrapping a newborn baby for warmth. But there was no warmth coming from her, as her clothes are now stained with the blood that had been leaking from their mother’s neck. Even though he could tell her hands were scrubbed clean from blood, it still left a faint mark, one that seeped through her skin, and curved the way she acted.
Mike could sense that Nancy still had hope in one of their parents to awaken quickly. So, she had left to pace down the halls, going to get something to calm her nerves. However, it still left him wondering how she wasn’t back yet. Turning his head around the waiting room, he could feel his messy, long and curly hair hit him on the cheeks, it was unkempt, but he had trimmed the edges so it wouldn’t go over his shoulders. It wasn’t because of laziness, but a feeling that having this hair made him hide more than he could show. Even with the scar that came from the side of his nose down to the bottom of his cheek, it was a constant reminder of all the things he did that year and the events that happened. He still has nightmares about the mindflayer, not the being itself, but Billy. Billy, an arrogant fool who thought he was better than everyone, ended up dying at the hands of the mindflayer. He felt selfish to say it wasn’t only Max who had nightmares and flashbacks about that night, afterall, it was Billy that gave him the scar.
He still remembers the way she kept sneaking glances over to him during class, to that stupid scar that is plastered on his face. He knew it just reminded her of Billy, and was the only thing she would remember when looking at his face.
He does regret not saying more about Billy to Max when she would still single herself out from her only friends and hang out by herself. Mike knew that feeling well, even when knowing he had all of the people he cared for but, it wasn’t the same, it could never be the same.
The waiting room was still empty. Standing up with a creak from the chair, he lifted his weak legs, he felt the way a sudden cold shiver travelled through his body, almost as if it was warning him of danger. But suddenly feeling a pain in the scar on his cheek was more of a sign than anything else. The pain soared through his cheek, going all the way to his head, and pulsed like his quick heartbeat. “What the fuck…” Mike muttered before gritting his teeth.
Mike winced before glancing both ways, to the left, where a large door that blocked anyone through, led to the emergency rooms. To the right, where the receptionist was meant to be, probably typing or leaning back and chewing gum to use up her time, was not present in that old squeaky chair. Suddenly, a clock chimed, it echoed and rang in Mike’s ear loudly, making him want to cover his ears as it made his scar pulse. He obviously knew it wasn’t the cause of the small clock that hung on the wall loosely, most likely dangling on by a single weak screw and bound to fall eventually.
The raven-haired boy slowly walked to the receptionist desk, now focusing his gaze on the hallway that was now into view. Mike slightly faltered as he now observed the grandfather clock at the end of the hallway, it was absorbed into the wall with black veiny roots supporting it. The clock ticked continuously as the pendulum swung quietly, counting up the seconds before he heard a muffled voice that echoed, which began to be more clear as the ticking of the clock grew quieter. “-ike! Mike!”
He was snapped out of his spacial thoughts, staring ahead to a blank white wall. He felt numb, numb where his fingers would prance together when he got nervous, numb where he couldn’t even feel the way his expression darkened, and numb where the scar sudden pulse lessened, and now felt like a speck of dust on his cheek. Which made him feel like he wasn’t in control of his body, as if strings were starting to wrap around the joints in his body. “Mike. Are you listening?” Mike slowly glanced over to Nancy, trying his best to forget what had happened to his body, it was clearer now, he could feel his body in control, and the ominous clock ticking. The only right answer to what he had seen was that he was half-asleep waiting on Nancy to come back, but even that felt like a stretch.
She was leaning back against the chair, looking at him with concern, which was the look in her eyes even with her face seeming otherwise. Her hand was gripping onto a small plastic cup of coffee, which was still steaming out of it.
“Yeah.. Yeah, no.” Mike stuttered, turning his gaze back to the blank wall, the wall he assumed he first got lost in thought. Feeling the way Nancy was still staring at him, this time with a hopeful look that gleamed in her eyes as she heard the tone of his voice. One that was more calculated than anything. It almost seemed like she leaned closer as he could get a whiff of the stench of blood on her clothes. He was surprised she wasn’t bothered by it, as the smell clung to her like cigarettes do.
“Uh.. I was thinking about something Lucas had said earlier, about how he doesn't believe in coincidences anymore, and.. Did Holly ever talk to you about Mr.Whatsit?” With Mike now looking back at Nancy, observing the way she was now focused on what he was saying. He hadn’t realised that he was moving his hands more than usual, really telling that he was sick of staying in the same chair, which was bugging him that it felt like he was being forced with glue.
“Her… Imaginary friend from the book?” Nancy replied, her forehead creasing in confusion that she tried her best not to show, despite the fact she knew, everyone knew, that the Wheelers are either very expressive, or expressionless. “Well, yeah, it’s Mrs. Whatsit in the book. So… So, this is her own creation. At least that’s what I thought. When I went to pick her up from school today, she said that Mr. Whatsit told her that there were monsters in Hawkins. And he warned her that these monsters, they were coming for her. And on the same day, she’s actually taken by a monster? I mean, as far as coincidences go, that’s a hell of a one.” Mike ranted, using his hands to communicate further, as if that helped Nancy that was trying to understand where Mike was going with this theory.
She straightened up from her seat, having stopped drinking her coffee as it was starting to turn cold and left it on the small table in front of them. “And your theory is.. What exactly?” She crossed her arms with her eyebrows still furrowed.
“What if Mr.Whatsit isn't a figment of Holly’s imagination?” Mike replied after a moment of silence where the only thing that could be heard was the clock that ticked. Reminding Mike of the hollow chime earlier, knowing it wasn’t real anyway, or he thought so anyway. “What if he’s real?” He bluntly said, making the point clear.
“That would make sense but.. How would he have known that she was in danger?”
“I don't know.”
“But who is he…?” Nancy said, mostly to herself, but Mike who was starting to get annoyed from her pestering him with questions made him snap.
“I don't know!” He snapped, saying it louder than he wanted too, knowing the receptionist was likely looking over at them from the tall desk. He saw from the corner of his eye that Nancy had slightly jumped from the sudden tone of his voice, seeing as she shifted uncomfortably in the chair which squeaked from the weight.
Mike let out an exasperated sigh, grounding himself to the situation at hand. “I don't know Nance.” He began to pick on his thumb, a bit of skin that agitated him at that moment but distracted him from looking at his sister. “My theory, it has holes. But you were right earlier, we could have done something more to protect Mom and Holly and..” It was hard to admit that seeing his dad hurt didn’t make him feel down right miserable. But muttered it anyway. “and Dad. I don't want to have any regrets where they end up hurt again. But if we know who Mr.Whatsit is, we could find out why Holly was taken or.. Or maybe where she is-” Mike was going to start on a tangent, naming things on what this person could possibly know about their sister's disappearance.
“And where do you think we should start finding this guy?”
“I was hoping you would tell me.” Mike was more than exhausted thinking about all the possibilities this guy could lead them too. And Nancy herself looked like she was itching to help come up with a plan to figure this out. It took a few seconds before Nancy responded. “Okay.. I’m gonna need you to talk to the receptionist and do your best, sad, lost boy, puppy… face.” She stared at him seriously, knowing it was something they could try. “My what? Why?” Mike got a little flustered hearing this from his sister, thankful some of his curls covered the side of his face. Which now made him understand how he looked from her point of view, which didn’t make him feel any better.
“Because she hates me, and you’re cute, and we’re gonna need her help if we want to get close to the one person who knows about Mr. Whatsit, Mom.” She commented seriously, making Mike try to think of another solution in his head without him having to act that way. But seeing as she had a determination that he couldn’t fathom, he decided to just go along with it.
They both stared at each other. “Go! C’mon we don’t have time.” Nancy urged him, making Mike shoot up from his uncomfortable seat in response. He slowly moved to the tall desk that was warning him that this was a bad idea and to turn back around. But as he reached the desk, his head peeked over to see the middle aged receptionist, who was clicking on her computer and not noticing that someone had come by. Mike was going to wait until she would raise her head. But seeing as the only thing that interested was staring at the screen, he tried to politely clear his throat.
The woman finally raised her head and focused on him now, her hand reached up to fix the glasses that were perched at the tip of her nose. Mike now had to do what Nancy asked him too, even if it agitated him a little. “Hi.. I was wondering if I'd be able to see my mother who had gone to the emergency room a while ago..” He did feel the way his face softened as he spoke to her, his face relaxed. Even when his scar was starting to hurt like hell, as it was pulsing and it felt like it was travelling through his arm, making his hand start to cramp and having to clench it into a fist. The receptionist seemed to quickly understand who the boy was talking about. “Karen Wheeler?” Mike nodded in response, while feeling something beneath his nose, which was bothering him but he ignored it.
“Sorry dear, nothing I can do. You’ll have to personally hear from the doctors themselves.” Her eyes travelled to a place on his face and she stretched her arm over to the edge of the desk and picked out a tissue, now passing it over to him. He somewhat dropped the act and got confused. “You got a nosebleed…” She returned the tone and slid back to her work. “Shit…” Mike muttered, taking the tissue and pressing it beneath his nose, slightly pushing it in his nose. It wasn’t a pleasant sight or didn’t even feel right, but knowing that his sister was staring at him from the waiting room he had to act quick so she wouldn’t get concerned over him and gush over the sudden nosebleed.
He managed to quickly wipe it away from beneath his nose and stuff it into the empty trash bin. Hurrying straight back to the person who couldn’t wait a few moments for an answer. “I got nothing.” Nancy scoffed, looking back at the large looming doors, she grabbed Mike’s wrist, and dragged him alongside her as they marched over. Recognising the nurse that went out of those doors, she had another plan in phase.
A nurse sped towards a doctor that was fixing his coat, walking out of an elevator to the hallway towards the exit, the nurse joined to walk beside him. “So sorry to disturb you, Doctor, but it’s the Wheeler children…” The doctor grunted. “What about them?” They reached the exit, and both of them pushed the doors open, the nurse trying to quickly speak. “They say they need to speak to you, they say it’s-” “An emergency!” She gets interrupted by Nancy, who was waiting for both of them. “An emergency?” The doctor seemed suspicious, turning his sight on the Wheeler’s, especially the young woman. “What kind of emergency?”
“Our.. our sister is missing, as you know.” “I understand. And I’m very sorry.” “Well we think our mom has something.” Mike urged the man, hoping they could both get through the doctor's thick skull. “Or knows something.” Nancy added. “About our sister. Finding our sister.” It was messy but he stacked more information onto the Doctor.
“And I wish I could get you in to see her. Surely. But your mother’s recovering from surgery. Her system is still in shock. And beyond that, her larynx is extremely damaged. She wouldn’t be able to talk, even if she were awake.” The doctor responded in an attempt to reassure them and convince them. Nancy was about to say something, opening her mouth. The doctor quietly shushed her, putting his large hand on her shoulder. “Listen to me. Finding your mother when you did, saved her life. Let’s not risk it now. All right, sweetheart.”
He smirked and slid his hand off her shoulder, walking away from the two, with the poor nurse having to join back with him. Mumbling a small apology to the siblings as if that would make them feel any better. The nurse could be heard still informing the doctor everything that had to be handled in the hospital.
The two Wheeler siblings turned around, watching as the pair marched away from them. “What now?” Mike felt hopeless, they’ve already tried asking everyone in authority to let them through, but it seems they haven’t tried hard enough. The elevator dinged in the distance, snapping Nancy out of a trance of disappointment. Mike noticed that look, and before he had a chance to bring her out of any of her thoughts, she felt her hand crawl towards his wrist, tighten, and start to drag him once again.
“Where are we going..??” He nervously asked, seeing as Nancy forcefully pushed open the big doors and continued to rush towards the elevator that was heard a moment ago. They both got into the elevator, the doors creaking as they closed slowly. “We’re ignoring doctor's orders.” Her finger aggressively pressed the button on the elevator. “He said it’s too risky, when has that stopped us before? Besides, did you smell his breath? I don’t trust doctors that smoke.. Or calls me ‘sweetheart’” Mike indeed did not smell his breath, it wasn’t the doctor that was getting close to him, it was Nancy. And either way, the only thing he could sense was the chemical stench that messed with his head and made it pound again. It was starting to annoy him, every single simple smell and sound which was there to agitate his headache, as if his whole body was becoming sensitive.
“How are we meant to blend in when it’s obvious we sneaked in?” Mike spoke, ignoring the pain of the scar once more, hoping that he could steal a pill or two from somewhere to get rid of this pain. She smirked in response. “I have an idea.” The elevator dinged softly, the doors opening, leading into a slightly empty hallway. As Nancy began to step off, he followed along, going against the wall and hiding by the corner of the wall. She pushed herself off the wall to the other side and peered around the corner, she glanced at every door and read every sign. But as her eyes crossed a certain sign, she almost sighed in relief. Mike couldn't question much on what she was planning, as she led him quickly everywhere, even now where they had to avoid any nurse or doctor passing by. They would be very fucked if they were caught, especially with the addition of soldiers appearing from time to time.
Nancy led the way once again, with Mike following along while looking at the hallway they crossed. The room was dark when he closed the door behind him, only when he heard the shuffle and soft click of the lights did he now notice where he was. It was a changing room, but for the nurses, it was obvious that it was, with the fact that when Nancy opened one of the unlocked lockers, it had spare uniforms. With her picking two exact same uniforms, for candy stripers, which didn’t make it any better when Nancy turned towards him. “Do.. I have to wear that..?” Mike spoke, holding the uniform lightly in his hands. “There’s nothing else you could wear.. And we don’t have time to find anything else either. So make do.”
Ding~
Mike and Nancy stood still together side by side as the elevator door opened to a new floor. Nancy was wearing the candy striper uniform, it was a red and white lined dress that went above her knees. She wore a short-sleeved dress shirt underneath, paired with the matching hat on top of her curly hair. Mike, on the other hand, was wearing the same thing. He was very much embarrassed, how wouldn’t he be? When Nancy found the room, it was a changing room for the nurses, for Mike it felt like he was really intruding. Nancy looked everywhere for a spare uniform, finding two of them. There was clearly nothing else for the poor lanky boy to wear. So with a bit of a hushed argument between the two, and with the help of Nancy fixing the uniform, he had to suck it up somehow.
This felt absolutely horrible to wear, he wasn’t sure if it was because of the fact that it was stretched and was tight around his waist, or maybe because of something else that he couldn't bear to address to himself at that moment. It did remind him when he and Nance were younger, being forced to dress up in whatever she picked for him. His mom found it cute, having taken a couple photographs, but his dad on the other hand.. He didn’t like it whatsoever. Seeing him wearing girlish clothing as an embarrassment to the family, his dad would comment about it a lot. Leading to Nancy being disappointed and leaving Mike confused and helpless in the situation.
Even so, he had to admit it wasn’t all that bad. Probably because Nancy wasn’t laughing at him, making him not feel as ashamed as he would have if she did laugh. So when the elevator dinged, they both had to be serious, they couldn’t slip up. She had taken a clipboard to make it seem as if they were busy, leaving the elevator and passing through a couple patients and doctors. But as Mike had his head fully raised, he was shocked to see the same doctor from before. His eyes wide open and instantly turn his head to her. “Incoming, incoming!” He whispered harshly, both of the siblings forcing their heads down. Mike felt the need to thank himself for keeping his long hair so he could pass like one of the many nurses.
They made it past the danger, and finally got to the room where their injured mother was. As Nancy slowly opened the door, Mike thought he was imagining when he heard a whisper. It was soft but muffled, like it was at the back of his head. Making his skin crawl and his scar pulse in pain, hairs spiking up in either shock or pain. Not being able to tell as after that, his hand began to cramp up, bones aching and his pulse from his hand, his fingertips feeling as if they were put on top of a stove. Mike rose his head, closing the door behind him as he had to focus on the task at hand. Still knowing that he would worry about the hand later.
Both of them strode towards the hospital bed with the body of their supposed sleeping mother. Her curly hair a tangled mess, most of it tucked beneath her head. Her face was beaten up with bruises that were forming yellow. And worse of all the neck cast that lifted her head into a position where she was restricted from moving her head, it was purely white, a different look to when her neck was squirting red.
The heart monitor that beeped brought a small closure for the two, knowing that their mother was indeed alive, and her laying on the hospital bed wasn’t their imagination. Although it looked like she was asleep, Karen’s eyes began to slowly peel open, blinking heavily but glancing over to the side to see her children. If she wondered what they were wearing but didn’t care enough to waste her brittle voice about it, Mike was relieved, it was dreadful enough that he was wearing this uniform in the first place. He could see her trying to open her mouth.
“Hey mom.. It’s okay. Don’t talk, it’s your throat.. It needs to heal.” Her hand raised to caress the side of her mothers cheek, seeing as her face had thinned from the horror that happened to her. She could feel the sharp cheekbone that was more noticeable as she laid down, which was a feature for both the siblings in some way. Nancy glanced around. “You.. you could write, yeah?” Mike took that as the moment to find something for her to write on, he turned back and noticed the clipboard that Nancy had taken earlier and placed it down in front of his mom, with a pen in hand, passing it over to her, her fingertips grazing his skin and feeling chalky, as if the blood dried and was processed.
The pen that Karen held felt heavy by her fingertips, obvious by the way she held it and had to grip it harshly to even scratch a line on the page. Although she held it awkwardly, she slowly wrote letter by letter. ‘HOLLY?’ Nancy grimaced, holding the clipboard for her while Mike peered over, chewing the side of his bottom lip, sensing how his teeth grazed over the ripped part of his lips and tasting the sweet blood, which was the opposite of how his nosebleed would taste when it went over his lips.
“Holly? Yeah… that’s why I'm here…” She sucked in a deep breath, as if her lungs were hollow. “Holly’s missing.” Mike tried his hardest not to shed a tear as he heard his poor mom’s raspy gasp, biting deeper into his lip. “We need your help, we think that there’s someone that knows where Holly is. But we don’t know where he is, and so, we’re hoping you know something.” His hand curled around his mom’s, although she was physically weak, he felt her hand lightly grip his.
The scratching was heard, she carefully wrote. “Who? Uhm.. We don’t know who he is.. but Holly calls him Mr.Whatsit.” Karen seemed to instantly recognise the name, gazing back to the page. “Teacher saw talking to W.. Nobody there..” The boy read out.
Nancy’s brows furrowed. “Did Holly ever say if he had a first name?” She slowly nodded, scratching slowly, but with letter by letter, Mike felt how tense Nancy had started to become, and only until his mom dropped the pen on her stomach. He and Nancy looked at each other in shock. “Henry…”
It was hard to let go of his mother's hand, even if her grip wasn't strong enough to make him stay, he wanted his fingers to feel the faint pulse. They both had to calm down for their mother, seeing as she noticed their recognition of the name, and seeing how she was gaining more suspicion, it was time to let go. Mike's hand gently slipped out of her hand, feeling how her dry skin scraped against his softer hand. Nancy was also hesitant to let go, her hand caressing her injured face, but with a couple words of reassurance to her, he saw a small smile form on his mom's face. It didn't fit with her bruised face, and the atmosphere in the room.
As they both carefully walked out of the hospital room, they knew their next goal. To get out of the hospital without getting caught, and tell everyone what happened. Mike knew it was something along the lines as before they left the room, Nancy glanced at him when she gripped the doorknob. Both of their eyes flashed with a silent agreement of sorts, and they didn't say a word as she twisted the doorknob and they both silently walked out.
Mike was now holding onto the clipboard, the very same clipboard that their mom wrote on. When his eyes heavily dropped onto the page for a glance, the words she wrote dragged his thoughts on. It made him want to vomit all the worries that formed in his head so he could put the shield in front of him, blocking any emotion or thought to lure into his brain. Nancy led the way like always, her thoughts seemingly running faster than his, as past thoughts seem to just lure in his mind. They went the same route they came from, trying to return to the changing room where their clothes were left. It was risky in the first place to even go there, and even leave their clothes. But they had no choice, but as Mike saw a couple nurses enter the changing room, he realised they did have a choice. They always had one, they could’ve gone to the janitor room or something to find extra clothes, and seeing as Nancy cursed under her breath, it was obvious they wouldn’t be able to slither easily in and retrieve the clothes back. The only choice left was to return back.
They made it to the elevator without any other problems, the nurses passing by not noticing anything, not finding it suspicious that they weren't helping any nurses. Although Mike found it strange, he didn’t question. He knew everyone that worked in the hospital were taking up their time to take care of the wounded, especially after 18 months, there has still been an increase of patients.
The two siblings quietly stood in the elevator, with Mike clutching the clipboard to his chest, burying the truth so he didn’t have to see it. He didn’t find it odd that Nancy wasn’t saying anything, after all, they did just come out of their mom’s hospital room, having thought that she wouldn’t have made it. And, either way, the two barely talked anymore. It’s not like they did in the first place, but now they only talk when necessary. Mike doesn't want that, he never wanted that. He always wanted an older sibling to look up too, or just be able to be taken care of. But as they both got older, Nancy just wasn’t bothered to take care of her little brother anymore, as she said in her own words, ‘He can handle himself’. Could he? Could he really take care of himself? Including all the talk about him stepping up as leader, it always made his stomach churn, knowing that it wasn’t true. It never was the truth from the start.
The sound the elevator made when they arrived at the floor got him out of those thoughts, he always reserved those thoughts when he was meant to be asleep. Mike always did so because the room always closed in on him, and it felt easier to think deeply and emotionally about them. Both figures slightly rushed out of the elevator, the clipboard becoming loose in Mike’s hands and having to push it against the side of his stomach to have a better grip on it.
They hurried over to Max’s room, Mike controlling his breathing before the two of them entered. As the door slowly opened, he could hear the last verse of the song. He heard it plenty of times that he was surprised Lucas didn’t throw the tape out the window. But it was obvious he would never, the tape made Lucas believe that it could help Max wake up, that it would lead her to the exit. Mike carefully watched Lucas turn it off, turning over to them whilst standing up. His expression turned from guiltful to pure confusion. It didn’t click in his head at first, as he had been occupied regulating his breathing. But as his eyes travelled down, so did Mike’s, and only then did he realise his mistake. His cheeks felt warmer than when they were rushing down the halls. “We have to go, we need to report to the others immediately.” Nancy interrupted the silence, not having any patience to wait for a question from Lucas, but he complied anyway. Walking over to them, Nancy opened the door, making Lucas walk beside Mike towards the elevator; they had to make it to the ground floor.
“So… what’s up with the outfit?" Lucas asked, bringing his hand over to his mouth to cover up a laugh. “Shut up…” He groaned back, as one of his hands went to rub his arm for warmth, it was starting to get colder. Lucas noticed and shrugged off his jacket, passing it to Mike. “Thanks man..” Mike put the jacket on, expecting a miracle to warm up instantly, but he just felt even colder.
As they drove in the fields, looking out the window, he could see the WSQK radio building. The building being a staple for discussing and planning crawls, it was also easier to store items they would need for the next crawl. But Mike didn’t see a crawl happening anymore, the only thing they would discuss was how Holly was taken away, and the implications of what could happen next. He was incapable of hearing her name being mentioned, as his imagination ran wild with how Holly screamed and begged when she was taken away.
While the car stopped, he turned his head to the side and observed the van had been driving behind them, and saw how Dustin, Steve and Johnathan came out of it. He sighed to himself, muttering a little quote from the book Holly always talked about to remind himself he was doing this for her, and came out of the car. Closing the door, he felt a pat on the shoulder, and it was truly a mistake to turn around since he watched Dustin giggling at him, small tears forming in his eyes. But that didn’t distract him from the fact that his face was all bruised up, from his cracked and bloody lip to the scratches that covered his rosy cheeks, a purple eye being the prominent thing standing out. And those tears that were being built looked more genuine now.
“Mike, man.. Look at you..” “Dustin, look at you!” He pointed out, his concern was more greater now than his previous giggling. Although he wasn’t concerned about what he was wearing at that moment, it didn’t feel any better when he realised Steve and Johnathan, who also came out of the van, were staring at him near the vehicle. Mike knew he was going to be stared at even more when they got into the building, knowing that everyone would be huddled up in there. His stomach churned, but pushed the feeling down when all he could do was side-hug Dustin, it looked like he needed it, deserved it.