Chapter Ten
Eno River

"Mike, man. Stop pacing. You're freaking him out!" Scotty's eyes followed Mike as he paced back and forth looking at each of the drawings plastered on the walls. Mike paid him no mind, barely even a glance as he mumbled to himself.

Will sat beside Scotty, hoodie drenched in sweat. His eyes darted around the room in a frenzied panic. Scotty had seen him afraid before, especially after an episode.. but it had never been this bad. Will's right leg bounced up and down rapidly, something Scotty knew Will never used to do.

Something wasn't right.

"Hey," Scotty's voice was soft as he moved his hand to rest on Will's knee, effectively stopping it from bouncing. "Will, it's just the three of us. Alright? It's okay, you can talk to us. Do you want to?"

"Um," Will swallowed thickly, shakily looking over to Scotty. "Yeah."

Mike tore his eyes from the drawings, carefully seating himself beside Will. For a moment, his eyes flickered down to Scotty's hand that still rested on Will's knee.

"Go on." Scotty encouraged, gently squeezing his knee. "We're listening."

"It's like.." Will began, inhaling shakily. "It's like I can feel what the shadow monster is feeling. I see what he's seeing."

"Like in the upside down?" Mike questioned, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Some of him is there. But some of him is here, too."

"Here?" Scotty repeated, "In our world? Or the house?"

Mike hummed in agreement with Scotty, also wanting to know what Will meant.

"In this house and..." Will struggled, voice beginning to crumble. "In me. It's- It's like he's reaching into Hawkins more and more. The more he spreads, the more connected to him I feel."

Scotty watched in concern, pulling his bottom lip in between his teeth. "The more episodes?"

"And more now memories." Mike continued for Scotty, glancing over at him.

"At first, I felt it in the back of my head." Scotty followed Will's movement as he reached back, scratching his neck. "I didn't even really.. know it was there."

"But.. something felt off?" Scotty's spoke gently, wanting to calm Will.

Will nodded, "Yeah. But it's like when you have a dream, and you can't remember it unless you think really hard. It was like that. But now it's like. Now it's like I remember all the time."

"Maybe.." Mike trailed off, trying to find the right words. "Maybe that's good."

Scotty shot Mike a look, who shrugged in response. Will looked over at Mike, squinting in confusion. "Good?"

"Yeah," Mike's voice sounded unsure, looking to Scotty for help.

Spy? Scotty mouthed, face scrunched up at his own suggestion.

"Yeah." Mike said, more confidence in his tone. "Think about it this way, Will. It's like you're a spy. A super spy."

"Keeping tabs on the shadow monster." Scotty continued.

"If you're seeing what he's seeing and feeling what he's feeling. Maybe that's how we can stop him. Maybe all this," Mike gestures to the drawings plastered all over the walls. "is happening for a reason."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah, yeah. We really do." Mike's eyes flickered to Scotty who nodded along with him.

"Yeah." Scotty smiled softly, "Trust us."

Will's eyes trailed to a drawing, focusing on one that laid on a table. Scotty followed his gaze, heart sinking at the sight of the drawn shadow monster. His blood ran cold and unknowingly, his hand tightened on Will's knee.

"What if he figures out we're spying on him?" Will's voice was filled with anxiety, and he again began fidgeting with his hands. Scotty
instinctively moved his hand up to Will's. Will paid no mind to this, eyes remaining on the shadow monster. "What if he spies back?"

"He won't." Mike said quickly.

"How do you know?" Will was growing increasingly desperate.

"We," Mike rested his hand on Scotty's, "We won't let him."

"We promise." Scotty agreed, heart skipping a beat at the feeling of Mike's hand on his own. He quickly disregarded the feeling, knowing that there were more important things going on than his stupid crush on Mike. "I'd never let anything happen to you, you're my best friend."

~~

"Here," Scotty crouched down in front of Will. A gentle smile rested on his face as he outstretched his hand to him. "Figured you'd want a new one."

Will's eyes drifted to the fresh sweater in Scotty's hands, cracking a ghost of a smile appearing on his face. "Thanks.."

"Yeah, duh. Of course." Scotty nodded, standing up and turning around as well as covering his eyes. "Tell me when you're done."

Scotty hummed to himself, the sound of Will's shuffling as he changed and a car door shutting flooded his ears.

Mike had left with Joyce minutes ago, Scotty didn't know why, he wasn't listening to either of them. Too busy focusing on how he could comfort Will.

"Guys?" The sound of Joyce's voice brought Scotty back to reality. Sharing a look with Will, he reached out his hand to help him up and off the bed.

"C'mon, man. Let's see what your mom wants."

~~

"Hm..." Bob hummed to himself, eyes following the drawings. "You, uh, you drew this? Yourself?"

Bob directed his question at Will, turning around to face the boy.

Will pulled the fresh sweater's sleeves over his hands, nodding. "Mh-hm."

"Why.. exactly?" Bob trailed off, turning away from Will and back to the wall.

"I.. I told you the rules." Joyce quickly interjected. "No questions. Right?"

"Right." Bob nodded, "Sorry."

"We just need you to help us figure out what.." Her voice trailed off as she moved to the other end of the living room. "Wha- Bob? Bob! Over here."

Bob quickly walked over to her, followed by Mike, Scotty, and Will as she scribbled a big red X on the center of the paper. "Where this is."

"That's the objective. Find the X."

"Yeah? What's at the X? Pirate treasure?" Bob chuckled, smile faltering when he noticed no one else was laughing.

"Bob. No questions."

Bob blinked, clearing his throat. He looked at each of the boys' faces, nodding slowly. "Let me talk to you for a second, hang on guys."

He reached forward, gently pulling Joyce with him to a separate room. Scotty remained where he stood, eyes studying the walls.

"That's weird.." Scotty mumbled, eyes following the curvy blue lines. Mike looked over at him.

"What is?" He asked, stepping closer to him. Scotty flickered his eyes to Mike's, heart fluttering at his vicinity.

"Uh.." He raised his hand, pointing at the drawings, following the lines. "It looks like a river.. No, no. These are rivers! Rivers.. Holy shit! Rivers in our town!"

Mike's sentence was cut off before he could start by the sound of Bob's voice.

"Yeah! Yeah! That's Sattler's quarry."  Scotty's eyes flickered to Mike at the mention of the quarry, examining his face for signs of any discomfort. "And if you just follow it naturally..."

Bob moved through the rooms, eyes and finger following the rivers. "It moves to.. The Eno River! And that's Eno! There it is, do you see it?" Joyce backed out of the way as Bob walked into the living room. "Okay, so the lines aren't roads, but they act like roads!"

Joyce followed him into the kitchen as he continued. "'Cause when you follow 'em you'll see they don't go over water. And that's the give away.. that's the give away.. Ha!"

Scotty nodded along with Bob, resting his elbows on the table. "Don't you get it? It's not a puzzle!"

"It's a map!" Scotty clapped, "Right?"

"Right! A map of Hawkins!" Bob pointed at him, eyes drifting quickly to the boy beside him. "Right, Will?"