Chapter 2 — "The Night the World Split"
Rain hammered Hawkins like the sky was trying to wash the town away. Elias ran through it, breath shaking, shoes slapping puddles, lightning turning the world white for fractions of a second. Every flash made the anxiety in his chest spike. He kept hearing that sound — the impossible roar — echoing in his memory.
He reached the tree line behind the Byers property and stopped, sucking air into his lungs, hand pressed to the bleeding scrape he'd taken from Will. His elbow throbbed.
Good.He preferred the pain.It kept him grounded.
The woods loomed, black and swallowing. A place that, even in daylight, had a reputation for eating sound and light and courage. Tonight, it felt like an open mouth.
Elias stepped inside.
—
INTO THE WOODS
The rain didn't reach the ground here; it got caught in the branches overhead, dripping down in slow fat droplets that felt cold enough to bruise. Elias moved cautiously, scanning for any sign of Will.
"Will?" he called softly. The sound died fast in the darkness. "Will! Are you here?"
A distant crack of a branch made him whirl.
"Will?" he whispered.
Nothing answered.
He took a few more steps, forcing down the growing panic. The flickering lights earlier had always meant someone was about to get hurt. His ability reacted to danger. It was like a warning system he hated but relied on.
But now the flickering wouldn't stop echoing in his mind.Something was wrong. Very wrong.
Lightning flared.
And in the bright white flash, Elias saw a tall figure at the tree line, pale and unmoving.
He froze.
The figure didn't breathe. Didn't blink. Didn't move.
Another strike of lightning—
Gone.
Elias stumbled backward, heart slamming so hard he tasted metal. He turned to run––
A voice behind him.
"Kid?"
Elias nearly jumped out of his skin. He spun to see Chief Jim Hopper stepping toward him, flashlight up, raincoat dripping.
"What the hell are you doing out here?" Hopper barked, lowering the light when he saw the panic in Elias's eyes.
"I—I was looking for Will," Elias stammered. "He crashed his bike earlier. I thought maybe he came through here."
Hopper studied him carefully. "You said he crashed?"
"Yeah. Near Mirkwood. He scraped his arm, but he kept biking. He should've been home."
Hopper frowned deeply — not angry, but worried. The kind of worry that made adults dangerous.
He clicked his radio. "This is Hopper to dispatch. I've got a report the Byers kid had an accident near Mirkwood. Might've gone into the woods. I'm with Elias Hart near the northern trailhead. Keep the search parties coming."
A crackle, then: "Copy that."
Hopper looked back at Elias. "You head home. Now. Your mom's probably worried."
Elias hesitated. "I want to help."
"No." Hopper shook his head. "This isn't a place for kids after dark."
Elias's throat tightened. "I don't want anything to happen to him."
Hopper's expression softened at the edges. "I know, kid. But trust me. Go home."
Elias wanted to argue.He wanted to stay.He wanted to keep searching until he found Will.
But one look at the forest behind Hopper — the way the fog curled, the way the darkness felt alive — and something inside Elias recoiled.
He swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay."
Hopper rested a heavy hand on his shoulder briefly. "Good. Now get out of here."
Elias turned and ran.
But he didn't go home.
—
THE WHEELER HOUSE — 2:20 AM
Mike Wheeler slammed a flashlight onto his desk and started stuffing spare batteries into his pockets. He moved with the precision of someone scared out of their mind and trying not to show it.
Dustin and Lucas were whisper-fighting near the closet.
"I'm telling you," Dustin hissed, "Will probably just stayed with Jonathan or something! Or Joyce freaked out and misplaced him!"
"Joyce doesn't misplace her kids," Lucas shot back. "And the chief wouldn't mobilize the search this fast if they weren't worried."
Mike pushed past them, yanking open his window.
"We're going."
Lucas blinked. "Now?"
"Now," Mike said firmly. "We're not just sitting here."
Dustin hesitated. "What about your parents?"
"Sleeping. And they won't hear us. Come on."
Lucas sighed and followed.
But when Mike swung his leg over the windowsill, he froze.
Someone was standing outside near the bushes.
Someone small.Soaked.Breathing hard.
"Elias?" Mike whispered loudly.
The boy stepped into view, drenched to the bone, hair stuck to his forehead. His clothes clung to him like he'd been dragged through a lake. His elbow was bleeding.
Mike climbed out immediately. "Elias, what happened?! Did you find Will? Are you hurt?"
Lucas and Dustin joined them.
Elias swallowed. "No. I… I looked in the woods. Hopper found me. He told me to go home." His voice trembled. "But I can't go home. I can't just sit there and wait."
Dustin's face softened. "You came here?"
"I didn't know where else to go."
Mike touched Elias's arm. "You're freezing. Come inside—"
"No," Elias said quickly. "Your parents will hear us. We need to go back out. We have to find Will."
Lucas crossed his arms. "You said Hopper told you to go home."
Elias lifted his chin. "I'm not leaving Will out there. If you're going, I'm going too."
Mike nodded immediately. "Good. Let's go."
The boys mounted their bikes. Elias grabbed Mike's spare bike from the garage — an old red one with squeaky brakes.
Rain drummed on the pavement as they pedaled into the night.
—
NIGHT SEARCH
The woods felt different now.
Elias could feel the danger pulsing like static under his skin. He hadn't told the boys about the flickering lights, or the figure he thought he saw in the trees.
He trailed slightly behind the group, scanning the shadows. Every drip of rain sounded like movement. Every rustle made his shoulders tense.
Mike switched off his bike light suddenly.
"Did you guys hear that?" he whispered.
Hear what? Elias thought.
Then he heard it.A growl?A rattle?A distorted sound like something in pain.
They froze.
Lucas whispered, "What… what was that?"
Dustin clutched his flashlight like it was a sword. "I don't like this, dude. I really don't like this."
Mike swallowed hard. "Will? Will, is that you?"
Elias stepped forward slowly, heart pounding.
"Guys…" he whispered. "We should stay together…"
Before he could finish, a branch snapped loudly somewhere to their right.
All four boys spun to look.
A shape moved in the darkness.
Not a person.
Not an animal.
Something wrong.
Elias's breath stopped.
Then—
A surge of pain hit him out of nowhere, a wave that crashed through his skull with blinding force. He grabbed his head and dropped to his knees.
"Elias!" Mike grabbed his shoulders. "What's wrong?!"
"I—I don't know," Elias gasped. "Something… something's hurt…"
Dustin frowned. "What do you mean something's hurt—?"
Another growl. Closer this time. Wet and hungry.
The boys backed away.
Lucas raised his slingshot with shaking hands. "Whatever that is, we need to go. Now."
Mike didn't argue.
"Back to the road!" he shouted.
They sprinted, bikes clattering behind them, Elias stumbling but forcing himself forward through the aftershocks of pain.
Lightning lit up the woods again—
And Elias saw it.A silhouette towering behind the trees.Bending, shifting, reaching.
Not human.
Not possible.
Then darkness swallowed it again.
Elias screamed, "GO!"
They exploded onto the road, panting, terrified, scrambling onto their bikes.
Dustin looked pale. "What the hell was that thing?!"
"I don't know," Mike said breathlessly, "but we're telling Hopper."
Elias gripped the handlebars so tightly his knuckles turned white. He couldn't speak. Not yet.
Something had crossed over.Something hungry.Something searching.
And Will…Will hadn't stood a chance alone.
As they biked toward town, Elias looked back only once.
The woods flickered with light — like a heartbeat.Like something inside was waking up.
And Elias knew, with every inch of his trembling body:
This was only the beginning.