Chapter Text
It was a dark night in Hawkins, and Will Byers writhed in his damp bed due to the agitation of the nightmare he was having.
Will had never been able to sleep well. As far back as he could remember, he had always suffered from unbearable nightmares, most of them meaningless, leaving him looking awful the next day.
The crash of the window banging shut made Will jolt upright.
He then looked at the clock.
3:15 a.m. He always woke up at that time. That exact same time.
Will didn’t believe in coincidences, but lately he was starting to think there was something strange about all of it.
The next morning, Will decided to cover the dark circles under his eyes, like he did almost every day. He hated his appearance. He had never considered himself a handsome boy, but that day it was much worse. It was the day the sorcerers completed their transition in a centuries-old ritual through which Will would be able to use his full potential and power, obtain the grimoire, protect humans, and help them. Something Will loved doing. He loved making people happy and doing his small part to make them feel comfortable.
The ritual would take place that night, coinciding with his coming of age and the full moon. The moon was key to the power they wielded. Joyce and Jonathan, his mother and brother, would be there with him, along with what he assumed would be the entire sorcerer community. He didn’t even want to think about his father. He had abandoned them when Will was little and had lived a life of drugs and alcohol, without caring about the torment his family—and Will himself—had endured because of him. A relationship full of abuse and mistreatment.
Every time Will thought about his father, tears fell down his face. He couldn’t help remembering the things he used to say to him. “You’re a faggot.” “You’ll never be a complete sorcerer.” “You’re weak.” Followed by countless beatings. Will still had a scar running across his abdomen from the time his father grabbed a knife and dragged it from his ribs down to his stomach. Will shuddered but tried to ignore it. He wiped away his tears. He couldn’t help feeling stupid for crying over him—over someone who had never shown him affection or respect.
He fixed his hair and put on a mustard-yellow shirt, a white wool vest, and matching brown pants. Will took another look in the mirror and stared at the small mole above his upper lip. Another of the countless things he hated.
Downstairs, his mother had made pancakes. His favorite breakfast. He adored her, even though she could be a bit overprotective at times. Will would do anything for his mother, and she always managed to make him feel special.
“Hi, Mom,” Will said as he walked into the kitchen and gently kissed her forehead.
“Hi, sweetheart. I made this, and some waffles for you to take to Jane later.”
“You’re the best,” Will said with a sweet smile. “And Jonathan?”
“Oh, he went to buy what was still missing for tonight’s preparations.”
Will felt another shiver, and his mother’s eyebrows furrowed with concern.
“Will, are you okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just that…”
“You don’t have to be nervous, really. This will help you complete your transition into a sorcerer. That’s all. You’ll still be the same.”
“But with more power…”
“Yes, Will,” his mother laughed. “With more power.”
Will finished the pancakes his mother had made and put the waffles on a plate, wrapping them in aluminum foil and placing them in a bag, not without adding a small detail.
“Mom, I’m heading out. I don’t want to keep Jane waiting.”
“Oh, of course! Give her a kiss from me, and to… Jim,” she said almost in a whisper.
“Uh… sure, Mom.”
Will walked quickly through the streets of Hawkins. He was wearing a dark brown jacket with small fringes that Jonathan had given him as an early birthday present, and his face lit up when he saw Jane waving at him from afar, standing by the lamppost where they always met.
“Will!” his friend shouted as she hugged him tightly.
“Jane…” Will said, laughing as he hugged her back.
“I’ve missed you so much,” she said, making a puppy-dog face.
“But you saw me yesterday…”
“So what? You’re my best friend and I miss you all the time, okay?”
“All right, all right… here, my mom made this.”
Jane opened the bag and found three Eggo waffles she loved, along with a Post-it with a drawing of her dressed as a sorceress.
“Will, you’re seriously adorable. If you didn’t like boys, I’d be completely in love with you. You’re perfect.”
“I know,” Will said teasingly, before turning his gaze toward the trees swaying in the wind.
“Will… I know you. What’s wrong?”
Will let out a sigh.
“I’m scared…”
“What? Why?”
“Of messing it up… of not being enough… of—”
Jane cut him off.
“Will, you’re going to do amazing, like always. Tonight you just have to follow the ritual and poof, that’s it. More things will come after. A few months ago I was scared too, but once you’re assigned a human to protect, you’ll feel even more complete.”
“I know, I don’t know why I overthink it so much…”
“Besides, word is that Chance will be there…” Jane said, winking at him.
Will blushed.
“Do you think he’ll go?”
“Everyone will!”
“Everyone?”
“The sorcerers, yes… all of them.”
“What about the vampires?”
“Will, they won’t be there.”
“But that time… with Mindy… a vampire tore her throat out right in the middle of the ritual and—”
“Will, that was unfinished business. Vampires can’t come near us. We made a pact.”
“But they hate us, Jane…” Will said, scratching the back of his neck.
“I know, but nothing will happen, and absolutely no one is going to kill you, okay?”
“Okay…”
It was 10:30 p.m., and Will was finishing getting ready. The dark purple cloak he had to wear for the ritual lay on the bed. A drop of sweat ran down his forehead.
Will didn’t know if he was capable of doing it.
A soft knock pulled him from his thoughts.
“Hey…” Jonathan said from the doorway. “You ready?”
“Uh… yeah, yeah, I’m ready.”
But his brother didn’t find that answer convincing.
“Will… you know you’re going to do great, and I’ll be right by your side. Will, I’m not leaving you.”
Jonathan had always known how to comfort Will. Always. He was his older brother, and whenever something happened, he was there for him. If Will fell, Jonathan picked him up. It was that simple. Memories from their childhood flooded his mind—Jonathan cleaning his wounds, defending him from their father, protecting him from insults and blows… Jonathan was his superhero, and Will owed him his life.
The entire sorcerer community gathered in the Hawkins forest, near Lovers Lake. Everyone stood around Will wearing dark cloaks and holding lit red candles.
As soon as midnight arrived, Will would officially be a sorcerer and legally an adult. His hands began to sweat excessively.
The High Sorcerer stood in front of him. Will respected him deeply; he was incredibly powerful, and tonight he would make him complete. Will aspired to be like him one day.
The ritual began, and the High Sorcerer recited the speech from the grimoire he held in his hand. Will didn’t understand most of the ancient words, except for a few like “sorcerer”, “bond” or “eternity”…He would have to get his act together and start learning how to read a grimoire as soon as classes began.
At the end, the High Sorcerer dipped his thumb into a kind of ash powder, which he would trace on Will’s forehead in the shape of a star to complete the transition.
He moved closer and closer until he stood right in front of Will, and Will closed his eyes as he began to feel the High Sorcerer forming the shape of the star.
Will shuddered and noticed the High Sorcerer had stopped touching him. He opened his eyes and saw everyone frozen in place. Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
“What the hell…” he whispered, bringing a hand to his mouth as he saw the High Sorcerer, his mother, his brother, Jane, and the entire sorcerer community standing completely still.
He took a step back and then realized it. He could move—but what was happening had only one name.
Black magic.
Will knew it because, even though his mother said otherwise, it could be more powerful than the white magic they used—but he couldn’t understand it. There were no sorcerers in Hawkins who used black magic…
Will looked around and spotted shadows moving swiftly among the trees. He knew it.
Vampires.
He didn’t want to leave his family and friends behind, but he had to run. No matter how paralyzed he felt, he had to run.
So he did. He ran and ran until he was out of breath and tried to shake off the shadow that relentlessly followed him. He thought he had lost it by hiding in a tree.
But then Will was yanked back by a presence that covered his mouth and pressed him tightly against it. The figure spoke in an almost guttural tone and said:
“If you make a single move, I’ll kill you.”