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A hospital was meant to be a place of quiet, somewhere the sick could rest and slowly recover their strength.
Behind its clean white walls and long, stretching corridors, there lingered a stillness unlike the outside world. The soft footsteps of nurses, the gentle roll of hospital beds being pushed along, and the steady, rhythmic beeping of monitors blended into a subtle harmony. It wasn't noise, it was reassurance. A quiet reminder that life was being carefully watched over.
The lighting was deliberately soft, reflecting faintly off the polished floors as if designed not to disturb tired eyes. A faint scent of antiseptic lingered in the air, mixed with the clean smell of fresh linens, creating a sense of comfort like an invisible embrace. In every room, curtains were drawn halfway, allowing slivers of morning sunlight to slip through, carrying with them a quiet hope that today might be better than yesterday.
In the waiting area, people sat with restrained voices, speaking softly as if out of respect for the fragile calm surrounding them. Even time itself seemed to slow down within these walls, giving both body and heart a chance to breathe. Here, patience became the unspoken language, and hope became an invisible medicine.
A hospital was not merely a place of illness and injury. It was a place of healing, of hands working with quiet dedication, of prayers whispered in silence, and of the belief that every breath taken was a small step toward recovery.
And yet… even in a place like this, there were moments when silence shattered.
"WILL!!!"
Jonathan's voice rang sharply through the room where Chris lay resting, loud enough to snap the fragile calm in an instant. Connie's eyes fluttered open, a faint twitch pulling at the corner of her lips as she stirred.
"…Ah… I'm sorry," Jonathan quickly added, his voice dropping, embarrassed by his own outburst.
Will flinched at the sudden shout, while Joyce froze beside him, clearly startled. As his mother, she had rarely seen Jonathan raise his voice like that.
"But…" Jonathan continued, his gaze locking onto Will's, his expression firm despite the lingering uncertainty in his eyes. "You don't have to worry, Will. I will protect you." He gave a small nod, as if trying to convince both Will and himself.
Even if he didn't fully believe in monsters or anything like that… right now, that didn't matter.
What mattered was making Will feel safe.
He couldn't let Will live in fear like that, not even inside his own home, the one place that was supposed to protect him.
Whatever it was, a bear, a wolf, or something else entirely, Jonathan made a silent promise to himself that he would stand between it and his little brother.
Will, hearing that and seeing the determination in Jonathan's eyes, gave a small, quiet smile and nodded slowly.
"Yes… Mom will protect you too," Joyce added, her voice steady, her gaze filled with a mother's resolve as she looked at Will. She didn't know if what they said was true or not, but she can't be like this. She wanted to protect her son, and wanted to tell him that he's okay.
Connie watched the three of them in silence, her eyes lingering on Will.
She still didn't fully understand why the creature had targeted Will and Chris. But from what Dustin had told them, one thing was clear, the monster would come again.
"Hoaamm….!" Connie suddenly yawned, the sound cutting softly through the room and drawing everyone's attention. "Sorry… it seems my body can't keep up anymore," she said with an apologetic smile. "I should head home now. Dustin, I hope your brother recovers soon."
In truth, she had already gathered enough information for now.
She might not know everything about Chris, there were still pieces missing but she had confirmed one thing: he was trained with firearms. That alone made it far less strange for him to carry a gun.
She had also heard Will's version of events firsthand. The description of the creature, the way it moved, the way it appeared matched far too closely with what she knew about entities emerging from dimensional rifts.
And perhaps most importantly… no one believed Will.
Not even the chief of police had taken his story seriously. Except the little guy there, who was still a child too and nobody was going to listen to him either.
"Yes, thank you, Miss Connie," Dustin said with a grateful smile. "Thank you for helping my brother… and my friend."
Connie returned the smile, then glanced once more at Chris, who still lay motionless on the hospital bed. To her, he looked deeply asleep, unlikely to wake anytime soon.
"Don't worry about it," she said gently, her tone warm, carefully measured just enough to earn their trust more to her. "I'm glad I could help… even if it was only a little."
With that, she turned and walked out of the room.
Her steps were calm as she made her way down the corridor, unhurried, blending naturally into the quiet rhythm of the hospital. Soon, she exited the building and approached her car, which had been parked there since the night before.
Once inside, she reached for her phone. Her expression shifted so subtle, but unmistakable.
Without hesitation, she dialed a number.
Someone from the lab. It was time to report.
Inside Chris's room, only a few minutes after Connie had left, everything had returned to its quiet rhythm.
And then….Chris's eyes suddenly snapped open.
"What-...?! Chris!" Joyce's voice broke the silence instantly, loud and sharp as she jolted back in shock. Everyone in the room turned toward the bed at once.
Jonathan froze for a split second, startled by how abruptly Chris woke up but what truly unsettled him wasn't that.
It was Chris's left eye.
Black.
Not blue like his right eye.
"Chris!" Will called out, his face lighting up with relief, tears already pooling in his eyes.
Dustin reacted just as strongly but in his own way.
"What the hell happened to you, you son of a bitch?!" he blurted out, his voice loud, half-angry, half-relieved. "Damn it! If you were going to save Will, you should've brought me too, shithead!"
"Chris… your eye…" Jonathan said slowly, his voice filled with unease.
Joyce finally noticed it too. And now Dustin and Will were staring as well.
Both of Chris's eyes… were different colors.
"…You damn megaphone," Chris groaned, his voice rough as he turned his head slightly toward Jonathan. "I was sleeping soundly, and you're shouting like this is some kind of park!"
Jonathan immediately lowered his head, unable to hide his embarrassment.
From the side, Dustin let out a snort. "Tsk. Honestly, I should've just slapped your face if that's what it took to wake you up," he said with a smirk, clearly enjoying himself.
Chris's jaw tightened and wanted to slap his little brother's shithead so hard now.
"Forget that! What the hell happened to your eyes?! Didn't you say that eyepatch thing was just for your dorky style?"
Yeah…Chris really…really wanted to smack Dustin right across the head.
But he couldn't.
Pain still burned across his back, and his left shoulder remained dislocated, sending sharp pulses through his body every time he moved even slightly.
So instead, he glared and snapped back.
"Shut up, you nerd! Just wait until I recover…" he threatened, his voice carrying enough menace to try and shut Dustin up.
"What?! What are you gonna do?" Dustin shot back immediately, leaning forward with that same annoying, toothyless grin.
Chris gritted his teeth, ready to fire back again but before he could, the door suddenly swung open.
Claudia walked in, holding a bag of food in her hands.
She stopped the moment she saw Chris already awake.
The bag slipped from her fingers, falling to the floor with a soft thud as she ran toward him without a second thought.
"Chris! My son…he's awake!" she cried, her voice breaking as tears streamed down her face. "How are you?! Are you hurt anywhere?!"
She wrapped her arms around him tightly….and instantly, pain shot through his body.
Chris winced, his face tightening as the embrace pressed against his injuries.
"…Doctor," Chris muttered weakly, his voice barely audible as his vision started to blur, his consciousness slipping again under Claudia's suffocating embrace.
For a brief moment, no one moved.
Jonathan and Joyce simply stared, processing what happened in front of them.
"Oh….he's actually dying," Jonathan blurted out. "I'll get the doctor!" he added immediately, spinning on his heel and rushing out of the room like his life depended on it.
"Mom! You're hurting him!" Dustin protested, trying to pry Claudia away from Chris. He struggled for a second….then suddenly paused, tilting his head as if reconsidering.
"…Ah, never mind. You should probably hug him more," he added, a crooked, almost evil grin forming on his face as he looked at Chris.
Claudia finally loosened her grip, pulling back just enough for Chris to breathe again. She wiped her tears hastily before turning toward Dustin.
"Why didn't you tell me he was already awake?!" she demanded, her voice still trembling.
Dustin avoided her gaze immediately, pretending to be very interested in literally anything else in the room.
Joyce opened her mouth, clearly wanting to ask about what had happened the night before but seeing Chris had just woken up, she held herself back.
Dustin, however, had no such restraint.
He turned back to Chris, his earlier avoidance gone in an instant.
"You shithead, explain the crash from last night….and your eyes too!" he demanded bluntly.
The room fell silent. Claudia, Will, and Joyce all waited, their eyes fixed on Chris.
They wanted to hear it from him directly.
Was Will telling the truth?
Was there really a monster?
Did Chris actually fight it….with a shotgun?
Joyce's hands tightened slightly at her sides.
More than anything, she didn't want Will to be seen as crazy.
Even if she herself hadn't fully believed his story before… if Chris confirmed it….She didn't know what she would do.
Chris glanced at Dustin first.
Then his gaze shifted slowly across the room, meeting the curious, tense expressions of everyone there.
A brief silence hung in the air.
"…Why should I tell you?"