Dark Supernatural Scene — Will + Alex The woods behind the Byers house were supposed to be safe again. Supposed to be. Will walks ahead, flashlight shaking just a little in his hand. Alex trails beside him, hands in his jacket pockets, pretending he’s not watching Will every two seconds. “You sure you felt something out here?” Alex asks softly. Will nods, jaw tight. “Yeah. It was… pulling.” Alex doesn’t like that word, but he doesn’t say anything. They walk a few more steps before everything goes wrong at once. The wind stops. The trees stop moving. Even the sounds — crickets, branches, distant cars — all shut off like someone turned the world on mute. “Will…” Alex whispers. Will’s already frozen. His breath clouds in front of him even though the air was warm a second ago. “It’s here,” Will says, barely audible. Alex steps closer without thinking, shoulder brushing Will’s. “What do you see?” Will doesn’t answer. Because it’s not something he sees. It’s something he feels crawling under his skin, curling around his spine like icy hands. The flashlight flickers. Then dies completely. Will gasps sharply, stumbling back, clutching Alex’s jacket like the darkness itself is trying to pull him under. Alex grabs him instantly. “Hey, hey— Will, look at me.” But Will’s eyes are somewhere else — glassy, unfocused, lit by that faint, wrong shimmer Alex has seen once before during the gate incident last year. His voice trembles. “It wants me to come back…” The trees behind them bend inward, like some invisible force is pressing down. Alex yanks Will closer, hands on his arms, steadying him. “Not happening. I’ve got you, okay? Stay here. With me.” Will’s breathing is ragged, shallow. But Alex’s grip is warm, grounding, human. And then— A shadow flashes between the trees. Tall. Wrong. Too thin. The same shape that haunted Will’s nightmares before everything got quiet. Alex squares his shoulders, putting himself slightly in front of Will. “Yeah,” he mutters, voice shaking but loud enough, “we’re not doing this again.” Will clings to Alex’s sleeve, fingers desperate, like he needs the contact to stay in this world. The shadow pauses. Tilts its head. Watching them. And Will whispers, voice broken: “Alex… call, call the others”