Stranger Things: Chapter 1 – The Night Will Fell
The night air in Hawkins was unusually still, the kind of quiet that made every small sound feel amplified. Elias Carter walked along the nearly empty streets, his eyes scanning the houses, the trees, the sidewalks. He had learned to notice tiny details—scrapes on elbows, bruises hidden under sleeves, a child's stumble that no one else might see.
He wasn't particularly trying to look out for people. He did it because he couldn't stand the thought of someone hurting if he could do something about it. But no one needed to know. That was important. Elias had learned long ago that some things were safer left hidden.
Scene: Maple Street
Will Byers was riding his bike home after a long afternoon with Mike, Lucas, and Dustin. He hummed a little tune under his breath, unaware of the shadows in the woods nearby. Elias, walking home from the library, passed the same street. He didn't plan to intervene—but instinct made him pause.
A stray branch snapped under Will's wheel. He wobbled, barely catching himself, but his shoulder scraped against the bike frame. Pain flared across his arm, but Elias, who happened to be nearby, moved without thinking.
A casual step, a brush against Will's arm as he "helped him steady the bike," and the pain left Will's muscles slackened almost immediately. Elias winced inwardly as a sharp ache crawled up his arm—his secret toll—but he smiled faintly, nodding as if nothing had happened. Will barely noticed.
"Thanks," Will said, giving a distracted glance to the boy who had just walked past. Elias waved subtly and continued on his way, blending into the shadows.
No one needed to know he had just taken the pain from a stranger. It was enough that Will's night wasn't ruined.
Scene: A Short Walk Home
Elias passed another alley where a younger kid had tripped over a trash can lid, scraping his knee. A careful touch to his shoulder and a "here, watch your step" comment, and the boy's discomfort softened. Elias felt the sting in his own arm but kept moving, hidden from view.
It's nothing, he told himself. Just helping. Quietly.
This was how he lived. Not for attention, not for thanks. Just to take a fraction of someone else's pain so they didn't have to.
Scene: Hawkins Night
By the time Elias reached the edge of the woods near the Wheeler house, he paused. There was something in the air—a subtle disturbance he couldn't explain. It made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. The energy didn't feel right.
He lingered at the edge, keeping to the shadows, careful not to draw attention. A distant scream—or maybe just a frightened cry—made him freeze. He didn't run. He didn't announce himself. He only stayed hidden, alert, ready to intervene if someone was truly in danger.
Scene: Reflections
Later that night, back in his small room, Elias traced the aches forming in his arms and shoulders from the minor injuries he had absorbed throughout the evening. He didn't regret it. He would never regret it.
Somewhere out there, a boy had returned home safely. Another kid had avoided a scraped knee that might have gotten infected. These small acts, invisible to the world, were enough. For now, that was his way of making a difference.
Elias lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He didn't know what was coming next. Hawkins felt… wrong. The energy in the woods, in the air, in the quiet of the town, made him tense. Something was out there, something dark.
And when it reached people who couldn't defend themselves, Elias knew he would be there—quietly, without fanfare, taking the pain so others didn't have to.
For now, though, the town slept. And he would wait, unseen, ready.