Stranger Things: Chapter 2 – Traces of the Missing
The morning after Will's disappearance, Hawkins was quieter than usual. The small town seemed to hold its breath, as if it knew something had gone terribly wrong. Joyce Byers had not slept; she sat at her kitchen table, clutching her phone like it could call her son back.
Sheriff Hopper had started asking questions, and neighbors whispered in hushed tones. But no one had answers, and Elias, walking silently through the streets, could feel the unease in every small detail: footprints in the mud, scratches on a fence, the tension in a dog that refused to leave its yard.
He didn't intervene directly. Not yet. The kind of attention his abilities drew could be dangerous. But where minor injuries or distress crossed his path, Elias quietly eased them—an ache here, a bruise there—always staying in the shadows.
Scene: Hawkins Middle School
Mike, Lucas, and Dustin had gathered after classes, poring over maps of the town and trying to retrace Will's route. Anxiety and fear weighed heavily on them.
"I still don't get it," Mike muttered, pointing at a scuffed bike track in the dirt outside the school yard. "He was right here. Then… nothing."
Lucas knelt, examining the track. "Yeah, it's like he vanished into thin air."
Dustin fidgeted with his backpack strap. "Something weird is going on. I can feel it. The air's… wrong."
Elias lingered nearby, pretending to check his own locker. He could feel faint traces of the path Will had taken—the minor cuts and scrapes left behind from a bike fall, the residual fear that lingered in the air like a static charge. He didn't say anything. Instead, he brushed a hand lightly over a nearby railing, wincing as the small injuries transferred into him. A quick grimace, a casual adjustment of his jacket, and the boys never noticed.
No one should feel unnecessary pain, he thought. Not tonight.
Scene: Following the Trail
That evening, Elias trailed discreetly as the boys started their first proper search. They moved slowly, checking the woods near the Wheeler house. The forest smelled damp and sharp with pine, the ground littered with sticks and fallen leaves. Every so often, Elias would pause, subtly brushing his hand over the bark of a tree or the mud beneath a fallen branch, feeling minor scrapes, bruises, or leaves caught on skin from those who had passed through earlier.
The boys were unaware of his presence, but the night was full of danger. A rustle in the underbrush made Lucas flinch, and Elias, without being seen, placed a calming hand briefly on the boy's shoulder as if to steady him. Lucas froze for a moment, startled, then shook it off. Elias moved on, unseen.
From the shadows, he could sense something… unnatural. A cold, jagged pulse ran through the air, making his stomach tighten. He didn't panic. He simply kept walking, silently ready to absorb any harm that might fall on the boys.
Scene: Small Acts of Protection
As the search continued, Elias noticed minor dangers that no one else would have seen: a loose branch that could have struck Dustin in the head, a hidden rock that Mike almost tripped on, and even a small cut on a neighbor's arm from the fence they were climbing. Each time, Elias found a way to intervene subtly—a touch here, a slight nudge there—absorbing the small injuries without anyone knowing.
It wasn't heroism. It was just his way of being kind, quietly and safely.
By the time the boys gave up and returned home, exhausted and frustrated, Elias retreated to the edge of the woods. The shadows hid him, but he felt the weight of the injuries he had taken that night settling in his chest and arms. A sharp throb, a small sacrifice, but he didn't complain. Someone out there had been spared pain.
That's enough for tonight, he told himself. Tomorrow, I'll do it again if I have to.
Scene: Watching Hawkins
From the rooftop of a quiet house, Elias looked out across the town. The streetlights flickered, the wind whispered through the trees, and somewhere, Will Byers was out there, lost and scared.
Elias clenched his fists, feeling the lingering aches he had absorbed from the night. I don't know what's coming. But if anyone gets hurt, I'll be there. Quietly. Unseen. And I'll take the pain for them.
The town slept below, unaware that a silent guardian moved among them. And for now, that was enough.