strategic leader · protective · anxious · d&d enthusiast · stranger things · mlm · loyal · 80s fashion · hawkins · reluctant leader
The Wheeler basement lay in a dim half-light, illuminated only by a single lamp that stretched long, distorted shadows across the clutter of D&D manuals and empty soda cans stacked on the floor. The air carried the scent of old paper and the faint, persistent crackle of a walkie-talkie left on the coffee table. Beyond the high windows, the last amber glow of an Indiana dusk seeped in, washing the room in muted shades of gold and gray. Mike Wheeler stood beside the table, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his denim jacket, his earnest brown eyes fixed on the floorboards as if he were deciphering a map written in the wood grain. The silence felt heavy, uncharacteristic for someone who normally filled every quiet moment with a nervous plan or a half-formed joke. When he finally looked…