»Daughter, Burn It Down.«
0:00 ─〇───── 3:12
⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻
"𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹 𝒾𝓈 𝑜𝓃𝓁𝓎 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝓃𝑜𝒾𝓈𝑒... 𝓌𝑒'𝓁𝓁 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓃𝓊𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒 𝒹𝒾𝓈𝒶𝓅𝓅𝑜𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑒𝒹...
𝐼 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁 𝒹𝑜𝓌𝓃..."
≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡
I lay flat on my back, the soft plush of the mattress enveloping me. The dusty box fan on my nightstand rocks back and forth as it breezes me with cold air. Despite my forming goosebumps, I don't move to turn it off. I sit still as a rock, not a bit of me moving except the unsteady rise and fall of my chest.
I did not know Will Byers well, but I knew him enough. Enough to notice that when he laughed, he only showed his top row of teeth. Will Byers was the most fragile of flowers in a meadow of thistle. He cried a lot, not because he was sad most of the time but rather because he felt emotions so strongly he had no other way to express them.
It hurt knowing Will was gone. That we had failed, and I'd never get to thumb through his drawings or Dustin up from his house.
Worse so, it hurt when we got the invitation in the mail for the funeral.
The worst part of it all, though, was Dustin. His wails as he'd shake himself out of night terrors, the stomping of Claudia and I running to his bedroom. My little brother would be drenched in sweat that made his shirt stick to mine as I hugged him tight. It got so bad that he began sleeping in my room every night.
I shift my eyes to my left. Dustin sleeps curled into a ball on the opposite side of my queen-sized bed from me. A pale pink comforter wrapped tightly around him, nothing but his nose and mouth poking out. I contemplate letting him sleep past the funeral today to save him the despair.
No, I can't do that, I tell myself. He deserves to say goodbye.
Goodbye's a hard word. It's so definite, so negative. It implies that it's forever. I'd like to dream it's not.
Dustin must hear the cogs in my head turning. He stirs awake, his storm-colored eyes fluttering open. He looks at me through a glassy haze, eyelids still puffy and swollen from crying the night before.
"Hey, Buddy," I croak, ruffling his hair up a bit with my hand.
"I don't want to go," he admits, curling his lips into a tight frown.
I'm quiet. I try to come up with anything that will provide him with any solace, but I know it'll never be enough. "I know." I muster. I drag my heavy body out of bed and try to put on a brave face.
The air in my bedroom is suffocating. I relieve myself by shuffling down the hallway, dragging my fingertips along the wood-paneled hallway. Claudia's voice reverberates from the living room and down the hallway.
"I know, but we have to be there for her. You'd act the same way if you lost Mike or Nancy," she speaks in hushed whispers into the landline, dropping the gossip when she spots me. "I've got to go, Karen. The kids are up. Uh-huh. Okay. See you there. Buh-bye."
The phone clicks back into its place on the wall. Claudia forces a smile.
"Good morning, Dear," her usual chirpy voice has been snuffed out and she finds it hard to smile. "Is Dusty awake?"
I nod. "What was that about?" I gesture to the pale teal telephone, the cord still swaying.
"Oh, nothing, really. Joyce is just having a hard time, understandably so..." she sighs heavily, brushing curls out of her face. I move to the kitchen sink and pluck a cup from the dish drying rack. "I don't know what I'd do if something happened to one of you. Can't even imagine what it must feel like,"
I fill the glass with tap water, bringing it up to my dry lips. After a long swig, I blurt out, "It doesn't make sense,"
"What doesn't?"
"They checked the Quarry already. They would've found him then if he fell in," I rationalize.
Claudia shakes her head. "Maybe they missed him?"
"The police missed a whole human floating in the Quarry?" I snap sarcastically.
Her shoulders hang and I immediately regret getting aggressive with her. "I know it's easy to try to think your way out of these things rather than face them for what they are. You think it'll hurt less," tears well up in her eyes as she shifts to rub my arm comfortingly. "Will is gone, Honey."
≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡
As the casket lowers into the ground, I try to look anywhere but the grave. I scan my surroundings. Solemn faces in black dress clothes form makeshift aisles on the vertical sides of the perfectly rectangular hole.
I didn't know Will Byers well, but I'll always remember him. I'll keep the picture he drew for me when Dustin first told them I was coming to live here forever hung above my bed. A well-doodled sketch of the boys and I, hand and hand, fighting a pudgy green dragon.
Will the Wise. That was his Dungeons and Dragons name. I never saw the appeal of the game due to a lack of imagination, but I listened to the boys babble about it every day nonetheless.
Will the Wise. What a fitting name for a brilliant boy. I knew when I met him that he was sharp. He held himself in a mature, intelligent way that only develops from having to grow up too fast.
I wonder what caught such a smart boy off guard that it killed him. Was he chased by a dog? A bully, maybe? Why had he gone in the opposite direction of his home?
I still can't wrap my brain around it, and it seems I'm not the only one. I peek up from the decaying grass, sneaking a glance at Nancy through my mascara-coated lashes. She's already looking at me, squinting both in thought and against the bright morning sun. We hold each other's stares until she looks away first. I watch as her attention shifts to Jonathan. He's hanging around the back of the crowd, suspiciously far from the casket of his baby brother. They share a mutual cold look. Jonathan nods, slinking back into the mess of bodies as his mother gives a tearful speech. Nancy shuffles, kicking up dirt on her suede black flats as she follows Jonathan.
By the time I've peeled Dustin from my waist and navigated through the crowd, Nancy and Jonathan have vanished. I walk up the cemetery's cobblestone steps and pace to the parking lot. My heeled boots click, piercing the stuffy silent air. Scanning the parking lot, I spot Jonathan's Ford in the far corner, parked away from everyone else. Worried that the funeral may have been too much for Jonathan to handle, I quickly approach his vehicle to search for him. I tuck myself between parked cars, occasionally looking around to ensure no one is watching my ridiculous dance.
I reach Jonathan's car. Just as I move to cup my hands against the sides of my face and press them to the glass, the back door flings open. Before I can react, an arm extends and vice grips my sweater, yanking me into the car. Another pair of hands stretch from the driver's seat and close the door behind me, locking it.
I'm pulled on top of Nancy. She squeezes me tightly. "Don't freak out," she pleads in a whisper.
I struggle against her, using my elbows to free myself. "What the fuck is wrong with you two?!" Jonathan's face grows pale and Nancy seems disappointed in my reaction. I try to justify my outburst. "Seriously, we've got dead kids all over town and you're out here kidnapping me--"
"We need your help," Jonathan interrupts me.
"Ever heard of asking?" I snap.
Nancy pouts. "Look, I'm sorry. We--I, need your help. Please?"
I huff. "Fine. Just... be normal and ask next time, yeah?"
"Sure," Jonathan murmurs. "Except if we told you before now, you would've crapped yourself..." He shimmies in his seat, reaching for something in the center console. Pulling out an image, he hands it over to me. I pluck it from him, making a point to add attitude and glare to it. I look the picture over.
My body goes cold and my lips and fingertips tingle.
Barbara sits at the edge of the pool at Steve's house. Her head is hung low and her feet are dipped ever so slightly into the turquoise water that glows in the darkness of the night.
That's not all, though.
The image has been enhanced, revealing something lurking behind Barb.
Nancy creeps her hands closer to me, wrapping hers around mine. She squeezes them lightly, staring at me. As if asking permission. I purse my lips and nod. She slowly rolls the sleeve, just enough to show the drawings etched so deeply into my skin that the ink bubbles and turns red around the lines.
My unconscious drawings are a replica of the monster in the photograph, so precise in position and minute details.
"Y/N... we're not accusing you of anything," Nancy says levelly. I look up from the image. Our sights meet, and her stormy eyes captivate me. "But I need you to tell us what you know."
Rule Number Two: Trust No One.
Get out of the car.
Run away. Get the fuck out of here.
I will myself to obey my instincts, but I'm frozen in place, cemented to my seat in the back of Jonathan's Ford.
Don't let them know.
"Y/N?" Jonathan urges softly.
I shake my head. My ears ring violently.
"Listen to me. You can trust me--us, you can tell us anything," Nancy coos.
"No," I muster. "I didn't have anything to do with Barb's disappearance,"
"We never said you did," Nancy reassures.
"I didn't hurt anyone," I fumble. My trembling hands drop the picture. It flutters to the ground, so heavy despite being nothing but paper and ink.
Before I know what's happening, Nancy climbs into the back seat with me. She wraps her small arms around me. Instinctively, I return her embrace.
"I'm so afraid," I choke through my hyperventilation.
"Me too," Nancy admits. She rubs my back. I can feel Jonathan's intense stare on us. "I just want Barb back. I know you do too. This is far past a kidnapping, but you already knew that didn't you?" she is careful to keep her tone unaccusing as she pulls away from me slightly. Our eyes lock. "I need you to be honest with me Y/N... what do you know about the supernatural?"
≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡
We trudge through the dark woods, armed with flashlights, a bat with nails, and a gun. The gun is the only comforting thing about being out here in the middle of the night with the Monster. But would a gun even come close to stopping whatever this thing is?
Jonathan was apprehensive to believe me until I insisted he set his keys on the dashboard. I then started the engine of the Ford Galaxie, proving the keys utterly useless.
Nancy didn't doubt me for a moment. She didn't need the proof, though she was very intrigued by such.
Afterward was a frenzy of gathering supplies. I had deduced that every time someone disappeared, it was near the woods, and therefore the Monster must live somewhere hidden in the trees.
Indistinct whimpering echoes through the foliage. Nancy and I stop and turn to each other as if asking if the other heard it too.
"What, are you tired?" Johnathan snarks.
"Shut up," Nancy demands.
"What?"
The whimpering grows louder.
"I heard something," Nancy whispers. I nod in agreement.
I follow the sound through the woods as Nancy and Johnathan follow.
The sound grows louder until it is right next to us. It's a deer, whimpering as blood slowly seeps from the wounds all over its body.
"Oh my God," I whisper sadly, kneeling next to the creature. "it's been hit by a car," I point out after observing its injuries. Tears prick my eyes. "We can't just leave it. Nancy, give me your gun,"
"What?"
"I'm going to shoot it to put it out of its misery," I explain.
Johnathan offers to do it for me, but I decline. I stand up, step back a few feet, and aim at the deer. I aim for the head. Quick and painless, I think; she won't even know it's happened.
I hesitate for far too long. I stare at the animal in contemplation. Maybe there is another way? Do veterinarians work on wild animals?
Before I can pull the trigger, something from the bushes latches onto the deer and reels it into the shadows.
"Fuck! What was that?" I exclaim.
"I don't know..." Nancy says, crouching down to examine the bushes. The deer is nowhere to be seen, with a trail of blood left in its wake. Nancy stands, following the path. I tell her not to, but she ignores me. I groan, reluctantly following her.
Fresh bones litter the forest floor. Nancy seems bewildered.
"Where did it go?"
"I don't know," Johnathan gasps. "See any more blood?"
Nancy and I both shake our heads. The three of us split up, ensuring to stay within eyesight of each other. I scan the area for any sign of a predator. Could that... thing have done this? Undoubtedly so, as I've never heard of a predator that can clean the bones of its prey within a minute.
"Y/N, come look at this," Nancy calls to me. I turn to see her crouching near a tree in the darkness. Curious, I obey and walk to her. I kneel on the cold forest ground, leaves crunching beneath me as I do so. I squint against the darkness to find what she sees. The tree is missing a sizeable chunk from its base and oozes with some odd slime. "Should we go in?"
"What is it?" I ask.
"Only one way to find out," she returns.
I get an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach as Nancy begins to crawl into the ooze. Unwilling to let her face whatever lies there alone, I follow her. The tunnel we find ourselves in squelched beneath my fingers, covering my skin with a terrible-smelling slime. I gag.
We exit the other side of the tree. Only, it isn't the other side of our tree. The world is dark and covered in a blueish-gray hue. Our flashlights flicker. Ashes rain from the sky in a neverending flurry.
"Where are we?" Nancy wonders aloud.
I look around. El flipping the board upside down comes to mind. I vividly remember the pieces she places next to each other: Will and the Monster.
"Hawkins, but... not Hawkins?" I observe vaguely.
"What does that mean?" Nancy asks desperately.
"I don't know yet," I admit.
Something growls, causing me to shudder in unadulterated fear.
Nancy points her barely working flashlight into the deep woods. I grow cold to the bone as I lay my eyes on a creature devouring something in the trees. It's humanoid figure is hunched over, sloppily digging into the prey. My mind screams at me to run. At this moment, I am angry I hadn't discovered my powers earlier. They might have been helpful in this situation. I grab Nancy's shoulder.
"Let's get out of here," I whisper. It appears I was too loud, as the monster turns to us and roars. I freeze.
That is exactly what I've been seeing.
It charges toward us. Nancy lets out a blood-curdling scream. We sprint into the woods, towards where Johnathan parked. My heart pounds against my ribcage painfully. My stomach cramps, and my legs burn, but I don't stop running.
"Johnathan!" Nancy screams, not far behind me. Once I'm sure we're away from the monster, I stop to give my distressed lungs air. I pant.
Johnathan's voice faintly bounces all around us as if trapped between mirrors. I look around. Everything is the same, down to boulders and fallen branches I saw on the walk over. It is our world, but it isn't.
The monster has found us, emerging from the woods. The screech the beast lets out is unlike anything I've ever heard. I have never been petrified in my life until now.
I force the gun into Nancy's hands, choosing her safety over mine."Run!" I command.
We dash off into the woods in different directions.
"Y/N! Nancy!" Johnathan's voice rings out.
"Johnathan!" I shout. Nothing matters more to me than getting out of here and finding Johnathan. He may have broken my trust, but none of that matters now. Not when there is a life-ending monster following me in the woods. I yearn for the comfort of my friend, something safer than whatever the thing chasing me is.
"I'm here!" I cry out to Johnathan.
I follow where his voice seems to be strongest. My body is going to give out any minute now. I'm running out of time. I find Nancy cowering behind a tree. The monster stalks around her, sniffing her out. Nancy looks at me with pleading eyes, trembling too much to even think about pulling the gun on the animal. We don't even know if the weapon will do anything.
"Girls, follow my voice!" Johnathan's voice is much clearer now, coming from a tree. The base of it glows and oozes.
"That's the way out," I whisper. The monster turns to face us, alerted by the noise. Nancy readies herself, awaiting my instruction. I nod, and together we make a run toward salvation—the monster screeches, charging us. Nancy screams, smashing her back into the tree. She hyperventilates, trying her best to take the safety off the gun. It's too late, though, as the beast hovers above us.
In my last effort to protect my best friend, I stand in front of Nancy and hold my hands out. "Go away!" I utterly scream, as loud as my exhausted body can muster.
The creature squeals in pain as it is lifted off the ground and into the air, then backward into a tree. A loud crack rattles the air as the back of the monster splits the tree. The beast is durable, scrambling to its feet.
I push Nancy into the hole in the tree, forcing myself in right behind her. We crawl frantically for what feels like an eternity.
"Nancy! Y/N!" Jonathan's voice is almost clear now. Nancy tears through the ectoplasm-like sheet separating us from our friend. Jonathan pulls Nancy out first, then me.
I collapse onto the leaves, trying to catch my breath. Tears stream down my face, and my body aches unbearably. I watch the opening, waiting for the monster to follow. But it never comes. Instead, the tree bark slowly grows back, covering the portal between our world and the other.
≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡