NANCY GETS THE GUN !

☀︎

TODAY, THE PARTY HAD GOTTEN TOGETHER TO DISCUSS ANY NEWS THAT THEY COULD SHARE WITH ONE ANOTHER. Sitting around a circle, the boys had discussed the possibility of an alternate dimension. They had called it the Upside Down-- a place they had believed that Will Byer's had been lost in. To anyone else, this would have seemed surreal. However, to this small group, it wasn't a shocker now that something so strange could be happening here in Hawkins.

Feeling a question arise as he watched Alex listening attentively to their every word, Lucas leaned forward. "But how do we get there?"

"We can't shadow walk. But maybe she can," Dustin looked over to the couch where Eleven lay there watching them. She had seemed either bored or upset with this idea. She had seen the horrors of what the Upside Down had brought, but she wasn't so sure it was the best for the boys to figure this out. It only meant that they would be introduced to what hid in that dark place.

"Do you know how we get there? To the Upside Down?" Mike asked Eleven but only got a headshake in response.

"Okay, since that's on hold. Can I fill you in on what I found out?" Alex asked. Sitting back in her seat, she brought her attention to Mike. It had been his sister involved in a different kind of mess than he had and it was guaranteed he had no idea. "Nancy and Jonathan know about that monster. The one I saw at Steve's house."

"How does she know?" Dustin questioned, his tone almost offended that they were not the only ones to discover this.

"There was a picture and it was in it..." Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the crumbled, taped-together picture. Hesitantly, she laid it out in the middle of the table. Tapping it lightly with her finger, she frowned. "This is the thing I saw."

Instantly, all three boys leaned in. Slightly shoving one another for another look, they whispered frantically. The first one to pull away had been Mike Wheeler. His gaze was on Alex with an upset look. "How come Nancy didn't tell me?"

"I don't know, but I'm telling you," she said gently. Without hesitation, Mike nodded his head in understanding. Even if Lucas had always pretended to be so against having Alex joining the party-- he had felt thankful.

Standing up, Lucas had tossed the picture over to Alex. "We should all get going... funerals tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? They just found the body!"

"Yeah, the fake body," Alex laughed as if this was all some joke. In a way, the tricks that Hawkins Lab kept seemed to be pulling felt as if it was all just a joke. Children had managed to find out more than they could possibly begin to cover up.

"Just don't talk to us at the funeral. It'd be too suspicious if you hung out with the cool kids too much," Lucas stated. Though, some would think it was strange if Alex Henderson was not comforting the boys. If any had fallen off their bike, she would be the first at their side, possibly saying some sarcastically rude remark before helping them back to their feet. To have her not acknowledge them at a funeral would only raise suspicion-- especially to Joyce Byers.

『••☀︎••』

THE FUNERAL HAD FELT LIKE A JOKE. The people closest to Will had not shed a tear as they had watched his casket being lowered. Even the younger boys had managed to laugh in the middle of the service as they talked about when Will would return back home. To Joyce Byers, she had noticed all the strange behaviors. Not only had the boys raised a red flag, but the group of Jonathan, Nancy, and Alex had seemed more eager for the funeral to end. She couldn't help but notice as the three had headed off the second that the funeral had come to a close.

Crouching down out a view, Jonathan had sat between the girls with a map he had prepared the night before. Across the map had been three red x's, marking the places that the monster had been spotted-- Steve's house, Jonathan's house, and the woods where Will had disappeared.

"It's all so close," Nancy whispered, not able to take her eyes off the page.

"Yeah. Exactly. I mean, it's all within a mile or something. Whatever this thing is, it's not traveling far," Jonathan said. Snatching the paper from him, Alex had looked it over curiously, seeing that this monster had seemed to keep to a slightly small area. Folding it up, she looked over to the two with a look that had Nancy's shoulders slack. "You two want to go out there, don't you?"

"We might not find anything," Jonathan claimed quickly. It was only supposed to seem as if this kind of adventure would be quick, easy, and fun. But the picture of the monster was all in their minds. It was out there and there was a chance that they would find something lurking around.

『••☀︎••』

JONATHAN HAD PICKED UP ALEX FROM HER HOUSE AND THE TWO WAITED IN THE WOODS FOR NANCY TO ARRIVE. He had brought the gun he had already shown the two while giving Alex a baseball bat he had found buried in his garage. It felt better for all of them to have a weapon, even if some were stronger than the others.

Alex had watched in boredom as Jonathan had missed the can he had been shooting at each and every time. At this rate, they were going to head out there with no ammo, or just as bad-- a terrible shot.

"Wow, that monster's really going to be scared of us," Alex laughed, making Jonathan roll his eyes in annoyance. Sighing loudly, he lowered the gun as he looked over at her.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Her smile had dropped instantly. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she scoffed to mask her fear. "Uh, sure. I mean, this isn't exactly fun, but if we find it, we kill it. So we'll be helping people." Coming to a brief silence, she slung the baseball bat over her shoulder as she looked him directly in the eyes. "I thought I was crazy so I didn't say anything before... but that night of Steve's party..."

"You saw it, didn't you?" he questioned, his anger rising. He knew that there was no point in being angry with her. She had been scared and it did sound crazy. Even he had told his mom how much he thought she was crazy for what she had seen.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. Letting the baseball bat slide down from her shoulder, she gently tapped it onto her shoe as she thought. "Do you think it didn't come after me when I saw it because..." she swallowed hard as a bubble rose in her throat from the thought. "Because it was too busy with Barb?"

"Don't say that," he stated sharply. It was a horrible thought, but now that it was out there, he couldn't help but wonder himself. Today would've been much different if it had taken her, or if he had never gone to find her after the party. There was a chance he would be here alone waiting for Nancy, asking her if it was possible that his best friend could also be taken by such a thing.

"You're right," Alex said with a forced smile. "Take another shot. Just don't be so tense."

Nodding his head, he turned his back to her as he raised a gun up to the cans that stood out before them. Few shots had come out, each one missing every single time. Every time, Jonathan had only grown tenser and his aim had become slightly worse.

Hearing the shots as she came out of the clearing, Nancy couldn't help but laugh when she had seen that all the cans remained untouched. "You're supposed to hit the cans, right?" Nancy called out the closer she got. Alex and Jonathan both turned their heads at the sound of her voice, knowing their adventure would start soon.

"No, actually, you see the spaces in between the cans? I'm aiming at those," Jonathan shot back. Nancy dropped her bag and her own bat down next to Alex's stuff, giving her a small smile. "You ever shot a gun before?" Jonathan asked Nancy.

"Have you met my parents?" Either way, Nancy held her hand out for the gun. It felt that maybe it was best to at least try. There was always the best possibility that she had slightly better aim than he did.

Jonathan hesitated before passing it over to her and telling her to just point and shoot. They were simple instructions and seemed as if they were kind of obvious. Nancy pointed the gun out in front of her, squinting one eye to get a clear shot at the cans. Both Alex and Jonathan watched in anticipation as she slowly pulled the trigger, hitting the exact can she was aiming at.

"Nancy gets the gun," Alex said, leaning down for Nancy's bat. Now standing between them, she gently hit Jonathan on the chest with the bat, knowing that there was no chance he would be getting the gun back. Looking out at the cans, one missing, it had felt like maybe there was a chance. A chance that they could take down the monster, or even find more answers than they could imagine.