Love And Hellfire

Chapter 24: He Knows

"Do you see anything?" Nancy called out, both her and Avila simultaneously staring up into the abyss, awaiting Robin's answer. "Robin!"
"Uh, I see a bunch of things." Robin replied, remaining allusive. "But judging on where we are, I have no idea if they're good or not."
Nancy rolled her eyes, sighing deeply as she awaited her friends return. They needed Robin to come back soon, or there'd be no hope of either of them leaving the tunnels. The silence between the two girls was eery enough for Avila to see this time as an opportunity. An excellent one.
"She does that." Avila smiled to Nancy, not recieving the same in return, unsurprisingly. "Rambles when she's nervous. It kind of runs in the family."
Feeling as though she was being ignored, Avila persisted.
"I'm not sure whether to congratulate you or not-"
"Don't." Nancy cut her off. Resuming her position of ignoring Avila, she quickly became frustrated.
"Nancy." She spoke softly. "I'm not sure what I've done to you, but there is no reason why me and you can't stand here and have a conversation."
"I have a good reason." Nancy blurted out, harshly. "I don't like you."
Shocked by her blunt attitude, Avila returned to being quiet.
That was, at first.
"You know, you don't know how lucky you are to have Jonathan." Avila pointed out. "He is nothing but sweet and kind to you, and you treat him like shit. You're supposed to be in love..."
"And what would you know about love?!" Nancy snapped. "You've been in this town what, five minutes? And you've sunk your slutty claws into the first poor guy that you've seen!"
"Hey!" Robin bellowed, suddenly putting a stop to their arguments. "Will you two put your handbags away for five minutes!? The coast is clear up here!"
Glaring at one another, the two girls put their feud to one side in order to finally leave the dark and dreary tunnels. Helping them up, Robin gave the pair looks of utter disgust at their bickering.
"Seriously?" She asked them both, taking a step back in order to fully intimidate them with her forceful stare. "Of all times to argue this out, you both choose now!"
Out of nowhere, the earth beneath them suddenly began to tremble. Similarly to an earthquake, the ground shook over and over, making it incredibly difficult for the girls to remain on their feet. Falling to the floor, Robin clutched at the grass and earth to steady herself, Avila soon following behind her.
"What the hell is happening?!" Nancy yelled, stumbling to her knees beside the two girls, all three of them now huddling against a grass bank.
Clutching to one another, Avila took a moment to look above to see the sky being torn apart by large flashes and strokes of lightning. Something was going on. The Upside Down.... was changing.

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"W-what is happening?" Will stuttered, trembling as he and El approached the border that led to Creel House, where Steve appeared to be in the midst of a panic attack.
"Steve! Steve!" Eddie called out to him, crouching beside him on the ground, holding his shoulders to steady him as he continued to pant over and over. "Buddy it's okay. I'm here, you're safe!"
"How can-" Steve mumbled, his eyes fleeting between Eddie beside and the horror house before him. "How can... it be here?"
Rushing to their friends aid, both Mike and Lucas looked to Eddie for guidance. They tried their best to console and comfort him, but it was no use. Even Dustin who perched at Steve's side, had never seen his friend like this before. It was haunting.
A little way down the road, Jonathan picked up his pace, learning just what was happening from his brother and El who held back suddenly. Standing back to watch the chaos unfold, it was El who noticed how dazed and vacant Will had quickly become. Standing, almost dormant to his spot, his eyes were glazed over, as he slowly lifted his hand to grasp his neck.
"Will?" El spoke out to him, holding him by the shoulder as she gazed deeply into his cold, empty eyes. "Will, what is it?"
At first he didn't answer, remaining under some sort of spell.
"Jonathan!" El panicked, attracting the attention of her older brother instantly. Rushing his way back over to where will paused, he had barely crossed the boundary between the road and the grounds of Creel House, when the earth began to shake. Out of nowhere, the ground beneath them began to tear and pull apart, parting the group into their two teams, conveniently. Struggling to stand, Jonathan glanced to where his friends clambered on the other side of the ditch. Arising from the ground, Steve appeared to be cured of his worries as he grasped at Eddie, the pair of them struggling to stand. Stumbling backward, the boys fell upon the steps leading up to the house. Catching Jonathan's eye, they each had the same thought simultaneously. If their teams were not decided before, they had been now.
To their relief, the trembling came to an abrupt stop. The first to return to his feet, Jonathan bravely took a few steps forward to inspect the damage of the quake. Similarly to how the gates within the Upside Down had torn their way through Hawkins, the road they'd once walked upon had been split right down the middle, creating a deep, trench of sorts. Long and wide enough to make it impossible for the friends to cross and be reunited with one another.
"He knows." Will declared suddenly, his voice becoming dull and menacing as he remained upright, his right hand clutched to the back of his neck. "And he's coming."
Almost as quickly as it had come, Will gasped suddenly, returning to reality from his trance. Choking for air, he stumbled to his knees, El quickly joining him by his side.
"You all okay?" Eddie called over to Jonathan, inspecting the ditch for himself.
Looking back at his brother who, nestled in El's arms looked confused by everything around him, Jonathan decided it was better to lie in that moment. He knew exactly what needed to happen next. What was best for the group.
"Yeah, all good here." He lied, gazing over at Steve, Mike, Dustin and Lucas who were huddled together beside the flowerbeds of Creel House. "But I'm guessing there's no way any of us are getting across this road now right?"
Leaning over carefully, Eddie remained concerned as he stared down into the dark abyss.
"I guess not." He concluded. "What should we do?"
Taking a deep breath, Jonathan prepared himself for the inevitable arguments he was about to be faced with upon making his next statement.
"We stick to the plan." Jonathan stated. "We're coincidentally in our teams now, and we can make our way to the high school from this side easily so-"
"But we're not meant to split just yet!" Dustin interrupted, unsurprisingly arguing. "We have to stick to the plan!"
"With all due respect, Henderson..." Eddie said, looking down on his tiny, but loud friend. "The earth shaking and the roads tearing apart weren't exactly part of our plan..."
"No arguments." Jonathan added strongly. "We'll make our way to the high school, we'll check in when we're almost there okay?"
A simple nod was all that was needed to reassure Jonathan that he was heard. By Eddie atleast. Returning to his siblings, he appeared to fill them in on his decisions. Looking over to their friends, El waved, staring longingly to Mike before Jonathan quickly guided them off into the woods and out of sight. There was no going back for the gang now. They'd been split. The plan was in full motion.
"Now what?" Steve asked, as Eddie turned back to face him and unwillingly, Creel House. Fixated on the building before him, this was Eddie's first visit to the property he'd heard so much about. The house itself appeared dreary, empty and unloved. Each window was boarded up but the door remained accessible. One thing Eddie did notice in particular, was that the house was in tact, not torn in two as Steve had once described from his last visit here.