𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞~𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬

ACT TWO-SCENE FOUR

𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐲'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯
"i have to leave" Ashley was rushing around their room, shoving clothes and a blanket into her backpack, along with the newspaper article and information about Sycamore Springs
"no! take me! i can help" El screeched, chasing around after her
"you can't" Ashley seethed, standing still as she turned to face her sister "he is dangerous, but i am his sister. you saw-you saw what happened to Castor. i need to fix it. need my socks..." she trailed off, yanking open her socks draw, shoving about six pairs into her bag, zipping it up and throwing it over her shoulder
"you have to stay!" El begged, and Ashley immediately felt nauseous
"yes. i-i have to stay. Will. Will!" her nausea turned to panic faster than she could sit down, and El must have sensed it, because she too was thrown into a panic
"he-he's in danger, Mind Flayer. we have to go. now." she ordered, pulling her Converse on as El did the same, almost in a daze. Hopper was at work, so he would be gone for a good few hours, giving them the time to check on Will, Mike and their other friends, despite Hopper's strict orders to stay hidden. they had been traipsing through the woods in silence for no more than ten minutes before El piped up
"can-can we see Mike?" she asked shyly, interlocking her arm with her sister's. Ashley knew why she had been so quiet: nobody liked to disturb Ten when she was silent and brooding, because she can be very changeable and volatile
"yes. we can see Mike" she eventually decided, bringing their sullen walk to a sort of half hearted skip, she was still distracted by what Castor had said earlier and what she would do when she finally found her brother. nevertheless, she pushed those feelings down, as she always did, focusing on what she could do, which was just as important, if not more important than finding her brother. she didn't have much time to dwell on the thought though, because El had stopped dead in her tracks, eyes wide with fear, and it only took Ashley a few moments to realise why
"hello girls, are you lost? where's your mum? do you need help? do you need me to call someone for you?" each question felt like a slap across the face: quick, painful and not at all welcoming. El was watching something behind the woman, and a piercing creak sounded through the near empty clearing as the swing stared to move by itself, shocking the woman, which the girls took as an invitation to scurry off. as much as they wanted to, they didn't blend in very well; a pair of thirteen year old girls walking through Hawkins wasn't an unusual sight, but they simply emitted an aura of indescribable power that drew people in and pushed them away at the same time.
"um...Ashley?" El ventured "where is school?" she finished, and Ashley's cheeks reddened, a wave of annoyance flooding through her system. perhaps they shouldn't have ran from that woman, perhaps they should have asked her where school was, like normal kids would. instead, she tried to find Will's thoughts, but they were a complete mess, so she settled for Mike, who was usually very clear minded and easy to track. she pinpointed him with ease, a rush of adrenaline beginning to course through her veins as she grabbed her sister's hand and started running through the streets- the school wasn't too far away after all.

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𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

"Will!" she began to panic as she shook Will's shoulders, to no avail. he was rooted to the spot in the field, seemingly shocked to a standstill, and it looked as though he were staring at something terror, but his eyes were closed. El had left her a few minutes ago to search for Mike, promising not to be seen, but she hadn't returned as yet. Ashley felt her face grow hot and tears pressing at the back of her eyes, but she blinked hard, pushing them away; she had to stay strong. for Will.
"Will!" Ashley's heart froze as the familiar voice called his name, and she whipped around quickly, only to find her face a few inches from her best friend, Mike Wheeler.
for a moment, she had forgotten about Will, and had her arms wrapped around Mike's neck so tightly that she nearly choked him. he had frozen still, his brain still trying to process the flurry of emotions he felt as he tentatively wrapped his arms around her waist but as soon as the familiar vanilla scent of her hair wafted up his nose, he melted a little, pulling away after a few moments of silence, both of their eyes red and slightly puffy
"i-i don't know how you do it" Mike let out a restrained laugh, and Ashley smiled a little despite herself
"i'm special. more important. Will. he-i don't know what happened. i found him like this" she sighed in defeat, taking a regretful glance at Will before returning her attention to Mike, who was still in shock
"oh y-yeah" he took a shaky breath "Will's been having these visions...of the Upside Down, and they've been coming more often recently, Hopper calls it the anniversary effect"
"anniversary? because it's been one year?" she assumed, and Mike smiled proudly "yeah, exactly. wait a minute-how did you get here? have you been living on the streets or something?" Mike asked, but his voice was gentle and reassuring, nothing like that woman that she had met earlier, but Ashley still shifted her weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably "i can't say, i'm sorry. actually, i shouldn't be here" she spoke the truth sullenly, and Mike's face fell

"is El here?" he questioned, almost as his last piece of hope
"no" she shook her head, the lie sour on her tongue "but i think i know how to help Will. i need you to keep watch incase anyone else comes here, okay?"
"of course" Mike shook his head in disbelief "it's only been a year and you're speaking in full sentences, i'm impressed"
she smiled at Mike, taking one of his hands in hers
"i might not hear you" she explained as Mike glanced between her and Will
"is he going to be okay?" Mike bit his lip in concern, and Ashley squeezed his hand gently
"maybe not okay. he will have changed. he can get better, i have to help" she mumbled, closing her eyes and taking one of Will's hands in her free one. taking a deep breath, she reopened her eyes, only to be surrounded by a whirlwind of darkness, an impending feeling of dread settling itself upon her shoulders as she brought herself to look at Will. choking back a sob, she watched helplessly as his eyed widened even more than they already were. it looked as though he were being choked, but instead with thick tendrils of soupy grey mist
"let him go!" she yelled at the mist, its cruel chuckle reverberating through her bones 
oh look, the damsel has come to save the knight, how ironic
it spoke in her mind, and she shook her head violently
i wouldn't try that, little girl, i've grown stronger, and i know your every move now, so no more surprises
it rasped, and, without warning, three new tendrils shot themselves up her nose and mouth
go on then, carry some of the weight too, it could be interesting
the voice mused and Ashley tried to breathe, but she was breathing in nothing but cold, heavy smoke. she cried out for help, but she made no sound. her mind went sluggish and her vision began to fade in and out, her body beginning to shut down limb by limb as she lowered herself to the floor, hot tears burning her cheeks. just as she was beginning to submit to the darkness, she felt a tug on her left hand
"Ashley! it's okay, you're okay. listen to my voice" as Mike spoke, his voice became clearer and clearer, along with her vision, her once ragged breaths now coming more evenly as she concentrated on Mike's soothing words, eventually returning to the real world.
turns out she had collapsed into Mike's arms, bringing them both down to the floor
"Mike. i-it got me...i-i-i..." she clawed at her face, unable to explain what she had seen
"it's okay. i saw it all. you did good" Mike grabbed her wrists, pulling her hands away from her face
"you-you saw?" she stared at him, eyes wide
"yeah, you were holding my hand, remember?" he explained, and Ashley mentally slapped herself
"yeah, oka-" she started, but was cut off by the sound of Dustin and Lucas calling Mike and Will's names
"i have to go" she stood up quickly, brushing herself off and grabbing her bag "you didn't see me, okay?"
"i didn't see you, right. but they can see you" he pointed at the others, who were still racing towards them
"no. they can't" she insisted, and the others stopped momentarily, giving her enough time to give Mike a quick hug goodbye and run out of the fields, beginning her search for Sycamore Springs

word count: 1565
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