"They'd rather call you crazy than admit that I can throw you across the room with one hand."
At first, she only remembered that her name was Nine, given to her by those that experimented on her. Until she escaped and was given a new name. Nina Lanc...
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Chapter Eight
FUNERAL
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NINA looked at herself in the mirror; her fingers playing with the hem of the black dress she wore. It was a dress she never wore but it was kept in her wardrobe encase of moments like these. Olivia stood by her daughter's open door before knocking on the door. "It's time to go," Olivia informed Nina who gave her a small nod.
Olivia's mouth opened to speak but she was unable to find any words to comfort her daughter. Nina had hope that Will was still alive along with Barb, but she had to put on a sad face.
Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her black woollen coat from her bed and throw it on before making her way downstairs where her mother was waiting for her. The two didn't speak as they drove to the cemetery. Nina leaned her head against the car window as she watched the world past her in a blur.
They arrived at the cemetery and Nina noticed that Ms Byers was sitting who had a distant look on her face. Nina knew that Ms Byers also believed that Will was alive so being at his funeral would be difficult for her. She almost wanted to go up to Ms Byers and tell her that she wasn't alone in believing that Will was alive. But she couldn't.
Nina and Olivia stood behind the Byers family with Nina standing close to Will's friends; wanting to keep an eye on them.
"'Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand,'" Pastor Charles quoted the book in his hand.
"It's times like these that our faith is challenged. How, if He is truly benevolent... could God take from us someone so young, so innocent. It would be easy to turn away from God... but we must remember that nothing, not even tragedy, can separate us from His love. We are here today to find comfort in the truth of scripture and to surround Will and his family," Pastor Charles continued but Nina stopped listening when she heard Dustin whisper to Will and Lucas; "Just wait till we tell Will that Jennifer Hayes was crying at his funeral."
Mrs Wheeler shushed the young boy which made the smile on Dustin's face drop. When Pastor Charles finished speaking; everyone holding roses began throwing them onto the coffin before offering their condolences to the Byers. Olivia and Nina walked up to the Byers, but Olivia bypassed Mr Byers and pulled Ms Byers into a hug. Ms Byers didn't return the hug as she remained frozen; lost in her own world. "I'm so sorry, Joyce," Olivia whispered into her friend's ear.
She pulled away from Joyce and gave her one last smile before she and Nina walked away together. "Mum, I'm gonna spend time with Jonathan and Nancy if that's alright?" Nina asked Olivia once they reached the car.
Olivia smiled at her daughter before nodding her head and pulling Nina into a bone-crushing hug. Nina reciprocated the hug but with less than half of her strength as she knew her strength would crash her mother's bones. The mother and daughter pulled away from each other and gave each other small smiles. "I will see you later," was all Olivia said before she hopped into her car and drove off, leaving for the reception.
Nina walked over to where Nancy and Jonathan were sitting by a gated group of graves and sat down beside them. Jonathan pulled out a map and held out for both the girls to see. "This is where we know for sure it's been, right? So, that's..." Jonathan was interrupted by Nancy saying; "Steve's house."
"And that's the woods where they found Will's bike and..." Jonathan moved his finger to another marker on the map before continuing; "That's my house."
"It's all so close," Nina spoke when she noticed the small distance between the markers.
"Yeah. Exactly. I mean, it's all within a mile or something. Whatever this thing is, it's... it's not travelling far," Jonathan explained as Nina nodded in agreement.
"You want to go out there," Nancy said as she noticed the look in Jonathan's eyes.
"We might not find anything," Jonathan pointed out which made Nina interject; "We found something."
"And if we do see it... then what?" Nancy asked as she stared at both Jonathan and Nina.
Jonathan let out a sigh before answering; "We kill it."
He suddenly jumped up and rushed towards his father's car. Nina and Nancy looked at each other with frowning brows before following after him. They watched him open the car door and begin to pick the lock of the glove compartment. "What are you doing?" Nancy asked as she looked down at Jonathan through the windshield.
"Just give me a second," he spoke as he wiggled his pocketknife in the lock.
The lock gave way and Jonathan pulled a gun out from the glove compartment. "Are you serious?" Nancy cried out in disbelief at the gun now in Jonathan's hand.
"What? You want to find this thing and take another photo? Yell at it?" Jonathan asked rhetorically and Nina nodded in agreement with him.
"This is a terrible idea," Nancy pointed out as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Yeah, well, it's the best we've got. What? You can tell someone, but they're not gonna believe you. You know that," he pointed out which Nina responded back; "Your mum would."
"She's been through enough," Jonathan explained making Nina bite her bottom lip and looked down at her feet.
"She deserves to know," Nancy interjected which made Jonathan snap; "Yeah, and I'll tell her...when this thing is dead."
The three teens agreed to meet up near the Byers' house before going their separate ways. Nina had her strength as her weapon, and she wasn't afraid of Nancy finding out that she wasn't normal. Nothing in Hawkins for them was normal anymore.
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