like i can \/ nancy wheeler

xxvi. separate ways

"losing ground, i'm reaching for you."
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

THE GROUP OF TEENS ALL SAT IN MAX'S TRAILER. Her mom wasn't home (she told them multiple times as they walked over in paranoia), she was busy working. Nancy had started, her eyes constantly on Colby, who was sitting on the arm of Max's couch. His hands were still shaking in his lap.

"He showed me things." she told them, her voice cracking. "Things that haven't even happened yet. The most awful things. I saw... a dark cloud spreading over Hawkins. Downtown on fire. Dead soldiers. And this... this giant creature. With... a gaping mouth. And... and this creature wasn't alone. There were so many monsters. An army. And they were coming into Hawkins. Into our neighborhoods. Our homes. And then... he showed me my mom."

Everyone froze, glancing up at her. Even Colby broke his stare from his lap up to the girl sitting a few inches away. Her eyes were pained and glossy— had she seen more than Colby had?

"And Holly." continued Nancy, her voice hoarse. "Mike. And they... they were all..." she trailed off, biting her lip to stop herself from crying. Colby clenched his jaw, looking over at her worriedly.

"He's just trying to scare you, Nance." Steve assured her, looking up from the couch opposite her and Colby. "I mean, it's not real."

"Not yet." mumbled Colby, looking sadly at Nancy, before shaking his head. "I mean, the part about Hawkins. He was just using your family to scare you." he shook his head again. "He did it to me."

"What did you see?" queried Josh, gesturing a hand at Colby. He was standing a few feet away from Max, his arms formerly crossed.

"It was like..." Colby sighed. "It was my house. It felt so real. I was just in my room— it was like a normal day. And then you," he pointed shakily at Cassie, "you turned into him," her face fell drastically, and she grabbed Steve's hand for support, "and you tried to... to come and kill me.

"He didn't want to show me anything," Colby looked over at Nancy with tired eyes, "like he did with you. He wanted to kill me. He tried to show me my parents. My mom was just this giant mound of flesh and... and my dad... he was like this one-dimensional piece of charred skin with holes in it and stuff-"

"I'm sorry," Robin looked both taken aback and apologetic, "why? Why does he look like that?"

"Because his dad died in the mall." replied Jayson, tilting his head at Robin. "His dad was Jim Hopper."

Everyone stared at Colby with gaped mouths, although nobody said anything. Steve nodded his head a little, as if urging Colby to continue with his story. Colby took a deep breath and did as he was asked to.