The Fate of Hawkins; A Stranger Things Fanfiction

Chapter Five: The Flea and the Acrobat

Y/n's POV

"Hey, honey," Marilyn greeted and leaned against the door frame to my room. "Why aren't you ready yet?"

"I'm not sure I want to go," I murmur and lean up against my headboard.

"What? Why not?" Marilyn questioned.

"You know I hate funerals," I remind her.

"Yeah, but this is Will Byers we're talking about. You've known him and his family for practically your whole life," Marilyn pointed out. "And Nancy is gonna be there with her family, and so will the Henderson's and the Sinclair's. I'm sure all of them would like to see you. I mean, those boys all look up to you."

I sighed. "Okay. I'll go."

The funeral was beautiful, as far as funerals go. Ever since my dad passed away, I tried to stay away from caskets and graveyards and so forth. For one, they generally just creeped me out. And two, I didn't want to be reminded of my dad. After the funeral ended, Jonathan pulled Nancy and I aside, away from the prying eyes of our parents. He then pulled out a map that was very lacking in detail, only having three x's on it.

"This is where we know for sure it's been," Jonathan declared and gestured towards the red x's.

"My house is over here, so I'm gonna assume this is Steve's house," I guess and point to one x.

"Yeah," Jonathan confirmed. "This one over here is the woods where they found Will's bike. And this last one is my house."

"It's all so close," Nancy noticed. 

"Yeah. Exactly. I mean, it's all within a mile or something. Whatever this thing is, it's not traveling far. I want to go out there and find it. And if I do, I want to kill it," Jonathan announced and led us over to his father's car. He picked open the glovebox in front of the passenger seat, and from there, he pulled out a small gun. With the gun in hand, he began to dig around for some ammo, all while Nancy and I stood there in shock.

"Are you serious?" Nancy asked.

"What? You want to find this thing and take another photo? Yell at it?" Jonathan proposed.

"This is a terrible idea. But it's also the best one we've got," I note. "So lets do it."

I decided to walk back home from the funeral. It was a nice day outside. A little chilly, but nice nonetheless. I shoved my hands into my cardigan pockets as I walked, warming up my fingers in the process. A few blocks over from my house, I passed the Harrington residence just as Steve was pulling out of his driveway.

"Y/n, hey," Steve greeted and parked his car, blocking me from getting to the other side of the sidewalk. "Where are you coming from dressed like that?"

"Will Byer's funeral was today," I share. "I didn't really want to go since I hate funerals, but my mom somehow convinced me. So here I am."

"Right. Your dad. Sorry," Steve apologized.

I waved him off. "You're all good. It was uh, it was a long time ago."

"What, four years? That's not that long, Y/n," Steve mentioned. "Anyways, I was just about to go check in with Nancy. You want a ride to your house? I'm heading in that direction."

"I think I can manage to walk the remaining two blocks," I tell him. "But thank you for offering."

"Hey, um, before you go, did Nancy tell you about what happened between me and her?" Steve quizzed.

"That you were being a dick? Yeah. She did," I affirm.

"Oh," Steve mumbled. "Is there anyway you could tell me how to win her back?"

"Uh, yeah. Don't be a dick," I advise.

"Well no duh," Steve retorted. ""I was actually thinking maybe you had some secret inside knowledge about her. Since you're her best friend and all."

"Just apologize. Admit that you were wrong. Girls like that," I acknowledge. "And uh, she likes when a guy can make her laugh. So maybe you should try that."

"Right. Okay. Thank you, Y/n. I'll see you in school," Steve said before backing the rest of the way out of his driveway and driving off.

..............................................

"Like I said before, this is a terrible idea. It's official. We're all gonna die out here," I mumble as Jonathan, Nancy, and I walked through the dark forest. The only light we had was from our flashlights. Other than that, it was pitch black outside.

"It's not a terrible idea," Jonathan opposed.

"No, Y/n's right. This plan sucks," Nancy agreed as we trekked along.

"Maybe we'd get done faster if the two of you stop talking so we can find this thing," Jonathan figured.

I scoffed. "Rude." Just then, Nancy stopped in her tracks and began to look around. When Jonathan realized that neither of us were following him, he turned around.

"What, are you tired?" Jonathan implored.

"Shut up," Nancy hissed. "I heard something."

"I hear it too," I admit and strain my ears to listen again. "Come on." I followed the noise through the trees, trying to find the culprit. And finally, I did. There was a deer laying on the ground, and it looked hurt. Really hurt.

"Oh, God," Nancy breathed out. "It's been hit by a car."

"You poor thing," I coo and pet it gently. "Guys, we can't just leave it here to suffer."

"I'll do it," Jonathan put forth and raised his gun at the deer. However, just before he could pull the trigger, something pulled the deer away. I yelped and stumbled backwards, falling into Jonathan. For a moment, I thought Jonathan would've caught me, but instead, I shocked him, and the two of us fell to the ground in a heap.

"Oof. Sorry," I murmur and stand up, brushing myself off. I then extended a hand to Jonathan, and he took it, allowing me to pull him up. As soon as he was on his feet, he raised his gun and glanced around.

"What was that?" Jonathan asked.

"Where'd it go?" Nancy pushed.

"I have no idea," I confess. "Lets follow the blood." The three of us used our flashlights to help, and we followed the trail of blood that was scattered across leaves and sticks. We then got to the edge of the trail, and I frowned. "There's no more blood here. But that doesn't make any sense. If the deer was bleeding that badly, it wouldn't just stop. It'd continue to drip and eventually pool where the body is."

"Lets spread out," Jonathan suggested. I gripped the baseball bat I was holding tighter as I began to search around. My flashlight flickered across the trees, but nothing was in sight. No dear, no monster, nothing. Then, all of the sudden, a yell echoed through the night.

"Jonathan! Y/n!" Nancy shrieked.

"Nancy! Where are you!" I call out and run in the direction I heard her from.

"Nancy! Nancy!" Jonathan yelled and met up with me. "Where did she go?"

"I don't know. Keep looking! Nancy!" I shout.

"Nancy!" Jonathan screamed.