so close, yet so far // jancy

Chapter 14

As Jonathan's eyes fluttered open, he rolled over on his side slowly. He got up, scratching his head. The box of crackers was sitting on the bed next to him, Nancy's bed. As creepy and weird as it sounded, he just wanted to be closer to her, and it made him feel less alone. He swore at one point he could feel her presence in the room, and it made his heart light up for just a split second, before realizing he was nowhere near her.

For the past two days that he had been stuck in the upside down, he hadn't done much. He had walked around, looking for anything peculiar, and munched on the crackers he had. He had some water bottles from the store that quenched his thirst.

Jonathan hadn't seen the mind flayer so far. He was awfully happy not to see it, but it made him wonder where it was lurking. Jonathan was also confused as to how the gate just disappeared, leaving him cut off from everybody else. He got curious enough that he walked back to the lab, and to the spot where the gate would be. There was nothing there thought; not a single trace of a gate ever existing.

Last night, Jonathan had a panic attack. It hit him hard that he was alone in the upside down, and there was a good possibility that he could be stuck there forever... or until he died. He didn't want to die. He wanted to see Nancy's beautiful face, the way her nose would crinkle up when she laughed, her ocean eyes, and her smile. That smile that melted Jonathan's heart every time she flashed it, making him fall more in love with her than he was. He didn't ever think he would stop falling in love with her; it was like an endless pit that stretched on forever, and he never wanted it to end.

He snapped out of his thoughts, pulling himself together. He had to figure a way out of here. He didn't know what was going on in the normal world, but he did know that he had to be prepared to fend for himself.

Jonathan ate a few more crackers, and sprang out of the bed. He flew down the stairs, and outside into the lonesome street. He set off down the road; his slight hopes carrying him. Jonathan was going to scout around again, but this time everywhere he could think of.

There has to be something. Some kind of evidence of a gate or anything .

He continued down the road until he stumbled upon Mirkwood. He realized he was close to his house, and his stomach flipped. The lab was vertical from him through the woods. Jonathan decided to check his house once more, in hopes of finding anything he didn't catch last time.

As he made his way down the driveway, he stopped abruptly in his tracks. His gaze fixated a few feet in front of him. Jonathan stepped back; he felt something. He wasn't sure what it was; it felt like a magnet, pulling him closer.

The force began coming his direction, and he continued stepping away from it. But then it suddenly stopped, and he raised an eyebrow in confusion. He stepped closer to it, and then the streetlight overhead him flickered on and off. He glanced at, petrified, but then a wave of familiarity washed over him. This wasn't simply a force; it was a person. Jonathan could feel their presence. He gulped, staring into the now darkness.

"Nancy?"