chapter v. | dig dug
"your timeline's wrong, dipshit"
(implied self harm!)
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IT WAS DARK WHEN THE TRIO ARRIVED AT A MOTEL. They were on their way to Illinois, where they were going to talk to Murray Bauman, the private investigator that the Hollands had hired to find Barb. Nancy and Jonathan walked into the reception while Cassie stayed outside, finishing off her second cigarette.
Cassie needed a moment away from them to process the last few hours. She had never thought that she would return to that lab, much less return to one of those observation rooms. Her gut churned at the thought of her old room being used to experiment on creatures from the Upside Down.
She was embarrassed. So embarrassed that both Jonathan and Nancy had to see her tumble into herself. She couldn't really describe what happened. She didn't mean to revert back to her pre-teen self, the version of her that would whimper at the sight of an observation room. She didn't mean to revert back to her scared demeanour, who knew that she had been playing up too much and was now going to get punished. It was this natural instinct, she supposed. But that didn't wash away the feeling of awkwardness after breaking down in front of Nancy.
Cassie sighed as she threw the cigarette down on the ground and stomped on it. The girl slung her overnight bag over her shoulder and began walking into the reception. She opened the door to hear the receptionist say, "You want a single or a double?"
"Double," Cassie answered from behind the pair. The two spun around to face her, surprised she had followed in so quickly.
The three were escorted to a room with two double beds and a small bathroom. Cassie sighed before chucking her overnight bag onto one of the beds. Nancy did the same and Jonathan quietly insisted that she took the first shower of the night. The girl quickly gathered her clothes before scampering over to the bathroom.
Cassie opened her bag and began to slowly find her pyjamas. Jonathan crept up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, resting his chin on her shoulder. Cassie sniffled at the warm and tight embrace, tears already threatening to spill out of her eyes once again. Jonathan's hands rubbed her forearms softly and lovingly.
"It's okay, Cass," he whispered in her ear.
The girl let out a rogue sob before taking a series of shallow breaths, attempting to make them deeper. Jonathan pulled her closer to his chest.
"Shh," he hushed quietly, his hands not stopping. "It's okay, Cass. I've got you, I've got you."
Cassie sniffled some more, willing herself not to cry. She had shed too many tears in the past week than she would care to admit and she was not going to cry again.
"I'm fine," she struggled out, shrugging Jonathan's arms off of her. She continued to unpack her bag. Jonathan sat next to her bag and looked up at her.
"You wanna talk about it?" he asked her meekly.
She didn't look at him and merely gave him a 'mm-mm' as she shook her head. Cassie grabbed her sweatpants and hoodie out of her bag, placing them on the bed. She began shaking her jacket off her shoulders before the sleeve got caught on her shirt. She shook her arm more, getting frustrated. Seeing her frustration, Jonathan got up and helped her take the jacket off.
"I've got it, I've got it," he whispered, pulling the jacket off. He sat back down, folding the jacket and putting it on his lap.
Cassie pulled her shirt off, leaving her in her blush pink singlet that she wore under everything. As she went to grab her hoodie, Jonathan took note of the red scratch marks that overlayed the tattoo, blending in with the already existing scars. Cassie pulled the hoodie over her head as Jonathan decided to speak up.
"You scratching yourself in the car?" he asked her. Cassie's head shot up to look at him, in slight fear and a defensive twinkle in her eye. "Your arm, Cass. You've been scratching at your tattoo." He intentionally left out that she had been scratching at her scars as well.
"Leave it, Jonathan," she said to him, turning back to her bag.
"Cass, can we please just talk about this-"
"I said leave it!" she told him strongly, her head whipping back to look at him. She stared into his brown doe eyes, and the sight of him in slight distress broke her inside. "Please just leave it." Her next sentence was wobbly and teary, pleading with him to stop talking about it.
The bathroom door opened and Nancy came out sceptically, her clothes bundled in her arms. Cassie wiped her eyes quickly, hiding her tears from Nancy. The taller girl grabbed her sweatpants and ran over to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.
How could she be so stupid? To make her scratches so obvious when Jonathan knew to look for the signs. Cassie rubbed her eyes harshly in frustration. She wouldn't let herself make the same mistake again. The girl quickly discarded her heavy jeans for the sweatpants that she had stolen from Jonathan months ago.
She walked over to the sink and turned the water on. Cassie splashed her face a few times with the cold water. She turned the tap off and dried her face before looking back at herself in the mirror. The teen took a deep breath before walking back out to the room.
Jonathan and Nancy looked over at Cassie, seemingly stopping a quiet conversation of theirs. Jonathan grabbed his clothes before making his way into the bathroom. Cassie packed her things awake as Nancy watched her from the other bed.
"Are you sharing a bed with me?" came Nancy's voice. Cassie turned around to look at her. A confused expression resided on the taller girl's face. "I- I just thought that - that you and Jonathan sharing would be awkward but I - I forgot that you guys usually share back home." Cassie nodded with Nancy.
"Thank you, anyway," Cassie said. Nancy looked up from her lap at Cassie. "That's very kind of you, Nancy." Nancy nodded again.
Jonathan exited in his night clothes and soon, the three slipped into bed. Cassie pulled the quilt up to her shoulders, her back facing Jonathan. The lights were turned off and Cassie felt Jonathan's arm draped over her waist.
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The morning was cold and the trio were silent as Jonathan drove them to Murray Bauman. Smoke from Cassie's cigarette billowed out of her open window as they raced along. Jonathan placed his hand palm up on Cassie's thigh. The girl took it, enveloping his cold hand in her usual warm one.
Finally, Jonathan pulled into what looked like an abandoned warehouse or garage.
"Are you positive this is the right place?" Jonathan asked warily, putting the car in park. Nancy grabbed the business card she had grabbed from the Holland's.
"3833," she read from the card. "Yeah."
"All right," Jonathan replied simply, pulling his keys out. The two nodded between themselves as Cassie readjusted her sunglasses.
"Okay, let's rock this bitch," she said, opening her car door. The two followed and the three walked over to the graffitied door that read Keep Door Closed.
Nancy and Cassie shared a look as she quickly stamped out her cigarette and shoved her hands into her jacket pockets. Jonathan rang the door bell which elicited a horrid buzzing sound that made the three jump.
"Look at the camera!" a voice came from the intercom. The three looked at each other, confused. "The camera."
"What camera?" Jonathan asked, pushing down on the button once more.
"Not the loudspeaker. Above you, to the right," the voice instructed. Cassie looked up to see a camera perched on the wall.
"That one," Cassie said to the others, pointing up at the thing. They too looked into the camera lens until the sound of the door rattling drew their attention.
The door swung open to reveal a balding man with glasses and a robe. He looked them all up and down before speaking. "Nancy Wheeler. Cassandra Henderson. Jonathan Byers. You three are a long way from home."
Cassie lifted her sunglasses to place them on her head as Murray invited them inside. Nancy slid in quickly, Cassie following behind her. Jonathan brought up the rear, a gentle hand on the small of Cassie's back. Murray shut the door as the teens walked into his house.
The man led them to an orange gate and pushed it open. "Well..." he began. The teens followed him into the living room, looking around the place. "I hope you didn't come all this way to tell me about the bear in the Harrington kid's backyard." Cassie's mind instantly went back to the day of picking a casket for Will, and Nancy coming to ask about the obstruction in the photo. The thought of the Demogorgon made a shiver run up her back. "I've heard that one already."
Murray led them further into his house, opening a sliding door. As the door opened, the three were met with a wall covered in papers, strings, photos, and maps. "Take a look. Go ahead, don't be shy," Murray told them.
Times and dates scattered the wall. Numerous pictures of Barb were hung, Will's article in The Hawkins Post. The three studied the wall, analysing every detail.
"I followed up on 200 tips, most bogus, but that's how these things always go, okay?" Murray said, following behind them. Cassie almost rolled her eyes at him, as if they didn't know all of this already. However, her eye caught on his timeline of Barb's disappearance. "I know every last step Barbra took that day, every last person she talked to. The answer to what happened to your friend, it's up here somewhere. I assure you that. I just gotta connect the right dots."
"Timeline's wrong," Nancy stated confidently, the trio's back still to Murray.
"I'm sorry?" Murray asked, as if insulted that Nancy was stating how wrong his timeline truly was.
"Your timeline's wrong, dipshit," Cassie said, looking at him and chuckling. Nancy and Jonathan turned to Murray as well. "And the girl with the buzzed hair, she's not Russian." Cassie went over to retrieve the sketch of Eleven from the wall. Cassie tore the scribbled Russian? off the top of the sketch. "She's from Hawkins Lab. Like me." Murray's eyebrows furrowed deeply at the new information.
"Her name was Eleven," Nancy continued for Cassie as she slowly returned to the group.
"You might want to sit down for this," Jonathan advised.
Murray sat on the couch that was in the room as the three began explaining last year's events to him. Cassie quickly got herself situated on the table and Jonathan stood between her legs, still facing Murray. The girl twisted Jonathan's hair as he explained everything about Will, knowing how it comforted him.
After explaining everything and showing Murray Cassie's tattoo, the three finally played the tapes from Dr Owens on their trip to Hawkins Lab.
"What if they try to replicate that?" came his voice from the tape recorder that sat in Nancy's hands. "The more attention we bring to ourselves, the more people like the Hollands who know the truth, the more likely the scenario becomes. You see why I have to stop the truth from spreading, too. Just the same as those weeds there. By whatever means necessary."
Nancy stopped the recording, watching Murray as he sat silently. He didn't look at the teenagers but rather at the floor, his hands in his lap.
"So, is it enough?" Nancy asked him finally, cutting through the silence. Cassie wrapped her arms around Jonathan's torso, his hands holding hers. "The tape recording, is it enough? Is-Is it incriminating?"
Murray stood up and walked out of the room silently. The three looked at each other before following him to the kitchen.
"What are you doing?" Nancy asked him as he poured vodka into a cocktail shaker.
"Thinking," Murray replied shortly.
"With vodka?" Nancy continued.
"It's a central nervous system depressant. So yes, with vodka," Murray replied again.
"Can't argue with that logic," Cassie mumbled. She picked up a glass and grabbed the vodka bottle. "You mind?" she asked Murray. The man shook his head as Cassie poured herself a shot. Murray walked over to his record stand with his drink, picking out a vinyl as Cassie threw back her shot. She admired the burn down her throat, telling her how good the quality of the vodka was.
"Music? Really?" Nancy asked him, her patience wearing thin.
"Yes," Murray replied again, his patience with Nancy's insistent questions wearing thin as well. "It helps me..."
"What? Think?" Jonathan finished hoarsely as Murray put the vinyl into the record player. Jonathan's tone reminded Cassie of the first time they went to visit Lonnie nearly a year ago. It was still as hot (if not hotter) now than it was back then.
Murray didn't answer Jonathan's remark and instead walked away as jazz filled the room. Cassie walked back over to her friends as Nancy stepped forward.
"How long is this gonna take?" Nancy asked him accusingly. She followed behind him.
"Longer if you keep talking," Murray responded.
Cassie took her spot next to Jonathan, the pair watching the two. The girl slipped her hand into Jonathan's pocket and held onto his hand tightly. He looked down at her, giving her a comforting smile and squeezed her hand.
"Is the tape incriminating or not?" Nancy continued, frustrated at Murray's vagueness. "It's a simple question."
Murray let out a fake laugh as he looked over at Nancy. "There's nothing simple about it. Nothing simple about anything you've told me."
"You don't believe us, do you?" Jonathan asked him as the pair walked up to be behind Nancy.
"I believe you," Murray reassured them, "but that's not the problem. You don't need me to believe you. You need them to believe you."
"Them?" Jonathan queried.
"Them," Murray repeated. "With a capital 'T'." Murray walked over to his wall of TVs as he continued. "Your priest, your postman, your teacher, the world at large."
Cassie's stomach churned at the thought of her real identity being revealed. She'd be taken back to the lab and be tortured and tested all over again. As if sensing her unease, Jonathan squeezed Cassie's hand, making her look up at him. He looked down at her, concern in his eyes. She merely gave him a weak and wobbly smile, squeezing his hand back.
"They won't believe any of this," Murray concluded.
"That's why we made the tape!" Nancy told him, walking away from Jonathan and Cassie slightly.
"Oh. That's easy to bury. Easy," Murray replied.
"He admits it," Nancy argued. "You heard it. He admits culpability!"
"You're being naive, Nancy!" Murray told her, raising his voice. Nancy drew back from his tone. "Those people... they're not wired like me and you, okay?" He began walking back toward the teenagers. "They don't spend their lives trying to get a look at what's behind the curtain. They like the curtain. It provides them stability, comfort, definition. This... this would open the curtain, and open the curtain behind that curtain, okay? So the minute someone with an ounce of authority calls bullshit, everyone will nod their heads and say, "See? Ha! I knew it! It was bullshit." That is, if you even get their attention at all."
"So, you're saying we did all of this for nothing?" Nancy asked him, her argumentative tone still present.
"I'm saying, I'm thinking!" Murray replied. He took a drink of his vodka, his face scrunching up in disgust. "Ooh!" The balding man passed the teenagers and reentered the kitchen.
"This is ridiculous," Jonathan said under his breath, all three teenagers upset with his absurdity.
"That's it," came Murray's voice from the kitchen. Their heads snapped in his direction. "That's it!"
"What's it?" Cassie asked him as she approached him. Nancy and Jonathan followed behind her.
"It's just too strong," Murray explained. "Too strong." He poured soda water into his vodka before taking another drink. The three shared a look of confusion. "Better." Murray added more to his drink and took another sip. Jonathan turned away at the silliness of watching the man drink. Murray looked up at the girls. "Perfect."
Nancy's eyes flicked between Murray and the cup in his hand before looking over at Cassie. "We water it down."
"Precisely," Murray answered gleefully, pointing at Nancy.
Jonathan came back to the group, taking his spot next to Cassie. "Wait, what?"
"Your story. We moderate it," Murray explained. A smile tugged at Cassie's lips. Murray got out three more glasses from his cabinet. "Just like this drink here. We make it more tolerable." Murray began pouring each of them a drink. "Perhaps Barbra was exposed to some dangerous toxins."
"A leak from the lab. Like Three Mile Island or something," Nancy added on. Cassie looked up at Jonathan in confusion at the Three Mile Island reference, unsure what it was. Jonathan merely shook his head, indicating he'd tell her later. Must have been something before her escape from the lab.
"Something scary but familiar," agreed Murray. The man set the drinks in front of the three teenagers.
"Close enough that it hits right where it hurts most," Cassie joined, smirking as she picked up her glass. Murray gave her an approving nod.
"And those assholes who killed Barb..." Nancy trailed off as she picked up her glass.
"And hurt Cassie..." Jonathan added taking his glass.
"They'll go down," confirmed Murray. The four smiled before chugging down their drinks.
They had a plan.
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"you're the only one who keeps me sane"
*⁎ wondermusings ⁎* SPEAKS!
hey... hi... how y'all doing?
hello my lovelies welcome back to curiosuer and curiouser. let me tell y'all i missed my babies SAURRR much like so so much. this chapter in particular felt like a real slump to write and i'm not exactly sure why bc i actually love this episode??? life just kinda gets in the way y'know. but when i realised i hadn't updated in EIGHT MONTHS!!! i did go yikes. anyways, a labour of love from me to you.
ALSO, y'all aren't ready for the next chapter. it is what i've been waiting for since i started this book almost two years ago (how much i've grown omg)
ALSO ALSO, thank you all so so much on 11k reads!!! it makes me so happy that this little book about jb gets so much love so thank you thank you.
PUBLISHED: 25/04/2024