the ride to the meet up place was eerily quiet between the two girls. in their defense, it was quite a strange scenario. childhood friends go monster hunting with jonathan "psycho" byers, it was quite the headliner. the beatles played in the beat up chevy while they sat in silence. lydia looked over at her friend who was staring out the window, lost in her own thoughts.

"so nance," she caught the girl's attention as they drove through the woods. "you ready to fight this, thing?" the girl giggled softly.

"honestly, i don't know. i think that if we find this thing then, maybe it'll lead us to barb and will. and if we have to kill it, then we'll kill it."

"yeah, we'll kick it's ass."

~

hearing gunshots within the woods made it easier for the duo to find jonathan but they were not expecting to see him with such poor aim. three cans stood atop a tree trunk and with every shot he took he missed the targets.

"you're supposed to hit the cans, right?" nancy piped up. "i thought they were just for decoration." lydia joked. the boy looked up at the two and grinned.

"no, actually, you see the space in between the cans? i'm aiming for those." the girls dropped their stuff on the ground behind them as jonathan held the pistol in his hands. completely zoning out from the conversation, the brunette stared at the cans in the distance. she felt like she was forgetting something. something, important. she wracked her brain trying to figure out what it was. did she forget to lock the door? was it something with mews? had she made plans with steph for that day? she simply couldn't remember.

"yeah. i guess he and my mother loved each other at some point. but, i wasn't around for that." the older byers cocked the gun as nance held her hand out. he gave it to her reluctantly. "um, yeah. just point and shoot."

"i don't think my parents ever loved each other." she stared at the firearm in her hands, feeling the weight of it. although it was strange to say it, it was almost comforting to hold.

"they must have married for some reason."

"my mom was young. my dad was older, but he had a cushy job, money, came from a good family." nancy held the gun in front of her, trying to steady her hands as she aimed at the target. "so they bought a nice house at the end of the cul-de-sac, and started their nuclear family."

"screw that." jonathan stated. the gun-wielding girl agreed.

"yeah, screw that." as she concluded her sentence she pulled the trigger, hitting the can spot on. "wow, nice shot wheeler." lydia interrupted. pulling out her own weapon, she aimed at one of the remaining two cans and shot it off the trunk. she looked over at her friends who stared at her in shock.

"lyds, where the hell did you get that from?" simply shrugging in response, she stared down at the pistol. "it was my dad's. he, uh, he was an interesting guy. he would sit me on his lap when i was younger and play an old vinyl and sing along. he'd tell me how i was his little girl and how he loved me and my brother more than anything. i guess it didn't count for much considering he just packed up one day and left us. no goodbye, just a note that he said he left for good." holding her hands in front of her, lydia pointed at the final target. "my mom blamed herself for not loving him enough and couldn't stand being in that house, so we moved. came here for a fresh start. new school, new job, new friends, new me." and with that she hit the final target. her arms fell to her sides as she looked at her friends. "guess the abandonment issues and goodie bag of mental illnesses that came with him leaving was worth it."

~

the three teens walked in the woods looking for the creature with no face. jonathan and nancy lingered behind, leaving their friend to walk ahead. while lydia was checking their surroundings and looking for the monster, the two started to bicker. making her way over she listened to their conversation but chose not to get involved.

"okay, alright, does that mean i have to like him?"

"no."

"listen, don't take it so personally, okay? i don't like most people. he's in the vast majority." jonathan said as he started to walk away.

"you know, i was actually starting to think you were okay." the older byers was obviously offended by this comment. "yeah, i was thinking 'jonathan byers,' maybe he's not the pretentious creep everyone says he is." the brunette didn't want this to escalate further than it already had. she knew she had to intervene.

"nance!" but it didn't stop there. stomping back over, the teen came at nancy with an abundance of insults of his own.

"well i was just starting to think you were okay. i was thinking, 'nancy wheeler,' she's not just another suburban girl who thinks she's rebelling by doing exactly what every other suburban girl does, until that phase passes and they marry some boring one-time jock who now works sales, and they live out a perfectly boring little life at the end of a cul-de-sac. exactly like their parents, who they thought were so depressing, but now hey, they get it." lydia had tried to interrupt him so he would stop but he just kept going. he lumbered off, passing the obviously hurt girl.

"jonathan!" she yelled as he kept walking. she looked back at nancy who stood in disbelief. "nance, come on he didn-" however instead of listening to her friend she pushed past her and followed the heated boy. holding the hockey stick in one hand and the gun in another, she let her arms drop as she looked up at the sky through the trees, the clouds obstructing the view of the sun.

"great, now i'm stuck with these numb nuts."

~

walking in the woods at night in silence was not a hobby lydia would suggest taking up. she wanted to say something to her friends but nothing helpful came to mind. her thoughts were halted when a whimpering sound came from somewhere in the woods. both her and nancy stopped in their tracks.

"what, are you tired?" jonathan snapped.

"shut up." he questioned the two girls as they paused to listen again. "we heard something." the sound occurred again and this time all three heard it. following the general direction of the noise, the trio stumbled upon an injured deer. blood was splattered over it's neck and torso and it looked up at the group with sad eyes. lyds dropped to her knees and placed the hockey stick on the ground. gently, she placed her hand on it's ribcage and pet it softly. the other two joined her and looked at the animal in grief.

"it's been hit by a car." nancy reached out to touch the poor creature. "we can't just leave it." tears welled up in the girls' eyes, knowing what had to be done.

"it's okay pretty girl, it'll be okay." she retracted her hand and a few tears fell. wiping them away, the brunette watched jonathan aim. both girls watched as his hands shook and listened to his breathing turn shaky. before the boy got to pull the trigger, the deer was suddenly dragged away, causing all of them to jump.

"what was that?" nancy gasped. lydia was at a loss for words. her mouth was agape, but she couldn't find it in herself to form words.

they followed the trail of blood and briefly split from jonathan. the older wheeler gestured for the girl to come over to a tree that was oozing some sort of slimy substance. they called for the boy but got no answer. the gaping hole in the trunk was big enough for the girls to crawl through, but just barely. nancy went first and lydia followed close behind. they emerged covered in a thin layer of whatever goo coated the inside of the trunk. when they looked around, it looked like the woods they were just in but everything seemed like it was dead. it was significantly colder than it was in the woods and it made the girls shiver. the scenery looked tinged with a blueish hue, and the air felt different. it felt like it was thick enough to hold in one hand but it thin to inhale, like at the top of a mountain. particles were almost suspended in the air, and the only sounds that could be heard was the breathing of the two girls.

as they slowly ventured further into this new world their flashlights flickered, increasing lydia's anxiety by tenfold. they didn't get very far in when both girls realized they had company. turning swiftly, they faced the back of the faceless creature who was devouring the deer. the sound of it ripping into the flesh of the poor animal filled their ears and the snarls made their blood run cold. gripping the hockey stick tighter, the teen felt her heartbeat quicken at the sight. slowly backing away, the girls tried to flee but the crunch of a branch made their presence known. the creature turned towards them and roared, causing them to scream and run.