The Fate of Hawkins; A Stranger Things Fanfiction

Chapter Four: The Body

Y/n's POV

"Byers's body was found in the water of this quarry by state police earlier this evening. It was discovered by state trooper David O'Bannon, just after dark. The state police are mounting an investigation to determine Byers' cause of death."

The TV had been playing the same news story all last night, and now this morning it was back on again. I was just about to leave for school, but when I saw it on, I paused near the doorway with my army green backpack slung over one shoulder. For a moment, I was frozen, but I was jolted out of my trance when Jackie entered the room and got my attention.

"You knew him, right? The boy from the lake?" Jackie questioned.

I nodded. "Yeah. He was one of Mike Wheeler's friends. I've known him for practically forever."

"He was only a year above me in school," Jackie recalled. "You don't think the person who did this is still out there, right? Do you think they'll come back for someone else?"

"Hey. Listen to me," I instruct and kneel down so that I was almost at her height level. "Nothing is going to happen to you, okay? As long as you have me, you'll be safe. Promise."

"Okay," Jackie breathed out. "Mom wanted me to ask if you could give me a ride to school today. She's running a bit late."

"Give my favorite sister a ride to school? I would love nothing more," I chirp.

"I'm your only sibling," Jackie reminded me. "So I better be your favorite."

"No one can replace you, Jack," I comment and get back to my feet. "Now come on. Lets get going."

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

"Y/n L/n? Come with me, please," an administrator requested and gestured for me to follow her out of the classroom. I grabbed all of my things and hurried after her, following her all the way down to the lunchroom. As I entered, Nancy was walking out, but she had her head down, and she wouldn't meet my face. What was all of this about? At one of the tables, Officers Calvin and Phil were waiting for me.

"Morning, Y/n," Calvin greeted me. "How are you?"

"Good," I reply. "Um, what's this all about? I'm assuming since you pulled me out of English class this is pretty important."

"Yes, well, Nancy Wheeler is concerned about the whereabouts of your friend, Barbara Holland. She told us you were with both her and Ms. Holland the last night you saw the latter," Phil mentioned.

"Uh, yeah. We were all at a party that night," I remember.

"Steve Harrington's house, correct?" Calvin inquired.

"Yeah. That's the one," I verify.

"And the next day, you went back with Nancy and saw a bear, you're thinking?" Phil posed.

"I don't know what it was," I confess. "But it freaked both of us out enough to where we sprinted out of there. The two of us, well, we think it might have taken Barb. You should look behind Steve's house."

"We did," Phil confirmed. "And there's nothing there. No sign of a bear, and no car."

"Look. We figure that Barbara came back last night and then she took off and went somewhere else. Was she perhaps upset about the fact that you and Nancy were getting close with Steve?" Calvin asked.

"What? Ew. No," I disagree. "I can barely tolerate him, let alone have any kind of relationship with him. All I know is that Barb is the second person to go missing in Hawkins. Maybe you two should start doing your job and find whoever is responsible," I suggest.

"You know, you were present on the days that both Will and Barb went missing," Phil pointed out. "So maybe-"

"You think I had something to do with this? I've done nothing but help you guys with your investigation. I was forthcoming with Hopper when I talked to him about Will, and I've told you guys everything I know about Barb. How could you even...I've known both of you since I was a little kid. For you to even suggest that I did this....Screw you!" I seethe and stand up before storming out of the cafeteria.

As soon as I got home from school, I went to start some homework, only to get interrupted by my phone ringing. I set down my backpack and walked over to my nightstand, picking up the phone and holding it up to my ear. Almost immediately, Nancy was talking to me.

"Hey. I need your help. Jonathan had this picture from that night of Barb by the pool and-"

I cut Nancy off. "Wait a second. Jonathan was there that night? And why was he taking pictures?"

"I'll explain all of that later," Nancy pledged. "Anyways, I have one of the pictures he took, and I think that thing we saw is in it. We need to go to Jonathan and see if he knows anything. Maybe he can help us find Barb."

"Right. Okay. What do you need me to do?" I quiz.

"Meet me at the funeral home in like half an hour," Nancy responded. Instead of brining my car, I walked to downtown Hawkins, which wasn't too far away from my house. It was a nice walk, and the scenery outside was pleasant to look at. When I got to the funeral parlor, Nancy was already waiting for me, and the two of us walked inside together. Nancy caught Jonathan's eye, and he excused himself from the funeral director before making his way towards us. "Hey. Um, your mom said you'd be here. Can we talk for a second?"

"It looks like it could be some kind of perspective distortion," Jonathan guessed when he looked at the picture Nancy had shown him. "But I wasn't using the wide angle. I don't know. It's weird."

"And you're sure you didn't see anyone else out there?" Nancy pushed.

Jonathan shook his head. "No. She was there one second and then gone the next. I figured she bolted."

"The cops think that she ran away, but they don't know Barb. She wouldn't do that," I insist. "The two of us went back to Steve's, and we saw something. Some weird man or...I don't know what it was."

"I'm sorry," Nancy apologized. "We shouldn't have come here today. I'm so sorry."

"What'd he look like?" Jonathan questioned.

Nancy frowned. "What?"

"This man you guys saw in the woods. What'd he look like?" Jonathan repeated.

"Nance and I aren't really sure. It was sort of like he didn't have-"

"A face," Jonathan finished for me.

"Wait a second," I interject. "How'd you know that?"

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

"Did your mom say anything else?" Nancy implored as Jonathan worked on the photo in the dark room at the high school. "Like where it might have gone to or...?"

"No, just that it came out of the wall," Jonathan answered. For a few moments, Nancy and I waited for Jonathan to do his photographic magic. And when it was done, the portion of the photo that had the weird looking creature in it was enlarged.

Nancy gasped. "That's what we saw. Y/n and I saw that thing in the woods behind Steve's house."

"My mom...I thought she was crazy," Jonathan breathed out. "She said the body they found wasn't Will's. She said that he's still alive."

"And if he's alive, then so is Barbara," I figure.