Bloody Negatives {Stranger things}

Chapter Thirty-Eight

《Chapter Thirty-Eight》
__________

__________
"I don't trust him with a gun," Steve remarked as Nancy handed Tally a pistol, still warm from her demonstration.

"Me neither, just give him a bat," Robin said, nodding nervously.

"Shut up," Tally groaned, pointing the pistol at the piece of fabric Nancy had nailed onto a tree as a target.

He willed his fingers to stop shaking as he aimed. His head was buzzed as he squinted.

Two shots, quick and loud. His hands ached from the kickback, though not enough for him to physically jerk away.

"Holy shit," Robin said, eyes widening as she noticed that Tally had hit the strip of fabric with both of his shots.

"My dad taught me how to shoot when I was thirteen," Tally shrugged, clicking on the safety and letting the pistol hang by his side loosely.

Nancy smirked. "Well, that's useful."

Robin and Steve both stared at him with a mixture of resentment and relief. Tally wasn't quite sure why everyone seemed to think he was so incapable. Maybe it was because he was new to the whole Upside Down thing.

That certainly didn't mean he was new to danger.

"Tally come help me with this," Nancy said snatching the large saw from where she'd propped it up against the trailer, pushing it into his hands, and rolling her shotgun off her shoulder.

Tally double-checked that the pistol's safety was on, before shoving into the pocket of his jeans, making sure the handle was still easily accessible.

Nancy found a stump near the outskirts of the woods, and pressed the shotgun down on it, the barrel sticking out over the ground.

"Hold this down," Nancy said, taking the saw from him and using her other hand to show him where to hold.

Each of her motions was tense as she sawed off the barrel.

Tally couldn't help but stare at her as she focused. Her brow furrowed, nose scrunched and lips pursed.

The small smile that crept into Tally's face wouldn't be going away anytime soon.

"There we go," Nancy said under her breath as the barrel finally gave way and fell to the ground. "You can thank Jason for the idea next time you see him."

Tally smiled gently and looked back at his hands, still gripping the shotgun tightly.

He lifted his hands and let them press against the grass next to where he and Nancy were kneeling.

"We're really going this?" he asked, shivering at the thought of fighting Vecna.

Nancy laughed lightly. "I guess so."

The two of them sat in the grass for a moment, next to each other. For the first time in what must have been weeks, Tally felt like he could actually breathe.

"Hey, I have a question," Nancy said, tilting her head with curiosity. "Why 'Danger Zone'?"

Tally smiled softly. In all honestly, he wasn't completely sure why the song made him feel so safe from Vecna. He supposed he just liked it.

"Well, Top Gun is the best movie to ever exist," he shrugged, letting himself grin.

Nancy laughed. "Is it?"

"Sure," he answered. "I've always wanted to fly. It seems so... free, you know?"

Nancy nodded slightly.

"Also I have a massive crush on Tom Cruise," Tally said in the most serious voice he could muster.

Nancy laughed loudly. It wasn't the kind of laugh Tally was used to hearing from her. This one was much more lively. "Me too, actually."

"I know," Tally replied, smirking playfully. "You have a poster."

"Oh my God," Nancy groaned. "I didn't think you were paying attention to that."

"Oh, I'm always paying attention, Wheeler."

The two of them looked at each other, and then fell back onto the grass, laughing hysterically.

Tally liked Nancy's laugh.

"Hey," Robin called out from where she stood next to the trailer. "We should get going."

Tally took one last look up at the sky. Bright and blue, completely unaware of the danger it would soon face.

He made a mental note of that sky. He wouldn't let anything happen to it.

___________