troubled souls ~ Steve Harrington

*nine*

Will's funeral service is not at all what I expected. His mother doesn't cry, and neither do his friends. The only people who look really upset are the town gossips who are just dying to be in the middle of something dramatic.

But hey, I wasn't one to judge. Sure, I was here for Dustin. But mostly, I waited in anticipation to meet up with Nancy and Jonathan when the services were over. After taking a closer look at the photo, we found that there was in fact some faceless monster standing directly behind Barb. There was a chance that she and Will were both alive.

After the boys each throw a rose onto his casket, I glance around and find the two of them talking in low whispers. Nancy and I make eye contact and she motions subtly for me to come join them.

"Hey, Dustin," I pull on his suit coat to get his attention.

He turns up to me, his go-lucky expression the same as ever.

Taken aback, I give him a quizzical look. "You okay?"

"Yeah," He bobs his head up and down, then drastically shifts to disappointment as he clears his throat. "I mean, yeah, just can't believe it is all. It's- It's just all so crazy."

My senses tell me that this behavior is far from normal, but I shrug it off and pull him in for a hug. "I'm sorry bud."

"Listen, I'll meet you and mom inside in a minute, okay?" I pat his back before he pulls back.

"Okay!" His face is back to it's goofy smile as he turns to race towards his friends. Although it was odd, I shrug it off and retreat towards the gravesite.

Crouched behind an old, rickety fence, Nancy and Jonathan are shoved close to one another talking in low voices. I plop down beside them and lean into see what they were reading.

Jonathan has a map of Hawkins, with a few locations x-ed in red pen. He points to the spots, addressing the both of us as he holds it up to our view.

"This is where we know for sure it's been."

Nancy pulls it closer to her, "So that's?"

"Steve's house," Jonathan points, then shifts his finger over to the bottom left of the map, "And that's the woods where they found Will's bike."

"Then this is your house," Nancy confirms, her finger bumping Jonathan's as she pointed it out, "And this is about where Mattie saw it the night Will went missing?"

Jonathan nods his head.

"They're all so close," I observe, tracing the shape. It forms a diamond, clustered all close together.

"Exactly," Jonathan says with more energy in his voice than I had ever heard. "I mean, it's all within a mile or something. Whatever this thing is, it's... it's not traveling far."

Nancy's eyebrows are furrowed, but slowly relax as realization of the map's purpose sets in. "You want to go out there," she states more than asks.

"We may not find anything," Jonathan confesses, scratching his head. "So maybe it's a stupid idea."

"But Mattie and I found something," Nancy defends, gesturing to the two of us. "Who's to say we won't this time?"

"I guess," I hesitantly nod my head, "But if we do see it... then what?"

Jonathan lets out a heavy sigh. Nancy and I wait in anticipation, hoping what he says will justify our actions. Even just a little bit.

"We kill it."

I scoff. "How the hell are we going to do that?"

"I have an idea," he states without hesitation.

Jonathan folds up the map and shoves it in his pocket as he stands. After scanning the cemetery, he swiftly moves towards the cars parked in the shade.