cardigan𓏲

the vanishing of will byers pt 3

tw! mentions of panic attacks

rory sat silently in the principals office, the three other boys bickering about where they saw him last and over the movie in which the street was named after. the chief of police, jim hopper, sat infront of the four unamused. if the police were talking to the group, something bad had happened to will.

of course the bickering boys were worried too- terrified even. when a friend goes missing, dread and fear courses through your veins like a roller coaster, and it's hard not knowing how to help and if you'll see them again. rory couldn't imagine the rest of her life without her twin brother by her side. they were supposed to go to college together, watch the other with pride as they buy their first house or start their own family.

now all the images of the future with will turned to dust, the little fragments floating away with the last string of hope rory had left. these thoughts replaced with big red block letters. it was her fault. if rory hadn't stayed at phoebe's or at least biked with will home, he would be okay. she wouldn't be sitting here in the principal's office in front of the chief of police, she wouldn't have had to part with her thoughts of her and will's futures, and most of all she wouldn't have a shadow of guilt and blame chasing after her.

there was that small chance that will was still alive, and although the chief had instructed them to stay home and not look for will, rory knew deep down something was wrong. if they didn't look for will soon enough, it would be too late, and that shadow would keep chasing her, until it caught and swallowed her. she could feel it's presence in the corner of the room, watching and waiting for it's moment to imprison the girl in its cold clutches.

~

the cawing of a murder of crows sliced through the silence on rory's way to school the next day. it had been one day since will had gone missing. she breathed heavily as the caws rung in her ears.

pedel, caw, pedel, breath.

pedel, caw, pedel, breath.

after school the group devised a plan: rory would call joyce and tell her the party had a dnd game and she would stay over at mike's, dustin and lucas would meet the two at the corner of mirkwood and they would find will. sure, it hurt rory to lie to her mother but she needed to find will. what joyce didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

~

mike and rory perched on the edges of their bikes, keeping an eye out for dustin and lucas. soon enough, dustin arrived, followed by lucas shortly after. the purple sky was now fading into a deep indigo-blue, as the sun dipped behind the trees and said its farewell for the day, rory's nerves rose with the moon.

by the time they reached where the chief had found the byers' boy's bike the night before, the sky was dotted with small stars. the only source of light for the four, were the small flashlights, each of them held in their hand.

"WILL!" rory shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth to project her voice further. the forest was silent. rory and mike slipped under the yellow 'keep out' tape, the two boys behind them paused just as the rain started to pour.

rory ventured further into the trees, calling out her brothers name as the boys debated going past the tape. rory didn't care about rain or storms, she often found them comforting. the loud noises distracted her from her parents arguments when they were married and nowadays distracted her from her thoughts. her brother however, despised storms, he hated the rattling thunder and the flickering lightning and would often seek shelter on the floor of his sisters room.

the boys caught up to rory as her voice broke, partially from her yelling and partially from the fear she felt for her brother. she pushed her way through the vegetation and continued shrieking. she spun around, her surroundings blurring.

she would never find will.

she felt herself collapse to the forest floor, her hands rapidly pushing at the leaves. her breathing became shallow and she grasped at her chest, her tears mixing with the raindrops which trickled down her cheeks.

mike, dustin and lucas rushed over to the girl, crouching down to her eye level. lucas gently placed his arm on rory's shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting way.

"breathe rory, in and out, like this." mike's voice echoed in her ears, each demonstrating breath he took becoming clearer and clearer, until the panicking girl was able to shakily copy his actions. her breathing returned to normal and her vision cleared.

"thanks." rory muttered, embarrassed at her outburst. she sighed to herself, she was doing so good, she hadn't had a panic attack in years.

"are you okay? what happened?" dustin asked slowly, hoping he hadn't pushed too far with his question.

rory let out a breath and stood up, "i used to get them all the time, my parents would fight over it. lonnie would say that there was something wrong with me and i needed to be sent away to be fixed and mom would argue back and say i was fine and would grow out of it. i did eventually- i haven't had one in years. they're like short episodes i guess, i'm not sure what they're called."

mike nodded sympathetically. rory brushed past the group and continued to search through the trees for will- this time with her torch. the three boys followed after her, calling the youngest byers' name.

snap!

"will?" rory gasped, hope laced in her voice. she rose her torch, the light landing on a pale face. but it wasn't will's.

VIV'S THOUGHTS: okay, first mention of el! i'm going away for a few days and there's no wifi at the place i'm staying at but i'll hopefully have one or two chapters ready when i'm back :)