Shutter [Jonathan Byers] Stranger Things I

XLVIII: Tentative

ten·ta·tive

adjective

done without confidence; hesitant

"Let's just head back," Jonathan rubbed Emilia's arms, trying to keep her warm as well as comfort her. Being out there, it gave everyone the chills, and when Emilia stepped away from the group Jonathan had grown quite uncomfortable. Whatever had taken the deer was still out there; it could easily be distracted by its fresh meal, but that didn't mean that it wouldn't come back for them. Jonathan couldn't lose Emilia too, he just couldn't. "We know it's here, we... we can tell my mum, and, and Hopper."

"Where's Nancy?" Emilia hadn't heard a word that Jonathan had spoken. Adrenaline in combination with fear ran through her veins like ice water, giving a rise to goosebumps all along her arms, and a chill up her spinal cord. In the darkness, only a small flashlight to show the way, there was no sight of Nancy.

"What? She was right..." Jonathan turned around to look for her too, but did not see her. "There..."

"Nancy?!" Emilia shouted, walking back in the direction where the deer had been. It was the adrenaline pulsing through her that got her feet to move, otherwise she never would have walked back in that direction. Not because of the dying deer, but because of the monster that had taken it as a midnight snack. Despite their differences, though, Emilia could not just walk away from Nancy when her life may very well be in danger. They couldn't lose another person to this monster, and Emilia began to jog through the forest. Behind her, Jonathan shouted for Nancy, but neither Emilia nor Jonathan could hear that Nancy was yelling right back.

Having endured this before, in some sense, Emilia kept her eyes trained on the trees. When Jonathan caught up to her, she took his flashlight from his hands and began shining it at the bottoms of the trees. She'd run right into the other world, a place she had yet to give a real name because her mind still didn't want to make it real by giving it one. Knowing what she knew, she hoped that the opening was still there, wherever Nancy had gone through. The fact that she was not replying to Jonathan's loud calling, Emilia knew where Nancy had gone without a doubt in her terrified mind.

Suddenly there was a soft and distant shout.

"Jonathan! Emilia!"

"Nancy!" Emilia shouted back; wherever Nancy was, they were close enough. Emilia thought about Will and something ached within her, but her priority right now was to get Nancy back before something bad happened. Or, something worse than what was already happening.

"Over here!" Jonathan shouted, and Emilia darted to his direction. Lying by the trunk of a tree was Nancy's backpack, and in the tree itself was distorted and gelatinous. Nancy was in there. Emilia skidded to the ground, ripping her jeans at the knees and feeling sticks and earth stab into her. But at the same time, she hardly felt it at all. Her heart felt as though it was the same size as her body, pulsing in such huge waves that it throbbed throughout her whole body. They could hear Nancy called from the other side, and Emilia ripped her jacket off with the intent to get in there with her just to get her out.

"No!" Jonathan saw what she was doing, "You're not going in there!"

"Get out of the way, Jonathan." Emilia was about to push him out of the way, but Nancy's hand shot out from the goo. Emilia took hold of her hand, "Grab her!"