Shutter [Jonathan Byers] Stranger Things I

LIV: Petrify

pet·ri·fy

verb

make (someone) so frightened that they are unable to move or think.

It took no effort to break into the station; somehow that didn't surprise Emilia in the slightest. The town was so small and tight-knit that it was practically unheard of to have anyone break and enter, or for things to get stolen. This whole monster ordeal was the most exciting thing to happen to in Hawkins since Emilia's mum died. They slipped in past the officer who was on night duty by staying silent, and broke into Hopper's office. Taking the large box of gear they had bought from the outdoor store, they made more effort to remain silent with all that clinking metal on their way out. Even in the car as they drove home -to Jonathan's home which felt more like a communal home these days- they remained silent.

Beyond formalities and social expectations, Jonathan, Nancy and Emilia began to destroy the Byers house. With no regard for how it would look after -there was already a gaping hole in the front of the house- they began to hammer in the trap, not setting it right then in case one of them stepped on it while the rest of the preparation was happening. The plan was to use blood to bait the monster, to lure it here instead of allowing it to pursue Joyce and Hopper; to get it backed into the trap, and to burn it alive. Emilia felt a surge of rage as she realized how badly she wanted to see it up in flames, to hear its screams and shrieks as it tried to escape, but would be unable to. She wanted to smell its slimy-looking flesh burn, she wanted her senses to all withdraw and cringe at how ugly it was, burning and dying. The thought of a group of teenagers successfully destroying this thing was oddly comforting.

When it was all set up, Jonathan took a seat on the couch. All of them looked exhausted, but the fight had barely even begun. It was time; there was nothing left to lose. Jonathan looked over at Emilia, "Hopper's going to kill me if any of us make it out of this alive."

"Why's that?"

"He specifically asked me to keep you out of this."

Emilia smiled, and it felt like an oxymoron to smile at a time like this. "Well either we all die and it won't matter what Hopper says, or we help save the day and become heroes."

"I choose hero," Jonathan said, and when he looked into Emilia's blue eyes, he realized that he'd sort of slipped into that role back in October, when they first started spending time together. Although their world had been flipped completely upside down, it was clear that they had seen the good in each other, and found a sense of completion together. That wouldn't change after all this, Jonathan knew it. He made a mental note to ask her -if they lived- to come with him to New York when they finished school. He wanted a life with her, a life outside of Hawkins.

Withdrawing a sharp hunting knife, Jonathan held his hand out, and so did Nancy and Emilia. Like some gothic cult preforming a blood sacrifice, they all took turn slicing their palm. The reason all three of them chose to do it was to increase the chances if it drawing the monster, but also to prevent it from targeting any one of them. After it was done, they wrapped them loosely, so that the scent could linger. Waiting in silent agony, anticipating a monster double their size and more than that of its strength, they were disrupted by a noise at the front door.

But it was only Steve. Nancy went to the door and told him to leave, over and over, but Steve was trying to apologize, trying to admit that he was wrong. Back and forth banter came through the house in mumbled sounds, and Emilia tried not to listen. Her hands balled into fists as she felt a strong urge to shove Nancy out of the way and deliver a solid punch to Steve's perfect nose. She released a long drawn breath that she'd been holding, and that's when Steve noticed Nancy's hand and thought the worst. Shoving his way into the house, he looked at how upturned it all was, he noticed the nail-spiked baseball bat, and everything else that was out of place.