" i don't know,
i always thought you guys were just friends. "
in which a lightning-struck girl and a camera-flashing boy are thrown into the murky waters of their town
[ jonathan byers x oc ]
[ stra...
mysterious and entrancing, beyond ordinary understanding
-Collie's Journal, Edition 3
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NIGHT soon fell, forcing Jonathan, Collie, and Nancy to turn on their flashlights as they walked. None of them spoke after the fight, tense silence linking them, though Jonathan and Collie still held hands as they walked.
The woods seemed to murmur softly around them, the leaves above rustling and their footsteps seeming to echo throughout the trees.
Collie stared around, her flashligeht bobbing in her free hand. Sure she'd been into the woods at night before, though her stomach began to churn anxiously as they went deeper. She squeezed Jonathan's hand, feeling him squeeze back as he murmured,
"You doing okay?" Collie opened her mouth to reply, though she suddenly stopped, hearing the tiniest of noises. She stopped in her tracks, listening hard as the other two paused as well. "Ollie?" Jonathan asked.
Collie didn't reply, hearing the sound again. It sounded like a small squeak, almost like that of an animal.
"Do you hear that?" Nancy asked quietly. Collie nodded,
"Yeah," She led the other two forward, the noise getting louder as they approached. Through the darkness appeared an injured deer, covered in blood as its head weakly looked around. It made small squeaks of pain, a large wound on its side.
Collie gasped and slapped a hand over her mouth as her heart dropped.
"Oh god," Nancy breathed. Collie got to her hands and knees and gently reached out, touching the deer's head. It looked up at her, its eyes a bit foggy.
"It's been hit by a car," she whispered, trying not to let her voice shake. "We can't just leave it here in pain," Jonathan looked down to the gun in his hands and gently pulled Collie behind him. As he cocked it, Nancy spoke,
"I thought you said-"
"I'm not nine anymore," Jonathan interrupted, raising the gun. Collie buried her face in his shoulder, barely peeking as he readied himself.
Suddenly, before he could shoot, something grabbed the deer and yanked it into the darkness, quick as lightning. The three gasped and staggered back, shocked as silence wrapped around them once more.
"What was that?" Nancy questioned. Jonathan shook his head and led them forward, following the trail of blood across the forest floor. However, the red stains soon disappeared.
"Where'd it go?" Collie whispered, clutching the strap of her rifle. The three split up to search for more blood, though kept in sight of each other as they looked.
