so close, yet so far // jancy

Chapter 13

Nancy sprang from her roof as quietly and swiftly as she could. She jogged on the road until her house was out of sight. She walked at a leisurely pace, staring in awe at the wondrous night sky. The moon was lustrous, and the sky was clear, allowing her to see millions of stars speckled in the sky.

It was an odd thing; the stars were millions of miles away, and even the light they gave off could be millions of years old, but she felt close to them. She felt like she could reach out and touch them; she didn't feel the distance.

She then wondered if Jonathan could see stars in the upside down. It brought comfort to her, imagining him looking up at the same exact stars. It made her feel like he was close too. He felt so close, yet so far.

..........................

Joyce, with her eye through the blinds, directed to the backyard. Nancy nodded, and walked around back. Joyce quietly slipped out the back door; she was careful to not make a sound.

"Will's sleeping. He's got school tomorrow. He went today also. He said it makes things feel more normal."

Nancy zoned out.

Today's Thursday. Tomorrow's Friday. Jonathan went into the gate Tuesday. Has it only been two days?

"Today's Thursday, right?"

"Yeah."

"He's been gone for two days now. Why does it feel like it's been forever?"

"I feel the same too", Joyce sighed. "Time is a funny thing. When you're having the time of your life and with the people you love, it all meshes together and seems to fly by. But when you lose somebody or something happens, the days seem to last months and time warps. It slows so fast you think you're going crazy."

Nancy shudders. "You and Jonathan are so alike."

Joyce glances at her questioningly.

"He said that two days ago. He said time was going by so fast, and the seconds were ticking away continuously, beyond our grasp."

"Great minds think alike."

Nancy laughed softly. Joyce grabbed her hand, and she pointed her head back to the front of the house.

"Okay", Nancy mouthed. They walked back to the front, but Joyce led her further away up the road. They finally stopped until the house was of view.

"If your theory is right, I don't want the mind flayer hearing this."

"Hearing what?"

"I wanna do it. Your idea. It's kind of cruel to Will, but I can't think of anything else. I don't want Jonathan sitting in there any longer. I don't know if there's food or water... or god knows what."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Positive."

"Okay any ideas on what we should test first?"

"I remember the mind flayer likes it cold. He hates the heat."

"Yes! When Jonathan an I were in the lab about a year ago, they showed us how they were controlling it, and it was with fire. They were burning it!"

"Wha—Hold on. You and Jonathan what? Lab? A year ago?"

"It's a long story, Joyce. Let's focus on getting this plan together, then I will tell you all about it, okay?"

"Fine. I think we should go to the kitchen table near Will's room, and speak loud enough for the mind flayer to hear. We will discuss and ponder us going in there, finding Jonathan, and then on our way out pouring gasoline and burning it."

"Sounds good. Let's try it."

..........................

"So", Nancy started, as they both sat at the dining room table, "I have an idea on how to get Jonathan out."

"You do?"

"Yes. Listen carefully. The mind flayer doesn't like heat right? Will said himself he likes it cold. I even saw the scientists burning part of it to keep it from spreading. So what if we went through the gate, found Jonathan, and before we left we poured gasoline all over and lit it on fire? You think that would work?"

"That sounds like a good idea. I wonder what would happen if we tried..."

Will erupted into a scream, and he ran out of his room, glaring at us. His face was covered in sweat, glistening in the dim light.

"Will?! What happened? Did you see something again?"

He gulped. "Yes. I saw... I saw you two going through the gate to find Jonathan, with gasoline and lighters in your hand. As soon as you went through the gate, you went into the upside down, but you couldn't see the entrance of the gate anywhere. You became stuck in the upside down with Jonathan until I... until I went through the gate like it wanted me to."

Nancy and Joyce exchanged a worrisome gaze, and then Joyce turned around and hugged Will.

"Were you talking about what I just saw?"

Nancy reluctantly nodded. "Yes, why?"

"Of course. Every time somebody mentions something like that, I end up having an episode or vision or whatever of what would happen if you actually did it."

"Yeah, I noticed that too. It's weird."

Joyce gulped and looked between the two of them. "Will, do you think these visions you keep having are true? What if the mind flayer is just using them as scare tactics so we won't try to fight back?"

Will's face tightened. "True or not, I'm not letting anybody try anything. It's too dangerous."

"Will, sweetie, then what do we do? Jonathan has to come home!"

"You guys do nothing. I'm the one that has to do it."

Joyce's eyes filled with agony and grief. "Will, no! There's got to be another way."

"There isn't! Don't you see, Mom? I'm the only one who can get Jonathan out. The only one!"

"Don't talk like that! Let's just go to bed, and we'll talk in the morning."

"Whatever", he snapped. "It's not going to change the reality of this." He ran into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. Joyce jumped slightly at the noise, triggering her to begin crying. Nancy rushed over to her, and she wrapped her arms around Joyce.

"Hey", she said gently. "We'll figure this out, okay?"

"Nancy, I don't think we will. It's hopeless."

Joyce escaped Nancy's reach, and she dashed into her bedroom, shutting the door. Nancy put her face into her hands, rubbing her forehead. Joyce was losing hope, and hope was the only thing keeping them going.