precarious ; jonathan byers [2]

prologue

Casey

OCTOBER, 1984

When my eyes opened, the first thing they noticed was the ashes floating around me, almost like snow. I knew better than to mistake it for snow. The cold air was biting at the exposed skin on my neck and face as I stood in the middle of the woods, alone. It was dark, but I still knew exactly where I was.

I don't know how I got here, or when, but I wasn't stupid enough to stay. I went to pick my feet up to find the god damn exit, but my feet refused to cooperate. They wouldn't budge. I felt my whole body buckle into a panic as I began pulling my feet up harder, with more force to see if I was just stuck in some mud or something. The more I tried, the harder it had become.

I was completely frozen.

It was at that moment when I began to hear it.

A whisper of my name, coming from the bushes surrounding. "H-Hello? Who's out there?" I stuttered my words as my limbs finally began to move, slowly spinning me in a circle.

"Casey..." The voice whispered once more and I kept spinning, trying to pinpoint where these whispers had been coming from. "Ohh, Caseeey..."

"What the hell do you want from me?!" I screamed out, becoming fed up. My patience for this God forsaken place was completely nonexistent; I had discovered that from my first experience here.

"I wanted you to save me, Casey!" A sudden cry came from behind me, causing the hairs on my neck to stand on end. I knew that familiar voice all too well. 

"Barbara..." I whispered, turning in my spot to see her standing only a few feet away, except it definitely didn't look like her. The skin around her face was swollen and pale, her clothes smothered in a goo-like substance.

"You didn't save me...Why didn't you save me?!" Barb shouted, taking a step closer and I took a step back from her actions. Something was screaming at me to not get close to...whatever this thing was.

I felt a ball build up in my throat as warm tears welled up inside my eyes. "Barbara...I came after you. I did!" I reassured. 

"Then why the hell am I dead?" She shot back, disgust in her tone. Her milky eyes were focused on me; so much so that it had actually terrified me. "You left me..."

"It wasn't intentional!" I argued back, feeling overpowered by the guilt Barb had been throwing my way. "I tried to help you!"

"You left me!" She took a few more intimidating steps towards me and I went to step back like earlier only to fall to my ass after catching my foot on a branch. 

Unable to find the strength in my legs, I began to scoot backwards in the dirt, letting the tears fall. "Barb, I'm so sorr-"

"How does it feel knowing you left your best friend to ROT?!" She taunted, towering over my small body. Her words felt like the dullest knife to the back, ripping away every sense of strength I thought I had. I curled into a ball, wrapping my arms tightly around myself as the sobs escaped my lips. "How does it feel, Casey?"

"Get the FUCK away from me!" I screamed, entangling my fingers into my hair, closing my eyes. "Just go away!"Surprisingly there wasn't a response following. I hesitated before opening my eyes again, craning my head to glance up, seeing nothing but the dark trees surrounding. 

I didn't feel relieved. I didn't move. I remained on the freezing ground, sobbing as the tears trickled down my face and into the dirt below. 

-:-:-:-

A/N: I really tried to make that dark and shit but I don't think it worked. Oh well. 

And honestly, Jonathan doesn't really have a big role in season two like he did the first so i will have to wing it and see what all I can do.