PARANORMAL | ❝Nothing is stranger than believing...❞
Cath knows a thing or two about Will Byers. Daphne, on the other hand, knows virtually nothing about Tonya McCarthy. Still, none of that changes the fact that both of them have up and vanishe...
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SATURDAY 12th NOVEMBER, 1983
THE sun has long since set by the time Hopper's cop car pulls into the Byers' driveway. Sandwiched between the other boys in the backseat (while El gets shotgun), Cath finds herself flooded with relief when she spots the familiar porch and the cluster of trees that surround the Byers home. But once she remembers what is at stake, her gut wrenches once more.
She had been crouched down in that van with the boys as the sunlight started withering from the windows, the chill of another November evening creeping in. Huddled together they shuddered, both from anticipation and the cold. Cath could see her breath condensing into mist after a while.
At some point — she lost track of time — two armed men, surely the Bad Men, approached the van. They had hidden once more, hearts racing, and for a split second she was almost convinced this would be it. This is how they would go. Five scared kids who thought they could save the world, gunned down by two big bad men.
There had been a grunt. The shadows sunk out of sight, beneath the horizon. The door swung open and they yelped, a flashlight beam boring into their eyes. It took a moment to register the silhouette of a sheriff's hat and Hopper's unmistakably gruff voice, urging them to follow him. Trailing behind like lambs being herded, they were ushered into the back of his car, and the next thing Cath knew they were here.
But she heard Daphne. She was there.
She was so confused — what had Daphne been up to all week? But then again, it would explain all the sudden disappearances. All of the unexplained running-off. And why she suddenly befriended Nancy and Jonathan (admittedly, she just thought they were bonding after Will's 'death' but clearly not...).
Cath stumbles out of Hopper's car, feeling the crunch of dried-up leaves beneath her feet. The door to the Byers home swings open abruptly, and the first figure to emerge is Nancy Wheeler. Immediately upon seeing Mike she dissolves, rushing straight towards him — "Oh my God, Mike!" she cries, "I was so worried about you!" — and bringing him into a tight embrace. Mike, however, needs a moment to process what is happening, arms dangling limply at his sides as he stands expressionless, before he slowly snakes his arms round to her back and reciprocates.
But that's not who Cath is looking at. She's more concerned with the second person who emerges from the house.
Daphne stands solitary on the porch, staring with parted lips at her younger sister. For a moment, Cath stays still too, wondering who will run to the other first. In this dim light, she really notices how worn Daphne looks — the cut on her face, the slight straining of her eyes as if they are fighting fatigue. Something clicks into place, a magnetic pull. She can't possibly wait a moment longer. Cath launches into a run, staggering at the steps due to the short distance, and throws her arms around Daphne's torso. Daphne immediately catches her, arms wrapping tight. Familiar warmth of the same blood instantly washes over her and comforts her, and if she closes her eyes and thinks hard enough, they aren't standing on the Byers' porch but in their own living room.
