Stranger Things (That Go Bump in the Night) (Fanfiction)

Chapter 11: He's alive!

After discovering Will's body in the lake, Hopper wanted to be the one to break the news to Joyce, but before he could, Flo informed him that she received a frantic call from Joyce...claiming something attacked her out of the wall.  

Jace has already gone home, per Hopper's request, and he heads on to the Byers' residence.  As Joyce and Jonathan waited outside, Jim, Powell, and Callahan searched the house.  Even examined the wall Joyce claims where the creature came out of.  But there was nothing.  No sign of break in or assault.  Nothing disturbing, besides the lights that were all over the house and the alphabet painted on the living room wall.  

"This the wall she was talking about, Chief?" Powell asks as he shines his light every inch of the wall.  

Soon, Hopper informs Jonathan and Joyce that it was safe to come back inside.  But Joyce seemed like she was on another planet.  Hopper tries to tell her and Jonathan about Will.  But, Hopper's voice sounded so far away from her as she focuses on what happened just not too long ago.  

"A trooper found something in the, uh...water that's at the quarry. Our working theory right now is that Will...crashed his bike, he... made his way over the quarry and, uh...accidentally fell in. The earth must have given way. Joyce?" Hopper's voice distorts around her.  

She jumps when his voice becomes clear and he touches her shoulder gently to gain her attention.  

"Joyce? Do you understand what I'm saying?" He asks. 

Joyce shakes her head, refusing to believe that Will was dead, "No." She starts to tremble, "Whoever you found...is not my boy. It's not Will."

"Joyce."

Stammering her words, she continues to strongly protest, "No, you don't understand. I talked to him...a half hour ago." She states, sniffling softly, "He was...He was here. He was...He was talking with these." She says as she holds up the lights. 

"Talking?" Hopper frowns, feeling such sympathy for her.  Believing she was starting to lose it, but people deal with grief differently. 

"Uh-huh. One blink for yes, two for no. And... And, uh..." She continues to stammer.  "And then I made this so he could talk to me. 'Cause he was hiding...from that... that thing." She drops the lights and looks at the wall in terror.  Remembering what it looked like.  

"The thing that came out of the wall? The thing that chased you?" Hopper asks, making sure he was understanding her correctly.  

"Yeah. Yeah."

Jonathan looked completely broken.  As if he was trying to be strong, but he was breaking apart.  Believing his mother was going crazy and his only brother gone.  He looked emotionally tired.  

"Mom, come on, please. You've gotta stop this." Jonathan begs as he grabs her arms, but Joyce protests. 

"No, maybe he's...It's after him! He's in danger. We have to find him! We—" She begs. 

"What exactly was this thing?  It was some kind of animal, you said?" Hopper asks. 

"Uh, no, it was...It was almost... human, but it wasn't. It...It had these long arms and...it didn't have a face." She says.  

"It didn't have a face?"

"Joyce." Hopper helps Joyce sit down and squats in front of her.

"It didn't have a face..." She mutters. 

"Joyce, listen to me. Listen to me. After Sarah...I saw her, too. And I heard her. I didn't know what was real. And then I figured out that it was in my mind. And I had to pack all that away. Otherwise, I was gonna fall down a hole...that I couldn't get out of." Jim says gently.