09| A FUNERAL

[ Chapter Nine ]

❝The hell is a small gun going to do against that monster?❞

[Chapter Five: The Flea and the Acrobat]

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Beth stood still with shock when she and Jonathan returned home late that night. Their dad was sitting in the living room next to their mom. Honestly, Beth was shocked that her mom had let him in there.

"Hey kids." Lonnie looked at his two children.

"What's going on?" Jonathan asked, before staring at Beth with confusion, but she just crossed her arms over her chest and stared at their mom waiting for an explanation.

"Your dad's, uh, gonna stay here tonight. On the couch." Joyce answered.

"What?" Beth asked, trying to recover from her shock.

"Yeah, I'm here as long as you need me, okay?" Lonnie added, "How are you holding up?"

Beth shook her head but didn't answer and instead watched as Jonathan stalked over to the wall and pulled aside a makeshift curtain, revealing a giant hole in the wall, leading to the other side.

"What happened?" Jonathan asked.

"Don't worry about that." Lonnie answered.

"Mom." Jonathan prompted, "That thing you saw before, did it come back?"

"Jonathan, that's enough." Lonnie told him.

Jonathan glared at him, "Can we talk? Alone?"

Lonnie nodded and Jonathan and him went into his bedroom while Beth slid her shoes off and went to sit next to her mom on the couch.

"Mom. Are you okay?" Beth asked, sliding her hand into her mom's.

Joyce didn't answer at first so Beth asked her another question.

"What happened to the wall, Mom?" Beth asked.

"Will was. I thought he was in the wall." Joyce waved her other hand haphazardly at the wall.

"Did you punch that hole in the wall?" Beth asked, looking rather impressed.

"Yeah, but I was wrong and he wasn't there." Joyce answered.

"Mom, I believe you." Beth interrupted, "I believe you about the monster and about Will. I just needed some time."

"You don't think Will's dead?" Joyce asked, staring at her daughter.

Beth shook her head, "But I think he's in a lot of danger."

"What about Jonathan? He-" Joyce started.

Beth held her hand and smiled softly, "I think he believes you now, Mom."

Joyce smiled at her.

"But we have to pretend to mourn for the sake of this town and appearances, Mom." Beth said, "The funeral's tomorrow."

"We're having a funeral for Will but he can't be dead." Joyce responded.

"I know Mom." Beth sighed and laid her head on her mom's shoulder.

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Beth stood in front of the mirror the next morning staring at herself in her nicest black dress. She had put on a little makeup mostly to appease her father so she would appear 'normal', but all she wanted to do was go out and look for her little brother.

A knock sounded on her door and Jonathan poked his head in, "Hey. You ready, Beth?"

Beth turned around to look at him and gave him a small smile, "Yeah, almost."

She looked at his outfit and down to his hand which clutched his tie. Beth laughed softly before grabbing it and helping him tie it correctly.

"Thanks." Jonathan responded, "Um do you want anything to eat?"

Beth shook her head, "No, I can't eat right now." Beth sighed, "You still think we're right, right? I mean, about Will still being alive."

"I don't know." Jonathan answered, "Let's just get through this."

Beth nodded, "For Mom." She sighed and the two twins looked at the ground for a minute before Beth asked, "Do you think Dad's going to stay here? I mean what did he say to you yesterday when you guys talked?"

"He thinks Mom's sick." Jonathan answered.

"You mean crazy, don't you?" Beth groaned, "I'm not surprised. Of course Dad doesn't believe us."

"He doesn't know anything and he doesn't get to come back and act like family patriarch." Jonathan said, "Come on."

Beth nodded, grabbing her bag from her vanity and following her brother out.

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Beth sat in between her father and Jonathan during the outdoor funeral service, though she had a hard time focusing on anything that the priest said. She kept fiddling with her fingers so much that Jonathan had to grab her hand at one point to get her to stop.

After the funeral was over, Beth immediately got up in order to avoid the sympathies that she knew people would force on her. She didn't have any intention of going to the reception either because she knew people would just ply her with treats until they thought she felt better.

Nancy grabbed her hand and dragged her behind a cemetery fence, with Jonathan.

"What's going on?" Beth asked, looking between her brother and her best friend.

Jonathan pulled a map out from his pocked and showed it to them, "Okay so this is where we know for sure it's been."

"Right." Beth nodded, peering at the map with places marked where they had seen the monster-man.

"Okay, so that's?" Nancy pointed at one of the marks.

"Steve's house." Jonathan answered.

"And that's the woods where they found Will's bike." Jonathan pointed to another mark, "And that's Beth and my house."

"It's all so close." Nancy commented.

"Yeah, exactly." Jonathan nodded, "It's all within a mile or something."

"Okay so, whatever this thing is, it's not traveling far." Beth commented and looked at them, "Do you think that means that it can't?"

"I don't know." Jonathan shook his head.

"You want to go out there." Nancy said, seeing the look on Jonathan's face.

"We might not find anything." Jonathan answered.

"I found something." Nancy commented.

"What exactly do we plan on doing if we do see it?" Beth asked, crossing her arms.

"We kill it." Jonathan said, and stood up before walking over to their car and opening the glove box.

"What are you doing?" Nancy asked.

"Just give me a second." Jonathan pleaded, before pulling a gun out of the glove box and a case of bullets.

"Jon!" Beth looked at him with shock.

"Are you serious?" Nancy asked, looking at Jonathan as well.

"What? You two want to find this thing and take another photo? Or maybe yell at it?" Jonathan asked sarcastically, getting out of the car.

Beth rolled her eyes at her brother, "The hell is a small gun going to do against that monster?"

"I agree. This is a terrible idea." Nancy said.

"Yeah, well, it's the best we've got." Jonathan responded, "What? You can tell someone but they're not gonna believe you. You know that."

"Your mom would." Nancy shot back.

"She's been through enough." Beth chimed in.

"She deserves to know." Nancy said.

"Yeah, and we'll tell her." Jonathan said, looking back and forth between the two girls, "When this thing is dead."

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Word Count: 1140

Hey guys! I hope everyone is doing well! I am very stressed but I am not here to talk about my problems haha. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

(The gif at the top was made by me. Please do not steal it.)

What did you guys think?  I am so excited for the next bit of this! 

I love you all and will see you soon for chapter 10!

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12. 2. 20