𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑬𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻

❛  Nancy, please! ❜

❦

Malia has always loved the woods; the peacefulness and nature is somewhat calming after a stressful day. But, right now, traipsing through the forest with the girl she's hated all of her life and the town's freak, the quietness is completely ruined by their bickering.

As she trudges along in front of them, her axe swung over her shoulder, she fights the urge to whip around and shut them both up in her own way.

"You never said what I was saying." Nancy bites her lip, the revolver hanging in her hand even though Jonathan would prefer if it was in Malia's.

He furrows his eyebrows, looking down at her in confusion while stepping over a fallen branch, "What?"

"Yesterday." She states, "You said I was saying something and that's why you took my picture."

"Oh, uh. . ." He shrugs, adjusting his grip on the baseball bat, "I don't know. My guess. . . I saw this girl, you know, trying to be someone else. But for that moment. . . it was like you were alone or you thought you were. And, you know, you could just be yourself."

Malia winces at his words, purely in slight sympathy of Nancy. Jonathan was right, spot on, in fact.

"That is such bullshit," Nancy refuses.

Jonathan comes to a stop in surprise, his head tilting when she turns on her heel to face him, "What?"

"I am not trying to be someone else." She snaps, "Just because I'm dating Steve and you don't like him—"

"You know what? Forget it." He starts to march past her, his jaw slightly clenched, "I just thought it was a good picture."

"Yeah, and then you took one of her in her bra," Malia shouts back at him, not even bothering to turn, "Bet you think that's a good picture, huh, Johnny?"

"Malia!" Nancy almost screams in annoyance, venom dripping from the tone, "Shut up!" Her gaze averts back to the boy, "He's actually a good guy, Jonathan. Even Malia likes him."

"Okay." He dismisses, very clearly not agreeing but not bothering to say more on the topic.

Nancy jogs to be by his side again, "Yesterday, with the camera. . . he's not like that at all. He was just being protective."

"Yeah," He scoffs, "That's one word for it."

"Malia, tell him!" Nancy calls towards the other girl, causing everyone to come to a slow stop.

Rolling her tongue over her teeth, Malia slowly spins around, "You just told me to shut up a second ago, Wheeler. Are you really that desperate to win this petty argument that you have to bring me into it?" She sighs, looking over at Jonathan, "Annoyingly, she's right, Steve was being over protective, it's an impulse of his," She takes a step closer, "But you can't act like you stalking us was okay either."

"No. . . No!" He stammers, "I never said that."

Nancy moves forward, "Steve had every right to be pissed off—"

Jonathan snaps his head in her direction angrily, cutting her sentence short, "Okay, alright. Does that mean I have to like him?"

"No."

"Listen, don't take it so personally, Nancy, okay?" He takes a deep breath, "I don't like most people. He's in the vast majority."

Nancy scoffs as he begins to walk away again and she shakes her head in disbelief, "You know, I was actually starting to think you were okay."

With a groan, Malia pinches the bridge of nose and she's immediately regretting ever agreeing to work together with them.

"Yeah?" He hisses.

"Yeah," She nods firmly, "Yeah, I was thinking, 'Jonathan Byers, maybe he's not the pretentious creep everyone says he is.'"

He rolls his jaw, walking back towards her with pure disgust painted across his face, "Well, I was just starting to think you were okay. I was thinking, 'Nancy Wheeler, she's not just another suburban girl who thinks she's rebelling by doing exactly what every other suburban girl does, until that phase passes and they marry some boring one-time jock who now work sales, and they live out a perfectly boring little life at the end of a cul-de-sac. Exactly like their parents, who they thought were so depressing, but now, hey, they get it.'"

Malia's eyes widen at his speech and a small snort makes it's way past her lips as he trudges past the girl he'd just attacked with a scoff.

"Holy shit, Wheeler." She whistles, "He really hit the nail on the head there."

Nancy rolls her eyes in annoyance before rushing after the boy, her shoulder bashing against Malia's, causing the darker haired one to chuckle at how riled up she is all because her truth was let out by Jonathan Byers.

❦

The trio walked until night time in silence: Nancy's face showing pure annoyance, Malia wishing she was in bed and Jonathan wondering what exactly they're going to do when they meet the 'monster'.

Suddenly, Nancy comes to a quick halt, her backpack knocking against Malia's shoulder, causing her to stop as well, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"What is it, Wheeler?" She questions, sighing in annoyance if the other girl is about to start another argument.

Jonathan turns around, "Tired?"

Nancy shakes her head, "Shut up, the both of you." She snaps quietly, holding a single finger up to hush the pair, "I heard something."

Just as Malia opens her mouth to make a sarcastic comment, her lips snap back shut when a small whimper rustles through the air. Staying still and silent for a second, the trio attempt to locate the source of the sound, and Nancy finally does so, gently creeping further into the forest, the other two close on her tail.

At the sudden darkness looming over them, and the deafening silence, Malia grits her teeth, "I really wish I stayed at home."

Jonathan hums, "I think we all agree with you on that one."

Nancy shushes them both roughly, waving her arm frantically for them to join her side as she motions down at the floor. Malia slips next to her, angling her touch so it's shining at the source of the quiet whimpers.

It's a deer. A half-dead one, but it's eyes remain mostly open and it's lips part just enough to allow the small noises of pain to pass through. Malia's eyes widen and she takes a step back. Animal deaths are always a weak spot for her, ever since losing her childhood dog.

"Oh, god." Nancy gasps, kneeling down slowly beside the wounded creature, her eyebrows cinched together in grief, "It's been hit by a car. We— we can't just leave it." She glances over her shoulder at a pacing Malia.

The darker haired girl comes to a stop, running a hand over her face at the feel of both their eyes on her. She stands beside Nancy, throwing her hand out, waiting for the girl to place the gun in her palm.

"Are you sure?" Nancy whispers.

Malia doesn't say a word, just nods before jolting her hand slightly to get the girl to hurry up and once the revolver is placed in her hand, she cracks her neck anxiously. Slowly, she holds the gun out in front of her, carefully directing the barrel of it towards the deer's head. Her lip starts to quiver, and her hand begins to shake while Nancy turns away from the scene, unable to watch.

But, before Malia even has chance to move her finger down to the trigger, the deer's limp body is quickly dragged back into the bush, causing the three of them to jump back in surprise. Swallowing thickly, Malia tightens her grip on the gun and her axe.

"What was that?" Nancy breathes.

With a sigh, Malia talks, "Exactly what we're out here searching for."

Despite trying to steady her hand, Nancy's flashlight continues to shake when she directs the beam towards the long trail of blood painted onto the forest's leaves.

"Where'd it go?" She questions.

Jonathan shrugs, taking the gun from Malia's hands gently, "I don't know. Do either of you see any more blood?"

"No." The two girls answer in unison, circling around in hopes to find one more drop of the crimson liquid.

Malia trudges away slightly, eyes flicking in every direction and senses on high alert. She bends down, gaze landing on a hallow tree, the base of it broken away to create a small cave in the wood. Usually, this would be a normal sight for such a large forest, but the sticky substance dripping from the bark suggests it's not as normal as it seems.

After taking a deep breath, she moves closer, shining her torch directly into the hole and dropping her heavy axe to the floor to relieve her shoulder slightly. Now that's she's only a foot away from the scene, the blood trailing into the tree shines out, causing her eyebrows to furrow. She lifts a hand, running a hand against the rough wood.

"Nancy?" She calls, earning no immediate response, "Jonathan?" Still, nothing, "GUYS?!" Silence, "Shit. Shit."

Frantically, her head whips over each of her shoulders in hopes to lay eyes on either of the two teenagers she arrived with, but there's nothing but trees in the vicinity.

Wiping her hands over her face in desperation, she lets out a low groan. As must as she doesn't want to, she knows what she's supposed to do. Go in. Crawl through the tiny entrance, and pray there's something beyond it that isn't just more forest. So, she falls forward, getting on all fours but a hand clamps down on her shoulder, causing her to fly back in surprise, a low yell passing her lips.

Her eyes shoot up to the person, "Wheeler. Oh, thank God you're here." She lazily points her finger towards the tree, "I was just about to go in, and now that you're here, you're joining."

Nancy's face crumples up disgust, but instead of disagreeing she shrugs off her backpack and lowers herself down to the ground beside Malia, nodding for her to enter first.

While crawling forward, Malia clenches her jaw, "If we die doing this, you're taking the blame."

"We'll be dead anyway." Nancy shoots back, clear annoyance laced in her tone.

Rolling her eyes, Malia squeezes her head through a slightly smaller gap and it expands to allow the rest of her body to pass through. A grimace works it way onto her face when thin strips of goo stick to her face and she gags, quickening her crawling before she's finally able to stand up.

Nancy pushes herself out of the tiny gap, smirking while Malia wipes away the wetness stuck to her face before starting to walk away.

"Fucks sake." Malia curses in a hushed voice as her torch begins to flicker before eventually snapping off. She glances over her shoulder, noticing the exact same thing happen to Nancy's.

A low growl causes the girl's heads to snap towards the source and a hand flies to Malia's mouth in shock as she tries her hardest to stay silent.

It's a tall creature hunched over a body, presumably the deer they'd fallen across and stripping the meat directly off it's bones. It's inhumanly, to say the least, and most definitely not from their dimension.

Nancy and Malia start to take small steps backwards, wanting desperately to whip around and sprint towards the hole, but knowing that they'd easily be heard. Whatever they have do, it has to be quiet—

Snap. Nancy comes to a halt, her heel hovering over a now snapped branch and Malia's eyes widen even further when the creature jolts upright, whipping around in an instant and displaying its teeth.

Malia let's out a loud shout, her lungs almost shattering at the volume as she swirls around on her heel and breaks off into a sprint through the even darker forest. She has no clue if Nancy's behind her, but judging by the lack of high-pitched screams, she guesses not.

"Nancy! Malia!" Jonathan's voice rattles through the forest, but it's faint and disoriented, as if he's through a brick wall or under the ground.

Malia can hear Nancy's desperate screeches for help and attempts to follow the noise but just when it feels like she's getting closer, the shouts start to sound from behind her. She skids to a stop, whirling around in a circle continually, her hands flying up to her head and running through her soaking hair.

"Nancy!" She yells, cupping her lips to project her voice, "Nancy!"

"Malia?" Nancy let's out a relieved shout, "Follow my voice!"

Once again, Malia breaks off into a sprint, the leaves and twigs crunching below her, most likely drawing the creature's attention directly to her, but she continues none the less, her speed picking up the further she moves. Nancy still let's out yells, attempting to guide Malia in her direction, but just like before, it all starts to flip around, confusing the both of them.

A few metres in front of her, the monster comes to a sudden halt, its head whipping around in different directions while the holes it has for ears pulsate, listening intently. Malia gasps quietly, quickly pushing her back against a tree, squeezing her eyes shut and biting her lip.

She can hear it making its way over, but her eyelids remain closed and she balls her hands into fists by her sides, scratching her finger nails against the bark behind her.

But, at the feel of something wrap it's way around her ankle, her eyes fly open just in time to realise what's happening before she's dragged to the ground roughly, her head smacking against the floor. The creatures long fingers slicing her ankle, causing a shrill scream to break out of her lips. It drags her away from the tree and into a small opening and she attempts to clutch onto the surrounding leaves to keep herself from moving but it's no use and she's pulled to a stop. 

"Nancy!" She screams again, this time so much louder than the rest, "Nancy, please!"

The creature crawls over the top of her and she whips her head to the side, refusing to look up at it's ghastly body and instead she stares at it's hands that are pressed against the forest floor at either side of her head.

Tears pour down her dirty cheeks as she feels drool from the monster drip onto her face and run down her neck before eventually dropping to the floor. Malia let's out another sob as the creature displays its teeth once more, it's face opening up like a flower. She struggles under its grip, the long fingers now squeezing her wrists in the most agonising way and she lets out a loud yell of pain, feeling blood spill from the cuts and squeeze past the gaps in its hands.

"Nancy!" She cries, now squeezing her eyes shut as she feels the creatures gaze burning into her face, "Jonathan! Fucking help me!"

It isn't killing her. For some reason, it's just staring at her traumatised expression, not even make a single noise before retracting it's face back to its previous form, it's rows of teeth now hidden.

"MALIA!"

Her eyes fly open at the scream, her head whipping to the side to watch as Nancy Wheeler sprints over, a tree branch in her hands. Malia cries louder, the monster now squeezing her wrists even harder but Nancy ignores her sobs and rams the end of the snapped branch into the creature's head. Out of surprise, it releases the girl under it and tumbles to the side slightly, letting out a loud roar.

Nancy pulls Malia up swiftly and practically drags her through the forest and
back to the hole they originally entered from. They can hear the creature's aggravated and angry bellows as it speeds after them both but the two of them are already squeezing through the tiny gap, falling together onto the ground of the forest in their dimension.

Nancy falls into Jonathan chest and they both collapse to the ground, her on top of him while he wraps his arms around her waist firmly. Malia rolls through the leaves before scattering up into a sitting position, her eyes staring directly at the hole in the tree as it slowly closes, the bark replacing the goo.

It's silent for a while: Malia sits frozen, tears pouring down her cheeks, Nancy and Jonathan are both cuddled together cluelessly, staring at the other girl in worry.

The adrenaline wears off and the pain finally hits, causing Malia to wince and bring her wrists up to her squinting eyes while she peers at them through the dark. There's cuts along them both, blood still dripping and she averts her gaze to her stinging ankle, noticing a deep scratch across the skin.

"Fuck," She whispers, slowly raising up into a standing position.

Nancy pushes herself up quickly and shoves Jonathan away, rushing to Malia's aid but she's ignored, "Malia?" She tilts her head, "Are you okay?"

"Mhm. I'm just perfect." Malia snaps sarcastically, "I should get home. . . clean these up before I bleed to death."

"Do you want me to help?" Nancy offers, following Malia when she picks up her axe off the floor and begins to walk away.

Malia shakes her head, "It's been a hard night for you, Wheeler. Go home and let Jonathan take care of you." She grumbles, her voice shaky.

In shock, Nancy comes to a stop, dirty hands hanging by her side as she watched Malia Garcia limp into the distance, her clothes covered in mud while blood trickles down her hands and onto the leaves.

"Come on." Jonathan tugs Nancy's sleeve, turning her away, "She's right. It's been a hard night for you."