I'VE BEEN THE ARCHER,
I'VE BEEN THE PREY.

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MAGNETS (book one).
°•        CHAPTER SIX        •°

"        I WANT ANSWERS. NOW.       "

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SURPRISINGLY ... The worst days weren't when Neil Hargrove was home. It's shocking to believe as much, but it's true. Dylan preferred walking on eggshells around him because it avoided a bruise on the jaw, the threat of snapping her arm bone in two, and whatever else his twisted mind came up with when he decided his kids were disappointments pressing his anger buttons. She liked being alone. That was before Billy and Max, though. Billy was much harder to get along with when Neil wasn't around - well, not that he was ever easy to bond with - and Max didn't hold back her sharp tongue regardless of who she was spitting at. That's what caused scissors to be brought dangerously close to the wires of a bomb ... It was Neil controlling them that made the sharp edges snip, taking down the Hargrove-Mayfield house with the explosion.

In other words, that was why this place felt like a trap.

Dylan attempted to hide how badly her nose was still hurting by folding a washcloth over some ice and laying back on the couch, Firestarter by Stephen King balanced carefully in her free hand. It was better than not keeping it covered. Dylan was sure Billy didn't break it, but the hues of purple and blue across the bridge and tip weren't a pretty sight. She had been avoiding a mirror all day because of how ugly it made her feel. One thing she didn't tell her brother was how when Neil questioned it the next morning, her answer was, I fell in the shower.

Making the peace was better than eggshells.

Reading made Dylan think of the last time she flipped through a book and what it turned into. She was currently reading a terrible tragedy, but her mind wandered elsewhere, to a leather folder with a picture of her. Creepy at first, sure, however, the meaning behind it... He saw the real her in a single capture unlike anyone's ever been able to do before. Dylan's never thought of a boy this long before. Jonathan Byers. He was just... Sweet. She almost smiled before thinking better of it. Her nose was throbbing enough.

Besides, Billy was right there.

He was muttering a few feet away under his breath about how many reps he was doing with his barbell while his metal playlist blasted in the background, one of the few things he rushed to unpack. The guy reeked of cigarettes and beer, considering he had the lit stick dangling from his mouth and a few crushed cans littered around him, the only things he'd ingested all day. It made Dylan's nose wrinkle in disgust. It was a wonder how he stayed fit with his shitty diet.

Dylan could barely hear the doorbell ringing through the house. She was too into her book describing Charlie and Andy being captured again, too into her thoughts about a certain boy with a kind smile that has yet to leave her mind, and the annoying music was making her ears ring. Dylan ignored the way she saw Billy's dark eyes flicker to her sprawled form. "What do you think you're doing? Go and get it," he snapped.

"Sorry, what? It's so hard to hear you over all this noise," Dylan deadpanned and lowered her book to lazily lift the remote to turn the volume on the music up until the few frames on the walls that Susan unpacked were starting to shake. She brought the book higher to hide the smile she couldn't fight off now, avoiding Billy's scowl of annoyance.

The ringing got louder and Billy got impatient. Not that he ever was the opposite, Dylan thought bitterly. He dropped the barbell he was pressing and yanked his cigarette out of his mouth to bellow, "Max, are you getting that or what?!" Dylan rolled her eyes. Not that she was perfect, but she was sick of him ordering his sisters around, especially when Neil was gone. They didn't have to like each other, but couldn't they just ignore one another's existence?

Apparently not because someone was still jabbing the doorbell. Jesus H. Christ, Dylan thought angrily, why is this smalltown such a pain in my ass already?! She would have gotten up to answer it by now so it would fucking stop if Billy didn't put her in such a bad mood. Most things she did were out of spite.

Unlike Dylan, Max actually listened. "Okay!" She yelled back from their bedroom.

"I swear to God, Max!" Billy snarled back, but a second later, Max's sneakers started storming through the house. Her flaming red hair came around the corner a minute later, furiously sticking her nose up in Billy's direction and flipping off Dylan over her shoulder as she stormed to the front door to yank it open.

Dylan didn't notice the way Max whipped her head over her shoulder with fear evident before stepping outside, swiftly closing the door before anyone could see who was outside. She was too focused on her book to pick up her head, thinking nothing of it. Maybe the crazy cat lady she ran into was handing out flyers by now or some middle-aged mom was stopping by with a pie to welcome them to the neighborhood. The last one brought a plate of cookies that Billy taunted her with when she reached for a second, so she wasn't interested in having a slice if that was the case.

Billy had chosen to lay back on the bench and do a few more before sitting up with an irritated stare, his scarred eyebrow twitching. He yanked the cigarette from his mouth, smoking blowing from his parted lips and nostrils, mumbling, "What is taking her so long?" As he stood, sweaty body twisting as he glared at the shut door.

That had Dylan's attention. She pressed her thumb into the chapter she left off on, tossed the ice aside, and shifting until she sat straighter. "Leave her alone, Billy," she spat as he stalked toward the door. Each step was slow and calculated, Billy looked like a damn predator stalking its prey. Dylan slammed her book shut and threw herself off the couch. If Max was in the predator's line of vision, Dylan would make sure she wasn't the prey. "I mean it, asshole, just-"

They both stop suddenly when Max reentered and hurriedly shut the door again. She tried to act natural, but Dylan could see her shoulders were stiff as she attempted to storm away again, but Billy slapped his hand over the fireplace to cut her off, fingers curling around a metal can of beer. His nostrils flared as he demanded, "Who the hell were you talking to?"

The gears in Max's head turned. "Mormons."

"Mormons?" Billy echoed her in a scoff.

"Talkative ones." Max shouldered her way past him but Dylan could feel the tension follow her step. It warped around Billy too, driving him to yank open the front door again, but Dylan could see over his shoulder there was no one there.

Billy was muttering curses under his breath after scanning the area and deemed it safe, but still carrying mistrust that Max lied to them. Dylan wasn't stupid. She wasn't because she was Max a long time ago. Sneaking out to meet boys, foul-mouthed in a way Neil hated, and never listening to a damn thing Billy wanted. She tried to be subtle as she pretended to be annoyed by him (which was a lot easier than she had to act), faking diving back into her book as she walked down the hall, but her eyes barely swept across the words. Dylan knew she was right long before she reached safety where Billy couldn't see them, opening their bedroom door, and catching Max red-handed. Or, well, in this case... Her leg stuck out an open window.

Dylan took a few cautious steps forward. Max had opened her mouth to splutter a poor explanation, but she beat her to the punch, grabbing her bag. "Listen, Max..." She started, trailing off when she saw who was waiting for Max.

A kid stood on the other side of the glass panel. He clutched the handlebars of his bike, waiting for Max to hop down, and flushed under Dylan's pinning stare. She understood exactly why Max had acted the way she had. Because her friend was black. Billy would kill him, and then her, if he found out about it. And then Neil would kill all of them. Dylan felt the way she inhaled was stuck in her chest at the thought. She had to make sure none of that happened, she had to keep all of them safe.

This time, when Dylan says it again, she does so gravely. "Listen to me, Max." She took a handful of quarters out of her purse and shoved them in her hand, curling it shut. "I want you to call the house if you need anything or call the Rhee household, they'll help you too. Don't do anything stupid with cops around because this isn't California. I don't care if you think you can fool them. You can't. And you..." Dylan peeked out the window and forced the kid to look at her. "Wait. What's your name?"

"Lucas Sinclair," he said softly.

"Lucas Sinclair," Dylan repeated. "Look out for her. Please." She let go of her breath when he nodded.

"What are you gonna tell Billy?" Max whispered like she was afraid of the answer.

Dylan's heart hurt at the thought that Max believed she would betray her trust, especially to someone who would lose it at the thought that she was hanging around a black kid while Dylan knew about it. "Nothing. He doesn't have to know a thing." She glared at her seriously. "I mean it. He won't know anything as long as you don't tell him or Neil." Dylan paused, then warned her, "Don't tell Billy or Neil."

The three of them paused in a deep silence before Dylan stepped away. Max didn't say anything, but she could see the relief on her face as she jumped onto the back of Lucas's bike, squeezing his shoulders as he took off. Dylan watched them for a moment with a hidden smile before shutting the window and closing the curtains. It was better for Billy to think Max was here, pouting over her skateboard, which she noticed was sitting on the girl's bed, duct tape poorly slapped over it. The roll was still attached to the painted wood since she was working on it recently.

Dylan sighed and grabbed a pair of scissors to cut it off. She tried to smooth the tape over the board as best as she could, but it obviously didn't work. It was never going to be safe again. There was no way she would ever be able to ride this thing like normal again. Maybe Max had a point. Billy was her brother, not Max's. Why didn't he just go after her during his fit?

Maybe, she thought, it was because she didn't stand and take it. Dylan wasn't like Max in this way. Max isn't afraid to yell back, but it's Dylan who didn't care if Billy attempted swinging at her. She didn't give a shit because she swung back. And predators target prey that doesn't fight back.

There was no telling when Neil would be back from his date with Susan or when Billy would notice Max had left. Dylan figured she could squeeze a quick run in before then since her head was spinning with anger since the moment Neil had left, plus, the walls were still trembling from Billy's metal music since he had gone back to working out.

It was no surprise this was the last place Dylan wanted to be trapped in, too.

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The second Dylan saw Miss Henderson clicking her tongue and snapping the metal of a cat treat can while she was stretching on the porch, she really didn't want to track up and down Hawkins' roads. It seemed all the crazy people came out shortly after Halloween. Dylan made sure to make a note of that as she finished and flicked the button on her walkman to turn it on before taking off in a completely different direction.

The wind smacked Dylan in the face at the same time the music blasted in her headphones. I'm just an average man with an average life. I work from nine to five, hey, hell, I pay the price ... All I want is to be left alone in my average home. But why do I always feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone? ... Oh, Dylan loved this song. She waited until it was close to done as she reached the edge of the woods, skipping over the train tracks, and disappearing inside to reach down again and press the repeat button. The tape she made had a ton of Halloween songs and it felt right to listen to them as she breathed in the autumn air. California never had days like this.

Hell, not a lot of spots in California had places like this stupid, hick town. It made Dylan heart ache with nostalgia. But hey, California was full of stupid boys that were more interested in their surfboards than they were treating a girl with respect, so she had to try and think about the bright side, at least, before the misery ate her alive.

Dylan was excelling in her classes because she was smart and California academics were obviously one step ahead of Indiana's. She'd graduate in no time and figure out what the hell she'll do from there. Hawkins had Clara, a girl that reminded her of her home because she seemed to be the one good thing here. Well, besides...

The cute stalker who took a picture of her.

The thought made her smile. Dylan tried her hardest not to think about Jonathan when Billy was around because she knew he'd see her smile and sarcastically comment on it. Neil, especially, would want to know what dared to bring her joy. Jonathan was good. He was too good for them to know about, so it was better that Dylan kept her distance... Sort of like he was doing right now, apparently with Nancy and Clara. Good for them.

However, the only thing was... Dylan didn't feel so alone.

She came to a slow stop to catch her breath amid the old tracks. Dylan grimaced as she realized a weird smell hit her - was that meat? She looked down and saw she had squished some refrigerator beef under her sneaker. Hawkins really was weird. Dylan tugged her headphones down to rest over her shoulders, but she could still hear the music blare through the speakers as she swiveled her head around. The trees trembling from the slight breeze or something worse; like a predator couldn't even cover the noise.

I always feel like somebody's watching me ... And I have no privacy. I always feel like somebody's watching me ... Tell me, is it just a dream?

The beat started to pick up at the same time Dylan's heart was thundering in her chest. She tried to tell herself that it was just the after effects of Halloween and the spookiness was just haunting her still since she was in the perfect setting. A woman on her own, jogging in the middle of bundles of trees, and distracted by the music to not see someone - or, something - creeping up on her.

The branches quivered and twigs snapped. Dylan's head snapped toward the direction of the sound, but it was too late.

Something popped out of the woods and Dylan screamed. She screamed so loud that it echoed through the entirety of the woods and shredded her throat.

One thing California didn't have ... Monsters.

It was a tremendously hideous and terrifying thing to be looking at so she didn't. Dylan broke out in a run with the thing roaring and kicking off after her, leaves flying around it. But even that quick movement couldn't get the image out of her head of it. The slimy, gray skin stretched over thin bones that seemed to pop out of its skin while it was propped up on four legs, and God, the way it roared with hunger. It didn't have a face. Just four petal-like crevices that pop open to reveal an empty hole circled with razor-sharp teeth.

Tears of fear had built-up in Dylan's eyes as she remembered, but she didn't let that slow her down. She was built to run, but she was losing the good distance she built away from that thing chasing her still, the sound of its bony feet slapping the ground until it was a few feet, a few inches away, and then-

Dylan felt the weight of its claw-like hand slapping the back of her legs and it was all over. She fell so fast and hit the ground so hard that the wind was knocked from her chest. Dylan scrambled across the mess of leaves and twigs to get away or stand back up, but it was no use. She rolled over just as it leaped onto her chest. It pinned her there, its face opening up and a spit-filled snarl filling her face. She screamed in horror again, hands flying to the side at the same time it lifted its free arm, claws extended.

"Fuck!" Dylan screamed again because no, she refused to die like this. She flailed uselessly for a second before her fingers closed around... A stick? Fuck it. She wasn't going to be the prey this time.

Dylan squeezed the weight of it in her hand and jabbed it forward, the sharp end piercing it in the throat. It howled in pain as blood spurted from the wound, drenching the front of Dylan's top, before it spluttered since she punctured its airway. She seized the moment it was distracted to yank her knees to her chest and push with all the strength she had left onto its chest, knocking it over. Dylan didn't want to waste another second, scootching backward, prepared to jump on her feet again, but something else broke through the trees again.

Dylan clenched her mighty stick tighter, prepared to fight a pack of these monsters off, but she didn't have to when she saw a spiked bat swung through the air before the intruders.

"Steve?" She gasped. That idiot from the party her brother didn't like? What was he doing hitting a monster with a bat like he was prepared for this?

"And Dustin!" The kid with a cap over a mop of curly hair exclaimed as he jumped onto the tracks too. "Was that Dart?!" He yelled into the empty air hopefully, but it was too late. The thing already retreated with its tail tucked between its legs.

"Who cares, Dustin?! It's gone!" Steve snapped as he caught his breath, balancing his bat over his shoulder.

"He could be hurt!"

"Like I said, who cares?!"

"Hello?!" Dylan screamed over them. She dropped the stick she was holding. It was useless now. She took a few deep breaths for air, processing what happened. A monster attacked her. It almost killed her. She had its blood splattered over her chest and neck-

Steve's eyes scanned over her. "Is that blood? Did you really stab it?" He asked dumbly. Dylan would have jabbed him for that one too even if he did help her.

Dylan stopped with her deep breaths. The same angry and serious look crossed her face because she was done. She really did have every right to hate this stupid town now. "I want answers," she demanded from the pair quietly. "Now."

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author's note:

i am on a roll with updates lately, i love when depression motivates me

an important scene to me that showcases the huge difference between dylan and billy (cause she wasn't there when billy first saw lucas) was when she saw him with max, she was worried for them, not angry. dylan just wanted to keep them both safe even if it risked her own safety. it was also the first time max looked at her in a different light, slowly starting to realize maybe dylan is different because she IS!

also i know jonathan doesn't appear for a hot minute but trust the moments are coming quick. she can't get the way he smiles out of her head ✨🩷🌟 lastly, dylan being so badass she stabbed a demodog with a stick to get it off her, queen shit. i love her so much.

i know i haven't updated in a hot minute but this story isn't abandoned. writers block is a thing!! enjoy!! and thank you for reading ❤️

- koda

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