Worlds Apart

Thick, cold shadows swarmed around me.I felt lost, terrified. Sinking in a world I didn’t recognize. I couldn’t see the faceless monster, but I could hear him. Crying out as it hunted me. Stalked me. I stumbled forward, trying to get my bearings.

I was in a forest somewhere. The trees and ground looked like they were rotting, covered in spider webs and decayed well past their time. I didn’t know where to go, but I knew I had to leave. The longer I stayed here, the longer that creature had to find me and kill me.

As I came around a grouping of trees, my heart nearly stopped. Barb was just a few feet ahead of me! Oh my god, I was saved! Barb would know what to do! She always did. She always got me out of whatever trouble I’d fallen into before.

“Barb!” I called, reaching out to her as I tried to run. It was as if I was stuck underwater. I could barely move, and my voice sounded muffled and far off. She didn’t turn. I struggled ahead, shouting her name over and over as I tried to get to her.

My fingers brushed her shoulder, and finally, she turned around.

Her face was as decayed as the world around us.

I jolted upright in bed and nearly fell to the ground. My heart was racing and I was covered in a cold sweat. My dream was already fading, pushed aside by the adrenaline racing through me, but fragments lingered in my mind.

Barb’s cold, dead eyes staring down at me. The bone-jarring shriek of the faceless monster… I shuddered and tried to push both things out of my thoughts as I took a few calming breaths.

As I finally got up out of bed, I heard rustling coming from the kitchen. It was just past six thirty in the morning. No one else would be up this early… Had Don come home already? Heart in my throat - again - I opened my door and slowly crept down the hallway. I leaned around the corner to look into the kitchen and actually stopped in surprise.

Dustin was up on the counter, rifling through our cupboards and tossing down whatever he could grab. First a bag of our Nilla wafers, then the rest our peanuts, a whole can of pringles… He grabbed his Pez dispenser off the bottom shelf, then hopped down and turned to grab his backpack.

He froze when he saw me, eyes going wide as I slowly crossed my arms.

“Whatcha doin’?” I asked, getting the biggest shit-eating, toothless grin I’d ever seen.

”Oh… uh, I’m really hungry. Like, super hungry.”

“For smarties and trail mix?” I asked, coming forward to start rifling through his backpack He snatched it off the table and took a step back.

“My appetite cannot be satisfied.”

“Not by that stuff it can’t,” I agreed, coming around the table. He danced out of my reach and started backing for the front door. “Dustin, come on. I don’t want you wasting all our food and getting a sugar high -”

“You and I can have a serious discussion about my poor diet choices when I get home,” he hedged, opening the door. What?! Where was he going?!

“You don’t need to leave for another hour! What are you -”

“My curiosity voyage sets sail when it wants, I can’t control its departures!”

“Yes you can!” I called after him as he pulled his bike out of the garage in record time. “Dustin! Get back here!”

“I love you too!” he shouted as he took off out of our driveway. I let out a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of my nose. I wasn’t chasing my brother down the street in my pajamas. Not again. He was up to something, but I knew better than to try and catch him now. I’d just confront him later and catch him off-guard.

I spent the morning waking mom up, getting us breakfast, and even getting a headstart on reading some chapters coming up. Okay, so maybe Dustin was right when he called me a nerd. Sue me, I liked my history knowledge.

When I looked up from my book it was nearly 7:40. Barb was probably already here! Had I missed hearing her horn? I packed up my book and kissed mom goodbye before racing out onto the porch. Our driveway was empty.

Maybe she slept in from the party, I reasoned, sitting down on our step and hugging my knees to my chest, shivering as the cold November breeze cut through my sweater. I waited, and I waited. And still, more waiting. When I couldn’t feel my fingers anymore, I finally relented and ducked inside to check the time. It was five till eight!

Where the heck was Barb?! I thought about calling her house, but I didn’t want to waste time. I’d have to ride Dustin’s old bike to school if I didn’t want to be late. I pedaled as fast as I could down the street, shivering by the time I’d even left our neighborhood. I really needed to invest in some heavier sweaters. Or, y’know, actually dig my coat out of our hall closet.

As I rounded the last bend before I got to school, my mind went back to my dream. It was hazier now, but I could still see Barb’s lifeless eyes staring at me. I shivered harder and forced the thought out of my mind. It was a stupid dream; I couldn’t let it freak me out.

I barely pulled up to the bike stand as the warning bell rang, and I booked it to class. I was frozen and shivering, and probably more than a little askew, but I was here. Nancy looked up as I dropped into my seat, and she gave a frown.

“Why’re you so late? And where’s Barb?”

“She never showed up,” I whispered, and didn’t miss the flicker of concern that flitted over her face. “What time did you guys get back last night?”

“I didn’t get home until midnight,” she said, looking surprisingly embarrassed. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why. “But she left a few hours before. Like, ten o’clock I think.”

“Do you know if she got home?” I asked; Nancy just shrugged as class begin, not making me feel any better at all. The last time Barb had missed school was when she got the flu in ninth grade. She was as much of a nerd as I was.

I spent all of class worrying about all the different scenarios running through my head, every so often going back to the shadowy fragments of the dream I could barely recall. When the bell finally rang at the end of the period I was so antsy I actually jumped.

Nancy gave me a look as I raced to catch up with her.

“Are you okay? You look a little freaked out.”

“I’m worried about Barb,” I told her, and again saw the concern shimmer in her eyes before she looked away. “You know this isn’t like her.”

“Yeah, I know, but -” she cut off abruptly as she saw Steve waiting for her at her locker. “We’ll talk at lunch, okay?”

“Nanc, hang on -”

Too late; she was already halfway down the hall. I swallowed my frustration, but knew that I wouldn’t get anywhere with her as long as Steve was within eyesight. So I trudged to History and sat moodily in my seat as the rest of the class slowly trickled in.

Every few moments I’d check the room, looking to see if Barb had walked in. I was just waiting for those red curls to peak around the corner and settle all the unease welling inside me.

When I looked up just as the final bell rang, I actually gasped. Jonathan was in his seat. He was back in class! Why didn’t I notice sooner?! I wanted to talk to him as badly as I wanted to see Barb. And now I’d have to wait and become an even more chaotic bundle of nerves!

Nancy slunk into class with Steve, looking flushed and giddy. Glad you’re having a good day, I thought irritably as she and her not-boyfriend got into their seats. Barb’s stayed painfully empty all class period.

It was no surprise when Nancy and Steve took off as soon as the bell rang, but I didn’t care. My sights were set on Jonathan right now anyways. I skittered around the other kids and had to nearly sprint to catch him as he hightailed it down the hall.

“Hey! Jonathan!” I gasped, stopping him just before he disappeared into the photography lab. His hand paused on the door handle and he glanced at me in surprise.

“Oh, uh, hey Allison.”

He didn’t even manage a smile, and my heart ached for him.

“How’re you doing? I went by to check on you last night -”

“Yeah. My mom told me,” he said dismissively; I swallowed down the rest of my sentence in surprise. What the heck? Had I gone back in time and come across the Jonathan I’d first talked to when we got our project?

“Okay. Well, I just wanted to see if you were okay. If there’s anything you need help with -”

“I just have to develop some pictures,” he said in a clipped tone, nodding at the door he was about to open. “I can handle it.”

“Well, I meant like with Will, or your mom. But I could help you with your pictures -”

“I can handle it, Allison.” It looked like Jonathan heard the tone of his voice, because he dropped his gaze and added quickly, “thanks, though.”

“Yeah, sure,”I said softly, taking a step back. “You know you can come to me if you need anything.”

Jonathan just nodded and disappeared into the photography room. My aching heart sunk just a little further down. I didn’t have Barb, Nancy was about as supportive and helpful as a dead tree, and now it seemed I didn’t have Jonathan either. Fanfreakintastic.

The rest of the day trudged on. Nancy’s promise to talk at lunch panned out just like I’d expected - she ran off with Steve, Carol, and Tommy without a second glance back at me. Like she’d be much help anyways. I didn’t see Jonathan the rest of the day, which was probably for the best.
He’s just under a lot of stress, I reminded myself as I shoved my things in my locker after school. Will’s still missing and his mom’s a wreck right now. Go easy on him, Ally.

Instead of focusing on Jonathan’s attitude, I’d work on finding Barb. It was gonna be tricky though, without a car. Realistically, I could only bike so far before I had to be home for Dustin and my mom. So I’d start by calling her house, save myself a trip there if she was home safe. I hurried out to the pay phone and shoved the quarters in, then dialed Barb’s number.

“Come on, come on, pick up Barb…” I muttered under my breath as the phone rang. I sucked in a gasp as the line picked up, only to deflate when Mrs. Holland spoke.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Mrs. Holland. It’s, uh, it’s Ally.”

“Oh! Ally, hi! How’re you doing?”

“Oh, good. I’m good.” I paused for a moment, trying to think of what to say. I knew Barb hadn’t told her parents about the party, so I didn’t want to get her in trouble. But why would I be calling in the middle of a school day?

“Ally? Are you there?” Mrs. Holland pressed; I blurted quickly,

“Y-yeah, I am. I was just wondering… is uh, is Barb there?”

“No… She’s at school. With you, isn’t she?”

So Barb wasn’t home, and she wasn’t here. Where the hell was my best friend? Wait - what did I say to Mrs. Holland??

“Oh, yeah, she just - I couldn’t find her at lunch. So I thought maybe she, uh, maybe she went home?”

“No, sweetheart, I’m sorry. She isn’t here. In fact, I haven’t seen her since she went to Will Byers vigil with you and Nancy.”

My heart dropped.

“She… she didn’t come home last night?”

“No, Ally. She told me she was staying the night with you and Nancy.” I could feel her suspicion through the phone. “She did stay with you two, didn’t she?”

“Oh, yeah. Yeah. She did. I just, uh, I got my days mixed up. I’m sorry, I think I’m getting sick.”

Smooth, Ally.

“Alright, sweetheart,” she said slowly. “You just get some rest tonight. Take some vitamins.”

“Will do. Thanks, Mrs. Holland. I’ll see you later!”

I hung up the phone before I could dig myself into a deeper hole. Sheesh, I was not good with secret interrogations. Maybe I wouldn’t try to grill Dustin when he got home; clearly, it wasn’t my specialty.

“Did you get ahold of Barb?”

Surprised, I turned around and saw Nancy walking up to me. Without Steve near her, she actually looked like she was concerned. Not the time to be petty, I chastised myself as I shook my head.

“No, just her mom. She said Barb never came home last night.”

“What? Really?”

“Yeah. Did she say she was gonna go anywhere after?”

“No, she just said she was going home,” Nancy started, and then her eyes flicked over my shoulder. Her face scrunched up and she sighed. I glanced back and immediately felt myself tense up. Carol, Tommy, Nicole, and Steve were crowding around Jonathan, who looked more than a little uneasy.

“This can’t be good,” I muttered to Nancy, turning and hurrying across the parking lot towards them.

“Wait, Ally, don’t get involved!”

Like hell I wouldn’t.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jonathan said quickly as I came into earshot, trying to brush past the others and get to his car. Tommy grabbed his bag and ripped it off his shoulder; Jonathan spun to grab it back, but it got tossed to Steve.

“Guys, leave him alone,” I said sharply, ducking around Jonathan as he froze to stare at them. Steve gave me a look as I held my hand out for Jonathan’s bag. “Seriously. This isn’t cool.”

“Believe me, Ally. In a few moments you’re gonna be glad we did this.”

“Stop,” Jonathan said in a desperate voice; when I glanced back at him to be reassuring, he refused to meet my eyes. He looked almost sick with worry. When I glanced back at Steve, he was pulling a handful of photos out of the bag.

“Oh here we go,” Steve said, throwing a glance at Jonathan before flipping through the pictures. Carol and Tommy crowded around to look as Nicole glared at Jonathan.

“Just put them back and leave him alone,” I tried again, moving to grab the photos. Tommy, taking a few for himself, stepped up and shoved my shoulder back; I stumbled and felt a hand come to the small of my back. Jonathan stepped up beside me as he steadied me.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” he tried, only to be laughed into silence by the others.

“Yeah, this isn’t creepy at all,” Carol sneered, waving a picture at him; I snatched it before she could pull back.

“Allison, wait,” Jonathan said quickly, grabbing my elbow.

“Take a look, see for yourself,” Steve said coolly; my eyes dropped to the picture. It was a shot of Steve, Tommy, Carol, and Nancy gathered around a pool, obviously taken without them knowing. My thoughts came skidding to a stop as I stared at it. Was… was this the party last night?

When I lifted my confused gaze to Jonathan, he stared at me with guilt-filled eyes. Why the hell had he been taking secret pictures of everyone last night?

“I was looking for my brother,” he said to me, gauging the look on my face. Steve stepped up beside me and said sharply,

“No. No, this is called stalking.”

Jonathan didn’t look at them, instead he kept his eyes on me. Silently asking me to… to what? Take his side on this? I didn’t even know what this was. Was he stalking them? Or was he just stalking…

Nancy, finally deciding not to just stand by, came up to the group and looked around.

“What’s going on?” she asked slowly; I didn’t miss the way Jonathan’s head snapped to look at her instead. My heart fell into my stomach.

“Oh there’s the starring lady,” Tommy smirked, making Jonathan shift uncomfortably and cast a side-glance at me before looking back at Nancy.

“What?”

“This creep was spying on us last night,” Carol sneered; I couldn’t help the look I threw her. She met my eyes, and a smirk curled over her face. “He was probably gonna save this one for later.”

She offered Nancy a picture, and she took it. Her eyes swept over it, and her mouth opened in surprise as she looked up at Jonathan. Steve nudged me in her direction.

“See for yourself.”

Jonathan didn’t move to stop me as I leaned over; Nancy held the picture up and my entire breath left me. It was a picture of Nancy in one of the rooms of the house, taking her shirt off.

I couldn’t even look at Jonathan.

Byers is totally crushing on Nancy, Adam had said just the other day. Barb had convinced me it was nothing, but this? This wasn’t nothing. This wasn’t Jonathan looking for Will. This was Jonathan secretly taking a picture of Nancy undressing.

This is why he didn’t want to help him in the photo room, I realized, feeling sick to my stomach. He was developing these pictures and hadn’t wanted me to find out. I’d been thinking all day today that I’d just feel better if I knew why Jonathan was acting so weird earlier, but it’d just made me feel even worse.

Jonathan finally tore his eyes off Nancy and looked at me, then immediately dropped his eyes to the ground. He was ashamed, and part of me was glad about that. Being upset over Will didn’t excuse things like this.

This was, like, the worst time ever for Barb to not be here.

“See, you can tell that he knows it was wrong, but that’s the thing about perverts,” Steve said slowly, walking up to Jonathan as he ripped up the pictures he was holding. Tommy and Carol, holding the rest, did the same. “So… you just have to take away his toy.”

Jonathan’s eyes widened in alarm as Steve turned and went towards Jonathan’s bag.

“No, please, not the camera -” he said desperately, moving to go after him. Tommy stepped up and shoved him back. Okay, I was hurt and angry, but I wasn’t heartless. I knew Jonathan’s camera had cost a lot, and I knew he and his mom didn’t have a lot of money.

I turned and ducked under Steve’s arm and grabbed Jonathan’s bag, clutching it to my chest and backing away from him. Tommy abandoned his attempt to hold Jonathan back and turned to me.

“You think what he did is okay?”

“No,” I said sharply. “But neither is this. You guys made your point, you don’t have to go this far.”

“Y’know, kissing up to him isn’t gonna make him like you more than Nancy,” Carol threw out, making the others around her laugh. At the look on my face, she laughed and added, “yeah, Nancy told us all about your little crush.”

What?!

My head whipped around to stare incredulously at my ‘friend’. She looked almost as guilty as Jonathan now. Tommy capitalized on my distraction and shot forward, grabbing my upper arm and pulling my hold on the bag loose so Steve could snatch it from me.

His fingers dug into an old bruise and a burst of pain shot through my arm. An involuntary squeak left me as I tried to pull out of his painful grip. Jonathan was at my side a second later.

“Let go of her,” he snapped, grabbing Tommy’s wrist and twisting his arm back, breaking his hold. Tommy sneered at him as Jonathan put his arm out and moved me back from the others.

In going after Tommy, Jonathan didn’t have time to stop Steve as he pulled his camera from the bag. He turned it over in his hands as I said quickly,

“Steve, c’mon. Don’t be a dick.”

His eyes flicked to me and he met my gaze for several seconds, before giving a simple shrug and turned to Jonathan.

“Yeah, sure. Here man.”

He held out the camera; Jonathan reached to take it, and Steve let it fall through his fingers. It shattered on the ground and I felt Jonathan's heart fall with it. He stared down at it in disbelief as the others dropped the ripped pieces.

“Some friend you are,” Carol threw out at me as they headed back towards school for the football game. “Defending this pervert. You probably told him where she’d be.”

“C’mon Nance,” Steve said coolly, wrapping his arm around her and tugging her back. “You don’t need to be around these creeps.”

I glared after them all, fury at Nancy reaching its peak. It was clear we were only friends when Barb was with us. I’d deal with her and her inability to keep secrets later, though. For now, I turned and knelt beside Jonathan as he gently gathered his camera pieces.

“Here,” I said softly, grabbing a few beside me and holding them out. Jonathan paused, but didn’t take them from me.

“You don’t need to help,” was all he said as he scooped up the ripped pictures. I put the pieces of his camera by his side and instead went to gathering the scraps before they got the chance to blow around the parking lot.

My hands stilled on the first piece I went for. Barb was sitting on a diving board, feet hanging into a pool, looking down at her hands. My heart leapt seeing her. Jonathan had seen her at the party! Did he know where she went?

“Jonathan, did you -”

“Look, I know. It was super creepy of me.”

“No, that wasn’t - well, yes. It was. But that’s not what -”

“I gotta get home,” he said briskly, standing abruptly and skirting around me for his car. I stood and stared after him. No thank you for sticking up for him? No apology for the pictures? I mean, we weren’t dating. I didn’t exactly have a right to be jealous… But we’d almost kissed, and now he was sneaking pictures of my friend? Well, not really my friend. But that didn’t mean -

I snapped out of my thoughts as Jonathan started his car. He pulled away without a second look at me. I stood in the parking lot a few moments longer, staring after his car as I clutched the piece of the picture I’d kept.

One thing was certain. After what’d just happened, I needed to find my best friend, and that was exactly what I was gonna do.

-x-

The ride to Steve’s house was a lot longer on a bike instead of in a car. Mom, dad, Dustin, and I had come here a few times when I was younger for the summer barbecues the Harrington’s threw.

Seeing his house empty and quiet was almost unnerving in itself. I rode my bike around to the side street, and my breath left me. Barb’s VW was parked along the road. I hopped off the bike and let it fall as I rushed up to it, wanting nothing more than to see her inside.

The car was empty.

I dropped my head against the window and let out a shaking breath. If her car was here, and she wasn’t with it… Please, universe. I couldn’t stand it if I lost my best friend. I couldn’t lose Barb.

“Ally.”

My head snapped up and I spun around so fast I fell back against the car.

“Barb!?” I took off towards Steve’s backyard, so relieved I felt sick. She was here! She was here! I knew his parents were out of town, so I didn’t worry as I threw open their back gate, ready to see my best friend waiting.

There was no one.

The pool sat eerily still, and the trees lining the back of the house stood tall and unmoving, watching me. I crept forward slowly, eyes flickering around the property.

“Barb?” I tried again, coming up to the diving board Barb was sitting on in the picture. I knelt slowly at the edge of the pool, and steeled myself. If I found her at the bottom… I took a breath and leaned over.

The only thing in the water was my own reflection. For the first time today, I was glad I didn’t see Barb. As I blew out a breath, I saw something shift over my shoulder in my reflection. Instantly I looked back, but nothing was behind me. What the…

I turned to the water again and found myself inches from the faceless monster. I let out a scream and threw myself back from the pool, scrambling away as I hyperventilated. What the hell was going -

“Ally!”

Barb! My head whipped around on instinct and I looked desperately for my best friend. The yard behind me was empty. What the hell!? Her voice had come from behind me, I knew it!

My mind thought desperately, earth to Ally! Crazy monster in the pool! and I turned back around as quickly as before. There was nothing in front of me, but in the distance I saw a faceless, sinewy body slip into the trees.

Okay. What the hell. What was going on?! What was that thing!? And why did I keep hearing Barb! What was going on!?

I didn’t waste time lying around. I was on my feet and out of the backyard before my heart started beating again. I made it to my bike in record time and pedaled home as fast as my body would let me.

I almost wiped out skidding into my driveway; I dropped the bike and sprinted inside, mind racing. I had no idea what I’d just seen, but I knew now this wasn’t a coincidence. The faceless man - it had to be a mask! - at Will’s, and now at the last place Barb had been?

I had dialed the police station before I knew what I was doing.

-x-

“So, let me get this straight,” Officer Callahan monotoned, flipping through his notepad as Officer Powell stared at me, just this side of bemused. “You’re saying man in some faceless mask took the Byers kid and Ms. Holland?”

“I mean, I don’t know for sure, but - are you laughing at me?” I asked incredulously, sitting back in the armchair as Officer Callahan sniggered into his uniform. He sobered up quickly as Officer Powell cut in,

“It’s just a little weird, kid. Okay? You think you’re bein’ stalked by some weird, mask-wearing serial kidnapper?”

“Why can’t I talk to Hop again?” I snapped; Officer Callahan gave me an exasperated look.

“Because the Chief’s out handlin’ some other stuff right now.”

“Whatever,” I muttered, not entirely believing them. “Are you gonna file the missing person’s report or not?” Officer Callahan tapped his notepad as they got to their feet and headed for the front door.

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll talk to the people at the party. But uh, you see this faceless man again, Ally -”

“Thanks, yeah, I got it,” I huffed, shutting the door after them as they giggled to their car. Seriously, Hopper aside, we had some pretty useless officers in this town. I let out a heavy groan and dropped onto the couch, face in my hand. Talk about a day from hell.

Dustin still wasn’t home, mom had just slept through the evening, and now the Hawkins Police Department thought I was insane. On top of Barb missing, the faceless monster reappearing, and Jonathan stalking Nancy, who couldn’t keep her mouth shut and had told all my least-favorite people I had a crush on said stalker.

I needed a few good hits over the head with a baseball bat at this point. I heaved a sigh and shoved to my feet, knowing my night wasn’t over yet. I still had a missing 12-year-old to hunt down.

Mrs. Sinclair hadn’t seen the boys all evening, Mr. Wheeler told me to quit calling during the game, and the Byers’ line was just virtually busy at this point. I was deciding whether to start combing the neighborhood on the bike or calling the police department again when I heard the front door open.

“You know, this is the second time in two nights I’ve almost filed a missing report on you,” I started as Dustin came into the living room. “It’s almost ten o’clock, you know that, don’t you?”

When he didn’t answer me, my verbal assault stumbled just a bit.

“Hey. Dustin.”

He slowly turned to me. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, eyes shining bright with an aching sadness that took the breath out of me. Something was very, very wrong. The scolding could wait. The moment I opened my arms he rushed into them, clinging tight as he buried his face into my shirt and sobbed.

Dustin’s legs were shaking so bad he could barely stand. I only managed to guide him a few steps before we both dropped to the living room floor. He curled tighter into my hold. I only caught a few words - Will and body. It was all I needed.

I cried with my baby brother as I felt Will’s loss tear through me. Such a sweet, loving little boy didn’t deserve to be gone so early. Poor Will… oh god, Jonathan and Joyce… I couldn’t imagine. Losing dad had been the hardest, most devastating moment of my life. But to lose a child, a brother?

Dustin and I didn’t leave each other the rest of the night. I managed to coax him up onto the couch, and we stayed curled up with each other as we sobbed. It was just past 1AM as I felt Dustin - still sniffling - shift to look up at me.

When I met his grief-stricken eyes, I felt my own tears start up again.

“You think dad’s with Will?” he whispered; I gave him a small smile and nodded.

“Yeah, I bet he is. They’ll take care of each other.”

Another few quiet, aching moments passed. I thought Dustin had fallen asleep until I heard him murmur to himself,

“I should’ve taken care of him.”

My already shattered heart broke just a little more. Whether he’d meant Will or dad… I hugged my baby brother close as we finally drifted off to sleep. The last thing that crossed my mind was a silent plea to the universe.

I can’t lose anyone else. Please just let Barb be okay.