Byers Body was found in the water of the quarry by state police earlier this evening. It was discovered by state trooper David O Bannon, just after dark. The state police are mounting an investigation to determine Byers cause of death but an initial inquiry.
The Wilson Wheelers sat down on the couch, watching TV. The living room was unusually quiet. Natalie barely heard the rest of the news ; her body was tense, and her breath caught in her throat. The words echoed in her mind, "Byers' body." Her heart dropped. She quickly blinked away the tears forming in her eyes and turned to Moira, who looked like she was about to cry.
Her face had turned pale, and her hands curled into fists. Kamila let out a gasp, covering her mouth with her hand as Ryan wrapped his arm around her.
" No.." Natalie whispered
This couldn't be real; it all felt like a living nightmare. Will Byers, the same kid who was playing Dungeons and Dragons with the boys, was dead. His future in the arts had been taken away from him. It didn't make sense; none of it did. Kamila wrapped her arm around Moira, who couldn't bear it anymore. Natalie's heart shattered just watching her little sister cry.
She didn't have to go through this. No one else did. Especially the Byers, who didn't deserve to suffer through this. Natalie felt a lump in her throat, her hands trembling as she clutched the couch pillow tightly. She had gone into the woods twice, and a creature lurked through the beyond. Nancy was a witness to it; there was something out there. They had witnessed something out of this world. And now, Will was gone—he was dead.
Her mind racing with thoughts. Something had happened to Will and Barb, and this couldn't be just a coincidence. It couldn't be.
Natalie glanced at Moira once more, who continued to cry, her breath coming in ragged gasps, and her eyes were puffy. A part of her wanted to shed tears as well, but another part of her was consumed by a sense of dread. Will was gone, and Barb was nowhere to be found. This was only the beginning.
" I'm sorry, kiddo. We did the best we could. What a shame Will was a good kid" Ryan tried to reassure Moira.
" Ay, Que horror" Kamila said ( Ay, what horror)
Moira stormed out of the living room, slamming the door behind her. Natalie took a deep breath, and she made her way back to her room. Natalie closed the door gently. She lied down and stared at the ceiling, as tears slowly fell down on her cheeks.
The next day
Natalie attended school as usual, but something felt off. Moira hadn't even gotten out of bed this morning. Natalie peeked into her room and found Moira snuggled in blankets, barely moving. She was grieving like everyone else. To be honest, Natalie didn't feel like going to school either.
The thought of sitting in class, pretending everything was okay, and that Will Byers wasn't dead made her stomach churn. However, something pushed her forward. Natalie was determined to uncover the truth behind the creature, she saw in the woods. It didn't resemble a human, and it lacked a face.
By the time she arrived at school, Natalie felt detached from the world around her. Everything seemed muffled—the laughter of the students , the voices of the teachers in the hallway, and the morning announcements playing over the speaker.By the time she reached history class, she couldn't concentrate. This time, however, the distraction wasn't about "her."The girl who had always been on her mind wasn't the problem today.
Her mind was only fixated on Will and his body in the quarry. She absentmindedly doodled a bunch of scribbles and eye sketches at the corner of her notebook. Despite Mrs. Click's lecture on World War ll Natalie took her gaze off her notebook and to the map hanging in the classroom, her mind being someplace else's. The woods and the faceless creature, consumed her thoughts. Suddenly, she heard the principal's footsteps, and snapped back to reality.
" Natalie Wilson Wheeler. If you'll come with me please."
Natalie closed her notebook, grabbed her bag, and walked off, ignoring Steve Harrington's concerned look. When she entered the cafeteria, she found her mom, Nancy, Karen, and the police.
" This argument, you and Barbara had? What actually was it about?" The cop questioned Nancy.
" It wasn't really an argument. Barb just wanted to leave? And so did Natalie. I didn't so.. I, I told her to just go home." Nancy started off
" Then what?"
" Then I went upstairs to put on some dry clothes." Nancy said, her voice a little quieter now
" So you were last seen with Barbara?"The cops now questioned Natalie
" Yes- I was with her that night, officer. She was right by the pool, and then I left to go use the bathroom and the next minute she wasn't there anymore." Natalie answered
" Mhmm, and the next day, you two went back and saw a bear, you're thinking!"
Natalie cleared her throat. "Actually officer, I saw it the night Barbara went missing. Maybe it could have been a bear, I don't know"
" I don't know what it was... but I think. I think maybe it took Barb. You need to check behind Steve's house." Nancy admitted
" We did. There's nothing there. And there's no sign of a bear."
"And no car."
Nancy took a glance at Natalie, her brows furrowed in confusion. "What?"
" Look we figured Barbara came back last night." And then she took off, went somewhere else."
" Has she ever talked to you guys about running off? Leaving town, maybe?"
"No" Natalie answered
Nancy shook her head " No, No. Barb wouldn't do that, ever."
" She wasn't maybe upset about the fact that you were spending time with this boy?" Uh Steve Harrington."
Nancy's eyes widened. " What? No"
" Maybe she was jealous because she saw you go up to Steve's room."
Natalie crossed her arms on the table. " Look, officer, I was just as upset as she was.Steve and I were friends, yeah, but that's all in the past now. But Barb, she's not that type of person. Especially getting jealous over some boy. God what is up with the idea that all teenage girls are obsessed with dating and boys, Barb isn't like that" she snapped, her grip tightening on the edge of her sleeve.
" It wasn't like that" Nancy said quietly.
" Like what?"
" Steve and me, we're... we're just friends." We .. we just talked. Nancys voice quivered.
Natalie's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Nancy. Did Nancy just lie to a police officer?
" Now was this before or after, you changed out of your clothes"
They returned home and went their separate ways. Kamila opened the door behind them. Natalie already knew that this conversation wouldn't be easy.
" So you went to the other side when I told you not to," Kamilas voice trembled
" Ok, si, mama. I did. "Natalie replied, not meeting her mother's eyes.
" You could have gotten missing." Her mothers words hit her like a punch in the gut, she wasn't wrong at all.
"Yo sé, mamá. I didn't have a choice. Nancy made me go somewhere I didn't even want to. So I'm sorry."Natalie's voice cracked
Kamilas gaze softened, but she was still concerned for her daughter. " You could have easily said no, Natalia, you're better than this."
" I did Mama, multiple times. Barb is missing because of me. Because I didn't stay on her side. Something terrible happened to her, I know it. And no one is listening to me . I feel like I'm losing my god damn mind." Natalie raised her voice, tears welling in her eyes.
Kamila stepped a little closer " Mija, I'll listen to you. I just can't bare to think that what if it was you instead of Barbara. I don't think I could deal with that. Especially with what Joyce is going through."Kamila's voice cracked.
Natalie felt this ache in her chest, more tears welled up in her eyes " Yo entiendo, Mamá. Yo necesito estar sola." ( I understand, Mom but I need to be alone)
" Natalia.."
Natalie slammed the door behind her as she entered her room, her hands started to tremble. She slowly walked to her bed, face-first on the mattress, tears streaming down her face. Natalie got startled by the sound of the telephone, she jumped up and wiped away the tears on her face.
" What do you want"Natalie asked
" Nat- I think you might want to see this?"
" I'm not in the mood, Nancy." Natalie replied, her voice sounding monotone
" No, but it's about the thing. Remember when Jonathan took those pictures."
Natalie let out a sigh. " Yeah.. he was a total creep for doing that."
" He got it on camera. The thing."
Natalie froze, not even knowing how to respond " What?" She whispered
" The thing, he got it on camera. The thing that took Barb."
Natalie felt her hands tremble as she stood up, her jaw dropped and eyes widened in surprise. It wasn't just a nightmare, it wasn't paranoia. The creature was real. They had seen it and now Jonathan has proof. Natalie took a deep breath before responding. "I'll be right there Nancy."
Natalie quickly grabbed a jacket and rushed out of her room, heading straight to the door. They made their way to the funeral home, and Natalie couldn't help but feel her heart shatter as she watched Jonathan carefully select a coffin for Will. Nancy slowly entered the place.
" Can you just give me a second." Jonathan asked
" Of course"
Jonathan approached the two ladies. " Hey"
Natalie gave him a slight wave
" Hey, Your mom, um .. she said you'd be here. I just. Nancy took a deep breath. " Can we talk for a second."
The three sat down. Nancy showed him the picture of Barb in the pool. In the corner, Natalie could make out the creature, though it was blurry.
" It looks like it could be some kind of perspective distortion but I wasn't using the wide angle. I don't know. It's weird."
" And you're sure you didn't see anyone else out there? Nancy asked
Jonathan shook his head. " No, and she was there one second and then, um, gone. I figured she bolted."
" Same here" Natalie said
" The cops think she ran away. But they don't know Barb. And we went back to Steve's and we thought we .. saw something. Some weird man or I don't know what it was." Nancy spoke up.
Natalie's hand clenched into a fist " I saw it the night in the woods. The day Barb went missing." She admitted.
" I'm sorry.. we shouldn't have come here today. I'm.. I'm so sorry." Nancy repeated
Nancy got up and started to walk off. Natalie followed behind her. Jonathan suddenly broke the silence. " What did he look like?"
Nancy froze and turned around. " What?"
" That man you saw in the woods. What did he look like." Jonathan asked
" I don't know. It was almost like, he didn't have." Nancy murmured
" Didn't have a face." Jonathan cut her off
Natalie's gaze immediately shifted to Jonathan.
Nancy furrowed her eyebrows in suspicion. " How did you know that?"
A/N: Thank you so much for reading! This story has been a journey to explore the blend of mystery, grief, and the unknown, as Natalie navigates the stranger things unfolding in Hawkins. I hope you've been enjoying the journey.
As always, I appreciate your feedback and thoughts on where this is going! Stay tuned for more twists and turns as we dive deeper into this mystery.