sometimes my own stupidity astounds me- for this chapter I googled "are there post boxes in America?" like how else would y'all send letters? I have one brain cell and she's called Jennyfer (with a Y because she's that bitch) and she took a raincheck this entire chapter


Nancy and I walked together back to her house, she didn't want to be alone and after what we saw, neither did I. Though I doubted that we could have taken on whatever that was with even the two of us working together. We walked together in silence, neither of us knowing what to make of the events that had just proceeded.

We eventually reached her house.

"Hey! You're home early! How was the game?" A woman who I could only assume was Nancy's mum, asked. "Nancy? What's the matter?" She questioned, turning to look at us.

"It's Barb." Nancy eventually stammered while crying. "I think something happened. Something terrible."

I didn't stay much longer than that, I used their landline to call Bob to come pick me up. I could sense Nancy needed to be alone to think for a while, and I was at ease knowing she was safe in her house and surrounded by family. When Bob arrived I got into the car without saying anything to him. After a minute or two he finally spoke up.

"So, did you have fun with your new friend?" He asked, I could tell he was just trying to fill the silence.

"Yeah sure, something like that." I sighed, slouching into the car seat and wishing it would just swallow me whole. I had been back in Hawkins for less than 3 days and I was already somehow involved in a missing persons case.

When we got home, Bob decided to cheer me up by showing me the records he'd got me. It was an instant mood lifter. When I got to my room I started playing Billy Joel's record, The Stranger. Back when I was with Joshua I used to borrow his Walkman, and I bought myself The Stranger on cassette as he was never a fan of Billy Joel so he didn't have it himself. I'd listen to it on a bad day and it would automatically cheer me up, it was like a safety blanket. Vienna was my favourite song from the entire album.

"You know if you were a boy, you would have been called Joel, and our dog at the time was called Billy. Happy little coincidence." Bob laughed as he stood in my doorway. "Anyway, I came in here to ask you what you wanted for dinner, we don't have much I need to go shopping tomorrow."
"You got stuff for chilli?" I asked, he nodded and disappeared to the kitchen.

I soon realised I hadn't written a letter to Benjamin yet like I'd promised him I would, so I pulled out my pen and paper and got to work.

Hey squirt,

I know, I'm sorry it's later than I promised it would be- BUT in my defence I am very jet-lagged and a lot has happened. I actually made a friend! Shocking, I know! Long story short, her friend has gone missing and we saw this 'thing' in the forest. This shit looked like it came straight out of Dr Who it was freaky!

I hope you're holding up okay without me

Flip mum + Oliver off for me please!

-Love Aubrey xxx

"Dinner is ready!" Bob called from the kitchen/dining room. I got up, folding the letter.

"Smells lush!" I grinned, watching him spoon chilli into bowls for us. "Have you got envelopes and stamps anywhere?"

"Got a letter to send?" He enquired as we settled down at the table to eat.

"Yeah, to Benjamin. I promised I'd send one as soon as I got here but I got a bit caught up." I explained.

"We'll send it first class then!" Bob smiled, taking a sip of water. "Is Benjamin your brother?"

"Yeah, he's a little brat but I love him. Smartest kid I know, not that I'm friends with many kids." I snorted fairly ungracefully.

"Well he may not be my son but he's still family, he's always welcome to stay here if he visits." He told me with sincerity.

"I- Thank you." I smiled, I doubted Oliver would ever let Benjamin come and visit but it was a nice thought nonetheless.

'Had to pop off to work early, sorry! Lunch money is on the counter! Will also be leaving late so can't pick you up today' Read the note on the dining table. It was fortunate that I had actually woken up to my alarm this morning, unlike the past few days when Bob had to come and almost physically drag me out of bed. I could sleep through a tsunami normally, but that thing Nancy and I saw yesterday plagued my nightmares so sleep was sparse.

I dreaded walking alone to school, it was only a 10 minute walk maximum, even for my little stubby legs. But still, knowing that thing was out there somewhere I didn't even want to check the mailbox outside alone. Still, I put on a brave face, grabbed the lunch money and letter, and set off. There was a mailbox just outside the school and with first class shipping it shouldn't take more than 2 weeks. I wondered if he'd maybe sent me a letter already and it was awaiting delivery, but I soon decided that Oliver and mum would have never voluntarily given him my new address, hence why I wrote it on the back of the letter I sent.

Christmas was drawing closer and I was tempted to ask for a polaroid camera, or at least money towards getting one myself. Maybe I could pick up a job at the local mall as an elf to make up the rest of the money? God knows I'm short enough. With a polaroid camera I could send pictures to Benjamin of my antics in Hawkins, he'd probably get a kick out of it all.

It wasn't long before I arrived at school, I was a little out of breath as I'm not in the best of shape, and I had decided to jog part of the way, particularly when the path edged near the trees where something could be lurking.

I spotted Nancy outside the school building, and when she spotted me she practically ran up to me and pulled me into a hug. I had done more hugging since being in Hawkins than I would have normally done in half a year back in the UK. I wasn't opposed to it though.

"I was so worried when I didn't see your dad's car anywhere and the bell rung 5 minutes ago!" She gasped, hugging me again. "I thought it got to you and I had lost you too." I held her as she lightly sobbed gently hushing her and glaring at everyone who gave us an odd look.

"It's okay, I'm okay, I'm here." I told her, and eventually she calmed down.

"I need to go to the cops about all of this." She eventually admitted, I nodded.

"I agree, and I'll be here for you, okay?" She sent me a sad, watery eyed smile. "Now, you said the bell had rung?"

We agreed to meet up again at lunchtime, we had very few classes together and sadly none of those were that morning. Nancy planned to talk to Steve first and then call the police. She wanted me there so I could back up the claims of what we saw in the woods by Steve's house and of course, I complied.

So that's where we were, in the alleyway down the side of the school.

"So, wait a sec. I don't understand. You went back to my house?" Steve asked, and I wanted nothing more than to slap him. It had been a minute and I was already sick of him.

"To look for Barb." Nancy explained, she was desperate for him to understand what was happening, but apparently his hair had grown into his brain and mashed it up a bit because the information was just not processing how it should.

"Yeah, okay, but why didn't you just talk to me? That's crazy." I rolled my eyes as I leant against the wall, causing him to send a glare in my direction.

"I don't know, I- I was scared." Nancy responded.

"But you decided you'd take the new girl who you don't even know? She could be a serial killer for all you know Nance!" Steve said, pointing at me. "Isn't it a bit too convenient that she shows up just as people start going missing?"

"I have a name and I can hear you." I finally spoke up, flipping the boy off which he returned. "If I were to make anyone go missing you'd be top of my list, buddy."

"Whatever, buddy." He huffed before turning back to Nancy. "You seriously think you saw a guy in a mask just hanging out in my yard?"

"I don't think it was a mask." Nancy sighed.

"But he had no face?" Steve asked, clearly not believing any of this.

"I don't know!" She protested, raising her voice ever so slightly.

"I saw it too." I pointed out, Nancy gave me as small, thankful smile. Relieved she had at least one person to back her up and make her sound less crazy.

"Are you sure new girl didn't drug you?" I truly wanted to punch Steve.

"Aubrey did not drug me!" She protested, I rolled my eyes once again.

"If I had access to drugs like that do you really think I'd be in an alleyway talking to you?" I pointed out. "There are so many places I'd rather be right now."
"I just... I have a terrible feeling about this." Nancy sighed, dispelling the rising tension between Steve and I.

"Oh, this is bad." Steve said, leaning against the opposite wall. "This is really bad."

"What?" Nancy asked, confused at his sudden change in demeanour.

"You finally realising you're being a dick and someone is literally missing?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes. He just ignored me.

"The cops they're gonna want to talk to all of us now. Tommy, Carol, everybody who was at the party." I was in shock at how self centred this boy was.

"So?" Nancy questioned, not quite understanding the issue.

"My parents are gonna murder me!" Steve complained, if I were to roll my eyes any more they would probably have gone into the back of my head.

"Are you serious right now?" Nancy demanded, just by looking at his face, I could tell he was 100% serious. He was so far up his own arse that I couldn't tell where which part began and the other ended.

"You don't understand. My dad's a grade A asshole." He protested, as if that would make any difference.

"Barb is missing! And you're worried about your dad?" Nancy was rightly outraged.

"Yes, lets all put on hold the fact that a human being is upset because you're worried your parents are going to be upset that you had a party!" I was almost shouting at this point. "Newsflash idiot, if your parents are going to be that pissed that you had some friends over, maybe don't fucking do it in the first place? Especially if you're not willing to own up to it when someone's life is potentially at stake!" I was aware the pair were staring at my outburst, Steve in shock and Nancy in almost admiration.

"Okay, just When you talk to the cops, just don't mention the beers. It's just gonna get us both in trouble, and Barbara's got nothing to do with it, okay?" Steve managed to eventually stutter out after my minor outburst.

"I can't believe you right now!" Nancy huffed, beginning to walk away. "I can't believe you." Steve called after her but she didn't respond. Before I left to catch up with her I turned to him, giving him the signature scowl I had become known for back in the UK.

"You know, maybe you should talk to your dad more? You seem like a pretty grade A asshole too. You might have something in common." I spat out and finally jogged away to catch up with Nancy. "I really don't like your boyfriend." I told her once I was at her side.

"Yeah, right now neither do I." She sighed, looping her arm around mine.

"You still going to talk to the police?" I asked once we had finally stopped and sat down on a bench.

"I have to. I think something terrible has happened to Barb and I can't just sit by while I know she's missing and know where she was last seen." She said, her head in her hands. "Screw Steve."

"Nancy Wheeler? If you'll come with me, please?" I got up to join Nancy but I was stopped. "Just Ms. Wheeler. We don't need to talk to you Ms. Newby." I sent Nancy an apologetic look and mouthed 'call me'. She nodded and after that she was out of sight.

"Hey kiddo! You're home later than I thought you'd be!" Bob smiled from the sofa when I entered the house. "I thought you might have gone missing!" He joked. I sighed, I wanted to tell him that now was not the time for jokes like that, but I knew he didn't mean anything bad by it.

"I'm not hungry tonight so I won't have any dinner." I told him, he frowned and tilted my head.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked, I nodded and forced a smile.

"Yeah, just not hungry that's all." I said, making my way to my room.

"You can talk to me about anything." He reminded me, I nodded again and mumbled a 'thanks' before closing the door and leaning against it.

It was almost 2 hours later when Bob called my name and told me I had a call. I picked it up from the phone in my room, thankful that he wouldn't have to listen in to my conversation.

Nancy explained over the phone what had happened when she was interviewed.

"Her car is gone! They think she skipped town but they don't know Barb, she wouldn't do that. She would never just leave." Nancy informed me. "I know it's a lot to ask but… Do you think you could come over? I just… I don't have anyone else I can talk to about this."

"Of course, I'll ask Bob if he can drop me off." I told her and then confirmed the address.

"Hey Bobby!" I cheered as I exited my room, his face deadpanned.

"I can just about handle my own daughter calling me Bob, but I draw a line at Bobby." He sighed. "I assume you want something?"

"Aww am I that obvious?" I smirked. "I need a ride to Nancy's. I'm probably going to stay there overnight too."

"Only if you promise me we can pick up some food for the pair of you, I don't like the idea of you going without anything tonight." He reasoned, I happily agreed.

"I think the longest campaign I made lasted 36 hours altogether, we were all so invested and we didn't want it to end." I told the boy sat on the sofa in the Wheeler residence. "I have a load that we never actually got around to doing and as I'm here and they're almost halfway across the world, I highly doubt we will be doing them any time soon." I left out the fact that we rarely finished campaigns because we'd gather round and then smoke a shit ton of weed and we were all too out of it to actually get past the first 10 minutes. Probably not the best example to set for a kid.

"I think our longest was 10 hours, it took me weeks to write." Mike responded.

"I actually brought a load with me when I moved, and since I only have two friends here and one fo them is Nancy, I highly doubt I'll get the chance to use them." I said, giving him a nudge with my elbow. "Do you and your friends want a crack at them? You can either be Dungeon Master and do some adjustments to fit what pieces you have and the way you guys play, or I'd be happy to be the DM."

"Really?" He gasped in excitement. "You'd let us use your campaigns?"

"Yeah! I mean it's better than them sitting in my room collecting dust!" I grinned. Nancy returned with freshly popped popcorn. We planned to have a movie night to take our mind off things.

"Hey! Beat it!" She told her younger brother, pushing him out the way so she could sit down, despite there being plenty of room for all three of us.

"I'm talking to Aubrey!" Mike protested, with an eye roll that rivaled my own.

"Urgh go find your own friends." She scoffed, passing the bowl of popcorn over to me and flicking through the channels to find something worth watching.

"Just because you replaced your missing friend doesn't mean I have to." Mike argued, stomping off before he saw Nancy's reaction. The girl in question froze midway through putting a piece of popcorn in her mouth.

"I… Do you think I'm replacing Barb?" She asked me after a minute of silence.

"I admit that I might be biased because you're the only person who will hang out with me and I would like to continue hanging out with you, but I don't think you're replacing Barb with me." I told her with complete honesty. "From what I've heard of her, she and I are polar opposites. She is a kindhearted, sensible girl, and I was basically thrown out of my country because I was causing too many issues at home. If you were really trying to unconsciously replace her, you would have found someone a hell of a lot better than my messy ass."

"Yeah… You're right…" She gave me a small smile. "What was your life like back in the UK?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Well what do you want to know?"

"So there we were running through this giant field trying to get away from the police, all of us stripped down to our underwear and we were absolutely drenched from the lake. After like, half an hour we thought we were in the clear and we started to slow down, which is when Felix thought it would be a good idea to push Ava into the lake. She screamed so loud that it woke up the guy who owned the nearby farm and he called the police again. So we grabbed Ava and carried on running into the forest, remember by this time we also had no shoes on, so our feet were getting absolutely destroyed. I figured, in for a penny, in for a pound, and I climbed up one of the trees and they went straight past me! I ended up falling asleep in the tree until sunrise when a bird landed on my head. I was hungover and freezing cold mess, even though it was the middle of summer- because even in summer, England is still bloody cold. I made my way back to where we left our clothes and thankfully the police hadn't taken them, so I got dressed and walked 2 miles back home. I climbed through my bedroom window and my mum and Oliver had no idea I was even gone. I met up with the others later that day and apparently Felix had been caught- which served him right for pushing Ava into the river! He was only kept in overnight though once the police realised we had done no real damage other, especially because I was the only one who was underaged and drinking and I wasn't caught." By the end of my story Nancy and I were in fits of laughter in her room, we had been shooed from the living room by her parents after only half an hour of being there.

"How are you still alive?" Nancy asked in shock, still laughing.

"I honestly have no idea! I'm either the luckiest person alive or I'm not quite as dumb as I thought!" I grinned, laying down on her bed. After a few more minutes our laughter finally died down.

"Thank you Aubrey." Nancy suddenly spoke up softly, I gave her a confused look, unsure at what she was thanking me for. "For making me feel like I'm not going crazy. I don't think I would be able to do this without you." She admitted, standing up and going over to her desk. She picked up the picture Jonathan had taken of Barb by Steve's pool. "Hey… Come here." She motioned me over. "Does that look like-"

"What we saw in the woods?" I gasped, studying the picture closer. "I mean it's not clear but it could be."

"We need to go to Jonathan about this. He was there, he might have seen something." She said firmly before looking out the window. "Tomorrow. It's too late to go tonight."

"I haven't been here since I was a kid." I breathed, stood on the doorstep of the Byers residence. "It hasn't changed one bit." Nancy gently knocked on the door and Joyce answered. She looked between the pair of us before settling on me.

"Aubrey? I almost didn't recognise you!" She said, pulling me in for a hug which I returned. I caught a glimpse of the inside of the house to see Christmas lights scattered across the walls and lamps set up everywhere. I decided against asking.

"I missed you!" I told her as we pulled away from the hug. "Is Jonathan home?" I asked, sensing that Nancy didn't want to.

"No he's… He's at the funeral home." She whispered, though she didn't seem as upset as I would have expected. I could only assume that she was in the denial period of grief.

"Thank you Joyce, if you need anything you know where to find me." I told her, giving her one last hug before we departed.

"Thanks." Nancy said as we made our way to the funeral home. "For doing the talking, I don't know what I would have said."

"No problem, I've known Joyce basically my entire life." I told her.

"So you lived in Hawkins when you were little?" She asked.

"Yeah, until I was about 6. Then my mum had an affair with this British businessman named Oliver and whisked me away to live with them in England. They got hitched the week after my mum and Bob's divorce was finalized. I visited over the summer until I was 10, then they decided to attempt to cut contact. I still got birthday and Christmas cards from Bob, but that was it." I sighed, clutching my bag closer to me.

"That must have been rough." She said sadly, looking down at the floor.

"Eh, I got used to it. It was just how I lived." I shrugged. "I was too young to really understand what was happening, and now that I'm old enough to understand it's not like I can go back and change the past. If I got upset over everything that happened to me that I had no way of controlling, where would I stop?"

"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." Jonathan told us, studying the picture Nancy and I had taped together. We arrived at the funeral home pretty fast considering we were walking. I'd have to look into taking some driving lessons, Bob had already told me I could borrow the baby poo brown car when I was legally able to drive.

"And you're sure you didn't see anyone else out there?" Nancy asked.

"Not even like… A glimpse of what might be another person?" I joined in, hoping we could jog something in the back of his memory.

"No. And she was there one second and then, um... gone. I figured she bolted." He said.

"The cops think that she ran away. But they don't know Barb. And I went back to Steve's with Aubrey and we thought we saw something." Nancy sighed, clearly frustrated at the lack of leads and evidence to back up what we knew in our hearts to be true.

"We both saw it, it was some weird man or something…" I whispered, shuffling my feet where I sat.

"We don't know what it was." Nancy admitted, suddenly her demeanour changed completely and she stood up. "I'm sorry. I… we… shouldn't have come here today. I'm- I'm so sorry." I stood up along with her and we started to make our way out.

"What'd he look like?" Jonathan suddenly asked. We both paused and Nancy spun around.

"What?" She questioned.

"This man you guys saw in the woods. What'd he look like?" Hope bubbled deep down within me when he asked, I could tell in an instant that he believed us.

"I don't know. It was almost like…" I struggled to find the words.

"Like he… he didn't have-" Nancy tried to continue but she also couldn't find the right words.

"Didn't have a face?" Jonathan finally finished for us. Nancy and I exchanged a knowing look. He had absolutely nailed what we were collectively thinking.

"How did you know that?"