"What the fuck was that?!" I yelled as we half ran, half carried me back to the car at the edge of the forest.

"I don't know, I don't know," Nancy kept chanting, as if she were going into shock or something.

"Come on, we gotta get you cleaned up."

We finally broke through the trees and I nearly cried at the sight of my brothers beat up old car. "Oh thank God!" Nancy and Jon helped me into the back seat before rushing to the front, slamming the doors behind them.

"Go, go!" I yelled, terrified that thing would come after us.

The car roared to life, and we took off down the road.

"Ouch!" I hissed.

"Sorry."

I was perched on the edge of Nancy's bed while she showered, Jon crouched down and cleaning off the claw marks on my leg. "Shit. Ouch." I cringed, and then let out a breathy laugh. Jon paused and looked up at me.

"What?"

"I just realized- my poor soulmate. This shit had to hurt."

"Oh," Jonathan laughed, shaking his head. "Hell, yeah. He's probably wondering what the hell happened."

I starred blankly at my reflection in the mirror above Jon's head. "Yeah. So am I."

"OW! What the hell?!"

"What?" Tommy asked, looking Steve in the rearview mirror.

"My fucking ankle- it felt like- SHIT!" Steve scrambled to lift his pant leg and watched in horror as bright red lines appeared on his skin, spreading and burning. "Shit!"

"What's going on?" Carol yelled.

"It's his soulmate!" Nicole said, sitting next to Steve in the back and watching with wide eyes as he was. "Something's happening, dumbasses!"

"Oh, shit, this burns!" He gritted his teeth and threw his head back against the seat, eyes clenched closed. Despite the pain, all Steve could do was shake and feel as if he was going to throw up, worrying for the girl on the other end.

I let out a sigh as I laid down on the floor next to Jon. "I feel much better now." I was hopped up on pain meds, but still.

The door opened, and Nancy walked in. "You look better." I said.

Jon shot me a look before looking back at Nancy. "Feel better?"

"Yeah. How's she doing?"

Jon shot another look at me before replying. "She's drugged up." Looking down at us camping on the floor, he stammered, "Is this ok? Uh, I found it in the closet. We can go home. I just figured-"

"Yeah, no, I... I don't wanna be alone." Nancy said quickly as Jon stood up. "Do you?"

"No, uh... no."

"Me neither!" I threw in, feeling left out. Nancy shot me a warbling smile before crawling into her bed.

We laid there in silence for a little while before Nancy sighed. "Can you guys come up here, too?"

I wiggled my eyebrows. "Ooo, kinky." Jon elbowed me in the ribs, and sat up.

"Yeah. Come on, Jo."

I shakily sat up and, with his help, we limped over to the bed, sliding in next to Nancy. Jon somehow ended up in the middle and I gave him a sly grin. He glared back at me, rolling his eyes.

"Do you want the lights off, or-"

"On." Nancy said immediately.

"Good call," I said.

"You know, it... It can't get us in here."

"We don't know that," Nancy whispered.

I woke up before the other two, my leg burning. "Shit," I whispered, throwing the covers off. I peeled back the bandage and grimaced. That was not a pretty sight for right after waking up.

"Are you okay?" Nancy whispered, making me jump.

"Jesus! You scared me."

We kept our voices down, so as not to wake Jonathan.

"Sorry, I couldn't sleep. I heard you, wanted to see if you needed anything."

Well. That was nice of her. "Yeah, actually... If I could get some more meds and a new bandage?" I asked sheepishly.

"Sure, hang on."

"Thanks."

Nancy left and came back quickly, more first aid stuff in her hands.

"Here, you should probably clean it again. I'm going to go grab some stuff from Mike's room real quick."

"Ok. Thank you."

She hummed in reply and left again. With a sigh, I unwrapped the bandage and dabbed some alcohol on it. A low hiss sizzled through my teeth but I pushed through. A wry thought of waking up my soulmate like this on a Saturday morning crossed through my mind, but I kept going. The only thing worse would be to get an infection.

"Fuck. I've got work today."

Nancy closed the door behind her, making me jump once more. She had a few books in her arms that she carefully laid on the bed and started flipping through.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I kept thinking all night, the way this thing acts- how it came after that deer got hurt... It's like a shark or something. So maybe... Maybe something in these can help."

"Ah. Well. Have fun with that." I went to put antibacterial cream on my wounds before pausing. "Wait, you're gunna go back out there?"

Nancy looked at me with wide eyes. "We have to. Barb, and Will-"

"Maybe we should go to the police. Or a fucking exterminator? What's it called, animal control! This isn't our fight, Nancy. We could have died!"

Nancy frowned. "No, we have to keep going."

I sighed and went back to my work. This girl was going to get herself killed, but damnit if I wasn't going down right alongside her. She was right, of course; we had to save Will and Barbara.

Wrapping up my ankle, I thought, One step at a time.

I popped another pain med in my mouth as I sat behind the ticket counter. It was pretty slow, mostly just old people and a few couples filtering in for the matinees. At least I was working tickets, and didn't have to go around sweeping or something. The damage actually wasn't that bad once I looked at it, but it still hurt like a bitch. Jonathan and Nancy made plans to go shopping for materials while I worked, after I fought with Jonathan over it.

We needed the money, especially with Mom not working right now. Bills were adding up, and besides- we couldn't let anyone know something was up.

"Which theater?" I asked as another elderly couple walked over.

"Four, please," the woman said. I broke off two tickets for them and gave them their change, sending them on their way.

Anyways.

I wanted to go back out with them, but with my slight limp... We weren't sure it was a good idea. I didn't know if I could go running like that again.

"Damnit!"

I looked up quickly, seeing my manager Joe come stomping in.

"What happened?"

"Some kids spray painted the sign!"

"Oh my God! What's it say?" I asked, standing up.

"'Starring Nancy the Slut Wheeler! What is wrong with these kids?"

I gasped. "Oh my... Poor Nancy! We need to get it off before anyone sees!"

Joe shook his head. "It's too late. Poor girl already saw. Who knows how long it's been up there."

"Jesus," I hissed, sitting back down.

Joe looked at me. "Wanna get the ladder and bucket?"

I groaned. "Oh, Joe, no... Please, not today. I hurt my ankle last night, and-"

He waved me off. "Fine, fine. Hold down the fort for me."

I felt bad as I watched Joe walk to the back, but at the same time... I did not feel like climbing up a ladder with this. Maybe I really shouldn't go out tonight... But damn, I couldn't let Jonathan go out without me! And I knew they wouldn't wait, they barely agreed to wait while I was at work. I had wanted to go shopping with them, but-

"Oh!" My hand shot up to my face, cupping my stinging cheek. "What?" I rubbed the skin, feeling the phantom sting fading away already. I hadn't had anything from my soulmate in a while. A couple random bruises here and there, but not any real pain. It made a small smile stretch across my lips, even though it shouldn't. I couldn't help but wonder what was happening. Obviously, the bastard had gotten slapped. But why?

Another pain followed, this much worse. "Oh!" I grabbed my jaw, eyes closed in pain. "Shit."

I felt a tingle of pain echo down my front, and really started to wonder what the hell was going on.

Another shock went through my jaw, tears springing up in my eyes. I stood up, not knowing what to do, stumbling along the counter. "Joe!" My fist burned, knuckles felt like they split. I felt a fist crack against my cheekbone and cried out once more. Then my nose, and I crumpled to the ground. "Joe!"

I laid on the floor, crying, as I felt the pain of being repeatedly hit near my left eye. I could feel it swelling up, bruising. This was awful. This was so, so awful. What was happening to him?

"Johanna! Johanna, what's wrong?" Joe asked, crouching down next to me, grabbing my shoulders.

"Something's happening!" I cried. "M-My soulmate-!"

"Shit, someone call her mom! Call Joyce!" He yelled.

I continued to cry, even after the hits stopped coming.