After school, I quickly packed up and made my way to the student parking lot. I saw Jonathan already at his car, and we smiled seeing each other. I made my way to Jonathan with a big smile, and he tried hiding his but clearly couldn't. "Hey," I said casually.

"Hey," he replied back still shy.

"So what are your plans for tonight?"

"I uh...I was actually thinking about going to where Will's bike was found."

"In the woods?" I was worried he might run into the demon.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? To go alone?"

"Well, you're grounded, aren't you?"

"Yeah. But..."

"I don't want you to get in more trouble with your dad. I'll be fine, really." I sighed, not convinced at all.

"I think it's a bad idea, Jonathan."

"I gotta do something to find Will. Maybe I can find something back there that'll lead me to him." There was no convincing me and there was no convincing him. "You think it's a bad idea." I wasn't sure if it was a question or a statement.

"I think it's a terrible idea. Don't you ever watch horror movies? Never split the group, and never be alone."

"Yeah, well this isn't a horror movie."

"No, but it's just as scary because it's real life." I sighed knowing we weren't going anywhere with this conversation. "Are you still going to drop me off at home?"

"Yeah, sure." We got in his car and he drove off slowly. We drove in silence for a while as I stared out the window watching the scenery. I made Jonathan stop a block over because I didn't want my dad seeing me get out of a boy's car.

Jonathan and I sat in silence for a while, and I twirled my fingers not knowing what to say. "Okay, I uh...I guess I'll go," I said quite awkwardly. It was unusual for me to be so awkward and it made me feel strange.

"Okay," Jonathan replied just as awkward. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." I opened the door to his car but I hesitated a bit. I was about to leave when I thought about it. I leaned in to Jonathan and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He looked at me surprised as if we've never kissed before, and it brought a smile on my face. "Be careful, please."

"I will. I'll see you tomorrow." I nodded and left Jonathan's car. I waved goodbye and he waited for me to walk back home. I looked back and saw he was still there, so I waved goodbye and walked into my house.

I sat on my bed and read through my mother's books trying to find anything on monsters or demons with no face. A knock came on my door and my dad peeked his head in. "Hey, dad," I said with a smile.

"Hi baby. Mind if I come in?"

"No, come in." My dad walked in and looked at the books I had on my desk and on my bed.

"What are you reading?"

"I'm trying to look up monsters or demons with no face."

"Monsters and demons with no face huh?" My dad looked through the books, and he sat next to me looking through the pages.

"Yeah. I...I saw a monster, dad." He looked at me and closed the book. "I've seen it in my dreams a couple times. A lot of times actually. Actually...pretty much almost every night."

"What kind of monster?"

"I don't know. It lives in a forest, but this world...it's not our world. It's like...it's dark, cold, dreadful..."

"Sounds like London." I snickered and my dad did too.

"No, dad. It's like this whole other world. And this monster...it's disgusting and ugly. It has no face, but it's freaking huge like...like a basketball player or something. And remember that kid, Will Byers?"

"Yeah. That missing kid you got grounded for."

"Yeah, well anyways, he's in this world. It's like it's real, but it's in my dreams. And the monster is hunting this kid down. I try to help him as best I can, but...I don't really know how to help him. I don't know what to do, dad. I wanna help this kid, but...I don't even know what I'm up against."

"You know, I've seen a lot of monsters in my life. But there's like...a whole other class of monsters when it comes to...the kind of world your mother comes from. I might not be the best help for you, but maybe she can."

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe it's time to meet your mother."

"Dad...I saw her."

"What?"

"In my dreams. I talked with her and she told me to be careful of beasts. I didn't really know what she was talking about though but...I think she might've been talking about the beasts in Revelations."

"Then why don't you ask her yourself?" I looked at my dad surprised that he was talking about my mother for this long. Usually he ends the conversation quickly if it's about her, but this time was different.

"Are you gonna be okay with that dad?"

"Yeah. I think it's time you and your mother talked. If you need me, I'll be here." He gave me a kiss and hug.

"Thanks, dad. I love you," I said hugging him back.

"I love you too, Val." My dad left my room and I covered myself with my blanket. I lied down in bed and tried to go to sleep.

I was back in Sir Malcolm's chateau, and there my mother was standing on the bottom of the stairs. She smiled seeing me, and I smiled back. Even though I only met her once in my dreams, it felt like we knew each other from the very beginning. We walked up to her room to sit and talk, and we sat on the edge of her bed. "I'm glad you came back, Valerie."

"So...this is real then, right? Like this isn't just in my dreams?"

"It's as real as you believe it to be, daughter," she answered with a smile. I had to cut to the chase.

"...mom...I need your help."

"I know. You want to find that boy Will Byers."

"Y-yeah. Can you help me?"

"There's something I want to tell you, Valerie, about your father and I. I want to explain to you why I couldn't be there for you." I was quiet feeling a bit awkward. "You see, I was...I am no ordinary woman. God has blessed me with special gifts, the same gifts you have been blessed with as well. And your father...he loved me and I loved him dearly, with all my being I did. It was unconditional, and it knew no bounds. No matter how far apart we were, we loved each other till the very end. But I had a choice to make. It was your father or..."

"Mankind." Uncle Kaet told me once when I was younger. I wanted to know why my mother wasn't there for me and my dad, and I was unreasonably mad at dad thinking he was to blame. It was the angriest I had ever seen Uncle Kaet, fuming red and screaming at me. He defended my father and mother, telling me that I had no idea what sacrifices they've made to keep the world safe from the ultimate evil for just a while longer.

"Yes. I believe God wanted me to choose mankind, but...well, I suppose love can make one do crazy things."

"Do you regret choosing dad?"

"No, not even for a second. Till this very day, I love your father and long to be with you both as one family. But unfortunately, my costly decision has had tremendous repercussions. And I'm afraid it's now up to you."

"What?"

"My curse is now yours to bear. It is now you who will have to make a choice. I'm sorry, Valerie." My mother started tearing up. "It won't be an easy decision. I...I suppose you could say I was too weak to follow through with what God planned for me, and now I must pay the price. Walking on God's path is not easy. I learned that the hard way. And now...it is your turn to make your decision."

"What decision?"

"You will find out for yourself." My mother sighed and paused for a while. I kept silent. "You must go now, daughter. The wheels have been put into motion. The beasts will be there soon, and you must be well prepared to fight them."

"The beasts you warned me about last time? What kinda beasts are they?"

"It's time for you to wake up. Wake up!"

"Wake up, Val!" my dad shouted at me. I jumped awake and heard my alarm going off. "You're going to be late for school if you don't get ready now." I groaned and got up. I got dressed as quickly as I could and made my way to school thinking about my dream with my mother. I wondered what repercussions my mother was facing having disobeyed God; I wondered what decision I was to make that seemed of the utmost importance to my mother; I wondered what the beasts were that my mother mentioned twice now. The moment I got to my locker, Nance ran after me with a worried look on her face.

"Val, we gotta talk," she said anxiously. I knew something really bad must have happened for her to be so jittery in a bad way.

"What happened?"

Nance started tearing up, frustrated. "I...I can't find Barb."

"What do you mean you can't find Barb?"

"I can't find her. I...god I was such a bitch to her! I...I told Barb to go home by herself but we should've left together. I should've left with her."

"Wait a minute. You gotta tell me exactly what happened because I don't understand."

"I...(tears up) I just wanted to have a good time with Steve. And Barb...she wanted to go home. So I told her to go. And now I...I can't find her. She isn't at school, and...and I think something happened to her."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because...because I saw something last night. I saw...some kind of...monster."

"Monster?"

"You don't believe me, do you?" Nancy asked almost as if she were paranoid. "I swear, it was a monster, Val. It...it must have been."

"What did this monster look like?"

"It...it didn't have a face. And it was...it was huge. It was...a monster."

"Look, maybe Barb is home and not feeling well. I mean...she must've felt pretty bad when you told her to go, you know?"

"I know. God I'm so stupid! How could I just let her go by herself?" Nance started crying, and I pulled her aside so that no one would stare at us. This was a situation that needed to be handled very delicately and as quietly as possible.

"Calm down, Nance. Look, Barb will turn out, I know it. She's like the most responsible person we know, right?"

"Y-yeah...yeah, you're right. I think...I'm just thinking too much into it."

"Yeah, c'mon. Don't worry. She's probably at her parent's beach house letting off some steam or something."

"But...what if something did happen to her? What if Barb is hurt and lost right now? What if she was kidnapped?" I knew Nance was terrified of something, and I thought she must've been terrified of what she saw last night, the monster she was talking about.

"Alright, so let's really think about it then. If something really did happen to Barb, then we have to retrace our steps from last night right?"

"We have to go back to Steve's house," Nance said already reading my mind.

"Yeah," I said with a nod. "But I'm still grounded. My dad wants me home right after school." Of course I wanted to go with Nance to find Barb. It worried me seeing how anxious Nance was about this situation. But there were more dire matters at hand such as figuring out how to find and kill the no-faced monster before it starts hunting in the real world.

"Then I'll go by myself." Nance was determined to find Barb. It moved yet instilled a hint of fear in me. I was moved by how brave and undeterred Nance was to find Barb, but it reminded me that the monster of my dreams has now become reality literally. If Barb really was missing, then it must have been because of the monster Nance had seen at Steve's house. It all made sense.

"You sure you'll be okay doing this alone?"

"Yeah, I have to find Barb. It's my fault she's missing."

"No it's not, Nance."

"Yes, it is. I sent her home. I chose Steve over her." The bell rang and Nance walked off first still cursing at herself for leaving Barb all by herself last night.

After school, I saw authorities talking to Jonathan at his car in the parking lot. I could see he wasn't getting good news, so I walked over slowly to him and the officers. The officers noticed me approaching, and Jonathan looked back and saw me. He looked furious, and the sight of me just made his anger flare. He stormed over to me and said, "I thought you said Will was alive. You said you talked to him!"

"I-I did."

"They found his body. In the lake." Jonathan was shaking with anger, and it scared the hell out of me. I didn't know what to say to Jonathan so I made my way over to the officers.

"Officer, Will...he's dead?"

"Who are you?" the sheriff asked bluntly. He was a man who didn't like to beat around the bush.

"Valerie Chandler, sir. I'm Jonathan's friend. I was...trying to help him find Will."

"I couldn't help but hear the kid say that you talked to Will. Did you know where Will was?"

"No, it's...it's a complicated story."

"I have all day."

"Sir, if you don't mind, I want to...see Will." The sheriff agreed, so I hopped into the back of the police car while Jonathan drove his own car. The sheriff drove off while Jonathan followed from behind.

"You're new in town, aren't you?" the sheriff asked.

"Sort of. I lived here when I was younger, but I left for London a couple years and came back."

"What made you come back?"

"God." It went silent for a while. "Sir, I never got your name."

"Hopper. Town sheriff."

"Nice to meet you, sir."

"Yeah." We arrived in the woods and walked to the bridge where Will's body was found below in the river.

"No," Jonathan cried out. Paramedics were already there and they had a black bag on a wheelie. The bag was small for a child. Jonathan ran to the paramedics asking to see what's in the bag. The sheriff slowly made his way to Jonathan to comfort him.

The moment I saw Jonathan completely break down after being shown what was in the bag was the moment I knew this was my calling. God brought me back to Hawkins to destroy the monster, the beast that my mother was talking about. It was this monster, the beast. It made sense now.

My thoughts were disrupted quickly, and I felt a strong presence in the woods, a sort of familiar and warm yet strange presence. I looked out to the forest but couldn't see anything. I could only feel something there, something or someone powerful was there with us. I decided to take a look around, and I could feel the presence getting stronger heading west.

I followed my intuition and there I saw 3 boys and a girl watching what was going on. The 3 boys had their bikes, and the girl was sharing with one of the boys. That boy was yelling at her, asking why she said Will was alive when he's really dead. It struck a chord in me, and I knew something strange was going on. "Hey," I said to get their attention. They all jumped from fright, and they turned around and saw me. "What are you kids doing here?"

"Nothing," that boy said angrily and quickly rode off on his bike. The two other boys followed, leaving the girl behind. The girl had tears forming in her eyes as she stood there abandoned by a friend she trusted.

"Are you okay?" I asked the little girl. She didn't answer. She just stood there not knowing what to do next. "What's your name?" Still no answer. I approached her, and she glared at me. I looked right back at her with an even fiercer stare, and she slowly put her guard down. "I'm Valerie. You are?"

"El."

"Alright, El. Where do you live? Let's have the sheriff take you home."

"No!"

"Why not?" The little girl sprinted for it, and I chased after her. She looked back and threw her hand out as if trying to telekinetically throw me off balance, but it didn't work. It shocked her and she didn't notice the tree in front of her. She ran into the tree and fell on her back, her blonde wig falling off. I ran to her side and saw the girl had a shaved head, and she looked up at me with fear. I knelt down and looked at the little girl, and she looked back at me.

"Valerie," she said. "I...know you..."

"You do? From where?"

"...my...memories..."

"Come on," I said with a sigh. This girl needed to be helped. "Let's go back to the sheriff."

"No!" The little girl made a run for it again, and I let her go this time. It was odd our first encounter considering how intertwined our lives actually were in God's plan. I went back to the river and Jonathan was heading back to his car to follow the paramedics to the hospital. He noticed me but didn't acknowledge me at all. I knew he was still angry with me, but I really didn't know what to say or do.

I thought Will was alive, I really believed it. But seeing how Jonathan reacted to the body in the bag, it must've been Will's dead body. But it just made no sense. I talked to Will. Yes, it wasn't recent but still...did the monster get to him before I could? Was this because of the monster I brought into the world from my dreams?

I watched Jonathan drive away, and the sheriff made his way to me. "He'll need some time," the sheriff said referring to Jonathan. "His little brother is dead."

"No, I don't believe it," I stated firmly looking at the sheriff. "I know he's alive." The sheriff looked at me strangely and made a note to himself to ask me about my complicated story next time. He had to go tell Mrs. Byers about the condition of her second son.