Hell on Earth

Chapter One - The Disappearance of Will Byers

Hello Readers, 

This is a copy of my story Hell on Earth from Quotev. All my other work is there, but will slowly start to find its way over here. I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it. 

The face-claim for Cynthia is Katelyn Nacon. 

Queen of the Nerds

Cynthia laid on her bed with her eyes closed. She had her headphones on and was listening to Killer Queen. She hummed along to the familiar tune. Cynthia was trying to forget that she still had a few more weeks to Thanksgivings Break, then Christmas Break, then Spring Break, and then finally summer. After that, it was only two more years until she could go off to college and leave this entire town behind.

She opened her eyes when she felt something heavy land on her. She let out a breath of air and looked at the disturbance on top of her.

"What the hell, Dustin?" she half-yelled and half-asked.

"You weren't answering me," he said. He got off of her and looked at her. "I had to get your attention some how."

"A tap on the shoulder would have sufficed," Cynthia said as she sat up. "Why are you still up? Don't you have school tomorrow."

"You do too," Dustin said.

"That's different. I'm in high school. You'll understand when you older."

Dustin rolled his eyes, "You say that every time you want to win an argument."

"Go to bed," Cynthia put her Walkman on her night stand. "I was about to head off to sleep too."

"It is sad that you are going to bed this early," Dustin said.

"So are you," Cynthia rolled her eyes.

"That's different," Dustin walked out of her room. "I'm in middle school and have been hanging out with my friends all day."

"Shit head," Cynthia muttered as she closed the door behind him. She laid down in her bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. She turned off her lamp and tried to get some sleep.

When her alarm went off, Cynthia shot up. She tucked her hair behind her ears. She wiped the cold sweat off of her forehead. Then she looked at her alarm to turn it off.

"Holy shit."

It was 7:20 AM. Cynthia went in and took a quick shower. Her mother had left for work and her brother had left for school. Cynthia grabbed her keys, a granola bar, and headed out the door. She was already running late. Cynthia pulled up to the high school. Jonathan was sitting in front of her spot.

"I thought you weren't going to show," he said as he stood up.

"I slept past my alarm," Cynthia said as she pulled her back pack onto her shoulder. She shut her car door and started to walk. "You coming or what?"

"You good?" Jonathan asked. "You seem on edge."

"I'm fine," Cynthia ended the discussion. "Besides, you're the one who seems on edge."

"Did Will spend the night at your house?" Jonathan asked. "I don't know if he came home last night."

"Nope," Cynthia shook her head. "Dustin just flattened me when he got home." She looked at him. "Do you need help looking for him after school today?"

"Yeah," Jonathan nodded with a smile. "That would be really nice."

The day went on slowly and horribly. Just like it always did. By the end of the school day, Cynthia was glad to be in front of her easel. She was glad that she was just starting a new canvas. Cynthia didn't think that she could focus on fine details after her dreams last night. She looked up at the clock and saw that she only had a few minutes left. She put her supplies away and slipped out the door as soon as the bell rang.

She headed out to her car. Jonathan was already in his with the engine running.

"Took you long enough," Jonathan joked.

"Start driving," Cynthia said as she got into her car.

Jonathan drove out of the school's parking lot and Cynthia followed him to his house. She blared the radio as she drove down Mirkwood. Soon, the Byer house came into view. Cynthia parked her car next to Jonathan's and stepped outside.

"Cynthia, what are you doing here?" Joyce asked.

"Jon said that Will hasn't showed since last night, so I said I would come down and help look for him," Cynthia said.

Joyce smiled at her, "Thank you, Cynthia. It means a lot."

Cynthia followed Jonathan and Joyce out to the woods behind their house.

"WILL!"

"WILL!"

"WILL!"

The shouted again and again and again. They walked all over their woods. Cynthia wandered away from Jonathan and Joyce. She thought that maybe a wider search would yield better results. She walked through their woods with her hands in her pocket. Her Walkman hung from her belt and the headphones were around her neck.

"WILL!"

She paused for a moment to try and listen for a response. She heard thunder in the distance. She looked up and saw that the sky was turning dark.

"Dammit," she muttered to herself. "WILL!" She turned back the direction she came. "Come on. WILL!"

She turned back around and saw a tall, pale monster hunched over a bleeding carcass. Her eyes widened. Cynthia started to back pedal. A twig snapped to her left. The creature looked towards the noise.

Cynthia's eyes widened. From where she was standing, it had no face.

The monster ran after the noise and Cynthia ran back to safety of the Byers house. Her pulse was racing. All she could think of was that horrible monster. Surely she was imagining it. She didn't stop running until she saw the lights of the house. Even then, she kept running. She spared a glance over her shoulder and saw that nothing was following her. When she turned back around, she slammed into Jonathan.

"Woah," Jonathan nearly toppled over. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Cynthia said quickly. "I need to get home. Like right now."

"Cynthia, what's wrong?" Jonathan asked. "You seemed scared."

"Jonathan, it's nothing," Cynthia made false promises. "Look, I need to go home and you and your mom need to focus on finding Will. If you need anything call me."

Cynthia walked past him and didn't let him get in another word. She got into her car and started to drive. Then, the rain started to pour. Cynthia's heart raced as she drove home in a thunderstorm. Cynthia only knew one thing for sure.

Will was missing.

And she was pretty sure that the monster in the woods had something to do with it.