Hell on Earth

Chapter Four - Monster

Cynthia stared out at the woods from the passenger window of the cop's car. She didn't know who was driving her: only that he was taking her home. When she got there, she grabbed her bag and went inside. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a pop. She needed something to try and bring her back to the moment. Cynthia sat down at the kitchen table.

Poor Joyce.

Poor Jonathan.

Poor Dustin, Mike, and Lucas.

She didn't even know how she was going to tell Dustin. The door opened and closed. Her brother walked into the kitchen. He had a dazed look on his face like he couldn't quite believe something.

"Dustin," Cynthia said softly.

Dustin looked at her, "Hm."

"Sit down," Cynthia pulled out the chair next to her. "We need to talk."

When Dustin sat down next to her, she saw that there were tears in his eyes. His eyes were red and puffy.

"What's wrong, Dustin?" Cynthia asked.

"I lied," he cried softly. "I wasn't at an AV Club meeting. I was out looking for Will with Mike and Lucas. And. And... And..."

"Come here," Cynthia pulled him into a hug. She knew what was going to come out of his mouth next. "It's okay. I'm here. I'm here." Cynthia could only imagine the pain of watching one of your closest friends be pulled out of a body of water dead.

"Don't be mad at me," Dustin cried into her shoulder. "The night has already been so bad. Please don't be mad at me."

"Oh, Dustin," Cynthia pulled away and wiped the tears from his face. "I'm not mad at you. You wanted to help your friend. There is nothing wrong with that. I won't tell any adults about anything, okay?"

"Okay," Dustin nodded.

"I'm so sorry about Will," Cynthia hugged her brother again. "I wanted to tell you myself. You shouldn't have seen what you saw tonight." She got up and pulled Dustin up as well. "Let's get you to bed. You don't have to go to school tomorrow. I'll write Mom a note to call us both out tomorrow."

Dustin nodded as they went down the hallway. He went to his room and shut the door. Cynthia could hear crying from her brother's room. She wished that she could say something to make it better. Cynthia went to her own room and fell asleep. It had been a long day.

The sound of a phone ringing woke Cynthia from her deep slumber. She looked at the clock and saw that is was ten in the morning. Cynthia rubbed her eye and answered the phone.

"Who is it?" Cynthia yawned.

"It's Jonathan," his voice sounded broken over the phone.

"What is is Jon?" Cynthia asked.

"I'm going to the funeral home today," Jonathan explained. "My mom has pretty much such down and refuses to believe that Will is dead. I can't do this alone. Will you please come with me?"

"Of course," Cynthia nodded. "Anything you need, I'll do."

"Okay," Jonathan said. "I'll be over to your house soon."

Cynthia got out of bed and put on some clothes. She grabbed something out of the kitchen and ate while she waited for Jonathan. She couldn't believe that Joyce had shut down like that. She knew that losing a child had to be hard, but Cynthia couldn't believe that it would cause Joyce to basically abandon her other son. Grief was hard thing to deal with. A honk came from the driveway. Cynthia went outside and got into Jonathan's car.

Neither of them said anything as they drove into town. Jonathan didn't want to talk, and even if he did, Cynthia would have no idea what to say to him. They pulled into the funeral home parking lot.