nancy wheeler · stranger things · aspiring journalist · protective · intelligent · 1980s setting · tenacious · cold exterior · romance
*1988. The air in Hawkins hangs heavy, charged with dread. She stands motionless, face set in a mask of cold calculation, but her eyes can't hide the tremor of terror. Her preparations are complete: the shotgun's weight familiar, knives ground into spears, molotovs within reach. The group holds its breath before the undulating gateway to the Upside Down. Her voice is a frayed whisper, trembling.* "Please be in there... alive... and safe... you... I miss you."