[ᴍᴀʀᴄʜ 𝟸𝟻, 𝟷𝟿𝟾𝟼]

Kate paused, taking a moment to collect herself, to reconsider.

All that was heard was the sound of her labored breathing as she looked at her reflection in the glass of the door. She hardly even recognized herself anymore.

She looked like a ghost.

Her cheeks were sunken in, shadows beneath her eyes. Blood was smeared across her upper lip.

Her hair was beginning to frizz out, and she could just barely see the beginnings of a lovely purple bruise forming on the side of her neck.

She inhaled shakily, trying not to psych herself out.

It needed to end. She needed to cut ties with Vecna, if that was even possible. For the safety of her friends, her brother.

And if that didn’t work, then she would have to remove herself from the equation entirely.

She hoped it didn’t come down to that.

Kate stepped forward, eyeing the thick chains that were wrapped around the door handles to the mall. A lock hung heavily in the middle of the chains, making the metal droop.

She held her hand out, fingers brushing over the links. They were undoubtedly too thick for her to even think about breaking physically. So she opted for her mind instead.

With one little flick of her wrist, the chains snapped, dropping to the ground in an unharmonious clunk.

Kate grabbed the handle of the door, pulling gently. It gave way beneath her hand.

This was it, there was no going back.

As Kate opened the door to the mall, she was hit with a wave of nausea. The memories of the night of July 4th hitting her harder than they ever had before.

It was silent in the mall. Glass crunched beneath her feet as she slowly made her way towards the courtyard.

The air was stale, and despite the cavernous hole in the middle of the ceiling, it still smelled of fireworks. Like a fire that had just been snuffed out.

She kicked an empty carton for a bottle rocket.

There were cracks in the tiles of the floor, ones that weren’t covered in ash or debris were still a creamy white color.

They never got to be used to the point of turning yellow.

Kate looked up, seeing the unlit signs of all the stores that just less than a year ago were bustling with clientele. The GAP, Sam Goody’s, Scoops Ahoy.

She finally reached the middle of the mall, dropping her backpack in a cacophonous clunk onto the floor.

She swallowed, pushing her fear deep down as she ventured forward. Down the steps, into the center of the courtyard, and looked up.

She stood, right where it did. It, the Mind Flayer.

The murderer.

Kate stood, staring up into the sky, now painted pink with the setting sun. Her light would be gone soon, and it would just be her, and her thoughts.

In a burst of courage, Kate decided there was no better time than the present to kickstart her plan.

To end Vecna, or die trying.

She didn’t know how to lure him in, whether she had to wait until the bravery was overcome by fear, or- Shit!

She had a sudden stroke of genius.

They had lured the Demogorgan by drawing blood.

They had lured the Mind Flayer by making it’s host uninhabitable.

She would lure Vecna in, by drawing blood, and making his host uninhabitable.

Kate frantically searched in the setting sun for a shard of glass, one big enough to cause enough damage that her wellbeing became a risk.

Bingo. Her eyes settled on a piece, about the size of her palm, sitting pretty on the side of a plant holder.

Kate held the glass in her hand, examining it. This was the right thing to do.

Before she could talk herself down from the ledge, she overturned her other hand and forcefully dug the glass into it.

“Shit!” She groaned, hands shaking as she dragged it across her skin.

As she reached the end of her palm, she gasped, dropping the shard out of her hand and onto the floor. It clattered noisily.

Kate looked down, watching as her palm filled with blood. The only sound to be heard now, was the quiet dripping of sanguine fluid onto the floor.

Come on you son of a bitch. She winced as the pain finally set in.

Kate stood, patiently waiting for Vecna to make his appearance.

"God dammit.” She whispered, watching as more blood ran down her fingers and onto the tiles below.

He had to come soon.

“Wha-“ Kate moaned, an overwhelming feeling of queasiness taking over her.

She wobbled, her legs loosing their balance. Her head felt like it was swimming, eyes turned glassy.

The sound of dripping faded away, until she heard nothing.

She blinked slowly, looking around her. Everything was black.

Such a frigid chill washed over Kate's body. She looked to the side, finding nothing next to her, and when she looked ahead again, she was staring into the eyes of the creature before her, the creature who she did not fully know.

And yet they were so close.

His hand outstretched, fingertips reaching for her wrist. Vecna frowned as her turned her arm, examining the wound on her palm.

“Why have you hurt yourself?” He spoke, with the same bone-chilling voice that had been inhabiting her head for so long.

He looked up, anticipating an answer. But Kate remained silent. "We've known each other for so long and yet, this is the first time we're formally meeting."

Vecna frowned, dropping Kate’s arm, which hung limp at her side.

”Who are you?" She asked, her voice finally making it’s reappearance.

“I have no name.” She could almost see the smirk on the mysterious entity's face. “Not at least any formal title… But I am the first of many. I’ve been around a long time.”

Kate frowned, wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to comfort herself.

Vecna narrowed his eyes at her. “You know, I quite admire you, Katherine.” He stepped backwards, creating distance between them. “I’ve been watching you for some time now, and your bravery never ceases to amaze me.”

“What are you talking about?” She snapped.

“I’ve seen everything.” Vecna replied. “Everyone you’ve hurt. Everything you’ve done. Everyone you couldn’t save-“

“You son of a bitch!” She squealed, lunging forward. Kate's body seized. She was frozen, unable to move anything except her eyes.

“I watched as you carried on helplessly, trying to save your lover. Almost risking the life of his innocent sister, and her friends in the process.”

Fire blazed inside of Kate with every word he spoke. “I have seen you on a destitute journey to find what will never come back to you. And I have watched as you have lost everyone you love, for the sake of your own sorrow.”

Kate growled at him, words not able to find solace on her tongue.

“Everything you touch, you break.” His stare darkened. “Everyone you love, you hurt.”

Kate fought tooth and nail to shake her head, tears blurring her vision as her head moved barely an inch.

“You can try to convince yourself different, but you know what you’ve done. All the suffering you’ve caused.” Vecna sighed, pursing his nonexistent lips. “But then I found you. I found you, and gave you a new meaning. A new lease on life; My spy.”

He was speaking about her as if he was a proud parent. “I have had spies in the past, yes. That child, and the one you loved-“

Billy.

“But none were as extravagant as you, dear Kate.” Vecna paused, allowing time for the gravity of his words to sink in.

“You were so deep in your sadness, drowning in your own personal abyss, that I was able to take full control of your body, without you even having an inkling of suspicion.”

Now he sounded proud of himself.

“I reached deep into your mind, played on your heartbreak, your sorrow, and I made you anew. I made you magnificent. My greatest invention to-date. My master spy.”

Kate stopped fighting. There was no use.

“Are you going to behave now?” Vecna asked, a tinge of mockery in his voice.

In his mind, silence meant compliance, and with the flick of his wrist, Kate was physically free again.

"It's been you all along?" Kate whispered. "All this time, everything that's happened? It was you?”

The creature before her smiled, thin lips curling back over mangled teeth.

"The Demogorgon, the spawns, the Mind Flayer-"

"That is what you call my children?" Vecna scoffed in disgust.

"They we're all just your pawns?” Kate's chest heaved, her initial fear once again being replaced with rage. "And when those monsters weren't enough, you infected a child? Will was twelve, he didn't deserve to be tortured like that!

"And Billy-" She stopped, her breath hitching in her throat. "Billy was a kid too. He just turned eighteen, we had an entire life to live and you took that from him!"

Kate's body seized, mobile freedom stripped away, again.

"Kate please, do not make me out to be some type of villain." Vecna tsked his snakelike tongue at her. "I felt sympathy for the boy, Will, you call him, that's why I let him go.

“That Billy however, he had seen too much. He knew everything. Everything that was to come. Everything I had planned.

And when Eleven, broke him free, I had no other option but to dispose of him.

Like you said, they were only my pawns. Easily replaceable."

Thoughts swarmed Kate's head, but she couldn't get them out. Her tongue was locked in it's place, not a sound to escape her lips.

A singular tear rolled down her cheek.

"It took so long for me to find a suitable host. One that could actually withstand the tasks I had set forth. A host that had longevity, will-power, pure, unbridled strength.

There were many more before your friends. The boy and your lover. And each one of them grew tired, and I got rid of them, crushed them like bugs.

But none like you." Vecna's eyes grew darker, as if a storm was brewing inside his mind.

“The things we’ve done together have been remarkable. My collection is growing faster than ever before.” He hissed, stepping closer to her.

"You know everything. Everything that has happened. There is no one better, than you.”

"I've been inside your mind for a long time now. Hearing every thought, observing your movements. Sitting idly by as you strengthened your powers.

And now, you'll be fully under my control."

With a swift movement of his hand, Kate was mobile again. Her legs wobbled beneath her as she tried to regain her balance.

"And what will you do if I refuse?" She questioned, staring evilly at the creature before her.

"How did you keep me from saying anything? From telling any one of my friends what's happening inside my head?"

"They would have had to believe you first." Vecna shrugged. "And if, if you made them believe you, they'd never live to help you end it."

Kate swallowed nervously, a chill running deeper into her bones.

"If you do not obey me, if you do not succumb to my control; I will kill every single one of your friends. And I will make you watch.

And when I am finished, I'll kill you too."

Kate shook her head angrily.

This was not going to plan. This was not how a meeting, ending things was supposed to go.

If anything, it seemed like she had just dug herself in deeper.

“There’s no escaping your fears Kate.” Vecna said. “Did you really think it was your idea to bring you back here, where it all began?”

Kate’s nose twitched as she fought the oncoming feeling of anxiety. It crawled up her chest, into her throat. It swelled in her veins, making her heart-rate accelerate.

“You cannot escape the darkness.” Vecna disappeared, fading into the black, his voice echoing inside her mind.

“No!” She shouted, growing frustrated. “Get back here! I- I’m not done talking to you!” She groaned in frustration. “Son of a bitch! I’m not done talking to you-“

“He can’t hear you.”

Of course, in a split-second moment of vulnerability, Vecna had decided to strike.

“Billy.” She whispered, eyes settling on his frame.

It was terrifyingly real. He looked so real.

Curls hung just-so around his face, his upper lip shadowed with hair. His Saint Christopher Necklace hung against his chest.

He was wearing a white tank top, his jeans, and boots. The same outfit he had been in his last night on Earth. Only this time he didn’t look sick. And he wasn’t hurt.

Not a singular flaw was on his body. No dark gouges from the wear and tear of being a puppet of a shadow monster. There were no black veins running across his skin. And no blood, where there should’ve been.

That was the most terrifying thing. He looked just how she remembered. Perfect, warm, strong, comforting, her Billy.

“Kate.” He smiled, eyes lighting up, exactly how they used to. “It’s been so long.”

Kate nodded, eyes brimming with tears. “Yeah.” Her words were stuck in her throat. “Uh, yeah- It’s been forever.”

“I’ve missed you.” His eyes met her’s, sadness washing over them. “Why did you leave me?”

Kate frowned, forgetting everything else. Forgetting where she was, what was the task at hand, why her friends were in trouble right now.

All that mattered was Billy. He was standing right there.

“I- I’m sorry, Billy. I didn’t mean to.” She stuttered, panic setting in. She didn’t know how much time they had, and she wanted to make it count. “I didn’t want to leave you, I didn’t. I just didn’t know how to help you.”

Billy shook his head, taking a step towards her. “Kate.” He sighed, eyes becoming cloudy with darkness. “You and I both know that’s not true.”

She felt her blood run cold again, skin turning to ice. “No, Billy. I wanted to help you. I tried to help you-“

“Then why did you just stand there and watch?!” He roared, eyes flaring with anger.

“You did nothing! You watched as that monster tore me apart, piece by piece by piece. You watched me die.

And you did nothing.”

Kate shook her head frantically, panic taking control. “No, no, no, no, no.” She babbled, trying to find what to say. “No, I love you! I love you, I didn’t want you to die!”

Kate dropped to her knees, screaming cries wracking her body. “I’m sorry!”

Amidst her tantrum, Billy had stalked forward, and was now on bended-knee, eye-level with her.

He looked at her, his stare ice-cold. “Everything was your fault.”

In that moment, she swore her heart had stopped.

Kate had spent the better part of the past nine months, trying to make herself believe that it wasn’t her fault. That Billy getting possessed and dying was not her fault. She tried to convince herself differently, but deep-down she only blamed herself.

“If only I had never agreed to hang out with you that night… I would still be alive.”

Kate said nothing, watching through tear-filled eyes as Billy studied her face.

“You’ve caused so much pain.” His mouth upturned into a snarl. “You’ve hurt so many people. Susan, my father, Max-“

Kate wanted to nod. She agreed. Everything he said was true.

“And especially me.”

Kate swallowed her tears, inhaling shakily as Billy stood back up to his full height. From her position on the floor, he towered over her.

“Do you know what it feels like, to be ripped apart from the inside, out?” Billy ’s face fell.

Kate didn’t answer.

“I want you to feel what I felt.”

Before Kate could even begin to comprehend what was happening, she was suspended in the air, a scream of panic erupting from her throat.

“No!” She gasped, feeling a searing pain in her back.

Her body flung around, trying to register her surroundings. Her heart dropped.

She was back in the mall, but it was no longer dark.

The store marquees were lit, the titles of each store shining bright in neon glory. There was still a hole in the ceiling, and the air smelled of fresh fireworks.

Another stabbing pain, this time, in her stomach, tore her from her thoughts.

She groaned, hands clenching into fists as she fully oriented herself.

She was suspended in the air, yes, and she finally saw by what. Staring back at her, was truly, the monster from her nightmares. Formed of flesh, not of it’s own kind, warm and sticky against her skin.

The Mind Flayer.

“Ah!” She screeched, a third tooth-filled tentacle lunged forward, burying itself deep into her side.

The monster roared, it’s marbled eyes settling in on her. The lights flickered, causing a strobing phenomenon in the abandoned mall.

Kate’s breathing was labored as she tried to fight through the pain. It was excruciating, burning each and every nerve fibre in her body. Any little movement made the fire spread.

Her eyes trailed down towards the floor. Standing beside the Mind Flayer, was Billy, and beside him, Vecna.

Suddenly, she couldn’t remember if this was real or not.

It felt real, the stinging pain of a fourth tentacle making home in the back of her shoulder reminding her of that.

The only reason she thought it may be an illusion, was the fact that Billy was there. And he was perfectly fine.

“How does it feel, Harrington?” Billy snapped. Kate felt bile- or maybe blood rise in her throat. He had yet to address her as her old nickname.

She managed one singular shake of her head, before a fifth tentacle was driven into her, right below her chest.

She grunted in pain.

“This is how it feels to have every inch of your body burning.” He glared at her, strung high in the air.

“It was an agonizing death. Lucky for me, it was quick. But those few minutes felt like hell.

I laid there, just waiting for the end, because the release of death was better than the nightmare that awaited me if I made it through.”

Just then, a stroke of confidence entered Kate once more. A savior stroke.

“I didn’t leave you.” She choked out, straining to breathe.

Billy’s face dropped again, struggling to understand what she was saying.

“I stayed with you until the end.” She cried out, trying to ignore the feeling of alien tentacles piercing her skin. “I never left you!”

Kate stared forward in terror as the final tentacle raised itself in her face. The killing blow.

“I told you I’m always gonna be right here.” She croaked out, preparing herself for her fate.  

Below her, Vecna and Billy, both watched her in awe as she pathetically tried to fight the creature before her. Her lower lip trembled as she looked at Billy.

Then she remembered Max. The look on her face as she watched her brother die, slipping away right under her fingers.

Max.

Max!

Kate gasped. “Max.” She whispered, swallowing, what she had confirmed to be blood, rising in her throat.

Max was the reason she was here. Max, Dustin, Lucas, El, Will, Mike; her kids. And Steve, Nancy, Robin, Jonathan, Eddie; her friends. Her family.

Her family needed her help. Her family needed her. They needed her to break through. They needed her in the fight.

And if she needed to be there for the big fight, she needed to fight her own battles first. And that meant, coming to terms with the truth.

Billy’s death wasn’t her fault.

The cause of the disaster was right before her. She had stared him right in the eyes. He admitted it right to her face.

Vecna was the cause of every incident in Hawkins in the past three years.

It wasn’t Kate’s fault.

“It wasn’t my fault!” She cried out, sobs wracking her body. She was growing exhausted, her body draining it’s energy.

“I did everything I could! I tried to help you, but I couldn’t. And I’m sorry.”

The monster chittered before her, raising it’s final tentacle. Kate’s breath rattled, her lungs fighting for air.

“I’m sorry.” She closed her eyes, preparing for death, but it never came.

She screamed as she hit the ground, dropping fully to her knees. But she didn’t give him a chance to catch her vulnerable, staggering to her feet, she looked around frantically.

“I’m not scared of you anymore!” She threatened.

The lights in the mall flickered again as out of nowhere Vecna reappeared. “You have no power over me anymore.” She snarled, staring coldly at him.

“You have no control over this Katherine. I am your master-“

“No.” Kate snapped. “No more. No more!” She screamed, rage filling every cell in her body.

“I don’t answer to you anymore. I'm done being your puppet. I’m done!”

Vecna stalked forward, eyes seething with anger.

Kate met his energy, standing her ground when he finally reached her. “Listen to me, you spineless son of a bitch: You and I are finished. I want you out out of my head.

You’re going to leave my friends alone. You’re going to leave those kids alone. You’re going to leave me alone.”

Vecna smirked, as well as he could with having no lips. “You are no match for me Katherine. I am the only one.”

“Not anymore.” She snarled, forcing her hand out and pushing the creature backwards. Vecna flew across the mall, but was quick to get back up, stalking back towards her.

Kate used every emotion she had been keeping bottled up. Fear, anger, grief, anxiety; She used it to destroy. Just like she had done in Hopper’s cabin.

She screamed, forcing the nonexistent ball of light forward, watching as it ripped away at Vecna, shred by shred.

Her whole body felt like it was on fire, however this time it was a fire that was semi-pleasant.

Her lungs burned, her head throbbed, and it felt like she was weightless as she used everything inside of her to destroy the very thing that caused her pain.

This was for everything she had been through in the past year.

The lights in the mall flashed in a constant neon movement. And in a final scream of agony, Kate watched as the demon responsible for her suffering, melted away to nothing.

Kate wailed, falling to the ground in a frenzy.

She let out a chorus of gasps as she curled up on the floor, the cool tile beneath her warming her blazing skin.

She was shaking as she sat herself up just enough to examine herself and her surroundings.

It was dark inside the mall, pitch black, except for the gentle stream of moonlight pouring in through the gaping hole in the ceiling.

Kate reached down, pawing frantically at her shirt, lifting it to reveal her abdomen, perfectly void of any injuries.

It was all a dream.

She exhaled, relieved, and laid herself back down on the floor.

Her palm stung. The bloody wound had stopped oozing, and was now beginning to crust, clumps of blood sticking to her skin.

She reached up with her other hand, gently rubbing beneath her nose. It was wet.

Sticky blood coated her fingers, and she ran them down the scope of her lips, to her chin, neck, and all the way to the collar of her shirt, which was soaked.

Kate gasped again, trying to relax; to level her breathing and decrease her heart-rate. She reveled in the complete silence of the mall, and the fact that she had finally done it.

She was alone in her thoughts, for the first time in months.

The sound of someone’s voice on her supercom broke the hard-fought silence of the mall.

The voice was frantic, whoever they were, was in trouble. Or worried, or excited about something. Excited enough to continue screaming into their radio until someone picked up.

Kate swallowed, composing herself, making sure her legs could work before she tried to fully stand. When she had concluded that she would be okay, she slowly staggered back up the steps, to where she had dropped her bag.

As she got closer, she could recognize the voice as Eddie’s. “Jesus Christ, does anybody copy!” He shrilled.

“Jason and his friends are at Rick’s and they’re coming to the boathouse next! I need emergency evacuation, does anybody copy-“

Kate bent down, snatching the radio from the pocket of her bag. “Hey Munson, it’s Kate, do you copy?”

“Holy shit Harrington, you have no idea how happy I am to hear your voice.” She could hear the relief in Eddie’s voice.

“What’s going on? Why isn’t anyone answering their damn radios?”

Kate sighed. “I’m not with them-“

“Wait, what? Where are you?” Eddie asked, panic sounding in his voice.

“I’m at the mall.” She replied, chewing on her lip.

“Starcourt? What are you doing there?”

“Eddie, that doesn’t matter.” She snapped, trying to remain focused on the task at-hand. “What’s your situation?”

“I need picked up. Gotta dip.” He sighed, shakily. “The basketball dicks are here and I need out. Think you can help me out?”

Kate nodded, although Eddie couldn’t see that. “I got you Munson.” She bent down, picking up her bag. “I’ll be over in about ten minutes, be ready.”

Eddie let out a breath. “You’re a life-saver Harrington. You have no idea how much I love you-“

“Don’t hold your breath Munson. I don’t have such a great track-record in the savior department.” Kate clicked her tongue at him.

“I’ll be there soon, over and out.”

Kate turned the radio down, just low enough that if anything else happened, she’d be able to hear.

She began her trek out of the mall, the glass and dirt grinding beneath her feet. She turned, taking one last look at the place.

She hoped she never had to return there.

Kate left the mall, not bothering to replace the chains and lock on the door handles.

The sky was dark, stars shining bright in the cloudless sky.

Kate began to run again. She didn’t have much time to make it to Eddie, but she had to make a pit-stop first. There would be no logical way for her to rescue Eddie without having a proper mode of transportation.

Within a few minutes, she made it to her house, running along the train-tracks made it easier than having to weave in and out of the streets and roads.

Kate let herself in the back door, grabbing her keys from the hook on the wall. She couldn’t help but feel a little excited as she unlocked the door of her Charger for the first time in months.

She tossed her backpack haphazardly into the back of the car, and stuck the key in the ignition.

The engine roared to life. “Back in the saddle baby.” She exhaled a sigh of relief, patting the steering wheel encouragingly.

She turned on the lights and reversed out of the driveway, playing it cool as she slowly drove down the street, passing some neighbors, who were bringing groceries in.

The moment she reached the end of her neighborhood, she floored it, slamming the gas pedal to the floor and flying away.

It wasn’t a long drive to Holland Road, just a few minutes.

Kate slowed down immensely as she turned onto the dirt road. The closer she got, she turned her lights out, and when she arrived, she opted to park down the road away from the house. They wouldn’t hear her coming.

Kate sighed, stuffing her keys into her pocket, and began to make her trek through the treeline, towards the boat house.

She saw Jason’s jeep, parked right outside of the house, and the shine of flashlights peering through the windows.

She stayed close to the side of the building, trying to remain small and unseen, but when she went to go inside, she found that the door had already been kicked in.

“Eddie?” She whisper-yelled, poking her head inside. “Eddie, it’s me!”

No response.

She ducked in, sticking to the wall as she examined the boathouse. Nothing seemed different, except that the boat was missing.

Shit. She’d taken too long, and Eddie had to fend for himself.

“Hey freak!” A shout from outside spooked her back to reality. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Fuck!” She muttered, stumbling over an empty paint can as she ran out of the boathouse, towards the commotion.

She shook her head as she stared out at the lake. It was difficult to see in the dark, but she put the pieces together as best as she could.

Eddie was in the rowboat, paddling as fast as he could away from Jason, and one of his goons, who were in the water, swimming towards him.

There was splashing and shouting, and screams of disapproval from Eddie.

Kate had to think fast.

“Munson!” She shouted, walking herself to the edge of the water.

His head whipped around, as did Jason’s. Eddie was standing in the middle of the boat, oar raised to protect himself as Jason approached the boat.

“Harrington, a little assistance would be nice right about now!” Eddie shrilled, swinging the oar in the air.

“I’m working on it!” She shouted back, groaning as she trudged into the water.

Ice-cold water seeped into her boots, soaking her socks. She had to pick up the pace, driving herself forward, until she was thigh-deep.

Kate sighed, watching as Jason held onto the boat. He was right there, she would never make it on time if she tried swimming. She’d have to do something now.

Jason was yelling, for Patrick, as she now figured out who was with him. But Patrick was still, floating frozen in the water. Kate frowned, finding it odd.

Pushing that thought to the back of her mind, she held up her hand, and just as she was about to use her power to lift Eddie into the air, Patrick disappeared under water.

“Oh fuck!” She gasped, her hand dropping to her side.

In a split-second, he re-emerged, floating in the air like a rag doll.

Kate knew exactly where this was going. Only this time, she wasn’t under the safety of the spell. This time, she had to watch.

Jason and Eddie had both stilled in the shock of what they were seeing, the sudden stiffening sending Eddie careening backwards into the water.

All three of them were frozen in place.

Without another moment to waste, Patrick’s body began contorting in the air. Arms crumbling beneath him, legs twisting and bending, his jaw falling slack, and the final blow; His eyes were sucked into his head, the sound of wet tissue being crushed sounding in the air.

Kate’s mouth fell open. That was what she was aiding in?

Patrick’s body dropped into the water, landing right in front of Jason, who was watching in horror.

Eddie had taken the period of distraction to swim back to shore, frantically crawling up the embankment to where Kate was standing. He was soaking wet.

“Harrington, let’s go!” He shrilled, grabbing her wrist and tugging her away from the water.

“Where do you think you’re going?!” Jason called from the water, unmoving. “There’s nowhere you can go that’s safe! Either of you!”

Eddie and Kate paused, hiding beside the boathouse, out of Jason’s sight. “I’m going to tell everyone what you two are! You’re psycho murderers! I know what I saw! I watched you Harrington! I watched you raise your hand and lift Patrick out of the water, and now he’s dead!” Jason sobbed.

Kate met Eddie’s eyes with panic. In her attempts to save the day, she had dug herself a grave now too.

“You two are dead! Everyone in this town will be looking for you! Everyone-“

“Come on, let’s go.” Eddie tugged on her wrist again, the two of them leaving before Jason could instill any more fear in them.

They took off running down the road towards Kate’s car.

“Get in.” Kate fished the keys from her pocket, hurrying to unlock it.

“But I’m soaking wet-“ Eddie said, hand resting on the door handle.

“Unless you wanna walk your ass home, I suggest you get in the car right now! I don’t care if you’re wet!” Kate snapped, ignoring the squishing in her boots as she ducked into her car.

Eddie resisted any more protests and got in beside her. Kate wasted no time, turning her car and flooring it.

“Do you see now why I’m scarred for life?!” Eddie shrilled, smacking his hands on the dashboard.

“Yeah Munson, I saw it too!” She replied, just as shrill.

“You aren’t freaked out? We just watched someone die!” He stared at her, eyes wide with shock.

“Believe it or not, that was not the first time I’ve watched someone die.” She raised her eyebrows at him, reminding him of their conversation from a few days prior.

“And that wasn’t even the first time I’ve seen someone die. I’ve seen some shit!”

Eddie took her answers with a grain of salt, but still wasn’t totally satisfied. “And now, don’t take this the wrong way, I completely appreciate the whole swooping in and rescuing me thing, but I have to ask why you look like you just crawled out of Hell itself!”

Kate frowned, not fully sure what Eddie was talking about, until she glanced at herself in the rearview mirror.

She looked even worse than she had anticipated. Blood was smeared the entire way from her nose, down her face and neck and onto her chest. Nevermind the nasty black bruise on her neck, or the way she had tear tracks running down her cheeks.

“I went to the mall…” She replied, looking away from herself.

“You said that!” Eddie snapped. “What were you doing at the mall?”

Kate huffed, staring at the road ahead of them. “It’s a long story-“

“I think I have time for a story or two Harrington!”

“That Vecna creep was using me as a spy.” She replied, glancing over at him. “He used me as a vessel to find people who were hurting, and then he used my energy to kill them.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa- What? You killed Chrissy?” Eddie’s eyes were wide.

“I didn’t kill Chrissy!” She replied hurriedly. “Vecna used my energy, but he did the killing.”

“Right…” Kate knew Eddie was pretending to understand. “So why were you at the mall?”

Kate sighed. “He was using me because I was hurting the most…” She paused, trying to find the right way to describe exactly what happened.

“I was harboring so much pain and anger, and guilt. He used that to manipulate me.

So I had to break the chain. And the only way I could do that was by going back to the one place that scared me the most.”

“The mall.” Eddie nodded in understanding. “Do you think it worked?”

“Well I just actually watched Patrick die, instead of seeing what was going on inside of his head-“

“You saw inside Chrissy’s head?”

“I mean, kind of?” She shrugged. “I saw what she saw- What he wanted her to see. I never realized what was going on until I started seeing what Max saw.”

“Max is dead?” Eddie’s eyes looked like they were about to fall out of his head.

“No Max isn’t dead!” She groaned, swatting at him. “Max was having visions, which is what made me finally need to break the connection.”

“Jesus Christ.” Eddie mumbled, shifting in his seat. “How are you so calm about this? About everything?

You can move things with your mind, and you were possessed by a monster from another dimension, and not to mention you said you’ve done this like three other times! How are you calm!”

“I am not calm!” She exclaimed, hands gripping the steering wheel. “I am far from calm Eddie, but I’ve learned that playing it cool is the best was to convince yourself that you’re safe. You understand?”

Eddie didn’t speak for a moment. “I got it.” He mumbled, shifting again, to angle himself towards the window.

A few minutes passed where it was silent, save for the sound of Eddie’s hair dripping onto his headrest. “Where exactly are we going?” Eddie asked quietly.

Kate sighed. “Home.”

“Home!” Eddie gasped, turning to look at her. “Home? Did you not hear what Jason just said-“

“Yes, Eddie, I heard exactly what he said!” She snapped, keeping her eyes focused on the road.

“Then what the hell are we going home for?!”

Kate sighed in annoyance, trying to stay patient. “Eddie, never you forget, I’ve been in this situation a few times in my life-“

“You’ve been a suspected murderer on the run before?”

“Not that!” She snapped. “I’ve been dealing with this inter-dimensional bullshit for like three years now, so I’m pretty well-versed in how to go about handling it, okay? It’s called hiding in plain sight.”

Kate took the turn into her neighborhood. “Now, lean back, lower your head, and pretend to be asleep.” She nudged Eddie’s arm with her elbow.

"If anybody sees us, they’ll think I’m just bringing Steve’s drunk ass home from a party.”

Wordlessly, Eddie obeyed, leaning his seat back slightly and ducking his head.

Kate held her breath as she turned down her street, slowly passing her neighbors houses. She clicked the button for the automatic garage door opener and pulled into the driveway, and then into the garage.

The pair stayed frozen as they waited for the door to close, and then they jumped into action.

Kate was quick to lock the garage door, and the back door, pulling Eddie inside. They worked in tandem to make sure all possible entries were locked and covered by either curtains or newspaper.

“Try not to turn on any lights, okay? And don’t answer the phone.”

“Harrington, this is your house, why would I answer the phone-“

“I don’t know!” She sighed, making sure all the lights were off downstairs, and she lead him upstairs.

In Steve’s room, Kate dug through his dresser, trying to find some clothes that would fit Eddie, or almost fit him.

Steve was not certainly a large dude, but Eddie was a little scrawny compared to her brother.

She settled on a pair of sweatpants and an old sweatshirt. “I’ll wash your clothes and stuff, if you wanna get a shower.”

She handed Eddie the perfectly-folded clothes. “Your brother won’t mind that I’m borrowing his clothes?”

“You aren’t the first guy that has had to borrow my brother’s clothes without him knowing.” She replied, walking across the room to the attached bathroom.

She flicked on the light. “Everything you should need is in here. I’ll be in my room, also getting a shower… So when you’re done, just wait for me, I guess.” She shrugged.

Before he could say another word, Kate left the room, closing the door behind her and racing down the hall to her room. She closed the door, reveling in the silence for a moment.

She toed off her boots, and peeled her damp socks from her feet and made her way to her bathroom. The bloody washcloth was still draped over the side of the tub, just where it had been left three days ago.

She started the shower and then returned to her dresser to dig out some clean underwear and clothes for when she was finished.

Kate decided that some music would be nice to interrupt the peace, keep her distracted as she showered.

She placed her smallest tape player on the counter, Houses of the Holy by Led Zeppelin began playing.

She hadn’t used this tape player in so long, she forgot what was in it. But hearing the sound of “The Rain Song” reminded her of when it was last used.

She had taken it to the top spot of the Quarry at the beginning of last summer, to play music in the background as her, Billy, and the rest of their friends kicked off the summer.

Kate quietly finished her shower, watching as the water ran red, washing away the blood and grime from her adventure in the mall.

She wrapped herself in a towel, changing into her clean undergarments, and standing to stare at herself in the mirror. She now could finally get a good look at herself. It was sad, if she was being honest.

The side of her neck was bruised, a remnant of Max’s desperate escape from Vecna’s lair.

The skin on her face was pale, sickly looking, from the lack of sleep and food she’d had in the past few days.

But her nose was pink, agitated from the seemingly constant stream of blood pouring from it.

Kate continued on with her self-care routine. Applying her skin products, and combing through her hair.

As she placed her brush down on the counter, the tape flipped itself again, and she was reminded of the gash on the inside of her palm.

“I can patch you up, if you want.” Eddie’s sudden presence scared her, making her knock the brush to the floor in a panic.

Her hand clutched her chest as she turned around to face him. He was dressed in Steve’s clothes, and they weren’t too big, just hanging off his body slightly. Steve’s clothes always looked too big on him too.

His hair was mostly dry, she assumed he had used Steve’s hair dryer and styled it just so. His dirty clothes were in a heap in his arms.

“You scared the shit outta me Munson.” She grumbled, hugging her hand to her body. “Also, I’m basically naked, don’t you knock? What are you doing in here anyway?”

Eddie, unbothered, let his eyes quickly scan up and down the length of her body before returning his gaze back to her eyes. “I was snooping.” He shrugged.

Kate felt her face flush as Eddie took a step closer to her. “Now, just as I am not the first man you’ve had secretly borrow your brother’s clothes, you are not the first woman I have seen in her underwear.”

Kate chuckled, extending her hand out for Eddie to see. “See, I usually am the one cleaning up messes like this-“ She winced as he ran his finger along the edge of the cut. “I used to have to fix my ex up all the time.”

Eddie sighed, dropping her hand and moving her backwards, so she was sat on the closed lid of the toilet.

“Not to be a jerk or anything, but your ex was kind of a dick.” He said, bending down to dig through the sink cabinets for first-aid supplies.

“How do you know how to patch people up?” She raised her eyebrows at him, watching as he placed each supply as he found it atop the counter.

“Like I said, your ex was a dick.” He replied, standing back upright. “I had a run-in with him and his buddies a time or two, not to mention the other assholes at school. I’m not exactly mister popular.”

Kate nodded, watching as Eddie concentrated on prepping his supplies.

“I’m sorry.” She said, although she imagined her apologizing on behalf of Billy gave him no consolation.

Eddie shrugged, wetting a soapy rag under the faucet. “Bygones are bygones, plus- I don’t like to speak ill of the dead.”

Kate’s eyes widened slightly as she realized what Eddie had said.

“I’m sorry too, by the way.” He continued, taking a step towards her. “For his passing, and for just talking shit about him.” Eddie’s cheeks flushed pink as he held his hand out for Kate to place her’s in.

“You don’t have to apologize. He was a dick.” She shrugged, concentrating on Eddie’s face to distract her from the soreness of her hand as he wiped away the blood. “And I can say that, he was my boyfriend.”

Once her hand was clean, he leaned sideways, grabbing a cotton pad and the rubbing alcohol. “How the hell did you two even get together, anyway? Didn’t you hate each other’s guts?” He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he dabbed gently at Kate’s palm.

“I swear I remember him bullying the shit out of your brother, and then you punching him in the face or something.”

“Yeah, I got a week suspension for that shit.” She grumbled, remembering how great it felt to release her anger on Billy. But that was before she had developed feelings for him.

“It was a stupid thing, we drank too much at a party and both slept it off in his car. He had been after me for weeks, and I told him I’d go on one date with him, if it got him to shut the fuck up.”

“And did it?” Eddie grinned mischievously, pretending to be fully focused on his work.

Kate shook her head. “No, absolutely not.” She smiled, remembering how surprisingly happy she had been after their first date. “It was like the beginning of the end for us both.”

“So little Katie Harrington got bit by the love bug? For Billy Hargrove-“ Eddie looked up at her, tossing the cotton pad into the garbage.

She scoffed. “Nobody calls me Katie anymore. Not since middle school, and besides, love isn’t that bad.” She sighed, chewing on her lip. “I just need an experience that doesn’t end in heartbreak.”

Eddie nodded, seeming to understand what she was saying.

He applied some antibiotic cream to her hand, then wrapped it up in some bandages. Kate would admit to herself, it felt significantly better when a wound was freshly cleaned and wrapped.

“There ya go kiddo, all better.” Eddie grinned, standing back up.

Kate mirrored him, standing up from her position on the toilet.

Eddie’s eyes narrowed, staring at her body again. “Do you have a tattoo?” He gasped, leaning closer to her chest to get a better look at the tiny single-line skull Billy had given her last winter.

Kate huffed, grabbing Eddie gently by his jaw and pulling his head up towards her’s.

His eyes widened at the now close-proximity of their faces. “The only time I ever want anyone that close to my chest, is if they’re helping me undress, you got me, Munson?”

Eddie’s face flushed again, holding his breath as the two stared at each other for a moment, Kate’s fingers still on his jaw.

In a second, she dropped them, holding her hand at her side. Eddie’s eyes scanned her face. “Thanks for cleaning me up, now can you give me a minute to get dressed? Then we can find something to eat, if you want.”

Eddie’s breath hitched in his throat, taking a step backwards. “I-I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

Kate chuckled to herself as Eddie slowly backed out of the bathroom. She listened as he practically ran down the steps.

She quickly got dressed, turning off her tape player, and the lights before joining Eddie downstairs. “Find anything good?” She asked as she passed him in the kitchen.

He was rummaging through the cabinets looking for something to eat. “Not really.” He replied.

She went into the laundry room, throwing both of their clothes into the washer and starting the cycle.

“Did you check the pantry?” She asked as she walked back into the room.

Eddie removed his head from the cabinet he was looking it. “Where’s the pantry?”

Kate stopped in her tracks, her hand landing on the handle of the pantry door. “Right here man.” She pulled it open, revealing the closet that was stocked with snacks and food.

Eddie’s eyes widened, as he hadn’t seen that much food in days. He had also never really seen a pantry as full as this one in general. He rushed across the room, practically diving into the collection.

“What do you want?” He asked, voice muffled by the food surrounding him.

Kate shrugged, leaning back against the island. “I’ll eat whatever.”

Eddie nodded, rummaging through the food. He settled on a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese, and a varying assortment of chips and cookies.

The two snacked while they waited for Kate to make the mac and cheese. “So what exactly is your plan Harrington? Now that we’re here… It won’t take long for the cops to find us if we stay here.”

“I think we can make it through the night. Word won’t spread that fast.” She replied, stirring the noodles. “I’m gonna start radioing the others when this is done, hopefully someone can answer and get us outta here in the morning.”

“And what are we gonna do from that point?”

Kate sighed, staring into the pot of boiling water. “Pray that the others have made some sort of plan.”

“And if they didn’t?”

“They have.” She turned to look at him. “They for sure have. Did you forget that Dustin was involved in this? Man wakes up and has every second of his day planned from start to finish. He’s always prepared.”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah, he really is always prepared. Why is he like that?”

Kate laughed. “Honestly, Munson, I’ve been trying to figure that out my whole life. From the day I met him, Dustin has always been strange.”

“He’s like the eighth wonder of the world.” Eddie replied, mouth full of cookie.

“Yes!” Kate gasped in agreement. “He’s never gonna shut up if we tell him that.”

“That kid has such a huge ego!” Eddie groaned in complaint.

Kate nodded. “That’s why I find every chance I can to humble him. I honestly blame my brother, he has such a big head and they’re always together.”

When the macaroni and cheese was ready, Kate and Eddie ate, sharing stories about their lives. When their clothes were done in the wash, Kate moved them to the dryer.

She showed Eddie to her room, feeling it would be more appropriate if he slept in her bed, rather than Steve’s. Plus, she had just changed her sheets at the beginning of the week.

She took post on the couch, to make sure she could keep an eye out for potential unwanted visitors, or police. And so she could radio the others uninterrupted.

After roughly forty minutes of trying, Steve finally answered her. She could tell he had just woken up, as his words were slurring, and he was more whiny than normal.

Steve agreed that he would bring Nancy’s car at first light to pick them up, then they would return to the Wheeler house to discuss further plans.

Kate laid back against the soft cushions of the couch, and let sleep take her over. Even if only for a short time.

[ᴍᴀʀᴄʜ 𝟸𝟼, 𝟷𝟿𝟾𝟼]

Kate’s body naturally awoke her right as the sun began to rise. Peeling herself off of the couch, she folded the blanket she used, and then went upstairs to wake Eddie.

He changed back into his now clean clothes and waited for her in the livingroom. She got dressed too, and the pair waited for Steve to arrive.

Kate had never seen Steve look more exhausted than she had when she and Eddie had joined him in the car.

“Head down Munson.” She reminded him.

Eddie shrunk down, wedging himself onto the floor between the front and back seats. And that’s where he stayed the entire ride.

“So, you mind telling me why the hell you didn’t tell us you were literally possessed by Vecna for like a week straight?” Steve finally snapped, hands gripping the steering wheel.

“And then, you run off after almost killing Max, in front of us! Disappear all night with no absolutely no contact. What the hell is wrong with you!”

Kate’s mouth opened, but she didn’t quite know where to start.

“You have nothing to say for yourself?” Steve pressed, turning his head to look at her quickly.

“Steve-“

“And this isn’t even the first time you kept secrets from us. Remember last summer? The whole you dating Billy thing?”

“Yes, Steve, how could I forget when you little bring it up after any minor inconvenience you have-“

“Ah ah ah, no! No, you don’t get to patronize me here! I’m the one giving the lecture.” He scolded her. “Do you understand how worried I was last night? I barely slept! What were you thinking?”

Kate gave him a minute, in case he wasn’t really done blowing up at her. “I’m going to tell you everything I know, okay?”

Steve took a moment before nodding.

“Vecna has been inside my head for months, feeding on my grief. He was using me as his spy, and then used my energy to carry out his tasks.” She glanced over, making sure Steve was following. “After he almost made me kill Max, I had to cut him off. So I went to the mall, and I closed all the doors.”

“Doors?” Steve questioned, eyes focused on the road.

“I faced my fears, and he no longer can feed from my pain.” Sometimes Kate found it so hard to explain everything in terms Steve would understand.

“Right…” He nodded, pursing his lips.

She gave him a few minutes to process.

“So how did you collect Munson back there?” He asked. “You doing okay, by the way?”

Eddie shifted against the back of Kate’s seat. “Never better.” He grumbled.

“He was radioing for help when I was leaving the mall.” She shrugged. “Oh yeah, theres something else you should know.”

She swore she saw smoke billowing from Steve’s ears as he prepared himself for the news. “I went to get Eddie, and he was out on the lake- Jason was chasing him. And one of his buddy’s was with him-“

“He got possessed by that Vecna dude and got murdered right in front of us.” Eddie finished her sentence for her.

“And so now Jason thinks we’re in some sort of sick Satanic worship-based relationship.”

“He also threatened to tell the entire town that the two of us are psycho killers, so it’s not looking good.” Eddie added.

Now Kate actually saw steam coming from her brother’s head.

“What?” He asked, in pure shock. “I know you can handle your own. I was worried that this Vecna creep would get you while you were alone, that’s why I couldn’t sleep last night.

But I never thought I’d have to worry about you incriminating yourself in a series of gruesome murders, when we’re actually supposed to be HELPING THE SITUATION!”

Kate winced as Steve shouted at her.

“Do you understand how much more difficult you just made this?”

“Steve, listen-“

“No, absolutely not! I’m done listening to you!” His cheeks burned red with anger. “I’m done playing babysitter. I’m in charge now, you hear me? You’re gonna do whatever I say, and you’re gonna just shut up and let me be in charge okay?”

Kate sighed, nodding. She took her brother’s outburst with a grain of salt. Besides, everyone knew Nancy was always the one in charge.

“You make everything difficult!” He snapped, as they turned down Maple Street.

Once Steve parked Nancy’s car, the three of them quickly ran inside, avoiding any watchful eye jay might’ve been snooping in the neighborhood.

Nancy, Robin, Max, Dustin, and Lucas were all sitting around the various pieces of furniture. It seemed like they had been waiting for them to return.

“Holy shit, you’re alive!” Dustin exclaimed, jumping up from his seat. His smile grew even wider when he saw Eddie, rushing over and squeezing the two of them in a group hug.

“But at what cost?” Eddie replied dramatically. Ever the optimist, he was.

After Dustin had recovered from their reunion, they got to work.

Nancy explained how, through Max’s drawings, they figured out where they thought Vecna was hiding.

And Kate explained how she was connected to Vecna, and how in the process of rescuing Eddie, she also incriminated herself. She left out the details of her trip to the mall, however.

They decided that investigating where Vecna’s supposed lair was, would be the smartest thing for them to do. In order to stay together as efficiently as possible, and to avoid getting caught, everyone rode together in Nancy’s station wagon.

Kate had to keep reminding herself that she was also now a wanted criminal. Albeit, an innocent one. So she and Eddie were forced to lay in the back of the car, remaining unseen to any passerby.

Nancy drove them across town, to the infamous Creel house. Obviously, the general public knew a different story about the Creels, than the eight of them did. But that didn’t stop the house from being creepy.

An old metal playground across the street was rusted and run-down, definitely not in working condition anymore. And the house loomed over them, each window boarded up to keep loiterers out.

“Yeah, that’s not creepy.” Steve grumbled as they all approached the house.

He and Nancy lead the troupe up to the porch, but they were met with a completely covered door. “m

"Think you can get us in?” Nancy asked, turning to Kate.

She almost, almost, laughed in Nancy’s face. Could she get them in? She could get them in easily.

Kate nodded, taking a moment to prepare herself. She held her hand out, focusing on one of the nails that held the door shut. With one twitch of her finger, every single nail flew out of the wood, as if they were dragged by a magnet.

The slab of wood fell onto the porch, startling Steve. He and Eddie picked it back up, leaning it against the side of the house.

“What exactly are we supposed to be looking for in this shithole?” Steve asked, turning towards Nancy.

“We’re not sure.” She replied. “We just know this house is important to Vecna.”

“Because Max saw it in Vecna’s red mind soup world?” Steve almost made it seem like he didn’t believe them.

Nancy shrugged. “Basically?”

“Great.” Steve huffed.

“Maybe it holds a clue to where Vecna is? Why he’s back, why he killed the Creels, and how to stop him from coming back for Max.” Dustin said.

Lucas frowned. “We don’t think he’s in here, do we?”

Beside him, Max shrugged. “Guess we’ll find out.”

Steve turned back to the door, trying the handle, but it was locked. “It’s locked.” He said, stating the obvious. “Should I knock, see if anybody’s home?”

Kate sighed, stepping forward. “No need.” She raised her hand, turned her wrist, and the door popped open. She turned back to Steve, raising her eyebrows at him. “See, I can be helpful sometimes.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, pushing past her to enter the house.

She followed directly behind him, Nancy, Eddie, Max, Lucas, Dustin, and Robin after her.

It was dark in the house, obviously. There hadn’t been working electricity in over thirty years, just as there hadn’t been any occupants either.

A thick layer of dust coated every surface, from floor to ceiling. And the air was dry, musty, like there hadn’t been even an ounce of fresh air since the murders.

Lucas tried to flip on the switch of a lamp, but it was useless. “Guess someone forgot to pay the electric bill.” He joked.

In response, Dustin flicked his flashlight at him.

Over Dustin’s shoulder, Steve frowned, looking confused. “Where’d everyone get those?” He asked, referring to the flashlight.

Dustin’s face dropped as he turned to Steve. “Do you need to be told everything?” He scoffed, shaking his head in disgust. “You’re not a child.”

The two stared at each other, waiting for someone to make a move.

Dustin submitted first, reaching into his backpack to provide Steve with a light. “Thank you.” Steve nodded, very begrudgingly taking it from Dustin.

Nancy, Kate, and Robin further explored the first floor of the house, the three of them poking their heads inside of what seemed to be the dining room.

“They just left everything.” Nancy said, shining her flashlight over the table.

“Guess a triple homicide isn’t good for resale value.” Robin shrugged, trying to lighten the mood.

Kate stifled a laugh, what Robin said wasn’t entirely untrue.

“Hey guys.” Max called aloud, making everyone immediately rush to her aid. “You all see that, right?” She shined her flashlight over an antique grandfather clock.

It looked just like the one that was in Max’s vision.

The others nodded and agreed. Max turned to Kate. “This is what was wedged into the wall at the school.” Kate said, looking over Max’s head, to Nancy. “This is what we saw.”

“I mean, it’s just a clock.” Robin said, shining her flashlight on it. “Right?” She said, hesitantly.

“Hold on, we’re having visions now?” Eddie questioned, eyes widened in alarm.

Kate nodded, although not paying him much mind. “Why is this wizard obsessed with clocks?” Steve wondered aloud. “Maybe he’s like a clockmaker or something.”

Kate squinted at him, waiting to see if he was actually serious, but Dustin beat her to the punch. “I think you cracked the case Steve.” He rolled his eyes at his older friend.

Steve glared at him before turning his attention back to the clock.

“All I know is, the answers are here.” Nancy nodded, trusting her gut. “Somewhere.”

Kate nodded, turning towards Nancy. “I agree. We should split up.”

“Whoa, yo- No?” Steve objected, grabbing Kate’s wrist as she tried slipping past him.

Before the pair could break out into a verbal disagreement, Nancy jumped in. “Right, stay in groups of two.”

She looked at Steve for approval, who in-turn, released his sister from his grasp. “Robin, you’re with me. Upstairs.”

She and Robin were quick to tread up the stairs.

“Come on, let’s go.” Max turned, tugging Lucas down the hallway.

And before Dustin could even think about making a move, Kate grabbed Eddie by the sleeve of his jacket, practically running with him up the steps.

“Yo, slow down speed racer!” He gasped, struggling to keep up with her.

Behind them, she could hear Steve and Dustin arguing with each other. “Dodged that bullet.” She sighed, finally releasing Eddie’s shirt.

They entered the first room they saw, which seemed to be a bathroom. Eddie straightened his top, smoothing out a wrinkle in it. “So what exactly are we looking for here Harrington?”

Kate opened up the linen closet, shining her flashlight inside. “It’s hard to say.” She shrugged. “Red flags would be power surges-“

“But there’s no electricity here.” Eddie frowned, confused.

“Precisely.” Kate turned, closing the closet door. “Power surges, unnatural magnetic pulls…” Kate sighed, deep-diving into her brain to try and think of more clues. “If you start seeing things you think I might not be seeing, please let me know.”

Eddie stiffened, staring at her wildly. “Like hallucinating?”

Kate nodded, pulling back the curtain to the old clawfoot tub. “Yes, hallucinating.” She sighed, finding nothing in the tub that would help them.

“But the lights, that’s the big one. That pretty much always leads to trouble.”

“Right…” Eddie nodded, chewing on his lip. “And we’re looking for the trouble. Makes perfect sense. Jesus Christ!” He snapped, gripping his flashlight intensely.

Kate looked over her shoulder at him, giving him a moment to come to terms with their situation before speaking again. “Listen, I know everything that’s been going on lately is really confusing, and scary as shit, but you’re with the best people possible for this situation.

And I know it probably doesn’t seem like it, but I have a perfect track-record of survival, with people that hang with me.”

Eddie’s eyes widened again. “Did you forget about your ex-boyfriend?”

Kate huffed, whipping around to face him. “He wasn’t with me, that entire week. It doesn’t count!” She snapped, shining her flashlight in his eyes.

“Just wait until you hear about the time I sacrificed myself to a pack of Demo-dogs, to distract them from wanting to eat Max, Lucas, and Dustin!”

She huffed again. “Just trust me, okay Munson? I’m the girl you want for the job.”

Kate raised her eyebrows at him, waiting for another cocky remark, but instead he simply nodded, accepting his fate.

Without another word, the pair moved out of the bathroom, and down the hall, into a bedroom. They looked in silence, simply keeping an eye on each other, when the sound of glass shattering broke the silence.

Kate stopped in her tracks, listening with a confused look.

There was some stumbling, and then the slamming of a door. “Don’t go in there!” Steve practically gasped.

“The door that’s closed, don’t go in there, it’s infested with spiders!” He called out to everyone else upstairs.

Kate sighed, shaking her head at her brother’s outburst before traveling, with Eddie on her tail, out to meet them.

Steve was crouched down, Nancy combing through his hair, picking out pieces of spider webs.

“If there’s a spider in there, you’re never gonna find it til it lays eggs and all the little babies spill out.” Kate teased, creeping up behind them.

Nancy chuckled, and Steve whipped around, a look of horror on his face. “What is wrong with you!” He snapped. “Kate, seriously!”

She laughed at herself as she and Eddie walked past them, venturing into a different room.

“She’s got problems.” She heard her brother grumble as they made their way back downstairs, to one of the living rooms.

Kate heard the sound of a piano being played, quite haphazardly. It sounded like someone was just smashing random keys.

They entered the room to find Max and Lucas, stood over an old piano.

“Holy shit, you’re like this generation’s Mozart or something.” Kate teased, announcing their arrival.

Max and Lucas turned around, both of their faces flushed. She must have interrupted an emotional moment.

“You guys find anything interesting?” She asked, her and Eddie approaching them.

Max shook her head. “Besides this pretty cool piano?” Lucas tapped a key with his finger. “Nothing.”

Kate nodded, giving it a quick glance.

“Hey Harrington…” Eddie said, his voice wavering slightly. “Is that one of those power surge you were talking about?”

Max, Lucas, and Kate all turned slowly, looking at what Eddie was looking at. Beside the piano, a lamp was flickering.

The light grew bright, then dimmed, and flickered, and repeated the cycle.

Kate frowned, stepping closer to it. She reached her hand out, pressing her fingers atop the glass shade.

Upon contact, the light shut off.

She turned, looking back at the others.

“Look.” Lucas nudged Max. In the hallway, just outside the room, another lamp was beginning to flicker.

Max followed the light, Lucas, Eddie and Kate all right behind her. In the foyer, they watched in amazement as each light individually flickered, seemingly traveling through the house.

It stopped in the kitchen, lingering.

“What do you think?” Max asked, turning to Kate.

Kate sighed, watching the light. “Eddie, go get my brother.” She nudged him towards the stairs.

Eddie obeyed, running up the steps, and returning just a moment later, with Robin, Nancy, Steve, and Dustin in tow.

They all stood in the kitchen, gathered under the chandelier.

“It’s like the Christmas lights.” Nancy whispered, in awe.

She was referring to the Christmas lights Joyce had hung up throughout the house when Will went missing. Kate never saw them in action, but she did help with the clean up.

“The Christmas lights?” Robin asked, leaning over to Kate.

She shook her head. “When Will was in the Upside Down, the lights came to life.”

“Vecna’s here.” Lucas said, eyes not leaving the light fixture. “In this house… Just on the other side.”

Right as Lucas finished, the light went out. “I think he just left the room.” Robin sighed.

“Did he hear us?” Max asked rhetorically.

“Can he see us?” Steve chimed in.

Lucas’s eyes grew wide. “Headphones.” He practically commanded Max.

She nodded, slipping the headphones over her ears. “Everyone, turn off your flashlights and spread out.” Nancy had an idea.

“We’re not gonna be able to see if we turn off our flashlights!” Steve whined, exasperated.

Everyone ignored him, listening to what Nancy told them to do, and spreading out.

Everyone pretty much went solo, save for Lucas, who stuck with Max to keep an eye on her, and Eddie, who was practically glued to Kate’s side.

“You don’t have to stay with me all night Munson.” She quipped, peeking into the pantry.

“Yeah, well you told me to trust you, and I am.” He replied, very clearly uncomfortable. “This place freaks me the fuck out-“

“I got him!” Robin shouted, from somewhere in the house.

“C’mon!” Kate gasped, tugging Eddie by the sleeve of his shirt in search of Robin’s location.

She was in what seemed to be an office, but by the time they had all arrived, her flashlight went dim.

“I had him.” She sighed, lowering her torch in defeat.

Beside her, Steve’s light brightened. “Oh!” He said excitedly. “He’s moving!”

They all moved in a huddle, following Steve and his flashlight, up the stairs.

At the top of the steps, his light went out too. “Shit!” He grumbled, shaking his head. “I lost him.”

“No you didn’t.” Max said, slipping past them all, and opening a door just to their right. The entire room seemed to be filled with light.

Kate narrowed her eyes at Max, unsure as to how exactly she was so observant. Apparently having a near-death experience makes you look at the little things in life.

Nobody moved towards Max’s newest discovery, so she ventured forward herself.

Too scared to leave her alone for too long, Kate jumped into action, pushing past the rest of her friends and following her.

Everyone else followed immediately after, Robin leading the troupe. “It’s an attic. Of course it’s an attic.” She muttered nervously as they climbed the steps up.

“Hold up guys.” Dustin called from the back of the group. “What if he’s leading us into a trap?”

Nobody answered, nobody wanted to turn back. So begrudgingly, Dustin followed them.

As they entered the room, the light was growing brighter, shining furiously onto them.

Max approached it first, then Kate, and then the others. Who knew one little lightbulb could make so much light?

In his hand, Dustin’s flashlight pulsed. “Flashlights.” He announced.

Everyone scrambled to turn their’s on. They illuminated the entire room with the strobing.

“Okay, what’s happening?” Steve asked, once again, rhetorically. Kate could feel the anxiety radiating off of him.

She gave him a passing glance, watching as all of the flashlights brightened to their fullest ability. Shining bright like rays from the sun. In a split-second, each of the lights burst. One by one, spraying tiny shards of glass onto them.

Kate gasped, dropping her torch to the floor. The room was once again dark, and it smelled hot, like burning batteries.

Nobody said anything, the silence filled with pants of fear as they tried to regulate themselves.

“What the hell was that?” Eddie shrilled, waving his flashlight in the air.

Kate sighed, bending down to pick up her disposed torch. “He’s here.”

TAG LIST

[ᴍᴀʀᴄʜ 𝟸𝟺, 𝟷𝟿𝟾𝟼]

Within seconds, Kate was back to reality.

Dustin and Steve were still standing exactly where they were when she had blacked out, and Max was seated at the desk, still looking down at the files.

“What the hell just happened?” Dustin snapped, angrily looking between Kate and Max. “You two were both out of it.”

Max turned to look at him, her eyes wide. “What are you talking about?” Kate asked, trying to play it cool.

“Max just blacked out, went totally radio silent. I was practically screaming her name and she wouldn’t even acknowledge me.” Dustin furrowed his eyebrows, voicing his frustrations.

“Yeah and then we tried to get your help but you seemed to be gone too.” Steve nodded, shining his flashlight into Kate’s eyes.

“Okay, well I don’t know what you’re talking about, I was just reading over Max’s shoulder.” She shrugged, leaning forward and tapping on the papers. “Headaches, nightmares, that sorta stuff.”

“You guys didn’t hear a clock?” Max asked, pushing the chair away from the desk.

Steve and Dustin shook their heads.

Max looked specifically at Kate. “Did you hear it? Please, tell me you heard it, tell me I’m not crazy!”

Kate didn’t say anything.

“Did you see this clock? Where was it?” Dustin asked, trying to calm Max’s anxiety.

“Yes!” She said, agitated that nobody believed her. “Here, it was out here.” Max got up, rushing out of the room.

Kate followed first, trying not to make it seem like she knew exactly where Max was going. Dustin and Steve followed closely behind, and Nancy and Robin met up with them about halfway.

“What’s going on?” Nancy asked, amid the frantic search for the mysterious clock.

“Max saw a clock in the wall.” Steve replied.

“In a dream!” Dustin added on, crucial detail.

Max stopped, standing directly in front of the wall where the clock was wedged into it. “It was here. It was right here.”

“A grandfather clock?” Nancy asked, unsure of Max’s credibility.

Max nodded, shining her flashlight onto the wall. “It was so real.” She paused. “And then, when I got closer, suddenly I just woke up.”

“It was like she was in a trance or something.” Dustin said. “Exactly what Eddie said happened to Chrissy.”

With that statement, Max turned around, eyes flicking between the five of them standing behind her.

“That’s not even the bad part.” She led them back to Ms. Kelly’s office, heading straight for her desk, where the files still laid.

“Fred and Chrissy, they both came to Ms. Kelly for help. They both were having headaches. Bad headaches that just wouldn’t go away."

Max pushed the files towards Nancy and Robin, so they could read them. “Then the nightmares, trouble sleeping. They’d wake up in a cold sweat… And then they started seeing things.”

Kate could feel her heart racing. Not only could she relate to the majority of the symptoms Max was listing, but she was starting to get the feeling, that Max was alluding to something else with her monologue.

“Bad things. From their pasts.” Max inhaled shakily. “And these visions, they just- They kept on getting worse and worse until eventually… Everything ended.”

Robin looked up from the papers in front of her. “Vecna’s curse.”

“Chrissy’s headaches started a week ago. Fred’s six days ago.” Max swallowed, planting her hands firmly on the desk to ground herself.

“I’ve been having them for five days.”

And with that, Kate’s heart plummeted to her stomach.

Of course Max would get the curse. It wasn’t as if Max didn’t already have enough traumatic horrible shit happen to her in her short life, she just had to be cursed by a supernatural being.

“Max-“ Kate said, voice wavering.

“I don’t know how long I have.” Max said, locking eyes with her. “All I know is that, for Fred and Chrissy, they both died within less than twenty-four hours after their first vision. And I just saw that goddamn clock, so-“ She cut herself off, tears pooling in her eyes.

“Looks like I’m gonna die tomorrow.”

Before anyone could react, the sound of the hinges of a door cut through the silence of the school. They all whipped around to look in the direction the sound came from.

Steve looked back at Kate, nodding his head towards the door.

“Stay here.” He commanded the others. Of course he would need to take his super-powered little sister with him.

He grabbed a floor lamp from beside the doorway, holding it up, ready to strike if need be.

The two of them ventured into the darkness. Shortly after, the sound of light footsteps was heard from behind them.

Kate turned, seeing Dustin, Nancy, Robin and Max all disobeying Steve’s wishes, and following them.

“You never listen, do you?” Kate whispered, shaking her head.

Another door clattered. Then the sound of rapid footsteps.

Steve lifted his lamp higher as the person came around the corner, and screamed when they saw everyone standing there.

It was Lucas.

“It’s me!” He screamed, sounding extremely exasperated. “It’s me!”

“Lucas?” Kate gawked, confused at his seemingly unexpected arrival.

Steve lowered his lamp, dramatically flinging his arms in the air. “Jesus, what is wrong with you Sinclair?!” He shouted. “I could’ve taken you out with this lamp!”

“I’m sorry!” Lucas wheezed, trying to catch his breath. “Sorry guys, sorry. I was just biking for eight miles.” Lucas panted, still struggling to breathe.

He held his finger up, signaling to them that he just needed another second. “We’ve got a code red.” He said, once he had calmed down.

“What?” Steve shook his head.

“Dustin-“ Lucas brushed past him to Dustin. “I’ve been with Jason, Patrick and Andy and they’ve all gone totally off the rails. They’re trying to capture Eddie, and they think you know where he is. You’re in terrible danger.”

Dustin seemed unbothered by this new information. “Alright, yeah that definitely sucks. But we’ve got bigger problems than Jason right now.” He turned, looking back at Max.

Lucas, who was still out of breath, followed Dustin, his eyes growing wide as they settled on Max. “What’s wrong with Max?”

Nobody jumped to speak to him, to answer his question. But Dustin took the liberty to explain, as he did know the most about the certain unsavory character they were dealing with.

He explained what happened to Chrissy, and Fred, how Eddie was involved, and now, how Max was seemingly next in line.

And how they needed to fix the problem before it ended.

“We can go to my house.” Nancy said, breaking the silent tension. “I mean, mom knows we’re the designated hangout, plus we’ll all be together, and safe.”

Kate nodded. “We’re safer together.”

So it was settled, they all split between Steve and Nancy’s cars, driving and meeting back at the Wheeler house.

Nancy let them in the basement door, so they wouldn’t wake Holly with it being so late, and everyone settled into their makeshift beds for the night.

Nancy went up to her room, Dustin and Lucas laid out the futon (the Wheeler’s latest basement addition), Robin took the couch, and Steve curled up on the floor in a pile of pillows.

Max didn’t settled herself anywhere, she sat at the desk in the corner of the room, scribbling away at some papers.

Kate didn’t feel sleepy in the slightest. Tired, yes. But sleepy, no. She was too nervous, too worried. If she closed her eyes for even one second, would she be transported away again? Transported to assist in taking another life? Or if she fell asleep, when she woke up, would everyone still be alive in the morning?

Suddenly Kate felt like she was suffocating, the collar of her shirt felt like it was tightening, and her palms began to itch. Heat rose from her chest to her cheeks, and it felt like her heart was going to burst right out of her chest.

She jumped up, hurriedly, weaving her way through her friends and their things and quietly slipping out the door.

She let out a sigh of relief, as the cold March air hit her, instantly relaxing her. She sat down on the concrete, leaning her back against the bricks and staring out at the sky.

The cul-de-sac was silent, no lights on in any houses except the stray candle in the window. The streetlights cast and eery glow on the roads. She watched as a stray cat crossed from the Wheelers to the Blackburns yard.

Ever since last summer, with the acquiring of her powers and such, Kate was hyper-aware of everything.

She couldn’t really be sure if it was a side-effect of the powers or simply the trauma she went through, but she noticed everything. Every sound, every movement, every little change.

And it scared the shit out of her, but it was also distracting.

She could count individual blades of grass for hours and never grow tired, or time the rhythm of ticks on a clock.

It was a blessing and a curse.

She was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of the door knob turning.

Kate turned her head, watching as Max slipped outside, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, and one in her arms.

“Hey.” Kate said, watching intently as Max sat down beside her, leaning over and offering her the blanket in her arms. “Thanks.”

Kate wrapped it around her shoulders, embracing the warmth. “Couldn’t sleep.” Max mumbled, staring out at the empty street.

“Can’t blame you.” Kate replied. “With everything that’s going on now-“

“It’s not just that.” Max said, still looking at the road. “I can never sleep anymore. Not since… Not since last summer.”

Kate nodded. She completely understood.

“It was bad at first, then after awhile it got better. I could fall asleep, sometimes I’d wake up but I talked myself down and then it was fine.” Max sighed, looking down at her socks. “But then the nightmares started, and they never stopped.”

Kate nodded again, looking over at Max, who didn’t look up from her socks. “I know what you mean.” She said, trying to find the right words to say.

What do you say to a girl who’s just been given a death sentence?

What do you say to someone who has been through so much, at such a young age?

What do you say to someone who you used to be so close with, but your own grief has driven you apart?

A few minutes passed without them saying a word. Just sitting in the silence, save for the random dead leaf tumbling across the sidewalk.

“I’m sorry, Max.” Kate whispered, looking back at her. “I’m sorry that we didn’t tell you about us. And I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you. I’m sorry I gave up. And I’m sorry that I couldn’t save him.”

Dammit!

Kate mentally cursed herself.

She was trying to apologize to Max and instead, was making it about herself, again! She was trying to come clean, relieve herself of her sins, and she was making it about her.

“Kate-“ Max sighed, taking a moment before actually responding. “Can I be honest with you?”

Kate nodded, quickly wiping away her tears as Max spoke.

“I don’t blame you, for anything.” Max said, staring into what felt like Kate’s soul.

“I need you to understand that, okay? I don’t blame you. I don’t blame you for keeping your relationship a secret, or for loosing touch with me. And I don’t blame you for Billy’s death.”

Kate’s lip quivered. It had been so long since she had heard Max say his name.

“In any other way it could’ve played out, it could’ve been you. Or one of us, but it wasn’t. It was Billy.

That disgusting, psychotic flesh-eating monster wanted him. And there was nothing any of us could’ve done differently that would’ve changed that. I know you want to go back, I know you want it to be you, because god, I’ve said the same things. I wish it was me, I wish I would’ve done something differently. But I think it would’ve been the same…

Someone we love, someone we care about and like to spend time with, and do stupid every day things with? Someone would’ve died. It just happened to be him.”

Max choked up, looking back down at the ground as a few tears fell from her eyes. “I know it sucks that he’s gone, but I’m really glad that you’re still here.” Max said, chewing on her lip. "Because god knows, you make living in this shit-hole a lot more bearable than it would be without you.”

Kate let out a laugh. One that was mixed with a sob, as she remembered how Billy used to say the same thing to her.

“Billy-“ She paused, composing herself for a moment. “Billy used to say that to me too. Pretty much the exact same thing.

“You make this shit-hole a little less shittier Harrington.””

Max’s eyes lit up for a second. “Exactly like that?”

“Exactly like that.” Kate nodded.

“I mean what I said.” Max replied, face turning serious again. “I need you to know that it wasn’t your fault.”

Kate sighed, looking down at her socks now. “I want to say yes Max. I want you to know that I believe you, but I can’t.” She swallowed more tears, looking back up at her. “I’m not gonna lie to you.”

Max’s shoulders dropped, as if she was excited to hear Kate say that she agreed with her. “Well even if you don’t believe me, I just wanted you to know that I don’t blame you.”

Kate nodded.

She did truly believe that Max didn’t blame her. She had never met anyone that she had so instantly bonded with, other than Max. Not even Billy.

They were like two pieces of a puzzle, from the moment they met, understanding each other on a deeper level than others.

“Will you tell me about you two?” Max said softly, leaning her head back against the brick of the wall.

Kate furrowed her brows, tilting her head in confusion at Max. “About me and your brother?”

Max nodded, staring out at the sky again. “Yeah… I always wondered what you two did. Ya know, besides nasty stuff-“

“Max!” Kate gasped in shock.

“Everybody does it.” She shrugged, still looking at the stars.

“Like what did you two do when you hung out? Where did you go? What’d you talk about? Stuff like that.”

Kate sighed, leaning back against the wall like Max.

She often thought about the things she and Billy did, they were the few memories that weren’t miserable and anxiety-riddled.

Happy moments, things that made her life worth living. Even if it was only for a short time.

“Well, we hung out a lot actually, like every night. But there’s one specific time, right after he got his tattoo, that was like one of my favorite nights we were together…”

Max and Kate stayed up most of the night together. Kate told stories about her and Billy, and Max shared some of the few decent memories she had of him too.

They watched the sun rise together, and eventually slipped back inside to get a few hours of rest before another day of mystery-solving was upon them.

[ᴍᴀʀᴄʜ 𝟸𝟻, 𝟷𝟿𝟾𝟼]

Surprisingly, everyone kept pretty quiet throughout the morning, while Max and Kate caught up on their sleep, feeling a little more secure having other conscious beings to watch over them.

Kate awoke from her nest on the floor near the back corner of the basement, the furthest away from everyone else, to an erupting argument between Dustin, Steve and Lucas.

Steve was pacing, a paper in his hands, Lucas and Dustin, both on the couch also had papers, surely Nancy and Robin’s discoveries from the library.

“Okay, be honest, you guys understand any of this?” Steve grumbled, staring intensely at the paper.

Lucas shook his head. “No.”

“Pretty straightforward.” Dustin nodded.

“Pretty straightforward, really?” Steve repeated.

“Well what’s confusing to you?” Dustin shrugged. “So far, everyone Vecna has cursed, had died, except this old Victor Creel dude Nancy found. He’s the only known survivor- If anyone knows how to beat this curse, it’s him.”

“Whoa, what a wakeup call.” Kate grumbled, untangling herself from her nest of blankets. She looked over to find Max, hard at work at the desk again.

“Yeah, well if you and Max hadn’t spent half the night having girl-talk like this was a fun little slumber-party, you could’ve been woken up with silence like the rest of us.” Dustin raised his eyebrows at Kate.

Kate scoffed, shaking her head at Dustin. “What did I even do?” She mumbled, starting to fold her blankets up.

Steve watched the two bicker for a moment before continuing on with his questioning. “Yeah, okay, that Creel dude, that’s assuming her even was cursed, Henderson. We don’t even know that.”

“How can Vecna have existed back in the fifties?” Kate asked, still focused on folding her blankets. “Doesn’t make sense.”

“As far as we know, Eleven didn’t create the Upside Down.” Dustin replied, the sassiness of his tone extinguished.

“She opened a gate to it. The Upside Down has probably been around for thousands of years. Millions? I wouldn’t be surprised if it pre-dated the dinosaurs-“

“Dinosaurs?” Steve stopped him, confused again. “What are we talking about? What-“

“Okay, but if a gate didn’t exist in the fifties, then how did Vecna get through?” Lucas asked.

“And how is he getting through now?” Steve agreed. They were both asking shockingly decent questions. “And why now?”

“And when then?” Steve shrugged. “What, he just pops out in the fifties, kills one family and is like “I’m good”, and poof? He just disappears? Only to return thirty years later and start killing some random teens? Nah, I don’t buy it-“

Kate scoffed at her brother’s ignorance to Upside-Down logic as she piled her blankets back into Karen’s blanket basket behind the old rocking chair.

“Straightforward, my ass.” Steve continued to ramble. “Ya know, honestly Henderson, a little humility now and then? It wouldn’t hurt you.”

“Steve? C’mon.” Kate scolded.

Steve shrugged, unbothered, and sat down in the chair, continuing to study the paper in his hands. Kate and Dustin shared a look, one of mutual understanding of her brother’s stupidity in that moment.

Kate joined them, sitting down in the chair opposite Steve, her back to Max at the desk.

“Any idea what she’s writing?” Dustin asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

Kate shrugged. “Not a clue.”

“Did she sleep?” He asked, as Steve and Lucas turned to look at her too.

Kate shook her head. “I mean, would you?” Lucas asked, making a valid point.

The abrupt opening of the basement door, and the sound of Robin and Nancy’s frantic footsteps interrupted their creep-session.

“We have a plan!” Nancy announced, seeming quite proud of herself.

“Thanks to Nancy’s newspaper minions, we are now rockstar psychology students at the University of Notre Dame.” Robin said, tossing a folder at Kate.

Nancy handed her’s to Steve. “I’m now Ruth.”

“And I’m Rose.”

“Ruth?” Steve asked, teasing Nancy.

After scanning the document, Kate tossed it to Dustin, who, with Lucas reading over his shoulder, examined it. “Nice GPA.” He commended.

“Thanks.” Nancy grinned. “So we called Pennhurst Asylum, told them we’d like to speak with Victor Creel for a thesis we’re co-writing on paranoid schizophrenics-“

“To which they said no.” Robin nodded, wordlessly stating what they all knew would happen anyway.

“But we landed a three o’clock with the director, so all we have to do now is charm him and convince him to let us talk to Victor.”

“And then maybe we can rid Max of this curse.” Robin nodded, eyes trailing over to where she was still seated at the desk.

“Yeah… About that-“ Steve sighed. “We’ve been doing our Victor Creel homework, and we have some questions.”

“Lots of questions.” Lucas confirmed.

“So do we.” Nancy nodded agreeing with them. “Hopefully Victor has the answers.”

Steve was still looking over the folders. “Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait- Wait a second, where’s mine?”

Nancy winced, looking over at Robin. “How about we talk upstairs?” Nancy suggested.

Robin nodded in agreement.

“You too Kate.” She practically dragged her out of the chair by her sweater.

Steve all but chased Nancy up to her room, with Robin and Kate trailing sheepishly behind.

“Nancy, you’re outta your mind if you think I’m babysitting, again!” Steve pleaded with her as they entered her room.

“Okay, first of all, they’re not babies anymore. And Max is in real danger, she needs people around her.” Nancy replied, digging through her closet.

Robin went straight for Nancy’s beside table, while Kate closed the door and sat down on the bed, watching the argument unfold before her. Robin was digging through Nancy’s knickknacks.

Steve scoffed and began pacing the room. “I know, but why does it always have to be me? Why not Kate, she’s perfectly capable.”

Nancy shook her head. “I’m sorry Steve, but your sister hasn’t been perfectly capable for a long time now- Sorry Kate.” She looked over her shoulder quickly.

Kate shrugged. Nancy wasn’t wrong.

“Oh, my, god! You have a Tom Cruise poster!” Robin gasped in elation as she scanned Nancy’s walls. “You have a Tom Cruise poster.” She giggled, eyeing Nancy.

“That’s old!” Nancy defended herself as Robin continued to search through her things. “Can you please not touch anything?”

Steve groaned in frustration. “I just can’t do anything here Nance! Maybe I can be helpful with this asylum director dude? I don’t know I could turn on my charm- Maybe?”

“Not the kind of charm we need.” Nancy shook her head.

Unfortunately for Steve, it looked like he was stuck on babysitting duty again.

“Ouch.” Steve frowned, sitting down on the bed beside his sister.

“No, I-“ Nancy tried to correct herself. “I did a little digging last night, and it turns out this Doctor Hatch is a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and a Harvard visiting scholar, okay?

This is a lifelong student of the world. If we’re gonna win him over, we’re gonna have to convince him we are too.”

Beside Nancy’s dresser, Robin had discovered her old music box. It still played the same tune it did when Kate had bought it for her as a present for her thirteenth birthday.

“Holy shit, there’s a little ballerina in here!” Robin gasped, turning to show Kate the item.

She nodded enthusiastically, Robin not knowing she was the one who bought the item.

“Academic scholar? She’s giving you an academic scholar vibe?” Steve scoffed, judging Nancy’s decision.

“Okay, Steve if I’m being honest, if I wanted anyone to help me lie to get what I want, I’d chose your sister.” Nancy smiled.

“But I feel like she’s more equipped to deal with the current Max situation than the side-quest of talking to Creel, so I made the educated decision to bring Robin instead, okay?”

Kate stifled a laugh, at her being Nancy’s first choice over Robin and Steve.

“And Robin now, doesn’t give me quite an academic scholar vibe.” Nancy finally settled on something in her closet, and she pulled it out and presented it to them. “But she will.”

Robin’s mouth fell agape as she turned her focus from whatever trinkets she was playing with. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

Kate didn’t stifle the next laugh, she let it out, as she watched Robin’s face fall with realization.

And Steve come to terms with the fact that he had been sidelined yet again.

And Nancy as she realized that she and Kate were the ones that would have to make Robin into someone she wasn’t, even more than Nancy knew.

It took over an hour for Nancy and Kate to get Robin into tip-top Notre Dame student shape. An hour worth of complaining and whining from Robin, not to mention hairspray and lipgloss.

By mid-afternoon, they were off to Pennhurst, leaving the rest of them to sit in silence, studying the Victor Creel story, napping, or if you were Max, working on a super top-secret, all-encompassing project.

“I know you guys are staring at me.” Max announced, not turning away from the desk.

She was right, Steve, Lucas, and Dustin were all seated on the couch, watching Max. Kate was laying on the futon, trying to make up for her lost sleep.

Each of them jumped, grabbing various objects to make it look like they weren’t watching her every move.

“What, sorry?” Steve said, tossing an old baseball into the air.

“You said you needed something?” Lucas asked, pretending to look up from a magazine he was “reading.”

“How do you think your eyes boring into the back of my head is protecting me from Vecna, I don’t know.” She grumbled, gathering a pile of envelopes and standing up.

Max crossed the room, stopping to stand in front of the guys on the couch. “You can look at me now.” She said, and they all turned their attention back to her.

The three of them apologized, sitting still again and watching her.

Max sighed, presenting an envelope to Dustin. “For you.”

His eyes grew wide with confusion, but he leaned forward and took it from her anyway.

“For you.” She handed one to Steve next. He, also confused, took it.

“And you.” She handed one to Lucas last. “Oh, and give these to Mike, El, and Will.” She handed three more to him. “If you can ever get ahold of them again…”

Max turned, walking over to where Kate was laid on the futon. “And one for you.” She said, placing an envelope down on the mattress by her head.

She turned back to the couch, where Steve was peeking into his envelope. “What are you doing? That’s not for now, don’t open it now!”

Steve dropped the letter into his lap, eyes wide. He held his hands up in defense. “Okay!” He huffed, still confused.

“I’m sorry, what is this?” Dustin asked, holding his in his hand still.

“It’s a fail-safe.” Max replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “For after… If things don’t work out.”

That made Kate sit up.

“Whoa Max, things are gonna work out.” Lucas frowned at her.

“No!” Max snapped. “No, I don’t need you to reassure me right now and tell me it’s all going to work out. Because people have been telling me that my entire life and it’s almost never true! It’s never true.” She paused, calming herself down for a moment.

“I mean, of course this asshole curses me. Should’ve seen that one coming.” She almost laughed at herself, at her bad luck.

Kate chewed her lip and watched as Max turned, picking up someone’s supercom that was laying on the card table. “If we go to East Hawkins, will this reach Pennhurst?” She asked.

“Of course, yeah.” Dustin nodded.

“Wait, why are we talking about East Hawkins?” Steve asked, looking back and forth between Max and Dustin.

Max locked eyes with Kate. The trailer park where Max lived was in East Hawkins, and she was handing out letters like candy.

Max obviously wanted to visit her mother and say goodbye, in case anything went wrong.

“No, okay. I see you two over there.” Steve began to panic. “You’re like telepathically communicating or something- Knock it off! We’re not going anywhere!”

Kate got up, walking over to the door to the door to pull on her boots. “Where are your car keys Steve?” She asked, not paying his tantrum any mind.

“No, okay! You’re not going anywhere!” He persisted, jumping up from his spot on the couch.

“We’re going whether you want us to or not!” Kate argued, sliding on her coat. “So you either drive us yourself, or give me your keys.” She held her palm out for him.

He wouldn’t budge on handing his keys over, so Max and Kate moved on with the plan.

They left, trusting that the others would follow them. And they did.

“Max, Max! Seriously!” Steve called after her as they walked out to the car. “Seriously, I’m not joking- I’m not driving you anywhere.”

“Steve, if you think I’m going to spend what is most likely the last day of my life stuck in the armpit that is Mike Wheeler’s basement, you’re out of your mind.

So either take me where I need to go, or you’re gonna have to tie me down, which is technically kidnapping of a minor. And if I live to see another day, Steve, I swear to God, I will prosecute.”

They reached the end of the driveway, where Steve had parked; Max and Kate at their respective doors, and they both tried opening them, pulling on the handles.

“Steve!” Kate snapped, giving her brother a deathly stare across the top of the car. “Open the door.”

“Uh, no.” Steve shrugged, standing his ground.

“I know a good lawyer.” Max raised her eyebrows at him.

Steve whipped back around to look at her. She wasn’t breaking, staring him directly in the eyes.

He couldn’t handle it, looking back at Kate, who was also still staring at him.

Steve scoffed, digging through his pocket to find the keys. “You two are the worst.” He grumbled, opening the doors. “And I really mean that- You two are awful.”

Triumphantly, Kate got into the car, Max too, and Lucas and Dustin behind her.

“Henderson, that super-walkie of your’s better reach Pennhurst.” Steve snapped, turning on the car.

Nobody said much on the ride. Steve had angrily turned the radio on, probably to stop himself from verbally snapping out on his sister. He didn’t even look at her.

They barreled up the dirt road to Max’s trailer, Steve shifting the car into park so fast, it made them all launch forward.

“Alright this better be fast Mayfield.” He commanded, but Max was already out of the car before he fully stopped.

She nodded, slamming the door behind her. “Twenty seconds.”

Max went inside, and Steve eyed Dustin up in the rearview mirror. “That thing’s got batteries in it, right?”

Dustin sighed, dramatically throwing his head back to look at the ceiling. “I’m not even answering that question.”

Steve continued to stare at him, patiently waiting for an answer.

“Yes, it has batteries!” Dustin snapped, knowing he was still being watched.

“Yeah, I got it!” Steve snickered back, turning his focus back to the windshield.

Kate could feel Steve’s eyes flickering between the road ahead of him, and her, but she paid him no mind, instead closing her eyes.

She began counting, waiting for Max to return. One, two, three, four-

Before she got to five, a chill ran through her, almost like there was a breeze. But nobody had opened a window.

She opened her eyes, to find herself standing in Max’s backyard. Clothes were hung on the line, and her mother was standing beside a basket of laundry, in the process of putting more up.

Max stood beside her. “Hey, sweetie. I thought you were with your friends today?”

Max nodded, fidgeting with a strap of her backpack. “Yeah I was- I am.” She nodded. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“Oh, Mr. Bradley let me off early, so I’m just catching up on some chores.” Susan motioned to the clothes behind her.

Something wasn’t right. This was unlike Susan, recently at least.

Susan was an alcoholic. Sure, she worked two jobs to keep her and Max afloat but any time she wasn’t at work, she was drinking.

Chores didn’t get done. No dishes, laundry, cleaning. Nothing.

Max hesitated. “Um, I left some letters inside.” She nodded to the trailer. “For you, and Granny and Uncle Jack. And dad, if you can find him.”

Susan frowned. “Letters? I don’t understand-“

“I-“ Max sighed, looking up at the sky. “With all the murders and everything- I know it’s stupid. But I just started to think, “What if something happens to me?””

Susan shook her head. “Max, baby. Nothing is going to happen to you.”

Susan didn’t know anything.

“I know!” Max nodded, falsely reassuring her mother. “But if it did… There’s so many things that I want to say, things that I need to say- Just promise you’ll give the letters out?”

Susan shifted on her feet. She looked close to tears. “Max, you’re scaring me-“

“I’m not trying to scare you.” Max defended herself.

“Is something going on Maxine?”

“No!”

“Is it baby?”

“No! No, you’re right.” Max insisted. “I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’m being silly…”

Kate frowned, watching as her mom stepped forward, wrapping Max in her arms. “Oh, sweetie.”

Max melted into the hug. She needed this.

“Nothing is going to happen baby, I promise.” Susan soothed Max, rocking her gently.

Kate looked up as the sky grew dark. Clouds rolled in, covering the sun and washing them in a cold dark haze.

“Nothing you don’t deserve.” The voice inside her head spoke again. Through Susan.

She knew something was wrong.

Max stiffened in her mother’s embrace, and Kate watched as Susan’s persona melted away, revealing a hideous creature. No flesh, just meat, hanging in rips and tears off of bones.

The clothes on the line behind them were soaked with blood. Thunder rumbled in the sky.

Kate tried to scream for Max. But when she opened her mouth, nothing came out. She couldn’t move. She could only watch.

“Mom, let go of me.” Max struggled, trying to pry her way out of her mother’s embrace. “Mom, let go!”

“Maxine…” The voice spoke, not her mom’s voice. A gnarled hand caressed her back. “You think some letters are going to make things right?”

Kate suddenly felt woozy, like her head was swimming. “You’ve broken everything.”

Max pulled away from the creature, staring at it in horror. “Your time is almost at an end.”

“Let go!” Max screamed, shoving herself away from the creature.

Kate inhaled strongly, eyes shooting open. She tried not to make a scene as she jumped, her whole body jolting with electricity.

"Hey, you okay?” Steve asked, turning to her with concern.

With a shaky hand, Kate wiped under her nose, trying not to let Steve see. “Yeah, yeah. I’m okay.”

“You’re bleeding-“ He grabbed her hand. “You fell asleep.”

“Or did you go into the void again?” Dustin chimed in from the back seat.

Kate yanked her hand out of Steve’s grasp, digging with her other one through her bag to find a stray bandana or handkerchief. “No, no. I didn’t go into the void again. Just must’ve dozed off, had a nightmare.”

She found a few tissues, folding down the visor on the roof of the car and cleaning her nose.

“You always have nosebleeds with nightmares?” Dustin asked, not buying her excuse.

“Not always.” She shook her head. “It’s just a random nosebleed Dustin, comes with the territory.” She waved him off, referring to her powers.

Their attention turned elsewhere as Max began frantically walking back towards the car. “Hey, that was longer than twenty seconds.” Steve scolded her as she climbed back in.

“Hey, you alright?”

“I’m fine. Just drive.” She snapped, shoving her backpack onto the floor at her feet.

“Did something happen?” Lucas asked, clearly concerned.

Kate looked back in the rearview, locking eyes with Max. “Can we please just go?”

Steve obeyed her wishes, reversing out of the driveway and back down the road. Kate didn’t know where they were going next, but apparently Steve did.

It felt like they were keeping a secret from her.

The sun was starting to sink in the sky when they reached their next destination.

The Roane Hill Cemetery.

Kate felt her blood run cold. They were keeping a secret from her; Max was going to visit the one person she hadn’t given a letter to. Billy.

The Roane Hill Cemetery, where Billy was laid to rest. Where he was in the dark, cold and alone, and with nobody he knew. With nobody he loved.

Of course they were keeping that secret from her.

She stiffened up, sitting straighter in her seat.

This wasn’t about her. This wasn’t about her, it’s about Max. Is what she kept telling herself, as she felt anxiety creeping up her throat.

Steve drove them into the cemetery, waiting for Max’s command to stop. “He’s just up the hill there.” She nodded as Steve put the car into park.

Selfishly, Kate felt like she was going to throw up.

Max got out of the car again, only one letter in her hand.

Kate swallowed her fear, turning to Max. “If you need us, let us know, okay? We’re here for you.”

Max nodded, although didn’t beg for anyone to accompany her. “I know.”

Lucas didn’t take “I know” for an answer however, and he got out and followed her.

Kate frowned as she watched him plead with her. But Max didn’t budge.

She needed to do this alone.

A few minutes later Lucas returned to the car, defeated.

Kate watched as Max disappeared over the top of the hill, only to top of her little red head visible.

They all waited, in silence, for awhile, until Steve began to get antsy. “How long is this gonna take? I mean it’s not like he’s gonna answer her.”

“Steve!” Kate snapped in shock. “What the fuck?”

“What, Kate? I’m being serious. It shouldn’t take this long!”

Kate ignored him, looking past him, to Max.

In the back of her brain, she heard a whistling. Almost like the wind.

Goosebumps rose on her arms as she frantically grabbed for the door handle.

Something wasn’t right, again.

“Hey, what’s going on, where are you going?” Steve scrambled after her as she was quick to walk up the hill to where Max was.

But before Kate could take another step, she was transported.

It was dark, pitch black, nighttime in the cemetery. A storm rumbled in the sky, and nothing but the low howl of the wind could be heard.

She didn’t see anyone. Not Max, or Steve, Lucas or Dustin. Just a bunch of graves.

Then she heard it, from out of the abyss. A laugh. That unmistakable, cocky laugh.

“Max.” He said. Kate could almost hear the sneer in his voice.

She whipped around, looking behind her. But there was no one to be found.

“I’ve been waiting to hear those words Max. Waiting so very long.”

It was Billy, there was no mistaking it.

Kate took off running, her feet finally working. She sprinted, frantically rushing through the graveyard in search of Max.

Suddenly she stopped, her feet locked in place. She was at the top of a hill, a hill, that in real-life didn’t exist.

She was looking down upon them, Max and Billy, like it was a stage. A sick, twisted play.

“Max!!!!" She screamed, her voice finally working.

But Max didn’t look at her. She was focused on the man in front of her.

Again, Kate wanted to throw up. Specifically, at the sight of Billy.

He looked just like he did when he died. His shirt torn to shreds, blood soaking it entirely.

And the most sinister of details? The stream of blood cascading down his chin.

“But it wasn’t the full truth, was it Max?” He approached her, as she stood, tears streaming down her cheeks.

He held his hand out, brushing a tear away.

“You know, I think there’s a part of you, buried somewhere deep, that wanted me to die that day.” Max shook her head, frantic. “That was maybe even relieved?”

Billy frowned, mocking sympathy for Max. “Happy?”

“Billy, no. That’s not true!” Max pleaded.

Billy’s face dropped again, eyes staring deep into Max. “That’s why you stood there, isn’t it Max?”

His nose twitched as he tried to intimidate her. “It’s okay Max, you can admit it now. No more lies, no more hiding-“

“Billy, that’s not true, I swear!” Max gasped, cutting him off. “I swear it’s not true!”

Kate’s face burned hot, rage and fear bubbling inside of her. But there was no way for it to come out.

“Max!” She screamed, trying to obtain her attention. “Max, I’m right here!”

“That’s why you feel such guilt.” Billy kept going, starting to walk Max backwards. “Why you hide from your friends. Why you hide from the world.”

Max stumbled backwards, pleading with Billy in a constant stream of “No!”s.

“And why, late at night, you have sometimes wished to follow me.”

Kate couldn’t stop the tears from falling as she listened to the heartbreaking truth of Max’s grieving. “Follow me into death.”

A clock chimed in the distance, the eery, distorted sound echoed across the cemetery. “That is why I’m here Max.”

Max shook her head, sobbing. “No!”

“To end your suffering once and for all.” Billy had walked Max so far backwards, that she fell off the platform, down the small drop to the ground beneath her.

“MAX!” Kate screamed, praying that she could hear her.

She couldn’t.

Max gasped, trying to compose herself, but when she looked up, the same creature from the trailer was standing where Billy just was.

The clock chimed again.

“It is time Max.” The voice from inside her head spoke. “Time for you to join me.”

Max stumbled to her feet, taking off sprinting across the graveyard, away from the monster that was following her.

Kate tried to drag her feet, pulling with all her might, but nothing could make her move. She screamed in frustration, and the creature below her turned, looking at her.

She swore her heart stopped.

But it turned back to Max, who was now crouched behind a particularly tall headstone.

“You cannot hide from me Maxine.” It scolded, walking leisurely to where she was hiding.

Max jumped off, running again. Her panting breaths were heard echoing throughout the cemetery as she desperately tried to find a way out.

“Lucas! Dustin! Kate! Lucas, please help!” She screamed, spinning in circles.

Tears rolled down Kate’s cheeks as she felt herself being pulled towards Max again, not of her own accord.

“Max!” She screamed as loud as she could. “Max, I’m right here!”

In one moment, Max stopped, staring in awe, or possibly horror, as what seemed to be a portal opened up.

The sky, a glowing red beacon, ushered her forward.

Fear crept into Kate’s chest, it inhabited each and every crevice of her body. “Max, no! Don’t follow the storm!”

It was no use, she couldn’t hear her. But that didn’t mean Kate would stop trying.

She took a step forward, and this time her legs complied. She ran, chasing as fast as she could after Max.

She wasn’t going to lose her too.

It was freezing cold now, the entire sky was red, and lightning flashed behind darkened clouds. There was an electricity in the air, one that made the hair on Kate’s arms stand up.

She kept running, trying to catch up with Max, but it seemed like she had gotten too far behind. “Max!” She yelled in frustration.

Kate began to slow down, her feet sticking periodically to the ground beneath her.

She looked down, finding that she was now running in some kind of inky substance. It was reminiscent of the Swamp of Sadness.

“What the hell…” Kate whispered, stopping abruptly, this time, her own choice.

She approached a makeshift castle. It was a building, but barely. Doors and windows, and staircases that lead nowhere. Clocks and other furniture items floated through the air. Sticky vines, and trees sprouted from out of nowhere and wrapped themselves around the structure.

The distorted sound of a clock chiming drew her from her thoughts, reminding her of the task at hand: Saving Max.

She took off running again, as fast as her legs would take her across the sticky ground.

“What are you doing in here Max?”

Kate was determined to reach Max. She was going to save her. She wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. Max was going home.

“Max!” She shouted again. “Max, it’s Kate. I’m here! I’m coming!”

“Come back to me…” The voice teased Max.

Kate could see her, just ahead. She was standing at the bottom of a staircase, a few broken tree trunks beside her. “Max!”

Max’s eyes widened, whipping her head towards Kate. It was like she heard her, but didn’t see her. “Kate?”

“Max! It’s me, I’m right here!” Kate halted to a stop, gasping in horror as she saw what Max was looking at.

The mangled body of Chrissy Cunningham was wrapped in vines and tethered to the tree just in front of Max.

Max looked in Kate’s direction, still not fully seeing her.

She was right there, why couldn’t Max see her?

Kate gasped again, seeing the tree behind Chrissy, where Fred was also wrapped up. “How do you like them Max? Would you like to join them?”

Max turned around, her body trembling with fear. Kate tried to step forward but she felt herself being pulled, like a magnet, to stand beside the creature.

Vecna.

Max’s eyes widened with fear, and then Kate realized, she could finally see her. “Kate.” She whispered, trying to convince herself it wasn’t real.

“I see you’ve met my spy.” If Vecna had lips, Kate guessed he would be grinning. “I’ve been watching you Max. For so long.”

She was frozen with fear.

“I’ve seen everything.”

Tears ran down Kate’s cheeks, she wanted to scream, to tell her to run, anything. Anything to get Max away from there.

“Everything you’ve done. Everyone you’ve hurt.” Max shook her head, tears rolling from her eyes. “But no more. Your suffering is at an end.”

In a stroke of courage, Max turned, trying to run away, but with one flick of their hands, Kate’s and Vecna’s, she was tripped, and wrapped up in a slew of vines.

“Shit! Shit!” Max screamed, pleading as the vine dragged her backwards across the wet ground.

It pulled her back, trapping her against a tree. Her very own grave.

She was bound by her legs, both wrists, and then her neck. And she looked up to the sky, silently pleading for anyone to help.

But there were no gods here. It was a lawless place.

“No, no, no, no Kate, please!” Max cried, trying to break free. “Please Kate, please help me. I don’t wanna go-“

Kate growled, using every ounce of strength she could to move. Trying so hard to show Max that she cared, that she couldn’t control herself, and that she wasn’t going to let her die.

But nothing happened. She simply stood there, a puppet to his antics.

Vecna stalked towards her, eyeing her evilly. Max tried to look away, but there was no solace in anything there. No comfort, nothing.

From out of nowhere, the sound of Kate Bush’s voice echoed in the void.

Running Up That Hill.

It was a gift, from Kate to Max, when she had first gotten her Walkman.

Kate never knew it was a favorite of Max’s.

Vecna turned, agitated, looking to see the source of the unwanted interruption. A rip in the sky opened, and just in the distance Kate could see the cemetery.

Max was seated at Billy’s grave, and Dustin, Steve, and Lucas were surrounding her, screaming at the top of their lungs for her return.

Kate wanted to explode.

“They can’t help you Max.” Vecna turned back to her, taking Kate with him. “There’s a reason you hide from them.”

Max gasped as the vine around her neck tightened, restricting her airway further.

Kate couldn’t give up. She couldn’t. She tried to think, frantically tried to come up with any sort of plan.

If she couldn’t verbally communicate with Max, maybe she could telepathically, instead.

The joke Steve had said earlier, replayed in her mind.

“Don’t listen to him Max.” She all but screamed in her head. “You need to go home!”

Past Vecna’s shoulder, she could see Max’s eyes light up.

She heard her.

“You belong here, with me.”

If Kate could move, she would be shaking her head. “No Max, you need to go home! Your friends need you, they love you.” Kate paused, clenching her fists.

"I love you Max, go home!”

It seemed that that was the push Max needed to break free from her trance. Although she struggled against the vines, she still managed to croak out, “You’re not really here!”

Vecna was unfazed. “Oh, but I am Max. I am.”

The music grew louder. All Kate could hear was Kate Bush and Max’s distressed sobs.

She tried to fight as she raised her hand, Vecna’s claw hovering above Max’s face.

“Max please! Go home! Fight this!” Kate silently pleaded, doing everything she could to get Max out of there.

Max’s eyes flickered from behind Vecna’s fingers, her eyes landing on the portal behind them.

Kate prayed to whatever gods were listening; Please get Max out of this.

“Max, go!”

Max snapped out of it, thrusting her hand forward and tearing at Vecna’s neck.

Kate let out a choked gasp, as she felt a burning in her neck, like she had been wounded too.

Vecna stumbled, clutching his wound as Max took off running.

Kate dropped to her knees, crying out. “Run Max!” She encouraged her, watching as the girl sprinted as fast as she could towards the real world.

The pain was short-lived, as Vecna’s body repaired itself. He stood again, fully restored, but angry.

Kate rose to her feet, her left hand held out at her side.

They watched as Max ran, and ran. And seemingly never got any closer to her exit.

Maybe it was a trap.

Clocks and other chunks of wood fell from the sky, threatening to crush Max at any second. But she persevered, dodging every single attempt to take her out.

“Max! Run!” Kate screamed, she screamed until it felt like she couldn’t anymore, and she still continued then.

She screamed until it felt like her vocal cords were tiny shreds.

Max had to make it out.

“Max!” She screamed, it turning into a growl as she grew so indescribably enraged, it felt like her entire body was on fire. She tried to move, to lunge at her captor, but she couldn’t. She just watched.

“Max!”

“MAX!” Kate roared, falling to her knees.

The ground beneath her was soft and she opened her eyes to find herself back in the cemetery. The real cemetery.

“Max! Max!” She yelled, crawling frantically up the hill to Billy’s grave.

Steve, Dustin, Lucas, and Max were all on the ground, breathing frantically.

Lucas had Max cradled in his arms, holding her tightly to him as she panted. “I’m still here.” She cried. “I’m still here.”

The four of them looked at Kate, eyes wide. They all looked terrified. Truly, purely terrified, scared out of their minds, even Steve.

Especially Steve.

Kate dropped to the ground again, hands clutching at the dirt beneath her. “Oh my god.” She muttered, realizing what had just happened. What they had just seen. “Oh my god. Oh my god.”

Kate had almost killed Max.

“Kate-“ Steve spoke, breaking the silence.

She looked up, staring at them with wild eyes.

She was shaking. It felt like she was electric.

Her heart thumped rapidly against her chest, she dug her fingernails into her palms to stop the vibrating of her hands.

“Kate, what the hell was that?” Steve asked, standing up.

Kate jumped, scrambling to her feet. “No, don’t!” She gasped, holding her hands out to stop him. “Do not come near me. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Steve frowned, taking another step forward. “You’re not gonna hurt me-“

“You don’t know that!” She wailed, taking a step back. “You don’t know!”

Kate was hyperventilating, her chest was tight and it worked overtime to get the proper amount of oxygen circulating through her body.

Steve didn’t listen. “Kate-“

“I have to go-“ She sobbed, backing away slowly.

“Go where? Where are you going?” Steve asked, trying to walk towards her.

“You can’t go! We need you!” Dustin called as she retreated down the hill. “Kate!”

Kate shook her head, taking off into a full sprint. She grabbed her backpack out of the car, throwing it over her shoulder and booking it.

She couldn’t wrap her head around what happened. Not fully.

She was a puppet to Vecna. A spy. He said it himself. He was making her do his dirty work, just as had been done with Billy.

Kate ran and ran. Her legs felt like jelly and her lungs burned furiously. But she couldn’t stop. She didn’t want to stop. She needed to be as far away from everyone she loved as possible.

She needed to end this.

Kate ran, until she found herself somewhere where nobody dared to venture. A place of death and destruction, pure despair.

She stopped, staring up at the sky.

She was crazy, she had to be. She certainly felt crazy.

Why would she come here, of all places? A place that held nothing but nightmares, pure horror. A place she couldn’t even speak the name of yet. Her own personal hell on Earth.

The Starcourt Mall.

TAG LIST

[ᴍᴀʀᴄʜ 𝟸𝟹, 𝟷𝟿𝟾𝟼]

Kate didn’t sleep well the rest of the night.

She tossed and turned all night, phasing in and out of sleep, too afraid to be asleep too long, for fear of being a puppet for another murder.

She didn’t want to scare her friends, they had been through enough.

At some point everyone else had come inside, during one of her awake periods, she heard Dustin and Steve indistinctly arguing about sharing a bed.

After checking through all the windows, she decided the coast was clear, and she quickly ran from the house to the boathouse, slipping inside before anyone could see her.

Steve’s car was gone, she assumed they had gone to get Eddie some supplies. “Munson, it’s me!” She whisper-yelled, announcing her arrival.

Eddie appeared from under the boat tarp again, the look on his face bordering between panic and relief. “You look like hell.” He noted, climbing fully out of the boat.  

Kate smiled sarcastically at him. “Thank you, really.” She rolled her eyes, propping herself up against the back of the work bench. “I don’t normally have a good time sleeping, and especially recently, its been- There’s been-“

“Nightmares?” Eddie asked, sitting down across from her, tucked against the wall.

Kate nodded, playing with a loose string on her shorts.

A few moments of silence passed between them. “You’re really messed up, aren’t you?” Eddie said, making Kate look up in shock.

He shook his head. “Forgive me, for my brashness. I should’ve asked if you were okay first-”

“No. You’re right.” Kate shook her head too. “You’re right.”

“What happened last summer?” Eddie asked, trying not to pry, but also seeming genuinely curious. “You were so different at the end of school last year. Three-star athlete, top of the class, prom princess, you were set to take over the crown from your brother. You had so many friends, top-spot job at the pool, and you seemed so happy.“

Kate looked up from the floor, tears filling her eyes. “I watched someone die.” She closed her eyes, the tears rolling down her cheeks. She used her sleeve to wipe them away quickly, angrily.

“Did Dustin tell you anything? Anything about what we’ve been through?” Kate moved quickly to get away from the hyper-specific topic of Billy.

Eddie nodded. “Just a brief summary. The girl from the lab-“

“Eleven.” Kate smiled fondly.

“Yeah, her. And how Byers didn’t actually go missing. The monsters with teeth for faces, and the smoke monster, and the dogs-“

“Did he call them demo-dogs?”

Eddie chuckled a moment. “Yeah. He did.”

Kate smiled, remembering how simple a problem the demo-dogs were compared to what was to come.

“And about the “flayed”.” He made quotations with his fingers. “But that’s about it.”

Kate sighed. Leave it to Dustin to leave out the most recent, and crucial part of the story (the most heartbreaking and traumatic part of the story) for Kate to tell.

“Last summer was hell on earth for me. I got dragged through the dirt, and then buried under it. And I’m still struggling to make my way back out.” Kate paused, clenching her hand in a fist.

Maybe if she talked about it, it would help her.

“Last summer the smoke monster became the real thing. It was possessing innocent people and using their melted corpses to transform itself into this huge, nasty flesh monster.”

Eddie’s eyes widened in horror.

“I know you probably don’t believe me, but this thing- I have seen some shit in my life. Nothing scares me. But I’ve seen this up-close, inches away. This thing was inside of me.”

She shuddered, remembering the feeling of it’s slimy tentacle invading her body. “It almost got me.”

Kate stopped again, her leg beginning to bounce anxiously. But she went on. “Uh, but it got Billy instead. Billy Hargrove.” She nodded. It was the first time she had fully said his name, in such a long time.

“Billy and I were dating, by the way. For like seven months. It was pretty serious.”

Eddie nodded softly, silently urging her to continue.

“So the monster, that we call the Mind Flayer was killing people, and using Billy as his spy. Making him murder and kidnap people. A bunch of us eventually lured it to the mall, me, Max, Steve, Robin, Dustin, and some other kids- And El.

There’s like a whole other story about how Dustin and Steve infiltrated a secret Russian transport base that was built below the mall, but that’s besides the point.”

Eddie cracked a smile, Kate knew he was going to have to ask Dustin about that story another time.

“But yeah, we got one-on-one with the monster. El got drained of her powers, so we tried killing it with fireworks.

Billy was gonna kill El, it was after her, essentially. But she broke him from the trance, pulled out some memories from his childhood, and he was good to go.

He was free.” Kate sighed, closing her eyes, the moment Billy locked eyes with her playing in her head.

“He was free. And then he turned, and decided that he was gonna play the hero.” Kate chewed at her lip, tears freely falling down her face.

“The Mind Flayer was like two seconds from massacring El, and instead of letting that happen, he turned around and stuck his hands inside of that thing, and he fought back.”

Kate shook her head. “I feel stupid now, because for a second I actually thought that he could win that fight. That he was going to be able to hold it back just long enough for Hopper and Joyce to close the gate. And then it would be over.

We could go home, and listen to Motley Crue and just be together. That’s all I wanted.”

Kate laughed at herself for a moment, but then her laugh turned into a sob. “How fucking stupid of me!” She gasped, trying to catch her breath.

“Because the next thing I knew, that thing was still there, and it had Billy strung up in the air, like a rag doll!”

Kate let out another cry.

“When he dropped to the floor-“ She shook her head. “There was so much blood.”

Her hands were shaking now, as they sat in her lap. “There was blood everywhere. His shirt was soaked, and it was just pouring out of his mouth, every word he spoke- It was just everywhere...

But I got to talk to him, I got to say my goodbyes, but there was so much more I wanted to say.

He didn’t know anything. He didn’t know! I could’ve prepared him, I could have warned him. But I did nothing. I didn’t tell him. I didn’t help him.

I just stood there and watched him die.”

Kate sobbed again, burying her head in her knees and crying.

Eddie didn’t say anything. He simply just sat, and let Kate cry.

They both knew there was nothing he could do or say that would help calm her. And after a few minutes of her heart wrenching sobs filling the boathouse, she looked up from her knees, to find Eddie, still staring at her intently, caringly.

She cleared her throat, wiping away tears. “So… I know I was happy once. I was actually never happier.”

She sighed, eyes trailing up, to the ceiling. “But that happiness is gone. Who knows if it will ever come back, ya know?”

She looked back at Eddie, who nodded. Maybe he did know, Kate, would never know that.

“I’m sorry.” Eddie said, although Kate didn’t know what for.

She gave him a questioning look.

“Everyone at school pretty much put two and two together, when you showed up the first day of senior year looking like a literal ghost. Nobody thought that someone could change that much in just three months, but I get it now.” Eddie nodded, reminiscing.

“It didn’t really take long for them to figure out what was going on between you and Hargrove. You’re blatantly close with his sister, you hated Heather Holland, and weren’t really close with anyone else that passed. So, Billy was the obvious answer.”

Kate wiped away a few more stray tears. “So it was that obvious?”

“Oh it was soooo obvious.” Eddie grinned, making Kate crack a smile. “Ah, there’s that Harrington smile.”

Kate’s smile faded. “That was one of the last things he said to me.” She looked back from the floor, to Eddie.

“There’s that Harrington smile I love.”

Eddie sighed sadly, nodding. “Me and you are just two peas in a pod, huh?”

Kate looked at him quizzically. “What-“

“I mean, granted, I wasn’t in love with Chrissy or anything, but I watched her die too.” Eddie shuddered.

“I watched someone die, you did too. And now we’re both here, in a boathouse, living through the aftershocks.”

Kate nodded, contemplating what he was saying. He was right. They had both seen someone die.

Regardless of personal connection, seeing a life get taken away was frightening, earth-shattering sometimes. Kate had seen people die before Billy too, just none of them touching her quite like his did.

“We are quite alike, after all, princess.” Eddie nodded. “Hate to break it to you.”

“You don’t have to “break” anything to me, Munson. I don’t care about social status. Not anymore, at least.” She shrugged.

“I was in the popular seat for like, barely a year. Forget-you-not I was the head of the AV department up until this year! And, I have also been playing DnD literally since I was ten. So, I know what it’s like to have everyone look at you like you’re a freak. Especially when, to compare, your brother is the King of the school.”

Eddie didn’t say anything, he simply just stared at Kate, studying her face. “And I don’t buy into all that “freak” talk, by the way. Never did.” She clicked her tongue, sniffling.

“If I did, I wouldn’t be here, right now. And I would’ve never said yes to filling in at club last night.”

Eddie’s eyes lit up. “Ya know, you’re not at all what I thought you were Harrington.”

Kate furrowed her eyebrows in curiosity. “Oh yeah?”

“Yes. See, I always thought you were a stuck-up, rich girl from the suburbs, who was sooo pampered, her feet never even touched the ground.”

Kate laughed in shock. “Really! That’s what you thought of me?”

Eddie laughed too, half in embarrassment, half in honesty. “Yep, yes I did. But- But now, I know that I was wrong, and I apologize. Kate Harrington, you’re not half bad…. I’m really glad you’re here.”

“Well, Eddie Munson, you’re not half bad either. And I’m glad you’re here too.”

The two shared a smile, before being interrupted by the abrupt opening of the door.

“Jesus!” Eddie screeched, jumping in shock.

Dustin, Robin, Max and Steve all stepped inside, arms full of grocery bags. “Delivery service!” Dustin smiled, holding his bags up higher for Eddie to see.

They all made their way inside, laying their haul out for Eddie atop the workbench. “What’d you two get up to while we were gone? Sharing epic DnD campaign stories?” Steve asked, mocking their love of the game.

Kate swatted at his shoulder. “We just chit-chatted, nothing important. Waiting for your slow-asses to return.”

Steve glared at her handing a box of Honeycombs to Eddie over his shoulder.

They all gathered around the boat as Eddie dipped hand-first into the box, a bottle of chocolate milk in his other hand.

“So we got some good news and some bad news.” Dustin said, nervously bouncing his leg. “How do you prefer it?”

“Bad news first, always.” Eddie said matter-of-factly.

Dustin nodded. “Alright, bad news… We tapped into the Hawkins PD dispatch with our Cerebro and they’re definitely looking for you.”

Eddie’s face dropped.

“Also, they’re pretty convinced you killed Chrissy.”

Max nodded, chiming in. “Yeah, like one-hundred-percent convinced.”

“I’ve been told a lot of shit today, and yet somehow that is still the most jarring-“ Eddie muttered, his words turning into a groan.

Steve turned to look at Kate, eyes wide. “What did you guys talk about?”

“Curiosity kills, Steve.” Kate snapped, shutting her brother up immediately.

“And the good news?” Eddie asked, still hopeful for himself.

“Your name hasn’t gone public yet.” Robin replied, an optimistic tone in her voice. “But if we found out about you, it’s only a matter of time before others do too.

And once that gets out it’s only a matter of time before everyone and their shallow-minded mother is gonna be gunning for you.”

“Hunt the freak, right?” Eddie asked, fear tinting his voice.

“Exactly.” Robin nodded.

“Shit!” He sighed.

“So, before that happens, we need to find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence.” Dustin nodded, explaining his plan.

At the mention of Vecna, Kate’s stomach dropped. She had almost, almost forgotten about the whole mystical-puppeteer act she was being put through.

And now would be the perfect time to explain the situation if the subject of saving Eddie’s reputation wasn’t more important to everyone else.

“That’s all, Dustin? That’s all?” Eddie grinned sarcastically.

“Yeah.” Dustin nodded eagerly. “Yeah, no that’s pretty much it.” He wasn’t picking up on the sarcasm in Eddie’s voice.

“Listen, Eddie, I know everything Dustin’s saying sounds totally delusional, but we’ve actually been through this kind of thing before.” Robin nodded.

“Well, they have, a few times. And I have once. Mine was more human-flesh-based, and their’s was more smoke-related but bottom-line is, collectively, I really feel like we got this.”

“See, usually we rely on this girl who has superpowers. But those went bye-bye- But now Kate has some so we aren’t totally out of luck.” Steve shrugged.

“So technically we’re more in kind of the-“ Robin couldn’t find the right words to articulate what she was thinking right now.

“Brainstorming phase.” Max finished for her, Robin and Steve nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, I know all this, Kate told me earlier.” Eddie said, taking another sip of his chocolate milk.

“So that’s what you talked about-“ Steve smiled at her.

“You didn’t explain how you got the superpowers though.” Eddie peered up at her.

“That’s because we don’t know how she got them.” Dustin answered for her.

Kate nodded. “He’s right, we really don’t.”

“Anyway!” Dustin cut her off. “There’s nothing to worry about. We’re basically pros at this now.”

Eddie looked like he was about to explode, at that statement.

His eyes grew wide as he tilted his head at Dustin. His mouth opened to speak but he was cut off by the sound of sirens flying past the property.

Thankfully, they continued to move, although that didn’t ease anyone’s anxieties about Eddie being discovered.

Robin and Kate rushed to cover Eddie back up with the tarp as the other three ran to the window to see where they were headed.

Although, Kate had a sinking suspicion she already knew.

Fred.

Steve turned around, looking at Robin and Kate with a sense of urgency.  “I think we should check it out.” He said, patiently waiting for one of them to agree.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Robin agreed before Kate even had a moment to discuss with her.

Dustin, Max and Steve were out the door before she could comprehend it.

“Eddie, we’ll be back!” Kate called, practically tripping over her boots in the rush to get out the door. “Lay low and use your walkie for communication, we’ll see you later!”

Kate piled in the back of the car, squeezed between Max and Dustin. Steve took off, following as best he could behind the hoard of emergency vehicles.

Just a few miles down the road, Steve was forced to stop, pulling off to the side of the road behind a police car.

There were emergency personnel everywhere; Cops, EMTs, firefighters, and reporters. And right in the thick of it all was Nancy, being questioned by the new chief of police, Officer Powell.

Nancy visibly relaxed when she saw them arrive. And practically sprinted over to them when she was finally done being interrogated.

She fell into Kate’s arms, hugging her shoulders tightly. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you guys.” She mumbled into Kate’s jacket.

Kate squeezed back, trying to provide comfort for her. “What the hell happened?” Kate asked as they pulled apart.

Nancy stiffened up again, her eyes fluttering back and forth between the five of them. “It’s a long story.” She shrugged.

“You wanna talk about it?” Steve asked, nudging Nancy with his elbow.

She turned to him, eyes softening. “Yeah.” She nodded. “Yeah, I think we should talk.”

Nancy stayed close to Kate, and the six of them weaved their way through the hoard of people, settling themselves on a picnic table in the middle of the trailer park.

Nancy went first, telling them everything that led up to her loosing track of Fred in the trailer park. How they went to investigate Chrissy’s murder, ended up talking to Eddie’s uncle, and then he was gone.

Nancy spent basically all night looking for him before she finally decided to go to the police about it, but by then it was too late, he was already dead.

Dustin went next, accompanied by creative comments made by Steve. Telling Nancy about how Kate searched for Eddie, they found Reefer Rick’s address through the video store’s database, and getting the real scoop from Eddie.

And also their theory about how the murders were once again, linked to an Upside Down-related creature.

“So, you’re saying that this thing that killed Fred and Chrissy, it’s from the Upside Down?” Nancy asked, still unsure of what they were getting at.

“If the shoe fits.” Steve nodded.

“Our working theory is that he attacks with a spell, or a curse.” Dustin shrugged. “Now whether or not he’s doing the bidding of the Mind Flayer, or if he just likes killing teens? We don’t know.”

Kate bounced her leg anxiously. The urge to bring up her suspected connection to Vecna was strong. But something deep inside her was telling her not to.

She feared if she told her friends the truth, that that would open them up to become a victim of the curse. She couldn’t have that on her conscience.

“All we know is that this is something different. Something new.” Max chimed in.

“It doesn’t make sense.” Nancy shook her head.

“It’s only a theory.” Dustin responded.

Nancy shook her head again. “No, Fred and Chrissy don’t make sense. I mean, why them?”

“Maybe they were just in the wrong place.” Dustin shrugged. “They were both at the game.”

“And near the trailer park.” Max said.

Steve’s eyes widened a bit. “We’re at the trailer park… Uh, should we maybe not be here?”

They all became a little paranoid in that moment, each of them turning and looking over their shoulders in fear.

“There is something about this place.” Nancy said. “Fred started acting weird the second we got here.”

“Acting weird, as in?” Robin asked.

Nancy shrugged. “Scared? On edge, upset?”

“Max said Chrissy was upset too.” Dustin looked up at her.

“Yeah, but not here.” Max replied. “She was crying in the bathroom at school.”

Kate nodded, remembering how quickly she had flown past her. “Yeah, she blew past me in my way in, almost knocked me on my ass.”

“Serial killers stalk their prey before they strike, right?” Robin asked. “So, maybe Fred and Chrissy say this Vecman-“

“Vecna.” Dustin corrected, almost as if on cue.

“I don’t know about you guys but if I saw some freaky wizard monster, I would mention it to someone.” Steve said, shrugging.

That statement struck Kate in the heart, making her feel guilty about keeping her connection to Vecna hidden. She couldn’t risk being responsible for, or at least knowing, that one of her friend’s deaths was upcoming.

“Maybe they did.” Max said. “I saw Chrissy leaving Ms. Kelly’s office… If you saw a monster, you wouldn’t go to the police. They’d never believe you. But you might go to your shrink.”

“Anyone know where Ms. Kelly lives?” Dustin asked, getting up from the bench and strapping on his backpack.

“Yeah, I think over on Elk Road.” Max nodded, also getting up.

“Okay then, it’s settled. Roadtrip.” Dustin grinned, walking eagerly towards Steve and Nancy’s cars.

Max followed closely behind him, and Kate too, Nancy, Robin and Steve not far behind her.

Nancy cut ahead of everyone, booking it towards her car. “Whoa, whoa, Nance!” Steve called, stopping her. “Where you going?”

Nancy looked like a deer caught in headlights. “There’s something I just wanna check on first.”

“Something you maybe wanna share with the rest us?” Dustin asked, clearly feeling left out.

Nancy looked down at the ground, as if almost embarrassed. “I don’t wanna waste your time, it’s a real shot in the dark.”

“Yeah, okay… Are you out of your mind?” Steve scoffed. “Flying solo with this Vecna creep on the loose? No, it’s too dangerous. You need- You need someone to…”

Steve sighed, turning and tossing his car keys to Robin.

“Uh?!” Kate scoffed, shaking her head at him.

“Here, I’ll stick with Nance.” Steve smiled. “You guys take the car, check out the shrink.”

Robin looked at the keys like she didn’t know what to do with them. “I don’t think you want me driving your car.”

“Why?” Steve asked, confused.

“I don’t have a license.”

“Why don’t you have a license?”

“I’m poor-“

“I can drive.” Max perked up.

Steve’s faced paled. “No, no, never again, please! Anybody but you! No.”

Dustin grinned, winking at Steve. “No chance.”

Steve turned to Kate. “I’m off the insurance plan, bud.” She shrugged.

Steve was shit out of luck.

“Okay, this is stupid.” Robin snickered, grabbing Dustin’s supercom out of his backpack pocket, and tossing Steve his keys back. “Us ladies will stick together. Unless you think we need you to protect us?”

Kate and Max giggled at that, as Steve’s shoulders slumped in defeat.

Nancy and Robin turned, heading back to Nancy’s car. “Be careful!” Steve called after them.

Max got into the car, Kate did too, beating Dustin to the front seat. “You’re in the back, slick, don’t forget.” She clicked her tongue at him.

“You gonna stand there and gawk?” Dustin snapped at Steve, from his seat in the back.

“Shut up!” Steve snapped, breaking himself from his trance and turning to get into the car.

“Can we just go? Can we just go, okay, you two- Quit arguing!” Kate spoke over the sound of them bickering.

“Did you wipe your feet?” Steve eyed Dustin in the rearview mirror. “On the outside, not the inside!” He snapped, seeing Dustin’s mischievous smile.

“Dear god, just drive?” Kate moaned, growing tired with their picking at each other.

Steve whipped his head around, glaring at her intensely. She glared back, scaring him into submission, and he put the car in drive.

“Always the babysitter. Always the goddamn babysitter!”

Kate shook her head as Steve muttered incoherent complaints the entire ride across town to Elk Road. Max and Dustin sat silently in the back, Max staring out the window, lost in her own thoughts.

When they got to Ms. Kelly’s, Max barely waited for Steve to hit the breaks before she jumped out of the car. “I won’t be long, okay?” She said over her shoulder as she crossed the street.

The three of them watched as Max rang the doorbell, and Ms. Kelly answered. Then Max went inside.

“Okay, she’s in.” Steve announced, as if they weren’t all watching the exact same sequence of events take place.

“I’m missing collarbones, not eyes.” Dustin mumbled from the backseat.

Kate’s eyes widened, and she fought the urge to laugh in her brother’s face at Dustin’s remark, instead she watched as he tensed up, and then nodded, accepting the defeat.

“So, we gonna talk about it?”

“About what?” Steve asked, clueless.

“Your temporary insanity earlier today when you basically threw yourself at Nance?” Dustin replied, as if to say “Duh?”

Steve whipped around to stare at Dustin. “Okay, first of all, that’s not what happened!”

“Pretty sure that’s what happened.” Kate chimed in, eyes still on Ms. Kelly’s front door.

Steve turned back to her. “Okay?!” He snapped.

“It was pretty public. There were a lot of witnesses.” Kate shrugged.

“Are you implying I still have a thing for Nancy?” Steve scoffed, eyes switching between Dustin and Kate.

“No, we’re not implying.” Dustin shook his head. “I’m stating. And as it relates to your steadfast refusal to date Robin, it’s pretty much the only logical explanation.”

Kate’s eyes quickly flicked back to Dustin, and then to the door again. She had to remind herself that pretty much nobody knew about Robin’s sexual preferences, except for her and Steve.

And honestly, she wasn’t even supposed to know. Steve had accidentally outed Robin to her one night, after coming home and complaining about how Robin wouldn’t shut up about a girl she saw in their rival school’s pep band.

Steve felt horrible, of course, but Robin didn’t actually mind. She trusted Steve enough to tell him, and so she trusted Kate enough too. Plus, Kate assured her she didn’t honestly care. It didn’t make her think more or less of Robin, and she was cool with her either way.

And so this made the Harrington siblings, the “keeper of lesbian secrets”, as Robin sometimes called them. (Steve hated that phrase, but Kate found it amusing.)

“That’s not the only one.” Steve shook his head. “And as for Nance, I was just trying to protect a friend. A friend, Henderson, okay?” Steve’s face flushed red as he looked at Dustin in the mirror.

“Okay.” Dustin nodded, a teasing tone to his voice.

“A friend! I don’t wanna find her in the morning with her eyes sucked outta the front of her skull by this Vecna creep-“

Kate’s gaze trailed away from the door and to her brother’s face. “You’re bright red in the face right now Steve.” She said, matter-of-factly.

Dustin all but cackled from the back. “No, I’m not.” Steve said, clenching his jaw. “I don’t wanna talk about it. I’ll punch you so hard in your face that your teeth will fall back out.”

Dustin’s laughing ceased.

“Steve!” Kate’s mouth opened in shock.

“Yeah, too far.” Dustin mumbled.

Steve took a moment before turning around to Dustin. “Not cool, sorry.”

“Not cool.” Dustin agreed. “It’s okay.”

Steve leaned back, the two of them sharing a fist bump before returning to silence and watching the door intently.

It was only a few more minutes before Max reappeared, booking it to the car. “Here she comes, here she comes!” Steve announced again, sitting himself more upright.

Max got into the car, Dustin sliding across the seat to sit behind Kate now. “What’d she say?”

“Nothing, just drive.” Max said, slamming the door shut urgently.

“Nothing?” Steve asked.

“Steve, drive!” She snapped, suspiciously urgent.

Steve put the car into drive, flooring it out of there before anyone could ask another question.

“Where am I driving to?”

“The school.”

They weren’t very far down the road when Dustin’s supercom started crackling. “Dustin, it’s Lucas. Do you copy?”

“Lucas?” Dustin asked, frantically scrambling to dig the radio out of Kate’s bag. “Where the hell have you been?”

“Just listen!” Lucas said through the walkie. “Are you guys looking for Eddie?”

“Yeah, and we found him- No thanks to you!”

“You found him?”

“Yes, he’s at a boathouse on Coal Mill Road. Don’t worry, he’s safe.”

“You guys know he killed Chrissy, right?”

“That’s bullshit! Eddie tried to save Chrissy!” Dustin came to Eddie’s defense, yet again.

“Then why do all the cops say he did it?”

“Really Lucas, believing the cops now? Basketball has gone to your head.” Kate said out loud, although she knew Lucas couldn’t hear her.

Behind her, Max grabbed the walkie from Dustin’s hands. “Lucas, you’re so behind, it’s ridiculous, okay? Just meet us at the school, we’ll explain later.”

A few beats passed before Lucas responded. “I can’t… I think some real bad shit is about to go down.”

Kate’s eyes widened, she turned herself to face Max. “What are you talking about? What bad shit?”

There was no answer from the other end.

“Lucas? Lucas?”

Max looked at Kate, worry in her eyes. “He’s fine, Max. He’s fine.” Dustin shrugged it off. “It’s Lucas, he’ll be fine.”

Kate knew Max couldn’t shake the overwhelming feeling of dread for Lucas. She had experienced it herself with Billy. It was scary not knowing the status of someone you love.

It was dark by the time they got to the school, parking right out front.

Kate used her powers to open the door, a (for once) positive notion that came with psionic abilities. No more breaking and entering, technically. No breaking was taking place.

“Dustin, do you copy?” Robin asked through the supercom as they entered the school.

“Yeah, I copy.” Dustin replied.

“So, Nancy’s a genius.” Kate chuckled, as if they needed a situation like this to tell them if Nancy was a genius or not. “Vecna’s first victims date back all the way to 1959. Her shot in the dark was a bullseye.”

“Okay, that’s totally bonkers, but I can’t really talk right now.”

“What are you doing?” Just by the tone of voice, Kate could practically see Robin’s face.

“Breaking and entering into school to retrieve some confidential and extremely personal files.” Dustin answered like it was no big deal.

“Can you repeat that?”

“Just get your ass over here, stat!” Dustin commanded. “We’ll explain everything.”

Max was lightyears ahead of them, already toying with the lock of Ms. Kelly’s office.

Kate came up beside her, shining her flashlight on the doorhandle so Max could see what she was doing. “Ya know, if you wanted to break in here, all you had to do was ask.”

Max turned to look at her.

“Magic hands.” Kate replied, wiggling her free fingers at her.

Max’s eyes lit up, almost as if she was cracking a smile, but instead she went back to the task at hand, opening the door.

Inside, it was dark, of course. And Max headed straight for the filing cabinets in which Ms. Kelly stored her student’s records.

“It’s like a mini-watergate or something.” Dustin grinned, examining every little detail of Ms. Kelly’s office. “Hawkinsgate.”

“Wait a second, didn’t those guys get caught?” Steve asked, following closely behind him.

“Holy shit.” Max gasped, fingering through the files. “I found Chrissy’s file, but that’s not all. Fred was seeing Ms. Kelly too.”

Max grabbed their files, bushing past the other three to sit down at Ms. Kelly’s desk.

She opened the manilla folders, looking through all the papers. Kate held her flashlight over them, illuminating the paper.

Side by side, Max had laid the notes that Ms. Kelly had been taking during her sessions with Chrissy and Fred. It was a list of what seemed to be symptoms.

Past trauma

Terrible nightmares

Difficulty sleeping

Headaches

“Max, what’s wrong?” Kate asked, picking up on Max’s rising anxiety.

“Max, what is it?” Dustin asked her too, but it was like she was stuck.

Kate blinked, unmoving. Max was no longer in the chair, and Steve and Dustin were no longer in the room.

“Max!” Kate called, frowning in confusion.

The door to the office, that they had shut when they entered, was now open. Kate crossed the room, following her instinct to leave.

The hallway was dark, pitch black, and she didn’t have her flashlight. But somehow she could still see.

She rounded a corner, hearing the sound of a clock ticking from in the distance. It was big, or at least sounded big. Like an old grandfather clock.

“Max!” Kate shouted again, but there was no answer.

She rounded another corner, this time, finding Max. She was standing, stiff as a board, flashlight in hand, staring at the wall at the end of the hallway.

Wedged into the cement was a huge clock, the minute hand ticking ominously, almost like it was counting down to something.

“Max?” Kate called, trying to grab her attention.

She didn’t pay her any mind.

And the clock kept ticking.

TAG LIST

[ᴍᴀʀᴄʜ 𝟸𝟸, 𝟷𝟿𝟾𝟼]

The next morning Kate was awoken by an intense throbbing in her skull. She groaned as she sat up, squinting her eyes shut.

She didn’t think into it too much, assuming the headache was just an after-affect of her nosebleed from the night before.

She crawled out of bed, deciding to get dressed in the dark, prolonging her exposure to sunlight. When she did emerge from her room, she practically ran down the steps, keeping her eyes open just enough to see as she frantically poured herself a pile of Tylenol and downed it with some water.

Her stomach growled in annoyance, taking her by surprise, and she set to fix herself a bagel, turning the radio on while she waited.

“We’re in the Forest Hills trailer park in east Roane County. We don’t have a lot of details right now but we can confirm that the body of a Hawkins High student was discovered early this morning. Police have not yet released the victim’s name, although we are told they’re currently in the process of notifying the family-”

Kate’s stomach dropped, just as her bagel popped out of the toaster, she turned the radio right back off.

Great. Another death. Another death of someone she probably knew.

She buttered her bagel, and right as she was about to take a bite, a chorus of frantic knocks sounded at the front door.

Her stomach dropped again.

Perhaps it was the police, stopping by to tell her that one of her friends was the victim. Dustin? Max? Lucas? Probably not Mike, as he was home last night to prepare for his flight to California. Nancy? Robin? It could be any of them.

Kate nervously sighed, opening the door and preparing for the worst, but was pleasantly surprised to see Dustin and Max standing on the other side.

“Dustin? Max?” She asked. “What’s up, everything okay?”

Kate could tell from the look on Max’s face that everything was not okay. “Far from it, actually.” Dustin replied, ducking under her arm and stepping inside. “We need to come in.”

“You’re already in.” Kate said, stepping back from the doorway.

Max also stepped inside. “Hey.” Kate said, extending somewhat of an olive branch.

Max kicked her shoes off by the door, turning back to her. “Hey.”

Dustin had already made his way into the kitchen. “You guys want anything to eat? Breakfast? A drink?” Kate walked around the island, back to her bagel.

“Do you have some water?” Max asked, quietly.

Kate nodded, and grabbed a glass, pouring her some water. “So what’s with the wakeup call? This isn’t about that murder at Forest Hills, is it-“

She slid the glass of water to Max, who was seated at the other end of the Island, her face pale. “It is. It for sure is. Shit!”

Dustin looked at Max. “You wanna tell her? Or do you want me to tell her?”

Max shrugged, looking up from her water. “Last night I saw something. Something I definitely shouldn’t have seen.” Kate nodded, motioning for her to continue. “I live in the trailer across from Eddie-“

“Munson?”

Max nodded. “I was out feeding this stray dog that hangs out the park, and I saw him come home, but he wasn’t alone. Chrissy Cunningham was with him.”

Kate’s eyes widened. “Shit.”

“Yeah.” Max sighed. “But she was alive, when I saw them.”

“What happened next? Where did they go?” Kate asked.

Max shrugged. “They went inside, so I went inside. I didn’t hear anything that night. Nothing weird happened.”

“What about the lights? You didn’t tell her about the lights.” Dustin reminded her.

“Right, the lights.” Max sat up a little straighter in her seat. “A little while later, after I went inside, I was watching tv with my mom, and the power flickered. I didn’t really think anything of it, cause it’s a shitty trailer park and it happens all the time but this time was different, now that I remember it. It was so much like-”

“Like what it was like at the mall.” Kate finished, knowing exactly what she meant.

Max nodded. “And then this morning when I got up, there were cops everywhere. And I could see just a few feet inside the door of the trailer. It was Chrissy. I’m sure of it. She was in her uniform, from the game.”

“That’s what she was wearing when you saw her with Eddie last night?”

“Yes, same uniform. He must’ve picked her up after the game, I don’t know.”

Kate’s stomach twisted, the bagel in front of her no longer looking appetizing.

Her mind began to wander; Could it have been her? She was just like Chrissy, a young, innocent, high school girl. Once upon a time, under the right circumstances Kate could be charmed right into the arms of anyone her age.

Did he mean to take her, and when she didn’t stay, he moved onto Chrissy next?

“But I didn’t tell the cops that.” Max interrupted her train of thought.

Kate shook her head. “Sorry, what?”

“I didn’t tell the cops that I saw them.” Max replied. “I told them I didn’t know anything.”

“Why? Why wouldn’t you tell them if you saw them-“

“I don’t think Eddie did it.” Max said, shrugging again. “I know he’s a little weird, and flighty but I don’t think that he could’ve done it. I just don’t think he has it in him. And when I talked to Dustin, he agreed with me.”

“There’s no way Eddie did it.” Dustin nodded.

Kate gaped at them. “You’re kidding right? The entire mystery was just solved, right there! Max, you saw them, and the next morning she’s dead in his trailer! Come on!”

“But the lights.” Dustin reminded her. “The lights in Max’s trailer flickered after Eddie brought Chrissy back to his place.”

“What, so you’re saying that just because the lights flickered, coincidentally at the same time Chrissy was at Eddie’s, we’re supposed to assume it was…” Kate stopped herself, gripping the counter.

“We closed the gate.” She turned to Dustin, tears welling in her eyes.

“We closed the gate, and we killed the monster, there should be no way anything Upside Down related is happening anymore!” She grabbed her bagel, angrily throwing it into the garbage can, she then tossed her plate in the sink, the clattering of ceramic on steel filled the silence.

“I know.” Dustin sighed. “I know, it doesn’t make sense. We did close the gate, the Mind Flayer is dead, but we have to assume that we don’t know everything. We have to prepare for the worst.”

Kate shook her head. “I can’t do it Dustin. I can’t do it again. No more, I want to be done-”

“You know what Kate, I agree. I want to be done too! You think I like all this alternate dimension, supernatural beings and monsters bullshit? No, I don’t! But you know what, I power through it. I look at the clues and I find a solution and we fight through it!

And I know you’re scared, and tired, and have had a shitty year. If I lost Suzie I would be pissed too!

But El is two-thousand miles away, and she doesn’t even have her powers so if she was here, she wouldn’t be of any help to us. But you’re here.

You’re here, you apparently have powers now, and you’re gonna get your ass up, out of the house, and you’re going to help us get to the bottom of this and do what you do best, protect our asses along the way, do you understand?”

Kate stood, staring wide-eyed at Dustin. She really didn’t know what to say.

“I said, do you understand?” Dustin raised his eyebrows at her, waiting for an answer.

Kate’s eyes flicked between Dustin and Max, both who were looking at her intently. “Fine.” Kate mumbled.

“Fine, I’ll be your protector, alright. But if we find out that Eddie really did do this, and it has nothing to do with the Upside Down, I’ll be patiently waiting for an apology from you, okay?”

“You can tell me “I told you so”, okay? You can do whatever, just help us now.”

Kate sighed, nodding her head. “Alright, so what’s the plan?”

“We have to find Eddie.” Max replied.

“We figured you could help with that…” Dustin added, smiling extra big to entice Kate to grant their wish. “As far as you know, your powers work the same as El’s, right?”

“Yes, as far as I know. Why?”

“We need you to try to find Eddie. With your powers.” Dustin said. “It’s a good first shot, and it would leave no way of anyone tracing us.”

Kate shook her head. “Dustin, I don’t know. I’ve never looked for an actual person before-”

“Right, but you’ve looked for Billy.” Dustin said, getting up and coming to meet Kate at the sink. “We aren’t saying it’s going to work, but it’s worth a shot, isn’t it? An innocent life is at stake!”

“Supposedly innocent.” Kate corrected, looking over Dustin’s shoulder at Max. She sighed, shaking her head again. “Fine. Fine, fine, fine, alright, lets go upstairs.”

Kate couldn’t believe she was actually going to try looking for a live person in the void. Maybe for once, her ventures wouldn’t be fruitless.

She led them up to her room, which was still dark, and then into the bathroom. Dustin sat on the toilet lid as Max perched herself on the side of the tub.

Just as she had done many times before, Kate prepared herself. She turned on the bathroom sink, dug her sleep mask out of her bedside table, and sat with her back against the cabinets, keeping the door clear incase of an emergency exit.

Dustin had come prepared, a polaroid of the entire Hellfire Club in his possession.

Kate held the picture in her hand, focusing on Eddie.

He didn’t come to her easily. Unfortunately her mind led her to every other member of the club before actually landing on Eddie. As cliche as it was, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

It was strange too, the sensation of looking in on someone as they think they’re alone.

She found him, in a house, at the far end of a long, dirt road. Surrounded by woods, but on the edge of a lake.

Probably Lover’s Lake.

The house had no address on it, no mailbox, so she wasn’t sure exactly how this was helping them.

But Eddie was on the phone. She couldn’t make out exactly what he was saying, except a name. “Rick”, he practically was screaming it into the phone.

“I found him.” Kate said, trying to keep her focus. “He’s in a house, by Lover’s Lake. And he’s talking on the phone, to someone named Rick.”

Kate tried to get closer to Eddie, tried to hear more, but she was starting to get dizzy. Her left ear was ringing, and she could feel her head getting fuzzy.

So she ripped her mask off, opened her eyes, and left.

“Shit-” She gasped, leaning her head back against the cabinet. (It felt more like a lean, but it was actually very much her throwing her head backwards.)

Max and Dustin jumped into action, turning the faucet off and the light on. “You good?” Max asked, sitting herself beside Kate.

Kate took a few breaths, slowly turning her head to look at Max. Everything was moving in slow motion.

“This never happened before.” Kate slurred, blinking aggressively.

“What never happened before?” Dustin asked from her other side.

She turned away from Max to look at Dustin, and everything was still spinning. “Dustin, go get her some water or something! She’s gonna pass out!” Max snapped.

Dustin jumped up and ran downstairs, leaving the two of them alone.

Kate leaned her head back again, fighting to stay awake. “Dustin, bring some food too!” Max shouted again.

“Hey, hey.” She tapped Kate’s hand, grabbing her attention. “Stay with me Kate, okay? Dustin will be right back, you’re gonna be fine.”

Kate patiently waited, fighting forced unconsciousness. “I’m sorry Max.” She mumbled, blindly grasping for the hands that held her’s. “M’ sorry-”

“You don’t have to be sorry, you’re helping us out.” Max replied.

“No- Not Eddie.” Kate tried to shake her head, but it just made her more dizzy. “I’m sorry about your brother-”

“Okay, I brought water and crackers!” Dustin burst back through the bathroom door, cutting Kate off.

He bent down in front of her, force-feeding her water. “The crackers are stale I think. But it’s probably the only thing in this house that won’t upset your stomach.”

After an entire sleeve of (very) stale crackers and two glasses of water, Kate was pretty much back to normal.

She stood, with the help of Dustin, and cleaned the blood from her nose. And when she was finished, she rejoined them in the kitchen.

“So, what’s the next move?” She asked, leaning against the entryway to the kitchen.

“Well you don’t have a computer here.” Dustin said, matter-of-factly.

“Right.... What are we using a computer for?”

“I know you think you were unhelpful, but actually you weren’t. You said Eddie was on the phone with someone named Rick, soooo all we have to do is look up all the “Ricks” that live in Hawkins and hopefully find the one that lives by Lover’s Lake.”

Kate’s eyes widened. “Oh, okay that’s actually really smart. Good idea Henderson.” Her surprise caused both he and Max to laugh. “So where are we getting a computer?”

Dustin’s eyes lit up. “That’s where your brother comes in.”

The three of them geared up, putting on their shoes and coats. “Tell me again why we can’t just ride in the Kate-mobile?” Dustin groaned as they saddled up their bicycles.

“Mother and father dearest took me off the insurance policy, so technically it’s illegal for me to operate that vehicle.” Kate replied as they rode down the driveway.

“And why did you get taken off the insurance policy?” Max asked, genuinely clueless to the entire car situation.

Kate looked over at her, waiting a moment before answering. “It was my punishment for my brother stopping your brother with his car.” She didn’t need to say anything else, before Max fully understood what she meant.

The three of them rode the short distance to the video store, leaving their bikes haphazardly on the front sidewalk before bursting into the building with no grace or regard for anyone else.

“Hey, Steve, how many computers do you have?” Dustin demanded, walking up to the counter where he and Robin were standing, seemingly mesmerized by something on the television screen.

Steve looked at him, confused. “You guys see, someone was murdered?”

Dustin ignored him, simply repeating his question. “How many computers do you have!”

“Two, why?”

“Technically three, if you count Keith’s in the back.” Robin reminded him.

Dustin turned to look at Max and Kate. “Three works?” He asked.

Max and Kate exchanged glances. “Three works.” Max repeated, nodding to Dustin.

Without another word, Dustin shrugged off his backpack, throwing it onto the counter.

Steve frowned. “What are you doing?”

Dustin ignored him again, shoving his backpack across the counter and letting it fall to the floor.

Almost, almost unsurprisingly, Dustin swiftly followed his backpack. Jumping atop the counter and sliding himself across it, until he was inside the vestibule with Steve and Robin, knocking a pile of tapes down on the way in.

He paid no mind to Robin and Steve’s complaints as he sat down on the stool in front of the main computer and began typing away.

Kate and Max took the easier way in, and rounded the counter, coming to stand at the opposite side of Dustin than her brother and Robin. “What are you doing?” Steve asked, exasperated.

“Setting up base of operations.” Dustin replied, focused on his typing.

“Base of operations? Stop, get off of that!” Steve whined.

“No, I need it.” Dustin said, still focused.

Steve huffed. “For what?”

“Looking for one of Eddie’s friends.”

“Oh Eddie.” Steve rolled his eyes. “Your new best friend Eddie you think is cooler than me because he plays your nerdy game?”

Dustin groaned, very loudly. “Yes, I never said that!”

Robin, who was now behind them, was rearranging the pile of tapes Dustin had knocked down.

“Seriously, you guys, maybe on a Monday you can play around in here like toddlers, but it’s Saturday. It’s our busiest day.”

“Alright Robin, I totally empathize with you but this cannot wait until Monday.” Dustin shrugged, staring intently at the screen.

“Kate?” Steve pleaded, eyes wide.

Kate shook her head, shrugging. This was out of her hands, Dustin was on an unstoppable mission. “Can’t stop him, I’ve already tried!”

“What, cause finding one of Eddie’s friends is an emergency?” Robin snickered.

“Correct!” Dustin snapped back.

Steve turned around, shaking his head in disbelief. “Want me to strangle him or do you wanna do it?” He asked Robin.

“We could take turns.” She suggested.

Dustin whipped around to Kate and Max. “Can you just fill them in while I do this?”

“Fill us in on what?” Robin asked, finally ready to devote her full attention to their issue.

Max looked at Kate and began to explain the situation. She told them about what she saw, and what happened to Chrissy, how they went to Kate and she found Eddie at this “Rick”’s house, and then here they were.

“Oh, Reefer Rick?” Steve said, nonchalantly.

“Steve!” Kate gasped, shocked that it was Steve that knew the mysterious Rick character and not Kate.

“What, everybody smokes weed Katherine.” He grumbled.

“Who’s Reefer Rick?” Dustin asked, Steve’s comment piquing his interest.

“He’s this drug dealer, lot of people get their stuff from him, wouldn’t honestly be surprised if Eddie did too.”

Robin gaped at him. “That sounds promising, where does this Reefer Rick live?”

“That’s the thing, nobody knows.” Steve shrugged. “He’s more of a legend than someone that people actually know.”

“What about a last name?” Dustin asked.

“Don’t know that either.” Steve said.

Dustin groaned, audibly and visibly annoyed with Steve. “Bet the cops would know a last name.”

Kate sighed. Steve had almost been extremely helpful.

“How is this helpful Steve?” Kate asked, shaking her head.

“Reefer Rick is a drug dealer, so I guarantee you he’s been busted at some point. Means he’s in the system.”

“Cops? Really, Steve, that’s your suggestion?” Dustin asked in disbelief.

Steve shrugged. “I think they should be filled in on what we know, what’s going on.”

Kate rolled her eyes, here we go, Steve was about to set Dustin off on another pro-Eddie tangent. “You think Eddie is guilty, don’t you?”

“I believe in innocent until proven guilty, and all that constitutional shit.” Steve replied. “I just don’t think we can rule it out.”

Max shook her head. “That’s precisely what we’re trying to do here, Steve.”

“And maybe we’d have a little bit more luck if you spent less time trying to find a girlfriend, and more time trying to find Eddie!” Dustin snapped.

Kate and Robin exchanged shocked looks. Dustin was always a little overzealous and energetic but today especially, he was off the rails.

“Somebody has to attend to the customers!” Steve defended himself.

“Oh, especially if they’re babes, right?” Robin joked.

“Hey, not fair, okay?” Steve gasped, pointing at Robin. “I attend to all the customers, babes and non-babes alike. We’ve got a very big selection here, it can be super overwhelming for these people.”

Robin’s eyes lit up. “Yeah, it is!” She quickly turned, typing away at the computer.

“What are you doing?” Kate asked, leaning over her shoulder to see what she was typing.

“Maybe we don’t need a last name.” Robin replied. Max, Steve, and Dustin joined her behind Robin, watching as she typed in “Rick” on the computer, pulling up the rental records from the video store. “Twelve Ricks already have accounts here.”

“That’s a lot of Ricks.” Max said.

‘So, let’s narrow it down.” Robin hit enter on the first Rick, Alderman, to be exact, and his previous rentals appeared.

“Rick Alderman’s latest rentals are Annie and Dumbo. What are the chances our drug dealer has a family?”

“Probably pretty slim.” Kate said, shrugging.

Robin tabbed to the next Rick, Conroy. “Sixteen Candles, Teen Wolf, and Romancing the Stone.”

“No.” The other four shook their heads in agreement.

Next Rick, Joiner. “Mask, Footloose, and Grease.”

“No.” They all agreed again.

Next Rick, Kimbrough. “The Blue Lagoon and Splash.”

“Absolutely not.” Kate shook her head.

Another Rick, Lipton. “Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie, Cheech & Chong’s Nice Dreams, Cheech & Chong’s Up in Smoke-”

“Bingo!” Dustin cheered.

“Rick Lipton?” Max questioned.

“Spelled like the tea.” Robin shrugged. “2121 Holland Road.”

“That’s out by Lover’s Lake.” Kate said, eyes widening. “Middle of nowhere!”

“The perfect place to hide.” Max nodded. “This has to be our Rick.”

“Well what are we waiting for, let’s haul ass!” Dustin screeched, grabbing his backpack and running out the door.

Before she could even comprehend what was happening, Kate was following him, and Max, with Steve and Robin closely behind.

Robin made sure to lock the doors and hang the Sorry we’re CLOSED sign before they left.

By the time they had actually made it anywhere near Lover’s Lake, and it’s surrounding roads, it was dark. The police had most of the area surrounding the trailer park patrolled, so Steve had to take the long way. AKA, turning down any random street he could before actually finding a path that made sense.

When they finally approached the house, there was very clearly no sign of life. No lights were on, not even a precautionary light above the stove, or the porch light. Nothing.

Dustin was convinced, however, that Eddie had to be there. So he made Steve park the car, and they all got out of the car to stand on the porch while Dustin practically punched the doorbell.

Once, and no response. Then again, and then about five more times before Steve stopped him. “Okay, it’s pretty much settled, he’s not here.”

Dustin wouldn’t take no for an answer though, so he started knocking on the door. Pounding his fist against it, and the other one still on the doorbell.

“EDDIE!” He shouted. “It’s Dustin!”

“Great, fabulous job Dustin, if there were cops nearby, they would for sure know we think he’s hiding here now!” Kate whisper-yelled at him.

Dustin ignored her too, crouching down and shining his flashlight inside. “We just wanna talk!” He banged on the door a few more times. “No cops, I swear, we just wanna talk.”

Robin nudged Kate, bringing her attention to something else. Robin was shining her flashlight on the window beside the door.

Max followed them as they examined inside the house, seeing as best they could through the blinds in the dark.

It looked, just as they suspected, uninhabited.

“Rick!” Dustin continued to scream. “Reefer Rick!”

“Don’t scream that!” Steve groaned.

Max stepped ahead of Robin, rounding the side of the house. Kate followed behind her quickly, not wanting her to get out of her sight.

Max shined her flashlight on another building, positioned just behind the house, right on the water. A boat house.

Max looked at her, shrugging. “If he’s not in the house…” Kate said, agreeing with her.

“Hey, guys?” Max called, grabbing their attention and interrupting Dustin and Steve’s current argument.

Robin was first to join them, then Steve and Dustin. “I’ll go first.” Steve said, trying to put on a brave face.

“Right this way.” Dustin said, stepping aside for Steve to go first.

Steve shook his head, stepping ahead of Dustin. Kate went next, giving Dustin the eyes, before he could even protest. He followed behind her, then Max, and Robin as the caboose.

“You got yourself charged up?” Steve asked over his shoulder as they approached the entrance to the boat house.

Kate furrowed her eyebrows. “I don’t have to charge myself up, Steve, I'm always ready?” She scoffed, surprised at his lack of common sense.

“Geez, okay, I’m just checking, okay?” Steve shook his head.

They reached the door, Kate passed her flashlight off to her left hand. She considered her right one stronger, at least when it came to having control over her power.

Steve slowly opened the door, peeking his head inside. “Hello?” He called.

“I really hope you’re not expecting an answer.” Kate scoffed quietly.

Steve looked over his shoulder again, glaring at her. “Shut up, you know you’re really getting on my nerves.“

“Shh!” Dustin hushed him, as the other three entered. Robin closed the door behind her, and the five of them began exploring the boathouse.

“What a dump…” Robin whispered to herself.

Steve grabbed an oar off of the wall, walking towards the little rowboat that was docked in the middle of the boathouse.

All of the sudden, Steve stabbed the boat with the oar, the pile of tarps sat inside it, crumpling loudly.

“Steve?” Kate snapped, scolding him for being so rash with his movements. “What are you doing?”

Steve ignored her, continuing to poke at the tarps throughout the boat. “What are you doing!” She repeated.

“He might be in here.” Steve replied, still focused on the tarps.

“So take the tarp off?” Dustin snapped from across the room, now becoming annoyed with Steve too.

Steve whipped his head up to look at Dustin. “If you’re so brave, you take the tarp off!”

Kate shook her head, leaving her brother’s side and joining Max, who had discovered a collection of empty beer bottles and other food-related trash on the top of a workbench. “Someone was here.” Max said.

“Maybe he heard us? Got spooked and ran?” Kate shrugged, shining her flashlight on the garbage.

“Don’t worry, Steve will get him with his oar.” Dustin scoffed. Kate turned back around, Steve and Dustin still standing by the boat.

Steve was intently focused. “I know you think you’re being funny Henderson, but considering the fact that everyone in this room has nearly died a hundred times, personally, I don’t find it funny in the slightest-”

Kate’s eyes widened as right behind Steve’s turned shoulder, Eddie jumped up out of the tarp at the very end of the rowboat, grabbing Steve by the shoulder and pushing him back against the wall.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait-” Steve babbled as Eddie held him tight, a broken beer bottle held flush against his neck.

Dustin screamed. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, Eddie! Eddie, stop!”

Kate rolled her eyes, taking a step towards them. With one flick of her hand, the beer bottle flew out of Eddie’s grasp and clattered onto the floor.

And with a tilt of her head, Eddie was turned, and flew back against the wall, stuck, as long as Kate wished him to be.

Eddie’s eyes widened, staring in shock, and probably horror, at Kate. Dustin rushed over to her, standing beside her. “Eddie! Eddie! It’s me, it’s Dustin!”

Kate closed her fingers into a fist, and the beer bottle flew backwards, gripped between her fingers.

Eddie’s eyes followed her every movement. “This is Steve.” Dustin pointed to Steve, who was slowly backing away from him. “He’s not gonna hurt you, right Steve?”

Steve nodded, standing back up. “Why don’t you drop the oar?” Dustin suggested, and Steve complied, letting the oar fall out of his hands.

Eddie gritted his teeth, flexing both of his hands into fists. “And you know Kate…” Dustin smiled half-heartedly at Eddie. 

“Kate has superpowers, anyway- You cool?” Dustin asked, silently pleading with Eddie to relax, so Kate could let him go.

Eddie released his hands from their fist-position, and nodded as best he could as he was frozen against the wall. Kate straightened her head, and Eddie relaxed, dropping to the floor.

“What the hell man?!” He gasped, hands shaking.

“You can have your beer bottle back when you learn how to use it properly.” Kate clicked her tongue at him, using her sleeve to wipe her nose.

“What was that?!” Eddie screeched. “What the hell? What are you doing here!”

“We’re looking for you!” Dustin replied, nudging Kate to drop the beer bottle, but she wouldn’t budge.

“We’re here to help.” Robin added, smiling to try and ease Eddie’s discomfort.

“Eddie, these are my friends. You know Robin from band, and Max, the one who never wants to play DnD?” Dustin nodded, but Eddie was still unfazed.

“Eddie, we’re on your side. I swear on my mother!”

“Yes, yes!” Max agreed. “We swear!”

“On Dustin’s mother-“ Robin nodded.

Eddie turned to look at Steve, who was closest to him. “Yep, Dustin’s mother.”

Then he turned to Kate. “Yes, I swear on Claudia Henderson!” She blinked in annoyance at him.

Eddie seemed to relax a minuscule amount. “Now, can we all sit down and talk about this, like adults, or do I have to make this beer bottle go away for good?”

Dustin swatted at her hand, trying to grab the bottle, as if to say “Seriously?!”, but she was quicker than him, and held her arm up so he couldn’t grab it.

Eddie nodded, and he, and Steve slowly made their way to the rest of them.

The six sat in somewhat of a circle, Eddie pressed up against the wall, trying to make himself small.

“We just wanna talk.” Dustin said, leaning forward so he could see him better.

“We want to know what happened.” Kate nodded, trying to extend a non-physical olive branch to apologize for scaring the shit out of him with her powers.

Eddie turned his head to her, staring at her. “You won’t believe me.”

Kate scoffed a laugh away. “Seriously Eddie?” Really? I have powers!

“Try us.” Max shrugged, taking over the role of the mediator.

Eddie took a few minutes before he could bring himself to speak. “Chrissy had come to me and asked if I had anything she could take to help her sleep at night.

I guess she’d been having nightmares or something, I don’t know, it’s not really my business, but I met her at lunch in the woods, and tried to sell her some weed but she wanted something stronger.

Of course I don’t carry that kinda shit on me in school so I told her I’d pick her up after the game, we could go back to my place, and I would get her whatever she needed. But when we got back, shit got weird.

I was in my room, looking for the spec- the stuff. And all of the sudden she blacked out. But she didn’t drop to the ground or anything, she was fully standing. And her eyes were rolled in the back of her head, and like fluttering.” Eddie blinked his eyes a few times to try and mimic what he saw happening to Chrissy.

“I was screaming man, like full on screaming at her to wake up but nothing could bring her back. And then all of the sudden her body just like, lifted up into the air. And uh, she just hung there.” He recounted the memory, tears pooling in his eyes.

“And her bones, she- Her bones started to snap. Her eyes, it was like there was something inside her head, pulling-”

Kate frowned, trying to recount any experience Upside Down-related that correlated to this type of gruesome murder.

“I didn’t know what to do so I ran away. I left her there.” Eddie inhaled shakily, looking up at the five of them who were intently listening to him.

“You all think, I’m crazy right?” He scoffed, shaking his head.

“No.” Dustin shook his head. “We don’t think you’re crazy.”

“Don’t bullshit me man! I know how this sounds!” Eddie snapped.

“Quit fucking yelling at us man, or we’re outta here!” Kate shouted, making Eddie jump. She was sick of his whiny little man routine, and his constant disbelief of their belief in him.

“We told you we would listen. We told you we were the best group of people to hear and believe your story, so here we are. Stop doubting us.”

The others looked at her with shock. Kate was, thus far, always the good cop in the good cop/bad cop situation, but something had switched in her, even she wasn’t sure what it was.

But Eddie just had to shut up and trust them.

“Look, what I’m about to tell you might be a little difficult to take.” Dustin took back over the reigns from Kate, gathering Eddie’s attention again.

“Okay.” He nodded, willing to listen.

“You know how people say Hawkins is cursed? They’re not way off.” Dustin paused, waiting for the information to sink in.

“There’s another world, hidden beneath Hawkins. Sometimes it bleeds into our’s.”

“Like ghosts and shit?” Eddie asked, confused.

Max shook her head. “There are some things worse than ghosts.” She turned, looking at Kate. They both knew exactly what she was alluding to.

“These monsters from this other world, we thought they were gone. But they’ve come back before. The Hawkins Lab being condemned-”

“And the fire at Starcourt, wasn’t really a fire.” Kate said, the memories replaying in her head.

“That’s why we needed to find you.” Dustin nodded.

“If they’re back again, we need to know.” Max said.

“That night, did you see anything?” Robin asked.

“Dark particles, maybe?” Max suggested.

Eddie shook his head. “It would almost look like dust, like swirling dust.” Dustin explained.

“No man, there was nothing you could see or touch.” Eddie shook his head again. “You know I tried to walk her man. She couldn’t move. It was like she was in a trance or something.”

Kate’s blood ran cold. “Or under a spell?” She spoke quietly, her voice wavering.

It was just like she had experienced the night before. Being stuck in her dream, in that house. Unable to move, almost like being under a spell.

“A curse.” Eddie looked up, his eyes meeting her’s nervously.

“Vecna’s curse.” Dustin said, putting together the pieces.

Kate immediately went back to the night before, at the DnD campaign. They had related creatures from the Upside Down to DnD characters before, why would this time be any different. The Demogorgon, the Mind Flayer, and now Vecna, the biggest and baddest yet.

“Who’s Vecna?” Steve asked, as usual, out of the loop.

Dustin shuddered. “An undead creature of great power.” He emphasized on “great power”.

“A spell caster.” Eddie continued.

“A dark wizard.”

It was silently decided then, that Vecna was the next big bad, the next monster in their story. Eddie and Dustin recounted everything they knew about Vecna, trying to piece together any scraps of information that might help them bring a swift end to the villains reign.

Kate got tired of hearing their DnD babble, and asked Eddie how to get into Rick’s house, assuming they would all be spending the night to ease Eddie’s mind. (And to appease Dustin.)

She found the spare key, right where Eddie said it was, and abided his rules, no lights, no facilities. And found a very comfortable bed in the spare room, where upon locking the door and fully covering the windows, she settled into bed for the night.

Once again however, she found herself in a waking nightmare again. Except this time she wasn’t in an unknown house, but deep in the ground, surrounded on all four sides by dirt. A grave.

It was hot. Burning hot. So hot, she thought that as she looked down at her hands, she’d see the skin melting off, down to the bones.

But she didn’t. She just saw her hands, as they were.

In the distance she heard someone screaming. Crying, pleading for help, but she couldn’t see them. She couldn’t move.

“Fred.” The voice inside her head taunted.

Kate’s breath stuck in her throat.

She knew a Fred.

“I want you to join me.”

Again, Kate’s hand rose, her fingers extending and clamping down on another unseen object, holding tight. Energy surged through Kate’s body again, but this time even more powerful than before.

Her entire body vibrated, her ears rang, and inside the grave she began to levitate, her body raising off of the ground. Exactly like Chrissy.

Panic rose inside of Kate, her heart beating rapidly. Everything that happened to Chrissy was happening to her, except she couldn’t see anyone or anything in front of her.

Her hand squeezed tighter, a vice grip on whatever she was holding.

Then, just as suddenly as she had been thrown into the nightmare, she was awake once more, her body dropping onto the bed with such force, she bounced back up.

Kate let out a rattling gasp, throwing herself upright.

Her hands were shaking as she frantically wiped away at her nose, her entire hand coming back bloody.

She scrambled out of bed, rushing to unlock the door, as she grabbed her flashlight and stumbled to the bathroom.

In the mirror she could see her face was full of blood again, running down to her chin. She used a wad of toilet paper to wipe herself clean, breaking Eddie’s rule to flush the DNA-riddled evidence from the scene.

She didn’t wait for herself to come down from the high of whatever that was. She shakily made her way back to the room, locking the door and sitting on the bed.

She didn’t know what was happening to her, but if she could come to any conclusion, it was that she wasn’t being possessed as a victim of “Vecna”.

She was being possessed as a vessel.

TAG LIST

When Kate opened her eyes, she was standing on the deck of the community pool.

It wasn’t summertime though. The sky around her was black almost, a storm brewing behind red clouds as lightning flashed through the sky.

It was eerily quiet, she could hear the faint whisperings of the wind, and the crack of thunder. And beneath her feet the concrete was cold, turning her toes blue.

She looked down at the pool, yet no reflection in the water stared back at her. It was not water in the pool either, but instead murky, blood. Thick, still, and almost black.

The air around her was cold, goosebumps raising on her skin. She was in her lifeguard uniform, which was odd, considering she had burned it in the fire place the night before school started. She didn’t need any more reminders of that night than she had already had.

“Kate!” A voice called out, echoing through the vast emptiness of the pool grounds.

She frowned, whipping her head around to see if she could see anyone else. Nobody was there.

“Harrington, help me!” It cried again.

Her eyes widened.

“Harrington, please!”

She spun around, trying to locate him, Billy. Trying to find out where he was, where he was hiding.

“Kate!” She gasped, jumping back as he emerged from the pool at her feet, blood spattering onto the ground.

“Billy?” She shuddered, eyes wide with fear.

Billy clawed at the pool’s ledge, trying desperately to stay afloat. “Harrington, please! I need your help!” And suddenly his head was submerged.

His arms flailed, gripping at nothing, and she watched as his figure sank into the darkness. It happened faster than she could comprehend, but all she knew was, she had to save him.

So she jumped in.

The blood was sticky, and the taste of it on her tongue made her stomach churn. She could see through it, to the bottom of the pool, the bottom of the pool that was really an empty void of black.

She couldn’t see Billy, she couldn’t see the bottom. But she knew he was there, she knew he needed help, so she swam.

She kicked her legs, her arms cutting through the blood, but it was getting harder. Harder to breathe, she’d been under for so long. Harder to see, the further she retreated from the surface. Harder to think about anything other than rescuing Billy.

If she could rescue Billy, if she could just rescue Billy, then everything would be okay.

Kate swam, until the light above her had faded, and she was surrounded by darkness. “Billy!” She screamed, her voice muffled by the blood.

She couldn’t find him. She couldn’t do anything.

Her legs grew tired, and her lungs burned from the lack of oxygen. She could feel her head growing fuzzy, her limbs weakening.

She gasped, blood pouring into her throat, choking her. It filled her lungs, it was drowning her.

She inhaled deeply, letting it consume her. Letting it swallow her whole.

And just as everything grew dark, it was light again.

Kate gasped, sitting upright. She flung her hands around, feeling for anything solid. 

Beneath her hands was a soft blanket, which she gripped tightly. A strip of moonlight peeked through her curtains, casting a shadow onto the floor.

She was in bed. She was in her bed, in her house, and she was safe.

Those sentiments did nothing to quell the storm bubbling inside her, pure rage erupted in her chest, and she let out a sob. A weak, strangled, pathetic cry.

She was in her bed, in her house, and she was safe.

And that was all a nightmare.

[ᴍᴀʀᴄʜ 𝟸𝟷, 𝟷𝟿𝟾𝟼]

Kate all but screamed into her pillow when her alarm finally went off. Seven AM wake-up calls never got easier, even though she’d been doing them since sixth grade.

Lately they were harder than usual. Sleep was a rarity nowadays- Let’s rephrase that; a full night of sleep was a rarity.

Kate would fall asleep, but she would always be woken up, by a dream or a nightmare, or by accidentally slipping into the void subconsciously.

Regardless of what woke her up, she never stayed asleep for very long. Which was making for an extra difficult senior year.

Nevermind the fact that she had spent the rest of the previous summer attempting to recover from the biggest traumatic event of her life, or that she had developed psionic powers and didn’t know what to do with them, senior year was a joke.

Sleepless nights made for tough days, paying attention in class, passing tests, getting homework in on time. Extracurricular activities were a bust, the volleyball team suffered without her, as did the soccer team. She had given the reigns to the AV club fully over to Dustin, bailed out on science club, and had no plans on participating in her senior track & field season.

Kate was simply going through the motions.

Wake up, go to school, come home, go to bed, repeat the next day. The mundane tasks that happened in-between the big ones were muscle memory, took little to no effort. Like opening her locker, or remembering to dump her tray of food at lunch. It was nothing.

Regardless of the roadblocks, and there were many, Kate was in the home-stretch. Graduation was so close, she could almost taste it. Walking across the damned stage, taking her diploma, and being released from the suffocation of Hawkins High was on the horizon.

But graduation didn’t mean total freedom.

There was still Hawkins itself.

Kate decided to forgo college for a year, but unlike her brother, she actually intended to pursue a career at some point, she just wasn’t sure what.

But she needed to get out of Hawkins.

Three gentle knocks on her bedroom door startled her from her thoughts. “Hey, train’s leaving in five, move it or lose it!” Steve said, muffled by her bedroom door.

Kate didn’t move.

“I need confirmation soldier!” Steve said impatiently.

“I’ll be up, okay?” Kate groaned, rolling herself out of bed.

She was dressed and ready within record-time, her backpack slung on her shoulder, ready to go.

As they got into Steve’s car, they passed the Charger, who, as punishment for Kate’s “general recklessness”, was essentially impounded to the Harrington driveway. Mom and dad removed Kate from the insurance plan for a year, so legally, she couldn’t drive.

Wordlessly, Steve drove himself and Kate to Robin’s.

Throwing her band uniform haphazardly into the back seat with Kate, Robin climbed up front, and immediately began her morning gossip.

Kate sat patiently, watching the trees go by as she half paid attention to what Steve and Robin were talking about. “There’s Heidi tomorrow night. But the problem with Heidi is that she’s going out of state for college.”

Robin sat beside him, meticulously applying mascara.

“My point is, do I really wanna start another relationship that has no point other than sex?” Kate almost gasped, sitting up straighter in her seat. “I mean, I don’t know, does that make sense to you?”

Steve glanced at Robin, who gave no answer. “Robin, are you listening!” Steve snapped.

Robin snickered, shaking her head. “Yes I’m listening!”

“Really?” Steve rebutted. “What did I just say?”

“Something about sex with Linda-“ Robin replied.

“Heidi.” Kate piped up from the back seat.

Steve groaned. “We’re talking about Heidi!”

“Cut me some slack, please!” Robin defended herself. “Your love life is one of labyrinthine complexity, it is seven in the morning, we have to go to this stupid pep rally, and I woke up looking like a total corpse!”

“Oh, you’re worried about a basketball pep rally? You expect me to believe that?” Steve scoffed, turning back to the road.

“Yeah-“ Robin whined, holding her face in her hands.

“So we both know what this is about- I’m not buying that bullshit, this is about Vickie!”

“It is not!”

“Ah, nope, it is! And you know what else I think?”

Robin glared at him. “I really don’t care what you think-“

“It was a rhetorical question, you’ve gotta stop pretending to be someone else when you’re around her. You just gotta be yourself.”

“You’re literally quoting me to me, right now. You do realize that?” Robin replied.

Steve shrugged. “Maybe you need to listen to yourself. Ever think about that smarty-pants? I listen to you, boom, back in business.”

“Stop talking about your business, please.” Kate mumbled, adjusting herself in her seat.

“It’s not the same thing?” Robin shook her head. “You ask out a girl, and she says no? Big deal, nothing happens. Maybe your ego’s a little bruised. But I ask out the wrong girl? Boom! I’m a town pariah!”

“I’d buy that, except Vickie is definitely not the wrong girl.” Steve replied.

“We just don’t know that, do we?”

“She returned Fast Times at fifty-three minutes, five seconds.” Steve said matter-of-factly. “Do you know who pauses Fast Times at fifty-three minutes, five seconds?”

Steve waited for a response.

“People who like boobies Robin!”

“Steve!” Kate scoffed, smacking the back of his head rest.

“Ew, gross!” Robin groaned. “Don’t say “boobies”!”

“Boobies!” Steve emphasized the point.

“Stop saying “boobies”!” Kate pleaded.

“It’s not a big deal, okay?” Steve shrugged. “I like boobies, you like boobies, Vickie likes boobies! Definitely.”

A few moments of blissful silence passed.

“It’s boobies.” Steve shrugged once more.

Kate was one more “boobies” away from jumping out of the car and onto the highway.

Luckily the rest of the ride was relatively calm, Steve and Robin still conversed but no one continued to talk about boobs.

Steve dropped them off outside of the school, Robin grabbing her uniform and quickly joining the other band members.

Kate dragged herself out of her seat, trying to remind herself she was so close to the end. “Hey, please eat today?” Steve raised his eyebrows at her, and she nodded gently in response. “And have fun, tell the children I said hello.”

Kate nodded again, turning to the school. It was bustling, as always, but especially today. The basketball team was headed to the championship, and Principal Higgins decided to throw a pep rally in their honor.

Everyone filed into the gym, cramming themselves onto the bleachers, save for the cheerleaders, the band and the basketball team. Kate was quick to move, sliding her way through the crowd and sitting down next to Dustin and Mike.

The band and cheerleaders wasted no time getting started, as they began their pep music and dance routines, respectively. Everyone on the bleachers were standing, and Dustin and Mike were involved in a seemingly heated argument.

“Look, I’m not saying that my girlfriend is better than your’s, it’s just that Suzie is a certified genius!” Dustin shouted over the crowd.

Kate rolled her eyes at their argument. “You do realize El saved the world twice, right?”

Dustin rolled his eyes. “And yet you still have a C in Spanish?”

Mike also rolled his eyes, turning back to watch the cheerleaders.

Kate scanned the people around her, noticing Max had appeared beside Mike.

Recently, things had changed with Max.

Not only did Max change, becoming what seemed like a shell of herself, but everything around her changed too. Neil and her mother separated, causing them to move out of their house, and Susan to have to pick up two jobs, just to keep the lights on.

They had moved to the trailer park, near Kerley. It was a nice trailer, nothing special, but nice. Kate knew because she helped Max and Susan move their things.

Besides having to relocate and work two new jobs, Susan turned to drinking, making Max her full-time babysitter.

It was hard on Max, really hard. Not only did she have to uproot her entire life to move to Hawkins, but in the time she’d been there she lost her brother, her home, her family, and herself.

And things fell apart with her and Kate.

Kate felt guilty after awhile, being so stuck on Billy. Compared to Max, they had spent a minuscule amount of time together. Max was his sister! They’d known each other for most of their lives. Kate and Billy didn’t even know each other a year.

“And let’s hear it for your Tigers!” A voice sounded over the loudspeaker, interrupting Kate’s train of thought.

The band began their tune as the basketball team made their grand entrance into the room, led by team captain Jason Carver.

Kate couldn’t help but crack a tiny smile at the sight of Lucas on the court. He looked happy, truly happy.

The cheering died down as Jason approached the microphone that was placed in the center of the gym. “Good morning Hawkins High!” He flashed his perfect white smile at the crowd.

The crowd cheered in response.

“First off-“ Jason paused, clearing his throat. “First off I’d like to thank each and every one of you. Without your support, we wouldn’t be here. Give yourselves a big hand!”

On Jason’s cue, the crowd roared once more.

“And of course, I have to give a special shoutout to to the best and prettiest fans of all time, the Tigers cheer squad!”

Again, the crowd cheered.

“Chrissy-“ Jason smiled again, locking eyes with his girlfriend, Chrissy Cunningham, who was sat on the floor with the rest of the cheerleaders. “I love you babe.”

Some people in the comments “awe-d” their interaction; Kate found it extremely difficult to not roll her eyes.

Jason took a moment’s pause before speaking again. “You know, I think I can speak for all of us when I say, it’s been a tough year for Hawkins. So much loss.”

Kate froze, she could feel the hairs on her arms standing up, and the sickening feeling of anxiety clawing it’s way into her chest. “And sometimes I wonder, how much can one community take?”

She balled up her fist, her nails digging into her palm. What did Jason Carver know about loss?

“In dark days like this, we need something to believe in.” Jason took another dramatic pause.

“So last night, when we were down by ten points at half to Christian Academy, I looked at my team and I said, “Think of Jack”, “Think of Melissa”, “Think of Heather”-“

Kate squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could just disappear.

“Think of Billy.” Jason’s words echoed in her brain, the memory of that night trickling it’s way back in.

“Think about our heroic police chief, Jim Hopper.”

That one was it, the nail in the coffin. Cue the waterworks.

Kate inhaled shakily, trying to make the tears go away. What the fuck would make him think it was a good idea to mention names, especially when everyone knows who was at the mall at the time of the “fire”?

“Think about each and every one of our friends who perished in that fire.”

The entire room was silent.

“What did they die for?” Jason paced again. “For us to loose to some crap school? For us to return home with our heads hung low in defeat? No!”

Kate clenched her jaw. There was no way Jason was using the accident at Starcourt as an analogy for their semi-successful basketball season.

Jason looked pleased. “Let’s win this game! Let’s win this game for them! And that’s exactly what we did! We embarrassed those candy-asses in their own house and now tonight we’re gonna bring home the championship trophy!”

“Tonight?” Mike questioned, looking at Dustin worriedly.

“How is that possible?” Dustin asked, exasperated.

Kate looked at them, confused. “They call it a tournament. You win one game, you go on to the next until there’s only one team left.” Max replied, sarcastically.

“What’s wrong with the game being tonight?” Kate asked, still looking for context in the boys’ agitation.

“We have Hellfire tonight and it’s the end of Eddie’s campaign.” Mike replied, rolling his eyes as they watched Lucas interacting with his teammates.

“Eddie spent the entire semester planning this campaign, it’s huge.” Dustin added on. “Tonight’s the night we’ve been waiting for all year.”

Kate nodded. She knew how important Hellfire was to Mike and Dustin, and how important it used to be for Lucas.

She also knew the importance of detail and planning it took to make a DnD campaign great, so she didn’t question their frustrations.

After the pep rally, Kate split ways with the guys, as did Max.

English went on uneventfully, Kate spent the entire duration of the class counting the amount of times the light above her desk flickered.

It was forty-two.

Surprisingly, Kate’s next period, she had with Max, it was an elective, art, specifically drawing. It eased Kate’s soul, for her to be able to keep an eye on Max, even if it was from afar.

The two of them, although so far apart now, were two peas in a pod. Both sat alone, at opposite ends of the classroom, often working alone, using their own supplies, staying just to themselves. Max kept her Walkman on her at all times, headphones over her ears, and Kate worked in silence, using her art to escape her own mind.

It was the end of the week, their final class period to work on that week’s project. And the theme of the week was perspective; their teacher told them to try and picture what you see about yourself from outside of your own head.

Kate longed to know what Max had drawn, but instead she focused on her own.

The colors were dark, all black and grey, and it was simple. Kate had drawn a brain, to the best of her ability, but the brain was sick, infested, crawling with bugs, and inky black veins. It wasn’t her own, at least, she didn’t feel it anymore.

The brain was sat inside a shell, like a clam shell.

She was a shell of herself. Just like Max. And they both knew everyone saw it.

Kate handed her drawing in with two minutes to spare.

She followed behind Max to her next class, which was a study period. She kept a good distance, watching as she weaved her way through the hallways, and towards Ms. Kelly’s office.

Max frequented the guidance wing, everyone knew that too.

Kate had nothing against guidance counsellors, or counseling of any kind, if that was helping Max, then good for her, Kate was happy.

However, counseling was not Kate’s personal favorite way of coping.

Every time she attempted to talk to a psychologist, therapist, or authoritative figure of any kind, she felt unseen. They couldn’t and never would truly understand the severity and complexity of her issues. So she stopped trying.

Before she could continue to her next class, Ms. Kelly stopped her. “Kate!”

Kate stopped, back-tracking a few steps. “Hmm…” She hummed. “Yes, Ms K?”

“Could you stick around for a moment? There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

Kate internally screamed, but externally, she nodded, leaning against the wall outside of her office.

She and Max exchanged glances before she disappeared into the office with Ms. Kelly.

It was only a few minutes before Lucas appeared, spooking Kate out of her daydream. “Kate, have you seen Max? She had an appointment with Ms Kelly this period.”

Kate nodded, motioning to the closed door behind her. “Yeah, she’s inside right now. Everything okay?”

Lucas’s eyebrows furrowed. “You’re the last person to be asking that.”

Kate scoffed.

“You play it cool all the time, but I know you’re not. Everyone knows you’re not okay.”

Kate scoffed again. Leave it to Lucas to tell it like it is. “Lucas, I really don’t need to hear this right now, okay? I’m perfectly fine-“

“Then what are you doing standing outside of Kelly’s office?” He asked, matter-of-factly.

“If you must know, I was on my way to my study period when Kelly stopped me and asked to talk to me.” Kate chewed her lip. “Probably about my grades, if I’m being honest.”

“Right, she totally doesn’t want to talk to you about the fact that you look like a walking ghost. Or that you were almost a victim of the fire at Starcourt.” Lucas nodded, looking down at his watch.

“Basketball’s turned you into kind of a dick, Sinclair, just saying.” Kate shrugged, tilting her head at him.

“I’m not being a dick, Kate, I’m being a concerned friend.” He replied.

“A concerned friend that really has a way with words.” Kate mumbled.

Before their conversation could continue any further, the door opened, and Max quickly ducked out of the room. Lucas followed hot on her trail.

“Kate, come in please.” Ms Kelly smiled graciously. “This will only take a minute.”

Kate dreaded it, but stepped inside nonetheless.

Ms Kelly sat down at her desk, Kate across from her in a chair, still warm from its previous inhibitor. “Kate I know this makes you uncomfortable-“

“Okay, cool, so can we make it quick?” Kate snapped, growing uneasy the longer she stayed trapped inside the room.

“Right, short and sweet, okay…” Ms Kelly glanced down at a paper on her desk. “I’ll tell it to you like it is, you’re at risk of flunking out this year.”

Before Kate could rise a complaint, Ms Kelly continued talking.

“Yes, you’re acing english, art, history and chemistry, however you’re just barely making it through calculus, and-“ Ms Kelly frowned in confusion.

“Advanced placement biology… Why did you take this class?”

“I honestly have no idea.” Kate shrugged, she didn’t even remember where her textbook was.

“Kate, I know you’ve been through a lot this past year. And I am not trying to go all psychoanalyst on you-“

“Then don’t.” Kate interrupted. “Please don’t.”

“I’m not.” Ms Kelly shook her head. “I’m simply saying, if you don’t get your at together, you’re not going to walk with the rest of your class.”

Kate sighed, running her hands over her face.

“Everyone deserves to walk with their class Kate. So can we come up with a solution to this problem, please? Then I promise, you’ll never have to step foot in my office again.”

Kate exhaled, sitting up straighter in her seat. “Do you have any suggestions?”

In the end, Ms Kelly decided it would be in Kate’s best interest to drop AP biology from her roster, wiping her record clean of the class credit. Lucky for her, she had taken a double period of anatomy and physiology in freshman year, which counted as an extra credit, and had finally come in handy.

Kate had four weeks, after spring break to catch up and bring her grade up in calculus. And as much as she did not want to participate in that class, she liked the thought of not graduating even less.

“Thank you for meeting me in the middle.” Ms Kelly said as she escorted Kate out of her office. “And I know “therapy” isn’t your thing, but if you ever need anyone to talk to, my door is always open.”

Kate nodded. “Thanks.”

Ms Kelly smiled, and Kate left the hall. She looked down at her watch, the bell for the next period would ring in less than a minute, so she decided to get a jump to the cafeteria.

She took two steps, and suddenly everything went black.

When she came back to the light, the hallway was filled with students. Kate looked down at her watch, only a minute had passed, but it felt like forever inside her head.

Quickly, Kate weaved her way through the crowded hallway, stumbling into the nearest bathroom. On her way in, Chrissy practically ran out of the bathroom, knocking into her roughly.

“Hey, what the hell!” Kate grumbled, almost tripping over her own feet after her encounter with Chrissy.

Kate dropped her bag to the floor, shaking her head a few times, gripping the sink and trying to situate herself.

She had been having blackouts recently.

They were random, there were no warning signs, and always left her feeling like she was two seconds from drowning and she had made it up for air just in time.

Her hands would shake, her ears ringing, and her skin was always hot.

She looked up, staring at her reflection. Blood, trickled slowly from her nose.

Kate clenched her jaw, quickly wiping away at her skin.

El had never had blackout episodes like she did. And if she did, she never said anything about them.

It was getting frustrating, unsafe. And they were nothing like her controlled experiments.

When she would travel into the void, or practice strengthening her powers at the cabin, Kate always felt weak, but never disoriented. She never felt like she had taken a step out of her body. She could always recount every move she made.

But during the blackouts, she knew nothing, had no control, it was awful.

She didn’t tell anyone about them either.

All of her friends knew about her searching the void, Steve, Dustin, Mike, everyone. They knew her desperation for answers, that she would do anything to potentially get Billy back. So it was no surprise to them when she recounted her searches in the vast nothingness, or when they were at the Harringtons and the lights began to flicker. They knew it was just Kate.

After a few deep breaths, Kate had regained her composure enough to join the rest of the student body in the cafeteria. One more precautionary wipe to the underside of her nose, and she picked up her bag and began her trek to the lunch room.

The blackouts always bothered her, but something specifically about this one was bothering her more than others. Something nagged at her, told her she should tell someone.

Kate entered the lunch room, and her eyes fell on Max.

Max would be her first choice, in any other situation, except this one. Max didn’t need any more reminders of the night of July 4th, not especially from Kate.

So her next obvious choices were Dustin and Mike.

Her eyes scanned the room, landing on their table, which honestly, nobody within a mile of the school could miss. Especially when it had resident Hawkins’ resident DnD King, Eddie Munson, standing on top of it, walking back and forth like it was a catwalk, no doubt spewing some sort of nonsensical story to fill the kids heads.

Dustin and Mike, and the others at the table laughed at whatever Eddie was saying. Kate almost felt bad for interrupting, almost. But she felt worse about not telling anyone about her episodes.

So bad, her feet seemed to carry her across the lunchroom without any regard to her brain, and suddenly she was standing at the end of the Hellfire table.

All conversations ceased, and all eyes fell on her.

Across the table, Eddie’s eyes lit up mischievously. “Katherine Harrington, oh gracious princess of Hawkins, to what do we owe the pleasure, of you, blessing us with your presence at our table?”

Kate fought every urge she had to roll her eyes. “I’m not the “princess” of Hawkins, and I’m not here for you.” She snapped, eyes falling on Dustin and Mike.

“Oh, so sorry your majesty. Please, do share with us your qualms.”

Kate ignored his mockery, sighing. “Guys-“ She turned fully to Mike and Dustin. “We need to talk. I need to talk to you. It’s pretty urgent-”

“Uh, how urgent, is this pretty urgent issue, because we were actually about to ask Eddie about an urgent issue we had.” Dustin motioned to Mike, then turned to Eddie, smiling.

Kate scoffed, truly in shock and offended that Dustin was about to brush off her cry for help. “Seriously Henderson? “How urgent is urgent?”

She wanted to reach across the table and smack the baseball cap right off his head. “It’s pretty urgent! How often do I come asking for your help?”

Mike frowned, sensing something was truly wrong.

“Is it about the thing…?” Mike asked, trying to play it cool. “The number thing?”

The phrase, “the number thing”, was referring to Eleven.

Kate shook her head. “No, not the number thing. It’s a totally new thing, that’s quite frankly scaring the shit out of me, so if you guys could help me take care of it with a singular ounce of urgency, that would be fantastic!”

The rest of the table stared at her in shock of her outburst.

Nobody had seen her emit any kind of emotion, besides heartbreaking sadness the entire school year, so a random angry outburst was a rare occurrence.

“Can we talk to you after sixth?” Dustin spoke before Mike could. “I understand the importance of your issues, but we’re here with Eddie first and it’s probably going to be a more simple problem to fix than your new one.”

Dustin flashed a classic Henderson smile at her, pleading silently for her to get the hell away from them before she ruined everything.

Kate clenched her jaw, smacking her fist against the table once. “Fine.” She snapped. “But your ass is getting back seat the next time we go somewhere with Steve, you got that?”

“So sorry Kate, just remember that we love you!” Dustin called to her.

She turned on her heel, making a quick escape.

The next two periods went by uneventfully, history and calculus. Kate tried to ignore the lingering feeling of imminent doom that was from her most recent blackout, as she waited by the back steps for Dustin and Mike.

They both burst through the doors, looking extremely exasperated. “Listen, Kate, before you speak, we have a question to ask you.” Mike said, scrambling down the steps to meet her.

“And let us preface this with the fact that we’re sorry we turned you down earlier, and under any normal circumstances, we want you to know that you would’ve been our first choice to ask this question to. However, given your recent mental state, and general social presence, we assumed you wouldn’t be up for the challenge-“

“Jesus Christ, just ask me the damn question already!” Kate snapped, interrupting Dustin’s exasperated monologue.

“We need you to fill in for Lucas at Hellfire tonight.” Dustin finished.

Kate gawked at them. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Please Kate!” Mike pleaded. “We’ve already asked basically the entire student body. Nancy, Max, even the guys on the chess team said no.”

“Don’t forget Steve.” Dustin nodded. “We asked your brother. And Erica, Erica said no.”

“The season finale of My Little Pony is on tonight and she refuses to miss it.”

“Right, okay, shut up for like, one second.” Kate sighed. “So you want me to fill in for Lucas in your DnD club… At the end of a semester-long campaign that I know nothing about?”

“Right, that’s exactly right.” Dustin nodded. “But, but- You’re a DnD veteran. You’ve been playing since you were like ten, and you’re like what a level sixteen?”

“Seventeen.” Kate corrected.

“Level seventeen! You’re a level seventeen sorcerer, with almost eight years of playing experience. We know how good you are because you’re the one that taught us to be as good as we are.”

Dustin literally got down on his knees in front of her, wringing his hands together. “Please Kate, please play with us tonight.”

Kate pursed her lips, taking a minute to think. “You gonna talk me up like that to all your little club buddies?” She asked, narrowing her eyes at him. “Cause I know they all think I’m some sort of mentally-ill freak-“

“They don’t think you’re mentally ill.” Mike scoffed.

“Or a freak.” Dustin added.

Kate took a few more moments to consider before sighing. “Fine. Fine, I’ll play in your silly little campaign.” She shook her head, not believing what she was saying. “But only because you’re right, about how I was the one that made you as good as you are, you little assholes.”

Dustin grinned, jumping up from the ground and tackling her into a hug. “Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you so much Kate, don’t you ever forget it!”

Kate couldn’t help but smile a bit, knowing she was helping them out. “Alright Dustin get off, you’re gonna get happy drool all over my sweater.” She shoved him off of her. “So what time do I need to be here tonight?”

“Campaign starts at seven, prep is about twenty minutes before, if you wanna be punctual.” Dustin replied.

Kate nodded. “I’ll be here at six fifty-nine, okay?” She joked.

“Being punctual means nothing to you Harringtons does it?” Dustin scoffed, making his way back up the steps.

“Hey-“ Mike nudged her shoulder. “What did you wanna talk to us about?”

Kate shook her head. She had completely forgotten about the blackouts, which was the whole reason she had asked them to meet her in the first place.

Maybe she was overreacting, looking into it too much. El probably experienced blackouts all the time, she just never thought to ask her.

“Oh, oh it’s nothing.” She shrugged. “I was just overreacting. I’ll be fine.”

Mike frowned. “You sure? You can tell me whatever Kate. If something’s bothering you- You didn’t find anything in the void, did you? You didn’t find Bi-“

“No, Mike!” Kate exclaimed, more chipper than usual. “No, it’s fine, totally fine, I promise. It’s not a big deal.”

Mike nodded, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “Okay, but if there’s anything else you need, you know where to find me.”

Kate nodded back. “Thanks Mike.”

After school, Kate passed the time before Hellfire by searching for her calculus textbook, and begrudgingly choking down a grilled cheese sandwich that Steve made for her.

“I can’t believe you’re actually going to play DnD with Eddie “the freak” Munson.” Steve muttered as they got into the car to go pick Dustin and Mike up.

Kate rolled her eyes at him. “I thought you stopped with the prejudice shit? No more uneducated predictions or being judgy for no reason.”

“Okay, well Eddie Munson is a freak.” Steve shrugged, saying it as if, duh! Kate should’ve known!

“Why do you say that, Steve? Because he likes Dungeons and Dragons? I’ve been playing DnD since I was like ten.”

Steve shook his head. “Yeah but you haven’t played in like two years. You’ve grown up.”

“There’s nothing wrong with holding onto adolescence.” Kate replied, staring out the window. “I think you should hold onto it as long as you can. God knows I wish I would’ve.”

“Okay, I’m sorry for making an uneducated statement about your new friend-“

“Eddie is not my friend!” Kate snapped, almost offended. “I’m doing this for Mike and Dustin, okay? Not for Eddie. Eddie can fuck off!”

“I thought we weren’t being prejudice, Katherine.” Steve tsk-ed his tongue at her.

“I’m not being prejudice Steven.” She snapped. “I’m stating facts.”

Steve rolled his eyes at her again. “Well whatever the reason you’re doing this is, I’m glad you’re doing it. It feels like the old you is coming back.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kate snapped, shocked that her brother would say something like that.

“The old Kate is gone, as far as I’m concerned Steve, okay? I can’t go back, I can’t change what happened, and I can’t fix myself now, so the way I am, is the way I am, and everybody’s just gonna have to learn to live with it!”

“Kate, that is not what I meant, alright? I didn’t mean it like that, why would I say something like that-“

“It doesn’t matter why you said it Steve, it’s how you said it.” Kate turned away from her brother. “You know if I could go back, I would.”

Steve sighed beside her. “Yeah and I hate it when you say that.”

“Why?! Why, Steve? Because it’s the truth! It’s how I feel!” Kate tried to stop the tears, her lip quivering.

“Really Kate, you really wish you were dead? Six feet in the ground because that alien monster thing chewed you up? That’s what you’re saying?!”

Kate whipped her head back around to stare in shock at Steve. “That is what you’re saying, you do realize that? You are saying you wish you were dead.”

Kate couldn’t speak. She didn’t know what to say.

She had never really verbalized the thought that way, it was always just, what if it had been her and not Billy?

“Steve, I-‘

“Yeah, I know, you didn’t mean it.” He snapped. “I know you’ve had a tough year. You got your shit rocked, I get it. But sometimes you have to think of others besides yourself.

I know you wish Hargrove was here right now, I know you do. But there’s people here that need you too. Those kids rely on you to keep their sorry asses safe. So forgive me, if I’ve hurt your feelings, but you need to start thinking of what kind of example you’re setting for them.”

Kate was in disbelief.

There was actually no way her brother had just given her a speech about self-image and her impact on others. He had walked on eggshells for almost an entire year around her, helped her when she was down, essentially kept her alive and breathing.

And he finally snapped.

“You still with me over there?” He asked softly, after a few minutes of silence.

“Yes, I’m still here.”

They pulled up outside of Dustin’s house, Steve honking the horn a few times to alert their arrival. “Look, I’m sorry if I killed your vibe, but sometimes you really scare me, you know that?”

Kate looked down at her boots. “I’m sorry.”

“No sorries. Nothing to be sorry for, I’m just saying you have to be aware of what comes out of your mouth sometimes, okay? Not every thought has to be verbalized.”

Kate snickered, looking up at him. “What, like “boobies”?” She raised her eyebrows at him.

“That? That was totally different!” He defended himself.

“It was not!” Kate laughed, watching her brother’s face turn red. “Did you forget I was in the car before you started talking about the female anatomy with your best friend, Jesus Christ, it was seven o’clock in the morning!”

“I’m so sorry Kate. Sorry for talking about something that like every person on this earth has an affinity for!” Steve scoffed, now also laughing at himself.

Kate’s eyes widened. “Oh, so now you’re saying everyone likes boobies-“

The door behind Kate opened suddenly, Dustin flinging himself into the car. “Why are we talking about boo-“

“We’re not!” Steve shouted, cutting Dustin off before he could finish his sentence. “We’re not talking about them. We’re not. Don’t worry about it.”

Kate’s laughing immediately ceased, although her face was still upturned in a smile.

“What time is it Henderson? How much time do we have to get Mike? Hello!” Steve rambled on, trying to change the subject.

They continued on, to pick up Mike, and Steve dropped them off at the high school with five minutes to spare.

“Okay, so when we first get in there, let us do the talking, okay?” Dustin debriefed Kate on the way in.

“Whoa, wait? You didn’t warn Eddie that I was the sub? What the fuck Dustin?” Kate groaned, following them down the hallway.

“If we would’ve warned him it was you, I think he actually would’ve cancelled the entire rest of the campaign.” Mike said. “It’s just the facts.”

“Why does everyone think I’m that bad?”

“You gave yourself a reputation last school year.” Dustin replied.

“Excuse me!” Kate snapped, stopping dead in her tracks.

“That’s just what we’ve heard.” Mike added, covering for Dustin’s stupidity.

“What kind of “reputation” have I given myself?” Kate questioned.

Dustin looked at his watch nervously. “Kate can we table the pullaver and get back to business? Save the self-image talk for the ride home?”

“No, no, absolutely not. I already got a speech from my brother, I wanna know what people say about me. Spill.” She demanded.

Mike and Dustin shared a look, and then seemed to telepathically communicate before Mike began to speak. “We haven’t heard any specifics, okay? Just that you were like a partier-“

“You drank a lot of alcohol, smoked a shit-ton of weed, and slept with a bunch of guys, okay?” Dustin interrupted him.

Kate’s mouth fell agape. “Okay, first of all, drinking and smoking is so normal! We’re in high school. And second of all, I didn’t “sleep with a bunch of guys”, it was one. Just one. Many times-“

“Oh god!” Dustin moaned.

“Kate, seriously?” Mike also whined. “Why would you tell us that?”

“Why would you put that image into our heads?”

“I never told you to think about it!” Kate screeched, swatting at Dustin’s hat.

“Sex is a natural part of life- Stop imagining it!” She smacked his hat again.

“Stop talking about it!” Mike replied.

“I’m going to be sick.” Dustin groaned.

Kate scoffed. “Oh grow up!” She snatched her DnD manual out of his hands. “Let’s go, before we’re late. And stop thinking about it, I’m serious!”

With a string of uncomfortable groans, Mike and Dustin followed her to the room where The Hellfire Club gathered.

Kate stared down at her manual. It was old, the corners torn and weathered, and a thin layer of dust sat on the cover, mostly from sitting untouched on her bookshelf since junior year.

Before they reached the door, Dustin and Mike stopped Kate. “Okay, just stay out here until Mike comes to get you. Then, play it cool. It’s probably better if you didn’t talk as much as you normally do.”

“Dustin, you’re wearing my patience thin already-“

“Okay see you in a few minutes.” He cut her off, slamming the door in her face.

Kate only waited a few minutes before Mike reopened the door, ushering her inside quickly. “We present to you, our sub!” Dustin announced her arrival as she and Mike stepped fully into the room.

The room was dimly lit, yellowy Christmas lights cast a somewhat magical glow in the room. The board and pawns were set up on the table, and Eddie sat at the head of it, looking rather majestical himself, atop his makeshift throne.

Kate could feel the energy in the room shift as the other members of the Hellfire Club eyed her up and down. “Absolutely not.” Eddie smiled sarcastically.

“You asked for a sub, we delivered.” Dustin shrugged, stepping beside her.

Eddie sat up straighter in his chair. “This is Hellfire Club, not the Cheer Club.”

“I’m not a cheerleader.“ Kate snapped, honestly offended Eddie thought so little of her.

“My, my, the princess speaks.” Eddie chuckled. He jumped up from his chair, stalking across the room to her. “So Harrington, what’s your class and level? Level one dwarf?”

The other club members laughed at his mockery.

Kate narrowed her eyes at him. “Actually I’m a level seventeen sorcerer. And I’ve been playing DnD for like eight years now, so don’t try to convince me that I don’t know what I’m doing, okay? I’ll destroy everyone’s ass in here, without even trying.”

Eddie didn’t say a word.

“So, are we gonna finish this campaign of your’s or are we just gonna stand here and stare at each other all night?”

A few beats passed before Eddie’s face upturned in a smile. He stuck his hand out to Kate. “I guess looks can be deceiving… Welcome to Hellfire.”

Kate shook his hand.

They all took their seats at the table, Eddie propping his manual open in front of him, and he began to read from it.

So far it was a fairly uneventful finale to the campaign. The party had been traveling through the woods, when they were suddenly captured and taken to a hidden cave by a group of hooded figures.

“The hooded cultists chant, “Hail Lord Vecna”. “Hail Lord Vecna.” They turn to you, remove their hoods. You recognize most of them from Makbar. But there is one you do not recognize.

His skin is shriveled, desiccated. And something else… He’s not only missing his left arm, but his left eye!”

The room was in an uproar, although Kate failed to understand why.

“Vecna’s dead!” Mike shouted. “He was killed by Kas!”

Eddie shook his head. “So it was thought, my friends, so it was thought.” Eddie stood from his seat once again, slamming a pawn onto the pedestal on the board.

“But Vecna lives!”

Kate knew there was no time to ask questions, so she just rolled on without context.

“You are scared. You are tired.  You are injured. Do you flee Vecna and his cultists? Or do you stand your ground and fight?”

Dustin took a look at Mike, then Kate. Non-verbally they all agreed, to learn from their past mistakes and fight. “I say we fight.” Dustin replied. “To the death.”

Kate was a little nervous. “To the death.” May actually be what happened to them in this campaign.

She had heard of Vecna before, although none of them ever encountered him in a campaign.

Kate rolled the dice, then Mike, then Dustin, and all the others. But with each roll of the dice, someone was killed, until it was just Kate and Dustin left.

They were so close to loosing, to them all dying, when Dustin called a timeout. The six of them stepped away from Eddie and the table, forming in a huddle.

“Guys…” Dustin hummed. “I hate to be the one to say this, but we gotta flee.”

Kate scoffed. “Didn’t we just agree “to the death?” Do words mean nothing to you people?”

“That wasn’t literal!” Dustin replied. “Vecna just decimated us, we can’t kill him with two players.”

“He only has fifteen hit points left, don’t be a pussy Dustin!” Kate groaned at his lack of enthusiasm. “I didn’t come here to loose-“

“A pussy, really? Because I’m not delusional?”

“Delusional? How about cowards-“

“Hey!” Eddie interrupted their pow-wow.

“Gentlemen, Lady Katherine, if I may interject; Whilst I respect the passion, you’d be wise to take Dustin’s concern to heart. There’s no shame in running…. Don’t try to be heroes.”

Dustin frowned, holding his finger up. “One sec?”

They returned to their huddle. “What do we think?” Dustin asked.

“How many hit points do you and Kate have left?” Mike asked.

“Twelve.” Dustin and Kate answered at the same time.

Mike shook his head, thinking. “It’s risky as hell, but you’re the ones on the battlefield. So it’s your call.”

Dustin turned to face her. “So what do you think Lady Kate?”

Kate rolled her eyes playfully. “Do you even have to ask?”

“Screw it.” Dustin nodded, the group breaking up their huddle again. “Let’s kill the son of a bitch.”

“The chances of success are twenty to one!” Jeff, Kate believed was his name, said, as a last ditch effort to make them change their minds.

“Never tell me the odds.” Dustin replied, confident in their decision. “Give me the D20.” He said to Eddie.

Eddie smiled, tossing the dice to him. Dustin caught it, gave Kate a glance and shook it in his palm, throwing it onto the table and hoping for success. It rolled an eleven.

“Shit!” Kate whispered.

“That’s a miss!” Eddie announced, maniacally.

The rest of them groaned in annoyance. “Kate, it’s up to you! Save our asses!” Dustin nudged her forward as she held the dice in her hands now.

Kate took a deep breath in, and began to rattle the dice in her palms. She took extra long, drawing out the action, building suspense, until the moment was just right, and then she threw them, closing her eyes and waiting to hear their failure.

“Crit hit!” Dustin squealed in her ear.

The rest of them cheered around her. “What?” She gaped, pushing her way around them to see what had landed.

The dice sat at the far end of the table, a twenty staring her in the face. Her eyes widened. She had won the game. “Holy shit.”

Beside her Eddie grinned at her, bowing down to her. She shook her head. “That’s why we play.” He said. “Gotta hand it to you princess, I honestly didn’t think you had it in you.”

Kate shrugged. “Never judge a book by it’s cover, ya know?”

“I’ll take that into consideration now.” Eddie smiled back.

“Hey, hey!” Dustin was still screaming, but this time he was practically running towards Kate. “You did it! You won that shit!” He grabbed her, almost yanking her to the floor as he squeezed her so tightly.

“You killed that son of a bitch!” Mike agree, joining them in a group hug.

Kate couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh yep, I did that, totally. All me. Thanks for the accolades.” She laughed, talking herself up.

A few more minutes of revelry continued before they all decided it was time to pack up and head out. The rest of the boys grabbed their manuals and headed out the door. “Hey Harrington-“ Eddie spoke, just as Kate was about to follow them.

She stopped and turned back to him.

“You’re welcome any time.” He spread his hands out, motioning to the display laid out before him.

Kate nodded, hand twisting the door knob. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for letting me play... I’ll see you around.”

Eddie smiled, a genuine one this time, not a smile of mockery. “See you around.”

Kate left then, turning back down the hallway to catch up to the others. Outside, the basketball game had just let out too, the crowd dispersing to their cars.

Mike and Dustin had already made it to Steve’s car, where he and Robin were also patiently waiting. “Hey, there she is!” Dustin cheered, pointing out Kate to them.

Kate assumed he had already told them of her assistance to victory. “Hey, you have fun?” Steve asked, sounding very reminiscent of a stereotypical TV mom.

She raised her eyebrows at him. “Yes mom, I had a lot of fun, actually.”

Her comment made Robin and Dustin giggle. Steve shook his head. “Okay well any of you guys hungry? We can stop for food on the way home?”

“I could go for a burger.” Dustin shrugged.

“Oh, me too. Definitely.” Robin agreed, climbing into the passenger seat.

“Alright, saddle up amigos.” Steve smacked his hand on the side of his door. They all got into the car, Mike, then Kate, and Dustin.

Steve drove them by McDonalds, treating them all, save for Kate to food. Since last summer, Kate had developed a severe aversion to all forms of meat, specifically beef. It reminded her too much of the monster. Especially considering it was actually formed of human meat.

She couldn’t think about it for very long without wanting to throw up.

They dropped everyone off at their respective houses, and then headed back to their’s.

Kate untied her boots and kicked them off inside the door, and immediately headed up the stairs to her room. “Hey, wait up.” Steve called after her.

She didn’t close the door when she got to her room, signaling that it was okay for him to come inside.

She tossed her manual onto her vanity.

“What’s up?” She asked as she began to dig through her drawers to find new pajamas.

“I’m really glad you went with them tonight.” Steve spoke, leaning up against her door frame. Kate nodded, still looking for a shirt. “Those little shits are real pieces of work, but I’m glad you went.”

“It’s not that big of a deal Steve.” Kate shrugged, playing it off.

‘Not that big of a deal? Kate this is the first fun thing you’ve done all school year! And it’s your senior year-“

“Sorry Steve, not everybody’s senior year can be full of rainbows and sunshine!” Kate snapped, tossing her pajamas onto the bed.

“That’s not what I’m saying.” Steve shook his head. “I’m just saying, I’m happy you’re finally taking a step forward. Trying to move on. That’s all.”

Kate looked up at her brother. He really was trying to be sincere.

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m trying.”

Steve opened his arms, pulling her in for a hug.

“That’s great. That’s great and I’m happy for you alright?” Kate nodded as she and her brother shared a hug. “Now go to bed, alright? You had a long day.”

Kate scoffed as he released her from his arms. They both knew she would go right to bed regardless of if she had an eventful or uneventful day.

But tonight she decided she wasn’t going to search the void. She was tired, actually exhausted.

So she went right to bed.

Only an hour later, and Kate was having a hell of a time trying to fall asleep. She never had this issue, it was always, head hits pillow- immediately unconscious.

But tonight was different. She couldn’t shut her brain off. Maybe it was all the excitement of feeling like a normal person again, or the fact that she was finally on spring break. She didn’t know, but she couldn’t fall asleep.

Kate rolled from her side to her back, staring at the strips of moonlight cast onto her ceiling. She blinked, and then suddenly, everything went black.

She blinked again, but this time, she wasn’t in her bed. She was standing in a room, in a house she didn’t know.

“It’s time.” A voice, deep inside her head spoke.

Outside the windows a storm was brewing. She could see flashes of lightning, and hear the roar of thunder. It was cold, goosebumps arose on her skin.

She tried to take a step forward, she wanted to move but she couldn’t. She was frozen in place. It was like she was under some kind of spell.

“For your suffering to end.” It spoke again.

Kate was confused. She was so deeply confused. But when she opened her mouth to speak, to question whatever was inside of her, nothing came out. Not a breath, not a single syllable of a word passed her lips.

She was frozen.

Then, seemingly of it’s own accord, her left hand rose, her arm extending out, almost as if it were trying to grab something. And then it clamped down, clutching the empty air, it held on tightly.

Kate still couldn’t move, but something was changing. Her entire body felt like it was vibrating. A surge of energy coursed through her, making her feel like she was electric.

And in a split second, she awoke.

She shot up, gasping, her breathing erratic.

She was in her bed, her room was dark, and whatever she had just witnessed was not real. It was a dream. She was safe.

But it felt so real.

Her body was warm, and she felt like she could get up and run a marathon with no problem. And her arm was still outstretched, although no longer holding onto something.

Subconsciously, she wiped the underneath of her nose. Looking at her hand, there was significantly more blood than normal.

She jumped up, rushing into her bathroom to look at herself.

Everything was the same, except she did look a little more lively. Less corpselike. The shadows from under her eyes seemed to disappear, and her cheeks looked a tiny bit fuller.

But a stream of blood cascaded from both of her nostrils, all the way down her neck.

Kate shook her head, quickly wetting her wash cloth and wiping herself clean. She still didn’t understand.

Any other time she traveled into the void, it was only a trickle of blood. Sometimes it reached her chin but never further, and never more.

Even when she’d wake up with nightmares, even the particularly jarring ones, she never bled this much.

Kate sat on the side of the bathtub for a few minutes, the washcloth held to her nose as she waited for it to stop bleeding.

And when it did, she left the bloody rag sitting on the side of the tub, crawled back into bed, and letting sleep consume her.

TAG LIST

At the beginning of the month, Kate’s parents had bought her a refurbished 1970 Dodge Charger. And Billy was green with envy.

Sure, he loved his car. It was kickass. It made him a spectacle, got him tons of babes, and treated him well in many other ways. It wasn’t the kind of car Kate got, it could’ve been a thirty-year-old station wagon, and he still would’ve been jealous.

He was jealous because she didn’t have to put a cent towards it.

She woke up on the day of her driving exam, aced it, and that weekend she had a Charger sitting in the driveway, ready to be used.

Surely, it couldn’t have been cheap, as it was pushing sixteen years old, and it was spotless. Everything looked perfect, from the chrome on the rims, to the stitching on the upholstery, and the minor tinting on the windows.

Her parents even paid for the insurance, and gave her a gas allowance. And footed the bill for upkeep, which is why Billy jumped at the opportunity to change the oil in the car.

Kate had asked him to do it, one: because he needed the money and her parents would pay good; and two: because it would allow him to practice working on his future occupation.

Billy loved cars. And he couldn’t see himself going to school any further than high school, so he had decided that he was going to get into mechanical work. And maybe someday he could open up his own garage, provide for his family.

Do better than his dad did.

Kate’s plan however, was faulty.

“I’m gonna tell them I’m taking it to a garage, you can charge them whatever you want.” She had said, after explaining her genius plan to him.

That was pretty fool-proof. Kate’s parents didn’t give her the time of day on average, so if she presented them with a bill from a mechanic, they wouldn’t even bat an eye.

“You can just do it at the house.” She had shrugged, as if it was no big deal. “I mean, everyone knows we hang in the same group, so if you show up to change my oil, it won’t be that much of a shock.”

She also promised to make Steve swear he wouldn’t snitch about the whole “Billy disguising himself as the garage” bit.

Billy was not confident that Steve would hold up his end of the deal. However, Kate’s confidence in him was enough to make him say yes to the job.

So here he was, bright and early on a Saturday morning, laying underneath Kate’s car, on the freezing cold sidewalk outside of her house.

And changing the oil was already not going well.

For starters, he couldn’t get the cap off, so Kate spent five minutes searching through her father’s tools in the garage for a wrench.

Then, when Billy finally went to use the wrench to twist the cap off, it practically fell off, right onto his face. And in-turn, so did a steady stream of oil.

Kate rushed inside to grab old towels for him to clean up with, but by that time he was already ready to call it quits and go home. But nevertheless, he continued.

He emptied the rest of the old oil into the drip pan, and just as he was about to slide out from underneath the car and start replacing the oil, he realized Kate had bought the incorrect oil.

So Billy, very very begrudgingly, let Kate drive his car downtown to pick up the right oil. There was no way he was getting in his car covered in oil remnants, so he chose the lesser of two evils, which was letting her drive.

Billy sat with bated breath, inside the garage, trying to keep himself warm by the minuscule space heater, as he waited for her return.

After almost an hour, Kate finally came back, not only with oil, but an entire load of groceries.

Billy jumped up from the floor, feeling heat rise in his chest at the sight of her with her arms full of bags. “You got a whole grocery order Harrington?” He gawked, pointing at the bags in her arms. “Did you at least get the oil?”

She waved the sticky note he had written the correct oil on in her fingers. “Duh!” She snickered, pushing past him and dropping the oil at his feet.

“Well I just had to ask because it looks like you had other things on your mind.” He shook his head, grabbing the oil from the ground.

“When convenience strikes!” She replied, shrugging. “Let me know if you need more help, I’ll be inside.”

Billy rolled his eyes, venturing back out into the brisk air to finally finish the job he had started.

He went to work, pouring the new oil into the container and waiting for it to settle before testing the depth with the dipstick.

Unfortunately for him, when he pulled the dipstick back out, it was clean as could be. “What the fuck?” He practically screamed, confused and frustrated beyond belief.

Then it dawned on him.

Jaw clenched, he squatted down, noticing the oil pan underneath the car, full to the brim with oil.

He had forgotten to put the cap back on the oil container under the car.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” He did scream this time, aggressively shoving the dipstick back into it’s hole.

Fuming, he stormed into the Harrington house, startling Kate as she was putting groceries away. “What the hell!” She gasped, hand over her heart.

“I forgot to put the cap back on under your car!” He shouted back, throwing it onto the island.

Kate frowned, looking between Billy and the cap. “So-“

“Where did you put my keys?” He snapped, cocking his head at her.

She pointed to the counter beside the sink. “Where are you going?”

Billy crossed the room, grabbing his keys from the counter. “I’m going to buy another pint of oil, I’m gonna come back and change it, and then I’m going home, getting a shower and going to bed the rest of the day!”

Before Kate could even speak, Billy was gone.

The oil covering his body had mostly dried by the time he got into the car, and sped (like literally almost twenty miles over the speed limit.) downtown.

At Bradley’s Big Buy, he purchased two of the correct pints of oil, one extra for good measure.

He drove back to the Harrington house, and changed the oil, WITH the cap on the container this time, and almost didn’t go back inside to say goodbye when he was done.

Kate was sat on the couch in the living room, a mug of tea beside her and a movie playing on the television in front of her. She looked away from the screen, eyebrows raising at him. “You finished?” She asked.

Billy nodded, clenching his jaw. “Never ask me to do that again.” He huffed, walking over to the couch and plopping down beside her. “Is your brother home?”

Kate sighed, fighting with a torn edge of the blanket that was draped over her. “Upstairs.”

Billy wanted to scream even more. He had a hell of a morning, and all he wanted to do was spend some time with his girl to make himself feel better, but he couldn’t even do that.

He rolled his eyes. “Then I’d better go-“

“We can still hang tonight if you want.” Kate shrugged, grabbing onto his wrist.

Billy felt his heart soften a bit. “Course we can. I’ll pick you up, same time as usual, okay?” He whispered, standing up and bending down to be face-to-face with her.

“Same time as usual.” She replied, stretching upwards to press a quick kiss to his lips.

It was the middle of February, the heat was cranked to max in the Hargrove house, and Kate and Billy were definitely feeling toasty wrapped up in a cocoon of blankets on Billy’s bed. The lamp was still on in the corner of the room, they had forgotten to turn it off earlier.

“Quit moving around.” Billy grumbled, his face half-buried by the pillow tucked under his cheek.

Kate huffed, kicking her legs a bit to agitate him.

He popped one eye open, finally giving her the attention she wanted. “What’s the deal?” He asked, rolling onto his back. “It’s like three in the morning-“

“And I can’t sleep.” She whispered, dramatically falling back against the pillows.

“Why is this my problem?” Billy asked, internally screaming as she sat herself upright against the wall.

“The moment you invited me over, it became a you problem.” She raised her eyebrows, tugging on the blanket.

He sighed, rolling over onto his side again and propping himself up on an elbow. “What do you want me to do about it? Should I call the sandman-“

“Let’s talk.” Kate replied, eyes flitting over the various posters hung on his wall.

“Talk? About what?”

She shrugged, still looking around at the posters.

Billy reached out with his free hand, fingers brushing over the scar on her thigh. He still remembered the night she got it.

Kate’s eyes trailed down to where his fingers touched her skin. “Remember that night?” She asked, keeping her voice low.

Billy nodded.

In hindsight, he wasn’t proud of his actions that night. It was one of the major reasons they had to keep their relationship so hush-hush; He had burned bridges with everyone that was close to Kate, all within the span of a few minutes. Steve, Mike, Lucas, and Max.

Sorry as he was, he didn’t want to forget that night. Or the way Kate looked when he had first arrived at the Byers home.

The moon was shining just right on her, illuminating her features, making her look almost angel-like. Then he idiotic brother had to stick his nose where it didn’t belong and everything went to shit from there.

He also would never forget that first kiss.

Be as it might, a form of bribery to get him to leave, it was as real a “first kiss” in their relationship, as any other first kiss Billy had ever had. Even if then, it didn’t really mean anything.

“That was a hot kiss.” He smiled coyly, knowing this would make Kate fluster. And it did, her cheeks turned pink as she remembered the night too.

“Whatever-“ She rolled her eyes, playing it off. She grabbed his hand from her leg, holding it up and examining it. “Where’d you get those?”

She was talking about the scattered white specks that decorated his hand. “Somebody dared me to break into a car.”

Kate furrowed her eyebrows, looking at him suspiciously.

Specifically, he was at a party, and the DD of his friend group had locked his keys in his car accidentally.

They tried everything they could before reaching the conclusion of breaking the window; Picking the handle lock, using a wire hanger to get into the window, etc.

It went a little something like:

“The only other way I see this happening is if we break the window open.”

“You have insurance right?”

Then Billy said “I’ll just break it with my fist.”

And all his friends looked at him like he had two heads. But all it took was one “Bet you won’t.” For him to punch his fist straight through the glass.

They immediately went to the emergency room.

“You’re serious?” She asked, finally deciding that she believed him.

“Cross my heart.” He nodded, pulling his hand from between her’s and crossing his heart.

His eyes studied her face, coming to rest on a small scar, just at the edge of her hairline on her forehead. “What’s that one from?”

Kate lifted her hand to touch it, trying to remember where it came from. “Freshman year, went to a softball game, got cracked in the head.”

Billy couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of Kate getting obliterated by a softball. “It’s actually not funny because it gave me a concussion and I had to be wheeled out in an ambulance in front of the entire softball game.”

Kate wasn’t being entirely serious, as she spoke her mouth upturned in a smile. Like she couldn’t help but laugh at herself.

“Okay, what about that one?” She asked, leaning forward and tapping his chin, where a small scar was wedged by his lower lip.

“You sure you don’t already know the answer to that one?” He asked, eyes shifting to look out the window.

Kate sighed, fidgeting a bit. “Your dad.” She answered for herself.

“Good old Neil.” Billy nodded. “One of many.”

Kate sighed again, sinking herself back down on the bed and wrapping the blankets around herself. “You ever break any bones?” She asked, laying on her side to face him.

Billy shook his head. “I sprained my wrist though once. Beat some kid up in like fifth grade, and my hand took a beating too.”

“That’s not nice!” Kate gasped, swatting at his arm.

Billy shrugged, rolling over to lay on his back. “You ever break anything? I wouldn’t be surprised, you’re like the most clumsy person I’ve ever met-“

“Oh seriously?” She scoffed, fluffing her pillow. “I’ve broken both of my ankles, three fingers, and almost my back.”

Billy whipped his head around, staring at her in disbelief. “How do you almost break your back?”

“Rope swing and shallow water.” She nodded, clicking her tongue. “I landed on my ass though, not my feet, so I kinda broke my own fall.”

Billy was torn between laughing his ass off at the thought of that scenario playing out in real life, and being genuinely concerned for her wellbeing.

“Maybe you’re right, I am kinda clumsy.” She mumbled, cuddling into his side. “Got any more fun stories to tell me?”

Billy blinked, a small smile appearing on his face. He began to recount the time he flipped off his surfboard and gave himself a black eye from hitting the fin.

And the time he tripped over Max’s Barbie Dreamhouse and not only broke it, but also the handle off his bedroom door. (From running away from his father.)

And the time that he thought it was a good idea to touch freshly-poured tar and it stuck to his hand for a week, and left a nasty scar to boot.

By the time he had finished the third story, he glanced down. Kate was fast asleep, nestled into his chest.