March 23rd, 1986

Hawkins, Indiana

"How does it make you feel when he yells at you?" She furrowed her brow at the question but took a moment to think it over.

Placing her hands on the table awkwardly, she shrugs slightly. "I don't remember." She said, drawing invisible figures on the white table.

"No? Not a thing... Curious." He mumbled, not believing the girl before leaning over the table to offer her a kind smile. "It'll be our little secret, just between us." He told her softly.

She nodded before looking at the reflective surface beside them, "I can feel them watching..." She let out a hushed whisper before switching her gaze back onto the man, "Why are they watching?"

"How about... You write it down, huh?" He offered, avoiding her question before tearing a piece of paper out of his journal. "Then, they can't hear you..." He whispered back.

Nodding slowly, she dragged the paper towards her before grasping the pen he held out.

Quickly scribbling down the word, her handwriting shaky and messy, before folding the paper over the word and slid it back.

"Is that... Wrong?" She questioned sadly as the man's blue eyes read over the single word. "It's perfectly natural." His words soothed her.

"Do we get to play now?" She questioned with a shy smile. "Not until after the first few tests, then you'll be given time to rest and play before the last one. Is that okay?"

Hesitantly nodding, she shrugged slightly. "I guess..." She mumbled glumly, watching as the man stood from his chair before mimicking his action.

"Perfect, because I believe you're ready to begin." His lips held a pleased smile as he held his hand out to the girl, watching as she slowly took it before following him out of the room, failing to notice the open note he left on the surface of the table next to an open notebook.

~~~

"Okay. She's in." Steve's voice pulled me out of my thoughts, scrunching my eyes together in a poor attempt to wake myself up and concentrate. "I'm missing collar bones, not eyes." Dustin mumbled as he leaned between the space that separated Steve and I's seats. "So... we gonna talk about... it?" Dustin questioned Steve awkwardly as he looked over at me before glancing back at Steve.

Though Steve didn't seem to be paying any attention, his eyes were still glued to the front door of Ms. Kelley's house. "Huh? Sorry, talk about what?" Steve questioned, moving to face Dustin who only squinted his eyes at him. "Your temporary insanity earlier today when you practically threw yourself at Nance?" He elaborated.

Waiting for his answer, Steve's eyes quickly darted between Dustin and me as he shook his head at the accusation. "I think it's obvious that's not what happened. I mean-" Steve gestured a hand at me while I only raised an eyebrow in question. "Pretty sure that's what happened. It was pretty public." Dustin continued, pulling a scoff from Steve.

"Nell, help me out here." He stated, shaking his head at Dustin. "I don't know, Steve... Lots of witnesses." I teased, sure it was a little odd how quick he was to jump at the chance of not being the babysitter for once but Nancy is our friend and he was right, now isn't the time to be wandering around Hawkins alone.

"Are you guys implying that I still have a thing for Nancy?" He scoffed, glaring between Dustin and me. "No, but it is interesting that's your immediate assumption." I chuckled, lazily crossing my arms as I waited for him to explain himself but Dustin beat him to it. "I mean, it's the only logical explanation for--"

Steve quickly turned in his seat, eyes wide as he shook his head at Dustin to stop him from speaking. "Shut it, Henderson." He mumbled before turning back to me as I narrowed my eyes. "Explanation for what?" I questioned, turning in my seat to look at Dustin who now sunk into his seat and refused to meet my gaze.

"Look, I was just trying to protect a friend, okay? Don't wanna find her with her eyes sucked out of her skull by this Vecna creep. So, can we please stop talking about this before I punch you so hard your teeth fall back out?" Steve ranted, turning in his seat as well to look at Dustin.

Shoving a hand against his shoulder, I scoffed at his words. "Seriously?" I muttered while Dustin shook his head in disappointment. "Too far." His words caused Steve's facial expression to soften, his eyes slightly wide now. "Not cool... I'm sorry." He apologized quickly. "It's okay..." Dustin mumbled, looking down at his lap as Steve held a fist out to him before Dustin quickly bumped his fist against it.

"Okay?" I breathed out in amazement while Steve held onto the hand that rested on my lap, his fingers lightly tugging at the edge of my skirt. "Since when did you start wearing skirts?" He questioned, arching his brow at the sudden change. "Since I figured we were done with monster hunting," I mumbled awkwardly before pulling his hand into mine. "Beginning to regret what I've packed..."

Steve shrugged off the remark as a sudden flash of blue hurried around the side of the car. Max threw open her door before sliding into the seat next to Dustin. "What'd she say?" He questioned but she quickly shook her head before leaning between Steve and me. "Nothing, just drive." She stated with a wave of her hand.

"What?" Steve questioned with a furrowed brow. "Steve, drive!" She commanded with wide eyes. "Jesus, okay..." He mumbled, switching the gear and pressing his foot against the gas. "Can I ask where exactly we're going?" I questioned the girl, turning to face her with a quirked brow. Her answer was simple enough with a wave of a key ring and a single word, "School."

"Dustin. It's Lucas. Do you copy? Dustin!" Lucas' voice drifted through the air from Dustin's walkie. "Lucas? Where the hell have you been?" Dustin spoke quickly into the walkie. "Just listen. Are you looking for Eddie?" He questioned, sounding both afraid and out of breath. Dustin rolled his eyes at the question before responding, "We found him, no thanks to you--" "You found him?"

"Yeah, at the boathouse on Coal Mill road. Don't worry, he's safe." Dustin reassured but that didn't seem to be Lucas' worry. "You guys know he killed Chrissy, right?" "That's bullshit!" Dustin yelled upset that our friend even believed that. "Eddie tried to save Chrissy." He informed him. "Then why do all the cops say he did it?" He pushed, seemingly having already taken the opposing side.

Scoffing at her ex, Max reached for the walkie in Dustin's hand before raising it to her mouth, "Lucas, you're so behind it's ridiculous, okay? Just meet us at school. We'll explain later." She rushed the instruction to Lucas. "I... I can't. I think some real bad shit's about to go down." He was practically whispering into the mic now. "What are you talking about? What bad shit?"

Max's question would remain unanswered as the line went dead, static hitting our ears as we waited for a response. "Lucas? Lucas?" Max continued to call out to him but he never responded.

~~~

I'm currently trying to rationalize break-and-entering my old high school, and I'm struggling to justify something completely unethical as reading the extremely personal files of my deceased former classmates. If we knew for sure that the answer was in their files, maybe it wouldn't feel so wrong but we don't know that.

Pushing through the entrance doors of the high school, Max led the way to Ms. Kelley's office while Dustin, Steve, and I trailed close behind her. "Dustin, do you copy?" Robin's voice cut through the silent hallway from Dustin's walkie. "Yeah... I copy." Dustin whispered as we continued down the hall, shining our flashlights onto Max as she continued to trek forward.

"So, Nancy's a genius. Vecna's first victims date back all the way to 1959. Her shot in the dark was a bulls-eye." Robin spoke quickly, her tone sounding rather excited all things considering. "Okay, that's totally bonkers, but I can't really talk right now." Dustin hurried as we turned down another hall. "What are you doing?"

"Breaking and entering school to retrieve confidential and extremely personal files." I groaned, pulling the walkie from Dustin's hand. "Can you repeat that?" Robin hummed in disbelief. "Rather not. Can you guys get over here? Like, stat. We'll explain everything later." I instructed before shutting down the walkie and handing it back to Dustin as Max came to a stop in front of the counselor's office.

Unlocking the door, Max pushed it open as we moved our flashlights around the room in search of a filing cabinet. "There..." Max whispered as my light landed on the green filing cabinet before hurrying to unlock one of the many drawers.

"This place is like a mini-Watergate or something." Dustin whispered with a grin as he looked between Steve and me. "Hawkinsgate, sure..." I mumbled awkwardly. "Didn't those guys get caught?" Steve questioned as Max searched through the top drawer. "Seriously don't miss this place." I mumbled, scanning my eyes over the many posters that Ms. Kelley had posted along her office walls in the hopes of comforting her students.

Steve turned to me with a furrowed brow, "You saw Ms. Kelley?" His question caused me to laugh lightly. "Is that a serious question?" I shot back, with everything we've all been through the past few years I can't imagine not talking to someone.

"Holy shit." Max mumbled, her fingers stopping over a file before pulling it out. "You found it?" Steve questioned as the three of us approached her. "Yeah, and not just Chrissy's file. Fred was seeing Ms. Kelley too." She informed us before pulling out the second file. "Time to cross-examine, I guess..." I mumbled, still uncomfortable with the situation as Max moved to take a seat in front of the desk, laying Chrissy's file in front of her, passing Fred's to Steve before turning to us for confirmation.

Nodding hesitantly, Steve and I turned our backs to her as she opened the files while Dustin shined a light over the pages that rested inside them. Flipping through the pages, Max paused on a single page taking a second to read over it before turning to Steve. "Can I see Fred's folder?" Holding a hand out to Steve as he furrowed his brow before passing it over.

Lightly tugging on my shoulder to turn around, I slowly dragged my eyes over the pages that Max had pulled out of their files. Ms. Kelley had listed the symptoms and problems the two students had been facing... and the pages were alarmingly similar.

And these symptoms didn't start that long ago, they had started a week ago maybe a day between each other. Max's breathing grew heavier as she stared down at the files before slowly tracing her eyes up the wall in front of us. "Max?" I questioned, reaching to place a hand on her shoulder only for her to stay as stiff as a board, eyes wide as she looked in front of us.

"Max. Max!" Steve yelled, moving to shake her shoulders as her breathing began to grow ragged and shaky. Was this it? Was this how Vecna took his victims? He could just strike at any time and seemingly nothing could stop him. "Max!" I yelled, circling the desk and placing a hand under her chin to force her to lock eyes with me in the hopes of snapping her out of whatever trance this was.

Her body locked up before she jumped in her place, taking in a deep breath as she grabbed onto my hand, locking eyes with me before turning to look around the room. "What happened?" I whispered, pulling her attention back to me, gesturing for her to slow her breathing. "The hall... I was- I was just in the hall..." She quickly stood from her seat and pushed past Steve and Dustin.

"He talked to me." She called out to us as we quickly followed her down the hall. "He wanted to show me something... He led me here. Right, here... there-- There was a grandfather clock." She stuttered, waving a hand at the dead-end of the hallway. The wall was completely intact, nothing out of the ordinary besides the school colors painted on its plain white surface.

The sound of the entrance doors being pushed open and the sound of rushing footsteps pulled our attention away from the wall. "Stay with her, I'll get Nance and Robin." I muttered to the two boys before moving down the hall.

"Did you find anything?" Nancy questioned, coming to a halt once her flashlight landed on me as I rounded a corner to spot her and Robin. "Possibly... and maybe more." I mumbled, nodding for the two to follow me back to the group. "Well, what happened? What'd you guys find?" Robin questioned as we rushed down the hall.

"Chrissy and Fred saw Ms. Kelley. They started experiencing the same symptoms at least a week ago and then something-- Something happened to Max. Vecna showed her something..." I rushed the explanation as we found the group still staring at the dead end. "What was it?" Nancy questioned as she dragged her light over the bare wall. "A grandfather clock..." I mumbled.

Max shook her head, still confused about what had just happened to her. "It was here. Right here." Her voice shook as she spoke, moving her light around the wall in the hopes of finding anything out of the ordinary. "A grandfather clock?" Nancy questioned.

She nodded hesitantly, "It was so real... And then, when I got closer, suddenly I just... Nell woke me up." She mumbled turning around to face me. "It was like she was in a trance." I whispered turning to look at Dustin and Steve for support. "Exactly what Eddie said happened to Chrissy." Dustin agreed, carefully piecing together the information.

"That's not even the worst part..." She mumbled before pushing past us and rushing back into Ms. Kelley's office. Pulling the symptoms sheet out of the two files, Max gestured to the two pages while the rest of us surrounded her. "Fred and Chrissy, they both came to Ms. Kelley for help. Uh- Both were having headaches, bad headaches that wouldn't go away. And then... then the nightmares. Trouble sleeping. They'd wake up in a cold sweat. Then they'd start seeing things. Bad things... from their past. These visions, they just... they kept on getting worse and worse, until eventually-- Everything ended."

"Vecna's curse." Robin mumbled as she looked up from the list. Max nodded, staring down at the desk in thought, her eyebrows scrunched together painfully. "Chrissy's headache started a week ago. Fred's, six days ago. I've been having them for five days... I don't know how long I have. All I know is that, for Fred and Chrissy, they both died less than twenty-four hours after their first vision." Max took in a deep breath, fighting to keep her composure. "And I just saw that goddamn clock, so..." One more shaky breath, "Looks like I'm gonna die tomorrow."

Once the words fell from her lips, a distant clang could be heard from somewhere in the hallway. Gripping my hand tightly, Steve turned to the rest of the group. "Stay here." He muttered sternly before separating himself from the group, carefully approaching the door of the office before pausing and grabbing the floor lamp that sat in front of the wall.

Carrying the lamp out into the hall as a weapon, Steve disappeared out of our line of sight, causing the five of us to turn to one another before quietly following him out into the hall. Shining our lights past Steve's cautious form caused him to shake his head slightly in annoyance but he continued moving down the hall.

The sound of rushing footsteps reached our ears, coming from the hall to our left. Gripping onto the lamp a little tighter, Steve raised the weapon into the air as the person drew closer to us before rounding the corner, our flashlights nearly blinding the boy while Steve had held himself back from swinging the lamp down onto Lucas who screamed in shock.

"It's me!" He yelled, holding his hands up in self-defense as we kept our flashlights trained on him. "Lucas?" Nancy scoffed out while Lucas took in a deep breath before hunching over. "It's me..." He huffed. "Jesus, what's wrong with you!" Steve yelled while Lucas rested his hands on his knees. "I'm sorry..." He mumbled. "I could've taken you out with this lamp!" He continued to yell before jerking the lamp at Lucas who continued to apologize.

Recollecting ourselves, Lucas carefully approached us as he gestured a hand behind him, "I was- I was biking for eight miles." He groaned before taking in a deep breath, holding a hand up for us to wait for him to continue speaking. "Give me a second. Shit..." He panted before taking a deep breath. "We've got a code red."

"What?" Steve scoffed out, seeing as we were kind of already dealing with a code red situation. "Dustin. I've been with Jason, Patrick, and Andy, and they've gone totally off the rails." Lucas moved past Steve and stopped in front of an utterly confused Dustin. "They're trying to capture Eddie, and they think you know where he is. You're in terrible danger." He warned but Dustin couldn't care less at the moment.

"All right. Yeah, that definitely sucks, but we've got bigger problems than Jason right now." He informed his friend before shifting his gaze onto Max who stood behind him, the girl struggling to look Lucas in the eyes.