March 24th, 1986

Wheeler Household

The Basement

All the articles were the same, well practically the same. It felt like the information had been copied down and rewritten in the next article with a new headline slapped on it. It felt useless, sitting here and reading these old newspaper clippings from the fifties while we waited on Nancy and Robin for the next step in our plan.

Creel House wasn't a complete dead-end. According to the papers the bodies had been found in exactly the same way; eyes pulled out and their limbs broken. It had to be Vecna, but that was all the papers offered and nearly all of them deemed Victor a schizophrenic who had snapped. Can't imagine how he'll feel when we tell him this thing is back...

He had a wife and two kids, they had just moved into Hawkins and seemingly nothing was out of the ordinary about them. Picture perfect up until a few months later, the mother and daughter had been found dead while the son had died a week later. Guess this was the first bad thing to happen in Hawkins and they just covered it up, like everything else.

Groaning under his breath, Steve pinched the bridge of his nose before dropping his news clipping. "Okay, be honest... You guys understand any of this?" He questioned, pacing the ground that rested behind the small coffee table we sat at. "No." Lucas scoffed out with a furrowed brow while I reached for a new article. "Maybe?" I mumbled. "Pretty straightforward." Dustin shrugged.

"Straightforward, really?" Steve scoffed, coming to a stop behind my chair so that he could stare down at Dustin. "Well, what's confusing to you?" He asked politely while Steve rested a hand on my shoulder, clutching it tightly. "So far, everyone Vecna cursed has died except for this old Victor Creel dude Nancy found. He's the only known survivor. If anyone knows how to beat this curse, it's him." Dustin explained before Steve could voice his concerns.

"Yeah, that's assuming he even was cursed, which we don't even know." Steve informed him dully. "It's all we have to work with. Like Nance said, it's a shot in the dark but so far the shoe fits..." I mumbled awkwardly, placing my hand over his.

Nodding, Steve circled my chair to grab the paper I had replaced. "Yeah, but how can Vecna have existed in the '50s? It doesn't make sense." He questioned further which was true, the Upside Down wasn't connected until '83, so how did it bleed in? Why did it stop?

"Far as we know, Eleven didn't create the Upside Down. 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 predated the dinosaurs." Dustin explained quickly.

Squinting his eyes at Dustin's words, Steve quickly waved his hands out to stop the boy from going on any further. "Dinosaurs? What are we--" "Okay. Okay." Lucas cut him off before the two ended up wasting any more time that we didn't have. "If a gate didn't exist in the '50s, how did Vecna get through?" His question caused me to nod in agreement, "And how exactly is he getting through now?" I mumbled to the boys. "And why now?" Lucas continued.

"Yeah, and why then? Just pops out in the '50s, kills one family, and he's like, "I'm good." And poof, he just disappears. Just... gone? Only to return thirty years later and start killing random teens? No, I don't buy it." Steve rambled on before continuing his pacing, releasing a heavy exhale. "Straightforward, my ass... You know what, honestly, Henderson, a little humility now and then, it wouldn't hurt you." He stated sternly, coming to a stop behind me once again while Dustin mumbled an apology.

Rolling my eyes at the two, I turned to look at Steve as he moved to place a hand on my shoulder. "Cranky?" I questioned with a smirk only for him to shrug off the comment. Turning to face the two boys, I found that Dustin's eyes lingered on Max who sat in front of the desk on the opposite side of the room, whatever it was she had been working on, she'd been going at it for hours.

"Any idea what she's working on?" He questioned as the sound of her pencil scratching against the paper filled the room. "Did she sleep?" He continued with a frown as he pulled his eyes away from her. "I mean... would you?" Lucas questioned before the door at the top of the basement stairs slammed open to reveal Robin and Nancy. "Okay, so... we have a plan." Nancy grinned as the two hurried down the stairs.

Moving in front of Steve and me, Nancy handed each of us a file with a wide grin. "Thanks to Nancy's newspaper minions, she and Nell are now rock-star psychology students at the University of Notre Dame." Robin explained as I read over the file, raising my eyebrows at just how impressive they had made us look. "I am now Ruth and Nell..." Nancy called out to me as I scanned my eyes over the fake name. "Rose?" I questioned with a frown. "What's with the grandma names?" I mumbled.

Ignoring the remark, Nancy continued. "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 cut her off with a frown. "But..." Nancy called out to put us back on track, "We landed a three o'clock with the director."

"Now all you gotta do is charm him and convince him to let you talk to Victor." Robin elaborated, earning a slow nod from me. "And then maybe we can rid Max of this curse." I mumbled.

"Yeah, about that," Steve called out before gesturing down to the news clippings. "We've been doing our Victor Creel homework, and we've got some questions." "Lot's of questions." Lucas added on. "So do we. Hopefully, Victor has the answers." Nancy stated with a shrug of her shoulders.

Pulling the file from my hands, Steve flipped through the pages before releasing a confused huff. "Wait... Wait a second. Where's mine?" He questioned, looking between Robin and Nancy who stared down at him awkwardly.

~~~

He just wouldn't let up. I couldn't see what the big deal was, why was he so adamant about not being stuck with the party? It wasn't like he'd be alone at least, he'd have Robin with him. But then again, seeing as the teen was bouncing off the walls at any chance she got, I could maybe understand the issue.

"Nancy, you're outta your mind if you think I'm babysitting again." Steve complained as we entered Nancy's room, looking for appropriate outfits to wear to the asylum. "Okay, first of all, they're not babies anymore. And Max is in real danger. She needs people around her." I scoffed at him while Nancy pulled open her wardrobe. "I know. But why does it always have to be me?" Steve complained while I took a seat on Nancy's bed, rolling my eyes at him.

"Oh my God, you have a Tom Cruise poster!" Robin called out as she walked into Nancy's bedroom, rushing towards the poster that Nancy had tacked to her wall. "You have a Tom Cruise poster." She smirked over at Nancy, whose face flushed. "That's old. It's just..." Robin cackled at the girl's excuse before rummaging through her cassettes. "Can you please not touch anything?" Nancy yelled but Robin continued her search.

"I can't do anything here, you guys." Steve groaned, not letting go of what he viewed as an issue. "Maybe I can be helpful with this asylum director dude. I don't know... I could like turn on-- my charm." He grinned at us with a snap of his fingers. "Not the kind of charm we need." Nancy smirked.

Feigning a wince, Steve scoffed before turning to me for help. "Oh, you think they're going to buy that you're a college student named Rose? Or would you prefer Ruth?" I questioned with a furrowed brow. "If we're even going to stand a chance at posing as academic scholars we should at least try to make it believable." I mumbled, trying to think over a plan that would make Steve happy.

"Um... Alright, how about this. You don't have to babysit, Robin can be Rose and you can go home. How does that sound?" I stated with a fake grin while he squinted his eyes at me. "What?" He scoffed out in disbelief. "Well, it seems kind of obvious that you don't want to stay with them and Nancy can't just make a new file appear out of thin air, so this looks like our only solution." I elaborated for him while Robin opened a music box, gasping as a ballerina folded up and spun to the melody that drifted out of it. "There's a little ballerina in here..." She grinned before pulling her lip between her teeth to contain her excitement.

Steve smirked down at me before waving a hand at our friend. "She's giving you an academic scholar vibe?" He questioned with a frown, earning an eye roll from Robin as she put down the music box.

Grinning up at Steve, I slowly stood from my place on the bed before standing next to Nancy as she pulled a button-up out from the closet. "Not exactly, but... she will." I stated, holding the shirt out to Robin who grimaced at the sight of the pink material. "Oh, please... Tell me you're joking."

~~~

Steve didn't leave once Nancy and Robin had left, it felt like he was trying to prove a point to me. The point; is that he did truly care about the party. It hardly made up for the fact that this was the second time he had complained about staying with them. But, it's hard to stay mad when he stares down at you with those soft, brown eyes.

We had returned to the Wheeler's basement once they were gone, Dustin and Lucas had taken to passing a ball between one another while Max continued to write on the desk in the corner. "Has she said anything?" I mumbled to the two as I took a seat on the couch, shooting a worried glance in Max's direction. "Nothing." Dustin answered, releasing a scoff as Steve caught the ball before he could, keeping the baseball to himself.

Rolling his eyes at Steve, Lucas took a seat on the other side of me with his eyes trained on Max. "Should we... talk to her?" He questioned, looking over at Dustin who sat on the other side of me. "Doesn't matter. It's not like she's gonna respond." He shrugged off, his eyes drifting onto the red-head as well.

"I know you guys are staring at me," Max called out, her voice caused us to jump and quickly avert our gaze, mumbling apologies under our breath as she stood from her place behind the desk. "How you think your eyes boring into the back of my head is protecting me from Vecna, I don't know." She muttered, tapping something against the desk before turning to face us.

The four of us continued to distract ourselves as she walked towards us, I awkwardly twisted the ring on my finger, Dustin read his D&D manual, Lucas today's paper, and Steve distracted himself with his baseball. "You can look at me now." Max stated awkwardly. "Thank you..." Lucas sighed as we stared up at her. "Sorry." I mumbled before looking down at the brown envelopes she held in her hands.

Releasing a heavy sigh, Max looked down at the envelopes before taking a step toward Dustin. "For you," She muttered before handing him an envelope with his name written on it. "For you," She continued down the line with Steve, me, and lastly Lucas.

Staring down at the envelope, I looked up at her with a frown. "What is this?" I questioned softly but she only proceeded to sift through the remaining letters. "And, um... Give these to El and Will." She passed me two more letters before turning to Lucas, "And Mike... If you can ever get a hold of them again."

Shaking my head at the girl, I turned to watch as Steve and Dustin opened their letters, only for Max to quickly stop them. "What are you doing? Don't... That's not for now. Don't open it now..." She explained quickly much to their confusion. "I'm sorry. What is this?" Dustin questioned.

"It's, um... It's a fail-safe. For after... If things don't work out." She explained softly, taking in shallow breaths as she looked down at the toes of her sneakers. "Whoa... Max, things are gonna work out." Lucas tried to reassure her but she quickly cut him off. "No." She stated firmly, "No, I don't need you to reassure me and tell me it's all gonna work out. Because people have been telling me that my entire life and it's almost never true."

She took a moment to breathe but continued to stick with what she'd said, "It's never true. I mean, of course, this asshole curses me... Should've seen that one coming." Releasing a distressed sigh, Max quickly moved to the table in front of us, picking up Dustin's walkie as an idea formed in her mind. "If we go to East Hawkins, will this reach Pennhurst?" She questioned.

"Of course." Dustin answered first, followed by Steve questioning, "Why are we talking about East Hawkins?"

With a single look sent by Max, Steve quickly shook off the idea. "No. No, no way!" He tried to shut down what she was planning but there was no point, she was already moving to grab her bag and rushing out of the basement. "Come on." I groaned, quickly following after Max with the boys close behind.

"Max, wait up!" I called out as she hurried down the driveway. "Max, Max... Seriously." Steve scoffed, jogging up next to the girl. "I'm not joking. I'm not driving you anywhere." He asserted but she only scoffed in response. "Steve, if you think I'm going to spend what is likely the last day of my life in the armpit, that is Mike Wheeler's basement, then you're out of your mind. So, either take me where I need to go or 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."

Coming to a stop next to Steve's car, Max pulled on the handle only for it to stay locked in place. "Open the door." She demanded as she stared up at Steve as he crossed his arms. "Uh, no." He scoffed.

"I know a good lawyer." She informed him blankly causing me to giggle under my breath before walking to the passenger side of the car. "Henderson, that super walkie of yours better reach Pennhurst." Steve called out as he fumbled with the car keys.

Moving to clip my seatbelt, I found that Max still stood in front of her open door, staring over her shoulder at something off in the distance. "Max..." I whispered, pulling her out of the trance. Shooting me a quick nod, Max slid into the seat next to Dustin before slamming the door shut.

~~~

We were back at the trailer park, Steve parked the car in front of Max's home before turning to face the girl who was slumped in her seat, having stayed silent throughout the entirety of the drive. "Alright, this better be fast, Mayfield." Steve mumbled to the girl as she quickly grabbed her bag before opening her door, "Twenty seconds." She stated before slamming it shut behind her and rushing into the trailer.

"That thing's got batteries in it, right?" Steve questioned Dustin who huffed in annoyance before shaking his head in response, "I'm not even answering that question." He mumbled, causing Steve to turn to me for an answer.

"You aren't serious... Are you?" I questioned gently with a furrowed brow. "I- I mean... Like, maybe?" He stuttered awkwardly before scratching the back of his neck. "Gonna need a straightforward answer, babe." I pushed.

Dustin quickly leaned forward in his seat. "No, don't Nell. Let him figure it out." He grinned before turning to face an annoyed Steve. "Really? You're gonna use my girlfriend against me?" He scoffed out. "She was kind of my friend first." Dustin shook his head lightly. "Seriously--"

Clearing my throat, I quickly unlatched my seatbelt. "This has been... probably the most thrilling conversation of the year. So thrilling, in fact, that I'm just gonna step out real quick." I mumbled, rolling my eyes at the two before stepping out of the car and walking up to the trailer in front of us.

In my mind, the twenty seconds were up. Her mom wasn't home and all she needed to do was drop off the letters before moving on to our next stop. Pushing open the door to the trailer, I found no one inside. On the coffee table rested the four brown envelopes that she had addressed to her family members. Moving out of the living room, I hurried into the kitchen, scanning my eyes around the space before spotting the red-head in the window, standing in the backyard, staring off into the distance again.

"Shit..." I mumbled, rushing out the backdoor and down the steps of the trailer to quickly pull Max out of her trance but once my hand landed on her shoulder she released a loud scream, pushing me away from her before falling to the ground.

Pushing herself off of her back, her eyes darted around us while I kneeled next to her, grabbing onto her shoulders to try and help her focus. "He- He was here... I-" Max rambled, her eyes moving from me and to where I assume Vecna had stood. "I know... I know. Come on, we need to hurry." I whispered before helping her off of the ground. "Don't tell them..." She whispered to me as I rubbed her shoulder reassuringly. "I won't. We don't have the time."

~~~

Our final stop was the graveyard, Max's final letter was addressed to Billy. She had asked to be alone, stating that it wouldn't take her long. The group had questioned her on what happened back at the trailer but she shrugged off their questions, looking at me to do the same. I always knew Max was strong but even when she's staring death in the face she's persistent; that good kind of hard-headed.

Billy's grave rested on a small hill in the graveyard, located not too far from where Steve had parked so we could keep a close eye on her while still giving her space. "Seriously, Nell. What happened back there?" Lucas questioned me from his place on the hood of Steve's car. "Nothing, she just needed to grab a few things." I lied quickly, hoping that the gaze I shot pleaded with him to stop digging.

"Nell, friends don't lie." He scoffed out, staring down at me with wide eyes. "If something happened, what can we do about it? Nancy and Robin haven't found anything and the clock's ticking." I reminded with a frown. What were the chances of Vecna just randomly losing interest in Max? As far as we knew, after the first trance; he was going to kill you.

"How are we doing on time, Steve?" I questioned, shifting my gaze away from Max who sat in front of Billy's tombstone, and onto Steve whose eyes darted between his watch and the girl. "It's been long enough." He breathed out before pushing open his door. "What? Steve, just give her some time." Lucas scoffed, watching as Steve hurried out of the car. "I have, all right? I'm calling it. She wants to get a lawyer, she can."

Watching Steve jog up the hill and towards Max, Lucas scoffed under his breath before turning to Dustin for help but the boy only shrugged in response. Shifting my gaze back onto Max, I watched as Steve kneeled beside her and tried to pull her away from her spot in the grass. "Max! Wake up! Hey, hey!" Steve's voice carried through the air before he resorted to clapping his hands in her face but she wasn't budging.