voyager // max mayfield

SEVENTEEN: THIS CAN'T BE GOOD

"So... are we gonna talk about the mist thing?" Steve asked as they all got in the car the next morning. Eve had been silent since everything had happened, feeling extremely drained. She had a headache from all the power she had used, and it wasn't making her feel any better than Steve was loudly munching Pringles in her right ear.

"It's a good thing, right?" Nancy asks from where she is driving, "The fact that we have some sort of superpower on our side."

"Yeah... but it also means the mind flayer isn't dead, is Eve can still use its power." Dustin explained to them all, munching on his snickers bar, "I mean, as long as the mind flayer's alive, eve's still its cobber."

"I didn't have control of it," Eve said quietly, shaking her head, "I had nothing to do with it."

"Does the mind flayer tie into all of this again?" Steve asks, then, waving his Pringles can around, "Is that thing really back for another round? God, I'm getting so sick of it."

"Tell me about it," Eve mumbled, "It's just another massive thing to worry about, which I'm not looking forward to, by the way."

"Not to be a wimp, but can I maybe sit in the car for this visit, because this is gonna totally and royally suck," Robin asked Nancy.

"It'll be fine," Nancy said shaking her head.

"I can't stand to see those dull eyes of Eddie's break again," Robin told her, "I really, really can't."

"At least he can drink himself into heeling better," Steve said, holding up the six-pack they had kindly bought him on the way.

"That's what my mom does," Max comments, making Eve's eyes widen a little - she was a little blunt this morning.

"Why don't we just give it a trial? You know?" Robin asked the group, "Like, 'Hey Eddie! Good news first this time. We got you some Dustin-approved junk food and that six-pack you requested. Oh yeah, and we found Vecna, only the bad news is that he's in that other, darker, much scarier dimension that we told you about and the gate's closed so we have no way of getting to him. Also, the monster from the other year? Misty one? We think that's back and lil ole Eve here is still attached to it somehow, but once again we have no way of reaching or defeating it, so basically you're screwed! And, no, I know you were already screwed, but now you're like doubly, triply screwed!"

"Wait. Maybe we don't put it like that," Lucas said to her, closing his eyes for a moment.

"We say that we're one step closer to finding Vecna," Nancy says to her, "That's what we say. That's what's important. Add another monster to the mix and his head's gonna blow. So as far as he knows, Eve's fine, we're fine, we're closer to the end goal."

"See, Robin? Positive spin can make all the difference," Steve says, throwing a half-eaten Pringle into his mouth with a smile.

"uh-huh," Robin rolls her eyes.

"Oh shit," Nancy curses then, beginning to slow the car down as the group looks out to see a small crowd, as well as cop cars and caution tape.

"This can't be good," Dustin shakes his head as Nancy stops the car, everyone piling out quickly but keeping their distance - the main crowd wasn't getting any information on what had happened, if they joined them they'd be useless.