𝟎𝟏𝟎 ᵐⁱᵏᵉ ʷʰᵉᵉˡᵉʳ ˣ ᵒᶜ

031

"ITS LIKE THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS"

Del sat up the Wheeler's dining room table, colouring with Holly when Nancy and Dustin walked in, with worried expressions.

"Morning, guys. Everything okay?" Karen smiled brightly at the two.

"Yeah. Yeah, everything's okay" Nancy sighed.

"I think it's so sweet that you guys are sticking together like this" Karen smiled.

"Could try sticking together at a different house for a change" Ted frowned as he flicked through a newspaper, something that he did every morning.

"You know you're welcome anytime" Karen told Dustin eye rolling her husband.

"Totally. You're like family" Dustin smiled. "May I?".

"Absolutely" She nodded, giving Dustin a plate of pancakes.

"Yeah, why not? Take us for all we're worth" Ted sighed.

"Okay" Dustin smiled.

Nancy took a seat next to Del who was still scribbling on a piece of paper.

"You okay?" Nancy asked.

"Just couldn't sleep. People kept blasting music
in mine and Max's ears, for some reason" Del smirked "But Holly let me borrow some of her crayons. We've been having fun, right, Holly?".

"Mm-hmm" Holly nodded.

Nancy pointed at the drawings "Is this what you saw last night?".

"I mean, it's supposed to be. I thought it'd be easier to draw it out than to explain it, but... not so much" Delilah shrugged.

"Is that... ?" Nancy grimaced as she saw the drawing of Fred and Chrissy exactly how Del had seen it the night before.

"It was like they were on display. And then there was
this red fog everywhere. It was like a dream" She explained.

"A nightmare" Max added.

"You think Vecna's just trying to scare you?" Nancy asked.

"With Hallie? Yeah. But when I made it here... I dunno, something was different. He seemed surprised, almost. Like he didn't want me there" she told them.

"Maybe you infiltrated his mind. He invaded your mind, right? Is it that big a leap to suggest
you somehow wound up in his? Like Freddie Krueger's boiler room" Dustin gasped.

"Freddie Krueger?" Holly asked.

"He's a super burned -up dude with razors for fingers. And he kills you in your dreams" Dustin told a horrified looking Holly.

"Dustin. Seriously?" Nancy raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry. It's a movie. It's not real" He told Holly before turning back to the others "Just... think about it. What if you somehow unlocked a backdoor to Vecna's world? Like, maybe the answer
we're looking for is somewhere in this incredibly vague drawing".

"God, we need Will" Del sighed, missing her brother horribly.

"I tried them again this morning, and it's the same busy signal" Max told her.