𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛, 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨

→ 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩

"Morning, guys." Karen smiled, rounding the table to see Nancy calming down. "Everything okay?" Karen asked, Max turning around and meeting eyes with the two... completely fine herself. "Yeah. Yeah, everything's okay." Nancy assured, Dustin letting out a small smile. "I think it's so sweet that you guys are sticking together like this." Nancy's mother moved past her, plating fresh pancakes ahead of her husband. "Could try sticking together at a different house for a change." Ted Wheeler let out, his eyes glued to his newspaper as Karen sighed, her smile dropping a little. Ted always had to find the pessimistic from the optimistic. Nancy ignored her father, moving to the table Max was sat around. "You know you're welcome anytime."

Dustin nodded to Karen, the woman smiling warmly at him. "Totally, you're like family." The boy smiled, Ted watching the Henderson boy. "May I?" He asked, pointing to the pancakes as Karen smiled. "Absolutely-" "Yeah, why not? Take us for all we're worth." Ted spoke sarcastically, earning a look from both Dustin and Karen. "Okay." Dustin smiled tightly, grabbing a plate as Ted's face dropped more and more at how many pancakes he took. Music rung in Max's ears, Nancy slowly taking a seat next to her. Taking her headphones off, Max looked away from her drawing. "Hey." She spoke quickly, Nancy saying the same. Staring at the girl lightly, Nancy sighed. "You okay?" She made sure, Max shrugging. "Just couldn't sleep. People kept blasting music in my ears, for some reason."

Max smiled a little, Nancy letting out a harmless chuckle. "But Holly let me borrow some of her crayons." Max smiled at the younger girl, Nancy looking at her drawings. "We've been having fun, right, Holly?" Max urged, the girl not looking up from her tablet. "Mm-Hm." She spoke mindlessly, Nancy looking through all of the drawings as her eyebrows knotted. "Is this what you saw last night?" Nancy asked, Max's smile dropping lightly. "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." Max shrugged, Nancy's head tilting at one. "Did Holly put this?" She pointed to a small dinosaur in one of the drawings, Max shaking her head. "No. For some reason, that dinosaur was just... there." She shrugged, Nancy humming as her eyes glanced through all of the papers.

"Is that?" She asked, bringing one forward. Two red poles held two mangled up people, Max scratching her nape. "It was like they were on display. And then there was this red... fog everywhere. It was like a dream." Max nodded to the sky of all her drawings. "A nightmare." Max added, Nancy glancing to her. "You think Vecna's just trying to scare you?" She suggested, Max nodding. "With Billy? Yeah. But when I made it here... I dunno, something was different. He seemed surprised, almost. Like he didn't want me there." Max spoke, Dustin humming as he made his way to the table. "Maybe you infiltrated his mind. He invaded your mind, right? Is that big a leap to suggest you somehow wound up in his?" Dustin shrugged, Max staring at him as Nancy stared at all the drawings.

"Like Freddie Krueger's boiler room. Or the Sawyer house?" Dustin referenced, earning a look from Holly Wheeler. "Freddie Krueger? Sawyer?" She asked, Dustin glancing to her. "Freddie's this burned-up dude with razors for fingers. And Sawyer's are this family who eats other people and wears their faces as a mask." Dustin spoke, Holly's face scrunching up as she leant back. "Really?" Nancy asked, Dustin looking to her. She nodded to Holly, as if warning the boy to not talk about cannibalism to her six year old sister. "Sorry. They're movies. They're not real." He assured Holly, earning a weird look before the girl before she went back to her drawing tablet. "Just... think about it. What if you somehow unlocked a backdoor to Vecna's world?" Dustin continued, Nancy holding up the drawing with the dinosaur.

The object seemed to be in great shape and completely spotless, making it stand out to anyone who glanced at the paper. It was perfectly placed atop of a spike, as if it was on some sort of homeade throne. Was this Vecna's... toy? That seemed silly but it could be a lead as to finding his identity. "Like, maybe the answer we're looking for is somewhere in this..." Dustin picked up a paper, tilting his head at it. "Incredibly vague drawing." He spoke, Max sighing. "God, we need Will." Dustin cursed, Max huffing. "No shit. But I tried them again this morning, and it's the same busy signal." Dustin placed the drawing on the table, Nancy looking to it. Her face dropped, picking it up quickly. "Is this a window?" She asked just as fast, pointing to one part of the drawing.