slay 'em dead//Steve Harrington

32

I wake up when I hear the radio.

"Hey, Dustin, this is Eddie the Banished. You there? Dustin, can you hear me? Dustin? Earth to Dustin."

I groan as I roll over and grab the radio. "What is it, Eddie?"

"Candy! Hey. Um, I'm gonna need a food delivery, like, really soon, unless you want me going out into the world," Eddie tells me.

I sigh. "No. Don't do that. Stay where you are, and we'll be there as soon as we can."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Listen, um... can you pick me up a six-pack? I know, it's stupid as shit, drinking right now, but a cold beer would really calm my jangled nerves," Eddie tells me.

I look around the basement and realize that Max isn't on the couch.

"Hey, I'm gonna have to call you back," I tell Eddie.

"No, don't you da..." Eddie starts.

I toss the radio down as I move towards Dustin. "Dustin!" I shake him. "Wake up."

"What?" Dustin asks.

"Aren't you supposed to be on Max watch?" I remind him.

"Yep. Yep, yep, yep," Dustin says. "Sorry."

"Then where is she?" I ask.

Dustin looks at the now empty couch. "She's right there. A second ago. I swear, I just dozed off for..." Dustin checks his watch. "...an hour."

I rush towards Nancy and shake her. "Nancy. Nancy."

She wakes up with a jolt. "What?"

"Max is gone," I tell her.

The three of us rush up the stairs into the kitchen. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see Max sitting at the kitchen table.

Mrs. Wheeler smiles at us. "Morning, guys. Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Nancy tells her. "Yeah, everything's okay."

"I think it's so sweet that you guys are sticking together like this," Mrs. Wheeler says.

"Could try sticking together at a different house for a change," Mr. Wheeler says.

"You know you're welcome anytime," Mrs. Wheeler insists.

"Totally. You're like family," Dustin says. He gestures to the pancakes on a plate on the island. "May I?"

Mrs. Wheeler hands him a plate. "Absolutely."

"Yeah, why not? Take us for all we're worth," Mr. Wheeler remarks.

Dustin smiles. "Okay."

Nancy and I sit down at the table with Max. She's drawing something. Or rather multiple drawings of something. Red and Black. And it's eerie. Strange.

"Hey," Max greets.

I smile softly. "Hey. You okay?"

"Just couldn't sleep,' Max tells me. "People kept blasting music in my ears, for some reason." Nancy laughs lightly. "But Holly let me borrow some of her crayons. We've been having fun, right, Holly?"

Holly nods. "Mm-hmm."

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

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

I look at one of the drawings. It looks like two people stuck in trees. "Is that..."

"It was like they were on display," Max explains. "And then there was this red fog everywhere. It was like a dream. A nightmare."