for you, daisies

Chapter 29

Max opens her eyes, gasping.

"Max! Max, what happened?" Annie asks her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I was... there was... a clock..." she pants.

"Dustin, do you copy?" Robin's voice says as Annie continues to soothe Max.

"I copy, where are you guys? We have a situation," he says urgently.

"We're pulling up, be there in ten seconds," the brunette replies. Nancy and Robin sprint into the school, finding the group in the office.

"It.. it was a grandfather clock... out in the hall," Max stammers.

"Show me," Nancy says. Max stands up and leads the group out to the hallway. They walk down to a corner and she stops.

"It was here," the redhead says, "right here."

"A grandfather clock?" Nancy asks.

"It was so real," she exclaims, a tear running down her cheek. Annie grabs the girl's hand, "And then, when I got closer, suddenly I just... I woke up."

"It was like she was in a trance or something," Dustin comments, "exactly what Eddie said happened to Chrissy."

"That's not even the bad part," Max turns to face the group. She begins to walk back to the office, pulling Annie along with her. The rest of the teens follow as she returns to her spot behind Ms. Kelley's desk, "Fred and Chrissy, they both came to Miss Kelley for help. Uh, they both were having headaches, bad headaches that wouldn't go away. And then... then the nightmares. Trouble sleeping. They'd wake up in a cold sweat. Then they started seeing things. Bad things. From their pasts. These visions, they just... they kept on getting worse and worse, until eventually... everything ended."

"Vecna's curse," Robin states.

"Chrissy's headaches started a week ago," she continues, "Fred's, six days ago. I've been having them for five days."

Steve covers his mouth and Annie looks down to keep tears from escaping as she holds Max's hand. The redhead's grip is tight and Annie knows she is just as scared.

"I don't know how long I have. All I know is that, for Fred and Chrissy, they both died less than 24 hours after their first vision," the redhead says, her voice beginning to break, "And I just saw that goddamn clock, so... looks like I'm gonna die tomorrow."

"Max.."

Annie is cut off by a sound inside the school, something that shouldn't be there. No one else should be inside the school.

"What was that?" Annie whispers. No one answers her.

"Stay here," Steve instructs. He grabs the tall lamp in the corner of the office, wielding it as a weapon. The rest of the group follows except Annie.

"Wait, he said to stay here.. oh my god," she whispers. Max stops in the doorway.

"Come on, Pipsqueak," the redhead holds her hand out. Despite the recent realization that she's been cursed, she still is protective of Annie. The brunette takes her girlfriend's hand as they sneak out of the office.

While following the Harrington boy, something clatters, making everyone jump. They then hear footsteps in the silent halls, running at them. Steve prepares to protect the group.

Lucas comes running in as Steve lifts the lamp up. Luckily one of their flashlights catches the Sinclair boy's face so they can see he's not an enemy.

"It's me!" Lucas yells.

"Lucas?" Nancy questions.

"It's me," he says out of breath.

"Jesus, what's wrong with you, Sinclair!?" Steve huffs.