PSYCHO 《 stranger things 》

-3.6 grand theft... home?

chapter thirty-six!

CASSIE WASN'T SURE OF WHERE SHE WAS ANYMORE. When she touched Nancy on the shoulder, Cassie thought she was going to be transported into her mind like she had been with Max, but that wasn't exactly the case. Everything was black, like a endless void that Cassie was stuck in with no escape. She could hear Venca's voice echoing around her, a monologue of his life's story being thrown around the empty space. It didn't sound like he was talking to her, making Cassie wonder if he was telling Nancy all of this. For what reason, Cassie didn't know.

Vecna, not-so-surprisingly, was not the haunting creatures name. Instead he was Henry Creel, the real murderer of the Creel family. He was also 001, a test subject in the same lab as El. The longer Cassie listened, the more she wanted to throw up. He massacred almost a dozen children. He failed to recruit El, which was why he resented her so much. Well, that and because she banished him to the Upside Down.

Even after the long speech from Henry-001-Venca, Cassie was stuck in the dark void. She settled with sitting crisscross on the dark ground, tapping her fingers impatiently. If she stayed here much longer, she would die. Not from Venca, but from boredom. And that would be one boring way to die.

Cassie waited for what felt like forever, and what was realistically around ten minutes, before the space around her began to change. Instead of sitting on the dark floor of the void, Cassie was sat in the attic of the Creel House. Henry, she still felt weird calling him that, was staring down at her. Cassie stood up quickly, staring back at the man with a newfound hatred and growing annoyance. "What now?"

"Your time has arrived," said Vecna. Cassie tilted her head in confusion.

"For what?" she asked, "A nap? Oh, god, I know."

Cassie wished, for once in her life, that there was an off-button to the part of her brain that made her speak before thinking. It was like a reflex to be sarcastic, and normally that was fine but she didn't think that Venca appreciated her humor. If he wasn't so stoic, Cassie could imagine him rolling his eyes at her like everyone else. "I warned you. I told you to tell your friends to give up, or your death would be painful."

Vecna lifted his hand, Cassie scowling at his still disgusting skin and claw-like nails. She could feel the air being sucked out of her lungs, her hand moving to her throat instantly. She gasped, falling backwards onto the ground as her chest began to ache. It was as if something had grabbed her heart and was stopping it from beating. Black spots dotted her vision, blood dripping from her nose, ears, mouth, and even eyes. Cassie tried to cough, the blood choking her up even more and Vecna glared down at her. Cassie closed her eyes, making peace with the fact that this was her final moment.

Cassie waited for everything to be over, but that moment never came. Cassie's eyes flickered open, the air returning to her lungs almost instantly. Steve and Nancy were hovered over her in concern, Nancy's face stained with tears. Cassie sat up quickly, almost too quickly, coughing up the blood that filled her throat onto the floor next to them. "Shit, shit, fuck."

"Cassie, oh shit," cursed Steve, holding her up as she fell back towards the ground. His eyes widened in concern from the line of blood coming from her eyes, "You're all right, you're all right."

"No, Steve, she's not," said Nancy, looking to the boy in disbelief. The brunette looked over to Cassie, who had laid back on the ground, her hands on her head in exhaustion. "Do you think you can stand?"

"Yeah, just give me a second," she muttered. Nobody objected, not even her friends that she knew were watching from the other side of the gate. Cassie took a breath, holding her hands out for her friends to take. Steve and Nancy take one each, pulling her off of the ground. Nancy's arms stay around her to help the blonde keep her balance. Cassie looked at her friend gratefully as she swayed for a moment before being able to stay steady on her feet.