SINISTER ~ STRANGER THINGS (2)

TO FIGHT AND TO LOSE

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As if they could hear their own speech, Dawn, Lucas, and Sam finally get the upper hand, taking down their attackers.

Lucas lays punch after punch on Jason, and just as the boy hits the ground, Sam finds the gun and points it at him.

"Don't even think about it," she sneers, blood running down her nose and tears clouding her eyes as the boy surrenders.

She'd be ashamed to admit that she wanted to pull the trigger anyway, just to get a little justice for Max. But that won't fix the Walkman, or make Vecna let her go. It won't make Sam feel any less guilty for not trying harder to stop her.

Finally knocking Flynn out, a now bruised Dawn rushes upstairs, pounding on the door to the attic, which Jason locked before coming up.

"Guys, open the door!"

As Sam begins to walk over to let Dawn in, she hears a sickening snap, followed by several more, forcing her to reluctantly turn around.

"No..." she gasps, watching as Max's bones begin to break, before she collapses, landing in Lucas's arms.

"Is Sam okay?" Max pants out, making the brunette's cries increase tenfold.

"Yeah, Max, I'm okay. We're gonna get you help," she lightly touches her forehead, trying to give her some comfort.

It would've worked. Sam had that ability to make anyone feel better with one touch, one smile, one comforting word. But now, Max couldn't feel anything.

"Sam, what's going on!" Dawn, now joined by Erica, pounds on the door. "Lucas?"

"Lucas!" Erica joins in.

Eventually, Dawn ushers Erica behind her, kicking the door open to reveal Lucas and Sam beaten, and Max at the brink of death.

"Call an ambulance!" Lucas shouts immediately.

"Guys, go," Sam nods, sniffling. "Hurry!"

"It wasn't supposed to be you," Sam frowns. "I'm so sorry. It wasn't supposed to be you."

"Wasn't fair..." she coughs. "Lucas..."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here."

"I can't feel... or see anything."

"I know, I know. We're gonna get you some help, okay? Hold on."

Sam gets up as quickly as she can, running downstairs to make sure the ambulance was on its way. "How far are they?"

"5 minutes," the blonde grabs her shoulders, trying to meet her friend's glazed-over eyes. "What happened?"

"It wasn't supposed to be her," she sobs, clutching the blonde tighter. "We were supposed to get her out, it wasn't..."

"Hey, it's okay. She's gonna be fine," she rubs her back. "And it's over, so they killed him, right?"

Sam hesitates as she looks around, feeling that familiar darkness surrounding her. It was faint, but there, like a shadow. 

Before she can tell her that, the ground violently shakes, splitting the house in half, and unbeknownst to them, Hawkins into four.

They quickly move out of the way as the floor parts, giving way to a fiery death. It literally looked like the pits of hell, but Sam could recognize it from the vision Vecna bestowed upon her. All it meant was this was far from over.

"Four gates, four victims. He won," Sam gasps. "It's not over."

"But that means Max..."

"She's gone," she looks at the clock sadly, eyes going dark.