march 23, 1986
bea sits with max as the boys go over the article.
"how are you holding up, kiddo?" bea asked as max wrote frantically.
"okay for having less than twenty-four hours left, i guess," max scoffed.
"you know what i do when i'm stressed?" bea asks with a hopeful smile.
max looks up at her, shaking her head.
"i think of happy times with the people i love and i listen to my favorite music," bea suggests, smirking. her voice changes to a sing-song tone. "and i know someone likes a bit of kate bush.
max cracks a small smile. bea wraps an arm around her shoulders, giving her a side hug.
"let me know if you need something. i'm going to lay down for a bit."
"thanks, bea," max smiles, returning back to writing. bea stands up walking over to the boys.
suddenly, nancy and robin run down the basement stairs, each holding a folder.
"okay, so...we have a plan," nancy smiles, proudly.
steve opens one of the folders as they explain.
"thanks to nancy's newspaper minions, we are now rock-star psychology students at the university of notre dame," robin says, sitting down on a stool.
"i'm now ruth."
"and i'm rose."
"ruth?" steve questioned, looking up at nancy.
dustin scans the folder. "nice gpa."
"thanks!" nancy replied. "so we called pennhurst asylum, told them we'd like to speak with victor creel for a thesis we're co-writing on paranoid schizophrenics—"
"to which they said no," robin adds.
"but we landed a three o'clock with the director."
"now all we have to do is charm him and convince him to let us talk to victor."
"then maybe we can rid max of this curse."
the group looks to max who continues to write on.
"yeah, about that," steve adds. "we've been doing our victor creel homework, and, uh...we got some questions."
"lots of questions," lucas repeats.
"so do we," nancy responds. "hopefully, victor has the answers."
steve furrowed his eyebrows lifting up the folders. "wait...wait...wait a second. uh...where's mine?"
steve follows nancy upstairs, arguing with her about not wanting to babysit. robin follows closely behind, rolling her eyes.
"jeez, i don't mind babysitting," bea sighs, sitting on the floor.
max stuffed her final letter into an envelope titling it 'billy.' in the corner of her eyes she sees the boys staring at her. bea was passed out on the floor, snuggled up in blankets.
"i know you guys are staring at me," max turns her head.
the boys scramble to look busy.
"i'm sorry, what?" steve picks up a ball and throws it up and down.
lucas opened a random newspaper near him."you said you needed something?"
"just hanging out," dustin replied, picking up a book.
"how you think your eyes boring into the back of my head is protecting me from vecna," she sighs, getting up. "i don't know."
as she walked up to the boys, they made sure not to look at her. she carefully stepped over bea's sleeping body, sorting out the letters.
"you can look at me now," she states, flatly.
"thank you. sorry," dustin said, putting the book down.
the boys all muttered 'sorry', putting down their stuff.
max begins to hand out the letters. she hands them out to dustin, steve, and then lucas. "for you," she announced with each letter. "oh, and, um, give these to mike, el, and will. if you can ever get a hold of them again."
max squats down to bea's level gently shaking her awake. "here, this is for you."
"thank you," she said, tiredly.
the boys slowly pry the letters open. "what are you doing? no, don't. that's not for now. don't open it now."
"don't...okay," dustin replies, hesitating. "i'm sorry, what is this?"
"it's, um...it's a fail-safe. for after. if things don't work out."
"wait, woah. max, things are going to work out," lucas replied, worried.
"no!" max interrupts. "no, i don't need you to reassure me now and tell me it's all gonna work out. because people have been telling me that my entire life and it's almost never true. it's never true. i mean, of course this asshole curses me. should've seen that one coming."
max stops herself. she walks over to the table and picks up the walkie.
"if we go to east hawkins will this reach pennhurst?"
"of course, yeah," dustin replied.
steve sits up. "wait, why are we talking about east hawkins?"
everyone looks at steve, who was clueless. "no. no. no!"
max walks out the door, ignoring steve.
"max, max. seriously! seriously, i'm not joking. i'm not driving you anywhere."
the boys and bea followed behind. bea, still wrapped in a blanket, asked, "where are we going?"
"east hawkins, i think," dustin replies, trying to catch up to steve.
"steve, if you think i'm going to spend what is likely the last day of my life in the armpit that is mike wheeler's basement, then you're out of your mind," max spats, causing beatrice to snort. "so either take me where i need to go or you're gonna have to tie me down, which is technically kidnapping of a minor. and if i live to see another day, steve, i swear to god, i will prosecute."
max tries to open the door, but steve refuses to unlock it. "open the door."
"uh, no."
"i know a good lawyer," she states. steve looked for any sign that she was joking but found none.
he scoffs, taking out his keys. shaking his head, he unlocks the car. "henderson, that super walkie of yours better reach pennhurst."
everyone piles into the car, bea taking the passenger seat. steve waits for everyone to get situated before he starts the drive.
steve pulled up in between bea and max's trailers.
"this better be fast, ladies," he sighs, parking the car.
"twenty seconds," max replies, jumping out the car.
bea unbuckled her seatbelt, "i just need to grab some stuff and to feed tilly. i'll be right back."
bea jumps out of the car, heading towards her trailer. she fills a backpack with extra clothes, snacks, and a pocket knife. she grabbed tilly's food and put tilly on her leash.
bea knew she would be out for a while and knew one of her neighbours would love to babysit for a second.
they walk out of the trailer and head to the other trailer next door. she knocks gently on the door. after a few seconds, the door swings open, and a short, elderly woman answers.
"hello, dear! what can i do for you?" she said, opening up the screen door.
"hi, mrs. vee! i was wondering if you could watch tilly again for a few days, i have a family thing and i won't be home," bea explains, gesturing to the sitting dog.
"of course! i love having the extra company," mrs. vee replied, happily. she moved out of the doorway and allowed beatrice to drop the food bag on the floor.
"perfect! thank you, mrs. vee! i owe you when i get back," bea said, taking tilly off her leash and hanging it on the coat rack.
"don't worry about it, dear!"
"i'll be heading out. thank you, again," bea smiles, hugging mrs. vee. she bends down to tilly's level and pets the top of her head. "be good, tilly. bye, mrs. vee!"
beatrice arrives back a little after max. "let's go."
"turn here."
"here?" dustin questioned.
max simply nodded. steve turned left towards the roane hill cemetery, stopping when they reached the area near billy's grave. max jumps out the car. beatrice, steve, and dustin stayed in the car as lucas chased after her.
"hey, were they a thing?" beatrice asked, turning towards the boys.
"they were," steve replies, resting his arm on the car door.
"i thought so."
the trio watches as max leaves lucas alone.
from afar, bea could see max sitting in front of a gravestone, reading her letter. she knew she would want privacy. bea jumped out of the car.
"wait, where are you going?" steve asked, gesturing with one of his hands.
"to find someone here."
"who?" dustin replied.
"my parents."
bea slams the door and begins to walk around the familiar area until she sees a familiar name.
a stone stood, covered in dirt. the letters read 'alan e. francis, beloved father and son' and next to his headstone read 'lorraine s. francis, loving mother and daughter.'
bea stands in silence as she looks at the two. next to the stone laid old flowers that bea had gotten when she first found them again.
"i'll be back again. i love you guys."
suddenly, bea turns her head to the shout of steve. "max! wake up!"
beatrice starts running to max. "no. no. no,"' she muttered as she ran.
"guys!" steve beckoned the boys. they came running over as fast as the could.
she wasn't losing max. she couldn't. she slid on her knees in front of max's body.
"max! please, wake up!" she shouted, ignoring the boys around you. dustin runs to the car to alert robin and nancy. "come on, max! fight through!"
dustin runs to the group holding her cassette player and a handful of tapes.
"what is this?" lucas exclaimed, urgently.
"what's her favorite song?" dustin demanded.
"why?"
"robin said if she listens...it's too much to explain now. what's her favorite song?"
bea begins to search the tapes. "this one! play the first track now!"
dustin quickly inserts the tape. bea quickly puts the headphones over max's ears as lucas hits play.
the group begins to try to call her out of the trance.
"max, come on!"
"please, max!"
max began to levitate off the ground.
"no!" cried bea, pulling her hair back with her hands.
"max, wake up!" lucas screamed.
"how do you like them, max?" vecna beckoned. "would you like to join them?"
max attempts to run, but vecna stops her, catching her by her ankle.
"shit!" she yelled out in pain. "shit!"
max began to drag back towards vecna. "no!" she cried, grabbing at anything she could before she was pinned to a pillar.
vines began to surround her throat, limiting her breathing as vecna trudged closer.
suddenly, kate bush sounded around. max could see an exit. a way out. her friends were fighting for her to wake up. vecna turns around, looking at the group.
his eyes dim looking at a particular person. his head turns back to max. "they can't help you, max. there's a reason you hide from them. you...belong here with me."
"you're...not...really...here," she gasped.
"oh, but i am, max," he hissed. "i am."
"bea," she rasps, looking at her distressed friend.
"beatrice can't save you. just like how she couldn't stop me," vecna spat, hand inching towards max's face.
max began to remember what beatrice told her. she began to think of all the memories with the people she loved the most.
messing around with lucas, shopping with eleven, her first halloween with the boys in hawkins, the photo studio with eleven, eating waffles with bea during her breaks, staking out at the junkyard, laughing with eleven about the boys, skating circles around mike in the gym, the movies with lucas last summer, and the way lucas made her smile.
she gained the courage to break free from his grasp, harming him temporarily. with him fazed, she takes the opportunity to start running towards them.
vecna angrily begins to drop rubble and debris near max, trying to stop her. she keeps pushing on...
suddenly, max gasps, falling to the floor.
"max!" they all exclaim.
"it's okay," lucas reassured her. "it's okay."
"we got you now, lovely," bea added as her heart started to slow to a steady beat. she was sure she'd have a panic attack if max didn't come to.
"we thought we lost you,' lucas breathes out, holding her like she would disappear at any second.
bea huddled with the group as they embraced her. max lay in lucas's lap, catching her breath like she would after a bad dream. she was safe in the arms of the people she loved.
"i'm still...i'm still here," max replies, taking deep breaths.