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THE WHEELER'S BASEMENT WAS SILENT, THE THREE BOYS WATCHING MAX FINISH OFF WHATEVER SHE WAS WRITING. But not without staring her down, of course. Sebastian. She wrote on the final letter, Steve sat with his arms crossed. Why did Robin have to go with Nancy? To look like a scholar?- "I know you guys are staring at me." Max let out, the three boys putting up an act immediately. "What, sorry?" Steve let out, chucking a tennis ball into the air while Lucas nervously looked at a random magazine. "Just hanging out." Dustin let out, staring at the ceiling. "How you think your eyes boring into the back of my head is protecting me by Vecna, I don't know."
Lucas gulped at her statement. Of course he wanted to save her any way possible. Standing up, Max filed through her pile of letters, pushing Seb's to the back. The girl stopped in front of the three boys, them trying their best to ignore her. "You can look at me now." She let out timidly, everyone nodding and doing as told. "Thank you. Sorry." Lucas spoke, Dustin and Steve letting out the same as they paid full attention to the Mayfield girl. Sighing, she handed a letter to Dustin, him taking it slowly. "For you." Max spoke nervously, getting Steve's letter. "For you." She spoke, the elder teen believing he wouldn't have gotten one.
"And, um, you." She spoke, Lucas taking his slowly. "And, give these to Mike, El and Will." She spoke, the three staring at her. Why was she writing letters? "If you ever get a hold of them again." She handed three letters to Lucas, clearing her throat as she held another to Dustin. "And this one is for Seb." She spoke, Dustin taking it softly. The four were all in silence, Dustin laying Seb's letter on his lap before going to open his with Lucas and Steve. "Hey, what are you doing? No. That's not for now, don't open them." Max rushed, the three stopping quickly. "Don't... okay." Dustin let out, placing his letter atop of Seb's.
He stared at the two before holding them up. "I'm sorry, what are these?" He asked, causing Max to sigh. "It's um... it's a fail-safe. For after. If things- if they don't work out." Max stuttered, trying not to cry as Lucas shook his head. "Wait, whoa. Max, things are gonna work out-" "No!" Max interrupted, Lucas taken aback. "No, I don't need you to reassure me 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." She snapped further, Steve looking down. "It's never true. I mean, of course this asshole curses me. Should've seen that one coming." Her tone quietened, Lucas staring at her.
Walking over to the table, Max held up a radio. "If we go to East Hawkins, will this reach Pennhurst and Sebastian?" She asked, Dustin nodding. "Yeah, sure." He confirmed, Steve confused. "Why are we talking about East Hawkins?" He asked, Max and Dustin staring at him.
"No, no. No!"
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"IF THINGS GO SIDEWAYS, I SHOULD MENTION I'M NOW A BLACK BELT IN KARATE." MURRAY MENTIONED, CARRYING THE BAG OF FORTY THOUSAND DOLLARS. Joyce turned to him, the two walking towards Yuri's Fish n Fly. "Hello?" Murray yelled into the large building, Joyce worried. "Hello?" She yelled, no one answering. "Hello? Hello-" Sparks sounded behind them, the two turning quickly to the plane. Joyce tensed up as footsteps sounded, a man showing up with a wielding mask on. "Who are you?" He spoke, pulling his mask up as Joyce exhaled shakily. "We're looking for... Yuri." She stated, Murray nodding to her.
"Why do you need to see Yuri?" The man asked, Joyce stepping forward. "It's actually, uh-" "It's a private matter. Is Yuri here?" Joyce interrupted Murray, the man's head tilting. "I'm sorry. I don't know how to tell you this," He got down from the plane, holding his mask as he walked forwards. "but you're a day late." He shrugged, Joyce's heart dropping. "What?" She asked, the man nodding back to the plane he was fixing. "You see the damage to this hull? Yuri was on sightseeing trip to see polar bears." Murray looked very confused, Joyce gulping down tears as she listened intently. She had come all this way... for nothing.
Her plan of coming here then finding Seb with Hopper was over. She couldn't save him. "And then, bears got into plane and pull him out of cockpit and kill Yuri." He was expressive with his storytelling, Joyce's mouth falling open. "No." She let out softly, the man nodding. "Yeah. And he loved bears. They broke his heart." The man held his heart, Murray staying silent. "Or rather, punctured it with their bear claws." He held his hands up, imitating graphically how the polar bears ripped this poor Yuri apart. He suddenly stopped, making Joyce flinch as Murray kept eye contact with the man. He started to laugh, Joyce leaning back.
She grunted once he hit her shoulder. "I got you!" He started, hitting Murray too. "I got you good!" He laughed, pointing to himself. "I'm Yuri. I'm Yuri." He laughed, Joyce chuckling slowly. "Oh." She let out, Murray doing the same. "Uh, you must be... Joycey?" He asked, the woman humming. "Just Joyce." She smiled, Yuri looking to Murray. "And you are?" He asked, a large smile on his face. "Murray." He answered, Yuri repeating his name. "Murray?" He asked, causing the man to nod. "Yeah." He spoke somewhat nervously as the man kept pointing between the two of them. "Yuri, Murray, Yuri, Murray. We rhyme." Yuri laughed, Murray 'laughing' too. Yuri laughed to Joyce, her nodding quickly.
"Yeah. I hear it."
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"THIS BETTER BE FAST, MAYFIELD." STEVE SPOKE, MAX HUFFING AS THE CAR PARKED AT THE TRAILER PARK. "Twenty seconds." She shot out quickly as she rushed to her trailer, the car sitting in silence. "That thing's got batteries in it, right?" Steve asked, Dustin looking to him. The elder teen's eyes were on his radio, the boy huffing and looking forward. "I'm not even answering that question." He spoke, Steve staring at him lost. The two sat in silence, Lucas watching Max through her window- "Yes, it has batteries." Dustin let out tiredly, Steve nodding quickly. "Yeah, I got it." He nodded, Dustin looking through the rearview mirror. "Oh, yeah. Lucas, uhm..." Dustin started, Lucas leaning forward. "What?" He asked, Steve confused.
"I think you should know that Sebastian's alive." Dustin hummed, Lucas freezing. "Like, Sebastian-" "Yes, you're buddy." Steve spoke, Lucas looking between them both. "Why now did you tell me that?" He asked, Dustin turning his head regretfully to meet Lucas' glare. "I- uh..." He stuttered, Steve looking between them both awkwardly. "We thought Mayfield being cursed was more important." Steve saved the boy, Dustin nodding quickly. "Yes!" He reached for any answer to get him out of this situation, Lucas sighing. "Where's Sebastian then?" Lucas asked, Steve waving him off. "Back with Eddie." He spoke, Lucas nodding slowly. "He apparently ran from the Russians-" "Not apparently. He wouldn't make that up." Dustin interrupted Steve, him staring at the young boy blankly.
"Yeah," He shook his head, coming back to reality. "Yeah, of course he wouldn't." Steve spoke, gulping as Lucas exhaled. He leant back in his seat, staring at the car floor. Sebastian was alive. Like, alive. Max missed the whole ordeal, placing letters on the counter for her mother and family. Placing another letter for her uncle, she stared down at her mother's letter, her eyes beginning to sting. Letting out a shaky breath, the girl got ready to leave back to the car before she caught her mother outside, the woman innocently hanging up their washing. The girl froze, gulping. "Mom." Max walked out of the back of the trailer, out of the boys' sight. The woman turned to her daughter, a smile on her face.
"Hey, sweetie. I thought you'd be with your friends today." The woman spoke, halting her activity. "Yeah, I was. I... am. Shouldn't you be at work?" Max asked, coming face to face with her mother. "Oh, Mr. Bradley let me off early. So I'm just catching up with some chores." She shrugged, Max inhaling shakily. "Um, I left some... letters inside. For you and Granny and... and Uncle Jack. And Dad." She didn't look at her mother as she spoke, shrugging. "If you can find him." She added on with a gentle shrug, her mother heavily confused. "Letters? I... I don't understand." She spoke, Max sighing as she hated to explain her situation. It's not everyday your daughter writes you letters because of a monster coming to kill her.
"I just, um... With all the murders and everything, I..." Max's mother gulped, realising soon what her daughter was trying to explain. "I know it's stupid, but I just started to think, 'What if something happens to me?'" Max shrugged, watching her mother shake her head. "Max, baby, nothing is going to happen to you." She smiled, Max scoffing. "I know. But... if it did, I just... There's so many things that I want to say, that I need to say. And..." Max's mother crossed her arms. "Promise me you'll give the letters out?" She huffed, the woman sighing. "Max, you're scaring me-" "I'm not trying to scare you." Max shook her head, her mother leaning down lightly. "Is something going on?" She asked, Max shaking her head quickly.
She reached forward to hug her mother, the woman immediately hugging back. "I'm just being silly." Max started to cry, feeling the woman rub her back. "Have you wrote letters to everyone? Your friends? Sebastian?" She asked, Max starting to nod her head. "Mhm-" She stopped herself, her mother not realising. "Sebastian? He's dead, Mom." Max shivered, the sky mindlessly becoming grey from it's usual blue. "Mom?" Max asked again, her facing the clothes that had now become covered in blood. "Mom, let go of me." Max spoke, feeling something lightly scratch her back. "Lying isn't good, Maxine." The girl froze, Vecna humming. None of this was real. "Do you really think some innocent letters are make everything right?" He asked, Max shaking.
"You've broken everything." The monster continued, allowing Max to lean back and face him. Her face paled, scanning over his features. "Your time is almost at an end." He spoke slowly, Max struggling in his grip. "Let go!" She screamed, Vecna leaning forward. "Seven cannot save you." He spat, Max screaming as he let her go. The girl fell back, landing on the ground as everything faded back to normal. The girl panted, standing up quickly. Rubbing her eyes, she blinked harshly, turning and walking back to the car as if nothing happened. "Hey, that was longer than 20 seconds." Steve remarked, Max seeing the trio out of the car waiting. "Hey, whoa, whoa. You alright?" Steve noticed her state as she stormed past him. "I'm fine, just drive." Max spoke as she got into her seat.
Lucas and Dustin joined the two, the former staring at the back of Max's head as she stared out the window. "Did something happen-" "Can we please just go?" Max interrupted Dustin, the group staying silent as they drove. One sentence rung in Max's mind,
Seven cannot save you.
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Short, I know! I'm sorry! It's not very good too but it's a filler chapter of sorts so please don't be angry at me lol I promise the next chapters will be so cool hahaha
Also, little announcement is that I'm working on an Umbrella Academy book of my own and I've just started on season two so let me know if I should spam upload all the chapters lmao
[1971 words!]
Hope you enjoyed!!
Byeee!