tw - talks about death, murders, killing, death in general
this is half proof read cause it took like an hour to write and i wanna give this to yall before i go to school which is in like 10 seconds so im sorry for spelling mistakes pls dont attack me
I ditch Kate Bush, I draw his focus back to me.
No, Max. That's not- no. You can't.
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER?" Viola asked panicked as Steve yelled her sisters name for what seemed like the millionth time.
Max looked to Viola seeing her scared face. "What's wrong with her!" Viola yelled this time, keeping her eyes on her sisters non-moving figure.
Savannah watched as Henry was tattooed. She stood quietly, observing. "All done." The man said, wiping away the excess ink. Henry was one. One was Vecna. "Not so bad, was it?" Then it clicked that this was the same man that kept Eleven. "See? There's nothing to be afraid of. Is there, Savannah?" Savannah's face morphed into a scared one as the man looked over to her, his eyes white. "Why don't you take a seat?" He asked, his voice distorted and now deeper.
She ran out of the room and into a hallway, the hallway was trashed and filled with blood. Filled with death. Children's screams made Savannah wince. "Not now." She muttered, covering her ears to muffle the screams as she tried to avoid looking at the bodies that lied in front of her. With that she turned and ran down the opposite hallway.
Steve shook the Lockeheart's girl body aggressively as the kids above him panicked. Viola was trying to set up Savannah's walkman with the tape but her hands were shaking so bad.
"Sav, just stay with me. Stay with me, okay?" He shook her before looking up and into the gate. "Whatever you guys are doing, hurry up!"
Max grabbed Viola's hand. "Vee, you need to calm down." She tried to get the girl to stop shaking. Viola just ignored her girlfriend and continued to open the cassette case flimsily. "Vee, stop." Robin ordered, crouching down and taking the cassette case, opening it easily and taking the tape out.
Savannah turned the corner, shielding herself from the bodies and running towards a boarded up door in front of her. She paused for a moment before yanking the wooden slabs, trying to get them to break off. "Son of a bitch!" She yelled, finally removing the board from it's place on the door.
The Lockeheart girl quickly moved onto the next one, tugging at it. "Savannah." Savannah's grip loosened and she slowly turned seeing Vecna walking towards her. Her eyes widened. "What are you doing? It's not time for you to leave." She quickly turned back around and continued to tug at the board. It broke off and she quickly moved onto the next one.
"Now that you've seen where I've been..." Vecna got closer as the board became looser. "I would like very much to show you where I am going." She gave one last strong tug, the board coming loose and falling to the floor. Savannah stood up and slammed the door open, expecting to exit the hallway only to find herself back at square one, in the same room where Henry was getting tattooed.
She looked up seeing the man standing before her. Eye's still the same cloudy white as before. "Take a seat, Savannah." The lights above Savannah flickered before shutting off. Then it went quiet.
Savannah let out a couple pants as she regained her breath, still in the darkness. That's when the power surged and the lights came back on. The brunette's breathing became raged as she looked down seeing the gross vines wrapped around her legs and arms, keeping her strapped to the chair.
Robin rewinded the tape quickly, her own hands beginning to shake. Jasper bit her tongue, so hard she could feel the blood already entering her mouth. "Shit, shit. Why do these things take so damn long!" The Munson girl yelled, running a hand through her hair. Eddie tried his best to comfort his cousin.
Savannah's eyes widened as she looked over to the figure in the corner of the room, just besides the dim light. It was Vecna. Her breath hitched as the creature.. or man began to walk forwards. He leaned over Savannah, tilting his head to the side. "I won't take you just yet." He told the girl. "I just want you to tell Eleven." Vecna said, beginning to raise a hand. "I want you to tell her everything you see." His clawed hand cascaded over her face, just hanging there for a moment before jolting making Savannah gasp.
She saw the Creel House tearing into two. It then flashed to the roads doing the same thing. "No!" She yelled as she saw Eddie and Jasper's trailer split as well. Then the lake, then the trailer park. All the cracks showed the same exact red glow. Just like the one from the gate. A clocked chimed making her cry out. "No!" The gate's traveled to Hawkins.
"Tell her..." She saw Hawkins being destroyed. "everything." Pictures flashed in her might quickly. A clock, another chime. Hawkins, her house, her family. "No!" She yelled again.
It suddenly went black, Savannah tore open her eyes becoming very dizzy and falling back. Luckily Steve was there to catch her. "Hey, woah, woah, woah." He said panicked, catching Viola's attention. She looked up seeing her sister's body moving normally. She hadn't been brutally murdered, thankfully.
Savannah just let out scared breaths as she held onto Steve's arms tightly. Her eyes filled with tears and she began to cry which, again, surprised Steve. "It's okay. Sav, you're okay." He reassured. "It's okay. I'm right here." He told her as she caught her breath. Savannah looked over to Steve, her vision blurred with tears.
•••
THE VAN WAS UNUSUALLY quiet as Jonathan continued his way towards the coordinates Suzie had given them.
The only thing heard was reggae music faintly coming from the radio, making the silence slightly less awkward. "Holy shit, dude. Check it out." A high Argyle said, pointing towards the outside world. "I didn't know they expanded into Nevada." He chuckled, seeing a Surfer Boys Pizza billboard. "Watch out, Domino's. Your dominoes are gonna fall."
Oliver let out a yawn as he leaned a his head on Will's shoulder, looking at the map that Mike held. "How far is Nina from Vegas?" Will asked Mike. "From Vegas?" Mike did a double take at the two before looking down at the map. "Um, as long as Suzie's coordinates are right, about another ninety miles. Why?" He asked.
"Well, once we save her, El, we should stop in the way back. El could make us, like, super rich, and we'd never have to work." Will theorized. "We could just play DnD and Nintendo for the rest of our lives." He joked. Oliver laughed. "That sounds like an amazing idea." He told his boyfriend. Mike nodded. "Yeah. Totally." Mike looked away from them.
Oliver frowned at the boys quietness. Mike was never quiet. "We're gonna make if, Mike. Jane's gonna be okay." Oliver re-assured him. Mike nodded. "Yeah, I know. I.. I know she is." He glanced over at his friends. "But.. but what if after all this is over, she.." The Wheeler boy stopped himself, sighing. "sh.. she doesn't need me anymore?"
Both boys shook their heads. "No, of course she'll still need you." Will told him. "She'll always need you, Mike." Mike shook his head. "I keep telling myself that, but I.. I don't believe it. I mean, she's special. She was born special." He told his friends, glancing over at them between sentences. "Maybe I was one of the first people to realize that. But the truth is, when I stumbled on her in the woods, she just needed someone. It's not fate. It's.. it's not destiny. It's just simple dumb luck." Mike rambled on.
"And one day she's gonna realize I'm just some random nerd that got lucky that Superman landed on his doorstep." He told them. "I mean, at least Lois Lane is an ace reporter for the Daily Planet, right? But.." He stopped talking a scoffed. "Sorry."
Oliver shook his head. "No. Mike, don't apologize." He told him. Mike shook his head. "No, i.. it's so stupid, given everything that's going on. It's just.. I.. I don't know, I just.. uh.." "You're scared of losing her." Will interrupted. Mike looked over and nodded.
The Lockeheart boy tapped Will and motioned to his bag where a rolled up painting sat, much like Oliver's but this one was for Mike. Will had shown it to Oliver, telling the boy why he made it. The Lockeheart boy could tell Mike had issues on commitment.. showing love. It wasn't easy, Oliver of all people would know that.
"Can I show you something?" Will asked, remembering the painting now. Oliver passed Will the painting, Will hesitated before passing it to Mike.
Mike unrolled the painting to show case a monster from DnD as well as four boys fighting it off. Oliver smiled just as Mike chuckled. "This is amazing." Mike complimented the Byers boy. "Did you paint this?" He asked, turning to Will. Will smiled. "Yeah. Yeah. I mean... I mean, El asked me to." Oliver frowned ay the lie. "She commissioned it, basically. I mean, she told me what to draw." Will paused. "Anyway, my point is," He pointed towards a boy with a shield with a heart painted on it.
"see how you're leading us here? You're guiding the whole party, inspiring us. That.. that's what you do." Will told him. "And see your coat of arms here? It's a heart. And I know it's sort of on the nose, but.. but that's what holds this party together. Heart." Oliver smiled. "Because, I mean, without heart, we'd all fall apart. Even El. Especially El."
Will swallowed nervously, looking away from Mike. "These past few months, she's been so lost without you. It's just, she's so different from other people, and.." Oliver saw Will's eyes watering and held his hand. He could tell he was speaking from his point of view. Mike was Will's best friend, it was obvious. "when you're.. when you're different, sometimes.." Will sighed. "you feel like a mistake." Will squeezed his boyfriend's hand, trying to regain his composure before turning back to Mike.
"But you make her feel like she's not a mistake at all. Like she's better for being different. And that gives her the courage to fight on." Will was on the verge of tears now. "If she was mean to you or she seemed like she was pushing you away, it's probably because she's scared of losing you, like you're scared of losing her. And.. and if she was going to lose you, I.. I think she'd rather just get it over with quick. Like, ripping off a Band-Aid." Mike looked at Will surprised. Oliver still held the Byers boy's hand tight.
Will took a breath. "So, yeah, El needs you, Mike. And she always will." Mike smiled. "Yeah?" He asked. Oliver and Will nodded. "Yeah." Will replied.
With that he turned away and leaned onto Oliver's shoulder, holding in the tears of fear. Oliver just let the boy sit there for a moment, wrapping a hand around his shoulders. Will leaned into Oliver more.
Jonathan let his eyes water as he looked away from the rear-view mirror. He knew.
•••
THE GROUP SAT AROUND Savannah with concerned faces. "He showed me things that haven't happened yet." Savannah said hoarsely. "The most cruel and awful things." She paused, glancing over at Viola.
"I saw.. a dark cloud traveling over Hawkins. Downtown on fire. Dead soldiers." She breathed in, looking away from her sister and down to the floor. "And.. and this.. giant creature, with.. a broad mouth. And this creature wasn't alone. There were so many monsters." She whispered, on the verge of tears. "An army. And they were coming into Hawkins. Into our neighborhoods. Our homes. And then.. he showed me..." He voice cracked as she tried not to look at Viola.
"he showed me Vee... and Olly. And they.. they were all..." Tears fell down her face. She tried to hide them due to embarrassment. She hated crying in front of others, that showed weakness. Savannah wasn't weak. "Okay, but... he's just trying to scare you, Sav." Jasper told her. "Right? I mean.. I mean, it's not real." Savannah shook her head. "Not yet." She said, looking up at the Munson girl.
"There.. there was something else. He showed me gates. Five gates. Spreading across Hawkins." She told them. "And these gates, they.. they looked like the one in the Munson trailer, but... they just kept growing and growing." Savannah shook her head as she held in more tears. "And this wasn't the Upside Down Hawkins. This was our Hawkins. Our home." Tears fell down, against Savannah's liking. "Fuck.". She muttered, hiding her face in her hands.
"Five chimes." Max suddenly spoke up. Viola looked over to her girlfriend, worriedly. "Vecna's clock. It always chimes five times. Five exactly." She told them. "I heard them too." Savannah said.
Max sighed, shaking her head. "He's been telling us his plan this whole time." Viola shook her head, looking away from her girlfriend and sister. "Five kills. Five gates. End of the world." Lucas mumbled. "If that's true.. he's only two kills away."
Eddie sighed, putting his head in his hands. "Oh Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ." He muttered. "Try 'em again. Try 'em again." Steve told the Lockeheart twin in the corner. Viola nodded, walking over and grabbing the Mayfield's house phone, dialing the Byers.
She put the yellow phone up to her ear, taking this time to let herself process the info. Her sister and girlfriend might die. Her sister and her girlfriend who has been there since forever.
The busy signal sounded through the phone making her sigh and wipe her eyes before placing the yellow phone back on the receiver. "Anything?" Dustin asked as Viola turned around. "No." Viola told him. "Rang a few times, then it went to busy signal. Like it had the last three times we tried."
"Maybe you punched it in wrong. Try again." Steve ordered. "She didn't punch it in wrong." Max snapped. "Well, I don't know." Steve shrugged as Viola turned back to the phone, repeating her actions. "Dude, I think she knows how to use a phone." Dustin told him. "I'm just saying, she could've typed it in wrong."
Viola let the line ring before it went straight to the busy signal, just like last time. "Same thing." She said, slamming the phone down onto the receiver with a frustrated sigh. "How is that possible?" Lucas asked, astonished. "I told you Joyce has this telemarketer job. She's always on the phone. Mike won't stop whining about it." Dustin complained.
Max shrugged. "Okay, yeah, but this phone's been busy for, what, three days now?" She told them. "That's not Joyce. No way. Something's wrong."
Nancy nodded. "She's right. It can't be just a coincidence. It can't be." She stopped up, walking towards the window of the trailer. "Whatever's happening in Lenora is connected to all of this. I'm sure of it."
"But Vecna can't hurt them.. right?" Savannah asked, looking over at the brunette. Nancy turned to her. "Not if he's dead." She said simply. "We have to go back in there. Back to the Upside Down." Nancy told them, turning back to face the group. "Woah, woah, no, no, no. What?" Steve said. Eddie shook his head while Jasper just let her head fall.
Steve rose from the couch and walked over to Nancy. "Let's think this through." He told the girl. "What is there to think through, Steve?" Savannah asked, standing up. "We barley made it out of there in one piece." He told the girls. "Yeah, because we weren't prepared." Nancy reasoned. "But this time, we will be. We'll get weapons and protection. We'll go though the gate, we'll find his lair, and we'll kill him." Nancy planned.
Steve shook his head. "Or he'll kill us. The only reason Sav survived is because he wanted her to." He motioned to the brunette girl. "He's not scared of us." Robin stood from the floor. "And for good reason. We were wrong about Vecna. Henry. One." She stumbled over her words. "Sorry, what are we calling him now?" The girl looked over at everyone.
"One." Lucas and Dustin said. "Vecna." Erica said with Jasper. "Henry." Nancy shook her head. Robin paused, looking around at them before just agreeing. "Right. We've learned something new about Vecna-slash-Henry-slash-one. He's a number like Eleven, only a sick, evil, male, child-murdering version of her with really bad skin. But my.. my point is, he's super powerful. He could turn us inside out with a snap of his fingers. It's not a fair fight." She ended her ramble.
Dustin shrugged. "So then why fight fair?" He countered. "You're right. He's like Eleven. But that gives us an upper hand. We know Eleven's strengths. And weaknesses." He pointed out. Jasper's eyebrows knitted together. "Weaknesses?" She questioned. Dustin nodded. "When El remote-travels, she goes into this sort of trance-like state. I bet the same is true with Vecna."
"That would explain what he was doing in that attic." Lucas pointed at his friend. "Exactly. When he attacks his next victim, I'll bet you he's back in that attic, physical body defenseless." Dustin explained.
"Defenseless? What about the army of bats?" Steve motioned to the scar around his neck. "True. We'll have to find a way past them." Distract them somehow."
Eddie stood from the couch. "And, uh, how do we do that, exactly?" He asked. "No idea." Dustin shook his head. Eddie sighed and sat back down in defeat. "But once they're gone, he doesn't stand a chance. It'll be like slaying sleeping Dracula in his coffin." He said simply. "You're saying that like it's an everyday task." Viola spoke up, shoving her hands in her jean pockets.
"Vee is right, that all sounds good in theory, but there is no pattern to Vecna's killings. I mean, at least not one that I can decipher." Robin butted in. "We don't know when he's going to attack next. We don't even know who he's going to attack." She exclaimed, looking around at the group.
"Yeah, we do." Max spoke up. Viola looked over to her, already knowing. "I can still feel him. I'm still marked. Cursed." Max spoke up. "Me too." Savannah told them. "When I was in there he told me "I won't take you just yet." He's gonna come back." She told het friends.
Max nodded. "I ditch Kate Bush, I draw his focus back to me." She spoke up. Savannah furrowed her eyebrows. "No, Max. That's not- no." She shook her head. "You can't." She ordered. Savannah cared for Max like a mother, Max has been there since the start she wasn't about to let the girl risk her life. "Sav's right. He'll kill you." Viola said.
"I survived before." She paused before unsurely nodding. "I can survive again." Viola shook her head. "I just need to keep him busy long enough so that you guys can get into that attic. And then you can chop his head off. Stab him in the heart. Blow him up with some explosive Dustin cooks up. I honestly— I really don't care how you put this asshole in his grave. Just.." She paused, looking up at them all. "whatever it is... whatever you do.. try not to miss."
The group stayed quiet. Viola shook her head. This was not happening.
A/n
so uhm. next few chapters are gonna be a wild rollercoaster