"Dustin, do you copy? It's Lucas." Just a minute away from the school, my walkie picked up Lucas's signal.
"Oh shit, it's Lucas?" Steve said.
"Lucas?" Dustin repeated.
I pulled it out of my bag, him repeating the same message. I unfolded the antenna, almost hitting Max in the face. "Lucas?"
"Daisy?"
"Lemme see that," Dustin said.
I held it up to him.
"Lucas where the hell have you been?" He asked, holding the button.
"Just listen." Lucas panted. "Are you guys looking for Eddie?"
"Yeah, and we found him, no thanks to you."
"You found him?"
"He's at a boathouse on Coal Mill Road. Don't worry, he's safe."
"You guys know he killed Chrissy, right?"
"That's bullshit! Eddie tried to save Chrissy."
"Then why do all the cops say he did it?"
Max reached forward, grabbing it. "Lucas, you're so behind it's ridiculous. Just meet us at the school. We'll explain later."
"I-I can't. I think some real bad shit's about to go down."
"What are you talking about, what bad shit?" I asked.
The walkie went to static. I frowned, hitting it. "Lucas?"
"Lucas?" Max added.
I sighed, closing the antenna. "Well."
Steve muttered something under his breath. It sounded like that little shit. He parked in front of the school, the side entrance where it was shut with a deadbolt.
"Uh, Max," Steve paused. "Did you get the school keys?"
She glanced at the key ring in her hand, the tag reading office. "Shit."
"Well, what're we supposed to do now?" Dustin asked.
"Crowbar." Max grinned, pulling it out of my backpack.
"Crowbar," I repeated, lifting it above my head.
"Ah- wait," Steve said. "Do we really want to break and enter right now?"
I frowned. "Yes."
He sighed. "Okay, guys, stand back."
I smashed the lock twice, and it clattered on the cement with a quiet chink.
"Oh cool." Dustin giggled, opening the door. He clicked his flashlight on, the small circle of light reflecting off the second door.
"Oh my god..." Steve muttered.
I handed Max her flashlight from my backpack, taking mine as well. I switched it on following Dustin through the second set of doors and up the staircase. Steve grabbed his from the outside pocket of mine as well, scoffing.
"Couldn't hand me mine?" Steve asked.
"Shh." Dustin held out a hand, peering down the hall.
"What, is there someone there?"
"No, but be quiet."
"Is it Vecna? Do you see Vecna Dustin-"
"No, I do not see Vecnca."
"Are you sure? Isn't his whole thing that he's invisible?"
"Shut up Steve," I said, elbowing him.
"We're gonna die."
"Dustin, do you copy?" Robin's voice echoed over my walkie, which Dustin had extended the antenna and was carrying with him.
"Yeah, I copy." He replied.
"So Nancy's a genius," Robin said. "Vecna's first victims date back to 1959. Her shot in the dark was a bulls eye."
"Okay, that's uh, totally bonkers, but I can't really talk right now," Dustin replied.
"Wait, what are you doing?"
"Breaking and entering school to retrieve some confidential and extremely personal files."
"Can you repeat that?"
"Just get your ass over here, stat." He grumbled. "We'll explain everything."
"Come on!" Max unlocked Ms. Kelley's door, yanking the key out of the lock.
I went in after her, crowbar raised as we entered the dark room. The flashlights shined off the metal filing cabinets and glass windows, shaking as Max fumbled with a lock.
"It's like a mini watergate or something," Dustin whispered. "Hawkins gate."
"Didn't those guys get caught?" Steve asked.
"What?"
"Holy shit." Max pulled out a file, waving it in the air.
"What?" I repeated.
"You found it?" Dustin questioned.
"Yeah, and not just Chrissy's file. Fred was seeing Ms. Kelley too." She muttered, pulling the folders out.
I frowned. "Lemme see." I took one, reading Christine Cunningham on top. It had just a few sheets of paper in it when compared to Fred's, full of paper. Different colors, scraps sticking out. Chrissy's had some eating disorder diagnosis and a ton of scribbled notes on a note sheet.
Max froze next to me, staring at Fred's file.
"Isn't this like, a massive invasion of privacy?" Steve asked, shining his light on the file.
Max nodded, slowly dropping the open folder on the table. I placed Chrissy's next to it, the scribbled notes opened.
Headaches, Difficulty sleeping, Constant nightmares, Nosebleeds, Past trauma, Depressed.
I looked up at Max. She was pale, sweating, and shaking.
"Woah, hey are you okay?" Steve stepped forward, shining his flashlight at her. "Max?"
"Max," I said, shaking her shoulders. She was standing there, frozen in front of the papers.
"What's going on, what's she doing?" Dustin asked.
"I don't-" Steve paused. "Max!"
"Max wake up!" I shook her again, her head shaking on her shoulders. I caught her eyes, white, and glazed over. "Holy shit-"
"What happened?" Dustin exclaimed.
"She-she's got the nightmares, the sleeping shit, the headaches..." I explained, frantically shaking her.
"Max!" Steve climbed over the desk, shaking her shoulders. He patted the side of her face, eventually slapping her. "Max wake up."
"Max-"
"Holy shit holy shit holy shit-" Dustin scrambled for the walkie. "Robin! Nancy, you need to come now!"
"What's wrong?"
"It's Max!" The line went flat, and he groaned. "What do we do?"
"We need to wake her up," Steve said, hitting her again.
"You're gonna hurt her!" I shouted.
"She's gonna die!" He slapped her again, and her head jerked to the side. She stumbled back, panting. I grabbed her before she fell over, holding her up.
"Max!" They exclaimed. Steve climbed over the table and stood in front of her, shaking her. "Holy shit-"
She was gasping, shaking in my arms. "I-I saw it. It-it was out in the hall..."
"Saw what?" Dustin slid over the desk, standing next to her. "What happened, what did you see?"
"Did you see Vecna?" I asked, pulling the chair over with my foot.
She shook her head, steadying her breathing. "The clock."
"What clock?"
"The clock. In the hall. I saw a clock in the hall." She explained, gasping. "And I-I heard him. He s-said my name."
"Where's the clock?" Dustin asked.
"Which one?" I added.
She stared at the door, quietly crying.
"Show us," Steve said, handing her a flashlight. She nodded, standing up and grabbing my arm. She led us out of the office and down the hall when the echoing sound of opening doors filled the walkway.
"It's Robin and Nancy," Dustin said, checking the hall.
Max let go of me and wiped her eyes, pointing the light at the end of an empty hall.
"That's where you saw it?" Steve asked.
"It was here. Right here." She said. Robin and Nancy ran up next to Steve, panting.
"What was?" Nancy asked.
"A clock. A grandfather clock." Max explained. "It was so real. And then I got closer, and suddenly it just... I woke up."
"It was like she was in a trance or something," Dustin added. "Exactly what Eddie said happened to Chrissy."
Max sniffled, turning around. "That's not even the bad part."
We were standing around the desk, back in the counselor's office. "Fred and Chrissy, they both came to Ms. Kelley for help." She continued. "They were both having headaches, bad headaches, that just wouldn't go away. And the nightmares. Trouble sleeping. They'd wake up in a cold sweat. And then they started seeing things. Bad things." She took a deep breath. "From their pasts. And these visions, they kept on getting worse and worse, until eventually, everything ended."
"Vecna's curse," Robin whispered.
"Chrissy's headaches started a week ago. Fred's, six days ago."
"And yours?" I asked.
"I've been having them for five days." She looked up at me, eyes watery. "I don't know how long I have. All I know is for Fred and Chrissy, they both died less than twenty-four hours after their first vision. And I just saw that goddamn clock, so..." She paused. "Looks like I'm gonna die tomorrow."
My stomach dropped, a deep pit of anxiety filling it. She probably felt so much worse. She's gonna die tom-
A loud clang echoed in the hall. Everyone spun around, watching the door.
Steve glanced at us. "Stay here." He looked around the room and grabbed a lamp, pulling it out of the outlet. He left his bat in the car.
I followed him quickly, raising my crowbar. Everyone filed out the door after that, Max standing behind me.
Another thud, and then footsteps ran down the hall. They got closer, squeaking on the floor. I tightened my grip on the crowbar.
Steve screamed, so I screamed, and everyone screamed as Lucas stopped in front of us. I swung the bar, hitting air as he screeched.
"It's me!" He exclaimed, panting. "It's me!"
"Lucas?" Nancy asked.
"Jesus what's wrong with you Sinclaire!" Steve shouted, throwing the lamp on the floor.
"I'm sorry!"
"I could've taken you out with this lamp!"
"Sorry guys!" He panted. "I was... I was biking for eight miles." He paused, taking another breath. "Gimme a second. Shit. We got a code red."
"What?" Steve asked.
"Dustin." Lucas continued. "I've been with Jason, Patrick, and Andy and they've totally gone off the rails. They're trying to capture Eddie and they think you know where he is. You're in terrible danger."
"All right. Yeah, that definitely sucks, but we've got bigger problems than Jason right now," He replied, glancing at Max. Lucas turned, staring at her.
"Wha-" He walked over to her. "Are you okay?"
"Come on, let's talk about this somewhere else," Steve patted my shoulder, turning to the double doors.
"Why, what's wrong?" Lucas asked.
"Let's go." He muttered.
"We can go to my basement," Nancy suggested. "My mom won't care, and Mike's not here."
"Yeah, he's in California." Dustin scoffed. "I tried calling them all, but the line was busy."
"Joyce has a telemarketing job," Lucas explained. "But will someone please tell me what's going on?"
"Let's go to the basement." Robin clapped her hands.
"Basement," Steve added, waving his keys. "Max, Daisy, Dustin, and Lucas, you're coming with me."
"Are you sure you want them all crowding your backseat?" Robin asked. "Why don't Nance and I take the girls, and you take the boys."
"No, I'm not leaving without them." He said.
"Why do you care?" I questioned, glancing at him.
"Because I don't want Max to die, that's why!" He snapped, pointing at her.
"Max is gonna die?" Lucas asked. "Why is Max gonna die can someone please tell me whats going on?"
"Look, we'll talk about this once we get out of this creepy hallway." Steve groaned. "Robin and Nance, meet us at Nancy's, got it?"
"Got it." Robin held up a thumbs up, nodding to Nancy. Nancy nodded, pulling out her keys.
"Don't be late." She said, leading Robin down the hall.
"Got it." He grumbled, turning back to us. Max was just a few inches behind me, her hand brushing mine behind my back. "Uhh, you guys, come on."
"Are you gonna die?" Lucas asked Max, waving frantically. She didn't reply. "Max, come on. Tell me what's going on. Please."
"I'm gonna die, Lucas." She muttered. "Because I saw the fucking clock, and Vecna's gonna kill me. Are you happy?"
"What?" He ran after her. "Vecna? From DnD?"
"We're explaining this in the car!" Dustin shouted. He was halfway down the hall, with Steve. "Come on."
"Dustin!" Lucas sprinted after him, his footsteps echoing through the hall.
Max found my hand as soon as he was gone, holding it as we walked.
"Are you okay?"
"No." She replied, staring at the ground. "I just-we just figured this out, whatever this is." She held up my hand. "And now we've gotta deal with this fucking Vecna thing, and then I'm gonna die and I can't die, I still have to finish high school, and what about my mom, she doesn't-" She took a shaky breath, wiping her eyes. "I can't die right now."
"It's okay." I wrapped my arm around her, dropping her hand to hug her. "We're not gonna let you die."
"Daisy! Max!" Steve waved his flashlight down the hall, pointing it in our faces. "Come on!"