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𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗚𝗔𝗡
chapter fourteen:
don't fuck with the babysitter:
jason carver edition (featuring
the bat!)
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THE THOUGHT OF separating from Steve again was enough to send Serenity's mind into a spiral.
She had known it was coming. She had been the one to come up with the God damn plan in the first place. But now, as Steve drove the camper through the golden sunset, everything became real.
Serenity, Lucas, Max, and Erica were the group going to the Creel house. They had lanterns with them so they would be able to find Vecna in the house, just like they had done with the flashlights the day after Serenity escaped him. Once they did, Serenity would allow herself to get taken by Vecna, but in order to keep herself alive, she would remember one of her happiest memories — the parking lot of Hawkins middle school and the Snow Ball, where Steve and her had shared their first kiss. When she was under, Erica would run across the street and communicate to the group going to the Upside Down with flashlights to signal that the next part of the plan could start.
Steve, Nancy, Robin, Dustin, and Eddie were going back to the Upside Down through the Gate at Eddie's trailer with the weapons they had made back at the field. The first three would be going into the Creel house in the Upside Down to find him in his trance-like state while he was attempting to take Serenity. They had guns, they had fire — basically everything to destroy him. To draw the Demo-Bats away from the house, Eddie would play a song on his guitar as a distraction. Once it gave Steve, Nancy, and Robin enough time, Eddie and Dustin would get out of the Upside Down before the Demo-Bats attacked them.
They were pretty fucking stupid to go after Vecna like this. Serenity knew that. But if they didn't do it, who would?
The camper was stuck in a tense silence. Absolutely no one was talking. After all, what could they say? They were all sitting in different spots, wearing their protective gear and holding their weapons. Serenity sat in the passenger seat next to Steve, holding the spiked bat close. Her Walkman was strapped securely to her pants and her headphones rested around her neck. Don't Stop Believin' was already in, ready to go.
Finally, the camper slowed to a stop. Serenity looked out the window to see the horribly familiar crumbling Creel house in front of her. She swallowed her nervousness and clenched her jaw in determination. Serenity wanted Vecna to burn. Not just for everything he had done to her, but for everything he had done to Will, and Eleven, and the rest of her kids.
The door opened, and Serenity turned back to see Lucas, Erica, and Max getting out. Serenity wasn't ready to go into the house yet, though. She needed to do a couple of things first.
She got up from her seat and immediately walked over to Dustin. He had been sitting in the very back next to Eddie and near Robin. There was a grave expression on his face, and when he looked up at her, the edges around his eyes started to brim with tears.
"Hey, none of that," Serenity told him quietly, holding back her own emotions for his sake. She crouched down in front of him, her hands resting on his knees. "You stay safe down there, okay?"
"I don't want you to go," Dustin admitted, his voice shaking like he was little again.
She gave him a sad smile. "I'm not going anywhere." She squeezed his knees before standing back up, pressing a kiss on the top of his head. "I love you."
"I love you too, Renny. I'm sorry I never said it that much before, but I do."
Serenity shook her head, blinking back tears. "It's okay. I knew." She then turned to Eddie. "Play your heart out."
Eddie offered his fist to her, and Serenity bumped hers against his. "Will do."
Serenity then looked at Robin. "I know he doesn't want to admit it, but Steve really cares for you. Just . . . do me a favor and stick by him, okay?"
Robin offered her a smile. "Just for you, I will."
Serenity nodded once before going up to Nancy, glancing from the gun in her hand back to her face. "Please—"
"I won't miss," Nancy stated firmly. "I promise."
"Good."
Serenity then reached out and grabbed the lantern and the bat by her chair. She let out a deep breath and walked out of the camper. The others were waiting on the stairs, but the one person she truly wanted to see before all of this was standing on the street. Serenity felt herself get choked up, and she put her things back down before walking up to Steve.
Steve reached out and grabbed her hands, tightly interlocking them with his. He leaned down and rested his forehead against hers. They stood there for a moment in the orange glow of the sunset, neither of them saying a word.
"I have to go," Serenity whispered once she felt the silence start to stretch out. "You have to go."
"I don't want to," Steve replied. "I don't want to leave you."
"I know." She squeezed his hands once before letting go, and picked up her forehead to look at him. "I don't want to leave you either."
"How are you sure your happy memory will be enough?"
"Because you're in it," Serenity answered simply. "You always manage to save me."
"Steve," Nancy voiced from inside the camper. "We . . . we need to leave."
He looked down at her. "Guess that's my cue."
"Wait," Serenity stated. "Take this."
She reached up and unclasped the necklace around her neck — the very same one that she had gotten at the mall last summer, a gold one with the letter S and star charms. Serenity placed the necklace in his palm. She closed his fingers around it, causing him to make a fist. Serenity then held her hands over his fist tightly and looked at him strongly.
"Give him hell for me," Serenity ordered.
Steve looked from his fist to her. "I love you, sunshine."
Serenity then rose up onto her toes threw her arms around his neck, pressing her lips to his in a kiss that was so urgent yet passionate at the same time it caused all of her emotions to shine through — love, anger, sadness, fear. Steve kissed her back immediately, wounding his arms around her waist and pulling her in close. They kissed for a long moment before Serenity pulled back and hugged him, her forehead resting against his shoulder.
"I love you more, Steve," Serenity told him.
"Don't let go," Steve let out in a voice so vulnerable it made Serenity's heart sink, his head falling against hers. "Please don't let go. Please."
"I'll never let you go," Serenity promised. She then dropped back down on her feet and hesitantly untangled herself from him. "Let's go save the world, yeah?"
Steve didn't want to save the world. He wanted to save her. But, in the end, he just nodded.
Serenity picked up her lantern and the bat before joining Lucas, Max, and Erica on the stairs. She glanced back to the camper, where Steve was standing in the doorway. Serenity gave him a soft smile, and Steve gave her one back before shutting the door.
The camper drove away, and so with it went a piece of Serenity's heart.
She stared up at the crumbling house before taking charge and leading the group up to it. Serenity walked up the stairs to the broken stained glass window. Her eyes lingered a little longer on the rose, remembering how it had been floating in the Upside Down. Without a second thought, she reached through the broken glass, opened up the door, and went inside.
Serenity immediately put her headphones over her ears and pressed play on her Walkman. Instantly, Don't Stop Believin' echoed through them. She then bent down and removed her shoes — to make sure Vecna didn't find them first, they didn't make any noise. The others followed in suit, and they all turned on their lanterns. They cast a blue illumination in the dark house, making it more eerie, if that was even possible.
They split up in order to cover more ground. Serenity got the second floor, and she roamed around by herself. She listened to Journey as she walked around with her blue lantern in one hand and the spiked bat in the other, watching for any signs that the light was getting brighter.
Her chest felt tight with anxiety and fear. Vecna was practically king of the Upside Down — he controlled everything. In all truth, she was fucking worried. Not just for herself, but for everyone going into the Upside Down. And most of all, she was worried about her brother. If something went wrong and Spencer was left all alone . . .
No. She could do this. She had to do this.
For once, she allowed her rage to overcome her fear. She hated Vecna. He had destroyed everything to take over the world, as if the Upside Down wasn't enough. She wanted him to die, but first, she wanted him to feel all the suffering they felt because of him. It sounded harsh, but it was true.
Serenity roamed the second floor over and over again until the sun dipped below the horizon and the house was sunk in darkness, no lights except for the blue one Serenity was holding. She gripped onto the spiked bat so tight it started to hurt her hand.
She suddenly noticed that she had been . . . alone for a while. It had been quite some time — surely, with the four of them, they should've found Vecna by now. Come to think of it, she actually hadn't seen any of the others at all. They were supposed to communicate with each other through notepads when they found everything. Wouldn't somebody have come to her if they hadn't found Vecna at all, saying he's not here?
Serenity turned off her song and removed her headphones from around her neck. She moved back towards the staircase, only to hear words echoing from upstairs. It was Lucas, repeating Max's name over and over again. Concern immediately shot throughout Serenity's veins and she ripped open the door to the attic. Sure enough, blue light came into her vision as she climbed up the stairs.
"Renny," Lucas called, noticing her presence. "Renny, phase two."
"Phase two?" she repeated in confusion once she got to the top of the stairs. "But—"
Words immediately died in her throat. Because sitting there, completely frozen with her eyes clouded over, was Max.
Serenity suddenly felt all of the breath inside of her. "Lucas . . .?" She looked over at him, her heart feeling like it was slowing to a stop. "Lucas, what happened?"
Lucas shrugged, his voice shaking. "She made a deal with God."
"She made . . ." Serenity trailed off, her eyes widening in realization. "No."
Lucas suddenly held up a notepad, and on it was Max's writing.
You've taken care of me ever since I came to Hawkins. It's time I take care of you for once. -Max
Serenity's breath hitched in her throat. No, no, no, this couldn't be happening. Serenity had sworn she would die for her kids. She never wanted one of her kids to die for her.
She raced up to Max, dropping to her knees and placing the lantern and bat down. "Max, wake up." Serenity put her hand on Max's shoulder and shook her. "Max, I am not letting you sacrifice yourself for me. Come on, wake up."
"Renny," Lucas began.
Serenity looked up at him. "You knew about this, didn't you?" She thought back for a second, only to remember when she had seen them talking quietly in the camper. "You planned this."
"I didn't want her to do it. I tried to tell her to stop, but she wouldn't listen. She said you told her about the song, and the memories." Lucas gestured to Max's Walkman on the chest next to her. "We have her favorite song, and she told me she has a memory."
"I'm not letting her do this," Serenity insisted. "Lucas, help me wake her up."
"I can't," Lucas revealed weakly. "I promised her I wouldn't, and I promised I wouldn't tell you anything." He then walked up to the window with a flashlight. "We have to move on."
"God damn it." Serenity stood up, placed her Walkman down next to Max's, and grabbed the bat, maybe for comfort and maybe something to do with her hands so she wouldn't punch the daylights out of the wall. "God damn it." She looked at Max and how her breathing started to get labored, tears pricking at the back of her eyes. "Oh, my girl."
Serenity honestly wanted to just curl up in a corner and cry. Max had never seen Vecna. She didn't know how he got into people's minds and made them believe their worst nightmares were true. Serenity didn't want Max to be corrupted by Vecna like she did.
"They're not signaling," Lucas announced, and Serenity looked over at him worryingly. He looked back at Max for a second. "Oh shit." He turned back towards the window and started to turn his flashlight on and off for the signal. "What the hell is taking so long?"
Suddenly, the sound of floorboards creaking echoed throughout the house. There was supposed to be nobody in the house but them. Serenity gripped onto her bat tighter, moving slowly to stand by Lucas. She then watched, in complete and utter shock, as Jason Carver entered the room. He was still wearing his Hawkins High varsity jacket, but he looked even more insane than he had back at the store. Serenity glanced back and shared a confused look with Lucas.
"Oh, fuck," Serenity muttered.
"Jason?" Lucas said. "You can't be here right now, man."
"The hell have you done?" Jason asked, his voice twinged with panic and anger as he looked at Max.
"Jason," Serenity voiced calmly, stepping towards him. "You have to leave."
"Is this what you did to Chrissy?"
"Just listen, Jason," Lucas pleaded. "You need to go, man."
Jason knelt down next to Max. "Hi, can — can you hear me?"
"Don't touch her," Serenity demanded as Jason put his hands on Max's shoulders. "Jason, let go."
Jason waved his hand in front of Max's face. "Hey."
"Please, just—" Lucas started to say, walking even closer to Jason.
"Hey, hey, back up!" Jason shouted. Suddenly, he pulled out a gun — the same pistol he had been looking at earlier in the store. Serenity's eyes widened and she fully stepped in front of Lucas, who threw his hands up in surrender. "Back up! Not another step."
Serenity raised the spiked bat, her eyes narrowed dangerously at him. "Put the gun down."
Jason's eyes flickered from the bat to her face. "Put the bat down."
She raised her chin higher. "You first."
He clenched his jaw. "I'm not putting it down."
"Then I'm not putting the bat down," Serenity argued. "We don't have to do this, you know."
"I hope you're right. Is there anyone else in the house?"
Lucas shook his head. "No. No."
"Turn around," Jason ordered.
"Lucas, do not turn around," Serenity interjected, her grip on the spiked bat so impossibly tight. After facing so many monsters from the Upside Down, she never considered that she could be held at gunpoint. "Jason, leave, or I swear to God, I'll drive this bat right into your leg."
"No," Jason countered. "Now, this is what's gonna happen. I'm gonna back away to the top of the stairs there. Then I'll watch as you wake her up from whatever the hell this is."
"We can't," Lucas replied from behind Serenity. "Jason. If we wake her too soon, we all die."
"No. If you don't wake her up right now, you die, Sinclair." He pulled the safety down on his gun. "And Serenity does, too. Just you two."
Serenity felt red-hot anger rise up inside of her — nobody threatened her kids. "None of us are dying tonight."
"We call him Vecna," Lucas explained in a desperate attempt to tell Jason what was going on. "He lives in another dimension. That's why you can't see him."
"And Eddie Munson and his — his Hellfire acolytes, what, you all summoned this Vecna?" Jason questioned.
"No, no, you're not listening. Just listen. There's no cult. There never was."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"It's the truth," Lucas said.
"Then why was Chrissy at Eddie's trailer?" Jason inquired.
"She was buying drugs."
"Liar!"
Serenity raised her bat higher when Jason clicked the safety again. "Jason, you have to listen to me. Chrissy was seeing things, okay? Really, really terrible things that Vecna forced her to see." She swallowed for a moment. "And I know how bad they were because I saw them too."
Jason stared at her for a second. "What?"
"I know how scared she was. She thought drugs were the only way to stop what she was seeing. All she wanted was some help. That's why she went to Eddie."
"That's how I know you're lying. If Chrissy was scared, if — if Chrissy wanted help, she would've come to me! Not Eddie! Not that freak! Never!"
"You're wrong about Eddie," Lucas told him.
"No," Jason protested. "But I was wrong about you. I should've never let you in the door."
Serenity clenched her jaw, and her grip tightened on her bat.
"And I never should have knocked," Lucas continued, his voice filled with a rage Serenity had never heard from him. "I thought I wanted to be like you. Popular. Normal. But it turns out, normal's just a raging psychopath."
Jason raised his gun higher. "You have five seconds to wake her up." Serenity stared at him strongly, not backing down for a second. "Four. Three."
And that's when Serenity swung.
She let out a yell, and the bat hit against the gun before Jason even had time to shoot it. It clattered out of his hands and slid against the floor. She threw the bat a little in the air and caught it with her left hand before wrenching her right fist back and punching Jason right across the face with all the strength she had.
Jason stumbled back. Serenity breathed heavily, pushing her hair back with her fingers. She glanced over at Jason silently asking if he was okay. Lucas nodded.
Her mistake, though. Jason took that time to kick Serenity right in the stomach. She felt all the wind get knocked out of her, and she got pushed backwards from the impact. Serenity fell back over the chest in the room, causing both her and Max's Walkmans to fall to the ground. She let out a yell of pain as her body hit the floor. Serenity only had enough strength in her in that moment to pick her head up. She watched, like it was going in slow motion, as Jason stepped on both Walkmans, successfully breaking them before Lucas could save them.
They had no way to help Max if anything went wrong now.
"No!" Serenity screamed.
She was cut off by the sound of punching. Lucas had intervened, probably because he was advancing on Serenity. However, Jason got in many punches on Lucas before backing him against the wall. Jason instantly wrapped his hands around Lucas' neck, squeezing tight.
That jumpstarted something in Serenity. She would not let some high school jock win. This was so much bigger than him, and this was so much bigger than high school.
Serenity pushed herself up off the floor. She ran up to Jason, grabbed a fistful of his jacket, and pulled with all of her might. Surprisingly, maybe because adrenaline was kicking inside of her, it managed to pull him off of Lucas. Lucas immediately gasped for air. Serenity then kicked Jason in the stomach, causing him to fall right on the ground.
She put her foot on Jason's chest and held him down, holding him in place as she lifted up the bat. "You shouldn't have come here." Serenity pushed her foot down on him a little farther, making Jason gasp in pain. "Let me tell you a word of advice, Jason — don't fuck with the babysitter."
That was enough of her speech. Because Lucas then knelt down next to Jason and punched him hard across the face, knocking him out cold.
"Good riddance," Serenity said, removing her foot from his chest and twirling the bat around in her hand effortlessly.
Lucas' eyes then caught on something behind them, and they widened. "Renny."
Serenity turned around, but the sight that she was met with was not one she wanted to see. Max was no longer sitting on the ground, but she was floating in the air. Her heart stopped and she got the overwhelming urge to be sick.
Vecna had her.
"No," Serenity let out before her voice raised to a desperate scream. "No, Max!" She stumbled closer to Max, not even bothering to try and stop the tears. "Let her go! It's supposed to be me, take me instead! Please!"
The bat fell from her hand with a clatter, rolling across the floor until it ultimately hit one of the chests.
"I'm right here! It's me your after, isn't it?" Serenity's voice broke. "Let her live! You motherfucker, let her go, you bitch!"
Vecna didn't listen. He would take anyone as his fourth and final sacrifice — or, maybe as his final thing to Serenity to remind her who was really in charge.
Max's arm went first. Serenity gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as the bones snapped. Then went her leg, then her other arm. One by one her bones broke, and blood started to pour from her cloudy eyes. Lucas screamed out Max's name in agony from next to her, his hands clutching onto the ripped fabric of Serenity's shirt.
Her body then fell from the ceiling. Serenity raced forwards first, Lucas right behind her. The two caught Max's body in their arms, and the three of them collapsed to the floor. Serenity sobbed as she put Max's head in her lap while Lucas cradled her body.
Serenity placed her hands on either side of her kid's face, not caring blood was getting on her. "Max." She shook her a little. "Max, wake up, please."
Footsteps suddenly came from the stairs. The door to the attic flung open, revealing Erica. Erica's eyes immediately widened in horror at the sight — nothing that a kid should see.
"Lucas!" Erica yelled. "Renny!"
"We need a doctor!" Lucas screamed, looking back at his sister. "Call an ambulance! Hurry, call an ambulance!"
Erica instantly turned back and raced down the stairs.
"Lucas . . ." Max weakly began.
"Yes, yes, I'm here," Lucas responded. "I'm here."
"I — I can't feel or . . ." Max gasped. "S-See anything."
"I know, I know. It's okay. We're gonna get you some help, okay? Just — just hold on."
"Max," Serenity let out, tears falling down her face rapidly and her voice breaking. "Max, why? It was supposed to be me."
"I couldn't—" Max said. "I couldn't let it be you."
"I promised I would take care of you all." Serenity let out another sob. "You never had to care for me."
"Renny, I'm scared," Max admitted. "I'm so scared, I'm so scared."
"It's okay," Serenity quickly reassured her, trying to keep her voice steady. "Max, I'm right here, it's okay."
"I don't want to die, I'm not ready."
Serenity completely broke at that sentence. She tried her best to breathe, but no matter what she did, she couldn't. Serenity gasped for air, but it was hard with all of the sobs she was letting out.
"You're not gonna die," Lucas insisted. "Hang on."
"I don't wanna go!" Max shouted. "I'm not ready."
"Max, you're going to be okay," Serenity stated, trying to clear the fog in her mind. "You're not going to die. Just hang on, okay?"
However, Max didn't say anything else. Serenity felt heartache like she had never felt before. It was like somebody had stabbed her with a knife and twisted it about. She watched before her as one of her kids went limp in Lucas' arms, clearly not having the strength to fight.
Lucas shook her body, his eyes widening. "Max. Max! Max! No, no, no, Max. Stay with me. Stay with me! Don't go, Max. Max, stay with me. Just look at me, Max. Max, look. No, stay with me, Max. Hang on. Just hang on." He looked back towards the stairs. "Erica, help!"
Max's eyes slowly fluttered shut. Serenity gripped onto Max's face tighter, as if she was willing her own life force to seep into Max. It didn't work. Serenity's mind spun, and suddenly it felt like everything just stopped. She could feel herself shutting down, and everything inside of her started to fold into a box. Everything went numb. Serenity reached out a shaking hand and placed it over Max's heart, only to be met with nothing.
"Renny, do something," Lucas pleaded. "Renny, please—"
"I don't—" Serenity began, her mind frantic. She wanted to do anything to help Max, but she knew Vecna. There was no saving her, especially with no heartbeat. "Lucas, I don't . . ." Serenity looked at him, her bottom lip trembling. "I can't do anything."
As the person who was put in charge over them and protected them and was their babysitter even though they were too old now, that was hard for her to admit.
Then there came ticking, and the first chime. Serenity slowly looked back at the stairs, hearing the second, third, and fourth chime echo from the clock downstairs. Anger suddenly mixed with her sadness, and she clenched her jaw and removed her hands from Max's face, her fingernails digging into her skin as she clenched her fists. Four chimes meant all four sacrifices were finished, and Serenity swore she had never felt such hatred.
The house suddenly shook. Serenity's eyes widened as she watched red light start to peek out from underneath Max. She reached out and grabbed the bat nearby — don't blame her for trying to save it, it was special to her — before grabbing onto Max with her other hand. Together, her and Lucas dragged Max away to safety.
Serenity watched as the Gate opened underneath them, glowing red and vines screeching as they tumbled out of it. It ripped right through the entire attack, making the boards break along with the noise of that stupid chiming noise that haunted Serenity. The Gate grew and grew, even right through Jason Carver's body. He screamed in agony as his body got completely torn in two from the Gate overtaking him.
The house continued to shake as the fiery red glow of the Gate continued on outside, no doubt ripping right throughout the entire town of Hawkins. Serenity gripped onto both Max and the spiked bat tightly until the shaking was over, which presumably meant the Gate stopped growing.
With horrible clarity, Serenity knew Vecna had won. There was only thought in her mind, however, as she looked back down at Max.
It should've been me.
⊹⊱••••••⊰⊹
come on now . . . y'all KNEW I wouldn't have killed my girl