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THIS PLACE IS CREEPY.
ISADORA SAT ON THE PORCH AND WRAPPED HER ARMS AROUND KNEES.
It was rather late and everyone else was sleeping, but Isadora had found herself unable to sleep as she had yet another nightmare and she had decided maybe fresh air would help her sleep.
"Here you go, Love," Billy said, as he walked outside and wrapped a blanket around Isadora's shoulders. She looked over at him and smiled as he sat down beside her before handing her one of the mugs he'd brought outside with him and Isadora took it from him and took a sip before nodding.
"Mm, that's delicious, thank you."
"I saw you weren't in bed and figured you might need it. You couldn't sleep?" Billy asked. Isadora took another sip of the hot cocoa before shaking her head.
"No, I couldn't. You know, we were lucky today. If it wasn't for Beatrix, Nancy, Kendra and Robin figuring out that music could save Max, we would've lost her," Isadora said softly, as she tapped her fingers against the mug.
"How'd Ellie know Running Up That Hill would be the song that would save Max from Vecna?" Billy asked. Isadora looked down at her mug and hesitated, knowing she had promised Ellie that she wouldn't tell anyone the truth and she took a sip of her hot cocoa as she thought about how she was going to answer Billy's question.
"Well, Ellie and Max are really close and spend a lot of time together, so I guess it does make sense that Ellie knows what Max's favourite song is," Isadora finally said, shrugging as she looked away from Billy and sighed softly, "I'm just glad it worked."
"Me too, Is," Billy said quietly. Isadora looked over at him before she took his hand in hers and squeezed gently.
"Hey, Max is okay. We saved her," Isadora told him.
"She's still cursed, Is, and until we figure out how to get rid of Vecna, she's in danger. I — I don't want to lose her," Billy told Isadora, who nodded and looked down at her mug, wondering how Billy would react if he knew that she was also cursed.
"You won't. We're going to figure out a way to stop Vecna and save Max," Isadora said.
"What song would save you from Vecna?" Billy asked, as Isadora let go of his hand and held her mug in both hands, taking another sip of her hot chocolate before tapping her fingers against the mug, as she thought about the question and wondered what song could possibly save her from Vecna. As she thought about it, she smiled and looked towards Billy.
"I think the song that would save me is You're the One I Want from Grease," Isadora said.
"Why that song?"
"Honestly, because it reminds me of the team you sang it front of the entire school to apologise to me, even though I was the one in the wrong, and it was in that moment that I realised I was in love with you, so I guess the song would really be reminding me of you, which means really it would be you who's saving me," Isadora told him, as she nudged him with her shoulder.
"I will always save you, Isadora," Billy told her.
"I will always save you too, William," Isadora said, and Billy nodded as he made a face and Isadora giggled when she saw Billy's facial expression before she took another sip of her hot cocoa and looked at him again, "Just so we're totally clear, what song would save you? I mean, you listen to that hurricane song a lot so I'm guessing it's your favourite song, but I just want to make sure we're on the same page here."
"The hurricane song?" Billy asked, as he raised an eyebrow at the blonde.
"Here I am, rock you like a hurricane," Isadora broke into song and Billy chuckled as Isadora sang before he shook his head.
"No, your song would be the one to save me, Is," Billy told her.
"My song?" Isadora asked.
"Yes, the one you sang at school Had Me At Hello," Billy told her.
"You remember that song?" Isadora asked.
"Of course I do," Billy said. Isadora looked over at him and smiled as she thought about the song she had written for the play and had performed in front of everyone. Admittedly, she was surprised that it was the song Billy would choose as the song that would save him for she had not sung that song since graduating high school.
"Why that song?"
"Well, I would just picture you singing it and I just know the sound of your voice would save me," Billy said.
"That was kinda cheesy, William," Isadora giggled.
"Is, why do you keep calling me William?"
"Well, I haven't been able to think of a nickname for you and everyone calls you Billy ... I can stop calling you William if you don't like it and think of something else," Isadora said.
"You know you're the only one I let call me William, and don't tell anyone but I think it's adorable when you call me William, so you're the only one who's allowed to call me William," Billy told her. Isadora smiled as she placed her empty mug down beside her and shuffled closer to Billy.
"I love you, Billy."
"I love you too, Isadora," Billy said, as Isadora rested her head on his shoulder, and Billy wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her closer and the two of them remained there talking while the rest of their friends slept. Eventually, the two headed back inside and went and lay down on the mattress that had been put down on the floor of the Wheeler's basement for them, and Billy drifted off to sleep while Isadora tried to fall asleep, only to be plagued with nightmares and she woke up and lay staring at the ceiling. By the time it was morning, Isadora was exhausted and uncomfortable, and she threw the blanket off and carefully moved out of Billy's arms before sitting up and noticing that Max, Ellie, Beatrix and Dustin were all gone from their beds. Immediately, Isadora got up and made her way upstairs, only to see that Nancy, Ellie, Max and Beatrix were talking while Dustin was eating pancakes and Isadora smiled as she grabbed one off his plate.
"Oh, yum."
"Isadora, get your own," Dustin retorted and Isadora rolled her eyes as she walked over to sit down, as Nancy and Max talked.
"Is this what you saw last night?"
"I mean, it's supposed to be. I thought it'd be easier to draw it out than explain it, but ... not so much," Max said.
"Is that Chrissy and Fred?" Beatrix asked, as she looked at the drawing.
"It was like they were on display or something," Max said. Nancy showed Isadora and Ellie the picture, and Isadora gulped as she looked at it while Max continued, "And then there was this red fog everywhere. It was like a dream, a nightmare."
"Do you think Vecna's just trying to scare you?"
"With Laura? Yeah, but when I made it here, I dunno, something was different. He seemed surprised, almost, like he didn't want me there."
"Hold on, Vecna used Laura to scare you?" Ellie asked. Max nodded and Isadora frowned as she looked at the drawing again, taking in what Max had drawn.
"You saw Laura?" Isadora asked.
"Is it possible you could've infiltrated his mind? I mean he invaded your mind, right? Is it that big of a leap to suggest you somehow wound up in his? Like Freddie Krueger's boiler room?" Dustin asked.
"Freddie Krueger?" Holly Wheeler asked.
"He's a super burned-up dude with razors for fingers and he kills you in your dreams," Dustin told Holly, making Isadora kick his leg under the table, as Nancy glared at him.
"Dustin, seriously?"
"Sorry, it's just a movie. It's not real."
"If you ask me, saying it's not real doesn't make that movie any less terrifying," Isadora said.
"Anyway, just think about it. What if somehow you unlocked a backdoor to Vecna's world? Like, maybe the answer we're looking for is somewhere in this incredibly vague drawing. God, we need Will," Dustin said.
"No shit, but I tried them again this morning and it's the same busy signal," Max said.
"I'm sure it's probably just Joyce using the phone for her work all the time," Ellie shrugged and Isadora prayed that their friends in California were okay.
"Is this a window?" Nancy asked.
"Yeah."
"Stained glass with roses?"
"Yeah? See, I'm not so terrible after all," Max told Dustin.
"Yeah, well it helps that I've seen it before," Nancy said before she folded the paper with the drawings on it in half and Isadora watched her.
"What are you doing, Nance?" Isadora asked, as she watched Nancy putting the drawings together and she watched on curiously as Nancy started drawing the outlines of what looked to be a house.
"It's pieces of a house."
"Not just any house, it's Victor Creel's house," Nancy told them before she got up and walked away from the group.
"Where are you going?"
"Waking the others," Nancy told them. Isadora, Max, Ellie and Beatrix looked at each other and then hurried after Nancy and made their way downstairs to where the rest of their friends were sleeping. As she walked downstairs, Isadora walked over to where Billy was sleeping and crouched down beside him.
"Billy," Isadora said softly as she gently shook him. He mumbled something completely incoherent as he woke up before looking towards Isadora, "Sorry to wake you."
"Is, this better be important."
"I wouldn't have woken you if it wasn't important. Nancy's gonna explain everything," Isadora said. Billy nodded and yawned before sitting up and moving over so that Isadora, Max, Beatrix and Ellie could also sit down on the bed. Soon, Nancy was explaining everything to the group and it wasn't long until they had come up with a plan to go to Victor Creel's house and check it out.
~*~
"This place gives me the creeps," Beatrix said. Isadora scrunched up her nose as she nodded in agreement. The last time Isadora had been anywhere near the Creel House had been after the school dance and as memories of that awful night came rushing back, shivers ran down Isadora's spine as the group walked up the stairs and made their way towards the house. Isadora had never actually been inside, for the house had been locked, and in a way, she was kind of glad she had never been inside. As they made their way up the stairs and towards the house, Isadora felt the same bad feeling that she had been feeling for the last few days and as she looked towards the house, she felt Billy slide his hand into hers and squeezed it gently, and as he did, Isadora looked towards him and smiled.
"Yeah, that's not creepy," Steve said, as he looked towards the Creel House.
"Is, does anyone else know —" Beatrix started to ask but stopped talking when she noticed Isadora was shaking her head.
"Does anyone else know what?" Billy asked the two of them.
"Nothing," Isadora said quickly before she let go of his hand and walked over to where Steve and Kendra were trying to open the door and Billy frowned as he watched Isadora go.
"What was that about?" Billy asked his sister. Beatrix just shrugged in response before she walked over to join the group in front of the Creel House.
"What exactly are we supposed to be looking for in this shithole?" Steve asked, as the group chipped away at the wood that was covering the front door.
"We're not sure. We just know that this house is important to Vecna."
"Because Max saw it in Vecna's red soup mind world?"
"Basically."
"Great."
"Maybe it holds the clue to where Vecna is, why he's back, why he killed the Creels and how to stop him before he comes back for Max," Dustin said.
"We're going to find a way to destroy him before he comes back for Max," Ellie said.
"We don't think he's in there, do we?" Lucas asked.
"God, I hope he's not in there," Isadora said.
"Guess we'll find out," Max said.
"Ready?" Steve asked, as he, Kendra and Nancy dropped the wooden plank that had been covering the door before Steve tried opening the door, "It's locked, should I knock, see if anyone's home?"
"Yeah, I'm sure somebody is going to be living in a house that has been boarded up, Harrington," Billy retorted sarcastically. Isadora shook her head and nudged him gently.
"I found a key," Robin told the group and Isadora looked to see she was holding up a brick. Moments later, the brick was thrown at the window, breaking it and Steve opened the door before the group made their way inside with flashlights in their hands, and they started shining them around the house.
"Looks like someone forgot to pay their electric bill," Lucas said, as Dustin turned his flashlight on.
"Where'd everyone get those?" Steve asked. Isadora and Billy looked at each other before Isadora looked towards Steve and she couldn't help but wonder if he needed to be told everything.
"Do you need to be told everything? You're not a child," Dustin retorted, echoing Isadora's exact thoughts.
"Here, I brought a spare one because I had a feeling you wouldn't have one," Kendra said, as she handed Steve a flashlight.
"Thank you, Kendra," Steve said. Isadora shook her head and laughed as she walked past the couple and started looking around, shivers running down her spine as she made her way through the house.
"They just left everything," Nancy said, as she shone a light into what Isadora guessed had once been the living room.
"I guess a triple homicide isn't good for resale value," Robin commented.
"Hey, guys, you all see that, right?" Max asked and the group turned their attention to what she was looking at. Isadora's eyes landed on the grandfather clock and she looked from the clock and towards Max.
"I see it," Isadora nodded.
"Is this what you saw in your visions?" Nancy asked. Max nodded and Isadora glanced towards Billy, who was looking between Max and the clock.
"I mean, it's ... just a clock, right?" Robin asked, as she walked over to it and wiped some dust off it, "Like a normal old clock."
"Why is this wizard obsessed with clocks? Maybe he's like a clockmaker or something?" Steve suggested. Isadora folded her arms across her chest as she raised an eyebrow at him.
"I think you cracked the case, Steve," Dustin said.
"A clockmaker is not the answer," Isadora groaned.
"All I know is the answers are here, somewhere. Okay, everyone stay in groups of two or three. Robin, upstairs," Nancy said.
"We can be a group of three. Come on, let's go," Max said to Lucas and Ellie.
"Kendra, want to check out the kitchen with me?" Beatrix asked. Kendra nodded and Steve watched them walking away before turning towards Isadora.
"Is —" Steve started.
"Oh, sorry, Steve. Billy and I are going to check out upstairs together," Isadora said before she walked past him and made her way upstairs with Billy. Behind them, Steve sighed at the realisation he was stuck with Dustin.
"Was that a sigh?" Dustin asked.
"No, I did not sigh."
"Why'd you sigh?"
"I didn't sigh. Just come on, dude," Steve said. Isadora rolled her eyes as she followed Billy into a room upstairs and shone her flashlight around the room.
"What are we looking for exactly?" Billy asked her.
"Honestly? I am not really sure," Isadora replied before noticing a grate and she carefully opened it and pulled out a jar, examining it carefully, only to see it contained mummified spiders. Suddenly, Isadora felt something running over her and she screamed as she dropped the jar and hurried backwards out of then room.
"Is?" Billy asked, as he walked out of the room, right as Isadora collided with Nancy.
"Whoa, whoa, what's wrong?"
"There was a spider, a black widow —" Isadora trailed off, as she noticed Billy was trying his best not to laugh and she frowned at him, "Don't laugh, it scared me."
"Oh, oh, oh, wait, just ... wait, stop moving, Is. Here, I got it," Nancy said, as she removed something from Isadora's hair before tossing the spider aside so that Isadora wouldn't scream again.
"Thank you, Nance," Isadora said, deliberately making eye contact with Billy, who chuckled and shook his head at his girlfriend before Isadora turned her attention back towards Nancy, "You know, I think it's really cool that you and Robin are friends now. Maybe, once we're done with ... done with all of this, we could all go and do something fun together, kind of like that time we went to the zoo together, you know me, Robin, Billy, Steve, Kendra, Beatrix, Hazel and Jonathan when they come back."
"Yeah, I'd like that. Okay, all better," Nancy said, and Isadora smiled at her as she ignored the face Billy was making at her suggestion for all of them to do something together when this was all over.
"You're a lifesaver, Nance, thank you. Come on, let's go and check downstairs instead," Isadora said to Billy, who nodded and followed her downstairs. As she got downstairs, Isadora stopped walking.
"Is?" Billy asked, as he noticed she had stopped walking and was looking at a flickering light.
"Are you seeing this?" Isadora asked him.
"It's just a flickering light?" Billy said.
"Yeah, maybe," Isadora nodded before noticing Max, Ellie and Lucas staring at the same light she had been looking at and soon everyone was gathered around a chandelier, watching as the lights flickered.
"It's like the Christmas lights," Nancy said.
"The Christmas lights?"
"Yeah, when Will was in the Upside Down, the lights came to life."
"Vecna's here in this house," Lucas said.
"He's on the other side, isn't he?" Isadora asked, as she watched the lights flickering.
"I think he just left the room," Robin said.
"Did he hear us?"
"Can he see us?"
"Headphones."
"You shouldn't take those off, Max," Billy told her.
"Wait, everyone turn off your flashlights and spread out," Nancy said.
"We're not gonna be able to see if we turn off our flash ... lights," Steve said, as Isadora flicked her flashlight off and started looking for signs of the flickering lights.
"I got him! Got him!" Robin yelled. The group hurried over to her and she sighed as she shooter her head, "I had him."
"Whoa," Steve said, as his flashlight lit up.
"What the hell?" Billy asked.
"Oh, I think he's moving. He's moving," Steve said, as he started walking with the flashlight in hand. The group followed him upstairs before Steve stopped, "Shit, I lost him."
"No, you didn't," Max said. She opened a door and the group made their way up towards the attic, the uneasy feeling returning as Isadora followed the group up the stairs and into the attic.
"Hold up, guys. What if he's leading us into a trap?" Dustin called after the group, as they ignored him and walked into the attic together, where a light was pulsating in the middle of the room and Isadora noticed her flashlight had lit up.
"Okay, what is happening?" Steve asked the group.
"I don't know," Kendra said, as they looked at each other and Isadora realised they had probably found Vecna. As the group stood in a circle in the attic, they looked at each other when suddenly the flashlights they were holding exploded and Isadora had a bad feeling that Vecna had just killed again.
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Another chapter for y'all!
Enjoy! Xo
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