°🌟34🌟°

🌟CHAPTER 34🌟~°THE MASSACRE AT HAWKINS LAB°~

*🌟Third Person's POV🌟*

When Hailey climbed through the gate into the Upside Down, her blood ran cold. Steve's agonized screams echoed through the oppressive, red-hazed air, a sound that would haunt her forever. She frantically scanned the nightmare landscape and saw him in the distance, pinned down, a bat-like creature's tail wrapped around his neck while two others tore into his sides.

She ran. Her legs pumped, fuelled by pure adrenaline and terror. As she closed the distance, she spotted broken oars scattered on the ground. She snatched one up without breaking stride and swung it with all her might, connecting with one of the bats on Steve's side. It screeched and tumbled away.

Steve's pain-glazed eyes focused on her, a flicker of profound relief in them. "Hi," she said, offering him a shaky, determined smile before turning to smash the oar into the second bat.

Just then, Nancy, Robin, and Eddie burst through the gate behind her.

"Robin, get a hold of it!" Hailey yelled, pointing at the creature choking Steve.

Robin didn't hesitate. She lunged forward and stomped on the beast's body. "I got it!"

Hailey immediately started beating it with the oar, trying to force it to release its grip. Eddie and Nancy fanned out, swinging their own makeshift weapons to keep the swarming bats at bay.

"Hailey, behind you! Watch out!" Eddie shouted.

A bat dropped from above, latching onto her back, its claws digging into her skin as it tried to sink its teeth into her shoulder.

"Oh my God, Hai!" Robin screamed.

"Get this damn thing off me, Robin!" Hailey shouted, twisting violently but unable to reach it.

Robin grabbed the flapping creature and yanked with all her strength. "Got it, got it, got it!" she yelled, slamming it onto the ground. Hailey, her face a mask of fury and fear, brought the oar down on it again and again until it stopped moving.

"God damn it! Shit!" Eddie yelled, fending off another attacker.

"Let go!" Steve grunted, finally prying the tail from his neck. The bat tried to flutter away, but Steve, enraged and in pain, snagged its tail. "Come here!" he roared, dragging it back.

He slammed it against the ground with a sickening crunch, then stomped on it until it ripped in half. He spat a mouthful of blood onto the vines, his chest heaving.

"Oh my God, Steve," Hailey breathed, rushing to him. He turned toward her, and her hand flew to her mouth. "Are you okay?" The question was useless; the deep, bloody gashes on his torso gave the answer.

"Jesus Christ. Jesus H. Christ!" Eddie shouted, throwing his oar down in disgust.

"Well, they took about a pound of flesh. But other than that, yeah, never better," Steve said, his voice strained. He stared into her worried blue eyes, feeling a wave of gratitude so strong it almost eclipsed the pain. She'd jumped into hell itself to save him.

"Uh, do you guys think these bats have, like, rabies?" Robin asked, crouching to poke at a dead bat with a stick.

"What?" Steve asked, bewildered.

"It's just that rabies are, like, my number one greatest fear. And I think we should get you to a doctor soon because once symptoms set in, it's too late. You're already dead," Robin explained.

They all just stared at her until a chorus of screeching from the direction of the gate snapped them back to reality. They watched in horror as a flock of the creatures descended, landing around the water's edge, effectively guarding their only way home.

"All right. There's not that many," Steve pointed out, trying to sound confident.

"We can take 'em. Right?" Eddie added.

But as he spoke, the sky in the distance darkened with a massive, approaching swarm. The screeching grew into a deafening roar.

"You were saying?" Robin asked, her voice small.

Hailey's heart sank. There were hundreds of them.

"The woods. Come on!" Nancy commanded. She didn't wait, breaking into a sprint.

Hailey instantly moved to Steve's side, slipping under his arm to support his weight. "I've got you," she murmured.

"Great. More running," Robin groaned, but she ran anyway, the group fleeing as red lightning cracked across the sickly sky.

They found refuge at the Upside-Down version of Skull Rock, collapsing behind the stones as the swarm passed overhead. The screeching slowly faded.

"Oh... okay. That was close," Robin muttered, peeking out cautiously.

"Yeah. Too close," Eddie agreed, getting to his feet.

Steve pushed himself up, took two steps, and swayed dangerously. "Oh, sh... shit," he slurred, catching himself against the rock face.

"Steve?" Hailey was at his side in an instant. Now, in the relative safety, she saw the true extent of the damage. The bites were deep and still bleeding freely. "Fuck," she cursed under her breath.

"I'm fine. I'm fine," he insisted, trying to stand straight.

"You're losing so much blood. You are not fine at all. Can you please just sit down?" she said, her voice a mixture of fear and command.

He didn't argue, lowering himself carefully onto a rock. "All right."

Robin approached slowly as Hailey began tearing strips from the bottom of her shirt, exposing a sliver of her stomach. "Oh... Okay. So, the good news is I'm pretty sure wooziness is not a symptom of rabies. But if you start having hallucinations or muscle spasms or you start feeling aggressive, like you wanna punch me, let me know," Robin rambled, crouching next to them.

"Robin," Steve stated, his eyes closed against the pain.

"Yeah?"

"I kinda wanna punch you," he grunted.

"Sense of humours still intact. That's a good sign," Robin said with a nervous chuckle. "Yeah. Okay." She retreated to give them space, joining Eddie and Nancy.

"Can I?" Hailey asked, holding the makeshift bandage.

"Yeah. Just do it," Steve muttered.

She leaned in; her face close to his chest as she began to wrap his torso. Steve could feel her warm breaths ghosting over his skin, a stark contrast to the chilling air of the Upside Down. His mind, despite the agony, treacherously wandered to memories of her touch, her skin against his.

Hailey was fighting a similar battle, her focus on the wounds interspersed with flashes of intimacy. She shook her head to clear it, but the movement caused her hand to brush against a particularly nasty bite.

Steve winced sharply. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice thick with guilt.

"It's okay," he breathed, looking down at the top of her head.

She finished tying the cloth tightly, then pressed a soft, lingering kiss to the bandage over his heart. "That should do it," she said, her voice softer now as she stood up.

"Thanks," Steve said, using the rock to push himself back to his feet.

"No problem."

---

"So, uh, this place is like Hawkins, but with monsters and nasty shit?" Eddie asked, climbing onto a rock to get a better view.

"Pretty much," Nancy stated.

Eddie started to climb down, almost planting his foot on a thick, pulsing vine.

"Wait, watch out for the vines. It's all a hive mind," Nancy warned quickly.

"It's all a what?" Eddie asked, confused.

"All the creepy crawlies around here. They're, like, one or something. Step on a vine, you're stepping on a bat, you're stepping on Vecna," Steve explained, leaning heavily on Hailey for balance until he found his footing.

"Shit," Eddie muttered, carefully jumping clear of the vines.

"But everything from our world is still here, right? Except people?" Robin asked.

"Pretty much, yeah," Hailey confirmed with a nod.

"So, theoretically, we could go to the police station and steal guns and grenades and whatever we need to blow up those bat things that are guarding the gate," Robin proposed.

"I highly doubt the Hawkins PD has grenades, Robin, but guns, yeah, sure," Steve said.

"Well, we don't have to go all the way downtown for guns. I have guns in my bedroom," Nancy stated.

The group fell silent, turning to stare at her with varying expressions of shock.

"You, Nancy Wheeler, have guns, plural, in your bedroom?" Eddie asked, utterly flabbergasted.

"Full of surprises, isn't she?" Robin mused.

"And I have six baseball bats with nails hammered into them in my room, and nobody freaks out about that," Hailey muttered under her breath, feeling slightly offended.

"A Russian Makarov and a revolver," Nancy said proudly.

"Yeah, you almost shot me with that one," Steve pointed out.

Hailey fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"You almost deserved it," Nancy retorted.

Eddie broke the tension by shrugging off his denim jacket and tossing it to Steve. "For your modesty, dude."

Steve accepted it gratefully, putting it on. It served two purposes: covering his wounds and, more importantly, covering the strip of skin on Hailey's stomach that had been driving him to distraction. Now they were even.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them shuddered violently. Steve's arm instantly wrapped around Hailey's waist, pulling her tight against him as his other hand braced against the rock, steadying them both. Across from them, Eddie threw his arms out to steady Robin and Nancy as the world shook.

"Oh my god!"

When the tremor subsided, Robin was the first to speak. "So, guns seem like a pretty good idea to me."

"Yeah, me too," Eddie agreed, his voice shaky.

Without another word, Steve took the lead, his steps more determined despite his injuries. Hailey stayed glued to his side, and the rest fell in line quickly, all of them desperate to get to the safety of the Wheeler house and the weapons that might just save their lives.

"Couldn't we have tried a road, or something just slightly less creepy?" Robin asked, her voice slicing through the tense silence that had hung over them for most of the walk.

"I think we're getting close. We're almost out of here. Don't worry," Nancy said from the front, her tone more hopeful than convincing.

"Positive side of walking in a creepy forest: those bat thingies won't spot us as easily," Hailey pointed out, trying to inject some logic into the fear.

Robin gave her a weak, nervous smile in return as they trudged on.

"Eddie," Steve called out, trying to quicken his pace to catch up. Walking barefoot on the vine-covered, uneven ground was a special kind of agony. Eddie stopped and waited for him.

"Eddie. Hey, man. Uh..." Steve said, finally catching his breath. "Listen, I just, uh... I just want to say thanks. For saving my ass back there."

"Shit. You saved your own ass, man," Eddie stated, a note of genuine respect in his voice. "I mean, that was a real Ozzy move you pulled back there."

"Ozzy?" Steve asked, confused.

"When you took a bite out of that bat," Eddie clarified, but was met with a blank stare. "Ozzy Osbourne? Black Sabbath? He bit a bat's head off onstage."

"I don't..."

"You know? Doesn't matter," Eddie said, waving a hand.

"No."

"It's very metal, what you did. That's all I'm saying," Eddie finished.

"Thanks," Steve muttered.

"Henderson told me you were a badass. Insisted on the matter, in fact," Eddie said as they fell into step behind the three girls.

"Henderson said that? Which one?" Steve asked.

"Oh yeah. Shit. It's younger Henderson. Kid worships you, dude. Like, you have no idea. It's kinda annoying, to be honest," Eddie admitted with a chuckle. "I don't even know why I care what that little shrimp thinks, but, uh, guess I got a little jealous, Steve. I guess I couldn't accept the fact that Steve Harrington was actually a good dude."

Steve felt a small, unexpected warmth at the admission. It was good to know people saw he'd changed.

"Rich parents, popular, chicks love him. Not a douche? No way, man. No way. That, like, flies in the face of all the laws in the universe and my own personal Munson doctrine. I guess Hailey has something to do with it?" Eddie asked, watching a slow smile spread across Steve's face at the mere mention of her name.

"Something like that," Steve murmured softly, his eyes finding her as she patiently guided a fretting Robin around a particularly thick patch of vines.

"Still super jealous as hell, by the way. Which is why I would never have jumped in that lake to save your ass. Not under any, uh... normal circumstances. Nope. Outside of D&D, I am no hero. I see danger and I just turn heel and run. Or at least that's what I've learned about myself this week," Eddie confessed, the words tasting bitter.

"Give yourself a break, man," Steve said.

"See? The only reason I came in here was 'cause those ladies came in straight after you. Now, I was too ashamed to be the one who stayed behind. But Hailey right there, she didn't waste a second. Not one second. She just dove right in." Eddie's voice grew more serious. "Now, I can see how deep your feelings go for each other. Don't ever give up on that kind of love, because you won't ever find something like it again if you ever lose her. 'Cause that was as unambiguous a sign of true love as these cynical eyes have ever seen."

Steve's eyes travelled to Hailey once more, and a genuine, private smile touched his lips. He knew.

The ground beneath them suddenly shuddered violently, sending everyone stumbling to the ground.

"Goddamn it! Here we go again," Eddie grumbled sarcastically from the dirt.

"Second on my list of least favourite things, earthquakes. Seriously, I'm unsteady enough as it is," Robin complained, clutching onto a tree alongside Hailey.

Before anyone could get their bearings, Nancy was on her feet and running in a new direction, seemingly oblivious to the still-trembling earth.

"Nancy!" Robin yelled.

"Where the hell are you going? Nancy!" Hailey shouted, but the girl didn't slow down or look back. They had no choice but to scramble after her.

"Nancy, you can't just take off like that!" Hailey called out, but then she saw it too-the familiar outline of the Wheeler house through the trees. They were close.

"Come on!" Nancy urged, leading the final sprint to her front door.

She shoved it open, and they filed into a living nightmare. The interior was choked with thick, black, pulsing vines that covered every surface like grotesque wallpaper.

"Might be time to get a maid, Wheeler," Robin quipped, her voice trembling. The joke fell flat in the suffocating atmosphere.

"Come on. I don't want to stay here longer than we have to," Nancy said, heading for the stairs. The others followed quickly.

Nancy pushed aside the thick, pulsing vines that choked her closet and pulled out a familiar shoebox. She placed it on her dust-covered dresser and lifted the lid with a sense of purpose that instantly deflated.

Instead of the cold steel of guns, a pair of heels stared back at them.

"Those aren't guns," Eddie muttered, voicing everyone's disappointment.

"These heels are pointy, but I was hoping for a deadly projectile," Robin stated. Hailey just nodded in grim agreement, her hope for a quick solution fading.

"I don't understand," Nancy whispered, her brow furrowed in genuine confusion as she stared into the box.

"Maybe you left them somewhere else," Eddie offered weakly.

"She has a six-year-old sister walking around the house," Hailey countered, her voice logical amidst the rising panic. "I think Nancy would know exactly where she hides all her weapons."

"Hailey's right," Nancy said, her voice distant. "And also... I threw these away years ago." Her eyes scanned the room, truly seeing it for the first time. They landed on a stack of study cards on her nightstand. She snatched them up.

"I get that grades are important, but perhaps studying can wait till we get out?" Robin asked, her joke falling flat.

"These are from sophomore chemistry," Nancy said, her voice gaining a tremulous edge. She pointed a shaking finger at the wall. "And this... this wallpaper is old wallpaper." Her gaze darted to a gaudy vanity mirror. "And this mirror... this went to a yard sale." Finally, her eyes landed on a worn teddy bear propped on her pillow. A cold dread washed over her. "And you... You're not supposed to be here. No, I gave you to Cousin Joanna two years ago."

"What is it?" Eddie asked, his nervousness spiking again.

"Nancy? You're freaking me out," Robin said, her own bravado crumbling.

"Nancy, stop talking in riddles and tell us what's going on," Hailey demanded, her patience wearing thin.

Nancy stumbled to her bedside table and yanked open the drawer, pulling out a diary. She flipped through the pages frantically. "I think the reason my guns aren't here," she said, her voice hollow with dawning horror, "is because they don't exist yet."

She turned to face the three of them, her face pale. They stared back, their expressions a perfect mirror of complete confusion.

"They don't... exist?" Eddie questioned, as if the words themselves didn't make sense.

"This diary should be full of entries. It's not," Nancy explained, holding it open for them to see the vast stretches of blank, yellowing pages. "The last entry is November 6, 1983."

A cold realization shot down Hailey's spine. "That's the day Will went missing," she breathed. "The day El opened the gate."

A heavy, terrifying silence descended upon the room.

Nancy's final statement was a whisper, but it hit them like a physical blow. "We're in the past."

The four of them stared at each other, the impossible truth settling over them: the Upside Down wasn't just a dark reflection; it was a snapshot, a moment frozen in time on the day their world first broke open.

The profound shock was shattered by Steve's sudden, frantic yelling from downstairs.

"Dustin! Dustin! Dustin!"

The spell broken, they all jolted into motion, abandoning the terrifying revelation in Nancy's bedroom to sprint back down towards the sound of Steve's voice.

Steve paused halfway up. "Dustin! Dustin! Dustin!" he yelled, spinning in a circle. "Can you hear me? Dustin! Du... Hello? Hel... Hello?"

"Maybe he really does have rabies," Robin whispered to Hailey, her concern genuine.

"Hello! Hello?"

"Babe, what are you doing?" Hailey asked, descending the stairs to join him.

Steve turned and shone his flashlight directly in their faces, forcing them to shield their eyes. "He's here. Henderson. That little shit, he's here. He's like... He's in the walls or something. Just listen," Steve explained, his voice frantic but convinced.

He started yelling again. "Dustin! Dustin! Dustin! Dustin! Can you hear me?"

Hailey decided to humour him. She closed her eyes and listened intently. After a few seconds, she heard it-faint, muffled, but unmistakable.

"That brings us to the question you first raised."

"Dustin!" Nancy shouted, rushing back down and into the living room.

"Dustin?" Eddie asked, pulling back a curtain as if the boy might be hiding behind it.

"Dustin!" Robin yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth.

"All right, either this kid can't hear us or he's being a total douchebag," Steve said, frustration mounting.

"I'd say the latter, and Will found a way," Hailey stated.

Steve looked at her, confused. "What?"

"Will. He found a way to speak to Joyce through the lights," Nancy said, the realization hitting her. She rushed to the nearest lamp and flicked the switch. Nothing happened.

"Lights?"

"Yeah."

"Try the switch," Hailey suggested.

"It's not working," Nancy said, her frustration growing.

Steve's attention was drawn to the ceiling light in the kitchen. It had a faint, ethereal glow. "Guys? You seeing this?"

They all gathered under it, staring up. Hailey was the first to reach a hand toward it. A warm, tingling sensation spread through her fingers. The others slowly followed suit, all reaching up. As their hands connected with the energy, the light seemed to grow brighter, responding to their touch.

"It... tickles. It kinda feels good," Robin said, a genuine grin breaking through her fear.

Steve couldn't help but glance at Hailey. She was smiling, a look of wonder on her face, and he found himself smiling back.

"Does anyone know Morse code?" Nancy asked suddenly, pulling her hand away.

"No," Hailey, Steve, and Robin said in unison, lowering their arms.

"Wait, does SOS count?" Eddie asked.

All eyes turned to him. "Is that... Is that good?" he asked, suddenly self-conscious.

They quickly cleared a path for him. "It's working," Robin said, her smile widening as Eddie began to tap out the universal distress signal.

Hailey watched, a wave of relief washing over her. They had a connection. They had a way out. And the first thing she was going to do was get Steve proper medical attention.

*~*🌟*~*

"...seeing this?" Dustin's voice echoed around them. The same ethereal, warm light that had glowed in the kitchen now pulsed from Nancy's bed. Hailey reached out, her fingers brushing the energy. It flared brightly in response, and a collective cheer of relief went up from the group.

"We're not moving it, but we're gonna unplug it. Stand by."

They waited with bated breath until Dustin gave the signal. Hailey grabbed Steve's hand; her nerves frayed to a breaking point after the evening's relentless horrors.

"Try it now."

"Okay. Um... Uh..." Nancy faltered, unsure what to write. She looked at the others for a moment before simply tracing a single word into the light: 'Hi.'

It was simple, easy. The sound of Dustin's laugh echoing back to them confirmed it worked.

"Hey! Hi," Eddie said, a genuine smile breaking through his fear.

"That worked!" Robin exclaimed.

Nancy reached forward again, her finger tracing the next word: 'Stuck.' It was the simplest way to explain their impossible situation.

"Uh, you can't get back through Watergate?" Dustin's voice asked, echoing around the room.

"What the hell's Watergate?" Steve asked, utterly confused by the name.

"Since Dustin did the naming, I think he came up with it because the gate is under water," Hailey explained patiently to the two bewildered boys.

"Oh."

"That's cute," Steve muttered softly.

"Right."

Nancy wrote the next word: 'Guarded.'

"We think we have a theory that can help with that."

"Yes," Hailey said, a surge of pride for her brilliant brother cutting through her fear.

"Genius child," Robin muttered under her breath.

"We think Watergate isn't the only gate. That there's a gate at every murder site. ...murder site."

"Does anybody understand what he's talking about?" Steve asked, lost.

"No," Hailey admitted, shaking her head.

"No idea," Eddie added.

Nancy simply drew a large question mark in the light.

"How many times do I have to be right on the money before you trust me?" Dustin's indignant voice boomed.

"Jesus Christ. This kid's gotta get his ego in check," Steve said, shaking his head.

Hailey gave him a light, admonishing slap on the shoulder. "He's earned it."

"It's his tone. Right?" Eddie asked, siding with Steve.

"Yes, my brother can get a big head about things he knows better than the rest of us," Hailey stated, her own patience wearing thin from exhaustion and stress. "But you guys also have things you have better knowledge about, and you don't see me judging you for it."

"So... So how far is your trailer?" Nancy asked, cutting through the tension and looking at Eddie.

"Seven miles," Eddie said.

"Nancy? Uh, I know your house here is, like, weirdly, creepily frozen in time and shit, but haven't you always had bikes?" Robin asked, sparking an idea.

There weren't enough bikes for all five of them. Hailey ended up perched precariously on the handlebars of Steve's bike, his arms caging her in as they sped down the desolate, vine-choked road toward the trailer park. For a few fleeting minutes, with the wind whipping through her hair and Steve's solid presence behind her, she could almost forget the nightmare they were in. She felt a sliver of the carefree joy they used to share.

"Right here," Eddie said, skidding to a halt in front of his trailer. They let the bikes clatter to the ground.

"That's gotta be a Guinness World Record. Most miles travelled interdimensionally," Robin pointed out, panting slightly.

"Just inhaled a bunch of that crap," Steve said, coughing. "It's stuck in my throat."

They followed Eddie inside. And there it was, in the ceiling of his living room: another gate. Identical to the one in Lover's Lake, a pulsing, fleshy maw in reality.

"Goddamn. This is where Chrissy died. Like, right where she died," Eddie said, his voice tight with nerves.

"I think there's something in there," Robin said, noticing a shadow moving on the other side.

"What the hell is that?" Nancy asked.

Suddenly, a long stick jabbed through the gate from the other side, poking and prodding, widening the opening. Steve immediately pushed Hailey behind him, stepping closer to investigate.

The stick withdrew, and a face appeared, peering down at them upside down. It was Dustin.

"No way," Steve breathed in utter disbelief.

"Hi there," Dustin said with a grin, waving.

"Hi," they all said in sync, waving back like fools.

"Holy shit, this is trippy," Robin said.

"Got that right," Hailey muttered in agreement.

"Bada-bada-boom!" Dustin shouted in triumph.

Dustin gathered all the bedding and comforters he could find, tying them into a makeshift rope. Lucas and Erica dragged Eddie's mattress from his room and positioned it directly under the gate.

Eddie eyed the suspicious stains on it nervously. "Those stains are, uh... I dunno what those stains are," he stated.

"Mmm," Robin hummed, sceptical.

Hailey pulled a face of pure disgust; she had a pretty good idea.

Dustin reappeared at the gate, lowering his knotted rope. "Not quite sure how these physics work. But, uh... Here goes nothing." He tossed one end through the tear. "There we go, and if my theory is correct... Abracadabra." He let go, and the rope hung suspended in mid-air, defying all logic.

"Holy shit," someone whispered.

"All right, pull on it! See if it holds!" Dustin instructed.

"This is the craziest shit I've ever seen in my life. And I've seen some crazy shit," Erica stated, mesmerized.

Robin stepped up first, testing the rope. "Guess I'm the guinea pig." She began to climb, hand over hand, until she disappeared through the gate and landed with a soft thud on the mattress below.

"Oh my God!"

"Oh, thank God. That was fun," Robin said, standing up with Dustin's help.

Nancy went next, eager to be free of the Upside Down. Then Eddie.

"All right, guess I'll go," he said, noticing neither Steve nor Hailey had moved. He climbed through, landing on the mattress with a grin. "That was fun. Shit."

Steve gently pushed Hailey forward. "I guess I'll see you on the other side?" she asked, a sudden, inexplicable dread coiling in her stomach.

"Of course, I'm right behind you," Steve promised.

She grabbed the rope and began to climb. But as she passed through the gate, the world didn't right itself. Instead of falling onto a mattress, she was plummeting through a cold, black abyss, a scream trapped in her throat. The fall seemed to last an eternity before her back slammed into a hard surface, pain exploding through her body.

She groaned, pushing herself up. Her surroundings swam into focus. She wasn't in Eddie's trailer. She was standing at the edge of Steve's empty, vine-choked pool. The place where Barb had disappeared.

*~*🌟*~*

Steve watched Hailey freeze on the rope, her body going rigid just as she passed through the gate.

"Hailey." Her name was a question. He moved in front of her, his blood running cold. Her eyes were wide open, but they were glazed over, seeing nothing. She was trapped in a trance.

"Hey! Hey!" he yelled, his voice cracking with panic. He grabbed her shoulders, shaking her. "Stay with me. Hailey! Hey! Hailey, wake up. Wake up! Hailey!" His desperate pleas echoed in the empty trailer, but she was gone, lost to him.

The others stared through the gate from the other side, their faces etched with horror.

"Vecna," Max whispered, the name a death sentence. But no one could understand why he had set his sights on Hailey Henderson.

*~*🌟*~*

Hailey spun in a slow circle, her heart hammering against her ribs. The air was cold and thick with the smell of decay. She was alone and utterly terrified.

Her eyes caught on something tangled in the vines at the bottom of the pool. She took a hesitant step closer, then another. A gasp tore from her throat, and she stumbled backward.

It was Barb. Her body was pale and lifeless, twisted in the grotesque vines. As Hailey watched, horror-struck, a swarm of tiny, pale creatures writhed from Barb's open mouth.

"Do you remember the anger you felt when you found out what Nancy did, Hailey?"

Vecna's voice was a cold, echoing whisper that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.

"She has probably already forgotten, as you still walk around with that anger every day."

A torrent of memories flooded her mind: the fight with Nancy, the bitter accusations, the crushing guilt that she hadn't done more, that she had failed her best friend. The anger was old and cold, but Vecna warmed it anew, stoking it like a fire.

"When I kill someone... I never forget."

The pool began to fill, not with water, but with dark, viscous blood that rose rapidly. A primal fear, cold and sharp, sent a violent shiver through her body. She didn't want to die.

She turned and ran, scrambling up the ladder. When she reached the top, the world shifted again. She was standing in the foyer of the Creel house. The sky above the broken roof was a sickening, bloody red.

The grandfather clock floated in the centre of the room, its pendulum swinging silently. Then, it began to chime.

And as it tolled, Vecna's life-his past, his pain, his transformation into a monster-unfolded before her eyes like a grotesque and terrifying movie. She was no longer just his victim; she was his witness.

*~🌟~*