"Hey." Steve looked back at Clove. "All good?"

She forced a smile. "All good."

"Worried about your lady friend?" he asked as Clove held the bow in hand, slightly scaring him.

"Yeah." she exhaled. "I wish I would have stayed."

"It was your idea to fireball, we aren't gonna do it without you." he went on, close behind Nancy.

"Will was trying to fireball." Clove admitted, Steve gave her a look. "The might he went missing. He rolled the dice, trying to fireball, i'm pretty sure."

Steve frowned his eyebrows. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying this might not the the best idea. Like, that memory is trying to warn me." the blonde admitted, her ankle hurting slightly after taking a step and twisting it slightly.

"You don't think we should kill this dude?" he rose an eyebrow at her.

"No, I do." she corrected. "But, I think putting Max in the ring of fire is the wrong move. We need to roll again."

"I don't think we have time to roll again." Dustin walked next to her. "You focus on saving her, I focus on saving you."

Clove inhaled. "Deal."

They walked into Eddie's trailer as a group, though, they'd leave divided.

"Be carful." Dustin looked to Steve.

"Thanks buddy." he patted his back, going up the bedsheet rope and landed on his feet.

"Woah. What does he want us to do, applaud?" Robin mocked as Clove hid a laugh.

One after the other, they each followed and hit the mattress. Clove breathed in when her back hit it, her hair bouncing slightly before she was grabbed and yanked out of the way. Dustin tossed his bag down to her before being the last to come down, Nancy pushed the trailer door open.

"Hey, guys, listen." Steve turned to Dustin and Eddie. "If things here start to go south, I mean, at all, you abort. Okay? Draw the attention of the bats. Keep 'em busy for a minute or two. We'll take care of Vecna. Don't try to be cute or be a hero or something. Okay? You guys are just-"

"Decoys." Dustin and Steve said on sync.

"He wants to be the hero." Clove jokingly whispered to Dustin, getting a look of disbelief from Steve.

"Don't worry, you can be the hero." the Henderson boy shrugged.

"I mean, look at us." Eddie looked to Dustin with a laugh. "We are not the hero's."

"I don't know about that one." Clove tossed an arm around Dustin. "He did save me from being eating by the Demogorgan once."

"Mike said he was the one to save you." Nancy spoke up.

"Not true!" Dustin huffed, Clove smiled at Eddie as she joined the rest of them.

"Hey, Steve." Eddie walked forward, stopping them again. "Make him pay."

Nancy nudged Clove. "Lead the way?"

The blonde inhaled, gripping the bow. "Will do."

About ten minutes into their walk, Robin began to get anxious. "Uh...I don't mean to freak anyone out, but I swear we've seen this tree before."

Clove looked up at it. "Robin, I think all the trees here look the same."

"That would suck, right?" she inhaled deeply, shining her flashlight around. "If Vecna just destroyed the world because-cause we got lost in the woods?"

"We're not lost, Robin." Nancy reassured her.

"I've been lost in the woods on multiple occasions, this one is not it." Clove agreed, trying to calm Robins nerves. She just chuckled uncomfortably before starting to run off.

"Robin, hey!" Nancy called to her. "Watch out for the vines! Hi-Clove, could y-"

"Yup." the Reyes girl took off behind her, hoping over the vines with ease. "Robin, i'm gonna break my ankle running in platforms!"

"Clove, hurry!" Robin called from a distance. "I've found something!"

"A person?" she ran faster, coming across Robin as she ran into her, staring up at the Crill House. "Monster House."

"I'll get Nancy and Steve." she panted, running off quickly. Clove stared up at it, chills running down her spin. She swore she didn't hear it, swore she imagined the sound of a clock.

Then her nose started to bleed.

She stared at her bloody fingers. "Guys, I think we need to get this show on the road!"

"Coming!" Robin yelled, running back with the pair behind her. Clove hid it from them, not wanting anyone to worry. But, she knew that Vecna planned for her to be the fourth victim, only Max would swoop in and become available to him again, potentially saving her without even knowing it.

Max had saved Clove many times without knowing it, though.

"Erica." Steve looked to the little playground across from the house. "As the President said...let's get the show on the road."

Clove pushed the door open first, letting it creek as they stared at the old decor once more. Her heart rate picked up, feeling Nancy behind her. "Hey, I was thinking about something."

"Oh, yeah?" Cloves eyes looked around, only half listening out of fear.

But, Nancy knew that, and that's why she started to talk. "When we go back to school, what if you and I work together somehow? Like, go on strike until the jocks are punished for how they've been acting."

Clove turned her head. "What about a walk out?"

"Read my mind." Nancy offered her a smile, easing Cloves fear in the slightest as they headed up the stairs first, Steve and Robin close behind.

"Oh shit." Steve stared at all the vines on the ground as they pushed the next door open. "That's not good."

Clove looked back at him. "Ladies first?"

"Follow the leader." he shook his head. Clove inhaled, pulling her hair back with the red scrunchie and bracing herself. She decided on removing her platforms, holding them in her hands and jumping to every free space. "I'm gonna jump where you jump."

"Okay, just make sure you aren't coming too early." she said in return, jumping again and balancing herself before falling on the vines. Steve did the same, Robin and Nancy following their action. Clove made it to the opening first, holding her arms out as they tossed her their bags to avoid being weighed down.

Clove stared at the attic door as Steve helped Nancy over the final vine, gripping her gun tighter as the trio behind her got geared up in return. Clove checked her bullets for the third time, nodding her head. "Mike would be proud that I finally decided to go for fireball."

"True." Nancy inhaled, smiling at her just after the house started to shake and knocked all four of them off their balance. Clove yelped when her jaw hit the staircase, only that was nothing compared to the sudden pull she had when two vines wrapped around her ankles.

"Clove!" Robin yelled, trying to help her as Cloves back hit the wall and the vines tightened around her entire face. Robin was next to get taken, wrapped in the strong vines as Steve attempted to help her, the chain reaction getting worse until they were each in the process of being strangled.

Clove gasped for air that wasn't coming, trying to yank her hands free to pull the vines off her neck. Though, nothing was working. She wanted to at least be able to scream, but the way her windpipe was so blocked, she wasn't even granted that access. The slimy feeling reminded her of the time the demo dog bite her, embedding apart of its self into her arm and having to cut it out.

She'd have scars to join that one from this, if she made it out.

Clove felt a release, gifted the power to breath again. Her knees hit the floor, it hurt but she didn't care in those moments. Her hands held her throat, coughing and holding onto the sides of her throat. The remining of her friends did the same, all in the process of recovering. Robin grabbed Cloves hand as she squeezed it back, mentally thanking her for trying to save her at first, even if it almost got her killed in return.

"Jesus Christ!" Clove had to yell, because she was glad she had the ability to again. "Henry Crill is the type of guy to slap me with my own clip board instead of signing petitions."

"Makes sense." Nancy agreed, still gasping for air.

"I don't believe in a higher power or divine intervention." Robin spoke between catching her breath. "But that was a miracle."

"Then we better not waste it." Nancy stood up, gripping her gun. Clove inhaled, doing the same as she followed her.

"Phase four." Steve breathed out, staring at the door.

"Flambé." Nancy cocked her gun, pushing the attic door open as the four all slowly walked up the stairs. Clove didn't lead this time, Nancy did as they made it to the top.

Like Dustin and Lucas suspected, Vecna hung in a trance in the middle of the attic.

All three of them looked at Clove, awaiting her approval. She stared at Vecna longer, his state clearly making it known he'd given up on targeting her because Max had become his main focus again. Clove inhaled as she gripped her gun, her jaw moved slightly before giving a nod to the older teens.

Steve threw the first bottle of alcohol with a lit cloth at the end. It hit Vecna, making Robin throw another after they all winced from the sudden burst of flames. Nancy was next with her bullets, the entire attic flooding with fire as Vecna fell, standing as he stared at them.

Clove stared back.

He was getting in her head, she could feel him start to latch onto her. Her head was hurting, pounding, her nose began to bleed faster then it should have been possible. Steve handed her an arrow, Clove pulled her bicep back and held it in place. Nancy rose the lighter, setting the end of the arrow on fire thanks to the help of the alcohol. It was traveling up the remaining of the arrow, getting too close to Cloves skin for any of their liking.

"Rot in hell, bitch." Clove glared, firing the arrow and hitting Vecna right in the head with it.

He flew through the back window, making her lower the burnt wire as the sudden wind made it fall short. She inhaled deeply, feeling as though the fire was running through her veins. She nodded. "Come on."

The four ran down the stairs, heading for the door and shoving it open. Vecna's burn indention lingered on the ground, Clove felt her heart drop to her stomach. "No!"

"I hit him in the head!" she spoke again as she spun around to look at them, the flames behind her made her eyes look orange rather then their usual dark. "I had him!"

"We know." Nancy promised her, the ground started to shake suddenly. Robin lunged forward and pulled Clove back into the steps with them as she gripped onto the side. Her eyes traveled to her right, watching a large red crack began to form down the ground and travel quickly. They all gripped onto whatever they could, the harsh force of the pull knocking them all off their balance tremendously.

Then came the dreadful sound of the fourth chime. Clove's eyes widened and she was running as fast as she could, not even having control over her own feet at this point.

"Max!"

•

kylie speaks

i can't believe we only have
one chapter left, im gonna
miss my favorite blondie