☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

°•. ┊ Daylight┊.•°
✧ ˚ ━ i understand, act three

CHAPTER ELEVEN — papa

✧

The two of us watch as Brenner wipes off the leftover ink, revealing a tattoo just like El's, only Henry's reads '001.' We're so screwed. We have to get out of here, now. "There's nothing to be afraid of. Is there, Nancy?" The man turns to us, his eyes white. Son of a bitch. "Why don't you take a seat?" I grab her arm and pull her out into the halls of the lab, we pause and take in the carnage around us. Kids and guards; dead. The two of us run as fast as our feet can carry; coming upon a set of double doors, boarded up. We begin to rip the wood planks down, but his voice rings through our ears, and goosebumps sprawl across our skin. "Sam. Nancy. What are you doing? It's not time for you to leave." He walks slowly towards us, spewing some shit about seeing where he's going, and we rush to free the boards from their nails, trying to escape. We get the final one free and run through the doors, only to find ourselves back in a room with the Vecna version of Dr. Brenner.

A circle of fire automatically forms around us and it's like I no longer have any control over my powers, which isn't exactly comforting. Nance turns to me in a panic, unsure of whether or not I actively started the fire to protect us. My focus turns to the lanky creature approaching us from behind her. The flaming ring begins to die out and I shove the brunette behind me, shielding her from our opponent. When suddenly the lights go out, leaving us in the dark. As they flicker back on, my body is trapped against the wall, held by vines and Nance is being held down on the chair; Vecna looming over her. "Hey! Don't touch her! I will kill you! I swear to god, I'm gonna kill you-" My voice is cut off, as a vine wraps itself tightly around my throat; cutting off my airway just enough to shut me up, but not enough to knock me out.

"I...want you to tell Eleven." He starts, bringing his hand up to her face, which I struggle against the binds. "I want you to tell her everything you see." His hand closes around her face and my head is thrown back, as images of what's to come flash through my mind. I hear sounds of protest from Nancy, but I can't do anything to stop it. Hawkins will fall. And we're all going down with it. "Tell her...everything." The Wheeler girl shouts once more and the images stop.

"Nancy!" I release a scream of desperation and soon enough the brunette is gone and I'm left alone with the creature; trying to find a way out and failing. "What do you want from me?" I attempt to sound angry and direct, but it comes out exasperated and tired.

"It's not what I want from you, but rather what you need from me."

"What I need is for you to leave my sister alone." I snap, hoping that they'll pull me out of here soon. "I get that you need four gates, but take someone else. Anyone else. And leave my family out of it."

"Anyone? Even Steve?" The way he drags out Steve's name makes me shiver and clench my fists, the rage starting to boil. The memories of what happened the last time I was taken into this other realm, remind me that music isn't the key; moments are. Happy and genuine moments with the people I care about are. I inhale sharply and find myself thinking about my conversation with Lucas earlier. Finally, after days of nothing, a fire sparks in my hands and I glare up at the creature, feeling the change in my eyes. "The fire witch prevails. Despite your own doubts. You have no idea what you're capable of, Samira. I can show you." My anger reaches its tipping point and fire exudes from behind me, my powers taking a life of their own. I shoot to attack him, but awake from the trance to find myself fighting against someone's grasp.

"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." Steve's voice rings through my ears and I allow my body to go limp in his arms, attempting to steady my breathing. "It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. I'm here. I'm right here." Tears start to well in my eyes, as I stare into his, anchoring myself to something real. To him. After a few moments, he helps me up the rope and back into our world. I'm instantly embraced by my sister and Dustin and Lucas are quick to join.

"Are you okay?" Sinclair asks, as they help me to my feet and Steve drops down.

"Yeah, yeah. A little out of touch with reality, but I'll be fine." I force a smile, before turning to Nance. "Well, that was one hell of a bonding experience." I glance around and realize that Griffin and Delilah are missing from the group. The kids explain that while they got caught by the police in the woods, Griff and Lila ran the opposite way and were going to look for Sarah. Henderson pulls out his walkie and calls out for the pair, only to receive static in return. "They're fine. We clearly have been keeping Vecna pretty busy. Let's call the station and then the house. If they're not there, then we wait a little before panicking."

"I don't know, Red." Eddie starts, aggressively placing a hand on my shoulder. "If anyone is gonna be a target for this guy it's gonna be Griffin."

"He'll be fine." I argue, brushing him off and heading towards his living room area, slumping into the couch. God, I need a nap. The rest of the group is right behind me and Nancy is pacing around the room continuously, stopping every so often to glance outside. I lean against the Munson boy, who's sat on my right, and allow my eyes to close. The momentary bliss is cut short by Dustin and his questions.

"He showed us things that haven't happened yet. The most awful things. I saw a dark cloud spreading over Hawkins." The Wheeler girl begins to explain what we were shown, sitting down, and I feel a residual pain on my throat from Vecna's mind realm. "Downtown on fire. Dead soldiers. And this...giant creature with...a gaping mouth. And this creature wasn't alone. There were so many monsters. An army. And they were coming into Hawkins. Into our neighborhoods. Our homes. And then...he showed me my mom. And Holly. Mike. And they...they were all..."

"Okay, but...he's just trying to scare you, Nance." Steve tries to alleve her nerves, but he can't. He didn't see what we did. He doesn't understand. "Right? I mean...I mean, it's not real. "

"Not yet." I add, earning a pointed glare from the Harrington boy.

"But there...there was something else. He showed us gates. Four gates. Spreading across Hawkins. And these gates, they looked like the one outside of Eddie's trailer, but...they didn't stop growing. And this wasn't the Upside Down Hawkins. This was our Hawkins. Our home."

"Four chimes." Max's voice pulls our attention from Nance. "Vecna's clock. It always chimes four times. Four exactly."

"I heard them too." I inform, sitting up as my leg bounces a million miles a minute. "That son of a bitch has been telling us his plan this whole time. Four kills leads to four gates, which in turn means the end of the world as we know it."

"If that's true...he's only one kill away." Henderson breathes. Eddie starts muttering to himself and Steve orders Max to try calling our friends in Lenora. She informs us that it was just a busy signal, again.

"Maybe you punched it wrong." Harrington huffs. "Try again."

"I didn't punch it in wrong." My sister scoffs at his insinuation.

"Well, I don't know-"

"I think she knows how to use a phone." I interject, but he doesn't shut up.

"I'm just saying, she could've typed it in wrong." He offers, while Max slams the phone back on the hook, telling us that it's still a busy signal. Sinclair questions how it's still busy and Dustin reminds us that Joyce is always on the phone for her job.

"Yeah, but this phone's been busy for, what, three days now?" Max starts. "That's not Joyce. No way. Something's wrong."

"She's right. It can't be just coincidence. It can't be." Nancy rises to her feet once more and stands with her back to us, staring out the window. "Whatever's happening in Lenora is connected to all of this. I'm sure of it. But Vecna can't hurt them. Not if he's dead. We have to go back in there. Back to the Upside Down." As she says the last part, she turns back towards us and a slew of protests come from everyone around. I stand and walk over to Nance, telling the group that I agree with her. There's no way for this to end if we keep playing defense. We have to go on the offense and kill Vecna before he kills all of us. Before he destroys the world.

"Let's think this through." Steve gets up and walks towards us, ready to dismiss the idea of heading back down there. Nance questions what there is to think through. And she's right. And much as Steve has a point, this is the only way to keep the world from ending. "We barely made it out of there."

"Yeah, because we weren't prepared. But this time, we will be." I argue.

"We'll get weapons and protection." Wheeler offers, backing me up. "We'll go through the gate, we'll find his lair, and we'll kill him.:

"Or he'll kill us." Steve shouts, causing my eyes to roll and my arms to cross over my chest. "The only reason you two survived is because he wanted you to. He's not scared of us."

"And for good reason. We were wrong about Vecna. Henry. One. Sorry, what are we calling him now?" Robin joins the conversation, and everyone answers her question differently. "Right. We've learned something new about Vecna/Henry/One. He's a number like Eleven, only a sick, evil, male, child-murdering version of her with really bad skin. But my...my point is, he's super powerful. Could turn us inside out with a snap of his fingers. It's not a fair fight.

"So, then why fight fair?" Henderson cuts off her tangent, starting one of his own. "You're right. He's like Eleven. But that gives us an upper hand. We know Eleven's strengths. And weaknesses."

"Weaknesses?" Erica questions, seemingly done with him already.

"When El remote-travels, she goes into this sort of trance-like state." The boy explains to all of us. "I bet the same is true of Vecna."

"That would explain what he was doing in that attic." Sinclair says.

"Exactly." Henderson agrees with him. "When he attacks his next victim, I'll bet you he's back in that attic, physical body defenseless."

"Defenseless?" Harrington asks rhetorically. Here we go with the melodrama. "What about the army of bats?" He gestures to his neck and I finally take notice of how fast the bruising process acts and the marks are a lot more noticeable in the sunlight. While their discussion continues, I step closer to the older boy; so engrossed by the injury that my hand absentmindedly moves to graze the marks gently. He flinches slightly, before relaxing into my touch. The two of us share soft smiles, before tuning back into a life or death conversation.

"That all sounds good in theory, but there is no pattern to Vecna's killings. I mean, at least not one that I can decipher." Robin smacks Dustin's theory across the fact with reality. "We don't know when he's going to attack next. We don't even know who he's going to attack."

"Yeah, we do." Max states, her eyes locking with mine. "I can still feel him. I'm still marked. Cursed. I ditch Kate Bush, I draw his focus back to me."

"Max." Lucas' head shakes and I can tell that he hates the idea just as much as I do. "You can't. He'll kill you."

"I survived before. I can survive again." My sister says, looking around at all of us and explains her plan. "I just need to keep him busy long enough so that you guys can get into that attic. And then you can chop his head off. Stab him in the heart. Blow him up with some explosive Dustin cooks up. I honestly, I really don't care how you put this asshole in his grave. Just...whatever it is...whatever you do...try not to miss." The planning begins with gathering our arsenal.

"Check this out. The War Zone." Eddie slams a flier onto the table and the rest of us gather around it. "I've been there once. It's huge. They got everything you need for, uh...well, uh, killing things, basically."

"Do you think fake Rambo has enough guns there?" Robin questions. "Is that a grenade? I mean, how is any of this legal?" Eddie explains that it's outside of Hawkins enough to avoid the cops and angry hicks, just as long as we stay away from the main roads.

"If we're trying to avoid angry hicks, maybe we shouldn't go to some store called the War Zone." Erica offers and I shrug in agreement, but it's not like we have any other choice.

"Normally, I'd agree, but we need the weapons. So I think it's worth the risk." Nancy tells the young girl and Lucas and I agree. Dustin brings up the time crunch we're on and that biking there would take all day.

"Who said anything about bikes?" Eddie's rhetorical remark causes my brows furrow in confusion.

"What? You got some sort of car we don't know about?" Steve inquires, looking at Eddie.

"It's not exactly a car, Steve. And it's not exactly mine, but, uh...it'll do." Munson stands up straight to look Harrington in the eyes as he speaks. "Hey, Little Red, uh, you got a ski mask or a bandanna, something like that?" Max runs over to her trailer and returns with her Michael Myers mask from our first Halloween in Hawkins. A smile sprawls across my features at the memory. The start of everything. We maneuver around the park, following Eddie's lead, and I fight to stifle my laughter at his current apparel. We sneak inside of an unsuspecting couples RV and our leader rips off the mask, mentioning that it was suffocating. The Munson boy rushes to the front of the vehicle and starts trying to hot-wire it.

"Where'd you learn how to do this?" Steve asks, as the two of us approach him, leaning over the seat.

"Well, when the other dads were teaching their kids how to fish or play ball, my old man was teaching me how to hot-wire." Munson starts, clearly angry with himself over his actions. "Now, I swore to myself I wouldn't wind up like he did, but now I'm wanted for murder, and soon, grand theft auto. So, uh, I'm really living up to that Munson name."

"Eddie, I'm not sure I love the idea of you driving." Robbie's arms are draped around my shoulders, as she tries to delicately express her dismay of Eddie's driving. And I gesture towards her to show that I second her worry.

"Oh, I'm just starting this sucker." Eddie smiles, turning to look at us and leaning back slightly. "Harrington's got her. Don't ya, big boy?" Steve seems as though he's questioning many things in his life, as he takes in the nickname Eddie just gave him. And a laugh escapes my lips, when the engine finally starts. Panic ensues inside the van and people are banging on the door. Steve hops in the driver seat and orders everyone to hold onto something. I sit down in the passenger seat and brace myself against the dashboard, as Harrington drives like a madman out of the trailer park. I only just realize that he's still not wearing any shoes...why? Once we're on the road and he seems to have a little more control, I head towards the back, and sit with Max.

"So, this plan is stupid."

"Oh, what? You're the only one who gets to risk their lives?" She remarks, smiling over at me.

"I guess not..." I breathe, returning the gesture. "But let's get one thing straight; I'm supposed to go first, okay? That's how it's supposed to happen and that's how it's going to happen. I love you. And I refuse to live in a world where you don't exist."

"You did for three years." She argues.

"If you want to get technical, then sure. I lived in a world without you for three years, but my life didn't start until you were born." Confusion is present on her face and I adjust in my seat. "My first memory is of you. Of waking up in a hospital waiting room and being told that you were finally here. Of sitting with mom and dad in her hospital bed, staring at your tiny, sleeping figure." I grab her hand, blinking away the tears. "You. You are my entire life. And I am not planning on being here for the end of yours." There's a lull in the conversation and my eyes lock onto the bracelet she's wearing, as she twists it around in her hands; a battered friendship bracelet made of red and deep green strings. It's an old one of mine; I don't remember giving it to her. It comes from a matching set; one for me and one for Genny. We made them with our favorite colors a few years ago...I swallow hard and run a hand over my face. The memory of her dying replays in my head, reminding me exactly why this fight has to end differently. I lost Gen and it nearly killed me. I won't survive losing my sister. With a sharp inhale, I rise to my feet and give her hand one final squeeze, before walking back towards the front of the vehicle. I sit down beside Steve once more and lean my head against the seat. Fire and Rain by James Taylor starts playing lowly on the radio and I release a sigh of content. "So, how's it handle?"

"It's not half bad. Considering that this is a...house." The boy responds with a smile, glancing between me and the road. "Yeah, it's...it's silly, but I...I've actually you know, I always had this dream that I'd have this, like, this really...really big family. I'm talking, like, uh, a full brood of Harringtons. Like, five, six kids."

"Six?" My brows raise in shock and my voice rises at the end.

"Yeah. Six little nuggets. Three girls, three boys." He explains with a smile tugging at his lips. "And...and every summer, I figured all of us Harringtons, we would pack into something like this and...just see the country. You know, the Rockies, Grand Canyon, maybe Yellowstone. End up in some beach side town in California. Spend a week parked in the sand. Learn how to surf or something."

"That sounds nice.' I breathe.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." I look over at him. "Well, uh, except for the six-kid part. That sounds painful."

"If only we- I had some practice." He catches himself quickly, but not fast enough. And I feel my face get hot, knowing that it's bright red. I look out the window in hopes of hiding the effect his words had.

"Alright. That's fair." I respond, knowing that we've both had a lot of practice with the kids. And that we've learned from our parents' mistakes; that we'd do anything to be better than they were. The conversation ends and I pull my knees up to my chest, hugging them, beginning to hum along to the music. Soon enough, he's putting the RV into park and we're discussing exactly what we're going to grab, knowing that we have to be quick. Robin, Steve, Nancy, Erica, and I are the one's going in, so we make a point to divide and conquer. As the five of us enter the store we find it extremely busy and we notice multiple Hawkins residents inside. Son of a bitch. "So much for avoiding angry hicks." I mutter and Nance suggests that we should work quickly, to which we all agree. I head off with Erica, grabbing led lights usually made for killing insects, and after a while I break away from the girl, ready to corral the rest of our group. My first stop is at the gun desk and I find her talking to Jason; who is pale and sweaty, with a look in his eyes that reminds me all too well of Billy. I pick up my pace and intervene, planting myself between them.

"Mayfield." Jason huffs, his gaze on me. "You wouldn't know where your freak of a friend is, would you?"

"Nope." My response is short. "Why don't you just back off."

"I was just giving Wheeler some advice." He starts, craning his neck to look at her and proceeding to ask if her brother is here. She tells him no, but he clearly isn't going to let this go. "I only ask because he's...he's in Hellfire, isn't he?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." The Wheeler girl tells him, as I use my body to shield her from his gaze.

"What about his friends? They here with you?" He asks, towering over me. "You're still their babysitter, why wouldn't they come to you? Where are they?"

"Back off." I seethe, stepping forward and challenging him. The boy stands there, holding my stare for a while, until backing down and giving the two of us a strange smile. We get what we need and meet everyone else at checkout; making your purchases quickly and rushing out of the store. As we enter the RV, Steve tosses his bag at Eddie and I drop mine in his lap, as a string of questions come out of all of their mouths. "Gotta go." Erica looks to Lucas and mentions that his old friends are here, as Harrington pulls out of the parking lot quickly. We drive back to Hawkins, stopping at an open field to prepare for the battle; Dustin and Eddie are making shield with nails in them, the Sinclair siblings are working on spears, Nance and Max are adjusting the gun, Steve and Robin are making molotov cocktails, and I'm off on my own exploring my powers. What did Vecna mean by the fact that I don't know what I'm capable of? I won't argue with it because I've basically had to discover this all on my own, but what the hell does that freak know? When my magic fails for the twelfth time, I let out a groan of frustration and drop to the ground, surveying my friends. I watch as Eddie and Dustin wrestle a bit and smile widely at the pair. After a moment or so, I decide to get up and be of use to our group by heading towards the best friends. I stop short, when Henderson's bag starts talking. I lift the walkie out and listen to Lila and Griffin argue about what the proper terminology is, until finally they shut up, and I talk. "Hello, I'm here. And I swear that argument made me lose brain cells."

"Very funny." Lila huffs. "Where are you guys? We're here with Sarah at Eddie's trailer."

"Took you long enough." I start, sitting on the steps of the RV. "We went to the War Zone to get supplies and now we're in the middle of nowhere, getting ready for the final battle. So, you're welcome to join us if you can find us. Until then, we will meet you at Creel house at sunset."

"Noted." My mom's voice sounds. "How are you guys doing?"

"Fine. You know, all things considered." I laugh slightly and they convey that they'll see us soon. I drop the device in his bag and walk to the pair, eavesdropping on their conversation.

"I don't care. I don't understand why you do either with everything that's going on." Robin says to the brunette, sick of whatever topic they were discussing. "Honestly, this feels like a perfect time for that little pull of the rug because...in the face of the world ending, the stakes of my love life feel spectacularly low."

"Yeah. I mean, I get you there, but...I still have hope." Steve tells her and his eyes lock with mine, making me feel caught. I jog around and take a seat on the other side of him, picking up a bottle and assisting them with their task.

"Not everything has a happy ending."

"Yeah, yeah, believe me, I know." Harrington breathes, bumping my shoulder with his and we share a smile.

"I'm not talking about failed romance." Buckley argues, looking between the two of us. "Although, failed wouldn't necessarily apply here..." As her sentence veers off, a suggestive look crosses her features and realization dawns on me. I release a loud gasp and smack Steve's shoulder. The boy raises his hands in defense and Robin laughs slightly. I gesture to the can of lighter fluid and tell him to hand it to me. The blonde quickly returns our attention to our previous discussion. "I just...I have this terrible, gnawing feeling that...it might not work out for us this time." She says, making my face drop. Robin just said what I've been thinking since this started a few days ago.

"You think we shouldn't be doing this?" I question softly, hoping and praying for someone else to stop this; knowing that it can't be me.

"I think we're mad fools, the lot of us, but..." She pauses, glancing around at our ragtag group of monster hunters; Steve and I follow her actions, watching as Lucas and Erica wave around their spears, Henderson and Eddie run around with their shields, and Max watches Nancy practice her aim. "But if we don't stop him, who will? We have to try, right?"

"Yeah." Steve says and lifts his bottle up. "To killing Vecna."

"Slash Henry." I add, holding mine up.

"Slash One." Robbie finishes and we cheers the bottles of gasoline. A silence falls over us for a moment, until Robin rises to her feet. "I'm gonna go anywhere else." The girl runs over to Nancy and my sister, leaving us alone. Steve shouts out after her, sarcastically calling her actions subtle. The boy looks at his hands with a smile.

"Steve..."

"Yeah?"

"This is gonna work, right?"

"Of course. We always figure it out." He breathes, replacing the molotov cocktail in my hands with his own. "Samira Mayfield doesn't lose. Remember?" I offer him a half-smile and as he pauses, the look in his eyes unreadable. Steve opens his mouth to say something, but I stop him.

"Don't." My voice comes out hoarse and pleading. "Just wait. Cause if you say it...if you say it now- just please don't. Please." If he says it now, it'll feel like the last time I will ever hear it. And I don't want it to be the last. I want to hear him say that every day for the rest of my life. If we officially fix things between us now, then when things go wrong, it'll only hurt more. I'll lose more. He'll lose more. Neither of us can afford anymore pain. I don't want him to go through that. I stand up quickly and head into the vehicle behind us, sitting on the couch at the back of it, allowing the tears to fall. I bite the sleeve of my sweater to muffle the sobs that escape my lips. After crying for about half-an-hour, I hear our group begin to head back towards the RV. I make sure that my face is dry and there's no mascara residue. Everyone piles in, Steve returning to the driver's seat, and me taking my place in the seat beside him. The ride is quiet and I stare out the window, watching the sunset over the horizon. We arrive at Creel house and find the remainder of our group sitting on the steps, awaiting our arrival. I follow Max, Lucas, and Erica out, explaining the plan to Sarah, Lila, and Griffin. Griffin is going to stay here with the three younger teens, Lila is going to head with us, but remain with Eddie and Dustin distracting the bats. And my mom is going to keep the cops and residents at bay as much as she can; filling us in on the fact that Jason and his goons basically started mass panic at the town meeting, so it's a manhunt for Eddie and any member of the Hellfire club. Lila heads into the RV, and Sarah checks on Max, while I pull Griffin to the side. I don't even have to speak before he's beating me to it.

"I got this." The boy sends me a reassuring smile. "I won't let anything happen to them."

"I know. Just be careful, okay?" I pull him into an embrace, before we return to the rest of the kids. The five of us stare at one another, knowing that there's a very good chance that we won't all be here in a few hours. Surprisingly enough, Erica wraps her arms around me, Lucas and Max following her action. "Hey, we'll see you guys soon."

"Don't be a hero." Lucas says into my shoulder. I pull back to look at all of them, trying to engrave their faces into my mind. The Sinclairs step away leaving my sister and I alone.

"I love you, Sammy."

"I love you too, Shadow." We share a laugh, both of us fighting the tears in our eyes. "I'm so fucking proud of you. Always."

"Alright, you two...we've got a monster to stop." My mom wraps her arms around our shoulders. "Tomorrow morning, we'll be right back here, together. That's non-negotiable. Yeah?" We nod in agreement, before we all go our separate ways. None of us are too sure that we'll be able to keep that promise...

[word count: 5074]

lexi's letters; what played through my mind as i wrote those last interactions is 'as the world caves in' by matt maltese...