☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

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

CHAPTER TEN — the massacre at hawkins lab

✧

I swim as fast as possible, reaching the gate, and pushing through the opening. I rise from the cold water, inhaling deeply, and frantically searching for any sign of him. I pull myself onto the icy surface of the lake and locate Steve, fighting a losing battle with the bats from my vision. Shit. Shit. Shit. I look for some sort of weapon, not trusting my powers, locating a stray oar. I take the object and ram it into the bat that has a tight grip on Steve's neck, causing it to shriek and release him. It flies at me and I whack it multiple times, until it drops. Nancy shows up and starts battling with the creatures around his torso, while I busy myself with those in the air around us. Finally, Robin and Eddie get to us, so it's the five of us against the newly discovered monsters of the Upside Down. A bat entraps itself in Eddie's hair, so I grab it by the tail and rip it off, slamming it into the ground repeatedly. Eventually, they disperse, leaving us to recover from the attack. A sigh of relief exudes from my lips, as I watch the Harrington boy spit blood from his mouth. I begin to walk towards him, until Nance beats me to it, assessing his injuries. My face falls and I feel a hand on my shoulder, turning my head to find Robin giving me a soft smile. A scream from Eddie's direction pulls all of us from our interactions. Robbie gets this panicked expression on her face and asks us if the bats could have rabies. The four of us stand there, staring at her, confused by her concern. "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." As she rambles on about her fear, my eyes are focused on the slew of creatures surrounding the gate. Steve decides that we can take them on, seeing as there aren't too many. And just as the words leave his mouth, a screech sounds from a distance and our attention turns to the murder of bats flying straight towards us. "You were saying?" Robbie questions, worry setting in. Nance instructs us to make a run for the woods and we all turn and book it. The trees are dead and bare, so they're not providing much cover. The five of us quickly approach Skull Rock and duck underneath it, waiting for the creatures to pass over. It gets quiet and we all slowly make our way out. "That was close."

"Yeah, too close." Steve breathes, all of us now standing. The Harrington boy loses his balance and catches himself on the rock. I move over to him and assess his injuries, realizing that he's losing too much blood. "I'm fine. I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Here." I adjust him, so his back is against the object. "You're losing too much blood." The new position shines more light on his wounds; I glance around, before taking the end of my shirt and start ripping off a good chunk of cloth. Robin comes over and kneels down beside me.

"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." The blonde rambles, reminding me of when she went on a similar tangent when part of the Mind Flayer was stuck in El's leg.

"Robin." Steve huffs, gaining her attention. "I kinda wanna punch you."

"Sense of humor's still intact. That's a good sign." She laughs and takes a few steps back. Once I've got the cloth fully removed from my shirt, I turn back to Steve, and he pulls himself into an upright position. I look up at him and ask him if he's ready, knowing that this is going to hurt like hell. He insists that I go for it and I start wrapping his wounds tightly. As he groans in pain I whisper a number of 'sorry's' while continuing my actions.

"Too tight?" I ask, looking up at him.

"No, that's good." He breathes, eyes locking with mine, causing a slight blush to creep up onto my cheeks due to the position we're in. Steve leans back and I tie the ends together, sneaking glances at the boy through my lashes and the strands of hair in my face. "Thanks." I give him a small nod and a tight-lipped smile, stepping away from him. As the boy tries to move, he struggles a bit, I place an arm around his upper torso and help him walk towards the rest of our friends.

"So, uh, this place is like Hawkins, but with monsters and nasty shit?" Eddie questions from up on a rock.

"Pretty much." Nance responds and I release Steve from my grasp. And Eddie starts making his way down to the ground, recklessly. "Wait, watch out for the vines. It's all a hive mind."

"It's all a what?" The Munson boy asks, looking down at the vines.

"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 explains, his eyes and hands trailing around the cloth that's around his wounds.

"But everything from our world is still here, right? Except people?" Robin asks and Nance gives her 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 suggests, looking around at us.

"I highly doubt the Hawkins PD has grenades, Robin." Harrington starts, seemingly over her rants and almost manic tone. "But guns, yeah, sure."

"Well, we don't have to go all the way downtown for guns." Nance turns slightly to look at the three of us. "I have guns in my bedroom."

"You, Nancy Wheeler, have guns, plural, in your bedroom?" Eddie's confusion makes me smile.

"Full of surprises, isn't she?" The Buckley girl laughs a little and Nancy goes on to inform us of exactly what kind of guns she has. A Russian Makarov and a revolver.

"Yeah, you almost shot me with that one." Steve says, moving to stand beside her, leaving me to watch the rest of the interaction from behind the pair.

"You almost deserved it." She replies, smiling up at him. I walk past her, bumping her shoulder a bit and muttering under my breath.

"Get a room."

"I'm sorry, Sam?" Nance calls out, and I stop walking, landing next to Eddie. "Did you have something to say?"

"Nope." I answer, forcing a smile.

"Really? Because it sounded like you were a little upset about something Steve and I said. You just seem a little jealous. And for no reason. I'm with Jonathan and you two are broken up."

"It's not what you said. It's how you said it." I argue. "And if you're really with Jonathan, how about you start acting like it and stop flirting with your ex."

"Maybe you should get over your ex and start worrying about saving your sister's life." She huffs. "Unless, you're just gonna let her down the way you let Genesis down." My anger boils over and I can tell that my eyes have changed color. Steve places a hand on my shoulder and tries to calm me down, but I shrug him off and I only get angrier. How can he protect her? After what she just said? Fucking unbelievable. Robin places herself in front of me, facing Steve and Nancy, while Eddie grabs my bicep and starts pulling me away from the three.

"Take a breath, Slam." The boy squeezes my shoulders tightly. "Clearly, you both hit a nerve. Killing her won't solve anything." I roll my eyes and release an exasperated sigh. Eddie removes his vest and throws it at Steve, purposely hitting him in the face. "For your modesty, dude." Harrington starts making his way towards me, when the ground starts to shake, and he basically tackles me to the ground. As we tumble, I end up on top of him, and his arms wrap around my waist securely. Once the earthquake stops, the bats begin to screech, and we all stare at the sky. I roll off of Steve and prop myself up on my elbows, glancing around at everyone. Robin and Eddie discuss the previous conversation about weaponizing ourselves. All of us rise to our feet and Steve puts on the vest, before turning on the flashlight and leading us through the forest.

After a while of silent trekking, a strange sensation falls over me, and the sound of an old clock ticking catches my attention. I'm at the back of the group, so when my movements halt, everyone else keeps their pace. The noise is so loud that it feels as though it's surrounding me. My eyes travel around the area around me and the grandfather clock from Creel house appears to my left. I take a few steps towards it, before stopping myself; last time I broke from the group, my evil Russian aunt knocked me unconscious and trapped me in a box. So, I choose to ignore the object and run to catch up with the friends, slowing down once I've gotten close enough to Eddie and Steve. I don't believe that they're aware of how close I am, because my name comes up in their conversation.

"Give yourself a break, man." Steve says, patting the boy on the shoulder.

"See? The only reason I came in here was 'cause those ladies came in straight after you." Eddie points at Robin and Nancy. "Now, I was too ashamed to be the one who stayed behind. But Mayfield, she uh, she didn't waste a second. Not one second. She just dove right in. Now, I don't know entirely what happened between you two, but if I were you, I would get her back. 'Cause that was as unambiguous a sign of true love as these cynical eyes have ever seen." Wow, who knew Munson was such a softie? I mean, I've always known that he's a nerd, but still. Unfortunately, the entire moment is interrupted by the ground moving again. This time it's me tumbling forward, taking both boys down with me. The shaking comes to an end and Robin's worried shouts for Nancy, force us all to return to our feet and run to the treeline. We find the Wheeler girl staring at the land in front of us.

"Come on." She orders and we all walk forward. After a little while we finally approach the Wheeler house and enter, taking in our surroundings. Robin makes a joke about Nance needing to get a maid. "Come on. I don't want to stay here longer than we have to." We follow her up the stairs and into her room, waiting for her to pull out her guns. The girl opens her closet and I discover that Harrington isn't up here, so I disappear back out to the hall. I take slow steps back to the first floor, quietly calling out his name. Before I can get to the bottom of the staircase, Munson runs down and nearly topples me; the two girls following closely behind. I scold Eddie and the three of them explaining how in this world it's still 1983, so Nancy's guns don't exist yet. Honestly, my brain doesn't have the capacity to think or ask about what exactly that means. We return to the dining room to find Steve standing there yelling Dustin's name maniacally. What is wrong with him?

"Maybe he really does have rabies." Robin suggests. It's like he doesn't even hear us. All he's doing is shouting for someone who isn't there.

"Steve!" I call out. "What are you doing?"

"Hello!" Harrington spins, blinding us with his flashlight. "He's here. Henderson. That little shit, he's here. He's like...he's in the walls or something. Just listen." We stare at him, not hearing anything, and yet he keeps screaming. For a moment that's the only voice we hear, until the young teens voice fills the room and Steve stops seeming like an insane person. Henderson's now got all of us calling out for him, but we don't get any sort of response. "All right, either this kid can't hear us or he's being a total douche bag."

"Will found a way." Nance states, the rest of us looking at her in confusion. "Will. He found a way to speak to Joyce through the lights." Nancy tries flipping a switch, but it doesn't do anything. Although, an enchanting sparkle forms around the lights above the kitchen island. We all gather around and start touching the sparkles; it feels weird...in a good way.

"It...tickles." Steve breathes, towering over my left shoulder. Robbie adds that she thinks it feels good, causing Eddie and I to laugh slightly in agreement. Nancy asks if any of us know Morse code, which prompts a unanimous 'no.'

"Wait, does SOS count?" Munson looks down at the brunette. She and Robin turn to look at him, his eyes traveling between the pair. "Is that...is that good?"

"It's working." I smile softly, watching Eddie tap the message through the glowing lights. The kid instructs us to set up shop in Nance's room, so that we can communicate properly, and we do just that. We're all kneeling next to the girls mattress, waiting for their voices to sound, and things to be set up on their end. We hear Dustin and the sparkles are back, Nance reaches in and I assume that the lights work on their end because Erica and Henderson laugh in excitement. The kids unplug the device and then have us try it again. Wheeler writes out the word 'hi' and Henderson tells us that it's working; the five of us cheer, and I release a breath of relief. She goes on to write out 'stuck' and the three kids decipher that we're stuck in the Upside Down, our little group muttering different agreements to what they figured out. Henderson asks if we can get back through Watergate. "What the hell is Watergate?"

"Because it's in water and it's a gate." Buckley spells it out for us; I guess that's a little clever.

"We think we have a theory that can help with that." Henderson shouts; his voice sounding like an echo from between realms. We think Watergate isn't the only gate. That there's a gate at every murder site."

"Does anybody understand what he's talking about?" Wheeler asks and a slew of head shakes and 'no's' are heard from the group.

"I mean, I kind of get it. I think." I shrug, unsure of my own depiction of his theory. Nance draws a question mark in the sparkles, to let the kids know that we need a little more information.

"Okay. Seriously? How many times do I have to be right on the money before you guys just trust me?" Henderson snaps, causing my brows to furrow in annoyance.

"Jesus Christ. This kid's gotta get his ego in check." Steve huffs. Munson leans over, looking at the Harrington boy and making a comment about Henderson's tone being the problem. "I know."

"Okay. So...so how far is your trailer?" Nance turns to Eddie. He tells her that it's about seven miles from here. Great. A seven mile walk? Sounds fucking exhausting.

"Nancy?" Robin speaks up. "Uh, I know your house here is, like, weirdly, creepily frozen in time and shit, but haven't you always had bikes?" We all head downstairs and into the garage, each of us grabbing a bike and peddling our way towards the trailer park. It's been a long time since I rode a bike. I preferred skateboarding places; I'm the one who taught Max. But since I got my license, I haven't needed to use either. As we make our way past Creel house; the thunder and lightning become stronger and it seems as though that's where the bat's homebase is. They're circling it. We pull into the park and stop in front of the Munson trailer, dropping the bikes, and trying to catch our breath. "That's gotta be a Guinness World Record. Most miles traveled interdimensionally." As we head inside, Steve coughs excessively, and remarks how much of the shit in the air that he inhaled on our way here. Our first few steps inside and a gate has basically smacked us in the face; holy shit.

"This is where Chrissy died. Like, right where she died." Eddie tells us. And something moves across the red hue of the gate, Robin pointing it out to us. "What the hell is that?" Something starts to poke through the gate and then pull back, as the five of us watch in silence. The gate rips open, startling all of us. Steve and I slowly make our way towards the hole in the ceiling; my hand finding his and intertwining our fingers. As we look through it, we find the kids staring right back at us. We briefly discuss a plan to get us the hell out of here and the kids begin to put it into motion. Us older teens stand there, watching Lucas and Max drop Eddie's mattress right underneath the hole. "Those stains are, uh...I dunno what those stains are." Robin and I share a look of disgust, knowing exactly what those stains are. Henderson tosses a rope made of sheets through the gate and it holds; like magic. I'm sure there's some scientific way of explaining it, but I prefer the magic theory. Dustin instructs us to tug on the rope and see if it holds. Robin pulls on it with all her strength and it holds up. Holy shit. The Buckley girl climbs up first, flipping, and landing with a thud on the bed. The remainder of us in the Upside Down share a look and Eddie volunteers to go next. I offer to be the next one to go through.

"See you on the other side." He smiles over at me.

"On the other side..." I repeat, looking down at my hands. I turn to Nance, only to find her with white eyes. Vecna. "Shit. Nancy! Nance!" My panic sends Steve into panic and the two of us start freaking out, not knowing what to do. Eddie certainly doesn't have anything that Nance would listen to in his trailer.

"Do what you did when Vecna had Max." Steve says to me. Their shouts continue, but I block everyone out; taking a deep breath and closing my eyes, searching for the connection. Hoping to use it once more. It doesn't seem to be working, so I huff in frustration, and open my eyes. Apparently, it did work. Because I find myself in the red realm once more. I spin around trying to locate the Wheeler girl; my eyes landing on a figure at the top of a random staircase. Nancy. I run towards her and call out her name.

"Nancy! Hey! Nance!" My voice gets her attention and she rushes to me.

"What's happening? I mean, why, what am I-are we here?" The brunette asks me questions that I don't have any answers to. We stand there together, awaiting the arrival of our monstrous friend.

"I see you two have been looking for me." The creature's voice speaks to us, causing the hair on my neck to rise. "You were so close. So close to the truth. How was old, blind, dumb Victor? Did he miss me? I've been meaning to check back in, but I've been busy. So very busy." Nance's eyes fall upon Fred's corpse and mine are focused on the full frame door of the Creel house. It's not just bits and pieces anymore. We're transported back in time, watching the Creel family, learning their story. The two of us follow the young boy, Henry, around the house; picking up on the flickering lights. The kid plays with a spider and a person runs past us quickly, startling us. As we follow the figure up to the attic, we watch him and his strange obsession with spiders. Ominous. This pattern continues in different parts of the house; the kid doing weird things, while Nance and I watch and listen. He's standing in front of the grandfather clock and it dings; his eyes close and the hands start spinning around. Holy shit. A telekinetic. A loud screech grabs our attention, moving us outside. We watch a rabbit struggle in pain and Henry Creel holds his hand over the animal, sucking the life from it, just as Vecna's done to our friends. Nance runs for the front door and I follow her, both of us leaning against it once we're inside. Only we're not safe from the dark, disturbing memories; to our left, a baby in a cradle on fire. The two of us make our way to the dining room; we see Mr. Creel attempt to fix the radio and then the lights start to flicker. Mrs. Creel flies into the air and every bone in her body snaps, before it falls down onto the table. I understand why Eddie was so distraught. That is gnarly. Soon, we're standing in a doorway, watching the rest of the Creel family. Victor tries to get his children out of the house and his daughter is the next one we watch die. My focus remains on Henry, his eyes shut and blood dripping from his nose. And then the boy collapses. Victor collects the child into his arms, while Nance and I stand there, astonished. We find ourselves in the lab, watching as a young Dr. Brenner brands Henry. All the pieces start to fall into place. This is making a lot more sense...

[word count: 3683]

lexi's letters; VOLUME ONE IS COMPLETE!! and the last two chapters will be exhausting, but so good omg.