Chapter Eighty: Back to December

Annie worked through all the happy memories she could as she ran down and away from the attic. When she finally got to the bottom, she nearly face planted into the door trying to get to it. When she threw it open, however, the exit was covered up with boards.

"Where are you going, Annie?" She turned around and saw Vecna at the top of the stairs.

She didn't wait around, and ran for a different door. When she got to one, throwing it open once again just revealed more boards. "Damn it!" she cried, pulling on the boards to see if that would work.

It didn't work, so she moved on to finding yet another door. "Such a big house, not enough doors," Annie muttered as she found a third. It yielded the same, awful results.

The fourth revealed not boards, but what looked like a hospital door with a window. "Annie!" someone shrieked, and Holly's face came into view on the other side of the window, her fist slamming on the glass.

Annie stumbled back and turned to look for another way out, but was met with boards all around.

Another bang on the door caught her attention, and now Meghan was next to Holly, slamming her fist down on the glass. "You freak! You sad excuse for a friend! Let us out!" she yelled.

As they slammed into the door more and more, Annie shut her eyes tight and thought of her happy memory. Max told her to hide in the light, since Vecna finds the darkness. All she had to do was think of something happy enough to keep Vecna away long enough.

She scoured her memories, starting to tune out the pounding on the door. So many things came to mind, so many people. But her mind landed on one place.

New Years Eve of 1985. When her and Max shared their first New Year's kiss outside in her backyard. Where it was just them and the stars millions of miles away. That night, she felt so calm and so happy with Max. Because it was just them against the world.

And she was okay with that.

Despite the fact that Holly and Meghan hd broken through the door and would be rushing Annie any second, she kept her eyes shut and focused on her thoughts. Her happy, wonderful thoughts.

Air rushed past her and she opened her eyes with a gasp. But she was no longer surrounded by the dark, decaying Creel home. She was surrounded by trees- her trees. And there was a covered pool in front of her. When she turned she saw the house behind her.

"I did it," she whispered to herself. She was hiding in the light.

Looking in the house, there were no people, but she saw the setup was the exact same as that night, with the game in the middle of the coffee table, snacks surrounding it, and the television set was on, but Annie couldn't see it well enough from where she was.

"Okay," Annie whispered. She figured she'd wait around inside the house for a bit.

Annie sat on the kitchen counter and listened to the chatter of the TV in the background. It was some part of Dick's New Years Eve special. She wasn't paying a lot of attention to it at the time, though.

Annie smiled as she thought about the Party sitting around the coffee table playing games. She could even hear laughter from that night, echoing distantly.

She remembered the older teens hanging out in the kitchen and talking, pretending to be too cool for games, even though they joined in after midnight came and went. They had stayed down there playing until about one or two in the morning.

By that time, everyone was pretty much on the verge of crashing. Annie let out an actual laugh as she remembered Lucas and Dustin collapsing back and just sleeping on the living room floor.

Steve had graciously given up his room to Nancy and Johnathan (with a 'no funny business' look) and shared their parents' bedroom with Robin. The others gave each other looks when Steve mentioned those arrangement. Annie, knowing what she did, rolled her eyes at them.

Mike and El set up camp in the living room, too, having the large couch to split up since Lucas and Dustin were pretty much comatose at that point. Will claimed one of the loveseats, curling up and calling it a night.

Max and Annie shared Annie's room, something they did at all their sleepovers. That and borrow each other's clothes. It was a miracle they wore similar sizes with the amount of times they each needed to borrow something.

Her cheeks hurt from smiling so much, but Annie couldn't help it. That night was so much fun, because even though the Byers plus El had moved away, they were able to all be together for just a while.

At that time, they all thought they could live the rest of their lives without worry. Without fear of the Upside Down coming back to screw things up.

The smile slipped from Annie's face as she realized how wrong they were. Almost immediately she shook her head of those thoughts.

"No, gotta keep it light up in here," she mumbled to herself, getting her head back in the game.

Something to the right made a popping sound, using Annie to jump in her seat and gasp. She looked over and saw one of the drinks on the coffee table was now a pile of blood.

It was too late.

More drinks started exploding, and Annie jumped off the counter quick enough to get away from the liter soda bottles before they exploded in a big, bloody mess.

The TV, which had been pleasant in the background, suddenly started distorting. Annie turned to look at it now, seeing the program go fuzzy into static. The air was suddenly filled with another distorted sound, this time a song.

It was one she knew her grandparents to put on, back when they would still visit. An Ella Fitzgerald song, the same one Nancy said Victor Creel hummed to get away from Vecna.

She knew that meant he was here.

Creaking noises started to accompany the song, and Annie looked around her living room to see the pristine, white walls start bleeding. Some of the New Year's decor that was once hung up had started to almost wilt and fall right of the wall or ceiling.

"Come on, come on," Annie chanted to herself, trying to keep up her happy thoughts about the night.

About her and Max kissing under the stars, ready to have an amazing year together. Annie was convinced- no, determined they'd still have that year. Even as the room around her darkened and white snow-like particles began drifting down, Annie was determined to beat Vecna and get out of this alive.

Thunder boomed overhead, and Annie snapped her head to the window. Outside, red lighting flashed every so often, a boom being left in it's wake. Her happy memory had been converted to the Upside Down.

"Fine." Since she was in the Upside Down, Annie decided to work on protecting her happy place.

It took a lot of effort, moving those dumb couched in front of the front door, but she did it. Then, the chairs and loveseat went in front of the hallway and staircase, just in case Vecna descended from there. All that was left was the giant glass doors leading out to the backyard.

However, Annie was sort of out of furniture.

She turned to looked at the stack of things blocking the hall her parent's room was in, and had a thought.

A few minutes later, her parent's mattress was blocking those glass doors and the furniture blockade was back up.

Annie turned around, going back to sit on the kitchen counter, and then froze. What was the front door of her house was now the front door of the Creel house. Without the furniture blockade.

Turning to the other spots she had just seen, Annie noticed all the blockades were gone. "Shit," she whispered. Vecna was closing.

She ignored the music playing, Ella not being her style, and started humming Holding Out For a Hero to try and keep Vecna from getting too close to her.

A door creaking stole her attention again, and Annie turned back to face the front door. It was slowly opening, revealing the Creel house.

"You can't hide from me Annie."

But she could. Annie resisted her urge to run up to her room, and hide out in there, and instead stood her ground. She closed her eyes and started thinking of as many happy memories as she could.

When her, Max, and El's first sleepover. When she came out to Steve. When she and Max confessed their feelings for each other in front of Starcourt. When she and El had a sleepover.

"You think I don't see what you're doing? You think I don't see everything?"

Suddenly, new images were flashing in Annie's mind. One of Jason holding Lucas at gunpoint, Max standing off to the side scared to death. Of Robin being strangled by the vines. Eddie and Dustin, screaming for their lives.

"You thought your friends could stop me?"

More. Now, there was a demo dog, chasing after someone, but Annie couldn't pinpoint who. Of someone trying to save Robin before they, too, were taken against the wall.

"I see them."

Demo bats swarming Eddie and Dustin. Steve and Nancy being strangled. Dustin yelling for Eddie. Eddie riding away. Demo bats chasing him.

"I see your friends. But just as clearly... as I... see... you."

Steve, Robin, and Nancy unable to breathe.

"I can't feel them. I can feel them... dying."

Steve.

The chiming broke Annie from the trance and her eyes flew wide open. The door was wide open now.

"It's time, Annie."

She shook her head, stumbling back and looking around her house. The music was even more disturbing now, having been warped beyond recognition. Her heart was ready to burst from her chest- she really thought it might.

"It's time."

Annie gasped and spun around, seeing Vecna directly behind her. She barely had time to process what was happening when Vecna thrusted his hand out, sending Annie flying back with a scream. She crashed into the wall where the TV was, her heels shattering the glass of the box.

As she was being held against the wall, it felt like there was a pressure on her chest, getting heavier by the second. Her ragged breathing turned to screams and cries of pain. As Vecna got closer to her, she remembered the last time she was in this position.

She could only hope someone would save her.

"You are brave, Annie," Vecna said, as if surprised by the revelation. "Braver than your friends. But in the end... you are weak and fragile. Just like them. Like all the rest of them. And you... will... break."

Vecna started to move his hand up and hovered it over her face. Annie could start to feel the same thing she did last time. There was no music filling her head yet.

God, when were they going to step in?!

She expected to start feeling the pull. Instead, Vecna was thrown from her and Annie dropped to the ground in a mess of limbs. Her whole body shook as she pushed herself off the ground, looking to see what had happened.

What she saw made hope burn bright in Annie's chest, and an actual smile came onto her face.

"El."

A/n: yay! I hope this memory makes sense, I had a hard time trying to figure out when planning this book how I wanted to do this. If I wanted to thrown in a random date chapter or try and use something that happened "off screen" and hope no one questioned it. This is where I landed. Hope you liked it!

See you tomorrow :)