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"IT'S LIKE THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS." NANCY LET OUT, THE GROUP SURROUNDING THE CHANDELIER OF THE CREEL HOME, IT LIGHTING UP SHAKILY. "The Christmas lights?" Robin asked, very confused at the reference. "Yeah, when Will was in the Upside Down, the lights... came to life." Nancy whispered, Lucas' head tilting. "Vecna's here. In this house." He spoke, Dustin watching him continue. "Just on the other side." Everyone watched the chandelier die out quickly. "I think he just left the room." Robin let out softly, Max panicking. "Did he hear us?" She asked, Steve meeting her eyes. "Can he see us?" He asked, Lucas looking to Max quickly. "Headphones." He reminded, the girl putting them on rapidly.

Her favourite song started playing faintly, Nancy looking at the chandelier. "Wait, wait. Everyone, turn off your flashlights and spread out." Nancy ordered, everyone but Steve complying as he stood stunned. "We're not gonna be able to see if we turn off our flashlights..." Steve trailed off, watching everyone ignore him. "Jesus Christ." He cursed, turning his light off. "I got him." Robin called, everyone rushing over to where she was. Her flashlight quickly switched off, the girl huffing. "I... had him." She spoke, Steve cursing once his flashlight turned on. "Oh, woah! He's moving." Steve spoke, everyone following him as they walked up the stairs. "Shit. I lost him." He let out, Max moving forward. "No, you didn't." Everyone watched her open  a door, a light flickering inside.

"It's an attic. Of course it's an attic." Robin let out softly as she followed Steve, the boy following Max. The rest of the group followed the three, Dustin sticking by the door. "Hold up, guys. What if he's leading us into a trap?" He asked, no one listening to him. "Guys? Guys. Shit." He repeated to himself, forced to follow everyone to the attic.

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"MY LEGS HURT." SEB WHINED IN A WHISPER, EDDIE TOO PANICKED TO LISTEN. He panted as he watched the boys search the house opposite. "Dude, he's not here, seriously." One teammate complained, Seb stretching out his legs as carefully as he could. Jason rubbed his chin, the three boys being here all day. "Shut up and keep looking." He ordered, Patrick in a different room. Jason stared out the window at a building they hadn't searched, Eddie pushing Seb down by the top of his head. "Dustin?" His other hand gripped the radio, ignoring Seb's grunt of disgust. "Please. Are... Are you there?" Seb held his head as he watched Eddie crawl past him. "Never mind." Eddie spoke, nodding to Seb.

"Help me, mind man." He ordered, Seb scoffing before moving forward slowly. Patrick mindlessly swung his baseball bat throughout his hands, leaning into a dark room tiredly. A clock chimed, the boy flinching before turning slowly. The same clock that he had been hearing for the past week. "Come with me." Jason made the boy jump, clamping a hand on his shoulder. He had seen Seb's back, believing it was Eddie. "Hurry up!" Eddie whisper yelled, Seb huffing. "I've never sailed a boat before!" Seb spoke, using Steve's oar to try his best to sail away as Eddie tried the engine. "Holy shit." Jason let out, the two boys seeing the duo in the middle of the lake. "Hey, Freak!" Seb flinched at the voice, Eddie tensing. "Where do you think you're going?" Jason yelled, Eddie's face dropping once the two watched Jason get ready to jump in.

"Shit. Work, work!" Eddie spoke, Patrick watching Seb panic sail as it didn't get the very far. "Who's he with?" Patrick asked, Jason scoffing. "Probably one of his loser freak friends." The boy spat, Eddie turning to glance at Seb. "Be quicker!" He yelled, Seb straining as water got into the boat, Seb being very messy. Sure, he could use his powers to get the away quickly, but he didn't want these two boys to run off and tell everyone about him. "You scared of some water? Let's go!" Jason hurried, Patrick rushing to follow him in the lake. The engine spluttered, Seb panicking. He didn't want to get caught. Whether they were after him or not, he highly doubts they'd just let him go. "You piece of shit!" Eddie spoke, the two boys watching him turn to his mystery accomplice.

"Use your powers!" He let out somewhat quietly, Jason watching the boy turn around.

That wasn't any of his friends.

"Zip it!" He scolded, continuing to splash water everywhere. "Come on!" Jason yelled, Eddie cursing as he watched the two boys chase after them. Jason swam like some sort of Olympian, his face dropping. "Ok, fine!" He snapped, rushing forward to use his hands as a makeshift oar to get them away. The two boys quickly caught up, Seb feeling his arms cramp up as he continued.

☆

"FLASHLIGHTS." DUSTIN SPOKE, EVERYONE'S LIGHTS TURNING ON AS THEY REACHED THE CENTRE OF THE ATTIC. They all circled the lightbulb, the buzzing noise increasing. "Okay, what's happening?" Robin asked, confused. Everyone's flashlights shone brightly, Dustin squinting.

Vecna floated in the exact same position...

On the other side.

☆

PATRICK SUDDENLY STOPPED SWIMMING, HALTING ONCE HE HEARD THE SAME CLOCK CHIMING. Everyone was too hurried to notice, Seb huffing. "Stay back, man! Stay back!" Eddie yelled, Seb grunting once his oar was snatched off him. The sudden movement caused the boy to fall back, turning to see Eddie trying to hit Jason with the oar. Seb scoffed, his face dropping before he caught sight of Patrick. Why was he so still? "Come on! We almost have them!" Jason glanced back, Seb tilting his head. "Help me!" Eddie yelled back, Seb ignoring him. "Patrick!" Jason yelled, Seb flinching back once Patrick seemed to be pulled down into the water. Eddie's movements stopped, Jason's eyes widening.

Vecna.

"Oi!" Eddie let out once Seb rushed past him. Jason flinched as Seb jumped into the lake, a red glow quickly following as Eddie flinched back, falling into the water himself. "Patrick!" Jason yelled, terrified. Seb scanned the water, his hands red before Vecna strained himself. Seb let out a muffled yell as Patrick shoved past him, Jason watching his friend suspend mid air. Seb brought himself up to the surface, as did Eddie as they watched Patrick's bones snap. First his legs. Then his arms. The lightbulb and the flashlights shattered, the group flinching back as Seb watched in horror. Eddie's face paled, Jason stunned. What was that? Patrick's cracked form fell into the water, Seb making eye contact with Jason. The two held it for a moment, Jason watching a little red swirl out of Seb's eyes.

Glancing between his friend and Seb, the boy quickly swam away, Eddie reaching to pull him away. Jason obviously dove down to try and catch his friend, this giving Eddie the chance to drag the two away.

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EL GASPED, OWENS RELIEFED SHE HAD WOKEN UP. "Air." He ordered, Brenner leaning down to watch her writhe uncomfortably. "Get her some air, for God's sake!" Owens snapped, El panting. "It's okay. It will take time to adjust. But you're safe now, hm?" Brenner tried to soothe, El glaring at the man as an air mask was forced on her face. The monitor beeped slower as El checked for anything, gripping a defibrillator. Owens flinched once she hit Brenner's head with it, the man grunting. El ignored the stares of the scientists, sprinting her way to the door that let them in and out. Rapidly pressing the buttons, she turned around once she heard running. "Giving us quite the workout. You really wanna do this again?" The middle worker asked, the two surrounding him walking towards her.

"No! No! No!" El screamed as she was pulled away from the door, the girl falling to the floor. The men ignored her, the girl crying. Before she let out a guttural scream,

one that forced the three men off of her.

The girl panted once the men hit the floor after being flung to the ceiling, bracing herself on the floor. "Remarkable." She turned slowly to see Brenner stood opposite her, a small smile on his face. Blood dripped down his lip, a red mark on his head from the defibrillator as he stalked towards El. "Stay away." She warned, watching as Brenner ignored her. Once he pulled something out of his pocket, the girl stood up to meet him. "I said stay away!" She tried to launch him back, Brenner watching nothing happen as El stared at her arm. "You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" Brenner asked, taking the tissue he got out to his mouth. El let her hand down, gasping. "I don't understand." She let out softly, Brenner nodding. "I do." He spoke, El letting him walk closer to offer a hand. The door opened, El glancing back to it. "Papa?" She whispered, Brenner offering a smile.

"Daughter." He smiled, El gripping his hand as the two walked back into the building,

the door slamming shut after them.

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PLEASE READ BELOW!!!!

okok i'm sorry this is so short but i'm thinking of making my schedule maybe more busy like 2-3 updates a week?

sure it's like overworking myself but i'm literally like almost done with this entire book and i just want to spam upload it all lol

so i may or may not upload another chapter later today-

[1565 words!]

Hope you enjoyed!!!

Byeee!