Chapter 65

I’M SORRY IT’S BEEN ALMOST A MONTH. i am alive and i hope you didnt forget about me😭. this is the last chapter of season 4 and realistically should’ve been like three chapters because it is SO LONG its over 8000 words, but whatever, you get it in one chapter lmfao. ALSO now that S4 is done, shoot me a message or comment about anything you would like to have in season 5 or change from the canon season 5, i’m very open to the plotline! Enjoy baguettes 💋

Maggie isn’t particularly fond of the idea of going back into the Upside Down. But sometimes personal comfort is a luxury you don’t get to keep when the people you love are in danger.

Her boots hit the floor of the Upside Down version of Eddie’s trailer with a thud. The familiar dust drifts lazily through the air, clinging to everything.

She glances up at the open gate in the ceiling and gives a quick nod to Nancy, Robin, Eddie, and Dustin.

Steve pats her on the back as she steps aside, “Nice and easy.”

Nancy climbs through next, landing beside her with a quiet grunt. One by one, the rest of them drop through the gate, boots crunching softly against the warped floorboards of the trailer.

They strap their weapons on. Steve has Nancy’s gun slung over his shoulder. They each check their lashlights, then check again. Maggie tightens the strap on her knife sheath and gives it a quick tug just to be sure.

The six of them step out of the trailer together, moving in a loose line through the decaying trailer park. The sky above them churns with dark clouds and distant red lightning.

Steve slows, glancing back at Dustin and Eddie.

“Hey. Guys, listen,” he says, voice low and serious, “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.”

He points at them for emphasis, “Don’t try to be cute or be a hero or something. Okay? You guys are just—”

“Decoys,” Dustin finishes, rolling his eyes, “Don’t worry. You can be the hero, Steve.”

“Absolutely,” Eddie adds, throwing an arm around Dustin’s shoulders, “I mean, look at us.”

He gestures between them, “We are not heroes.”

Maggie steps forward before Steve can respond. A crooked smile pulls at her lips as she reaches out and rests a hand on each of their shoulders.

“Don’t take any unnecessary risks,” she says, “Rich coming from me, I know.”

Her smile fades slightly as she glances down at the cracked pavement beneath their feet.

“I just… don’t want two of my favorite people dying on me,” she admits quietly, “So just play it safe. Please.”

Eddie softens immediately. He pats her shoulder, his usual grin slipping back into place.

“We’re not going anywhere,” he says, “Try not to die while we’re gone either.”

He shrugs, trying to make it sound casual, “I don’t wanna lose my best friend.”

Maggie snorts softly and pulls both of them into a tight hug, “I’ll see you on the other side.”

They break apart with a few final nods. Then Maggie turns, falling into step with Steve, Nancy, and Robin as the two groups split apart. Nancy reaches over and squeezes Maggie’s hand as they walk.

“They’ll be fine,” she says gently, “Just trust them.”

Maggie exhales slowly, “It’d be a lot easier if we knew this was actually going to work.”

Nancy meets her eyes in the darkness.

“It’s going to work,” she says firmly, “It has to.”

Their flashlights cut through the gloom as they move deepinto the woods. The beams bounce off twisted tree trunks, and drifting spores float like ash through the air.

The forest around them is quiet. Every so often something creaks or screeches in the distance, or a vine shifts along the ground with an unsettling scrape.

Robin suddenly stops beside a gnarled tree, shining her flashlight up the trunk.

“I don’t mean to freak anyone out,” she says slowly, “but I swear we’ve seen this tree before.”

“That’s impossible,” Nancy says immediately.

Robin lets out a shaky laugh, “That would suck, right? If Vecna destroyed the world because we got lost in the woods.”

Nancy sighs, “We’re not lost, Robin.”

Robin’s laugh wobbles again, clearly unconvinced.

“Watch out for the vines!” Nancy calls as Robin starts walking again, “Hive mind, remember?”

“Thank you!” Robin calls back, jogging ahead through the brush.

Steve watches her go, then glances back at Maggie and Nancy.

“Don’t worry about her,” he says, “She’s just stressed. You know… scared.”

“Yeah,” Nancy mutters, “I know.”

Steve tilts his head, “It’s just she’s a total klutz?”

“It did take her longer to walk than most babies,” Maggie adds with a quiet snicker.

Steve chuckles, “I shouldn’t laugh. When I was a baby, I actually crawled backwards.”

Maggie turns to him slowly, “So you’ve been an idiot since birth.”

Steve gestures defensively with his hands, “Okay, alright, listen. It made sense in my head.”

He pauses, “Until I reversed myself down a flight of stairs and thumped my head really good.”

Maggie nods thoughtfully, “Ah. So that’s why you can’t read.”

Nancy snorts.

“Or count past twenty,” Maggie adds.

“I can count past twenty!” Steve protests.

Maggie raises an eyebrow, “Really? What comes after twenty?”

Steve hesitates.

“Twenty-one,” he says confidently, “And then… twenty-three.”

Nancy bursts out laughing, “I think you forgot twenty-two.”

Steve grimaces, “You know what? I really don’t like this game.”

Before Maggie can fire back, Robin’s voice echoes through the trees.

“You guys!”

She comes running back toward them, flashlight bouncing wildly, “Looks like we weren’t going the wrong way after all!”

She points excitedly past the trees, “C’mon! Let’s go!”

“Robin, slow down!” Steve yells after her.

But she’s already jogging ahead again into the darkness. They follow Robin through the brush, branches snapping softly under their feet. The trees thin out suddenly, and the four of them push through a wall of dead bushes.

Thirty feet away stands the Upside Down version of the Creel House. The massive structure looms against the dark sky, the jagged silhouette illuminated by flashes of red lightning. The wood looks warped and rotting.

Above the roof, demobats swarm in a tight circling pattern, their screeches constant as they spiral through the air like vultures. In the middle of the yard, a single lantern burns with a dull orange glow. Steve squints toward it.

“Erica,” he mutters, exchanging a quick glance with Robin.

They move cautiously across the yard, boots crunching softly over the brittle ground. They approach the stained glass door, comforted slightly, knowing that the rest of their team is geared up for their portion of the plan.

The window in the front door glints faintly when Steve pushes it open, the colored shards catching the lightning outside in brief flashes.

The door creaks as it swings inward. The moment they step inside, the smell of wet rot hits them. Steve sweeps his flashlight across the floor. Hundreds of vines sprawl across the entryway.

They slither slowly over the floorboards, thick tendrils that squelch softly as they shift against each other.

“Oh, shit,” Steve breathes, “That’s not good.”

The vines twitch when the light hits them.

Steve immediately hops forward, landing carefully on a bare patch of wood between them. His shoes scrape slightly as he steadies himself.

He scans the floor again, calculating. One wrong step and Vecna would know they were here.

“You next, Robin,” Maggie says quietly, glancing back at her.

Robin stares down at the writhing mess of tendrils with visible dread, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Nancy gives her a steady look, “You’ve got this.”

Robin exhales shakily, nodding once, and then she jumps. Her boots land inches from a vine that curls toward her foot. She yelps, hopping again to another open space.

“Okay—okay—nope—this is fine,” she mutters breathlessly as she continues across.

Twice she nearly slips, and twice Maggie and Nancy both inhale sharply. But Robin somehow manages to stumble onto the clear space beside Steve.

Nancy goes next, moving faster and cleaner. Maggie follows, her heart pounding as she jumps across the floor, the vines wriggling disturbingly close to her boots.

She lands beside the others with a quiet exhale. So far, so good. Unfortunately, the staircase ahead looks even worse. Vines coil around the banister and creep up the steps, sliding slowly across the wood.

The four of them start climbing carefully, gripping the handrail where small gaps in the tendrils allow it. Each step requires careful footing, dodging the vines that pulse along the stairs.

“I’m really starting to hate Vecna’s security system,” Maggie mutters under her breath.

At the top of the first flight, the doorway leading to the attic stairs glows faintly with flashes of red lightning from outside. They pause for a moment.

Steve hands Nancy her shotgun. Maggie pats her jacket pocket, checking quickly to make sure her grenades are still there.

They exchange a final look and take a step toward the attic staircase. The house suddenly lurches. The entire floor shudders violently beneath them.

Robin yelps as she stumbles, grabbing the wall to steady herself.

“What the hell was—”

A wet trill echoes from the floorboards. All four of them freeze. Slowly, they look down. A vine shoots upward and coils tightly around Robin’s ankle. Before she can even scream, it yanks her backward. Her body slams into the wall with a brutal thud.

“ROBIN!” Steve shouts.

More tendrils erupt from the floor, wrapping around her arms and waist, pinning her helplessly against the wall as she cries out in panic. Steve grabs the shovel strapped to his back and swings hard, slicing into one of the vines. Black fluid sprays as it recoils.

Nancy rushes forward, smashing another tendril away with the butt of her shotgun. Maggie jumps in too, kicking at the vines wrapped around Robin’s legs. Unfortunately, kicking an interdimensional horror plant is not nearly as effective as weapons.

“Little help!” Maggie grunts.

Suddenly, another vine lashes out. It wraps around Steve’s neck. His feet leave the floor instantly as it yanks him across the room, slamming him into the opposite wall.

“Oh, fuck,” Maggie mutters.

More tendrils burst from the floor. They coil around Maggie and Nancy before either of them can react. Both girls are violently dragged backward and pinned against the walls.

A thick vine wraps around Maggie’s throat and it tightens immediately. Her hands fly to it instinctively as she chokes, struggling to pull it away. Her vision begins to blur and dark spots creep in at the edges. Her lungs burn as she tries to suck in air that won’t come.

This is it. My luck finally ran out, she thinks to herself.

Her body grows weaker as the oxygen drains away. Just as her vision begins to go completely black, the vines suddenly release.

All four of them drop hard to the floor. Maggie collapses onto her hands and knees, coughing violently as air finally rushes back into her lungs. Around them, the tendrils retract quickly, slithering back into the floorboards as if nothing had happened.

Robin slowly pushes herself upright, still breathing hard. She rubs her throat where the vine had tightened.

“I don’t believe in a higher power or divine intervention,” she rasps, voice hoarse, “but that was a miracle.”

Nancy doesn’t smile, “Then we better not waste it.”

She rises to her feet and cocks her shotgun, which echoes through the house.

Steve nods once, “Phase four.”

Robin wipes a smear of black vine residue off her sleeve and mutters, “Flambé.”

“Grenades!” Maggie says brightly, giving an excited hop.

Three heads turn toward her.

“No,” Steve, Nancy, and Robin say in perfect unison.

Maggie sighs dramatically and crosses her arms, “You people have no imagination.”

Still muttering under her breath, she follows them up the narrow staircase toward the attic. The air grows heavier with every step. Slowly and carefully, the four of them step into the attic.

The room is dim and cavernous, lit only by flashes of red lightning leaking through the boarded-up windows. And in the center of the room hangs Vecna.

He floats several feet above the floor, suspended by a web of thick tendrils that stretch from the walls, ceiling, and floor. At least a dozen vines are attached to him. His arms hang slightly out to his sides, with his palms open. For a moment, he almost looks peaceful, almost like he’s sleeping.

Robin carefully slides her backpack off her shoulders and sets it down on the dusty attic floor, opening the zipper. Inside are the Molotov cocktails they prepared earlier.

She pulls one out. Steve grabs another, and Maggie takes the third.

Robin flicks open her lighter.mThe tiny flame flickers in the dark as she lights Steve’s rag first, then Maggie’s. The fire crackles softly.

“Ready?” Maggie asks quietly, glancing at Steve.

Steve swallows, “As I’ll ever be.”

He winds his arm back and throws. The bottle shatters against Vecna’s chest.

Flames erupt instantly, roaring across his body in a violent burst of orange light. Heat washes over the room, forcing them all to step back.

The vines holding him in place begin to recoil violently. One by one they detach. Vecna’s burning body drops heavily to the attic floor. For a split second, the only sound is fire crackling. And then, Vecna rises to his feet.

His charred face lifts. His hollow eyes lock directly onto Maggie.

“You will burn,” he says, voice low and distorted.

The words vibrate through the room, settling coldly in Maggie’s bones.

Maggie grits her teeth.

“No,” she snaps, “You will.”

She hurls her Molotov. The bottle explodes against him, sending another wave of fire across his decaying body.

Vecna staggers backward with a guttural roar.

Nancy steps forward with her shotgun raised.

She fires and the blast hits his right shoulder. Vecna jerks backward as dark fluid sprays from the wound. Nancy pumps the shotgun and fires again. The second shot slams into his chest, knocking him another step back. A third blast hits his left shoulder.

Each impact drives him farther toward the boarded window behind him. Nancy fires again and the fourth shot tears into his chest. Vecna stumbles, but somehow stays upright.

Maggie’s eyes narrow. Think, think, think. Her gaze drops to her leg and she moves instantly. She yanks her sock down roughly. Nancy barely has time to notice before Maggie pulls her knife free.

She slices deeply across the back of her ankle.

Agony explodes through her leg as she cries out, collapsing slightly as blood spills down her heel.

Her hands shake, but she forces herself to focus. Her breathing slows and deepens. Her veins begin to glow faintly beneath her skin.

She concentrates on the wound, the pain, and the blood, imagining it leaving her body and moving somewhere else.

Vecna suddenly roars. The sound shakes the attic. He drops to his knees as the damage transfers to him, his body convulsing under the sudden injury.

Nancy doesn’t hesitate. She raises the shotgun one final time and fires. The blast slams into Vecna’s chest. The force sends him flying backward through the boarded window.

Wood splinters apart as his body disappears into the darkness outside. The attic falls silent.

Maggie collapses onto the floor, panting heavily, curled around herself. Her leg trembles with exhaustion.

“Did we… do it?” she breathes out.

Nancy doesn’t answer, instead she kneels in front of her, hands already moving to check the injury.

“Are you okay?”

Maggie nods weakly.

“Just the Achilles tendon,” she pants, “Smartest thing I could think of.”

Her glowing veins slowly dim. The wound on her ankle closes, leaving only a faint smear of blood behind.

“I’m fine now.”

Nancy helps her carefully to her feet. The pain is mostly gone, replaced by a dull throb and deep exhaustion.

Steve gestures toward the shattered window, “We should probably check on that.”

None of them argue. The four of them rush down the stairs and out of the house, feet pounding across the warped floorboards.

They spill into the yard, but when they reach the spot beneath the attic window…Vecna is gone.

The only sign his body was ever even there is a dark stain soaking into the gravel and a few broken wooden boards still burning faintly on the ground.

Steve stares at the scene, “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

Before anyone can respond, a clock chimes from inside the house. The sound cuts through Maggie like a knife. All four of them whip their heads toward the house.

“Four chimes,” Robin whispers.

Maggie’s eyes instantly fill with tears, “Max.”

The ground beneath them suddenly begins to shake violently again. The house groans through its rickety foundation. They grab the railing of the porch as the world lurches beneath them, gripping tightly to keep from falling.

A glowing red gate rips upward through the foundation, splitting wood and plaster apart as it climbs across the floor and walls. The house shudders around them as the tear widens, the fiery light of the rift spilling into the night.

The gate stops only a few feet from where they stand. The shaking finally dies down, leaving the four of them breathing hard in the eerie red glow. Maggie pushes herself upright first, still clutching the porch railing.

“We need to get back,” she wheezes, “Get to the trailer.”

Steve nods immediately, “Yeah. Yep. That sounds like a great idea. Let’s leave the nightmare dimension.”

Nancy is already moving, “Come on.”

They sprint off the porch and into the woods. The forest feels different now. Red lightning cracks across the sky more frequently, illuminating the twisted trees around them.

Something far away roars.

“Please tell me that’s just thunder,” Robin pants as they run.

Steve glances behind them, “That was not thunder.”

“Great. Love that.”

They keep running. Branches scrape their arms as they crash through the forest, their flashlights bouncing wildly with every step. Maggie’s chest burns with every breath. After what feels like an eternity, the dark shapes of the Upside Down trailer park appear through the trees.

Eddie’s trailer sits exactly where they left it. The rope still hangs from the gate in the ceiling. Robin practically trips up the steps.

“Home sweet horrifying home.”

They burst through the trailer door. Steve grabs the rope and looks up at the glowing hole in the ceiling.

“Ladies first,” he says, breathless.

Nancy grabs the rope without hesitation and begins climbing. The rope sways slightly as she disappears through the gate into the real world. Robin goes next, climbing quickly despite muttering nervous commentary the entire way.

Steve gestures toward Maggie, “Go.”

Maggie shakes her head immediately, “You next.”

Steve stares at her for a second, clearly debating it. Then another distant roar echoes through the Upside Down.

“Fine.”

He climbs. The rope sways again as he pulls himself through the glowing tear in the ceiling. Maggie is left alone in the trailer for exactly three seconds before panic decides that’s three seconds too many.

She grabs the rope and climbs. The air changes the moment she passes through the gate. The oppressive heaviness disappears.

She tumbles onto the floor of Eddie’s real-world trailer.

Nancy and Robin immediately grab her arms, dragging her fully away from the glowing gate before she can even catch her breath. The rope still swings slightly above them, the tear between worlds humming faintly in the ceiling.

For a few seconds, the only sound in the trailer is heavy breathing, four people sprawled across the floor.

Robin slowly pushes herself upright, wiping grime off her hands as she exhales shakily.

“Well,” she says weakly, brushing dust off her pants, “good news. We didn’t die.”

Steve drops down against the couch behind them, dragging a hand over his face.

“Bad news,” he mutters, “I don’t think we won either.”

Maggie pushes herself onto her elbows. The adrenaline is fading now, leaving behind a deep exhaustion that makes every limb feel like it weighs twice as much. She wipes at her eyes quickly and starts to sit up.

“We have to find the others,” she says quietly.

Nancy reaches to help Maggie to her feet, but then Maggie finally notices something.

Dustin. He’s sitting on the floor against the kitchen cabinets on the other side of the trailer. His shoulders are shaking.

At first, Maggie thinks he’s just exhausted. But then she sees his face and realizes that Eddie isn’t with him.

Dustin’s eyes are swollen, and he’s clutching small items in his hands. Maggie’s stomach drops.

“No,” she whispers.

Dustin looks up when he hears her voice. The moment his eyes land on her, something inside him cracks completely. He lets out a broken sob.

Nancy goes still. Robin slowly lowers her hands. Steve’s expression drains of color.

Maggie walks toward Dustin slowly, every step suddenly heavier than the last.

“Where’s Eddie?” she asks.

Her voice is barely above a whisper. Dustin’s mouth opens, but nothing comes out; instead, another sob escapes him.

Maggie shakes her head.

“No,” she says again, more firmly this time, “No, he was supposed to come back with you.”

Dustin wipes at his face, but the tears keep coming.

“He… he didn’t run,” he chokes out.

Maggie stops a few feet away. Her hands tremble.

“What?”

Dustin’s breathing is uneven, broken by quiet gasps.

“The bats,” he says. “They were everywhere. And he…he saved us.”

Steve slowly stands up behind Maggie.

Dustin’s voice cracks again, “He said he wasn’t gonna run away anymore.”

Maggie’s chest tightens painfully.

“He bought me time,” Dustin whispers. “If he didn’t…they would’ve killed us both.”

Another sob tears out of him, “He fought them, Maggie. He fought all of them.”

The trailer feels too small suddenly. Maggie stares at Dustin like her brain refuses to understand the words he’s saying.

Dustin presses the heel of his hand against his eyes, “I tried to help him. I did. I swear I did.”

Maggie finally drops to her knees in front of him. For a second, she just looks at him, and then she pulls him into a tight hug.

Dustin collapses into her instantly, crying into her shoulder.

Maggie squeezes him harder, one hand gripping the back of his jacket as tears finally spill down her own face and she lets out a sob.

“You did help him,” she says, hiccuping, “You got back.”

Dustin shakes his head against her shoulder, “He was my friend.”

Maggie closes her eyes tightly, “He was mine too.”

Across the trailer, Robin quietly covers her mouth. Nancy looks away, blinking rapidly. Steve stares at the floor, jaw tight.

After a few minutes Dustin and Maggie’s crying settles into quiet hiccups. Maggie still has an arm around him, her hand gripping the back of his jacket as if letting go might make everything worse, which is impressive, because things are already very bad.

Steve finally drags a hand down his face and straightens.

“We… we should go,” he says quietly.

Nobody argues, because they all heard it in the Upside Down. Those four chimes.

Nancy looks at Maggie first, “We need to find Lucas.”

Maggie nods immediately, wiping her face with the sleeve of her jacket. Her eyes are still red, but the urgency has pushed through the grief.

“If the clock chimed four times…”

Robin finishes the thought softly, “Then it worked.”

Dustin pulls away from Maggie, sniffing hard as he wipes his face.

“But if it worked…” he says, voice small, “then Max…”

He doesn’t finish the sentence. He doesn’t have to.

Steve grabs the RV keys off the counter, “Let’s go.”

The ride across Hawkins feels more tense than anything before. The roads are cracked in places where the “earthquakes” ripped through the town. Police lights flash in the distance. Smoke rises from places across town, drifting into the dark sky.

No one in the RV talks. Dustin sits in the back, staring out the window. Maggie sits beside him, arms wrapped tightly around herself.

Every time the vehicle hits a bump she feels like she might throw up. Please be alive. Please.

They pull up outside the hospital. The parking lot is chaos. Ambulances line the entrance, their lights flashing red and blue across the building.

Steve barely gets the RV into park before Maggie is already opening the door.

They run inside. Nurses rush down the hallways and people crowd the waiting area. Somewhere down the corridor, someone is crying.

Maggie’s heart pounds harder with every step.

Then she sees Lucas and Erica. They’re sitting side by side in the hallway outside one of the rooms.

Lucas is hunched forward, elbows on his knees, staring at the floor. Erica is sitting beside him, unusually quiet for once. Her arms are folded tightly across her chest.

Both of them look up when they hear the group approaching. Lucas stands immediately. Maggie searches his face.

“Lucas,” she says softly.

His eyes are red, but he nods.

“She’s alive.”

The breath Maggie didn’t realize she was holding rushes out of her lungs. Robin audibly exhales behind her. Nancy closes her eyes for a brief moment of relief. Dustin wipes his face again.

“But…” Lucas continues quietly, “She’s in a coma.”

Maggie’s chest tightens. Lucas gestures toward the hospital room behind him.

“She died for like… a minute,” he says shakily, “Her heart stopped.”

Erica’s voice is softer than Maggie has ever heard it, “But it got it started again.”

The hallway falls silent. Maggie slowly walks toward the door. Through the small window she can see Max lying in the hospital bed.

Bandages wrap around her head and arms. Machines beside the bed beep steadily, measuring every fragile heartbeat.

Her eyes are covered. She doesn’t move. Lucas stands beside Maggie.

“They said her bones were… pretty messed up,” he murmurs, “And she might not be able to see again.”

Maggie rests her hand gently against the glass of the door.

“Hold on, Mad Max,” she whispers.

Behind her, the group stands together in the quiet hospital hallway. Missing someone who should be standing there with them, but still together. For now, that’s the only victory they get.

TWO DAYS LATER

Maggie, Steve, Nancy, Dustin, and Robin cluster around the back of the Wheeler family station wagon, the trunk yawning open. The late afternoon sun hangs low in the sky, and dust drifts in the air every time someone shifts another box.

The attic has apparently been a time capsule of junk for the last twenty years. Mrs. Wheeler has decided it all needs to go to the shelter in town, which means the five of them are now sweaty, dusty, and mildly resentful.

Steve wipes his hands on his jeans after hauling a box that weighs suspiciously like it’s filled with bricks.

“Why does your attic have fifty pounds of magazines about birds?” he mutters.

Robin glances inside the box, “Those are butterflies, dingus.”

“Still counts.”

Nancy rolls her eyes, setting another smaller box beside Maggie, “They’re educational.”

Steve snorts, “Nancy, no one has ever voluntarily read something about butterflies.”

Dustin struggles across the driveway with a box that is very clearly too heavy for him.

“You guys are useless,” he huffs, “I’m doing all the labor here.”

Robin immediately reaches out and plucks the box from his arms, “You’re five feet tall, Henderson. Relax.”

Maggie slides a box into the trunk beside the others, carefully wedging it so the pile doesn’t collapse. The station wagon is already packed nearly to the roof.

She dusts her hands together.

“Okay,” she says, stepping back to inspect their work, “If this car explodes on the way to the shelter, it’s not my fault.”

“Pretty sure it’ll just collapse under the weight of Steve’s ego,” Robin says.

Steve presses a hand dramatically to his chest, “Uncalled for.”

From the other side of the car, Karen Wheeler appears, carrying a dish towel over her shoulder.

“Did someone order a pizza?” she calls.

Everyone freezes.

“Pizza?” Steve repeats.

Dustin straightens immediately, “Wait. There’s pizza?”

Maggie turns toward the street just as a loud honk cuts through the quiet neighborhood. The sound makes her chest jolt. Her head snaps toward the road. A van is pulling up the driveway. But not just any van, a very familiar, slightly beat-up, extremely recognizable van.

For a second Maggie’s brain short circuits. Her eyes go wide. The air leaves her lungs in one shocked rush.

“Oh my God,” she breathes.

The van door slides open.

“Oh my God.”

Two figures step out.

“Oh my God.”

And then Maggie starts sprinting.

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!”

She takes off across the driveway like a missile, sneakers slapping against the pavement.

El and Will barely have time to react before Maggie slams into them full force, wrapping both of them in a crushing hug that nearly knocks them over.

Will staggers backward with a surprised laugh while El braces herself.

“I can’t believe you guys are okay!” Maggie says, her voice muffled in their shoulders.

For a moment she just squeezes them and then she pulls back. Her face changes instantly and brows slam together. Her hands plant firmly on her hips.

“WHY DIDN’T YOU ANSWER ANY OF MY CALLS?!” she demands.

Will lets out a small, slightly sheepish laugh, “It’s… a long story.”

“Uh-huh,” Maggie says flatly.

Then she suddenly gasps. Her eyes drop to Eleven’s head.

Without warning, Maggie grabs both sides of El’s face and turns her head slightly, inspecting a very concerning haircut.

“You’re bald again!” she blurts.

El smiles a little, almost amused, “Brenner.”

Maggie’s expression darkens instantly. She shakes her head.

“That bitch.”

Behind them, the rest of the van occupants begin climbing out.

Maggie notices movement and glances up. Two more familiar figures appear. Her entire face lights up again.

“Broody Tunes!” she shouts.

Jonathan barely gets a chance to react before Maggie launches herself at him next, wrapping him in another aggressive hug.

“Good to see you too,” he mutters.

She releases him and immediately turns to the other person. Argyle stands there, blinking slowly with a lazy smile. Maggie claps a hand on his shoulder.

“Argyle, my man!” she says brightly, “Good to see you.”

Argyle grins, “Dude, same. Hawkins reunion tour.”

Behind Maggie, the rest of the group finally reaches them. Dustin tackles Will in a hug. Steve stands back for a moment, watching with a small, relieved smile.

Maggie suddenly spins back toward her family.

“Where’s mom?” she asks.

Will scratches the back of his neck, “We, uh… actually have no idea.”

Maggie freezes, “What?”

Jonathan steps in, trying to help.

“Well,” he says slowly, “apparently Alaska. With Murray.”

Maggie looks from Jonathan to Will, then back again. Her brain visibly tries to process this information.

“I am so confused right now.”

Dustin finally lets go of Will and steps back. Will glances around the driveway.

“Where’s Lucas?” he asks.

Dustin’s expression changes immediately. The excitement fades.

“He’s at the hospital,” Dustin says.

El’s head snaps toward him, “Is he hurt?”

Dustin shakes his head quickly, “No. No, he’s… he’s not…”

His eyebrows knit together and his thoughts click together.

“Oh God,” he whispers, “You don’t know.”

Everyone goes still.

Mike frowns immediately, “Don’t know what?”

Dustin runs a hand through his hair, suddenly looking a lot less excited than he had thirty seconds ago.

He glances at Maggie, then Steve, and Nancy, like he’s hoping one of them will step in and save him from this.

None of them do. Robin crosses her arms slowly.

“Dustin,” she says quietly, “just say it.”

Dustin swallows, “Max is in the hospital.”

“The hospital?” Mike repeats.

Jonathan’s brow furrows, “What happened?”

El’s eyes are already searching Dustin’s face. Dustin shifts on his feet.

“She… she got hurt.”

Maggie exhales slowly through her nose. She already knows this is about to get worse.

Mike steps closer, “How hurt?”

Dustin opens his mouth and closes it again. Then he finally says it.

“She’s in a coma.”

Mike stares at him. Jonathan’s face drains of color. Will looks completely lost.

“A coma?” Mike says.

El doesn’t say anything. She just stands there, very still.

Her eyes are wide, and something inside them cracks so fast it almost hurts to watch..

“It’s Vecna,” Nancy says.

Will’s head snaps up at the name.

“The same thing that happened to Chrissy… and Fred… and Patrick.”

Mike looks between them, completely bewildered, “But Max isn’t—”

“She survived,” Robin cuts in gently, “Barely.”

Dustin nods slowly, “She’s been unconscious since the fight.”

El’s breathing has gotten shallow. Maggie notices immediately. El’s hands are trembling at her sides. Maggie takes a small step closer to her.

“El,” she says softly.

But El isn’t really hearing her.

Her voice comes out quiet, “If I was here… maybe…”

Maggie’s stomach twists, because the look on El’s face isn’t just guilt. It’s heartbreak. Robin glances at Nancy. Nancy glances at Steve.

Steve exhales slowly. He gets it. Everyone who was here does. Maggie gently places a hand on El’s shoulder.

“This isn’t your fault,” she says quietly.

El shakes her head instantly, “Yes it is.”

“No,” Maggie says.

El finally looks up. Her eyes are glassy.

“Where is she?”

Dustin answers immediately, “Hawkins Memorial.”

El nods once, “I want to see her.”

Mike looks at Nancy, “We should all go.”

Karen Wheeler is still standing halfway up the driveway, completely bewildered by the entire situation.

“Is… everything alright?” she asks.

Nancy forces a smile that fools absolutely no one, “We just need to go check on a friend.”

Karen nods slowly, though she clearly doesn’t understand.

“Okay… well… drive safe.”

Within minutes the driveway explodes into motion. People pile into the van like it’s some chaotic emergency evacuation. The van pulls out of the Wheeler driveway in a small convoy.

Five minutes later the hospital comes into view. The glowing Hawkins Memorial sign flickers above the entrance. The tires crunch against gravel as the cars stop.

El opens the door. She’s out of the car before anyone else can even react. Maggie jumps out after her.

“Hey,” she calls gently.

El doesn’t stop. She’s already halfway across the parking lot.

Nancy, Argyle, Will, Mike, and Jonathan scramble after them.

“What room?” Mike asks.

Nancy gestures toward the entrance, “Fourth floor.”

They rush inside. The lobby smells like antiseptic and stale coffee.

A nurse looks up from the desk as seven teenagers storm through the door. Her eyebrows climb toward her hairline.

“Can I help you—”

“Max Mayfield,” Maggie blurts.

The nurse glances at a chart.

“Fourth floor,” she says cautiously.

“We know,” Nancy replies quickly.

The elevator takes forever, so they take the stairs. Footsteps echo loudly through the stairwell as they race upward four flights.

By the time they reach the hallway, everyone’s breathing hard. The hospital corridor is quiet. The door to Max’s room is halfway down the hall.

Maggie’s chest tightens. El stops a few feet from the door. She doesn’t reach for the handle, she just stands there.

Maggie gently places a hand on her back. El takes one small breath, and finally pushes the door open.

The door creaks softly as it opens. Everyone bunches up behind El and Maggie in the doorway, suddenly hesitant.

The room is dim, the blinds half closed against the sun. A small lamp glows in the corner, casting long shadows across the walls. In the middle of it all is Max.

She lies motionless in the hospital bed, pale against the white sheets. Tubes snake from her arms to machines beside her. A heart monitor ticks steadily, each quiet beep filling the silence.

El’s breath catches. Maggie feels her stomach drop straight through the floor. It doesn’t get easier any time she sees her like this.

Max Mayfield, who normally cannot sit still for more than twelve seconds without making a sarcastic comment or starting a fight with someone, looks impossibly fragile.

A chair scrapes softly from the far side of the room. Everyone looks up.

Lucas stands slowly beside the bed. Dark circles sit under his eyes like bruises.

Erica sits curled in the chair beside him, arms crossed tight over her chest. Even she looks shaken, which is honestly alarming considering Erica Sinclair normally behaves like she’s emotionally bulletproof.

Lucas stares when he sees the group crowding the doorway.

“Hey,” he says quietly.

His voice cracks a little. Mike steps forward first.

“How is she?”

Lucas exhales slowly, rubbing the back of his neck, “The same.”

Erica notices El. Her sharp eyes soften slightly.

“She hasn’t woken up yet,” Erica says.

El nods, but she doesn’t trust her voice.

She walks slowly toward the bed. The rest of the group spreads out awkwardly around the room.

Jonathan and Will stand quietly near the door. Mike watches El with growing concern.

El reaches the bedside and she stares down at Max. For a second, it looks like she might break apart completely. Her fingers hover above Max’s hand. Carefully, she takes it.

El swallows hard, “Hi.”

The word cracks in the middle. The machines keep beeping. El stares at Max, hoping that if she looks hard enough, maybe she’ll wake up.

“I came back,” she whispers.

Still nothing. Lucas looks away. Will wipes his nose on his shirt. Maggie leans against the wall, arms folded tightly. After a long moment, El gently sets Max’s hand back down on the blanket. She takes a step back. Lucas clears his throat.

“Doctors say she’s stable,” he explains quietly, “They just… don’t know when she’ll wake up.”

“If,” Erica mutters.

Lucas shoots her a look. Erica shrugs, but her eyes flick back to Max. Maggie pushes off the wall and steps closer to Lucas.

“Okay,” Jonathan says quietly, “Hospital visiting hours are gonna kick us out eventually anyway.”

Within a few minutes they say their quiet goodbyes. El lingers the longest. Her fingers brush Max’s again before she finally lets go. Then the group files out into the hallway. The elevator ride down is silent. Nobody really knows what to say.

“So,” Jonathan says, “Where are we regrouping?”

Mike answers immediately, “Hopper’s cabin.”

That gets a few looks.

Nancy frowns, “Isn’t that… abandoned?”

“It’s empty,” Mike says, “And it’s private.”

Jonathan nods, “Probably safer too. Can fix it up, make it a home again.”

Argyle raises a finger from beside the van, “I support secret forest hideouts.”

Maggie points at him, “Then it’s settled.”

The van engine starts up again and it pulls out of the hospital parking lot one by one. The drive out toward the woods is longer than anyone remembers.

Finally, the familiar dirt path appears. The van bumps slowly down it, branches scraping lightly against the sides. The cabin comes into view.

Hopper’s old cabin sits in the middle of the clearing, broken down and abandoned.

Everyone climbs out slowly. El stares at the cabin. Her expression softens slightly.

“…Home,” she murmurs.

Maggie glances at her. Her chest clenches a little.

Yeah. Home.

Or at least the closest thing any of them have had lately.

Mike, Jonathan, and Argyle step inside the dilapidated building first, the rest soon filing in.

“Oh Jesus,” Jonathan sighs.

“Holy shit,” Mike says, glancing around, “This place is a total disaster.”

“Yeah, well that’s a bit of a problem,” Jonathan says, pointing to the giant gaping hole in the ceiling.

Argyle gazes at it, “I know we gotta hide Supergirl and all, but this isn’t exactly the Fortress of Solitude, man. It’s more like a fortress of grodiness.”

Maggie puts her hands on her hips, “Unfortunately, I’d have to agree.”

Nancy smiles, “C’mon, guys, seriously. I’ve seen Mike’s room worse than this.”

“Ah, brutal, dude,” Argyle laughs.

Nancy turns on the faucet, the pipes rumbling suspiciously.

“See!” she exclaims, “Water still works.”

She reaches into a cabinet, pulling something out.

“And voila,” she gestures, “Cleaning supplies.”

Nancy and Jonathan put up boards across broken windows, Mike and Will get to work sweeping, and Maggie and El traipse around picking up trash and junk.

Maggie follows El into her room, the younger girl shutting the door behind them with her powers.

“How are you feeling, Peanut?” Maggie asks.

El walks farther into the small room without answering right away. The space is almost exactly the same as it used to be.

El sits down on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor. For a minute she just rubs her hands together slowly.

“I should have been there,” she finally says.

Maggie leans against the wall across from her, arms loosely crossed, “El—”

“She was alone,” El continues quietly, “Vecna… he was hurting her.”

Her voice shakes a little, “I felt it.”

Maggie’s brow furrows.,”You did?”

El nods slowly, “When I found her… her mind was dark. She was gone.”

Her eyes drop to her hands, “I was almost too late.”

The room goes quiet. Maggie exhales through her nose and pushes herself off the wall, sitting beside El on the bed.

“But you weren’t,” Maggie says.

El shakes her head, “She is in a coma.”

“Yeah,” Maggie admits.

She bumps her shoulder lightly against El’s, “But she’s still here.”

El stares ahead, “I don’t know if she knows how I feel.”

Maggie’s eyes soften a little.

“She probably knows,” She says.

El glances at her, “How?”

Maggie shrugs slightly, “People always think feelings are these big dramatic speeches.”

She nudges El’s arm.

“Most of the time it’s just… the way you look at someone. The way you show up.”

El looks down again, “I want her to wake up.”

“I know.”

Silence settles again and Maggie sighs.

“There’s something I should probably tell you.”

El looks up, “What?”

Maggie hesitates. Not because she doesn’t trust El, but because she doesn’t love remembering it.

“Vecna came after me too,” she says quietly.

El’s head snaps toward her, “What?”

Maggie shrugs, trying to play it off like it wasn’t a nightmare.

“He was trying to get me. I guess he was trying to keep his options open. See which one of us he could get first.”

El’s eyes widen, “He was in your mind?”

“Yeah.”

Maggie rubs the back of her neck, “He got pretty close too.”

El’s voice drops, “What happened?”

Maggie stares at the floor for a second, “I almost died.”

El’s breathing slows, “What stopped him?”

Maggie gives a small, crooked smile, “Apparently I’m stubborn.”

She taps her temple, “And they pulled me out before he could finish the job.”

El studies her carefully, “He will come back.”

Maggie nods once, “Yeah. I figured.”

El’s hands curl into fists, “I will stop him.”

“Good,” Maggie says, bumping El’s shoulder, “Because I would very much prefer not getting my brain turned into spaghetti.”

El lets out a small breath that might almost be a laugh. They hear the front door to the cabin open. Both girls freeze.

Voices echo faintly from somewhere deeper in the cabin. Maggie frowns slightly, glancing toward the bedroom door.

Heavy footsteps move slowly across the wooden floor outside.

“That’s weird,” Maggie murmurs.

El tilts her head, listening.

The cabin had been quiet a moment ago. Everyone else was supposed to be outside or in the kitchen.

The footsteps stop right outside the bedroom.

Maggie and El exchange a quick look. Before either of them can react, the doorknob turns.

The door creaks open slowly. A tall figure fills the doorway.

For a second Maggie’s brain refuses to process what she’s seeing.

The man standing there is big, but he’s a lot skinnier than she remembers. And all his facial hair is gone. He looks tired, but his eyes are the same. Maggie’s heart slams so hard it hurts.

“…holy shit,” she whispers.

The man’s gaze softens instantly.

“Kid.”

El goes completely still. Her lips part.

“…Hop?”

Jim Hopper steps fully into the room.

“Hey,” he says quietly.

That’s it, that’s all it takes.

El runs. She crashes into him so hard the door swings shut behind them.

Hopper barely has time to brace himself before his arms wrap tightly around her, pulling her close. El clutches the front of his jacket with both hands.

“I thought you were dead,” she chokes out.

Hopper exhales shakily, pressing his chin against the top of her head.

“Yeah,” he mutters softly, “Me too for a while.”

El buries her face against his chest, shaking a little. Hopper just holds her there, one big hand resting protectively on the back of her head.

Maggie stands frozen near the bed, staring like she’s watching a ghost become solid again, because the last time anyone saw Jim Hopper, he had been standing in a Russian bunker as a machine exploded.

He was supposed to be gone. Yet here he is, alive.

Finally Hopper pulls back slightly, just enough to see El’s face.

“You came back,” El whispers.

“Took the scenic route,” Hopper says.

El lets out a small, shaky laugh.

Then Hopper’s eyes shift past her. He notices Maggie for the first time. His brows lift slightly in recognition.

“Well I’ll be damned.”

Maggie stares, still frozen in her spot.

“Hi,” she says weakly.

Hopper gives a quiet huff of disbelief, “Thought I recognized that voice.”

Maggie crosses the room in two quick steps before her brain can talk her out of it and throws her arms around him too.

Hopper grunts slightly from the sudden impact but laughs under his breath, wrapping one arm around her as well while El is still clinging to his other side.

“You’re alive,” Maggie says into his shoulder.

“Last time I checked.”

She pulls back just enough to look at him, shaking her head like she still doesn’t quite believe it.

“You absolute asshole,” she says, her voice cracking, “You scared the hell out of us.”

Hopper’s expression softens.

“Yeah,” he says quietly, “Sorry about that.”

“I missed you,” Maggie mutters, muffled in the man’s chest.

He gives a sideways smile, “I missed you too, kid.”

El wipes at her eyes but refuses to let go of his sleeve. Hopper looks between the two girls standing in front of him. One he raised, one he helped protect. Both of them look like they’ve been through far too much.

Loud, excited voices overlap from outside.

“Is mom here?” Maggie asks him, hopeful.

His only response is a grin, and she knows exactly what that means .She shoots out of the bedroom with a wide smile so fast her shoulder nearly clips the doorframe. The front door of the cabin is already open, cool air spilling inside.

She bursts outside. And there she is. Joyce Byers stands, wrapped tightly around Jonathan and Will. Her hands move constantly, cupping Jonathan’s face, brushing Will’s hair back, touching their shoulders.

Maggie stops for half a second. A breath escapes her chest she didn’t realize she was holding. Her whole face breaks into a relieved smile.

“Mom!”

Joyce barely has time to look up. Maggie is already sprinting. Joyce turns just in time to see a blur of denim and hair barreling straight toward her.

“Oh—!”

Maggie crashes into her, nearly knocking them both off balance as she throws her arms around her mother. Joyce laughs in surprise, stumbling back a step before wrapping Maggie up in a tight hug.

“Oh my God,” Joyce breathes, “Hi, sweetheart!”

Maggie squeezes her so hard Joyce makes a small oof sound. Joyce pulls back just enough to cup Maggie’s face in both hands.

“You’re okay,” Joyce says softly.

Maggie nods quickly, “I’m okay.”

Joyce pulls her back into another hug anyway, just in case. Over Joyce’s shoulder, Jonathan shakes his head with a tired smile. Maggie loosens her grip just enough to throw one arm around Will, dragging him into the hug too.

“Family pile!” she declares.

Will laughs, caught between them, “This is a lot of hugging.”

“You’ll survive,” Maggie says.

Joyce finally pulls back again, brushing Maggie’s hair away from her face.

“You’ve gotten taller.”

“I’m 18,” Maggie replies.

“I’m still allowed to notice.”

Behind them, the cabin door creaks open again. Hopper steps out slowly, arms crossed, watching the scene. El attaches to his side. Joyce moves immediately to embrace the two, clearly relieved to see El safe.

Maggie watches them, arms folded loosely across her chest, smiling to herself.

Will nudges her quietly, “You’re smiling weird.”

“I am not.”

“You are.”

Maggie shrugs, “Let them have their moment.”

Because after everything this group has survived, they’ve earned at least five minutes of peace before the next disaster shows up.

Unfortunately, knowing their luck, that timer is already ticking.