Chapter 27

After successfully saving Max using music, like Robin had suggested, they all went back to the Wheeler house again. They were abruptly woken up in the morning by Nancy, who’d made yet another discovery.

The puzzle pieces were slowly fitting together, and the thing Max had saw when under Vecna’s curse was Victor Creel’s house: the place where it all started.

“What exactly are we supposed to be looking for in this shithole?” Steve asked.

“We’re not sure,” Nancy answered, “We just know this house is important to Vecna.”

“Because Max saw it in Vecna’s red soup mind world?”

“Basically.”

“Great.”

“Maybe it holds a clue to where Vecna is. Why he’s back. Why he killed the Creels. And how to stop him if he comes back for Max or Claudia.”

“We don’t think he’s in here, do we?” Lucas asked.

“Guess we’ll find out,” Max said.

Steve and Nancy threw down the large wooden plank that had previously been blocking the door, which was locked. “Should we knock, see if anybody’s home?” Steve suggested.

“No need,” Robin said, holding up a brick, “I found a key.”

Steve threw the brick into the hosue, then opened the door from the inside. Lucas tried his luck with the lamp, but it wouldn’t turn on. “Looks like someone forgot to pay their electric bill,” he said.
Dustin shone his torch.

“Where’s everyone get those?” Steve asked.

“Do you need to be told everything?” Dustin asked, “You’re not a child.”

“Thank you.”

Dustin took off his backpack, handing it to Steve. “Back pocket.”

Nancy, Claudia and Robin all went off, searching in one of the rooms. “They just left everything,” Nancy said.

“I guess a triple homicide isn’t good for resale value,” Robin said.

“Hey guys?” Max said, shining her torch on a large grandfather clock, “You all see that, right?”

“Yeah,” everyone said.

“That’s the clock,” Claudia said, “From the visions.”

Max nodded. “I mean, it’s… just a clock,” Robin said, “Right?” She wiped dust from the glass. “Like a normal old clock.”

“Why is this wizard obsessed with clock?” Steve asked, “Maybe he’s, like, a clockmaker or something?”

“I think you cracked the case, Steve,” Dustin said sarcastically.

“All I know is,” Nancy said, “The answers are here, somewhere. Okay, everyone stay in groups of two, or three. Robin, Claudia, upstairs.”

All they managed to find for a while was spiders, and a bunch of cobwebs in Steve’s hair, which made Claudia want to throw up. She didn’t mind spiders, but cobwebs grossed her out.

What they did find after a while, after being called down the stairs by Max, was that the lights flickered, despite the fact that there was (presumably) no electricity in the house.

“It’s like the Christmas lights,” Nancy said.

“The Christmas lights?” Robin asked.

“Yeah, when Will was in the Upside Down, the lights… came to life.”

“Vecna’s here,” Lucas said, “In this house. Just on the other side.”

The lights stopped flickering. “I think he just left the room,” Claudia said.

“Did he hear us?” Max asked.

“Can he see us?” Steve asked.

“Headphones,” Lucas said. Max put them on. Robin looked at Claudia sympathetically, and she nodded at her, letting her know that, for now, she was alright.

“Wait, wait,” Nancy said, “Everyone turn off your flashlights and spread out.”

“We’re not gonna be able to see if we turn off our flash… lights,” Steve said, but everyone had already left him standing in the hallway.

“I got him!” Robin called, everyone went running towards her, but her flashlight turned off. “Oh, I had him.”

Steve’s flashlight light suddenly light up. He was moving. They followed Vecna up the stairs, to another door. “Shit,” Steve said, “I lost him.”

“No you didn’t,” Max said, opening an article door.

They all walked up the stairs. “Hold up, guys,” Dustin said, “What if he’s leading us into a trap?”

“Shut up, Dustin,” Claudia said. Dustin rolled his eyes, following her. As they all walked into the attic, they saw a singular light bulb hanging from the ceiling, flickering. All of their flashlights did the same.

They stood in a circle around the lightbulb. Vecna wasn’t moving. He was still. “He’s still,” Claudia said, “He’s doing… something.”

As if on cue, all of the glass from the lights shattered, and it went completely dark. Claudia heard the same noise she’d heard before, the clock.

“I think Vecna may have just taken his third victim.”

——————————

The next morning, they were driving to give Eddie some more food and beer he’d asked for. Claudia had spent the night at her own house, accompanied by Robin and Steve, and was happy to be finally wearing her own clothes, after two days of wearing either Nancy’s or Robin’s.

“Not to be a wimp, but can I maybe sit in the car for this visit?” Robin asked, “This is gonna totally and royally suck.”

“It’ll be fine,” Nancy reassured her.

“I just can’t stand to see those dull eyes of Eddie’s break again, I really, really can’t,” Robin said.

“At least he can drink himself into feeling better,” Steve held up the six pack of beer.

“That’s what my mom does,” Max sighed.

“Why don’t we just give it a trial run? Hey Eddie, uh, good news first this time. We got you some Dustin-approved junk food and that six-pack that you requested. Oh yeah, and we found Vecna, only the bad news is that he’s that other, darker, much scarier dimension that we told you about, and the gate’s closed so we have no way of getting to him, like, he’s entirely shut off to us, so basically you’re screwed. And no, no, no, I know that you were already screwed, but now you’re like, doubly, triply screwed.”

“You done?” Claudia asked.

“Maybe we don’t put it like that,” Lucas said.

“We’re one step closer to finding Vecna,” Nancy said, “That’s what we say, that’s what’s important.”

“See, Robin?” Steve said, “Positive spin can make all the decisions deference.”

“Oh, shit,” Nancy said, spotting police, and a bunch of other people, parked outside Eddie’s hiding spot.

“Kill me now,” Claudia threw her head back.

They hid behind a news fan, listening to what the chief of police had to say. He was filling in the news reporters on what happened. Another victim. Another Hawkins student. Patrick McKinney. Claudia placed a reassuring hand on Lucas’ shoulder.

Patrick’s death was described the same as Fred and Chrissy’s. Broken limbs, broken jaw. Eyes? Gone. And finally, to top it all off, they finally gave the public what the wanted. A suspect.

“Eddie Munson. We encourage anyone with information to please come forward.”

“Oh man,” Steve said, “This is not good. This is really not good.”

Eddie’s voice finally sounded over the walkie, something they’d been hoping to hear the entire time that Powell was making his speech. “Dustin? Can you hear me? Wheeler?”

“Eddie, holy shit,” Dustin said, “Are you okay?”

“Nah, man,” Eddie said, “Pretty goddamn far from okay.”

“Where are you?”

“Skull Rock. Do you know it?”

“Uh, yeah, that’s near Cornwallis and-“

“Garrett,” Steve said, “Yeah, I know where that is.”

“Of course you do,” Claudia said.

“Are you gonna tell me that you don’t?”

Claudia stayed quiet, so did Robin. Steve smirked smugly, running over to his car.

“Hold tight,” Dustin said, “We’re coming. We’re coming.”