INTO HELL [e. munson]

eight.

·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ vecna's curse ·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚

      LILA FOUND HERSELF KNOCKING AT MAX'S WINDOW. She didn't know what to say, but Max let her sneak through the front door and into her room without a question. Until Lila looked at her with wide eyes and her feet bouncing up and down. "Is something wrong? Did you find out Chrissy went to Eddie's trailer?" Max finally asked.

"No, I... I knew about that," Lila shook her head, hoping words would find her again. Nothing felt real, especially not what she saw. She quickly glanced out toward Eddie's trailer again only to find the slightly open door and Eddie's van still gone.

"I saw him speed out of here like a bat out of hell."

"You did? What did he look like?"

"Scared, I think?" Max began to look at Lila like she was going insane, and Lila squeezed her hands together before taking a deep breath.

"Chrissy is dead. I know how it looks, but I don't think he did it. You see, he was supposed to be at my house by eleven but never showed up. I knew this was odd because he's always early, surprisingly. So, I came here and he was gone and Chrissy was, well, dead."

"Shouldn't we tell someone?"

"No, I just... The body was weird. I mean, her limbs were snapped and it looked like someone pulled her eyes back into her head. Eddie isn't capable of something like that, physically or mentally."

"What are you saying?"

"What if it's back? I don't think we should do anything until morning, because getting attached to the crime won't help us any."

"Lila," Max paused a moment. She looked at how upset her friend was before making her decision, which came easily the second she met her eyes. Though she had her doubts, Max would never say. For now, it was about being there for Lila because she'd do the same for her. "Fine."

"Can I stay here for the night?" Max nodded at Lila's question and the two girls talked for hours on end, about the possibility of the Upside Down returning and Lucas making the game-winning shot. Only when Max finally fell asleep did Lila close her eyes, too.

...

The next morning police were closing off the trailer park entrance and scanning the area. Both Max and Lila slipped from the area to make it to Dustin. They both agreed with Mike out of town and Lucas with the basketball team, then Dustin would be the only one who could help them.