𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘛𝘐𝘔𝘌 - 𝘌𝘋𝘋𝘐𝘌 𝘔𝘜𝘕𝘚𝘖𝘕

𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄: 𝐓𝐀𝐏𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐆𝐋𝐔𝐄

Amanda was curled up on the cold wood floor, afraid that once she opened her eyes she would no longer be in Eddie's presence. Images of the figure flashed in her mind, the malice behind his eyes taunting her. Each second that passed felt like an hour as she listened to Eddie desperately trying to reach Dustin in hopes for some answers.

"Amanda, he's not answering. Amanda? Dear God, is it happening again?" Eddie rushed towards her, panic in his voice as she shook her by her shoulder.

"I'm here." Amanda said softly, her eyes looking up towards him. His eyes gleamed with relief,a soft smile appearing on his face before it quickly faded.  

"You said it was like a dream, right?" Eddie attempted to clarify, though he'd been completely wrong.

"It was like a living nightmare, Eddie. Like he knew more about my past than I did. Eddie, I think I did bad things." Amanda's tone was low, her voice shaky as her lips trembled. Eddie's face grew soft as he watched Amanda fall apart, being exposed to a side of her he never thought he'd see.

"You're okay now, alright? We're going to fix this, I promise." Eddie sent her a small smile, one that showed he wasn't quite convinced himself.

"Dustin, I swear to god-" Eddie nearly seethed, before being cut off by a familiar youthful voice. 

"What? Eddie, what's wrong?" Dustin's voice sounded preoccupied, causing Eddie to throw a small fit.

"While you were off doing God knows what, Amanda got freaking cursed. I mean, seriously? What the hell were you doing that you couldn't answer? I swear to got you little shit." Eddie nearly shouted as he began to pace, flailing his arm frantically as if Dustin was able to see him. Amanda smiled at his actions, finding them somehow kind. 

"What? Is she okay?" Dustin's voice grew concerned, causing Eddie to pause and take a deep breath in. 

"Barely. Listen, I don't know what you're doing but, quite frankly, I don't care. Get your asses back here now." Eddie demanded, awaiting Dustin's response.

"We'll get there as soon as we can, but we have other things to worry about." Dustin explained, a wave of worry overcoming both Amanda and Eddie. Eddie's eyes met Amanda's, a knowing look being sent to each other. 

As they all crowded Amanda, she noticed Max seemed to be intrigued the most. As if, somehow, she'd known more about it than her. Amanda took a deep breath in, preparing herself to go over the scene that played before her.

As she explained in heavy detail, she noticed Max had made expressions as if she'd understood completely. As if she didn't have to try and imagine it, but she could see it on her own. Amanda couldn't help but become curious, examining her facial expressions as she spoke. The other's listened intently, looks of despair being sent between them all, as if it were a death sentence for Amanda. 

"Wait, who was the man? You keep talking about this man but... does he have a name?" A taller woman questioned, which Amanda assumed was Nancy.

"Just a man," Amanda shrugged, though she could see Eddie roll his eyes. Eddie's impatience with Amanda became clear as he sent her an annoyed look, before turning to the rest of the group. 

"It was her dad, the dude who ran Mkultra or something." Eddie chimed in, tapping his foot anxiously against the floor. Looks were sent throughout the group, ones which had seemed both shocked and upset. 

"Brenner?" Nancy questioned, her voice sounding as shocked as the rest looked.

"I didn't want to tell anyone... because of what he said." Amanda could feel the tears begin to form, before Max sent them all a glare.

"Give her some space." Max demanded, standing herself up as she crossed her arms against her chest.

"But if her dad is Martin Brenner we have-"

"Don't poke at her like some damn lab rat, let her be!" Max nearly shouted, pushing them all out of the room. It was quite obvious that they had been talking about Amanda, theorizing about what the relation might mean, but Amanda didn't care in that moment. She was too busy trying to analyze what her father had meant.

"It all started with these headaches, ones I couldn't get rid of. And these nosebleeds, too. It's like it's in my brain or something, feasting on memories I can't remember." Amanda whispered, piquing Max's interest.

"Headaches?" Max questioned.

"Yeah, I've been getting them all week but I assumed it was because I wasn't getting enough sleep. Then they started getting worse last night and this morning." Amanda felt as if there was something deeply wrong within her, some sort of evil making it's home inside her mind and body. She couldn't describe the feeling other than to say it felt as if her body wasn't her own. 

"Amanda..." Max began, sending her a sympathetic look. One in which doctors would give when delivering bad news. Amanda knew this look too well, causing the hairs on her body to stand upright. 

"Chrissy and Fred both had nosebleeds, headaches, and flashbacks. From what we've gathered today, that's how Vecna's curse begins. And then he puts you in this trance, telling you that your suffering is almost at an end." Max explained, her lips beginning to tremble as she spoke. 

"How do you know he said that? I didn't tell anyone that." Amanda's eyebrows furrowed, before Max sent her a look. A look somehow explaining the situation completely. Amanda could feel her heart drop, her stomach churning in her abdomen.

"We're both cursed?" Amanda's voice was shaky, watching as Max nodded. 

That confirmation alone somehow made everything feel grim, as if nothing meant anything anymore. Amanda thought to the time she'd been working with Steve, how she'd make fun of him and how they'd occasionally share a laugh or two. 

She thought to Eddie, who she'd just recently regained a friendship with. Somehow, that stung the most. Knowing that she'd once again let down Eddie. 

"Please tell me I'm not going to die." Amanda nearly begged, watching as a single tear fell from Max's eye. Amanda couldn't stop the tears from falling, feeling as if her world had began to crumble from around her, and no amount of tape or glue could fix it. 

"We're going to figure this out, okay?" Max sniffled, wiping her nose with her sweatshirt. 

"Okay." Amanda nodded, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. Max extended her hand to Amanda, Amanda gripping onto hers as Max helped her stand up. 

"I guess this means we're like the sisters of death now, right?" Amanda sent Max a weak smile, to which she sent a confused look back. 

"Sisters of death? Isn't that kind of... grim?" Max pointed out, before letting out a small laugh. 

"This entire situation is grim, why not embrace it? Hey, if we end up dying we're doing it together, right?" Amanda's voice grew more confident, causing Max to nod confidently as well. 

"Yeah, sister's of death. Or, death sisters?" Max sent Amanda a smile, before opening the door to the living room. The group's eyes shot to both Max and Amanda, Amanda's eyes drawn to Eddie's. 

Eddie's eyes showed nothing but heartbreak, which tore at Amanda's heart.

"We need a damn plan." Amanda broke the silence.