Not Just Another Number

Help From Someone Familiar

Sarah's POV

I pour myself a cup of coffee and sit down at the dining table in the Wheeler house. After what happened earlier today, I can't get any sleep. Everyone is sleeping in shifts to watch Max, Dustin being on shift right now. I sigh to myself as I drink the bitter liquid.We could've lost Max today, and I couldn't do anything about it. I rub at my temples to push away a subtle headache.

"Can't sleep either?" I hear a voice come from the hallway leading to the basement. I look up from my cup and find Christine staring at me. Her hair is up in a bun and she looks exhausted. I shake my head, putting my cup down. "You want some coffee?" I ask, gesturing to the coffee pot. She shakes her head and sits down in the seat across from me. "No thanks. Not a fan of the stuff."

"You're missing out."

She chuckles and nods to herself, resting her arms on the table. "I'm sure I am." Silence envelopes the both of us. It's tense and heavy, almost suffocating. I take another sip of my coffee, looking at her from over the lip. "Why can't you sleep?" She gives me a look like I'm dumb. "Right, dumb question." Christine looks back over at the hallway, breathing in deeply. "I know that the information Creel gave us really helped, but I still feel so unprepared. Like, we know how to keep Vecna away, but why did he attack Creel and where exactly did he come from? We don't even know if this music keeps him away permanently."

I nod in agreement. "That's true and that's why we need to keep looking for answers. We're gonna stop him, I know we will." I reassure her. She nods after a couple of beats, leaving us in silence once again. I drink from my cup again, trying to keep away my anxiety.

A creaking sound catches our attention. We look over into the hallway and watch as Mrs.Wheeler and Holly walk down the stairs. Mrs.Wheeler looks at us and smiles. "Morning, girls! How'd you two sleep?" Christine and I give each other a knowing look. I look back at Mrs.Wheeler and give her a sweet smile. "Pretty good, Mrs.Wheeler." She nods, smiling as she walks over to the kitchen. Holly walks over to the table and sits down next to Christine, dropping a sketchbook and a handful of crayons on the table. The girl ignores us as she busies herself with her drawings. Mrs.Wheeler looks back at us after pouring herself a cup of coffee. "You girls hungry? I'm thinking pancakes." She doesn't wait for a response before she starts cooking.

Time passes as she cooks. We all sit in a peaceful silence, the first one in a long time. Mr.Wheeler eventually walks into the kitchen and sits at the bar across from his wife, completely ignoring her. Another set of footsteps follow him, revealing to be Max. Christine and I watch her as she sits down at the table next to Holly. Her music is blaring from her headphones as she looks at Holly's drawings. Her skin is pale and her eyes look sunken in. Christine and I share a concerned look as Holly gives Max a couple of papers and crayons to draw. I watch her as she draws these red pictures of rubble

"Morning guys!" Mrs.Wheeler says cheerfully, pulling my attention away from Max. I look over at see Nancy and Dustin looking stressed and out of breath. I see Christine wave at them from the corner of my eye. "Everything okay? "Mrs.Wheeler asks. They look over at us, eyes locking on Max as they calm themselves. "Yeah, yeah, everything's okay." Nancy says, and it almost sounds like she's reassuring herself.

"I think it's so sweet that you guys are sticking together like this." Mrs.Wheeler gushes as she plates some pancakes. "Could try sticking together at a different house for a change." Mr.Wheeler mutters under his breath. I scoff and roll my eyes, looking back at Max's drawings. Nancy sits down next to Max, making the girl turn off her music and take off her headphones. "Hey."

"Hey. You okay?" Nancy asks.

"Just couldn't sleep. People kept blasting music in my ears, for some reason." Max jokes, getting a couple of laughs out of the three of us. "But, Holly let me borrow some of her crayons. We've been having a fun morning, right, Holly?" Holly nods, ignoring Max. Nancy looks back at the drawings, grabbing one of them. "Is this what you saw last night?"