Stand by me (steve harrington)

Chpt 44: Distance

We all headed to Nancy's house as we all sat in the basement. They all caught me up to speed about everything that has been going on in Hawkins.

Vecna, who is from the upside down, is a creature that can kill people without touching them. He curses them. And by that i mean he kills them by entering their minds. I am still confused on why and how he is even here and killing people, but i didn't even want to ask.

Since we got to Nancy's house, Steve and i haven't said a word to eachother. It's like he's acting as if i'm not even there. I was going to talk to him, i just needed to find the right time.

Whilst we were all sitting around, Dustin handed us all an old newspaper article about an old murder from the 50s. The Creel murders. My dad told me about this a few years back, but i always thought it was just some psycho who went crazy and killed his family.

But now, Nancy thinks that it was actually Vecna who killed the Creel family, not the dad. "Okay, to be honest, do you guys understand any of this?" i asked.

"It's pretty straight forward" Dustin said. "Straightforward? Really?" i questioned. "What's confusing you? So far, everyone Vecna has cursed has died except for this old Victor Creel dude Nancy found. He's the only known survivor. If anyone knows how to beat the curse, it's him."

"That's assuming he was cursed, Henderson, which we don't even know... How can Vecna have existed in the 50s? It just doesn't make sense" Steve said.

"As far as we know, Eleven didn't create the upside down. She opened a gate to it. The upside down has probably been around for thousands of years. Millions even" Dustin said.

"Okay, but if a gate didn't exist in the 50s, how did Vecna get through?" Lucas asked. "Exactly" Steve and i said simultaneously. We both gave eachother an uncomfortable look as we looked away quickly.

"Also... How is he getting through now?" i asked. "And why now?" Lucas questioned. "And why then? He just pops out in the 50s, kills one family and he's like 'i'm good.' And poof, he just disappears. Just gone? Only to return thirty years later to kill some random teens? Nah, i don't buy it" Steve said.

"Straight forward my ass" i mumbled as i gave Dustin an annoyed glare. "You know, honestly Henderson, a little humility now and then, wouldn't hurt you" Steve said.

"Sorry" Dustin said sarcastically. As the two continued bickering, i looked behind me to see Max writing something down. "Any idea what she's writing?" i whispered.

Everyone shook their heads. "Did she sleep?" Dustin asked. "I mean, would you?" Lucas replied. We all jumped as we heard the basement door open. Robin and Nancy came running down the stairs with files in their hands. "Okay, so, we have a plan" Nancy said.

We all circled around the table as Nancy and Robin handed us the files they were holding. "Thanks to Nancy's newspaper minions, we are now rock star psychology students at the University Of Notre Dame" Robin said.

"I am now Ruth and this is Rose" Nancy said. "Ruth?" Steve questioned as Nancy gave him a smirk.

"So we called Pennhurst Asylum and told them we'd like to speak with Victor Creel for our thesis work as we are co-writing on paranoid schizophrenics. So now we have a meeting with the director at three o clock. So hopefully we can rid Max of this curse" Nancy said.

"I've been gone, what? Like a year, and i come back to Robin Buckley and Nancy Wheeler becoming spies" i said.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait a second. Where's my fake identity?" Steve asked. "You... Don't have one" Nancy mumbled as she walked back up the stairs.