Another side

Chapter 20

Robin, Nancy, and I run into the school as fast as we can. While we were driving, Billy radioed us and said there was something wrong with Max. When we get there is Max is now fine but I'm still very concerned for her.  Max leads us to where she saw what she saw. "It was here. Right here." Nancy looks at her. "A grandfather clock?" She nods. "It was so real. And then, when I got closer, suddenly I just... I woke up." Dustin looks at us. "It was like she was in a trance or something. Exactly what Eddie said happened to Chrissy."

Max turns to us. "That's not even the bad part." We go back to Miss Kelley's office. "Fred and Chrissy, they both came to Miss Kelley for help. Uh, they both were having headaches, bad headaches that just wouldn't go away. And then.... then the nightmares. Trouble sleeping. They'd wake up in a cold sweat. Then they started seeing things. Bad things. From their pasts. These visions, they just... they kept on getting worse and worse, until eventually.... everything ended."

Robin looks up at her. "Vecna's curse." Max looks down at the files. "Chrissy's headache started a week ago. Fred's, six days ago. I've been having them for five days. I don't know how long I have. All I know is that, for Fred and Chrissy, they both died less than 24 hours after their first vision. And I just saw that goddamn clock, so.... looks like I'm gonna die tomorrow." Billy's face drops and I grab his hand. 

Suddenly there's a distant clang. We all look towards the door. Steve looks at us. "Stay here." We don't listen and we follow after him. There's another clang but it's getting closer. Suddenly the sounds of footsteps are heard too. Suddenly Lucas rounds the corner and we all scream. I fall back and Billy catches me. "You okay?" I nod. "Yeah, thanks." Lucas explains that Jason and gang of friends are trying to catch Eddie and they think Dustin knows where he is and that Dustin is in terrible danger. 

"All right. Yeah, that definitely sucks, but we've got bigger problems than Jason now." We all look back at Max. Lucas' eyes widen as he senses that something is really wrong. We go back to the Wheelers' house. I go with Nancy and Robin and we go to Nancy's newspaper minions who make fake papers for Nancy and Robin to be psychology students. Nancy and Robin want me to go with them but I opt to stay with Max. 

We go back to the house and we tell the others the plan. That's when Steve realises that there's not one for him. He goes upstairs to fight with Robin and Nancy and Billy and I follow because we're nosy. "Nancy, you're outta your mind if you think I'm babysitting again." "First, they're not babies anymore. And Max is in real danger. She needs people around her." "I know. But why me? Billy and Jessica will be there. Is that not enough?" 

I look at him from my spot on the bed. Robin walks in and she looks at something. "Oh my God, you have a Tom Cruise poster." She smirks at Nancy. "You have a Tom Cruise poster." "That's old."  Billy walks around and looks at the photos. "Ooh, Baby JJ." Steve goes back to arguing with Nancy. "I can't do anything here, Nance. Maybe I can be helpful with this asylum director dude. I don't know. I could turn on my....my charm.

I look at him. "That's not the kind of charm they need." He looks at me offended. "Ouch." Nancy shakes her head. "What she means is... we did some digging last night, and it turns out this Dr Hatch is a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Harvard visiting scholar, okay? This is a lifelong student of the world. If we're gonna win him over, we're gonna have to convince him we are too. That, like him... we are true academic scholars."

Robin opens Nancy's music box. "Holy shit. There's a little ballerina in here." I smile. Steve looks at her. "Academic scholar? She's giving you an academic scholar vibe? Yeah. You would have been better off with Jess." "Except Jess doesn't want to go. And Robin will give an academic scholar vibe when I'm done with her." She brings out an outfit I know Robin will hate wearing. Her face drops and I cover my mouth with my hands to hold in my laugh. 

The two girls leave and Steve, Billy and I go back downstairs. We all watch Max as she writes and I'm really curious to see what she's writing. "I know you guys are staring at me." We all turn away and start mumbling random questions like "Oh, sorry what?" and "Did you need something? "How you think your eyes boring into the back of my head is protecting me from Vecna, I don't know." She walks up to us. I look at her but the boys still have their heads turned away.

I sigh. "You can look at her now, shitheads." They all turn towards her mumbling apologies. She starts handing out envelopes and she hands one to me. Billy looks at it confused before she hands him one. She hands me two more. "This is for El and Will." Then she hands one to Lucas. "This is for Mike." We both nod. I know what these are. They're for us, incase she dies, but the boys don't seem to get. 

Dustin starts to open his envelope and Max looks at him panicked. "Don't open it now!" He immediately stops opening it. He looks at her. "Okay, sorry. What is this exactly?" She sighs. "It's a fail-safe. For after. If things don't work out." "Wait, whoa. Max, things are gonna work out." She looks at Lucas. "No! No, I don't need you to reassure and tell me it's all gonna work out. People have been telling me that my whole life and it's almost never true. It's never true. I mean, of course this asshole curses me. Should've seen that one coming."

She goes up and grabs the walkie on the table. "If we go to East Hawkins, will this still reach Pennhurst?" Dustin nods. "Of course." Steve looks at her. "Why are we talking about East Hawkins?" She looks at him. "No. No. No!" She grabs her bag and starts walking and we follow behind her. "Max, Max. Seriously. Seriously, I'm not joking, okay? I'm not driving you anywhere." Billy looks at him. "Then I'll drive." I nod. "Or I will." 

We look at him challengingly and he hides his keys. "Absolutely not." Max glares at him. If you think that I'm going to spend what is likely the last day of my life in the armpit that is Mike Wheeler's basement, you're out of your mind. Either take me where I need to go or tie me down, which is technically kidnapping of a minor. And if I live to see another day, Steve, I swear to God, I will prosecute." She gets to his car and tries to open the door. It's locked of course.

"Open the door." "Uh, no." "I know a good lawyer." Steve scoffs before unlocking the car. Dustin tries to sit in the front but I push him back. "Best friend privileges means I sit in the front." He looks at me. "I'm his best friend." "No, I am. Have been since we were in the seventh grade." He sighs before going to sit in the trunk of the car. Firstly we drive to the Mayfield's house. Billy offers to go with Max but Max shakes her head saying she wants to go alone so we let her.

When she comes back she's in a bad state and she took longer than 20 seconds. We all ask her if she's ok but she just tells Steve to drive. Billy puts his hand over hers offering comfort and hesitantly she rests her head on his shoulder. We end up at the cemetery and Lucas runs after Max. Billy looks uncomfortable to be here and I grab his hand. He pulls me closer resting his chin on my head. Lucas comes back looking defeated.

We leave her alone there giving her the time to say what she needs to say to her brother. Finally Steve decides that he's calling it and if she wants to call a lawyer on him, she can. Billy and I nod. He walks up to her and we immediately know something is wrong when he starts shaking her. We run up and she's in a trance. We shake her as hard as we can. She needs to wake up. Oh, god. I need her to wake up. Billy needs her to wake up. We all need her to wake up. Steve yells at Dustin to call Nancy and Robin. 

We are panicking. Suddenly Dustin comes running and he has some tapes and Max's walkman. "We need to find her favourite song!" Lucas starts wasting time asking why but I know we don't have time so I just start passing them to Billy hoping maybe she mentioned something in one of their phone calls or something. Finally Lucas finds it and we put it into the walkman and we start playing it. I hope to God that this works. 

It doesn't seem to be working and she starts rising from the ground. My eyes widen as I yell for Max with the others. Hopefully she can hear us and our voices will lead her out of this trance. Billy has tears brimming in his eyes. He looks so panicked. Suddenly Max drops to the ground and she's breathing very hard. Lucas grabs her and holds her tight and Billy grabs her from the other side. Lucas has tears streaming down his face. "I thought we lost you." She shakes her head. "I'm still here." I hug her too and we all surround her. I'm so glad, she's ok.