In The Stars / Steve Harrington 3

Chapter 31

I go and sit down at one of the booths in Scoops Ahoy while I wait for the others to finish the plan. Several minutes pass and I gasp as I hear something pop behind me. I quickly get up and turn around to see one of the balloons from opening day has popped and blood is now splattered in its place. I look around as more balloons begin to pop. I look up as the menu above the cash register and the ice cream starts to deteriorate and the dust particles of the upside down start to fall around me. I gasp as the red lightning of the upside down flashes through the sun roof in Starcourt Mall.

Steve's pov

"Oh shit." I curse as I see Bella start to breath heavily and start shaking. I quickly get up and run to the window. I signal the kids but they don't signal back. I turn around as I hear the floorboards creak behind me. "Oh shit." I curse again as I see Jason come into the attic.

"Jason you can't be here right now dude." I say to him as he walks further into the attic. "What the hell have you done?" He asks as he looks at Bella. "Jason you need to leave." I say as I slowly walk closer to him. "Is this what you did to Chrissy?" He asks as he kneels down beside Bella. "Listen Jason you need to go man." I say as I walk closer to him as he puts a hand on Bella's shoulder. "Hey Bella, can you hear me?" He asks her. "Jason don't touch her." I say getting protective over Bella. "I'm not messing around." I say as he ignores me and waves his hand in front of Bella's face. "Jason please just leave!" I yell as I walk up to him. "Hey, hey, back off, back off!" Jason yells as he pulls out a pistol and aims it at me. I back away and put my hands in the air showing I mean no harm.

"We don't have to do this man." I say to him. "Yeah I hope you're right." He says. "Is there anyone else in the house?" He asks as he continues to aim his pistol at me. "No." I say calmly. "Turn around." He says quietly. "What?" I ask confused. "TURN AROUND!" He yells and I do as he says not wanting to put Bella in danger. "Put down your flashlight." He says and I slowly place my flashlight on the ground. "Empty your pockets." He says and I sigh in annoyance. "EMPTY YOUR POCKETS!" He yells after I don't do anything. I take my keys, wallet, lighter, and a picture of Bella out of my pockets.

"Now this is what's gonna happen. I'm gonna back away to the top of the stairs there and I'll watch as you wake Bella up from whatever the hell this is." Jason says and I sigh. "I can't." I say with a shake of my head. I turn around to look at him and I glance down at Bella. "Jason if I wake her to soon we all die." I say as I glare at him. "No. You don't wake her up right now you die Harrington. Just you." Jason says as he cocks his gun.

Corey's pov

Robin, Nancy, and I run into the Creel house after all the bats fly away. We open the door to see vines covering the floor of the house. "Oh shit." I curse as I look for a way through the vines. I hop over several of the vines and make my way to the staircase. "Come on." I say as I look back at the other girls. Nancy maneuvers her way around the vines and Robin does the same.

I slowly make my way up the staircase being sure to not step on any of the vines. Robin and Nancy follow my path and we make it to the top of the stairs. I see the attic door and my heart starts to beat faster. Nancy looks at me and I take the shotgun off her back and hand it to her. She gives me a nod of appreciation and I take out my axe. We start to walk towards the attic door but we stop as the ground below us starts to shake violently. We stumble backwards and the ground finally stops shaking.

We all look down as a vine wraps around Robin's ankle. Robin looks at me and screams as more vines wrap around her and pull her to the ground. The vines then pull her up onto the wall and I gasp. "Corey! Nancy!" Robin screams in fear. I run up to her and hit the vines with my axe. "Let go of my girlfriend you asshole!" I yell as I try to get the vines to let go of Robin. Nancy joins me in trying to free Robin by hitting the vines with her shotgun. A vine wraps around my wrist and yanks me back to the opposite wall. I gasp and drop my axe as several more vines wrap around me and pin me up on the wall. Vines wrap around Nancy and pin her to the wall as well.

Bella's pov

I move the shelves in the break room in front of the doors to try and baracade myself inside the room. I go to move another shelf but when I turn around I see the Creel house door replacing the previous door there. I gasp as the door slowly creeks open. "You can't hide from me Bella." I hear Vecna say.

I close my eyes and try to think of another happy memory. "You think I don't see what you're doing." Vecna says as I continue to try and focus on a happy memory. "You think I don't see everything." Vecna says as I see images flash through my mind. I see Steve being held at gunpoint in the attic by Jason. I see Corey, Robin, and Nancy in Vecna's layer being pinned up on the walls by vines. And I see Eddie being chased by bats.

"You thought you could trick me. You thought your friends could stop me. I see them. I see your friends just as clearly as I see you. I can feel them. I can feel them die." Vecna says and I open my eyes as I hear the clock chime. I look at the door to see it now open but Vecna is no where in sight. "It's time Bella." Vecna says as I look around to try and find him. "It's time." Vecna says as I spin around to see him behind me. I scream as he throws me against the wall with his powers. I scream again as I try to move but I can't. Vecna walks towards me as I try desperately to break free from his grip.