Insane in the membrane-Stranger things

Chapter 47

The group walked across the park towards Max's trailer, Jess and Steve had their fingers intertwined as they walked. Steve could feel how hard Jess's nails were digging into his palm. ''You okay, Jessie bear?'' he asked.

''People really need to stop asking me that when they know the answer, how the hell am I meant to be okay when I nearly just died? Nothing about what we are doing is okay, one of us will die and I want it to be me so nobody has to go through any more pain,'' Jess replied.

''Don't say anything like that, okay? You are Jess Henderson for fuck sake, you're Dustin's older badass and gorgeous sister who can fight on monsters head on from the upside down and if you ever died well I would never be able to live with myself. You had no idea how scared I was, how panicked I was when I saw you under Vecna's curse, and if I had lost you in that moment then I would never want to live with myself,'' Steve explained.

''I love you, Steve Harrington, I love you so, so much, you always just know exactly what to say. You've gotten better at saying what you mean, you have really improved on using your voice with admitting heart to hearts,'' Jess told her boyfriend.

''Awww thank you, Jessie bear means a lot,'' Steve smiled as he planted a small kiss to her temple.

When they entered Max's trailer, Jess took a seat in front of everyone as she admitted everything that Vecna showed her, she struggled to do it due to her words coming out cracked and shaky but she pushed through. ''He showed me things that haven't happened yet, the most awful things. I saw a dark cloud spreading over Hawkins, downtown on fire, dead soldiers and this...giant creature with... a gaping mouth and this creature wasn't alone. There were so many monsters. An army and they were coming into Hawkins. Into our neighbourhoods. Our homes. Then it showed me, my mum...Dustin and all of my friends and they were all...they were all...all of you were...''

''Okay, but he's just trying to scare you into getting what he wants,'' Steve told her. ''Right? I mean it's not real.''

''Not yet but there was something, he showed me a gate. Four gates, spreading across Hawkins and these gates they looked exactly like the one down at Eddie's trailer but....they....they just didn't stop growing and this wasn't the upside down version of Hawkins, this was our Hawkins, our home,'' Jess explained, tears in her eyes.

''Four times, Vecna's clock it always chimes four times,'' Max realised.

''Four exactly, I heard them too,'' Jess admitted.

''He's been telling us his plan this whole time. Four kills. Four gates. End of the world,'' Max said.

''If that's true...he's only one kill away,'' Jess realised, clapping a hand to her mouth.

''Oh, Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ,'' Eddie said with his head in his hands.

Max grabbed a hold of the phone that was in her trailer to see if she could get a hold of the Byers and El, it rang a few times but nothing happened and she put it back down. She shrugged.

''Try em' again, try em' again,'' Dustin demanded.

Max tried again and the same thing happened and there was no answer, she slammed the phone back onto its holder once again.

''Anything?''

''No, it rang a few times but went straight away went to busy signal,'' Max replied.

''Maybe you punched it in wrong,'' Steve suggested.

''I didn't punch it in wrong,'' Max rolled her eyes.

''I think she knows how to use a phone, Steve,'' Dustin rolled his eyes too.