"Hey, you remember what I said last year, right? We're Zombie Boy and Ghost Boy. I'm not ever gonna leave you."
"Promise?"
"One hundred percent."
***
In which Alistair fights the monster that possessed his friend alongside his friends, while trying...
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Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Curious Case Of Victor Creel
(Dear Billy, Pt. 2)
***
As he had been expecting from the past few nights, Alistair's sleep had been filled with nightmares, more brutal and traumatising than the last few nights—as if with his death coming closer and closer, Vecna was making his nightmares worse than they already had been. Which Alistair found he hated—he was already a dead boy walking, couldn't Vecna let him have one last night of peaceful sleep?
Judging by his experience with ghosts and their listening skills when he made the same pleas, Alistair should have guessed that might not happen.
When morning finally came, Alistair dragged himself out of bed, his head pounding. He didn't go into the bathroom to grab some Tylenol—that would only tip Rowan off—so he shambled into the main living space where Rowan already was, and they had a silent breakfast of cereal. Alistair's eyebrow had raised when he saw his sister's outfit—a plain white shirt, blue denim jeans, a denim jacket that had a spot of Upside Down slime on it from three years ago, and her Docs. He didn't ask any questions, though, guessing it must have something to do with Pennhurst.
When they finished, the siblings brushed their teeth and Alistair got dressed in the same clothes as yesterday with the exception of wearing a new pair of underwear. By the time he rolled on some deodorant, Steve had arrived. The siblings got in the car, Hugin stowed away, as Steve drove to the Wheeler house. Alistair stared out the window, trying to not think today was his last day alive, that he'd spend it either finding answers or failing to find answers relating to Vecna—that was, if he could sneak out and get to Hawkins Lab without anyone in the Party noticing he was gone, or if he did find answers, deliver them before Vecna killed him.
They don't need to know. They're already worried about Max and going to Victor Creel to find a way to break the curse, they also don't need to know about Hawkins Lab if you're wrong, Alistair reminded himself as he kept staring out the window, watching the familiar streets of Hawkins blur past. Memorising it all because it might be the last time he ever saw those streets again, the last time he would ever see Hawkins.
Someone squeezed his hand and Alistair looked away to see Rowan was holding his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, obviously comforting him about Max. Alistair looked at her, hiding his thoughts about his impending death and the doubts of his hunch, as he squeezed her hand back before pulling away, looking out the window until they arrived at the Wheeler house.
They got out and headed right to the front door, Steve raising his hand to knock—only for Nancy to open the door before he could, a look of laser-focused determination that was purely Nancy Wheeler on her face as she said, "Everyone's already in the basement. I printed out copies of the Weekly Watcher article, if you want to give it a read, Steve."
