"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 Seventy-Five: Visions And Plans
(Papa, Pt. 2)
***
Movement woke Alistair up from what had been a, surprisingly, dreamless sleep.
Blinking his eyes open groggily, Alistair registered the ache in his neck and back from sleeping upright against a cabinet as he saw Dustin, Lucas, Cami, Erica and Robin stirring awake, as on the bed, Max rewrapped an already-awake Valerie's neck injury—where Alistair saw it was a burn in the shape of what almost looked like a bite.
Alistair shuddered, deciding not to think about the type of monster that could leave bites like that lurking in the Upside Down—that could have left similar bites on Rowan and Steve and be responsible for those rings around their necks—as Max finished wrapping it up and Alistair registered faint movement—Eddie, Leo and Nancy waking up as well, probably.
Which meant in a couple minutes, Nancy and Rowan would be telling them what they saw last night.
Alistair's stomach churned—he didn't want to think about his sister being in the trance he'd been in, how close Vecna had come to killing her were it not for music. About what Vecna must have shown Nancy to tell them, the only reason Alistair could think of for Vecna sparing her life. But whatever they had seen, whatever Vecna had shown Nancy... they would need to know.
They had to know.
So Alistair got up, wincing as his back protested against the movement, Hugin cawing from his spot in his hair as Lucas, Dustin, Erica, Cami and Robin fully woke up, Robin looking at Valerie in concern as Max said, "Okay, I'm done."
"Gracias, Max," Valerie mumbled, giving the redhead a grateful smile. Max returned it.
That seemed to be the sign for them to leave and head into the living room, Robin hovering close to Valerie—something that had Alistair raise his eyebrows—as they walked out of Max's room, until only him and Max were left.
But before Max could leave, Alistair held her arm and asked, "You okay, Max?"
Max bit her lip, hesitating, before she admitted, "No, not really. Vecna... he's gone after both you and Rowan now, and he... he almost killed you both. If Eddie didn't find that tape, I could have lost Rowan last night, just like I... like I lost Billy."
Grief and guilt shadowed Max's face, before she whispered, "I can't lose you guys, too. I can't lose my other brother and my sister."
Alistair's heart cracked as much as it surged in hearing he and Rowan were like siblings to Max before he pulled her into a hug, feeling the redhead shudder against him, biting back a sob.
"You won't," he promised. "You're not gonna lose us, Max. Just like we aren't gonna lose you. Vecna isn't gonna get us, and he isn't gonna get you. Not again. Never again. We'll kill the bastard before he does."
