love me - stranger things²

[027] doubles.

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

doubles.

IT WERE AS IF THE FORM LYING ON THE GROUND STARED BACK AT HER, CALLING FOR HER TO COME CLOSER, LIKE A SIREN CALLING OUT TO A PIRATE AT SEA ONLY TO LURE THEM TO JUMP INTO ITS DEPTHS. Her feet moved before she could stop them, leading her closer and closer to the shape. An alarmed breath escaped Jennifer's throat, her hand reaching up to cover her mouth, her eyes locking with Barbra's dull ones. She'd found her, but at what cost? Liquid flowed from her mouth, her face entirely disfigured, and her body crumpled against the side of the empty pool. "Do you remember that night, Jennifer?" A voice called out, sinister and unforgiving in tone, sounding as if it were accusing her of something. "Or have you already forgotten? When I kill someone... I never forget." As liquid fell from the edges of the pool, thick, and dark in colour, Jennifer spun in circles, unsure of what to do, where to go next.

Her eyes locked onto the pool leader, black tar-like liquid splashing against her shoes as she rushed toward it, using all her strength to pull herself up, the lack of fresh air not helping in the slightest. When she looked up, Jennifer didn't see Steve's house as she had expected, instead, she was met with the remnants of one, rubble floating throughout the blood-red sky, the creaky broken stairs groaning beneath her weight. Each step she took down the stairs felt worse than the one before, the large grandfather clock chiming as it floated in mid-air.

"I see you've been looking for me, Jennifer." The same voice spoke out. "You were so close. So close to the truth. How was old, blind, dumb Victor?" It questioned. Jennifer felt a sense of confusion flowing through her system. She hadn't even looked for Vecna herself. Had she? At that point, she couldn't even remember what had happened in the last twenty-four hours let alone the past few days. She had been running from him, searching for clues, perhaps that was enough to be put on Vecna's hit list. "Did he miss me? I've been meaning to check back in, but I've been busy."

The more her eyes searched the wreckage, the more familiar it became. Max's drawing. She'd stayed sceptical for a few moments, though, the sight of Chrissy's body, cracked and broken to be wrapped around a pillar and held up by vines only confirmed her suspicions. A shaky breath escaped her lips, her bottom lip softly trembling, her brows screwed up. "So very busy."

Jennifer's eyes locked onto the door that was left still standing, the glass clean and well-kept. It was as if the sun shone through it, the red rose practically glowing. She hadn't even been given the chance to realise what was happening, the house practically putting itself back together around her, the sky's red hue dissipating. A family of four stepped into the house, Jennifer quickly recognised them as the Creel family from what she had seen in the newspaper articles she'd read over at least a hundred times.

Despite the fact she stood right in front of them, it were as if she wasn't even there, Alice Creel running right past her and up the grand stairs Jennifer had been on only moments before. Jennifer watched Victor Creel stand silently at the doorway, his face sullen, looking up at her as if he could see her. The boy began to venture through the large manor, Jennifer finding herself following behind him cautiously, watching as he lifted the vent in the bathroom, lowering his hand inside before pulling it back out with a large spider crawling all over it.

Jennifer's body spun around, the sound of footsteps behind her reaching her ears, slowly moving to follow what appeared to be a slightly Victor Creel. The boy sat in the attic, candles lit, jars sitting in front of him filled with a number of different arachnids, the book resenting in his lap presenting a meticulously drawn red-back spider.