𝗨𝗚𝗟𝗬 // 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻

039

Seeing the usually loud and bright hallways of Hawkins High suddenly dull and empty confused me. As we walked through, basically tip toeing, I wondered if the day or night was scarier. A part of me felt it was less terrifying now, without all the people, without all their stories and whispers.

I'd never broken into anywhere before last summer, now it seems to be a common occurrence, can't the bad guys leave a door open for once?

"Get your ass over here, stat." Dustin orders Robin through the walkie talkie, causing an ease of tight anxiety in my chest. Robin would be here soon, everything would be ok. She's ok.
A part of me feared the worst when her and Nancy went off together, plus they'd been gone for so long. Robin wasn't really the Wheeler girls biggest fan.

Max opened the door with ease, as if uncaring, which was probably accurate and we rushed our way inside, opening the file drawers straight away.
The ginger girl goes through the files as Steve flashes his torch around the room, glancing around everywhere but the dark hallway outside the door, I stifle a giggle at his obvious fright.

I go to speak, to make fun of him, but he stops for a moment and freezes, looking down at the desk in front of him, "Ruby... your file is out."
I've never felt my heart jump so fast, so hard. There was information in that file I hadn't spoken to Steve yet, I wasn't ready to, if he saw it.. what would he think of me?

Luckily it seems as soon as he realised his head had snapped towards the ceiling, suddenly finding the architecture very interesting. My legs sprung into action, rushing to stand in front of Steve and close the file, briefly noticing notes from our last conversation written so largely cross the page. I hope to whatever God there is left that Steve didn't see anything.

"Holy Shit."

The sudden sentence made me jump, butt he rest of the group re,aimed calm, simply asking, "Did you find Chrissy's file?"

"Not just that.." the ginger girl directs our attention to the piece of parchment I'm her hand, "Fred was seeing Miss Kelly too."

Steve visibly stiffens besides me.
I know what he's thinking, he's easy to read, I place my hand softly on his arm and start to rub soothingly, "I'm sure it's just a coincidence." He doesn't seem to believe me, but he eases slightly.

She slams the files on her desk, scanning them carefully with her eyes, seeming to note so,etching down in her mind, "can I see Fred's file?" I don't feel fear in these moments, but Steve's heart seems to be beating out of its chest as he stays eyeing Max carefully, handing her Fred's file like his lifeline depended on it, like I was his lifeline.

"Severe headaches.. nose bleeds... nightmares.." she pauses and awkwardly shuffles, "past trauma." Steve's eyes glance to me, just for a moment, but long enough for me to notice.

Dustin stands behind her, voice croaking slightly as he makes the connection, "they both had the same symptoms."

Steve releases himself from my touch and is suddenly very jittery, eyes glancing everywhere around the room as if waiting for something to jump out, "what so this thing is just targeting Miss Kelly's patients?!" His eyes look down to me, fear, hurt, longing, all emotions I see him hiding within his soul in this moment, "Ruby..." his voice is accusing.

"Steve it's nothing, a coincidence."

"A coincidence? Bullshit Ruby you can't believe that," he's never sworn at me before, "and I-" he stumbles across his words as he suddenly looks behind him, as I checking for some,thing once more, or maybe just embarrassed. When he turns to face me again, he doesn't meet my eyes, "and I just can't risk it."

There's a moment where none of us say anything.

"Ruby what if this thing comes for you too."
I try to place my hand on his arm, but he grabs it and interlocks my fingers with his, eyes suddenly locked with mine, "I can't risk anything happening to you."

"Steve..." I couldn't pretend I wasn't afraid or concerned, my chest had dropped when I'd realised how close to the danger I just might be. My breathe had hitched, my heartbeat had quickened, but I couldn't show it. He couldn't know I felt this fear. Not now anyways.

So I started to convince myself he was wrong, that there was no way I fitted any part of the victim profile. I ignored the headaches I'd been getting the past couple of weeks and decided it was simply coincidence, bad timing, seasonal allergies, stress. Anything but this monster.

"I'm fine. I haven't had any of the symptoms!" I gesture to the files on the desk, "I don't fit the victim profile Steve."

The headaches were nothing. Barely existent.

"But what if you do! What if they start! Ruby how can you not be afraid right now?"
His voice is slightly more raised, croaking slightly as he tries to remain quiet in the currently abandoned building.

"Why aren't you scared?" His voice is softer now, but with his words comes the familiar chiming in my head, the echo of past pains. I shake it off. Thinking about the headaches so much probably made them appear again.

"Steve.." I don't know what I'm trying to convince him really, realistically he's right to be afraid, but I'm fine.
Someone like me doesn't make a very good victim.
I'm not important enough.

"Ruby!" His voice is louder than mine, so I reply again,
"Steve!"

"Guys..." we're cut off by Dustin, who seems to of witnessed our whole conversation, but is now focused on the red headed girl sat frozen at the desk, "what's up with Max?"

We shuffle over to the desk once more, where she seems to be sat, frozen, eyes flickering as of between this world and the next. As I stare at her more a pain inside my temple begins to grow, like a needle.

It builds slowly, like a clock ticking. The pain repeats itself in almost a rhythm.

I push through, I have to push through.

"Max!" Steve places his hand on her shoulders and gently shakes her, but she stays the same. She's stuck in her trance until I call her name next and she seems to snap out of it.
"Max?"

It's like she's breathing for the first time when she suddenly seems to awake, glancing around at us as if confused how she could possible be in the room.
She doesn't say anything, simply gets up from the chair, leaving it untucked and walking like a zombie into the hallway.

When Robin and Nancy finally arrive she's still standing in the same spot, In a trance of her own now.
"The same thing happened to Chrissy..." Dustin fills Nancy and Robin in on what they missed as the Wheeler sisters eyebrows furrow in confusion and sympathy.

She finally speaks,

"That's not even the worst part."