Panic Room

11

Welcome to the panic room

You'll know I wasn't joking

When you see them too, see them too

"Max!"

Suddenly Billy was gone, and Will was standing infront of her. They were still in the maze.

"Will! Where- how- what-"

"No time for questions! We have to go now." Will grabbed her arm and dragged her through the maze. He took her around corner after corner, until max was almost positive they were going in circles.

"Will! What's happening?! You and Steve up and disappeared!"

"I'll explain later, just don't look back."

Of course, Max promptly looks behind her, only to see the creatures chasing after them.

"WHAT THE HECK IS HAPPENING?!" Max demanded.

"Vecna's trapped you in your own head. Your body is still where it was, but your consciousness is stuck here." Will explained. "The same thing happened with Steve. Vecna tricked him into the Upside Down."

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah, but he doesn't even acknowledge that I'm here. He's trapped in the nightmare Vecna crafted for him.

"But I'm not crazy?"

"Is that really what you're concerned about right now?!" Will looked back at her exasperated.

"Yes, because everything else about this is currently tracking for the kind of chaos the Upside Down involves us in."

"Fair." Will conceded. "We need to get to Steve, we've been trying to free him, but nothing's been working."

"We?" Max questioned as they turned one last corner, only to be plunged into a dark hallway.

Steve was there, exhausted and determined. He was switching between running and stumbling over his own feet as creatures got steadily closer and tried to grab his feet. The end of the hallway Steve was running toward was bright with white light, but he was getting no closer, dodging the new creatures that appeared out of the darkness and joined in the chase.

Max was about to ask when Eddie appeared behind Steve, those wings spread wide, and blood dripping from his mouth as he bit and tore into any of the creatures that got too close.

"Why did Steve's consciousness bring Eddie back like that?" Max questioned.

"Eddie's alive, I don't have time to explain." Will started pushing her closer to Steve, as the creatures following them started to get closer.

"Will Byers, what do you think you're doing?!" Max tried resisting, but Will was a lot stronger than the last time she'd seen him.

"You need to get in there. We think Steve might start waking up and make progress if someone is joining the chase with him."

"Why can't you do it?!"

"Because I'm helping Eddie! Now go!" Will shoved her right next to Steve. "Make sure he doesn't stop running."

Max was about to ask more questions when Will disappeared, and she found her feet automatically keeping up with Steve's pace.

Steve did a double take and stumbled worse than he ever had when he saw Max.

"Max?! What are you doing here?"

"Don't worry about that right now!" Max looked behind them to see her own creatures had joined the chase. "Just keep running, whatever happens, don't stop!"

Guess Max Mayfield would get her blaze of glory after all. It only made sense it would have something to do with the Hell known as the Upside Down. but she wasn't new to its horrors. It had only been a matter of time before she got thrown back into it anyway.

Hell raising, hair raising

I'm ready for the worst