Billy's gone.
Ruby Buckley's world ended with him.
But Hawkins isn't done with her yet.
When strange deaths begin again, Ruby is pulled into the heart of the storm. Between shadowy nightmares, the town's newest outcast, and someone she was never s...
( songs for the chapter ) back to the old house // the smiths gold dust woman // fleetwood mac
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Nancy fought with the doorknob for a moment, her breath sharp and shallow, before it rattled and finally gave way.
The Upside Down version of the Wheeler house greeted them like a memory left out in the rain. Vines crawled over the walls in ropey, parasitic coils; grime dulled what used to be familiar outlines. That strange floating debris, dead snowflakes suspended in stale air, drifted through the foyer, and Ruby's stomach tightened. This place had taught her what real dread tasted like.
Steve slipped in behind Nancy. She froze in the ruined shadow of her home, her hands trembling just enough for Ruby to notice. Steve swept his flashlight toward the dining room and moved ahead, the beam cutting through the murk like a blade.
"Might be time to get a maid, Wheeler," Robin muttered as Eddie stepped in last and pulled the warped door shut.
"Come on," Nancy sighed. "I don't want to stay here longer than we have to."
Her voice trembled on the edges. She headed upstairs. Ruby followed close behind; Robin, Eddie, and Steve trailed them like a mismatched procession.
Nancy hesitated at her bedroom door. It was already open. The room seemed to lean toward her, studying her, like it recognized her more intimately than she recognized herself. The familiarity hurt.
Ruby reached out to steady Nancy with a gentle touch to the shoulder, but Nancy only gave a small, tight smile and crossed to the wardrobe. The rest of them followed, soft-footed, like they didn't want to disturb something sacred.
Nancy yanked the wardrobe doors open, grabbed a shoebox from the top shelf, and carried it to her desk. She tore off the lid and rifled through the wax paper with frantic fingers, only to reveal a pair of old heels.
"Those aren't guns," Eddie said.
Nancy checked beneath them, nothing.
"These heels are a bit pointy," Robin offered, "but I was hoping for something along the lines of a deadly projectile."
"I don't understand," Nancy murmured, her voice small in a way Ruby had rarely heard.
"Maybe you left them somewhere else?" Eddie suggested.
"There's a six-year-old in the house. I know where I keep my guns." Nancy's jaw tightened. "And also, I threw these away years ago."
Her gaze drifted across the desk. Ruby followed it to the scattered notes, pages curled and yellowing. Nancy gathered them, skimming through with stiff fingers. Ruby caught flashes of words, elements, electron configuration, basic bonds. Chemistry notes.
