𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻.

thirty two.

PAPA

edited.
2433 words.

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"Steve says you need to hurry!"

"Yeah? No shit!" Dustin screamed, digging through one of Eddie's drawers. "We're trying. We can't find anything."

Max turned from where she was looking beside Charlie, Robin holding up a bunch of tapes. "Seriously what is all this shit?"

"What're you even looking for?!" Eddie continued to rummage through his stuff, beyond stressed.

"Madonne, Blondie, Bowie, Beatles? Music, we need Music!"

Eddie grabbed the tape, not appreciating the insult. "This is music!"

***

"He showed me things that haven't happened yet. The most awful things."

Charlie sat quietly, her eyes focused on the floor as Nancy told them about what Vecna had shown her. "I saw...a dark cloud, spreading over Hawkins. Downtown on fire. Dead soldiers. And this, this giant creature, with a gaping mouth. And this creature wasn't alone, there were so many monsters. An army."

She paused for a moment. "And they were coming into Hawkins. Into our Neighborhoods, our homes. And then...He showed me my mom, Holly, Mike. And they...We were all..." She fell silent.

"Okay but he was just trying to scare you Nance, I mean it's not real." Steve reasoned.

Nancy shook her head. "Not yet. But there...there was something else." Charlie raised her eyes, Nancy continuing on. "He showed me gates. Four gates. Spreading across Hawkins. And these gates, it looked like the one inside of Eddie's trailer, but they didn't stop growing. And this wasn't the upside down Hawkins, this was our Hawkins. Our home."

"Four chimes."

Charlie moved her eyes to max, the redhead leaning against the doorway. "Vecna's clock. It always chimes four times. Four exactly."

Nancy thought for a moment, recalling what she had seen. "I heard them too."

"He's been telling us his plan this whole time." Max shrugged, Lucas looking up with wide eyes. "Four kills. Four gates. End of the world."

Dustin shook his head, exchanging glances with Charlie. "If that's true, he's only one kill away."

"Oh Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ." Eddie held his head in his hands.

Steve shook his head. "Try 'em again. Try 'em again."

Charlie stood marching out of the room and over to the phone. She dialed her home number, praying for anyone to answer.

"Anything?"

She shook her head, slamming the phone back down. "No, busy signals."

Lucas shook his head, "How is that possible?"

Dustin rolled his eyes, "I told you Joyce has this telemarketer job, she's always on the phone. Mike won't stop whining about it."

Charlie shook her head. "This isn't Joyce, something's wrong."

"She's right, it can't be a coincidence, it can't be." Nancy stood, walking over to the window. "But Vecna can't hurt them. Not if he's dead. We have to go back in there, to the Upside Down."

Eddie and Steve but shook their heads. "Nope."

"No, no, no, no. Let's think this through." Steve argued, Nancy whipping to face him.