╔══════✮❁•°♛°•❁✮ ══════╗

𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗚𝗔𝗡

epilogue:
the beginning of the end

╚══════✮❁•°♛°•❁✮══════╝

SERENITY WAS NO stranger to how such a short amount of time could change everything.

First, it was the Demorgogon. It had just been one night, but that one night left her with emotional scars to last a lifetime. Then it had been the Mind Flayer — both in its smoke form and its flesh form. Those situations had only lasted a couple of days, but it was enough to beat Serenity down until it felt like she was drowning. And then Vecna, who had caused her pain for five days until she escaped.

But they weren't done with Vecna, yet. Not even close. Because according to Nancy, he had gotten away before they could really kill him, which meant that his reign of terror over Hawkins was still going to happen.

It had been officially two days since that fateful night, where Max sacrificed herself for Serenity. Max had immediately been brought to the hospital, casts placed on her arms and legs to heal her broken bones. The heart monitor said that she was alive, and she was still breathing, but she was in a coma. It had been a miracle that she was alive, according to the doctors, but they didn't know when — or if — she was going to wake up.

Serenity had gone to visit Max twice in those two days. Steve had gone with her. After the events, it was no surprise that they were sticking together like glue. Serenity didn't cry when she went, though. It seemed like this was enough to actually make her go numb. As much as she wanted to sob and scream and shit like that, she wasn't sure if she could.

Lucas was always at the hospital. He practically lived there. Each day, he went early in the morning and stayed late at night — practically when visiting hours were offered. Erica would go with him, and Lucas would just read to Max, hoping, praying that she would have some sort of reaction. She never did, though.

His face was badly bruised from Jason, along with Serenity's back and a little of her stomach. Serenity wasn't really sure she could blame Jason for what he did, though. Sure, he might've not gone about it in the right way, but love blinded him. The pain of losing Chrissy had sent him into a rage and he wasn't thinking straight.

Dustin was also hurt. Serenity was right — he had hurt his leg. But that didn't really compare to the emotional damage he had received. Serenity had held him in her arms as he sobbed and sobbed and told her how Eddie had sacrificed himself to the Demo-Bats because he didn't want to run away this time. Out of all her years of knowing Dustin, she had never heard him cry like that.

Serenity had been tired since 1983 when this shit all started. She just wanted it all to stop. However, she knew it wouldn't just happen so easily. They had a war to right.

The entire town of Hawkins was basically getting deserted. All four Gates opening had quite literally torn the town apart. Black billows of smoke from burning buildings spiraled up into the sky, and helicopters flew overhead. Everyone was convinced that it was just an earthquake, but the select few who knew about the Upside Down knew better. Twenty-two people were already confirmed to be dead, but so many others were either missing or in the hospital. To help the remaining population and those who had lost their homes, Hawkins High School had been converted into a shelter to help everyone.

Serenity and Spencer were among those who were leaving. Spencer had practically yelled at Serenity when she saw him again, demanding where the hell she had been because of the earthquake, but it was only a couple of minutes before the two of them were reduced to sobs and clutching at each other. Their parents had shown up out of the blue again — and a shiver went up Serenity's spine remembering how Vecna pretended to be her mother.

They had given the siblings a choice to stay or leave, but that they were getting the hell out of there. Spencer had agreed to go, and although Serenity never imagined living a life outside of Hawkins completely, it was only a couple more months until she started college. As much as Serenity didn't want to leave her kids, she didn't have much of a choice. So, she was leaving. Around the house that was never a home, their life was packed up into boxes.

Serenity knew she wasn't leaving, though. Not until all of this was done.

Speaking of moving out, the Wheelers were also leaving. Practically everyone was. She was in the driveway of the familiar house she had spent so much time at, where they always seemed to congregate when something went wrong. They were packing up Steve's car with things to donate for the town — just her, Steve, Nancy, Robin, and Dustin. Honestly, Serenity was just glad to be out of that house and with the people she cared about who all experienced the same horrors she had.

Serenity placed a box into his trunk, looking down at it with a sigh. "This is the blanket Mike threw up on after I told him he shouldn't jump on the couch after eating."

"Wow, what a fond memory," Steve commented, pressing his arm further into her shoulder. Like she said — they were like glue right now. "How weird is it to see the house empty?"

"Pretty fucking weird." Serenity looked up at him. "I spent so much time in there."

"Someone order a pizza?" Karen then asked.

"Pizza?" Dustin repeated in confusion.

There was a loud honking noise. Serenity's eyebrows knit in confusion as she turned around, managing to get tucked under Steve's arm as she did so. Pulling up on the cul-de-sac was a Surfer Boy Pizza van, which was weird, because they definitely did not have Surfer Boy Pizza where they were.

The passenger door suddenly opened. Out came a boy with long hair and very eccentric clothes, who Serenity didn't recognize at all. But then, out of the back and from the drivers seat, came none other than Mike Wheeler, Will Byers, Jonathan Byers, and Eleven.

Serenity straightened up, her mouth falling open in shock as she stared at them. She had been so fucking worried for them this entire time, and here they were, completely fine. The thought of seeing three of her kids and one of her best friends alive made a huge weight fall off of her shoulders.

"Oh my God," Serenity breathed out.

She took multiple steps forwards, detaching herself from Steve. Those from the van broke into a run to meet the ones they wanted to — Mike with his mom, Nancy with Jonathan, Eleven with Dustin. But Serenity . . . Serenity barely had time to blink before a head of brown hair rushed up to her and basically threw herself in her arms. Serenity caught him, just like she always did, although it was a lot harder now because Will had gotten so God damn tall.

"Renny," Will said, and hearing him say it in person to her after months made her want to cry.

"Hey," she replied, letting out a small laugh.

She gripped onto Will tighter. Inwardly, he let out a breath of relief, and some of the tension drained from his body. Ever since they had crossed that border into Hawkins, he could feel everything again. Yet, right now, being back in the embrace of the one person who had cared for him practically his entire life, he seemed to feel okay again.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Serenity told him, pulling away enough to take his face in her hands. "I've been worried sick about you. You haven't been answering."

"It's been crazy," Will revealed. "A really long story. Mostly has to do with El."

Serenity looked over. Hovering by the side, practically buzzing in anticipation for a hug, was Eleven. Serenity let her hands fall from Will's face and extended her arms out to Eleven. Eleven smiled at her and sunk into Serenity's arms. Serenity held her tight, turning her head and pressing a kiss to Eleven's — which was bald now, a very stark contrast to the long hair she had been growing.

"Hi, sweetheart," Serenity greeted, squeezing Eleven once before letting go entirely. She ran her hand gently over Eleven's buzzcut. "This is new."

"Renny," Eleven stated, and Serenity noticed how much better her speech had gotten. "We have a lot to tell you."

"I know." Serenity glanced in between Eleven and Will, who had just stopped hugging. "We do, too."

"Where's Lucas?" Will questioned.

"He's at the hospital," Dustin responded.

"Is he hurt?" El inquired.

Serenity frowned. "Oh. You don't know." She let out a deep breath. "I'll have Nancy and Jonathan take you guys to the hospital, okay? Nancy will explain everything on the way there."

"What about you?" Will asked. "Aren't you coming?"

"I would, but . . ." Serenity looked over his shoulder to see Steve and Robin greeting Jonathan, her eyes lingering on Steve. "That one won't let me out of his sight."

Eleven nodded in understanding. "Boyfriend."

"Yeah," Serenity agreed, smiling softly. Unlike how she had done the same thing when she returned that night at the Byers', Serenity could actually agree. "Boyfriend." She put one hand on Will's shoulder and the other on Eleven's. "I'll see you two later, okay? Promise."

The two nodded. Serenity then let them go and turned to see the last of her kids waiting for her. Mike Wheeler, tall as ever, had his hands clasped behind his back. Serenity gave him a look and reached out, pressing up onto her toes and putting his arms around his neck. Mike let out a sigh and put her arms around her waist, practically towering over her now.

Serenity put a hand on the back of his head, drawing him in closer. "I'm sorry your vacation didn't turn out the way you thought it would."

"I'm sorry we couldn't contact you," Mike replied. "We weren't allowed."

"It's okay. You're here now, and that's what matters."

Serenity pulled away from him. She knew he would be going to the hospital — after all, whenever anything had to do with Eleven, Mike was always there. Serenity then walked up to the group of teenagers — Nancy, Robin, and Jonathan. Her grin widened a bit at Jonathan, whose hair was longer than she had ever seen. Jonathan immediately hugged Serenity tight, practically picking her up off the ground.

She laughed a little. "Hey."

"Hi, Renny," Jonathan voiced. He let her go and ruffled her hair a bit, making her push his hand away. "Steve was just telling me . . . God, Renny, I'm so glad you're okay."

Serenity shook her head, leaning comfortably into Steve's side, who put an arm around her. "Yeah, well. Max isn't, and it was supposed to be me, so . . ." She then looked seriously at him. "Take Will, El, and Mike to her, please. They have to go."

Jonathan nodded. Nancy disappeared to get a jacket so Eleven could be more hidden. Serenity sighed and turned, walking with Steve back to his car so the two of them plus Robin and Dustin could go to the shelter.

She was happy they were back — having all of her kids, her friends, and her boyfriend in one place. It just felt incomplete without Max, and all Serenity could do was have faith she would wake up.

❯ ────── ｢ ✾ ｣ ────── ❮

THE SCHOOL WAS packed, crowds of people going in and out.

It gave Serenity flashbacks to the day before spring break — everyone going to the pep rally, the parking lot a mess, her headaches that were caused by Vecna. Yet here she was — everyone going to get help, the parking lot still a mess, and an ache in her heart much larger than the ache that used to be in her head.

Despite it, Steve managed to find a parking spot. Serenity let out a breath and got out of the passenger seat, going towards the back of the car. The others followed in suit, and Steve opened up the trunk. Each of them grabbed a box of donations before Steve shut the trunk, placing his car keys in his mouth to hold them.

Serenity took the keys out of his mouth. "Hey, enough of that." She placed them in the pocket of her jeans. "That's gross."

"You found it attractive," Steve countered, planting a kiss on the top of her head. "Don't deny it, baby."

She rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh."

The gym, which last had been used for a stupid pep rally, was crowded with people. Cots were set out on the entire floor, housing people who were injured or who didn't have a place to sleep. Behind curtains were more cots, acting as a makeshift hospital room for those who were severely injured. There was a board for missing people reports, and a multitude of papers were pinned against it. On the way to the relief donations desk, someone was breathing through an oxygen mask.

All of this because of Vecna. Serenity felt sick.

"Hi," Robin said to the girl at the desk.

"Hi," the girl responded.

"Uh, so these are blankets and sheets. And some — some clothes and — and some kids toys."

"Wow, it's already so organized. We appreciate that. Do you want a tax receipt for it?"

Serenity glanced at the others before shaking her head. "No, we're okay, but thank you. Is there anything we can do to help, though?"

The girl merely smiled.

They were suddenly whisked away. Dustin got put on water duty, handing it out to everyone on the floor who wanted it. Robin got put in charge of making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. And, finally, Serenity and Steve were tasked with sorting clothes — the two of them had asked if they could be together. (Serenity would like to remind everyone again — glue.)

"Okay, then we sort by age," the volunteer stated as the couple made it to the table, and Serenity giggled quietly as Steve bent down to catch some clothes that fell out of a bin. "We've got infants, girls, boys, men, women . . . oh, if anything is in, uh, too bad shape, we really don't want that."

"Got it," Serenity voiced. She then reached out to the pile of clothes and pulled out a baby onesie. "Aw, Steve, look at this. It's so small."

Steve looked over at her with a grin, his cheeks splashing pink. "Six little nuggets?"

She looked at the table shyly, folding the onesie and placing it in the infants' pile. "Yeah, maybe. If we manage to survive what the hell's coming next."

"Maybe there won't be a next," Steve suggested as he tossed a shirt over his shoulder, reminding Serenity a lot of the time he had thrown a dish towel over his shoulder at the Byers' house.

"We've thought that before." Serenity picked up a sweater and started to fold it. "There's always a next. I have no doubt that especially now there is since all the Gates are opened."

"He could be dead," Steve continued. "Maybe he crawled off to die."

She shook her head. "Listen, Steve. You don't . . . know Vecna like I do. When somebody infiltrates your mind like that, you sometimes see what's on the other side. I'm not traced anymore, but I know he's not dead. Something's coming."

It seemed like her life just loved timing. Because thunder suddenly rolled across the sky, followed by dark clouds, covering the sun that had been shining all day. That definitely wasn't a coincidence.

Serenity looked over at Steve, the familiar tightness of her chest coming back. He reached over and grabbed her hand, interlocking their fingers together. They moved towards the windows, gathering by it like everybody else who had come to see what was happening.

Floating through the air and falling from the sky were dust particles. Or whatever particles. Serenity had seen them before — once in the tunnels, and once when she had dove after Steve and went into the parallel dimension. These were particles from the Upside Down.

And that only meant one thing.

It was the beginning of the end.

⊹⊱••••••⊰⊹

ᗡNƎ ƎH⊥

it's fine. I'm fine.

(I'm not fine.)

anyways go read my author's note because I'll explains some things there !!!!!