EPISODE FIVE
the nina project.

DUSTIN WAS supposed to be keeping an eye on nova whilst everyone else took a nap. she waited until he finally fell asleep before getting up and going upstairs.

"oh, morning, nova!" karen wheeler smiled as nova returned it slightly, "hi, mrs. wheeler."

"want some breakfast?" she asked, nova shook her head. "um, no thank you...thank you anyway."

"have you already eaten?" karen asked. "yup." nova lied, karen raised a brow but decided to leave it as nova went over to holly who was drawing.

she suddenly got her idea to use her skills of being able to draw pretty well, and draw out what she saw with vecna. "hey, holly? do you mind if i use some crayons?"

holly nodded wordlessly and handed them over with a few pieces of paper as nova thanked her and began to draw it all.

about an hour passed when nancy and dustin came rushing in, sighs of relief escaping their lips as nova looked up at them and taking off her headphones.

karen spoke to dustin and nancy for a little bit, the two trying to get away as ted complained about them eating all the food.

nancy took a seat beside her and she stopped the music on her mixtape. "hey." she smiled lightly. "hey...you okay?" she asked.

"just couldn't sleep. people kept blasting music in my ears for some reason." she joked. nancy chuckled, "but holly let me borrow some of her crayons." she pointed.

"is this...what you saw last night?" nancy asked, nova nodded slowly. "thought that it would be easier to draw it out...but it seems my drawing skills have gone downhill."

"is that...?" nancy whispered, pointing to chrissy and  fred dead against the tree. "it was like they were on display. and then there was red fog...everywhere. it was like a dream. a nightmare."

"do you think vecna's just trying to scare you?" nancy asked. "with billy? yeah. but when i made it here...i don't know, something was different. he seemed...suprised, asked me what i was doing there. like he didn't want me there."

"maybe you infiltrated his mind." dustin spoke as he sat down. nova frowned. "he invaded your mind, right? is it that big a leap to suggest you somehow wound up in his?"

nova stared at him in confusion as dustin continued. "like freddie krueger's boiler room."

"freddie krueger?" holly frowned, "he's a super burner up dude with razors for fingers." dustin began as holly's eyes widened. "and he kills you in your dreams."

"dustin! seriously?" nancy sighed. "...sorry. it's a movie. it's not real..." he said quickly before turning to nova again.

"just think about it. what if you somehow unlocked a back door to vecna's world? maybe the answer we are looking for is...somewhere in this incredibly vague drawing. god, what happened to you? your drawings used to be so good." he widened his eyes as nova scoffed.

"yeah, no shit. i tried them again earlier, it's a busy signal again." nancy suddenly picked up a piece of paper. "is this a window?"

"yeah." nova nodded, "stained glass with roses?" nancy finished as nova nodded again. "yeah. see? i'm not so terrible after all."

dustin rolled his eyes at her as nancy continued. "yeah, well, it helps that i've seen it before." she spoke as they both looked at her.

nancy began to take the drawings and fold them, placing them on different parts of the table as nova raised a brow at her.

nancy then got a black marker and began to draw around the outlines. "it's pieces of a house." nova realised. "not just any house..." nancy said before fitting the stained glass window drawing on the door.

"it's victor creel's house." nancy finished, getting up. "where you going?" dustin asked, his mouth full of food.

"waking the others." nancy said before leaving the room. the two teens following soon after.

THE GROUP all got into steve's car soon after to go to the abandoned creel house, nova's music playing quietly through her ears. of course, every breath you take, getting out the car with the others and walking up the steps.

"yeah, that's not creepy." steve scoffed as he and nancy began to try break down the door. "what exactly are we supposed to be looking for in this shithole?"

"we're not sure. we just know this house is important to vecna." nancy answered, "because nova saw it in vecna's red soup mind world?"

"basically." nancy nodded, "great."

"maybe it holds a clue to where vecna is. why her back. why he killed the creels. and how to stop him before he comes back for nova." dustin spoke up.

"we don't think he's in here, do we?" lucas asked with wide eyes from next to nova. "guess we'll find out." nova spoke as steve and nancy got the boarder down.

"nova." she heard vecna call her. she widened her eyes as she looked at the door, the same door as what she saw yesterday.

she shook her head and turned around, steve was asking about if he should knock since it was locked. "no need." robin spoke up. they all turned to her to see she had a brick in her hand. "i found a key."

nancy took the brick and chucked it at the glass, before steve went forward and unlocked it from there. the door opened slowly and they all walked in as nova immediately felt like she was being watched and her hand went to her mixtape slowly as she turned it on.

"looks like someone forgot to pay their electric bill." lucas spoke, trying to turn on any lights. dustin shrugged and turned in his torch.

"where's everyone get those?" steve asked in shock. "do you need to be told everything?" dustin turned around. "you're not a child."

"thank you." steve nodded, "mhm." dustin smiled back before handing steve a torch.

they walked through to another room as nancy spoke, "they just left everything." they frowned. "i guess a triple homicide isn't good for resale value." robin replied.

"hey, guys?" nova spoke up slowly as they all turned to her immediately, she pointed her torch to the ceiling. "you all see that...right?" she asked softly.

a clock was on the wall as steve nodded. "yeah, we see it, nov." he smiled lightly as she nodded. "is this what you saw? in your visions?" nancy asked.

nova nodded slowly, unable to speak. "i mean, it's...it's just a clock. right?" robin asked. walking over to it and wiping away the dirt on the glass. "a normal old clock."

"why is this wizard obsessed with clocks? maybe he's, like, a clockmaker or something?" steve asked as nova rolled her eyes. "i think you cracked the case, steve." she spoke.

"all i know is the answers are here. somewhere... okay, everyone stay in groups of two. robin, upstairs. steve and dustin you together." nancy said, "what about me?" max raised a brow. "come with us." dustin spoke.

nova and lucas shared a look before she tugged on his sleeve and turned around to look in a different room. every breath you take played faintly over her headphones, the lyrics fitting her situation well as she looked around a room, lucas in front of her.

the tape clicked off and she stopped, sighing as she rewinded it. "i wish we had a longer loop." lucas spoke up, she shrugged. "forty-six minutes isn't bad."

"i think there are bigger concerns. like...what if, by listening to this over and over, i get sick of it, and suddenly it's not my favourite anymore? will it still work? or will the police loose it's magic power?" she raised a brow as lucas scoffed.

"the police? and every breath you take? never." he spoke as her jaw dropped. "you're a fan?" she asked, smiling brightly as he nodded, "uh, yeah!."

"really?" she asked, "yeah, mega-fan! it's our sing, novs. and it saved your life." he said as her smile faded, feeling her heart ache.

"besides, we're hot on this creeps trail. we're gonna find vecna and kill him before hr even thinks about messing with you again. all right?" he placed his hand on her shoulder and she smiled lightly,

"in fact, i bet if we hit these suckers in the right combo, we might just open a door to his secret lair." he said as he played the piano really badly. "voila." he laughed, she shook her head with a smile.

"you're such a dork. i thought you were, like, one of the cool kids now." she raised a brow, he pulled a face, "i'm not cool?"

she laughed, for what felt like the first time in ages as he looked down, a distance smile on his face. "i've really missed that."

"missed what?" she frowned up at him. "your laugh." he spoke as her face lightened slightly, about to speak when the tape finished rewinding. "all done." she put her headphones on.

"work your magic, kate." she smiled, but stopped when she heard a light buzz and flicker. "i...i promise il stop asking this...but you're seeing that, right?" she asked as lucas nodded, "yeah..."

she reached up to touch the lamp, when it stopped, and all that could be heard was every breath you take playing quietly.

but then, another light buzzed, she turned around, lucas doing the same as she walked towards it slowly. more of the lights flickered the further they got in and she looked up at lucas with wide eyes.

lucas went to go get everyone as nova stood, staring up at the chandelier, they soon came back and nancy spoke up, "it's like the christmas lights."

"the christmas lights?" robin frowned, "when will was in the upside down, the lights...came to life." nancy explained briefly.

nova let out a breath. "i can feel him..." she looked at the others. "vecna's here...in the house, just on the other side." lucas whispered in realisation.

but then it all stopped, and it went dark again, apart from their torches. "i think he just left the room." robin raised a brow. "did he hear us?" max asked.

"can he see us?" steve widened his eyes. "headphones, nov. put them on." lucas spoke quickly as nova did so.

"wait...everyone turn off your flashlights and spread out." nancy spoke, "we're not gonna be able to see if we turn off our flash...lights." steve sighed, realising they had all left.

nova walked through the house slowly, and then robin suddenly yelled, "i got him!" they all rushed to her voice.

when they got there, robins flashlight went off. "i...i had him?"

"oh, woah." steve spoke as his flashlight turned on, "i think he's moving...he's moving." steve spoke as he walked forward with the flashlight.

they went up the stairs and towards a door when the light went off. "i lost him."

"no, you didn't." nova spoke as she opened a door, and inside loads of lights were flashing. she went in, and began to go up the steps as steve and the rest of the group followed.

"hold up, guys. what if he's leading us into a trap?" dustin asked however they all ignored him and continued to walk through.

once they got up, all of their flashlights began to flicker and point to a light bulb. their eyes widened. "what's happening?" weird energy flowed through them all as they stared up at the light in confusion.

and then, all of a sudden their torches began to explode as they all gasped, nova dropping it in shock as she jumped back, looking up at the light with wide eyes.

here after vol 2...