(Ep. 4: Dear Billy)

"It was here. Right here."

Everyone exchanges equally confused looks as they stare aimlessly at the empty wall holding nothing but their flashlights.

"What exactly was here?" Daphne questions, glancing towards Gwen, Nancy, and Robin as they catch their breaths from having barely barged into the school.

Max takes a deep breath, the light from her flashlight trembling from her shaky hand. "A grandfather clock."

Just as Gwen hears those words, she feels her body run cold. She had seen a grandfather clock back at the library as well, and simply believed it had been because she was going crazy. She didn't mention it from thinking it was not important, but now hearing that Max had seen it too, definitely means it has some connection to Vecna.

"A grandfather clock?" Nancy asks, her voice laced with concern.

"It was so real," Max's voice breaks, her fear now starting to worsen. "And then when I got closer, suddenly I just... I woke up," she turns around, staring at all of them with a pleading look. "You have to believe me. I swear I saw it!"

"We believe you," Gwen gently squeezes her shoulder for reassurance, refusing to let her believe she's alone in this.

"It was like she was in a trance or something," Dustin explains to the rest of the group. "Exactly what Eddie said happened to Chrissy."

Those words brought an intense worry and a grave fear to overwhelm Gwen. She can't imagine what she'd do if she were to lose someone she loves like that. Just thinking about it feels like blades cutting her open.

Max turns around, her eyes filling with tears as she recalls what each of the victims had in common. "That's not even the bad part."

An ominous silence fills the halls as all of them glance at Max, who starts heading back to Ms. Kelley's office and pulls out Chrissy and Fred's files. The group gathers around the desk and waits for further explanation to this dilemma.

Sliding one of the files closer to her, Gwen reads each of the descriptions. She doesn't want to admit how uncomfortable it feels to be reading their personal information, but now if Max is affected by this, she doesn't have time to worry about the rest when the young girl is more important now.

"They both were having headaches, bad headaches that just wouldn't go away..."

Gwen freezes for a mere moment as she starts remembering the terrible headaches she's been having before coming here and how they seemed to worsen the second she arrived. It can't be connected, right? It's not like getting random headaches means you're now a target for this Vecna monster.

Surely this must all just be a coincidence.

"And then the nightmares. Trouble sleeping. They'd wake up in a cold sweat."

She's been having dreams too. Extremely vivid ones. They've been keeping her awake and have even made her afraid of the night. It's gotten so bad that she's resorted to drinking coffee and energy drinks to keep herself awake, but they never seem to work and she always ends up falling asleep and waking up in a cold sweat.

"Then they started seeing things. Bad things. From their pasts."

The grandfather clock from earlier today sends shivers down her spine. An instant wave of despair and horror consumed her when seeing it to the point it became unbearable. It was unlike anything she's ever felt and what made matters worse was that she had no one. If she's also cursed, then that means she'll be dying alone.

"These visions kept on getting worse and worse, until eventually... everything ended."

"Vecna's curse," Robin points out.

Steve notices the distress in Gwen's eyes and begins heading to her. Gently, he places his hand on top of hers and prays she doesn't reject his approach as all he longs for is to hold her and keep her safe. He'll do anything to ensure her well-being, even if it's the last thing he does.

"Chrissy's headache started a week ago," Max continues. "Fred's, six days ago. I've been having them for five days."

As if his touch had been poisonous, Gwen abruptly moves her hand away. After the way she hurt him, she doesn't deserve his comfort. He deserves someone worthy and someone who can give him the stars and the world. Not someone who helped destroy his light and break his spirit.

Besides, this isn't about her. Max's life is at stake and even if she might also be cursed, it doesn't change the fact that Max is the one that deserves to be saved.

"I don't know how long I have. All I know is that for Fred and Chrissy, they both died less than 24 hours after their first vision. And I just saw that goddamn clock, so..." Max breathes heavily, her hands firmly gripping the edges of the desk as a wave of realization hits her. "Looks like I'm dying tomorrow."

Almost like something out of a horror movie, a loud clang comes from outside the office just as she says those words. Everyone quickly turns their heads, their eyes narrowing into an attentive gaze before looking to each other for some type of answer.

"Stay here," Steve orders them as he approaches the door cautiously. He grabs one of the nearest lamps and places his hand on the knob, but is prevented from moving forward when sensing Gwen behind him. Sure enough, when he turns around, there she is trailing after him in a protective stance. "Just stay with them. Please."

Gwen stares at him like he had said the most ridiculous thing. Not wanting to argue, she instead reaches for a medium sized figurine with a pointy edge and shoves past him out the door. If there's someone or something out there, never in a million years would she let him endanger himself for the sake of her or anyone else.

For the rest of her life, she will do anything to ensure his well-being.

"Like always, you never do as you're told," Steve angrily whispers as he follows after her. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Just shut up," she demands, holding her finger to her lips.

"Let me go first at least," he gently pushes her behind him and uses the lamp to prevent her from going around him.

Before Gwen even has a chance to argue back, a distant clattering is heard from one of the halls. She focuses on the sound and inches closer to him as they inspect every corner or possible place anyone could hide in. However, footsteps behind them make her glance back and realize the others also chose to defy Steve's orders.

Just before anyone can say anything, the clattering becomes much louder and closer. Everyone stops and tightens their grip on the objects they brought for a weapon. The seconds feel eternal as they wait for any sudden attack, causing Steve to raise his lamp all ready to strike whoever is heading in their direction. Gwen takes a step closer and also raises the figurine to prepare herself to attack.

Lucas appearing causes everyone to yell at the same time he does. Before even comprehending who it is, Gwen instinctively throws the figurine in his direction. If it weren't for Lucas' great reflexes, the stone decor would have struck him in the face and possibly knocked him unconscious.

"It's me!" Lucas yells as he holds his arms out in front of him like a shield.

"Lucas?!" Daphne yells, already more worried that her cousin is also involved in this mess. The only thing that comforts her is knowing Erica hasn't been included like last summer. The last she needs is for more of her family to endanger themselves for this interdimensional mess.

"Are you serious?!" Gwen exclaims, her feet kicking the floor underneath her as she runs her hands through her hair in frustration.

"Jesus, what's wrong with you, Sinclair?!" Steve yells in irritation.

"I'm sorry!" Lucas breathes out, clearly out of breath from having run here.

Waving the lamp in his direction, Steve takes a step closer to continue his scolding, "I could've taken you out with this lamp!"

"Sorry, guys. Sorry, I was... biking for eight miles," he explains as he lays his hands over his knees and tries catching his breath. "Give me a second. Shit."

Everyone watches as he struggles to find the words. He breathes loudly, slowly pacing around the halls before finally saying, "We've got a code red."

"What?"

Ignoring Steve's question, Lucas pushes past him straight to Dustin. "I've been with Jason, Patrick, Andy, and Natalia, and they've gone completely off the rails."

Natalia's name catches Gwen's attention. She had completely forgotten how close Chrissy had been with her that she didn't even think to call to let her know that the Upside Down had returned. Now she must probably think Eddie is the one that killed her best friend and is looking for revenge.

"They're trying to capture Eddie, and they think you know where he is. You're in terrible danger!" Lucas rushes through his words, hoping everyone was able to understand him despite his struggle.

"Alright, yeah. That definitely sucks, but we've got bigger problems than Jason now," Dustin calmly replies as he looks back at Max.

Lucas follows his line of sight, his eyes meeting Max's, who tries avoiding looking at him as the remembrance of what's about to unfold starts filling her mind.

__________________

Being in the Wheeler's basement certainly brought a wave of memories to rush in. Gwen hasn't been here since she first helped the kids hide El. It was a constant switch between her and Mike on where El would be sleeping, and to prevent Mrs. Wheeler from discovering them, Gwen would drive over and sneak the young girl to her house until Mike informed her it was safe to bring her back.

After the demogorgon had been killed and El had been presumed dead, Gwen couldn't bring herself to come down here knowing she'd be hit with a million emotions at once. She could only imagine how terrible it must have been for Mike considering he was the one closest to her.

Now sitting here in the comfort of the smallest couch just reading articles she and Nancy printed for the others, only made everything worse since all of them only seem to gather when the world appears to be ending again.

She bobs her foot up and down while trying to focus on reading this article that she's read for what seems the hundredth time now. It doesn't make any sense how Vecna appeared in the '50s and then vanished for 30 years to suddenly start killing teens. Why did he start now? Was he somehow resting or using the rest of the monsters to do his dirty work? None of this is adding up.

"Okay, be honest. Uh... you guys understand any of this?" Steve questions the group as he relentlessly paces around the room.

"No," Lucas responds, shaking his head in disappointment over not figuring this out already.

"Pretty straightforward," Dustin states, lowering the article to glare at Steve.

Sarcastically, Steve looks back at Dustin in annoyance, "Oh, straightforward, really?"

"Well, what's confusing to you?"

"What isn't confusing to him?" Gwen mumbles as she rolls her eyes and slams the article down rather too aggressively.

Steve drops the paper from his hands as he starts feeling irritated at the snarky comment she always seems to have up her sleeve. "Sorry I don't have a massive brain like you and Einstein over there. You know I process things slower before I get it."

She only nods in response, "Yeah, I've gathered that."

He clenches his jaw while piercingly glaring at her. Even with all of this happening, she still finds a way to get under his skin. How does she do it? That he'll never know.

Dustin groans, refusing to let this little bickering start getting out of control. "Okay, so far, everyone Vecna has cursed has died except for this old Victor Creel dude Nancy found. He's the only known survivor. If anyone knows how to beat this curse, it's him."

"What if he was just a witness to all the killings and that's the only reason he survived?" Gwen's question reveals her pessimism since with everything wrong that's occurred to them, she's no longer hopeful they'll find a solution no matter how hard they try. "What if he wasn't cursed?"

"Gee, thanks for the positivity," Lucas mutters, his eyes never once leaving Max, who's sitting on a desk writing incessantly.

Sighing heavily, instant guilt consumes her for having brought their spirits down. "Sorry, I'm just not sure how sitting here doing nothing is going to solve anything."

"Doing research is not doing nothing," Dustin snaps and uses his article to smack her on her forehead. "Do you have anything else in mind?"

Returning the gesture, Gwen only shrugs in defeat and sinks deeper into her seat, "None yet."

"That's what I thought," he says before turning back to Steve.

"I actually agree with her. We can't just assume Victor was cursed," Steve points out. "How can Vecna have existed in the '50s? It doesn't make sense."

"As far as we know, Eleven didn't create the Upside Down. She opened a gate to it," Dustin states. "The Upside Down has probably been around for thousands of years. Millions. I wouldn't be surprised it predated the dinosaurs."

Refusing to continue listening to this, Steve waves his hand all irritatedly before attempting to quiet the teen. "Dinosaurs? What are we-"

"Okay, but if the gate didn't exist in the '50s, how did Vecna get through?" Lucas interrupts him to ask the group.

"How is he getting through now?"

"And why now?"

"And why then? Just pops out in the '50s, kills one family, and he's like, "I'm all good." And poof, he just disappears. Just... gone?" Steve rambles on, his voice rushed and filled with annoyance at not understanding this situation. "Only to return 30 years later and start killing some random teens? No, I don't buy it."

Groaning loudly at their incessant questioning, Gwen irritatedly gets up and stands next to Steve with her hands on her hips. "Haven't you guys considered that Vecna may not need a gate to get through? We've seen the way he kills and it's completely different than all the previous monsters. For all we know, he could be the mastermind behind it all and can create gates himself."

The group exchange equally confused looks, all trying to find the smallest mistake in her theory, but surprisingly, none of them have a clue on how they can dismiss this. Maybe she's right and Vecna really is the mastermind, but if that's true, then that means defeating him will be a million times harder now.

"What if he's just another monster from the Upside Down?" Steve finally speaks up, the faintest smile making its way to his lips when seeing the annoyance his contradictory question brought her. There will never be a time where he doesn't find the opportunity to irritate her, and even if her theory actually sounds accurate, there's no way in hell he won't try to go against it just to spite her. "Your idea sounds... interesting, but as far as we know, you could be wrong."

Scoffing in offense, Gwen folds her arms across her chest defensively, "I'd like to see you come up with ideas then. All you've done is simply rant and not understand the simplest of things. Even if it's the most straightforward thing."

Steve shakes his head in denial, "Straightforward, my ass. Honestly, Henderson? You and your brother could use a little humility now and then. It wouldn't hurt you."

"And a little thinking now and then wouldn't hurt you either," Gwen smirks at him all teasingly as he simply stands with his mouth hanging slightly open.

However, her enjoyment soon fades as she remembers the reason as to why they're here. She feels like a terrible person for bickering when Max is in grave danger. Instead of wasting time annoying Steve, she should focus on what's really important here, which is finding a way to rid Max from this curse.

Gwen glances past her shoulder at Max and notices she hasn't left her spot in all the hours they've been here. She keeps writing relentlessly with no means to stop, which only makes her wonder what she could possibly be writing.

Dustin seems to be thinking the same thing, "Any idea on what she's writing?"

Steve and Lucas turn around, now joining the siblings in their intense observation of the redhead.

"Did she sleep?"

"I mean, would you?" Lucas rhetorically asks.

Gwen was very much aware Max didn't sleep since she also couldn't. She was afraid of having her night terrors and alerting the others that she might also be cursed. Refusing to shift any attention away from Max to her, she drank lots of energy drinks to keep herself awake and prayed she wouldn't have another nightmare again. Even if she's afraid to be the one that ends up dying, she would much rather it be her that goes instead of Max.

Her thoughts trail off when the door above them slams open, revealing Nancy and Robin have finally returned from their mission.

"Okay so... we have a plan," Nancy announces as she looks back at Robin with an excited smile.

Gwen loves the way that Nancy had decided on giving Robin a chance. She decided on not going with them earlier in hopes that some alone time would give them an opportunity to bond, and based on the now relaxed and genuine smile from Nancy, it seems her plan worked.

"Thanks to Nancy's minions," Robin begins explaining as she hands them some files. "We are now rock-star psychology students at the University of Notre Dame."

Reading over the file she was handed, Gwen chuckles at the fake name assigned to her. Phyllis Smith. She'll give them credit for giving her a 3.7 GPA, even if she does have a 3.9 at NYU, but hey, she's not complaining.

"I'm now Ruth, Nancy's Rose, and Gwen's Phyllis."

That seems to humor Steve as he's now trying his best to refrain from laughing, "Phyllis? Sounds like a grandma's name."

"Oh, shut it, Harrington," Gwen smiles, gently closing the file before holding it tightly against her.

Dustin is impressed at the forms, "Nice GPA."

"Thanks," Nancy says, "So we called Pennhurst Asylum, told them we'd like to speak with Victor Creel for a thesis we're writing on paranoid schizophrenics-"

"To which they said no," Robin continues.

"But we landed a three o'clock with the director."

"Now all we have to do is charm him and convince him to let us talk with Victor," Robin explains as if it's the easiest thing in the world.

"Then maybe we can rid Max of this curse," Nancy finishes as she glances in the young girl's direction.

"About that," Steve begins, already about to start with his rambling. "We've been doing our Victor Creel homework, and, uh, we got some questions."

"Lots of questions," Lucas agrees.

"So do we," Nancy tells them. "Hopefully, Victor has the answers."

Steve starts looking at all three files, noticing they're only for Gwen, Nancy, and Robin and none for him. "Wait a second, where's mine?"

All three girls exchange knowing looks, already sensing he's going to complain about having to stay back with the kids. It sure doesn't help that Daphne had to return back home for a few hours just to try and not raise any suspicions as to where all of them are, officially leaving Steve alone.

Grabbing Gwen by the wrist, Nancy chooses not to start an argument and simply takes her and Robin up to her room. Having all four of them go to the asylum and leave the rest behind is not the best idea, so she figures that since Steve has been a great babysitter, he should be the one to stay behind.

Like expected, Steve trails after them while complaining about his assigned duty. "Nancy, you're out of your mind if you think I'm babysitting again by myself."

"First, they're not babies anymore, and second, Max is in real danger. She needs people around her."

Gwen simply stands back and chooses to watch from the sidelines this entertaining display. Only her attention shifts when Robin shakes her shoulder as she points at a Tom Cruise poster on the wall.

"I know, but why do I have to do it alone? Why can't Gwen stay?" Steve complains while gesturing toward her, who continues gawking at Nancy's room.

"You have a Tom Cruise poster," Robin teasingly says, a wide smile spreading across her cheeks.

"That's old," Nancy tries defending herself as she rummages through her closet for outfits for them to wear.

"You barely got it last year," Gwen points out, remembering when she saw her buying it at the mall all excitedly.

"Gwen!" Nancy snaps, a hint of irritation laced in her tone.

Raising her hands in surrender, Gwen lazily plops down on her bed while trying her best to ignore the excitement from Robin as she inspects Nancy's stuff.

"Can you please not touch anything?"

"I can't do anything here, Nance," Steve continues trying to plead his case. "Maybe I can be helpful with this asylum director dude. I don't know. I could turn on my... my charm."

"What charm?" Gwen lets out a loud laugh as she imagines Steve attempting to charm anyone and failing in the end. "Do you not remember your failure in not getting a date with girls back when we worked at Scoops?"

Steve sighs, looking down at the floor before averting his gaze in her direction. "That's because I wasn't trying. We were dating, so obviously I didn't want to be with anyone that wasn't you."

The whole room turns silent. The pair simply stare at each other for what appears to be an eternity as the remembrance of their time together comes rushing in. Breaking up with Steve is one of Gwen's greatest regrets and as much as she wishes to fix her mistake, she knows it's not possible when seeing he has moved on and has started dating again.

She's aware how selfish it is to want him to be single, but the thought of him being miserable and alone switches her perspective. If he finds happiness with someone, then she would much rather see him with another person as long as they bring the joy she wasn't able to give him. As long as he's happy, then she will be too.

Noticing the increase in tension, Nancy tries getting them back on track. "Look, umm, this Dr. Hatch is a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Harvard visiting scholar, okay? This is a lifelong student of the world. If we're gonna to win him over, we're gonna have to convince him we are too."

Gwen takes a deep breath and joins Robin in her curiosity of the small jewelry box in her hand. It has a small ballerina and as insignificant as it might seem, she can't help but be amazed at the little box since it's something she wanted as a little girl, but never had.

"Holy shit," Robin turns around, showcasing the box in wonder. "There's a little ballerina in here."

"Does it have a little latch at the bottom? Maybe it plays a song," Gwen raises it, peering at the pink bottom and smiling when seeing the silver handle. "There it is!"

Steve stares at them with a deadpan look, shaking his head in disappointment before gesturing to them. "Academic scholar? They're giving you an academic scholar vibe?"

"Hey!" Gwen exclaims. "I happen to already be in college, so your statement is completely wrong."

"You see?" Nancy smiles in satisfaction and pulls out two outfits that are nowhere in the realm of Robin and Gwen's style. "And wearing this will help."

Staring at the pink blouse with small ruffles, Robin automatically starts regretting this mission. If she has to wear something as appalling as that, she would much rather stay with Steve and let Nancy and Gwen take over. "Please tell me you're joking."

"Put this on," Nancy demands before pushing Steve out the door. "And you will stay with the kids, alright?"

Still refusing this, Steve manages to enter the room again. "No. If something goes wrong, I need someone here with me and since Gwen and I have been the assigned babysitters for two years now, I say she should stay."

Rolling her eyes and sighing in defeat, Gwen is tempted to lash out and demand that he grows a pair and acts like an adult, but after reconsidering it, she realizes he's right. They have been taking care of the kids ever since they lured Dart to the old junkyard. Leaving them would be a betrayal and it's not like Nancy and Robin wouldn't be able to handle this. Besides, staying back with Steve is definitely better than visiting Victor Creel at the asylum.

Nancy groans in annoyance, "She's coming with us! Give it up already-"

"Nance, it's fine," Gwen's declaration takes them both by surprise, but soon, Steve starts radiating joy that she's decided on staying. "The kids need more than one adult here, so it seems more reasonable that I stay. Besides, it helps that I'm a way better babysitter than him."

Nancy turns quiet for a few seconds, but figures it's best if it's just her and Robin. Also, it's not like she doesn't notice how this is just a way for them to be alone, and already knowing those two still have feelings for each other, she figures this could help bring them back together. She has to help them in some way, so if letting them babysit together is what's needed, then so be it.

"Seems like Ruth and I are on our own now," Nancy peers through her shoulder at Robin, who is busy glaring in disgust at the blouse that only brings a smile to her face. Maybe Robin is not as bad as she thought.

__________________

It seems the Scooby Gang has reunited after two years.

If this had been any other time and under different circumstances, they would be much more ecstatic of spending time together. From what it's worth, at least the comforting and safe feeling has remained intact, which is deeply needed with Max at the grasp of Vecna.

They've been sitting cramped up on the same couch for what seems to be forever. With both Steve and Gwen in the middle, it's been forcing them to be closer than they expected. Not that they were complaining. They had Dustin and Lucas to thank for since they refused letting them sit anywhere that wasn't in the middle. Seems the two teens have decided on being their wingmen.

The four of them stare attentively at Max, refusing to take their eyes off her as if it could save her from Vecna. After a while, Max seems to have noticed and looks through her shoulder, "I know you guys are staring at me."

"What? Sorry."

"You said you needed something?"

"Just hanging out."

Gwen rolls her eyes, not bothering to deny her claim like the others since the young girl is not stupid to believe them. "Sorry, little red. We're just trying to look out for you."

"How you think your eyes boring into the back of my head is protecting me from Vecna, I don't know," Max gathers a few tan envelopes before heading to them. She stands still for a mere moment, almost as if she's debating handing them out until eventually deciding to just give them and hope they don't complain about her action. "You can look at me now."

"Thank you. Sorry."

"Sorry."

Max takes a step straight to Dustin and hands him the envelope, "For you."

Right away, Gwen is quick to put the puzzle pieces together. All those hours of writing relentlessly were her way of saying goodbye. She's been writing goodbye letters to all of them thinking she's not going to make it out of this alive.

Now turning to Gwen, she hands her another envelope, "For you."

Unease courses through her veins, hating how Max has already lost all hope and has chosen to say goodbye. She tries saying something, but the young girl is already handing the rest of the letters to the others.

"And give these to Mike, El, and Will," Max hands the remaining ones to Lucas, who reluctantly takes them when seeing the hopeless expression on the girl he loves. "If you can ever get ahold of them again."

The four of them stare at the envelopes curiously. Neither know what to do or what to say, especially from the cryptic way they were given these.

Gwen traces the perfect handwriting on her letter and is surprised she even got one. She didn't think of herself as someone deserving of such gesture, which only makes her feel worse at the possibility of losing someone she loves again.

Max suddenly panics when they begin trying to open them, "What are you doing? No, don't. That's not for now. Don't open it now."

"Don't... okay," Dustin softly says before holding the letter back up. "I'm sorry, what is this?"

"It's umm," Max starts to nervously play with her hands as her eyes fill with tears. "It's a fail-safe. For after. If things don't work out."

Gwen despises this. She hates Vecna for going after Max. She's too young, not having lived yet, and he's after her like some prize. Seeing her this way, so hopeless, so afraid, and so hurt is unbearable.

"Wait, whoa. Max, things are gonna work out," Lucas tries reassuring her, refusing to let her give up.

"No," she snaps. "No, I don't need you to reassure me and tell me it's all gonna to work out. People have been telling me that my entire life and it's almost never true. It's never true. I mean, of course this asshole curses me. Should've seen that one coming."

Now standing up, Gwen refuses to let her lose hope this soon. "You can't give up, Max. You can't let him win and you certainly can't be making goodbye letters. We're not giving up on you, so best believe we won't stop until you're safe. Do you understand? No one is dying."

Max stays quiet, not wanting to get her hopes up when things usually never run in her favor. She wants to believe her, to believe that everything will be alright, but they never are so what's the point of being optimistic when it's bound to crumble into pieces? She takes a deep breath for composure before shifting her attention towards the walkie-talkie on the table and grabs it swiftly.

"If we go to East Hawkins, will this reach Pennhurst?"

"Of course, yeah," Dustin states.

"Why are we talking about East Hawkins?" Steve finally speaks up as the others glance at each other understandingly from knowing what Max is planning. That's when it finally clicks for him. "No. No. No!"

Refusing to argue with Steve, Max gathers her belongings and starts heading up the stairs. The others have no choice other than to follow her. It's better going along with it than leaving her alone when Vecna could strike at any minute.

"Seriously, I'm not joking. I'm not driving you anywhere," Steve tries keeping up with her pace, but the redhead is determined to get what she wants.

"If you think I'm going to spend what is likely the last day of my life in the armpit that's Mike Wheeler's basement, you're out of your mind."

Lucas, Dustin, and Gwen glance at each other, all three unsure of what to do since Vecna could strike anywhere. They could only hope that Robin and Nancy are able to figure out a way to save Max as quickly as possible, because time appears to already be running out.

Now reaching Steve's car, they stand back and watch as Max argues and threatens to prosecute him if he doesn't open the car doors. "I know a good lawyer."

Steve is hesitant, afraid that if he does as she orders then she'll become more exposed to this monster's attack. He's terrified of losing one of his kids and being handed this letter is not making the situation any better.

He tries arguing back, but seeing the despair and sheer terror on her face makes it incredibly hard to say no to. "Fine. Mini Henderson, that super walkie of yours better reach Pennhurst."