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𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗚𝗔𝗡

chapter eight:
a haunted house

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SERENITY DIDN'T SLEEP.

Well, besides the fact that an endless loop of Don't Stop Believin' was playing at top volume, there was no way she could. She could still feel the vines around her throat, she could still hear the ominous chiming of the clock, she could still see that stupid door with the stained glass rose on it floating through the air. Serenity had just, quite literally, escaped her death, and it still felt like the walls were closing in around her.

After Serenity had stopped floating in the air, they went back to the Wheeler basement and met up with Nancy and Robin, who were evidently the ones who actually saved Serenity's life by finding out music was the key. As childish as it sounded, Serenity didn't want to tell the others what she saw. Maybe pretending it didn't exist would be enough to make it go away. But in the end she did, telling them all the details to the best of her ability.

All of them slept crowded in that basement, scattered around on the floor and on chairs. Serenity had the couch with Steve, and although she should've been focusing on how his comfort made her feel okay, absolutely nothing would make that trauma go away that easily. So there she sat, leaning against him, silently telling him that she was still here — at least for now.

They had taken shifts to stay up and watch Serenity just in case anything happened. However, Dustin had fallen asleep, making Serenity be the only one awake. It was morning, anyways — there was no reason why she couldn't go upstairs now, especially since she heard quiet voices from above.

She also wanted to put to paper what she saw, while it was still fresh in her mind, to try and show the others what she really saw. Those broken pieces of the house that she saw had to connect somehow. And maybe it would be a way to help clear her head.

Good news, though — her headaches had disappeared completely. Probably because she had gotten out of Vecna's trap.

Serenity got up, carefully removing Steve's arm from around her and gently placing it down. She tip-toed across the carpet, dodging the bodies of everyone there, trying her very best not to make a sound. Finally, she made it to the stairs and climbed them as quietly as she could. Once she made it upstairs, she softly shut the door behind her.

She put her headphones around her neck and paused her tape, turning to face the kitchen. Karen was in the midst of cooking pancakes and bacon, and as much as Serenity wanted to have some, her appetite was completely gone. Ted was sitting at the island, reading the newspaper and sipping on a cup of coffee. Holly was at the kitchen table, playing with her Lite-Brite with some paper and crayons stacked next to her.

"Good morning, Serenity," Karen greeted with her usual bright smile.

She gave her a tight smile in response. "Morning. Uh, do you mind if I use your phone real quick?"

"Of course, you know you're always welcome to use it."

Serenity nodded once and walked over to the phone on the wall. She immediately dialed the Byers' phone number — with all this shit happening in Hawkins, they deserved to know. Especially Will, who had been targeted probably the most by the Upside Down, and especially Eleven as well, even though it wasn't fair she was meant to be their saving grace all the time. However, the second she finished dialing, it went to a busy signal, just like the past couple of days.

Something was wrong over there, and Serenity could tell. Three of her kids were in danger in Hawkins, and three of her kids were in danger in California. Serenity hated it. She sighed and put the phone back on the dial.

"Would you like some breakfast?" Karen offered.

Serenity shook her head. "No, I'm okay, but thank you."

"You sure?" Karen frowned. "You look a little tired, sweetie."

She placed the most convincing smile on her face as she could. "I'm fine, really. Things have just been . . . hectic." That didn't even begin to describe it. "Maybe later, though."

Karen nodded in understanding before turning back to the stove. Serenity's eyes set on the paper and crayons on the table, and she knew Holly would let her use them. She walked up to the blonde girl and pulled out a chair next to her.

Holly looked up at her, her face brightening. "Renny!"

Serenity felt herself genuinely smile for a second. "Hi, sweet girl." She gestured to the paper and crayons. "Do you mind if I use some of those?"

Holly shook her head. Serenity reached across the table and took the paper and crayons. Immediately, she gravitated towards the red and black, because those were the two main colors that stood out to her the most in the Upside Down. Serenity lifted her headphones back up, and with Don't Stop Believin' playing again for the umpteenth time, she got to coloring.

Serenity wasn't sure how long she was drawing for. She kind of got lost in it. Spread across multiple pieces of paper were everything she had seen in Vecna's realm of the Upside Down. Probably the most hard for her to draw was the broken figures of Fred and Chrissy. That was maybe the one thing that really shook her to her core exponentially. What kind of sick and twisted thing was Vecna to put them on display?

Suddenly, after a while, she heard more commotion behind her and talking. Serenity turned, only to see Steve, Dustin, and Nancy standing in the kitchen, all of them looking slightly panicked, yet relieved when their eyes set on her. Serenity gave them all a small smile and turned back to her drawings, finishing coloring in some black lines.

There was a kiss pressed to the back of her head, followed by two chairs being pulled out on either side of her. Serenity lifted her head back up to see that Steve and Nancy were sitting next to her. Steve immediately reached over and put a comforting hand on her thigh, making Serenity's skin ignite. She turned off her tape and lowered her headphones down around her neck.

"Hi," Serenity greeted.

"Hey, baby," Steve replied. "You all had us worried for a second when we woke up and you weren't there."

Nancy nodded in agreement. "You okay?"

"Oh, sorry," Serenity said. "I couldn't sleep, really. For some reason, a song was blasting in my ears on repeat." The corners of her mouth twitched up a little. "So I came up here, and Holly let me borrow her paper and crayons. It's been fun, right, Hol?"

Holly didn't look up from her Lite-Brite. "Mm-hmm."

Nancy glanced around at all of the drawings on the table. "Is this what you saw last night?"

"Yeah," Serenity answered. "I thought it would be easier to show you what I saw instead of trying to explain it. They didn't really show up the way I wanted them to, but I think they get the point across."

Nancy then picked up the piece of paper that had the broken figures of Fred and Chrissy on it. "Is that . . . ?"

Serenity swallowed a little — the drawing definitely did not encase how scary it actually was. "It is. Vecna's a creep and put them on display, like they were trophies, or something. And red fog was everywhere." Her voice lowered. "It was like an absolute nightmare."

Steve squeezed her thigh a little. "All of this, isn't Vecna just trying to scare you?"

"I mean, with my mom, maybe. But when I arrived here . . . everything seemed to change. He seemed to be surprised that I got there and sounded like he didn't want me to be there."

Dustin finally sat down at the table with a plate of pancakes and bacon. "Maybe you infiltrated his mind. He invaded your mind, right? Is it that big of a leap to suggest that you somehow wound up in his?" His eyes then widened in realization. "Like Freddie Krueger's boiler room."

"Freddie Krueger?" Holly repeated in confusion.

"He's a super burned up dude with razors for fingers and he kills you in your dreams."

Serenity gave him a look. "Dustin."

"Dustin, seriously?" Nancy complained.

"Sorry," Dustin voiced to Holly. "It's a movie. It's not real." He turned back to the other three. "Just . . . think about it. What if you somehow unlocked a backdoor to Vecna's world? Like, maybe the answer we're looking for is—" he picked up one of the pieces of paper "—in one of these . . . artistic drawings. Wait, these are actually pretty okay. They look like how Will draws, but, like, not as good."

Serenity smiled softly. "Well, considering he's the one who taught me how to draw better, I'd hope so." She let out a deep breath. "I wish I had him to draw it better, but I tried California this morning, and it's the same busy signal."

Nancy then picked up the piece of paper that had the door with the stained glass window on it. "Is this a window? Stained glass with roses."

"Yeah."

Steve stared at her. "You sound like you've seen it before."

Nancy nodded. "I have."

She then took the paper and flipped it upside down and folded it in half. Serenity's eyebrows knit in thought as she watched Nancy folded all of her drawings in a certain way and placed them together like they were pieces of a puzzle. She then grabbed a Sharpie and traced one big outline on all of the folded up pieces of paper. Serenity's eyes widened once she noticed what Nancy was doing.

"I knew it," Serenity admitted. "I knew it was a house."

"Not just any house," Nancy responded. She put down the final piece of paper — the door with the stained glass window. "It's Victor Creel's house."

"Where are you going?" Dustin asked to Nancy as she stood up.

"Waking the others."

Serenity immediately got up as well. She latched onto Steve's hand and pulled him up with her, following Nancy back to the basement.

Dustin took another piece of bacon off of the island in the kitchen. "Sorry, fuel for the road. Thanks, Mr. Wheeler!"

Steve squeezed Serenity's hand. "Hey. Just . . . please don't run off like that again, okay? Especially now that we're going to this stupid house."

She squeezed back. "Okay, I promise."

❯ ────── ｢ ✾ ｣ ────── ❮

WHEN NANCY PARKED outside of Victor Creel's house, Serenity immediately knew that Vecna had something to do with it. Don't ask her how she knew that. Maybe it was because her and Vecna were . . . connected now. (She hated how she had to say that.)

They had woken up Lucas, Robin, and Max and showed them Serenity's drawing, along with telling them they had to go to the house. The three of them were kind of disoriented, and a little confused, but they followed anyways.

Serenity stepped out of the car and looked up at the old house underneath the setting sun. It was boarded up, was literally crumbling, and plants were overtaking it. Serenity climbed the stairs and stopped on the pathway, staring up at it. A shiver immediately ran down her spine.

This was the place, Serenity said to herself. This is what you saw.

"Yeah, that's not creepy," Steve stated, gripping onto Serenity's hand a little tighter.

They made their way to the front porch. Serenity leaned against one of the pillars and and crossed her arms, watching as Steve and Nancy used hammers to remove the nails from the piece of wood that was blocking the door. Max and Lucas stood on either side of her, keeping her close.

"What exactly are we supposed to be looking for in this shithole?" Steve questioned.

"We're not sure," Nancy revealed. "We just know this house is important to Vecna."

"Becuase 'Renity saw it in Vecna's red soup mind world?"

"Basically."

"Great," Steve confirmed.

Serenity frowned. "You don't believe me?"

He looked back at her. "No, I believe you. I just don't know what's so special about this house."

"Maybe it holds a clue to where Vecna is," Dustin suggested. "Why he's back, why he killed the Creels, and how to stop him before he comes back for Renny."

"We don't think he's in here . . . do we?" Lucas inquired.

Serenity shrugged. "There's only one way to know."

Steve looked over at Nancy "Ready?"

"Mm-hmm," Nancy confirmed.

They had gotten all the nails out, meaning the wood was free. Steve and Nancy let the wood fall onto the porch with a creak and a thud. Serenity flinched a little from the loud noise before looking up. Suddenly, all of the breath inside of her left.

That was it. That was the door, the same floating door she had seen in the Upside Down.

"Serenity," Vecna's deep voice echoed throughout her mind, and she suddenly found herself back to last night, watching that door float. "What are you doing in here, Serenity?"

Steve turned the doorknob loudly, making Serenity snap out of it. "It's locked. Should I knock, see if anybody's home?"

"No need," Robin interrupted, holding up a brick. "I found a key."

She stepped up on the porch and threw the brick at the window. Instantly, it broke through it, shattering the stained glass window into a million pieces. The sound of the brick and glass falling echoed from inside the house. Steve stuck his arm through the hole in the glass and found the doorknob. He then opened the door, and removed his hand as the door screeched to an open.

Serenity instantly took Steve's outstretched hand without a second thought. She got a flashlight from Dustin and stepped inside the dark house, being felt with a sense of familiarity once she saw the staircase. The house maybe was nice before, but now, it was dusty and covered in spider webs. All of the furniture was still there as well. Obviously, nobody had touched anything after the Creels had been murdered.

Lucas tried to turn on a lamp, but it did nothing. "Looks like someone forgot to pay their electric bill."

Dustin clicked on his own flashlight. Serenity did as well.

Steve glanced in between them. "Where'd everyone get those?"

Dustin looked at him incredulously. "Do you need to be told everything? You're not a child."

"Thank you." ⁠

Dustin slipped off his backpack and handed it to him. "Back pocket."

Steve got a flashlight out before dropping his backpack onto the floor. Serenity moved on, practically dragging Steve around. Her eyes then set on something next to the staircase, and she immediately froze, her heart rate increasing.

It was a grandfather clock. Just like the one she had seen back in the hallway at school, and just like the one she had seen floating through the Upside Down.

Steve looked down at her worryingly. "Serenity? What's wrong?"

"Do you see that?" Serenity asked, her voice slightly shaking as she pointed her flashlight to the clock. "Please tell me you see it, too."

He followed her gaze. "Yeah, I see it."

Serenity felt her heart rate decrease a little. At least she wasn't having another vision right now. It was an actual grandfather clock.

"Is this what you saw?" Nancy questioned. "In your visions?"

Serenity nodded. "Yeah."

Robin stepped forwards towards them. "I mean, it's . . . just a clock. Right?" She moved closer to the clock and ran her hand over the glass, sweeping some dust away and creating a clear patch. Robin then looked back at the group. "Like a normal old clock."

"Why is this wizard obsessed with clocks?" Steve inquired. "Maybe he's, like, a clockmaker or something?"

Serenity wanted nothing more than to slam her head against the wall. It reminded her of that time when Steve brought up the Germans when they were talking about the Mind Flayer.

"I think you cracked the case, Steve," Dustin told him.

"All I know is the answers are here," Nancy voiced. "Somewhere. Okay, everyone stay in groups of two, but we'll have one group of three. Robin, upstairs."

Robin gave Nancy a two-fingered salute and followed her up the stairs.

Max then turned to Lucas. "Come on, let's go."

That just left Serenity, Steve, and Dustin.

Dustin smiled at them. "Mom and dad!"

Serenity put her hand on his cheek briefly as she passed him, starting to head up the stairs. "You're adorable."

Steve followed after her, sighing loudly.

"Was that a sigh?" Dustin asked.

"No, I did not sigh."

"Why'd you sigh?"

"I didn't sigh. Just come on, dude."

"I heard you."

"W-We're just always partners, okay?"

"What, you have a problem with that?"

"It'd just be nice to, I don't know, mix it up a bit."

"So, what, I'm boring to you? Is that it?"

"No, the opposite—"

"Boys," Serenity cut in. "Play nice."

They reached the top of the stairs, where multiple rooms were presented to them.

"Dustin, how about you check in there," Serenity instructed, nodding to one of the rooms. "Steve and I will take this one."

He saluted her. "You've got it, Renny."

Dustin then went inside the room. Serenity and Steve went into the other one. She glanced around, turning on her tape. Don't Stop Believin' echoed from the headphones around her neck.

"You know, I never understood why you loved that song so much," Steve said, making Serenity look up at him. "But now I get it."

She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. Hold on to that feeling . . . it was the only thing that I thought about last night when you were . . . floating. I don't know, maybe I was praying that somehow my love would help save you."

"It did," Serenity admitted, noticing Steve's confused expression. "When Vecna had me, I thought of things that made life worth living. It was basically all of my happiest memories. You know, I had my kids, I had Spencer, but you . . . you were the one that motivated me to wake the fuck up." She squeezed his hand. "You've saved me in so many ways, Steve."

Steve stared at her for a minute before placing his free hand on her face and kissing her gently for a moment. Serenity kissed back, putting true purpose into it, trying to get her point across. Finally, Steve was the first to pull away, resting his forehead on hers.

"I love you," Steve said, and Serenity felt the sincerity right down to her bones. "So much."

She scrunched her nose up a little at him. "I love you more."

"Oh my God!" Dustin suddenly screamed, followed by the sound of shattering glass and a slamming door. "Jesus!"

Serenity's eyes widened. She immediately let go of Steve and ran out into the hallway, only to see Dustin running backwards out of the room he was in and flailing his arms around. Serenity watched him in confusion for a moment.

"Dustin," Serenity voiced. "What happened?"

"Black widow," Dustin responded. "Shit. Don't go in that room."

She sighed, noticing spider webs in his hair. "Okay, c'mere." Serenity started to pick the spider webs off of him. "You're okay, I promise."

Robin then walked past them. "If there's a spider nesting in there, you're never gonna find it till it lays eggs and all the babies spill out."

Dustin glared at her. "I hate you."

"Spiders," Serenity repeated. "Wait . . . there were spiders. In Vecna's . . . thing." Her eyebrows knit in confusion. "What is his obsession with spiders? I don't understand."

"Do we actually understand anything about him?" Nancy interjected.

Serenity shrugged as she finished picking the spider webs off of Dustin. "You're good, buddy." She patted his back. "As for Vecna, his eyes are really blue."

Steve blinked. "For real? You noticed that?"

Serenity rolled her eyes. "Yes, Steve, because I'm in love with an interdimensional monster who tried to murder me in a gruesome way. I noticed it because they were so damn creepy." She took his hand again. "Come along, now."

They continued to search upstairs until Max and Lucas called that they had something, so they went back downstairs. Night time was among them now, making it much harder to see, but not for this. Because right in front of Serenity's eyes, different lights were flickering on in the house. All of them were standing around the chandelier, watching as the lights pulsed brighter, dimmed, and pulsed brighter again.

"It's like the Christmas lights," Nancy whispered.

"The Christmas lights?" Robin asked.

"Will communicated with Joyce through Christmas lights when he was in the Upside Down," Serenity answered, feeling just as scared now as she was back then when Will first disappeared.

"Vecna's here," Lucas announced. "In this house. Just on the other side."

The chandelier then completely turned off.

"I think he just left the room," Robin stated.

"Did he hear us?" Max questioned.

"Can he see us?" Steve added.

Lucas looked over at Serenity. "Headphones, Renny."

Serenity immediately pulled her headphones back up on her ears. She pressed play on her Walkman, and the intro to Don't Stop Believin' started to play.

"Wait, wait," Nancy protested. "Everyone, turn off your flashlights and spread out."

"We're not gonna be able to see if we turn off our flash . . . lights," Steve insisted as they all started to break up. "Jesus Christ."

"Come on," Serenity urged, still hearing things through her headphones. "It's for a reason."

Steve holding her hand acted as a grounding mechanism for Serenity as they wandered around the different rooms of the house. She could feel the darkness creeping in around her, and when it got too much, all she would do is grip onto his hand a little tighter. Serenity kept a look out, trying to find any lights that were on.

"I got him!" Robin then shouted. "Got him!"

Serenity turned and walked fast in the direction of Robin. She was in one of the living rooms downstairs. Serenity stopped along with the rest of them as they gathered around. Robin's flashlight was switched to off, but as it was pointed towards the ceiling, there was a beam of light coming from it, showing dust particles floating in the air.

"I got him!" Her flashlight then turned off. "I — I had him."

Steve's flashlight then illuminated, along with Serenity's. "Oh, woah. Oh, I think he's moving." Steve and Serenity walked together. "He's moving. He's moving."

They followed Vecna with their flashlights, the light pulsing and dimming as they went. Serenity immediately went up the stairs first, and the others followed. They reached the first landing when both of their flashlights turned off.

"Shit," Steve let out. "We lost him."

Serenity then looked up — even though her flashlight wasn't telling her, she knew where Vecna had went. "No we didn't."

She walked up the stairs, pulling Steve along with her, and opened the door that she had seen. It revealed another staircase, presumably to the attic, which was illuminated by light. Serenity glanced up and shared a look with Steve before entering.

"It's an attic," Robin commented. "Of course it's an attic."

"Hold up, guys," Dustin stated. "What if he's leading us into a trap?" They ignored him. "Guys. Guys."

Serenity continued climbing until she reached the top. There was a singular lightbulb hanging from the ceiling, and it was flickering rapidly, but the pulsing was much brighter than any of their other lights. Serenity stared at it curiously as she got closer to it. The others followed her, and they formed a circle around the lightbulb.

"Flashlights," Dustin said.

Serenity glanced down. Sure enough, her flashlight was on, also shining brighter than it had before. Everyone else's flashlights were as well. The whole attic was illuminated with the combination of the lightbulb and their seven flashlights.

"Okay, what's happening?" Steve questioned.

Serenity knew. It was why he had been so confused when she showed up at that place in the Upside Down. This was Vecna's home and the place that he went to recharge. But the main question was — why was his choice the Creel house?

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ooooh I love this chapter