↣ 𝘓𝘢𝘸𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘴

Although Kathleen didn't particularly dislike high school, she had some issues with the students there. It seemed like only yesterday when she was talking to Chrissy and her friends or joking with her cousin. She was now standing in the same corridor, attempting to flee a bizarre murder. Who seems to enjoy harming the innocent.

They all rushed inside Ms Kelley's office. she gazed around the room, having only been in here once when her cat was run over. She really missed that kitty. She took up one of the books and scoffed, wondering why anyone would bother with counseling. She thought to herself as she watched Max sit in the chair with others hovering over her.

Kathleen was staring at something on the wall when the room fell silent. She looked around to discover Max was lost in her own world as the boys struggled to attract her attention. "Max, come on." Dustin shook her, as if attempting to awaken her.

Max's eyes widened and she looked around the room. Kathleen took a step closer, eager to calm the girl who had been startled out of nowhere.

"It was literally right here." Max stated. They were now staring at a wall that was meant to have a large grandfather's clock on it.

"A grandfather clock?"

" It was so real." She explained as she looked around the room. "And then, when I got closer, suddenly I just...I woke up."

"It was like she was in a trance or something." Dustin began to explain to Nancy and Robin, who were now at school. "Exactly what Eddie said happened to Chrissy."

"People call that possession, and I believe we stop tampering with things we shouldn't." Kathleen replied, looking up from where she was reclining next to Robin.

Dustin rolled his eyes and was ready to speak, when Max cut him off. "That's not even the bad part. Fred and Chrissy, they both came to Miss Kelley for help." Kathleen couldn't look at Chrissy's face so she moved her attention elsewhere while Max showed them both the files.

"Uh, they both were having headaches, bad headaches that wouldn't go away. And then...Then the nightmares. Trouble sleeping. They'd wake up in a cold sweat. Then they started seeing things. Bad things. From their pasts. These visions, they just... They kept on getting worse and worse, until eventually...Everything ended."

"Vecna curse." This Vecna guy was killing innocent kids . Kathleen gazed at Max and remembered Billy. She also considered Eddie and wondered if Vecna had his sights set on him.

"Chrissy's headache started a week ago. Fred's, six days ago. I've been having them for five days. 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...looks like I'm gonna die tomorrow." Kathleen's expression quickly changed. She felt like crying as the redheaded girl's words exited her mouth. She was aware of the possibilities, but she couldn't lose the girl in this manner.

They were all startled by a noise, which caused them to all go inexorably in its direction. "Stay here.'' Steve warned. grabbing a lamp to use as a weapon to frighten the intruder away. As her girlfriend guarded her, Kathleen stayed behind Robin, their fingers intertwined. The noises grew louder and louder as they continued down the corridor until someone rounded the corner.

Lucas Sinclair was now in front of them as Steve started to swing but then stopped at the realization. "it's me!'' He yelled.

"Lucas!'' Relief-filled, Kathleen sighed.

"Jesus, what's wrong with you?'' Steve shouted. "I could've taken you out with this lamp!''

"Sorry, guys. Sorry. I was...I was biking for eight miles. Give me a second. Shit.'' Lucas groaned and knelt down to attempt to regain his breath. "We've got a code red.''

" what?''

"Dustin, I've been with Jason, Patrick and Andy and they've gone totally off the rails. They're trying to capture Eddie.'' When her cousin's name was mentioned, Kathleen became immediately alarmed. "And they think you know where he is. You're in terrible danger.''

Dustin nodded, not giving it much thought at the moment. He turned to face Max. "All right. Yeah, that definitely sucks, but we're got bigger problems than Jason now." They all turned to Max. Realizing that time was running out and that her life was in their hands.

𐬽𐬼𐬽

They all arrived at the basement of the Wheeler. Although Kathleen had never been to their home, it was just as she had anticipated. She was leafing through a book in search of details regarding the unsettling old Victor Creel.

"Okay, be honest." Steve began by turning the page he was holding over. "You guys understanding any of this?''

"No." Lucas sighed.

"I long ago stopped reading." Kathleen added.

Dustin had a small smile as he looked up." Pretty straightforward."

"Oh, straightforward. Really?" Steve sneered.

"What's confusing to you?"

"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." Dustin gave a summary. She was reminded of the details of hearing Chrissy's death.

"That's assuming he was cursed, which we don't even know," Steve argues. "How can Vecna exist In the 50s? It doesn't make sense."

"And when did you begin your career as a mythological beings historian?" Kathleen inquired as she looked at him.

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

"Dinosaurs? What are we..."

"Consider upside-down dinosaurs." Kathleen laughed quietly, despite the fact that it wasn't particularly amusing.

"But if a gate didn't exist in the '50s, how did Vecna get through and How's he getting through now?"

"And why now?" Lucas inquired as he looked around.

"And why then?" Steve inquires. " Just pops out in the '50s, kills one family, and he's like, "I'm good. And poof, he just disappears. Just... gone? Only to return 30 years later and start killing random teens? No, I don't buy it." As he turned to Dustin, he stated. " Straightforward, my ass. Honestly, Henderson, a little humility. now and then, it wouldn't hurt you."

"Steve, I saw you almost cry when you were rejected by a girl, and now you're in for some humiliation." Kathleen murmured as she saw him sit down, winking at Dustin, who smiled back.

Dustin spoke up before Steve went to defend himself. " Any idea what she's writing?" Dustin wondered, everyone turned to look at the red haired girl in the corner, hunched over as she was writing. "Did she sleep?"

Lucas turned to him. "I mean, would you?"

Kathleen would not sleep if she were in Max's situation. The door banged open, revealing Nancy and Robin as they walked down the stairs . When she saw her girlfriend, she immediately grinned.

" Okay, so...we have a plan."

" Thanks to Nancy's minions, we are now rock-star psychology students at the University of Note Dame." She explained the false data being passed about. Robin sat next to Kathleen, who immediately took her hand.

" I'm now Ruth." Nancy said.

"And I'm Rose."

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

"To which they said no." Robin added.

"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 to Victor."

" Then maybe we can rid Max of this curse." Nancy finished. Kathleen cast a hopeful gaze over to Max. Everything would work out in the end.

"About that." Steve hesitated. "We've been doing
our Victor Creel homework, and, uh...we got some questions."

"Lots of questions."

" So do we. Hopefully, Victor has the answers." Nancy nodded, with a lot of confidence.

"Wait... Wait... Wait a second. Uh...Where's mine?" Steve inquired as he followed the girl up the stairs.

Kathleen was helped up by Robin. "Come on." She stated. They came after the other two.

" Nancy, you're outta your mind if you think I'm babysitting again." Steve's voice was audible enough for them to hear as they entered Nancy's room.

" Steve, I'm going to be there to make sure you're not alone, and you adore them, so stop whining." Kathleen stated while sitting on the girls' bed.

" First, they're not babies anymore. And Max is in real danger. She needs people around her." As she rummaged through her clothes, Nancy reminded Steve.

" I know. But why me?" Steve complained. Kathleen rolled her eyes and turned her attention to her girlfriend, who was now looking over Nancy's belongings.

"Oh my God, you have a Tom Cruise poster." Robin exclaimed as she turned to Kathleen. "Nancy has a Tom Cruise poster."

Nancy sighed and gazed at them as the two chuckled. "That's old. It's just...Can you please not touch anything?"

"I can't do anything here, Nance. Maybe I can be helpful with this asylum director dude. I don't know. I could turn on my... my charm."

" Well, put on a dress and we'll send you in as a distraction." Kathleen stated as she ducked as something was flung at her.

"Not the charm we need."

"Ouch."

" No, I just... I did a little digging last night, and it turns out 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 win him over, we're gonna have to convince him we are too. That, like him...we are true academic scholars."

" Holy shit. There's a little ballerina in here." Robin picked it up and showed it to Kathleen, who was even more pleased because she had always wanted one as a child.

" Academic scholar?" Steve nodded, clearly unimpressed. " She's giving you an academic scholar vibe?"

" No, but...she will." Nancy smiled, bringing out a dress that should have been destroyed a long time ago."

"Oh, please, tell me you're joking." Kathleen comforted Robin as she grumbled, not wanting to look at the hideous dress.

𐬽𐬼𐬽

Kathleen sat on the floor in the basement of the Wheeler's house; Robin and Nancy had already left, so it was back to their tiny group. " I know you guys are staring at me." Max called out, prompting everyone to glance aside. " How you think your eyes boring into the back of my head is protecting me from Vecna, I don't know."

A few seconds passed. Max eventually stood up. She approached them, evidently irritated by their obvious activities. " You can look at me now."

" Thank you. Sorry."

Max sighed before extending an envelope to each of them. She stepped in front of Kathleen and handed her the letter. She gave a big smile to the redhead girl. She read the addresses on it and smiled, flattered yet feeling a little emotional.

" What are you doing?" Max asked, looking at everyone as they tried to open their letters. " No, don't. That's not for now. Don't open it now."

"I'm sorry. What is this?" Dustin inquired, his gaze fixed on her.

"It's, um...It's fail-safe. For after. If things don't work out."

"Wait, whoa. Max, things are gonna work out." Lucas reassured her.

"No!" Max argued, " No, I don't need you to reassure me and tell me it's all gonna 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. If we go to East Hawkins, will this reach Pennhurst?"

"Of course. Yeah."

"Why are we talking about East Hawkins?" Steve asked, wondering what the hell was going on before realizing what was going on. " No. No. No!" Steve refused, but Max ignored him and stepped right outside, determination coursing through her veins. " Max, Max. Seriously. Seriously, I'm not joking. I'm not driving you anywhere."

As she proceeded to his car, Max continued to ignore him. " If you think I'm going to spend
what is likely the last day of my life in the armpit
that is Mike Wheeler's basement, you're out of your mind. Either take me where I need to go or tie me down, which is technically kidnapping of a minor. And if I live to see another day, Steve, I swear to God, I will prosecute." Max yanked on the door before turning to face Steve. " Open the door."

" Uh,no."

"I know a good lawyer." She threatened.

"Remind me when this is all over to get her to persuade Eddie to let me drive his van." Kathleen commented as she stood alongside Dustin and Lucas, watching the action.

Steve moaned as he unlocked the automobile. " Henderson, that super walkie of yours better reach Pennhurst."

_________________
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Shout out to my favourite people.norasnetflix RuffieRoseStories arsvenal kiesluverr KleeAlise11 andorss

Well that's all from me. I hope to see you in the next update