Chapter Twelve
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Six Little Nuggets

            Everyone gathered around the eldest Henderson in Max's trailer as they listened to her recount what she had seen. She was still shooken up about what Vecna had shown her, and even though she knew Vecna was just playing cruel mind games to try and scare her, everything felt so... real. She couldn't get the image of Dustin's lifeless body out of her head, and she kept having to glance over to him to reassure herself that he was safe. She had a difficult time speaking her words and it truly felt like she was going to break down any second.

            "He showed me things that haven't happened yet," Her voice was hoarse as she tried to explain, fearing that if she spoke louder Vecna would come back to her. "The most awful things. I saw... a dark cloud. Spreading over Hawkins. Downtown on fire. Dead soldiers. And this... this giant creature... with a g-gaping mouth a-and this creature wasn't alone. There were so many monsters. An army. And they were coming into Hawkins. Into out neighborhoods. Our homes. And then... h-he..." She stopped for a moment and wiped another tear from her cheek, having a hard time continuing.

            Dustin's blue eyes sadden at seeing his sister so distraught and frightened. He walked over to the couch from where he was standing so he could sit next to her, and put a comforting hand over hers. "H-he showed me our mom, Dusty. A-and he showed me Dad as well. All this time... we truly never knew how he died, but now I know... a-and he showed me you, D-Dusty. You were dead, lifeless. And m-mom was dead..." She faced her head away from Dustin and looked back up at everyone. "Steve, R-robin, Nancy... I mean, all of you were dead."

            "Hey, hey," Dustin said comfortingly. "I'm right here. I'm right here. You're not ever going to loose me. I'm your little brother, and I will be here to taunt you forever," He chuckled, hoping to make his sister smile.

              Olivia gave him a small smile, but she wasn't sure anything could lift her mood up at the moment. It was like Vecna had stolen all of her happiness away from her, all at once.

            Steve was absolutely furious and it was visibly clear on his features. He wished there was something he could say or do to make her feel better, to bring her light, to bring her hope again. "Okay, but... he's just trying to scare you, Liv," He exhaled. "Right? I mean, it's not... it's not real," He assured. The group remained silent, making him began to have his own doubts.

            "N-Not yet," Olivia replied, shaking her head. "But there... there was something else. He showed me gates. Four gates spreading across Hawkins. They looked like the one outside of Eddie's trailer but... they didn't stop growing. And this wasn't the Upside Down Hawkins. This was our Hawkins. Our home," She cried.

            "Four chimes," Max shivered. "Vecna's clock. It always chimes four times. Four times exactly."

            "I heard them too," Olivia said eerily.

            "He's been telling us his plan this whole time," Max said bitterly.

"Four kills. Four gates," Lucas added wearily. "End of the world."

            "If that's true, he's only one kill away," Dustin noted worriedly. Olivia shifted her gaze to the floor, and covered her face with her hands.

"Try them again," Steve said to Max, gesturing to the phone, referring to Joyce and the others. Max nodded, but after she hurriedly dialed the Byers' phone number, she had no luck.

"Same shit," Max hung up the phone frustratedly.

"I'm telling you, Joyce has this telemarketer job," Dustin informed. "She's always on the phone."

"Okay, yeah, but this phone's been busy for what? Three day's now?" Max argued. "That's not Joyce. No way. Something's wrong."

"She's right," Olivia agreed. "I talk to Joyce on the phone at least once a week. It can't be just a coincidence. It can't be." The Henderson girl knew Joyce, she was like a second mother to her. If Joyce wasn't answering her phone, then something had to be wrong.

She stood up and walked over to the window, gazing at the trees. Her Hawkins, the town she once loved, the town that used to make her feel safe. But now she knew she would never feel safe again, not in Hawkins at least. "Whatever's happening in Lenora is connected to all of this. I'm sure of it. But Vecna won't hurt him. I can't let him hurt them. Not if he's dead," She said with determination, turning around to face them again. She couldn't let Vecna murder more people that she loved, she wasn't going to give up without a fight. "We have to go back in there. Back in the upside down."

Everyone gawked at her and we're quick to disagree with her. "Let's think this through, okay?" Steve interjected. There was no way he was going to let her willingly face Vecna.

"What is there to think through?" She replied angrily.

Steve stood up and walked over to her, slightly surprised by her outburst. "We barely made it out of there in one piece!" He argued. "I almost lost you to him, and I'm not letting that happen again!"

"Steve, Vecna has already taken someone I love away from me. I'm not letting him take anyone else!" She raised her voice. Everyone widened their eyes in shock at her small outburst. "And we weren't prepared last time!" She continued. "This time we will be."

"Liv's right," Nancy stepped forward, standing by her friends side. "We'll get weapons, we'll go to the gate, we'll find his lair, and we'll kill him."

"Or he'll kill us!" Steve fired back. "Liv, the only reason you survived is because he wanted you to. He's not scared of us."

            "Hey, I survived because of the angelic voice that is Whitney Houston!" Olivia exclaimed, making Steve roll his eyes at her.

"Vecna's not scared of us for good reason," Robin spoke up. "We were wrong about Vecna. Henry. One. Sorry, what are we calling him now?"

The gang mumbled various answers in response. "Right," Robin rolled her eyes. "We've learned something new about Vecna/Henry/One," Her words were spoken in a rush, and Olivia almost wouldn't have understood her if she wasn't already so used to Robin's quirky (but lovable) antics. "He's a number like a eleven only he's a sick, evil, male child-murdering version with really bad skin but my point is, he's super powerful! He could turn us inside out with his fingers. It's not a fair fight," She said in defeat.

"So then, why fight fair?" Dustin chimed in. "You're right, he's like Eleven. But that gives us an upper hand. We know Eleven's strengths and weaknesses."

"Weaknesses?" Erica retorted.

"When El remote-travels, she goes into this sort of trance-like state," Dustin described in awe. "I bet the same is true of Vecna."

"That would explain what he was doing in that attic," Lucas said, slowly connecting the dots.

"Exactly!" Dustin nodded. "When he attacked his next victim, I'll bet you he's back in that attic, physical body defenseless."

"Defenseless, yeah? What about the army of bats?" Steve scoffed, gesturing with his hands.

"True, we'll have to find a way to pass them," Dustin shrugged his shoulders. "Distract them, somehow."

"And uh, how do we do that, exactly?" Eddie asked.

"But once they're gone, he doesn't stand a chance," Dustin said with hopefulness. "It will be like slaying sleeping Dracula in his coffin."

"That all sounds good in theory but there is no pattern to Vecna's killing. I mean, at least not one that I can decipher," Robin reminded. "We don't even know when he's going to attack next. We don't even know when who he's going to attack next."

"Yeah, we do," Max said quietly. "I can still feel him. I'm still marked. Cursed. I ditch Kate Bush, I draw his focus back to me."

Olivia widened her eyes at the young girl, completely terrified at just the thought. "Max, no. I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself to this... monster. It should be me instead."

Steve was about to refuse, but Max intervened. "No," The red head shook her head. "That's not going to happen. You're like an older sister to me that I never had and I'm not loosing you. Plus, Dustin needs you. Steve needs you. We all need you. And I know for sure that it has to be me. You have to let me do this. I've survived before, I can survive again," She said determinedly.

"Max... t-this just, this isn't fair. It shouldn't have to be you," Olivia sighed in defeat and shared a worried look with Lucas, both knowing that the small yet determined girl wasn't going to let anyone stop her.

"I just... I need to keep him busy long enough so that you guys can get into that attic," She thought carefully. "Then you can chop his head off. Stab him in the heart. Blow him up with some explosive Dustin cooked up. I honestly, I really don't care how you put this asshole in his grave, just... whatever it is, whatever you do, try not to miss," She finished.

Eddie digged through the pocket of his leather jacket and suddenly stood up, and gesturing for everyone to follow him to the table. "Check this out," He slammed a manual down that was titled The War Zone in bold letters. "It's huge. They got everything you need for, uh, killing things, basically."

Olivia stood between Dustin and Steve and leaned her hands on the table, studying the manual closely. "Do you think fake Rambo has enough guns there?" Robin asked curiously. "Is that a grenade? And how is any of this legal?" She looked to Olivia for help as if she knew the answer, and Olivia simply shrugged in response.

"Well, lucky enough for us, it is," Eddie grinned while gritting his teeth. "This place is just far enough out of Hawkins. As long as we stay clear of the main roads, we oughta be able to avoid cops, and uh, angry hicks."

"If we're trying to avoid angry hicks, maybe we should avoid going to some store called The War Zone," Erika snorted.

"Normally I'd agree, but we need the weapons so, I think it's worth the risk," Nancy shrugged.

"Yeah, but is it worth the time? It'll take all day to bike there and back," Dustin pointed out.

"Who said anything about bikes?" Eddie piped up.

"What, you got some sort of car we don't know about?" Steve asked.

"It's not exactly a car, Steve. It's not exactly mine, but uh, it'll do," He grinned again.

            "This can't be good," Olivia muttered under her breath.

            "Come on Lady Henderson, live a little," Eddie smiled at the older Henderson, and spinned around to face Max. "Hey, red, you got a ski mask, or a bandana, or something like that?"

Max raised her eyebrows and perked up a little.

𓆩♡𓆪

             Everyone quietly lined up behind Eddie outside of one of the trailers as they waited for his signal. Eddie was wearing a Michael Meyers Mask, the same mask that Max had worn two years ago. Olivia smiled at the memory and she laughed a little. She couldn't believe that she was actually about to steal someone else's trailer with Eddie Munson. She normally would never agree to doing something like this. It was a crime, but she knew it was unfortunately their only option.

            Once Eddie signaled that it was okay to go, a rush of adrenaline flooded through her as they quietly snuck inside the other trailer. Olivia immediately felt guilty when she spotted the older couple who owned the trailer, but she tried to push the guilt aside.

            Eddie slid open the window of the trailer  and climbed over it with the others following behind him. When Olivia steadily climbed in the trailer, she peeked through the blinds to keep an eye out.

              Eddie began to cut the wires behind the driving wheel. "Where'd you learn how to do this?" Steve questioned.

            "Well, when the other dads were teaching there kids how to fish, or how to play ball, my old man was teaching me how to hot wire. Now I sore to myself I wouldn't wind up like he did, but now I'm wanted for murder and soon, grand theft auto. So, uh, I'm really living up to that Munson name," Eddie said bitterly. There was in obvious edge in his tone as he talked about his dad and Olivia frowned, knowing Eddie never had a good father figure. From what Eddie described of his Dad, Olivia didn't think he was anything like him.

             She was about to respond to his comment when Robin walked up behind Steve, looking passed his shoulder over at Eddie. "Uh, Eddie, I'm not sure I love the idea of you driving," She raised her eyebrows.

            "Oh I'm starting this sucker. Harrington's got her. Don't ya big boy?" Eddie snickered.

            When the ignition to the trailer started, the older couple banged on the window furiously with clenched fists. Olivia panicked and fear immediately flashed across her eyes. "Everybody, hang on to something!" Steve yelled, hopping into the front seat and griped onto the wheel.

            "Drive, Steve, drive!" Dustin shouted, gripping onto the couch in the back. Olivia sat down next to Dustin, holding onto the couch as well while also clinging onto Dustin's shoulder.

            Steve pressed on the petal and Olivia's stomach was queasy from the adrenaline. Once they were far away enough from the couple, Steve slowed his driving down a bit and Olivia leaned her head back on the soft pillow, finally feeling like she was able to relax for a while. She pulled her knees close to her chest and gazed out the window while watching the swarms of greenery swiftly pass her.

𓆩♡𓆪

            An hour or so had passed of driving on the road, and Olivia changed her seating from the couch to one of the other benches, sitting in between Robin and Dustin. Lucas had moved over to sit by Max in the back, Eddie was sprawled out on the bench across from them, and Nancy was sitting in the front seat by Steve. The road was a little bumpy but this was the first time Olivia got to rest within the last few days. The song Fire and Rain by James Taylor was playing softly on the radio. The soft guitar acoustics were a comforting sound, making Olivia fall fast asleep on Dustin's shoulder in a deep slumber.

            Steve smiled fondly as he glanced back at the endearing siblings before focusing his attention back on the road. "Nance, is Liv asleep back there?" Steve asked, nodding his head in her direction.

            "I think so," Nancy nodded, and a light chuckle escaped her lips as she hears a soft snore from Olivia. "You know, you guys make a beautiful couple," The Wheeler girl smiled, turning to look back at Steve.

Steve glanced behind Olivia one more time to double check that she was really asleep before thoughtfully looking back at the road ahead of him. He rested one hand on his forehead while his other hand was on the wheel. "You know, it's silly, but I've actually... I always had this dream I've had this really, really big family. I'm talking like uh, a full brood of Harrington's. Like five, six kids," He smiled as he spoke.

Nancy tilted her head in disbelief, looking at him quizzically. This certainly wasn't the Steve that she used to know, but she smiled knowing Olivia was the one who had this good affect on him. "Six?" She asked with amusement.

"Yeah, six little nuggets," Steve confirmed with a wide grin. "Three girls, three boys. The boys would have my hair, obviously, and the girls would have Olivia's smile and beautiful doe-like brown eyes. And her fierceness, too. And maybe Dustin would come visit every weekend and teach our kids how to play Dungeons and Dragons."

"Wow, you've really thought about this, haven't you?" Nancy's heart melted, and she wished Olivia was awake to here this. She looked behind her at Olivia again who was still sleeping peacefully. "I know you two would be amazing parents, I mean, you kind of already are."

Steve grinned again. It was true, he had thought about this many times, though he wouldn't never admit it to Olivia. "And e-every summer... I figured all of us Harrington's would pack into something like this. And just see the country. You know, the Rockies, Grand Canyon, maybe Yellowstone. I think Liv would like that, to be far away from Hawkins where we've been through so much here. Maybe end up in some beach town in California. Send a week parked in the sand. Learn how to surf or something," He finished with pure love in his eyes as he pictured his future.

"That sounds nice," Nancy smiled. "Well, except for the six-kid part. That sounds like a total nightmare. But I know that if anyone can raise six kids, it would be you guys." 

            "Well, if only we had some practice," Steve joked, gesturing to the kids in the back.

            "Alright, that's fair," Nancy agreed with a laugh. "That's fair. So, how come you've never told her any of this?"

            "I'm afraid that if I do, I'll mess things up. I don't want to freak her out. Our relationship is perfect right now. Well, except for the Vecna/Henry/One end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it part. Just promise me... promise me that you won't ever mention this to her?" Steve pleaded.

             "I promise," Nancy nodded. "But Steve, I think now is a perfect time more then ever to tell her."

            Steve drew his attention back to the road again, thinking thoughtfully about his future while looking at the road ahead of them. A comfortable silence fell between them, but little did they know, Olivia had been awake the entire time, at least enough to hear his confession. A part of her felt guilty for listening to Steve's confession, but on the other hand, it made her happier than she's ever been, and it made her have more determination to defeat Vecna once and for all and finally have a future with Steve. She had the same dreams that Steve did, and as she closed her eyes while still resting her head on Dustin's shoulder, a sleepy smile was graced upon her features.