BROOKLYN MOON drove herself to school, again as usual. The just-risen sun shone softly on the town streets, bringing with it a flurry of early-morning activity.

Brooklyn had a liking for school in some ways. It was mostly because she got to disappear from her always drunken and non sober dad most of the day which happened daily.

After her mother passing, her dad started drinking and drinking, hoping his emotions could fade in the shadows and never come back, but that always failed.

Brooklyn gripped the wheel, her heart pounding and her palms sweating. She felt her chest tighten as if she couldn't breathe that caused her not to register the fact that she was pulling into the school parking area.

She was able to regain control after experiencing a panic attack. She has always had them, ever since she was only nine years old she was diagnosed with them.

She stepped out, noticing that the air seemed tense. It felt as if something was wrong. Brooklyn always felt something similar, but she felt something bigger.

Brooklyn stood outside her car, staring at the school before she heard the same obnoxious ticking. It was almost as if it was a clock.

Brooklyn became curious, she started to walk towards the woods, which was where the sound was coming from and stopped in her tracks.

She looked up, seeing the same clock that she saw before placed on a tree. Brooklyn's eyes went wide, about to start running before she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, are you alright?" The voice was oddly familiar but it was almost sweet and calm.

Brooklyn turned around, seeing a familiar face. "Claudia? Oh, yes, I'm fine, sorry." Claudia blinked, looking at her before letting out a short laugh.

"Sorry? No, no, you need to stop saying that lynn!" Claudia giggled, wrapping her arm around Brooklyn's shoulder.

Brooklyn felt herself blush from the single touch. The tension was more intense than before, but not exactly in a bad way. It was almost as if she wanted Claudia's touch, like it made her superior in every way.

Brooklyn didn't know what to call it, but she sure as hell wasn't going to ignore it. If she did, it would drive her insane.

"I'm telling you, It's what I saw! hell, even robin did too!" Steve yelled, throwing his arms in the air.

Olive blinked, looking at him like she just saw a ghost. "I'm sorry... saw... what?" Olive asked all of a sudden, looking baffled by whatever they were talking about.

"A demo-dog" Dustin says, shrugging as if it was a normal thing to blurt out. "Demo-dog?" Olive questioned, looking at Robin with a confused look.

"Uhhh- Dustin can explain, I've only ever seen one so... I'm not too uh familiar with this, I only like saw this thingy called a mind flayer and stuff, It was awful."

Olive's mouth dropped, almost wanting to speak but didn't. She breathed deeply, playing with her nails as she waited for Dustin to start explain.

"It's basically this creature from another dimension. The upside down, which our friend Eleven opened a gate to it, and these monsters would come into our world... El closed it like three times, but maybe it opened again"

Olive was speechless, biting her nails nervously as she looked at them. She then sighed, placing her hands on her hips. "So something is back, again?"

Dustin nodded, "And it's controlling people. Making them uh... stuck. Like they can't do anything but just be manipulated" He added on.

"Well, that's just amazing" Olive scoffed, watching them look at her, confused. "You believe us, right?" Robin asked, watching Olive carefully. Olive hummed, nodding her head as she folded her arms.

"I just don't understand how all of this crazy shit, is real" She laughed sarcastically, not wanting to believe any of it.

She scoffed, shaking her head disappointingly, "why does it always have to be me? getting stuck in these situations?" She asked herself, mumbling as she spoke.

"Trust us, We've asked ourselves that question for about four years now" Steve sighed, looking at her with a small smile.

"Well, what do we think is uh coming after us?" Olive asked, leaning forward to look at Dustin with a look in her eyes. It almost seemed like she was nervous and scared to see what he had to say.

"About that... it's something, worse, this time. Something bigger," Dustin mumbled, grabbing a dnd book.

"a powerful, malevolent entity from the Upside Down who primarily torments his victims by exploiting their deepest fears and traumas, essentially "haunting" them with horrifying visions of their past before ultimately killing them" Dustin explained, looking at them with slight fear.

"Eddie thinks that this is what killed Chrissy Cunningham" Dustin sighed, giving Olive a frown.

"Oh, well, that's amazing, isn't it?" She scoffed, stressfully rubbing her face. Steve sighed, walking over to her and putting a comforting arm on her shoulder.

"I'm positive that we can call it, Oli, trust me," Steve mumbled to her, giving Olive a reassuring look.

Olive nodded with a small smile, looking up at him with a look that read "thank you."

Steve wrapped a comforting arm around Olive, letting her lean her head on his shoulder while Robin and Dustin yapped away.

Mike Wheeler, Christine Heyward, Graham Lindy, Haven Harrington, and Will Byers all sat down in Mike's basement, just like usual.

"Hey, are you okay?" Chrissy asked, glancing up at Haven. Haven looked back at her and gave a reassuring nod.

But deep down, she didn't feel okay. All she could think about was Max and how she was doing.

"So, when are El and Max getting here?" Haven asked anxiously, looking at Mike, who shrugged.

"They said maybe around 1pm, so in about 10 minutes," Mike replied, offering her a small smile.

"What if one of our friends is flayed or cursed? What are we supposed to do?" Haven mumbled, her eyes scanning the group.

Will stiffened, a sigh escaping his lips. "I don't know, but Brayden's been acting... strange," he said, glancing at her with uncertain eyes.

Haven nodded slowly. "But what if this Vecna thing takes one of us? Or Max, El, Steve..." She trailed off, nervously fiddling with her hands.

"Hey, it'll be fine, alright?" Gray said in a soothing tone, and Haven gave a small nod, allowing herself to relax a bit.

A knock echoed from upstairs, causing everyone to glance at the basement stairs. "Mike! Your friends are here!" Mrs. Wheeler called out, giving him a warning.

"Okay!" Mike shouted back, exchanging a knowing look with the group.

Moments later, Max and El appeared, stepping down the stairs and into the basement. Max looked over at Haven, a warm smile spreading across her face.

VERA SPEAKS !

me? writing a cliffhanger? never... but then again, i love leaving you guys questioning. anyways... how did we like this chapter?.

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