𝙂𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙃𝙚𝙧 - ᴍᴀx ᴍᴀʏꜰɪᴇʟᴅ

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Grand Theft Auto

"Ava, are you okay?" Max asks, seeing that she's just staring blankly at the wall, "Oh, um, yeah i'm okay." Ava says, nodding. "You're sure? You don't seem like your usual self." Max says, staring at the girl, looking for any sign of discomfort or anything like that.

"No, Max, i'm fine. I promise." Ava says, not making eye contact with the redhead. Max just kept holding Ava, trying to get some kind of reaction, but mainly out of worry for the girl.

Nancy and Steve finally got back to the surface, Nancy looking almost out of breath. Ava and Nancy made eye contact almost instantly, so many thoughts and questions flowing through the girls' minds. "We need to tell them." Nancy says to Ava, "Tell us.. what?" Eddie asks, moving his eyes back and forth as he tried to study the girls' faces.

Ava simply nods in agreement. Nancy and Ava both sat down, ready to explain. "Vecna.. he showed us.. things that haven't happened yet." Nancy says in a hoarse voice, "The most awful things." She adds. "We saw a dark cloud spreading over hawkins." Ava says, "Downtown on fire." Ava adds. "Dead soldiers." Nancy nods, "And this.. this giant creature with a gaping mouth, and this creature wasn't alone." Nancy says.

"There were so many monsters." Nancy says. "An army." Ava adds on, "And they were coming into Hawkins." She says, "Into our neighborhoods, our homes." She finishes. "And then.. he showed me my mom." Nancy says, "And Holly.. Mike." Nancy says sadly. "And they- they were all.." Nancy says, her voice breaking, not being able to finish her sentence.

"Okay, but.. he's just trying to scare you guys, alright?" Steve says, "Right? I mean, it's not real." Steve says, almost as if he's trying to convince himself. "Not yet." Ava says, "But there was something else.. he showed us gates." Nancy says. "Four gates." She clarifies, "Spreading across Hawkins." She adds. "And these gates, they looked like the one outside of Eddie's trailer." She says.

"But.. they didn't stop growing." Nancy says, "And this wasn't the Upside Down Hawkins." Ava clarifies.  "This was our Hawkins." She says, "Our home." She adds. "Four chimes." Max says, almost reading Ava's mind. "Vecna's clock. It always chimes four times." The redhead continues. "Four exactly." Max says, looking at Ava, who nods.

"We heard them too." Nancy says, "And- And Ava, she.." Nancy says, trying to bring up what she saw. "Nancy." Ava says sternly, not wanting everyone to know about what the two had saw. "What? What is it?" Steve asks, "It's nothing important." Ava says, making everyone curious. "Ava-" Nancy tries to say, "No, we need to talk about how to save our town." Ava says firmly.

They sit in an awkward silence for a couple seconds, "He's been.. telling us his plan this whole time." Max brings up, "Four kills." Lucas says, making Max nod. "Four gates." Lucas adds, "End of the world." He finishes. "Wait, Ava, aren't you cursed by this Vecna?" Eddie asks, remembering what happened, making her groan, knowing Steve is going to become overprotective.

"Four kills?" Steve asks, "And Ava could be one of them?" He asks, earning a slow nod from Max. "This is crazy." Steve says, standing up from the couch, "This Vecna dude isn't taking away my sister." Steve says, fully confident in protecting Ava. If only he knew. "If that's true.. he's only one kill away." Dustin says, "Jesus Christ." Eddie mumbles.

"Try them again, try them again." Steve says, making Max go to the phone. "Anything?" Dustin asks, "No." Max answers. "Rang a few times, then went to busy signal." Max adds, "Maybe you punched it in wrong. Try again." Steve responds. "I didn't punch it in wrong." Max says, "Well, i don't know." Steve says, worrying for his sister, wanting someone on the line immediately.