Chapter Text
It was dark.
It was cold.
It was so damn lonely.
Max didn’t know where she was.
She groaned, trying to move around even though her limbs felt as if they weighed a hundred pounds each. She had a big cut right under her eye, which made blinking painful, but nothing compared to the wound on her stomach. Her shirt was stained in red, and she was gasping for air. “Help,” she called out. It could barely resemble a shout, but she still tried. She needed to get out of there and find her friends.
“No one is coming for you,” whispered a voice. Max gasped, the adrenaline in her veins pumping enough strength for her to get up. She pressed an arm around her midsection and looked around.
There was no one there.
“I’m right here,” the same cold voice whispered. It felt like it was coming from everywhere, jumping from ear to ear to confuse her.
“What?” Was all Max could manage to let out. Her surroundings were dark, and the floor beneath her felt soft, almost like she was standing on grass.
“They think you’re dead.”
“You’re lying.”
“Let me in,” the voice whispered. This time, Max could pinpoint the location. On her left, standing almost face to face, was a dark mist. Max gasped, moving backwards and falling on her back. “Let me in.”
“No,” she said, trying to sound firm but in reality she was trying to stay conscious.
“You will die,” the voice said, getting closer to her. It moved slowly, each turn calculated and so terrifying. “If you don’t let me in, you will die.”
“Gladly,” Max said, dragging her body until she could lean her back on a rock.
“Silly little girl,” said the mist. “You don’t know how painful and slow I can make your death feel. I will make every second feel like eternity.”
Max snorted loudly, but then moaned in pain, hand gripping the wound on her stomach. She was surprised she could still be lucid. “I know plenty about that.”
“Oh, is that so?” The mist laughed. “You’re in my world, girl. I make the rules.”
“Jesus,” Max said, rolling her eyes. She really couldn’t even die in peace.
“I’ve been sending my children, trying to find the perfect one for me. Yet I’ve found you myself.”
“Wha-”
The mist jumped on her, filling her mouth, her ears, her vision; all her senses were overwhelmed by the mist. Max heard herself screaming before she was passing out.
“Lucas,” Hopper called, putting a hand on his shoulder. “You need to stop.”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “You need to help. Max is down there, we need to get her out.”
“Sinclair,” Steve said, taking his hand in his. “You need to stop. Help is on the way, okay? They will find her in no time.”
“I don’t care,” Lucas said. The sweat and his tears mixed at his chin, making up a really messed up picture for a teenage boy.
“Lucas,” Steve tried again, kneeling beside where the boy was moving rocks around. “Lucas, please.”
“Help.”
The three men turned around to the sound, ablaint faint, still audible enough to catch their attention.
“Max?” Lucas called out, getting up and rushing to the place he was sure he had heard the sound. “Max, where are you?”
“Here,” someone called, a little to his left.
“Shit,” Hopper said, moving to help Lucas. Steve joined them, and after minutes of going in nonstop, the debris from the Creel House was soon removed to show a small flecked hand.
“Jesus,” Steve said, helping the girl out. “Is she okay, chief?”
“No longer chief,” Hopper groaned, grabbing the girl into his arms, pushing her completely out. He left the small hole they had created and rested the girl on the ground.
“Max?” Lucas asked.
Sky blue eyes looked at him, making her gasp in relief. After the Creel House had been blown up and Eleven had tried to defeat Vecna, Max had suddenly disappeared within the wreckage. Lucas had expected the worst, yet here she was, cold hand reaching out for her.
“Lucas,” Max said, before closing her eyes. There was a tense few seconds before they noticed she was still breathing.
“Are you sure she’s okay?” Steve asked. He wasn’t sure were Robin or Nancy were, but he couldn’t focus on that at the moment while the redhead laid lifelessly on Hopper’s arms.
“We need call an ambulance.”