CHAPTER SIX:
YOU AND THE DEVIL WALKING SIDE BY SIDE

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   NANCY AND ROBIN'S side quest led them to find out that Vecna's killings had started back in the fifties and there had only been one survivor. Victor Creel. They planned to go to the sanitarium where Victor Creel was held and attempt to question him to get some answers on how Max could survive the curse. Liz had been up all night reading everything Nancy and Robin had printed about Victor Creel in the news. Liz was determined to find a way to save Max. She had to.

   Max had spent most of the morning writing what looked to be letters. Liz thought it was goodbye letters and no matter what, Liz wouldn't take it. Max wasn't going to die and she wouldn't have to give Liz a goodbye letter. Liz had spent all night watching Max, ensuring she didn't have another vision and didn't die. Between keeping an eye on Max, she read and reread every article about Victor Creel.

   Liz and Lucas read an article together on the couch titled, Victor Creel Claims: Ancient Demon Killed Family. Somehow, Victor Creel's whole family had been killed and he was the only survivor. Liz was figuring out what it all meant quickly but Steve, on the other hand, was struggling, "Okay, be honest. Uh... you guys understand any of this?"

   Lucas shook his head as Liz handed him the article back and moved her focus to Max, "No."

   "Yes," Liz disagreed.

   Dustin nodded, "Pretty straightforward."

   "Oh, straightforward, really?" Steve scoffed.

   "Well, what's confusing to you?" Dustin asked. "So far, everyone Vecna has cursed has died, except for this old Victor Creel dude Nancy found. He's the only known survivor —"

   "For now," Liz corrected. Dustin, Steve, and Lucas all looked at Liz who's eyes were on Max. Liz was determined, more determined than any of them. Max was going to live and Liz was going to do everything to make that happen.

   "Yeah, for now," Dustin nodded with a smile before looking back at Steve who was giving his sister a worried look. Steve was worried about Max but he was worried about Liz even more. He knew that Liz would be utterly broken if anything happened to Max and didn't want that to happen, "If anyone knows how to beat this curse, it's him."

   "That's assuming he was cursed, Henderson, which we don't even know," Steve explained before sighing and rubbing his forehead. "How can Vecna have existed in the fifties? It doesn't make sense."

   "As far as we know, Eleven didn't create the Upside Down. She opened a gate to it," Dustin explained to Steve. Liz looked at Dustin, listening to his explanation. She was also curious about what the smartest person in the group had to say. "The Upside Down has probably been around for thousands of years. Millions. I wouldn't be surprised if it predated the dinosaurs."

   "Dinosaurs?" Steve scoffed "What are we —"

   "Okay, okay, but if a gate didn't exist in the fifties, how did Vecna get through?" Lucas asked, pointing out a hole in Dustin's theory. "How's he getting through now and why now?"

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

   Liz nodded, agreeing with her brother, "Steve's right. We're missing something."

   Steve nodded and gestured to his sister before sitting on an armchair and crossing his legs. A moment of silence went by as Liz continued to watch Max who was still writing her letters at the desk across from the couch. Dustin, Lucas, and Steve followed her gaze and watched her as well.

  "Any idea what she's writing?" Dustin asked.

   "I think it might be goodbye letters," Liz answered. "Just in case..."

   "Did she sleep?"

   Liz shook her head, "No. I stayed up watching her and she hasn't slept at all."

   "You didn't sleep?" Steve asked in a concerned tone. Liz shook her head. "You should take a nap, Liz."

   Liz shook her head once more. She couldn't sleep. She needed to keep an eye on Max, "I'm fine."

   "Liz —"

   "I said I'm fine, Steve!" Liz snapped.

   Steve gave his little sister a worried look. Liz felt all three of the boys' eyes on her but she ignored them and continued staring at the back of Max's head. Liz knew they were all worried about Max but they were also worried about Liz. Dustin and Steve knew that Liz loved Max, and Lucas knew that Liz deeply cared about her. If Max was in danger, they knew Liz would risk her own life to save Max and that worried all of them.

   The door to the basement slammed shut and made Liz finally look away from Max. Nancy and Robin made their way down the wooden stairs before Nancy started to explain, "Okay, so... we have a plan."

   Nancy and Robin took seats around the coffee table before handing a file to Steve and another to Dustin. As Steve and Dustin read it over, Robin explained their plan, "Thanks to Nancy's minions, we are now rockstar psychology students at the University of Notre Dame."

   "I'm now Ruth," Nancy said.

   "And I'm Rose," Robin said.

   "Ruth?" Steve questioned Nancy.

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

   "To which they said no."

   "But we landed a three o'clock with the director," Nancy explained.

   "Now all we have to do is charm him and convince him to let us talk to Victor," Robin added.

   Nancy nodded, "Then maybe we can rid Max of this curse."

   "I love it," Liz smiled, hoping Nancy and Robin would get some answers out of Victor Creel.

   "Yeah, about that, we've been doing our Victor Creel homework, and, uh... we got some questions," Steve explained to them.

   "Yes," Liz nodded. "Lots of questions."

   "So do we," Nancy agreed. "Hopefully, Victor has the answers."

   "Wait, wait, wait a second," Steve looked through the files, noticing there were only two. "Where's mine?"

   Nancy pursed her lips, prompting Steve to stand up and protest. Nancy and Robin started to head upstairs to find some better outfits to wear and Steve followed them up the stairs, protesting about not wanting to be the babysitter again. Liz rolled her eyes at her brother's protests before looking back at Max.

   Liz thought back to the first moment she had ever seen Max. She was in Mister Clarke's classroom when Max walked in. She was carrying a skateboard in her hand and hated that Mister Clarke was introducing her to the class. Liz remembered that she thought Max was beautiful and she immediately started to like her and wanted to know her. Once she finally met Max at recess, she somehow knew that Max was going to mean a lot to her in the future. There was something in the air that told her Max was going to be important and she was and still is. Even though Max was doing everything in her power to push Liz away, Max was still important to her. Liz loved Max and she was pretty sure that Max loved her which was why Max was pushing her away. Liz thought Max didn't want to hurt her, especially now when her life was on the line and she was walking side by side with the devil.

   Steve finally came back downstairs looking annoyed. He sat himself down on the couch and pouted like a child. Liz thought Steve was being dramatic and a little selfish when he knew Max's life was in danger and she needed people around her.

   They all started to stare at Max just like Liz was. Max seemed to notice as she looked over her shoulder and informed them, "I know you guys are staring at you."

   "What, sorry?"

   "What's that?"

   "You said you needed something?"

   "Just hanging out."

   "How you guys think your eyes boring into the back of my head is protecting me from Vecna, I don't know," Max shook her head before collecting the letters in her hands and making her way over to the group. She watched as the boys pretended to not notice her while Liz kept staring. "You can look at me now."

   "Thank you. Sorry."

   "Sorry."

   "Sorry."

   Max sighed before handing each of them a letter addressed to them. Max then handed Liz three more letters, "Oh, and, um, give these to Mike, El, and Will, if you can ever get a hold of them again."

   The boys started to open the letters until Max stopped them. Dustin furrowed his brows as he held up the letter, "I'm sorry, what is this?"

   Max looked down at her hands and fiddled with her fingers, "It's, um... it's a fail-safe. For after. If things don't work out."

   "No. Fuck no," Liz shook her head.

   "Liz —"

   "I'm not taking this, Max," Liz held the letter out along with the other three. "And I'm not giving these to Mike, El, and Will. You're gonna be fine —"

   "No! No, I don't need you to reassure me and tell me it's all gonna work out because people have been telling me that my entire life and it's almost never true. It's never true," Max interrupted, raising her voice. "I mean, of course, this asshole curses me. Should've seen that one coming."

   "I'm still not taking it," Liz shook her head, continuing to hand over the letters. "You're gonna be fine."

   "Liz, you're taking the letters."

   Liz stood up and stepped closer to Max, "I'm not taking them, Max. You can give me my letter when we beat Vecna and save you."

   Max clenched her jaw, growing angrier, "Liz, take... the damn... letter!"

   "No!" Liz raised her voice, her eyes started to well up with tears. "You're gonna be fine! I am gonna make sure that you'll be fine! I can protect you and I will protect you!"

   Before Max could say anything in return, Liz stormed off to the bathroom. She slammed the door shut before the tears started to leave her eyes and fall down her cheeks. She placed her head in her hands and started to sob quietly, not wanting anyone to hear her. The tears fell as fast as rain falls from the sky. Liz looked into the mirror and placed a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her sobs. A knock on the door made Liz quickly wipe her tears away and pull herself together.

   "It's me, Liz," Steve announced. Liz sighed and opened up the door, letting her brother in. When he saw her tear-stained cheeks, he immediately plastered a worried look on his face. Steve rubbed Liz's shoulder. "Hey, hey, what's wrong?"

   Liz immediately started sobbing again and fell into Steve's arms, burying her head in his chest. Liz hated when people asked what was wrong or if she was okay when she was obviously not okay. It made her break down even more. Steve rubbed Liz's back as she sobbed, "She can't die. She can't die. I can't... I can't let her... I have to save her."

   Steve continued rubbing her back as Liz held her brother tightly, "She's gonna be okay, Liz."

   Liz pulled away from Steve and looked up at him with glossy red eyes, "We don't know that. What if... What if we don't figure out how to help her in time? What if she... She can't die. I can't... I don't know how to live in a world without her in it."

   "She's not gonna die, Liz," Steve assures in a soft voice. He continued to rub her back as tears continued to fall down Liz's face. "I'm gonna do everything I can to prevent that from happening and so are you. She's not gonna die."

   Another knock on the door started Liz. She quickly turned around toward the mirror and wiped her eyes. When she was done, Steve opened the door to find Dustin standing in front of them. Liz looked back at Dustin who started to explain, "Max wants to go to East Hawkins."

   Steve shook his head as he exited the bathroom, "No. No."

   Dustin looked at Liz for a moment. She took one last look in the mirror before nodding at him, assuring him that she was okay. Dustin placed an arm around her as they walked back toward the sitting area where Max was slinging her backpack over her shoulder to leave as Steve was starting to lecture her.

   Max left the basement through the basement door and everyone followed her out. Liz knew that Max lived in East Hawkins, so she was most likely wanting to give a letter to her mother. Steve continued to yell at Max but Max ignored him and made her way to his car that was parked out front of the Wheeler's home.

   "Max. Max, seriously," Steve rushed after her. "I'm not joking. I'm not driving you anywhere."

   "Steve, 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, then you're out of your mind," Max retorted. Liz wanted to yell at her and tell her that today wasn't going to be the last day of her life, but she knew there was no use in saying it as Max wasn't going to believe her anyway. "So, either take me to where I need to go or you're gonna have to 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. Open the door."

   Steve scoffed, "Uh, no."

   Max stared him down, "I know a good lawyer."

   Steve sighed and shook his head as he took his keys out of his pocket. He looked at Dustin, "Henderson, that super walkie of yours better reach Pennhurst."

   "It will!" Dustin rolled his eyes.

   Everyone piled into the car, Max taking longer as she stared off into the distance. Liz watched as she slowly got into the car, looking nervous. Liz wondered if Max had had another hallucination but she didn't ask, knowing Max didn't want to talk about it. Liz and Lucas kept their eyes on Max the entire drive there. Max could feel their eyes on her but she ignored it.

   They made it to East Hawkins about twenty minutes later. Steve pulled into the trailer park and parked in front of Max's trailer. Steve told her to hurry and Max hopped out of the car and rushed inside. Liz watched the trailer the entire time, waiting for Max to come back. She assumed Max would only be a minute or two but it was longer than that. Liz was starting to get worried the longer Max was away from them. She didn't want something bad to happen to Max.

   Finally, after about fifteen minutes, Max came rushing to the car. Her eyes were red and puffy like she had been crying. Liz and the others tried to ask her what was wrong but she kept saying she was fine. Liz knew that was bullshit as she could always tell when Max wasn't okay but lately, Max wasn't up for talking about her feelings so Liz shut up. Max ushered everyone back into the car and told Steve to drive.

   Steve started to drive them back to Mike's house. Liz, once again, kept her eyes on Max. She had tried to reach over and hold Max's hand but Max pulled back. Liz tried to pretend like that didn't hurt her but that didn't work and she instead held back tears. She saw Steve look in his rearview at her so Liz quickly pulled herself together. She couldn't afford to lose it right now. She needed to be there for Max.

   As they drove, Max requested Steve to take a left turn. Liz furrowed her brows as they approached the Roane Hill Cemetery. Liz couldn't help but give Max a sad look, knowing Max was going to visit Billy's grave. She had written a letter to him. Steve listened to Max and he pulled up on the road next to Billy's grave. His grave was at the very top of a small hill.

   Max got out of the car and Liz held her breath as she watched Max walk off, carrying a letter addressed to Billy. Lucas placed a hand on Liz's shoulder. Liz looked at him and he nodded at her, "Go talk to her."

   Liz shook her head before looking back at Max, "She doesn't want me to. She made that clear."

   "She needs you," Lucas argued.

   "She needs you, too."

   Lucas shook his head, "She needs you more than she needs me." Liz looked back at Max again. "Go."

   Liz sighed and got out of the car. She rushed over to Max, "Max, wait!"

   Max rolled her eyes, "Don't."

   "No!" Liz raised her voice. "No, I'm gonna talk to you whether you want me to or not. You don't have to say anything but you're gonna listen."

   Max sighed and rolled her eyes once more before stopping in her tracks and turning to Liz, "What is it?"

   "What happened back there at your trailer?" Liz asked, knowing something scary had occurred. It was obvious even if Max denied it. "I know something happened. I can see it in your eyes."

   "Nothing. I'm fine," Max assured. Once again, Max was lying. "As fine as someone can be who's hurtling towards a gruesome death. I'm walking side by side with the devil."

   "Don't bullshit me, Max," Liz sighed. "You know you can talk to me. You know that."

   Max nodded, "I know."

   "Then stop pushing me away," Liz begged, a pleading look in her eyes. "You've been pushing me away since school started. A month before we broke up, you started pushing me away. I've tried and tried to be there for you and get you to open up to me but you push me away every single time. We're all here for you and you push us away every chance you get." Liz stepped forward and took Max's hand, and Max let her. "Please let me in. Please."

   Max held onto Liz's hand and it seemed to calm her down. Liz watched as Max seemed to force herself to let go, "This won't be long."

   Max let go of Liz's hand and headed up the hill. Liz watched her go and felt a tiny piece of her heart break. Liz leaned against Steve's car, watching Max. She wanted to make sure her eyes were on Max as much as possible just in case anything happened. And no matter what, Liz was going to make sure that she was there for Max even if Max pushed her every step of the way. Liz would continue to be there for Max even if Max never got back together with her again or even if Max stopped being friends with her altogether.

   Liz waited patiently as she watched Max pull out Billy's letter and start to read it out loud to his headstone. It broke Liz's heart to see Max read a letter to her dead brother. Billy was a dick but he didn't deserve to die such a gruesome death. Liz watched along with the rest of them for more than a few minutes. After fifteen minutes had gone by, Max seemed to just be staring at Billy's headstone. Liz was starting to get worried but she knew Max just needed some time.

   "All right, it's been long enough," Steve got out of the car and started to walk up the hill.

   "Steve, give her some time," Lucas pleaded. Liz agreed with Lucas.

   "I have, all right, Sinclair?" Steve argued. "If she wants to get a lawyer, she can."

   Liz sighed, "Steve, give her five more minutes."

   Steve ignored his sister and rushed up the hill. As soon as Steve got up there, Liz could tell that something was wrong. Steve seemed to be shaking Max like she was in a trance again. Liz looked at Lucas and Dustin, "Something's wrong."

   Liz immediately started to run up the hill, Lucas and Dustin following her. Liz stopped in her tracks when she saw Steve shaking Max to try to get her out of the trance. Liz shook her head and kneeled beside Max, "No, no, no. Max! Max!"

   Lucas placed a hand on Max's shoulder and lightly shook her, "Max! Get out of there!"

   "Get out of there! Get out of there! Max!" Dustin cried out.

   Steve grabbed the collar of Dustin's jacket, "Call Nancy and Robin! Call Nancy and Robin! Go!"

   Dustin quickly ran back down the hill to the car, practically falling a few times as he tried to hurry. Liz continued to call out Max's name, hoping that somehow she would be able to hear her friends calling out for her. Liz grabbed Max's face and shook her lightly, "Max! Do you hear me? Max! You need to get out of there! Please!"

   "Please, Max!" Lucas cried out.

   Dustin was gone for a couple of minutes before rushing over with Max's Walkman and several cassette tapes. Liz furrowed her brows, wondering why the hell he was bringing music over to them, "What the hell is all that?"

   "What's her favorite song?" Dustin asked.

   "What?" Liz asked, extremely confused. "Why?"

   "What is it?" Dustin continued asking. "Robin says if she listens to her favorite song — It's too much to explain now! What's her favorite song? Do you know it? Liz? Lucas?"

   Liz quickly grabbed the cassette tapes and started to flip through them. Dustin, Lucas, and Steve all called out the same question, wondering what her favorite song was. Liz was overwhelmed by them yelling at her as she and Lucas struggled to search for Kate Bush. Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) was her favorite song by Kate Bush. Liz remembered how she used to listen to it all the time when they dated.

   When Liz finally found it, the boys quickly opened up the tape. They hurriedly and chaoticly put the tape in the Walkman and put the headphones on Max, pressing play on the tape. Liz held onto Max's hand, "Come on, Max. You can do it. Come on."

   A few seconds after they put the headphones on Max, Max started to levitate into the air. Liz watched with wide eyes as she levitated over ten feet into the air. Liz stood up and shook her head, knowing this was how the others died, "No, no, no! Max! Max!"

   They all called out for her. As Liz cried out, tears formed in her eyes at the sight of the girl she loved about to die. Liz started to cry the longer that Max hung in the air. Steve wrapped his arms around his sister and held her as she sobbed and cried out for Max. Every memory she had of Max started to replay in her head. She couldn't bear the thought of seeing Max die. She couldn't bear the thought of never being able to talk to her again or touch her again. Max needed to stay alive.

   Everyone called out for Max until finally, she gasped and opened her eyes. Liz's eyes widened as Max fell to the ground and everyone reached for her, "Oh my God! Max!"

   Liz immediately grabbed onto Max and pulled her into her arms. Max screamed and looked around, gasping for breath. Liz rubbed her arms and pulled her close, "It's okay. It's okay. You're okay."

   "We thought we lost you!" Lucas called out.

   "I'm still... I'm still here," Max gasped, hyperventilating.

   Liz hugged Max and Max held on tight to her. Liz continued to cry as she held onto Max. Everyone gathered around, giving each other worried looks. Max had almost died and Liz didn't want to ever think about Max possibly dying ever again. Liz knew she needed to protect her but how could she protect her from Vecna? Despite how scared she was, Liz held onto Max and comforted her, prepared to do everything she could to save the girl she loved.

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i didn't edit this so i apologize for any mistakes!!