mercy ; peter ballard

8. o n e w a y o r a n o t h e r

march 24, 1986

lights around the creel house began to illuminate, ominously. the group settled under the flickering chandelier.

"it's like the christmas lights," nancy whispered.

"the christmas lights?" bea asked, whispering to nancy.

"yeah, when will was in the upside down, the lights...came to life."

"vecna's here," lucas states, turning his head away from the lights and to the group. "in this house. just on the other side."

the chandelier kept flickering before going out again, leaving the group in the dark.

"i think he just left the room," robin suggested.

"did he hear us?" max anxiously asked, looking around.

"can he see us?" steve adds.

"headphones," lucas reminds max. max quickly put her headphones back on, blasting hounds of love on repeat.

"wait, wait. everyone, turn off your flashlights and spread out," nancy demanded, moving away.

"we're not gonna be able to see if we turn off our flash...lights," steve tries to argue as everyone moves quickly. "jesus christ."

bea walked around what looked to be a dining room at one point, hoping for a sign.

"i got him!" robin exclaims. "got him!"

everyone runs to robin. her flashlight slowly went out.

"i...i had him."

steve's flashlight began to glow. "oh, woah. oh, i think he's moving. he's moving. he's moving!"

everyone follows steve and his illuminated flashlight around the house and up the stairs. suddenly, the flashlight goes out.

"shit," he whispered. "i lost him."

"no, you didn't," max replied, taking the lead. she opens a door that led to a shining light. everyone began to file up the hidden stairs.

"it's an attic," robin spoke. "of course it's an attic."

"hold up, guys. what if he's leading us into a trap?" dustin shouted, but no one responded. "guys! guys. shit. shit, shit, shit, shit."

they walked into the attic. in the center of the room, a lightbulb buzzed and flickered. the group carefully approached it.

dustin's flashlight began to glow. "flashlights."

everyone looks to their flashlights to see them illuminate similarly. they held their flashlights close together.

"okay, what's happening?" steve asked.

it was silent for a couple of moments. one by one each flashlight blub began to burst then finally the center bulb.