49. the final fight

                                    

                                          
THE FINAL FIGHT
March 27th, 1986
⏰ 1:30 pm, 📍Hawkins, Indiana
༺♥༻ Stephanie has committed too many crimes to count on her hands. 
Sure, they've probably trespassed, vandalized, theft, assault, but grand theft auto will make a bigger black mark on her record.
Eddie leads the group through the trailer park, hidden with Max's Michael Myers mask. 
They sneak past two people sitting outside under a tent and Eddie slides open a window in the back of the RV. 
One by one they climb in, Eddie jumps into the drivers seat and does something with the wires, making the RV turn on. 
The two people outside start to bang on the windows and doors. Steve gets into the drivers seat and yells, "Everybody, hang onto something!" 
Stephanie jumps onto the couch in the back of the RV, subconsciously holding onto Max's jacket sleeve.
Dustin stares out the back window. "Shit, they look pissed!"
Stephanie pushes Dustin out of view. "Well, don't show your face, dumbass!" 
They barely make it out of the trailer park. Running into garbage cans, veering off the road. Not that it was unlike how Steve drives normally, though. 

————

༺♥༻ A few minutes down the road, everything had finally calmed down and Stephanie is comfortably leaning her head on Max's shoulder, focusing on the music leaking through her headphones, singing along with it in her head. 
"So I've been thinking." Stephanie breaks the silence between the two, not picking her head up from Max's shoulder. "Two of the three of Vecna's victims were seeing Ms. Kelley, right?"
"Yeah." Max nods, not getting the point. 
"So I figure there's a good chance that Vecna could've cursed another one of her students. We can go back to her office, look through the files and find another potential victim to use as bait."
"Steph, we don't have any time for that." Max puts her hand on Stephanie's knee, politely shutting her up. "And even if we did, we'd be putting a total stranger at risk. A stranger who has no idea what they're up against. I do." 
Stephanie picks her head up to look at Max's worry filled face. "I didn't think of that part." She said quietly. 
"He uses my memories against me. But only my darkest memories." Max looks out the window as if she's ashamed about her memories. "Same with Chrissy and Fred, right?" 
"Right." Stephanie nods along. 
"It's like he only sees the darkness in us." Max continues, pausing for a moment. "So, I'll just run in the opposite direction. Run to the light. And maybe he won't be able to find me there." 
"I mean, it is your mind, right?" Stephanie asks expectingly. "You should be able to control where you are and shit like that."
"Yeah." Max smiles at the girl, feeling slightly more comforted. "I can just find a happy memory and hide there. Hide in the light."