Chapter 1 - The everlasting darkness
She opened her eyes, but all she saw was darkness. Her body seemed to tense up with fear, confusion and a feeling of being lost without ever finding the exit.
She panicked, couldn't move, couldn't see, everything around her felt like a place she didn't want to be in. Did she once again find herself in Vecna's mindscape? No, that wasn't it. Just pure darkness. She took a deep breath, trying to focus on her senses – smell, sounds, sight. Then she heard it, the fait beeping of a machine on her left side. Could she be in a hospital?
But why was she in a hospital? As she used the little strength she had, trying to go back to the last thing she could remember. Her memories took her back to the creel house with Lucas, the plan was working – Vecna fell for it, and once again she was in a trance. Then her mind takes back to her happiest memory – where she for a little while felt safe.
Then El came, and they were hugging. How did she get there? "I'll run in the opposite direction, stay hidden in my happiest memory - in the light. Maybe he can't find me there", she remembers saying to Lucas while in the R.V. The look of relief on his face as he realized she at least had a plan. Him using Kate Bush to get her back. The trust she had in him. That never was something she gained easy. Max came from a somewhat broken family, where she learned to tend to her problems on her own. She never really learned how to - or even if it was okay to rely on others. Lean on someone else. After she met Lucas and the rest of the party she slowly learned this. It was a feeling of being safe, and knowing that no matter how risky their plans seemed like, in the end they would all be okay - she would be okay.
The plan worked, right? Her memory was fussy. She couldn't remember what happened after El and Vecna stood face to face with each other. El telling Max to stay back, to seeing El struggle – wanting to help, in any way she could. After all, it was her plan, and she was the bait. Then… everything turned black before she once again found Vecna standing over her, trapped with nowhere to run to, nowhere to escape. El trapped as well. The panic as Max felt her physical body lift in the air. "Lucas", was all she could think about. Their plan, - his plan. Kate Bush. So, did they not win?
"Vecna got me." Max didn't realize she spoke out loud now. Her voice seemed so weak, so fragile. Like it hadn't been used in forever. It seemed to annoy her, so she tried once again. "Did he get me?". As she spoke again, her throat felt like fire. She was so thirsty. As she again tried to look around, following any sound she could hear. Was someone there? "Hello?" she spoke again, this time her voice felt more like her own - but the thirst to take out this burning feeling in her mouth made her face feel hot. She really hoped that whoever was there could read thoughts and finally took out the burning taste in her mouth. "Please..." Her voice was low, but it seemed to help because finally something was held against her dry lips. Something inside her head was telling her to drink it, so she did. Her mind just wanted more. She felt desperate, almost sick because the burning in her mouth never seemed to disappear. "Slowly, sweetie" she her someone say. The voice belonged to a young female nurse, as she took some of Max's hair and tucked it behind her ears. Max just wanted more. "More, more" she kept saying. What a relief, finally the fire in her mouth seemed to disappear. That was overall the best feeling in the world. As she kept drinking the cold liquid and swallowed with a relieving sound, she licked her lips.
The young nurse in her 30's, Miranda, took the cup from Max and put in on the bedside table. Then she started to fix some of her patient's pillows to help her sit more up, avoiding any risks of choking. As helping her into a sitting position. She then began to check Max's vitals, and making sure that her patient overall did well. After all, it was a long road to recovery in front of her young patient.