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 the feeling of being lost without any way finding the exit.
She panicked, couldn't move, couldn't see, she just wanted to get the heck out of whatever place she currently was finding herself in. Was she once again in Vecna's mindscape? No, that couldn't be it.. All around was nothing but pure darkness. Taking a deep breath, she tried to focus on her senses – smell, sounds, sight. The first clue was the fait beeping of a machine on the left side. Could she be in a hospital?
But why was she in a hospital? Her mucles felt like brick - why couldn't she feel her limbs? Using the little strength she had, trying to go back to the last thing hiding in her brain. 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 her back to her happiest memory – where she, atleast 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. And maybe he can't find me there", she remembers saying to Lucas while in the R.V. The look on his face, as he understood that Max wasn't gonna back out from being the plan. He was going to use Kate Bush to get her back. Trust was everything for them both.
The plan worked, right? Her memory was fussy, cloudy. She couldn't remember what happened after El and Vecna stood face to face against each other back in the Snow Ball prom, where they only a few years back had their snow ball, Lucas with his sparkly personality asking for a dance. The same place where their first kiss had happened. Nothing but happy memories here. But what was happening right in front of her, were nothing but scary. 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 herself trapped by Vecna with nowhere to run to, nowhere to escape. Seeing her best friend 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 frustrate her, so she tried once again. "Did he get me?". As she spoke again, her throat felt drier than a desert. She was so thirsty. As she again tried to look around, but all she was met with was nothing than darkness once again. Taking a moment to fully focus on her instincts, any sound - she could hear. Was someone there?
"Hello?" she spoke again, this time somewhat higher.
Someone held something against Max's lips, and something inside her head was telling her to drink it. As she slowly took a sip, and realized what it was – her mind just wanted more. She felt desperate. "Slowly, sweetie". A young female nurse, said as she took some of Max's hair and tucked it behind her ears. Max just wanted more. "More, more" she kept repeating. What a relief, this felt like the best feeling in the world. As she kept drinking the cold liquid and swallowed, she licked her lips feeling somewhat better.
The young nurse in her 30's, Miranda, took the cup from Max and put in on her bedside table. Then the young nurse started to fix some of the redheads pillows, helping her sit more up, to avoid any risks of choking. She then began to check Max's vitals, and making sure her patient was doing okay, overall. After all, it was a long road to recovery in front of her young patient.